For these adventures I travel back into my favorite location in Colorado; the Weminuche Wilderness. Currently, I have set my main goal on personally fishing every lake within the Wilderness boundary limits that is at least a 5 mile hike with 1000' of gain (one way). This will probably be around 50 lakes. This will allow me to only arrive at true Wilderness alpine lakes that receive very little traffic. My personal favorites are those that seem to be in the 6-15 mile range with around 3,000'+ of gain. Either way, fishing every lake will truly grant me the full knowledge of this area and where the giants seem to call home. Once I have a full understanding of every lake, then I can begin targeting specific lakes where my chances of landing a true Wilderness giant are the best.
Disclaimer: As usual, this is a Wilderness area so no drone footage. Be respectful.
The first adventure (happened second) is with the homie Ryan as we tackle 10.25 miles with 2,700' climb on our way up to a beautiful alpine lake with stunning sand beaches. This was a quick two day trip with lots of rain and streamer action. Unfortunately, a strained groin and pouring rain on the way up made the end of the hike difficult but we pushed through to a safe camp location. The trek back to the car was incredibly rough with the leg pain. We were able to make the best of the evening and morning having tons of luck catching mainly Rainbows and one Cutthroat on leech streamers that I tie myself. All of the fish were healthy and the trip was a highlight as Ryan fished with his own setup for the first time that we set up at camp.
The second adventure (happened first) was with the homies Kaden and Ryanne as we tackles a pretty brutal 7.5 mile hike with 4,500' climb. Packing camera gear, extra food, and lots of alcohol made the trek extra tough as packs were extremely heavy but we pushed through and it was well worth it. We enjoyed a stunning 3 days at the lake catching some of the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. Unfortunately, Ryanne and myself had no luck, but Kaden got it done in tough conditions. The feeding cycle of the fish was defiantly unique with fish in all three stages of spawn. When fishing for these fish, do not target fish actively bedding. Do not keep the females for food, they should 1000% be catch and release only during this period. Spawning males should also not be kept, preferably only those in post spawn, but pre-spawn males would also be acceptable if keeping 1. Be respectful to nature and the surrounding environment and allow the fish to reproduce. If you catch a spawning fish, handle it with care so that it survives upon release. Another important thing is to pack in and pack out. It was disappointing arriving to litter and burnt plastic at the best spot to pitch tents. Either way we had a spectacular trip and this is defiantly a lake I can see myself returning too outside of spawn conditions.
As always, thanks for watching and stay tuned for what's to come!
6 сен 2024
