I was tossing and turning at 5 this morning and finally gave up the fight. The big laker I’ve been after all week at Jenny Lake must have been calling me. At 6 I was loading my Exploder and heading back to Grand Teton National Park in darkness.
I started fishing with my 7-weight RX and a Uniform Sink Type V but after 15 minutes of casting and stripping without a bump I switched to my 5-weight that was rigged with two nymphs. With this I made some short casts just past the drop-off and started a three finger hand twist. That was it. On my first retrieve I hooked and landed a 21” laker and followed him with five more lake trout in five more casts!
My heart jumped a few beats but I could feel awkwardness. I had a sizeable fish but it wasn’t making the typical big lake trout run. After a minute of stubborn fighting, up to the surface came a glowing sucker. A sucker! While most anglers would have been disappointed, I was stoked. I balanced my camera on a rock and got me a sucker hero shot. Good fun!
Roughfish are wonderful on a fly rod!
They are not trash fish to Jeff… more along the lines as recycled fish 🙂
MNFishhunter, I’m happy to say I’ll be in Duluth this time tomorrow. Will play some pool then head for the rich musky waters of Manitowish Thur. You live in a great place also – all those great species!