Brown Trout for Thanksgiving

The rainy weather seemed right for fishing, and I had just over an hour at Round Valley, putting two lines with marshmallow & mealworm out, getting one hit, and catching the 16-inch brown. I set the half-ounce steel egg sinker in 20 to 25 feet of water, but when I set the hook and began reeling, the trout thrashed on the surface to my left right near shore in about five feet of water. It swam into the shallows and wrapped the line around weeds. I heaved at the fish. The weeds were already a great resistance, but before it got stuck in the weed mass, it had leapt clear out of the water. Thought I would lose it, but after working that six-pound test hard, the fish came in bunched in milfoil or whatever that vegetation is.

Keeping any lake trout caught becomes legal again after November 30th. I guess I'll try shiners. I don't understand why plenty of lakers are caught from shore in that reservoir inside the city limits of Boston, forget the name, and so few at Round Valley. The population is abundant, but the fish seem to stay out deep.  

Trout Options for Reservoir Winter; 35 Degrees with Arctic Ducks

Managed to fish Round Valley twice since I last fished, at Lake Hopatcong with Oliver, November 2nd. I've had some serious trouble with sciatica and while I kept busy with other things, fishing wasn't something I could do. Thursday last week I had a hit from a trout on the marshmallow and mealworm just a couple of minutes after the half-ounce egg sinker took hold. Today, nothing, but it was fully worth being out there, no disappointment at all.

After fishing all fall, winter, and into April last year, I'm fully familiar with how slow this fishing is after some possible fast action in October and perhaps November near the main boat ramp. Some guys caught some on artificials last winter--Redfin plugs, Binsky bladebaits, spinners, Kastmasters. Someone casting Redfin plugs claimed he was catching a lot of browns. Since I like to take it slow and get reading in, I probably won't follow suit with lures, but fish two lines instead of one and possibly some shiners pretty soon. I have lake trout in mind, but the chances of catching one seem to remain slim. The reservoir is loaded with them up to about six pounds, but the rainbows and browns are chiefly the species in close for the winter. And they have many of miles of shoreline to cruise, which involves why fishing is typically slow.

I met two birders and saw a few others. All I spotted was a loon, but heard report of a bufflehead duck, eared grebe, coots, and a common merganser besides. So birds that summer in the arctic are here--buffleheads with their white-barred wings that look like strobe lights in flight.