For weeks I had been calling one of the forest rangers to get the lowdown on conditions on a couple high country lakes I wanted to fish.  I was itching to get back into the high country.  I kept getting the message that the lakes were snowed in. However, the weather had been so warm that I thought I would chance it.  Figuring it would at least be nice to just get out, I headed up to the area. After tooling around, I ended up at the trail head to one of the lakes.  A smile spread across my face when I saw that the trail was clear and dry.

These lakes can be tough to get to but that just tends to keep other anglers away and gives you some sense of accomplishment just getting there.  One of the lakes I especially like lies in a bowl that’s a relatively short, but steep, hike from the trail head. This year, I made two trips.

As I made my way up the trail, I began hitting some patches of snow in the shaded areas. It wasn’t too hard to get through, but it still made for more work.

Final approach to the lake showing the earthen dam

When I got to the lake I could see a number of “icebergs”, but the majority of the water was open and fishable.

Before getting to this shallow bay, I had fished a number of spots with no signs of any fish.

Then the catching began. The water was still cold, and the fish were lethargic, but they responded well to chironomids. I tried a number of spots but caught all the fish in an area the size of a large living room.

High country lakes are beautiful places with beautiful fish.

A parting shot

On my next trip, the weather was erratic.  The lack of snow made the hike in much easier and the changing weather, with its low hanging clouds and patches of sun, gave way to blue skies; making for some interesting views.

The first views coming into the lake

With the warmer water, the fish were much more active. I was able to sight cast to fish cruising the shoreline- very fun fishing.  With the clear water, fish could be spotted 100 feet away and the Cutt’s slow, deliberate rises made it easy to pull the fly away before it was taken.  Most of the fish were caught on one of my favorite high country flies, a foam beetle.  The fish still had plenty of color left from the spawn.