8-6-03 - Check it out, I now have a polarized filter on my camera...SWEET!

First fish landed, a nice brown that put up a great fight!

Another shot of that healthy, chunky brown!

A surprise hit from another gorgeous Paradise Spring's Brookie. These make it all worthwhile!

A second shot of that stunning fish! I LOVE THESE BROOKIES!

8-06-03 - The Water Level is BACK UP!

Waters Fished: Paradise Springs
Fish Caught: 2/4
Outing Date: 8-06-03
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Air Temp: around 80F
Water Temp: around 60F
Water Level: just a touch low
Water Color: crystal clear
Fish Species: Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout???
Pattern Fished: Griffith's Gnat, Olive Scud, Elk Hair Caddis
Pattern Color: see above
Fishing Quality: AWESOME

Alright, I bet you all are wondering how I got to fish at Paradise Springs from 11:30 to 2:00 on a WEDNESDAY??? Well, due to a rush order at work, I switched my workday to be 4:00 pm till midnight! So after a morning sleeping in a bit and seeing my folks, I ran up for a midday shot at Paradise Springs. There wouldn't be a rainout this time!

The first thing I noticed was that I was the only angler all day...great way to have it! Sure, there were people around, but I was the only one fishing. The other thing? Well, it appears they've finally fixed the "leak" and the water is just starting to trickle over the spillway again. However, it looks as if the flow out of the spring is down a bit, or maybe that's just 'cause it's not waterfalling 3 feet down like it was before!

Most fish were down on the bottom, but towards afternoon they started coming up to the surface. Sunny times were actually the best; the fish congregated in the shadows making for easier targets.

First fish on was a nice brown, easily 12", on the griffith's, but I lost him in the algae as I tried to land him. Next cast to the same spot I hooked up again, and this time managed to land a nice, fat, albeit a bit small, brown ;)

Things started slowing down, and I changed up to go subsurface deep with a red-chironomid beadhead and olive scud. There was what looked like a rainbow sitting, periodically snapping at the top of the vegetation, clearly feeding on scuds or something similar. I'd give him a few casts, get no interest, and then cast another fish. However, the only way I'd find out what this fish is would be to catch it and land it. Never got ANY interest from this guy though :(

However, one of those "other casts" was a blind one to the trees, where I quickly hooked up with fish #2, turned out to be one of those vibrant Paradise Springs Brookies! A short while later I got a nip from a large 18" brown only 10 feet away from me, but for whatever reason I didn't connect (does this qualify as a fish on??? ;)

Things got tight..I would've loved fish #3 and if I had time I would've gotten it to, but with 15 minutes left I had to go to a proven technique that I had not yet tried personally. An elk hair caddis brought a couple missed sips and one tie up, but the fish came off all too quickly. But who am I to argue?! A 2 fish day on Paradise Springs is a VERY GOOD DAY :)

  MP