Fishing blog: Tales of angling adventures from around the world
Welcome to our fish blog! Here you can read more sage advice from anglers around the world. This is the place for news, tips and non-fiction fish tales from mountain lakes to distant beaches. Please feel free to comment and join in on the conversations and share some fish tales of your own!
We spent a couple of days camping at Lake Manatee. The campground is well maintained and the showers, etc.are 5 star clean. The fishing was fair, considering the high water after recent rains. As usual, Kimball caught the biggest bass of the trip. 
We were scouting local ponds for bass when Kimball got a BIG surprise on her light 10 lb. tackle. It was a challenge to land and release this snook before the pond’s 8 ft. gator arrived. This snook struck a Zoom Horny Toad. Going back soon at night with top water lures and heavier tackle. 
As the leaves turn and the temperatures drop the fishing picks up in the lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Estes Valley. Anglers need to understand the three things going on right now to enjoy the best fishing of the year. First, dropping water temperatures bring on a “store some calories” instinct before the long winter ahead so trout feed aggressively. Second, a lot of their diet dies off with the first freeze that brings on those beautiful leaf colors. Faced with a dwindling food supply, they eagerly accept anything familiar. It’s like going to a buffet really hungry and finding everything nearly gone. Third, As far as brook and brown trout are concerned it’s spawning time and they get territorial as well as hungry.
Show them something substantial like a terrestrial or check along the shore for the “insect du jour” they are feeding on. When you see a trout rising, cast about 5’-10′ ahead of it and stay focused!
Our favorite time is the hour before and after sunset. Many anglers use spinning gear with a fly and bubble rigging to present a weightless fly a long ways from shore. This works better in the middle of the day. As the light goes dim large German brown trout come into the shore to feast on terrestrials. Grasshoppers, beetles, ants and big horseflies are favorites. Fly rod anglers can score with these fish just 5-10 feet from the shore. The trail around the lake provides easy access to most of the shoreline. Watch your back cast and avoid the pedestrian and bicycle traffic by fishing off of the trail. In the rocky areas, you must keep a big brown trout’s head up or get cut off as they dive into the rocks on the bottom.
Here’s a short video of a storm at Bear Lake. Lots of tired, cold, wet to the bones hikers heading out of the woods. Be Prepared! Hypothermia can happen in the summer here if you’re not prepared. Dress to survive a surprise storm in comfort. Avoid hypothermia. BearLakeHail072020IMG_6856