I got a rare weekday day off this week so I decided to head up over Donner to Rollins Lake. I got up at 3:30 am, loaded my kayak, and hit the road. There was a forty five minute delay on the way up due to a semi catching on fire. I got to the lake around 7:00 am, launched the kayak, and went across an inlet to the first sheer bank I saw. I was fishing a Shannon's Streamer, on an intermediate line, on my new Fenwick fiberglass rod. The rod cast great, and handled the large streamers with ease. I was working my way along the bank, and had my first strike in just a few minutes. It was going to be a great day! Not too long after the first bite, I got my first fish to hand, a nice, hard fighting spotted bass. It was still early and mostly shady so the pictures of the first few fish weren't very good.
The Shannon's Streamer was sinking a little too slow for my patience level so I switched to a bead head simi-seal bugger. It sank much faster, and I was able to cover water a lot quicker. I caught a few more fish, but the highlight was when I saw a fish rise against the bank. I put a mini hopper on my little yellow Eagle Claw rod, and cast over to the bank. I was expecting a sunfish of some kind, but what I got was a scrappy smallie. It put up a great fight, and I lost it right at the kayak. I also saw a bald eagle grab a fish out of the lake, and an osprey steal the fish from the eagle! Awesome! I even got a crappy photo of them.
I had to be home in time to pick the boy up from school, so I called it a day early. I landed seven fish, lost one, and missed a bite, Not bad for about three hours. I'll definitely be going back to Rollins Lake again.
I'm not really sure if all these bass were spotted, or if some were largemouths. If you know the difference please leave a comment, and let me know.
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| Osprey above, eagle below. |
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| Gratuitous truck picture. |
