Finally 'fishing'

So, a month ago+... we went offshore fishing for my birthday. It had been years since I had been fishing, and we got SKUNKED! Zero fish between mt wife and I.... It was pretty depressing. However, in our optimisms, we decided to purchase annual fishing licenses despite the year being half over...

We have made a couple of fishing ventures out into the local lakes; but had been faced with similar outcomes to the offshore trip... no fish.

So, this weekend in our never ending optimism, we decided to add a trip to behind Seven Oaks dam to our trip to collect some berries from the Loch Leaven area. We managed to collect around 3 lbs of blackberries from the local canyon before heading behind the flood control dam know as Seven Oaks Dam.

This Dam was built to control 100 year floods and prevent them from destroying Orange County. Over its ~20 year lifespan, it has seen water levels of 0 to >300+ feet... mostly in surge and drain cycles. Over the couple of years we have been visiting this area, we have sen the water level fluctuate by over 20', with evidence of another 50' ...

Today, in august, the water levels are among the lowest. There is an upper pond, which, this year doesn't appear to be fed by the year round creek and is overgrown with duckweed, aquatic weeds, and algae..

The lower pond is still fed by the creek and, although it is almost completely consumed by duckweed, still allows some fishing opportunities.

My wife, @creationofcare, fished the creek outlet and got some action on red worms we had brought from our garden. the only fish we where able to land, however, was one small Rainbow Trout that I managed to get on a Thomas Buoyant lure ... I was seeing a lot of action on the lure; but i suspect most of the trout where too small for the hook attached to the lure. The one i landed was barely able to get the hook into its mouth, and I would have returned it to the pond if it had not suffered so much damage in the process...

This pond is not stocked, and is only the remains of a flood control project... the fish that live here are 'natural' and are only there because of activity above the area (Big Bear lake, and the stocking of trout in the Santa Ana River). Its actually surprising they survive the summer in this shallow pond in the lower altitudes... We have been wanting to fish these waters for years, and where finally able to... with some success :)

So, in the spirit of age old fishing yarns.... I now tell you of how the day ended (as far as fishing goes)... on a prefect cast, right into the thick of the action... I felt the signature 'electric shock' of a sold hit. upon setting the hook- i felt a disturbing lack of resistance... not only was the fish on on (a sensation i was familiar with), there was no resistance... nothing... As I reeled in, it was confirmed; My lure was gone. As, I'm sure, was the 'big one'... what else took my lure but a fish too large for my setup? must have been a 6-8# trout... minimum... ;)

I'm not sure what happened. I am new to fishing with lures (and new to fishing since my childhood experiences); but my knot did not fail as such... the lure broke from its knot loop... I haven since purchased a couple of similar lures, and added a split ring to them. we will see how they do tomorrow.

Here are the picks of the fish... and the subsequent preparation and consumption... Its a tiny Rainbow, and I would have released it, but it was too injured by the catch to survive. We honored its life by its delicious consumption.

I know its a bit late for a Food Fight Friday post... so I'm prepared for a fish slap for a fish post... Bit smoked Rainbow trout was worth it ;)

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