Post by RickL on Sept 5, 2003 21:34:14 GMT -6
The board software would not let me post this as one file as it exceeded 10,000 characters. So here comes the second half!
I have fished William a few other times when the weather was more enjoyable in the spring and fall, but usually with no great success (sometimes no success). The secret of fishing this lake was made clear to me on my next fall outing to William almost a year to the day later (October 15, 1999). The weather was miserable again, but the fishing was great!
The temperature was above 0˚C but not by much, the sky was a lead grey that drifted a few snowflakes down, carried by a stiff SW breeze that had me wishing that I had another layer of clothing underneath. My theory was the more uncomfortable I was the better the fishing, right? (A little rationalizing? Maybe.) This day was almost a repeat of the previous year, excepting the fog, so maybe the fishing would be as good as well.
I waded out from the pumphouse and headed east to have the wind at my back. I had on a #6 white Wooly Bugger I still had on my line from a trip to nearby Bower Lake. The second cast was into water about 4’ deep, parallel to the shore and a nice 13” trout was on. Yes, this seemed to be a good day already. I worked my way along slowly for about 100m and caught about a half dozen brown trout in the 12” – 14” range over the next hour. The trout were hitting the white fly without hesitation.
I returned to the shore by the campground and worked my way west, casting to the edges of the weed patches as well as into the shallower water and I had some great success. My son was fishing near the area with spin tackle and was catching trout with a small silver spoon but the white Wooly Bugger seemed to be the choice target.
Then the clouds started to dump large wet snowflakes. This was a sudden heavy snowfall that was disturbing the water surface and reducing the seeing. The visibility was really poor – the other side of the lake was invisible, the dock my son was standing on, only 100 feet away, was barely visible. The air temperature was a bit above freezing so the snow was melting on me and I didn’t want to get wet. I thought I’d toss my fly out and wade back to car and see how the weather would turn out.
I cast and did not take even one step toward the car before I had a trout on. Another cast and a trout smashed the fly the moment it seemed to touch the water. The fish had gone crazy. Six straight casts and I had trout in the 13”-15” range landed. Okay, so I got a bit damp, but by the time the snow had stopped falling, maybe 20 minutes later I had caught 15 fish. This seemed to be Nirvana for a trout bum wannabe!
However, the snow abruptly ended, leaving about an inch on the ground. The trout, for reasons I don’t know, shut down, too. I had read that trout would turn on during snow showers, but this was really weird. There were no strikes or rises or any sign of life in that lake for the next quarter hour. After the frenzied action during the snow perhaps they were taking a break. I don’t know. It was like a switch had been turned off. Oh well, time to go warm up.
The rest of the day continued cloudy, and cold, with the odd bit of snow falling and the fishing picked up after a while- not the furious pace of the snow squall, but quite enough to keep a fellow happy. I tried other flies (had to, the white Wooly Bugger is now resting in some oak tree along the shore) and I noticed the white flies outfished any other colour combination I tried (matching the “hatch” of the snow??).
Without a doubt this was my best day for brown trout fishing. It seems the fall, when the browns are in spawning mode and are cruising the cooler shallows, seems to be the best time, especially if the weather is a bit wacky at William Lake.
A later trip to William Lake was taken (2001) were I now had a float tube, and it was a nice day in early October. If memory serves correct, I had done quite well using a #8 white Wooly Bugger with a gold bead-head. I had fished the outside edges of the weedbeds and had caught a couple of dozen trout in the 16” range with the exception of the biggest trout I have tied into. I was a good cast out from shore when an equal distance out a huge trout leapt into the air. I immediately cast a conehead olive Wooly bugger and landed it right in the centre of the rings. (sometimes, under pressure, the casting can come together) I had stripped in maybe a foot of line when the trout hit it. I actually landed the rascal and found that the head and tail extended past the 20” measurements printed on the apron of my tube. I would say it was about 25”. (A fellow in a boat watched this and strangely enough we were both out on the lake exactly one year later and he remembered this. I have a witness!) That was a big thrill.
Last year (2002) the first day of a weekend outing, in October, was a beautiful sunny day and the fishing was slow. A few trout and a few smallmouth. The next morning was much colder, the wind was howling and there was no way I would go out in my tube. I waded the shoreline but the waves near the campground shore were nearly knocking me over if I did not brace for them, but I was catching 16 – 17” trout in the shore area (the wind was so strong that I could not cast more than 15’ into it). The water was quite murky due to the wave action but I was catching trout by just dappling a black Wooly Bugger in just a foot or two of water. The fish were hyper aggressive and numerous.
I am hoping to get out sometime soon this fall. I figure a trip to William will yield the most fish in the miserable weather, while I can enjoy the day if the weather is nice. I can’t lose!
I have fished William a few other times when the weather was more enjoyable in the spring and fall, but usually with no great success (sometimes no success). The secret of fishing this lake was made clear to me on my next fall outing to William almost a year to the day later (October 15, 1999). The weather was miserable again, but the fishing was great!
The temperature was above 0˚C but not by much, the sky was a lead grey that drifted a few snowflakes down, carried by a stiff SW breeze that had me wishing that I had another layer of clothing underneath. My theory was the more uncomfortable I was the better the fishing, right? (A little rationalizing? Maybe.) This day was almost a repeat of the previous year, excepting the fog, so maybe the fishing would be as good as well.
I waded out from the pumphouse and headed east to have the wind at my back. I had on a #6 white Wooly Bugger I still had on my line from a trip to nearby Bower Lake. The second cast was into water about 4’ deep, parallel to the shore and a nice 13” trout was on. Yes, this seemed to be a good day already. I worked my way along slowly for about 100m and caught about a half dozen brown trout in the 12” – 14” range over the next hour. The trout were hitting the white fly without hesitation.
I returned to the shore by the campground and worked my way west, casting to the edges of the weed patches as well as into the shallower water and I had some great success. My son was fishing near the area with spin tackle and was catching trout with a small silver spoon but the white Wooly Bugger seemed to be the choice target.
Then the clouds started to dump large wet snowflakes. This was a sudden heavy snowfall that was disturbing the water surface and reducing the seeing. The visibility was really poor – the other side of the lake was invisible, the dock my son was standing on, only 100 feet away, was barely visible. The air temperature was a bit above freezing so the snow was melting on me and I didn’t want to get wet. I thought I’d toss my fly out and wade back to car and see how the weather would turn out.
I cast and did not take even one step toward the car before I had a trout on. Another cast and a trout smashed the fly the moment it seemed to touch the water. The fish had gone crazy. Six straight casts and I had trout in the 13”-15” range landed. Okay, so I got a bit damp, but by the time the snow had stopped falling, maybe 20 minutes later I had caught 15 fish. This seemed to be Nirvana for a trout bum wannabe!
However, the snow abruptly ended, leaving about an inch on the ground. The trout, for reasons I don’t know, shut down, too. I had read that trout would turn on during snow showers, but this was really weird. There were no strikes or rises or any sign of life in that lake for the next quarter hour. After the frenzied action during the snow perhaps they were taking a break. I don’t know. It was like a switch had been turned off. Oh well, time to go warm up.
The rest of the day continued cloudy, and cold, with the odd bit of snow falling and the fishing picked up after a while- not the furious pace of the snow squall, but quite enough to keep a fellow happy. I tried other flies (had to, the white Wooly Bugger is now resting in some oak tree along the shore) and I noticed the white flies outfished any other colour combination I tried (matching the “hatch” of the snow??).
Without a doubt this was my best day for brown trout fishing. It seems the fall, when the browns are in spawning mode and are cruising the cooler shallows, seems to be the best time, especially if the weather is a bit wacky at William Lake.
A later trip to William Lake was taken (2001) were I now had a float tube, and it was a nice day in early October. If memory serves correct, I had done quite well using a #8 white Wooly Bugger with a gold bead-head. I had fished the outside edges of the weedbeds and had caught a couple of dozen trout in the 16” range with the exception of the biggest trout I have tied into. I was a good cast out from shore when an equal distance out a huge trout leapt into the air. I immediately cast a conehead olive Wooly bugger and landed it right in the centre of the rings. (sometimes, under pressure, the casting can come together) I had stripped in maybe a foot of line when the trout hit it. I actually landed the rascal and found that the head and tail extended past the 20” measurements printed on the apron of my tube. I would say it was about 25”. (A fellow in a boat watched this and strangely enough we were both out on the lake exactly one year later and he remembered this. I have a witness!) That was a big thrill.
Last year (2002) the first day of a weekend outing, in October, was a beautiful sunny day and the fishing was slow. A few trout and a few smallmouth. The next morning was much colder, the wind was howling and there was no way I would go out in my tube. I waded the shoreline but the waves near the campground shore were nearly knocking me over if I did not brace for them, but I was catching 16 – 17” trout in the shore area (the wind was so strong that I could not cast more than 15’ into it). The water was quite murky due to the wave action but I was catching trout by just dappling a black Wooly Bugger in just a foot or two of water. The fish were hyper aggressive and numerous.
I am hoping to get out sometime soon this fall. I figure a trip to William will yield the most fish in the miserable weather, while I can enjoy the day if the weather is nice. I can’t lose!