I planned to fish on Friday – running downriver in a search for BWOs – but instead the clouds forecast by that zany bunch of jokers at the Weather Channel, the day dawned clear and bright.
We’re all about flexibility here at the Underground, so instead of chasing a probably non-existent BWO hatch, the L&T and I packed up the Wonderdog, some snowshoes, and headed for Castle Lake.
Castle Lake – at once both frozen and impressive
Before I moved to the area, I fished Castle Lake all the time, once landing better than 30 trout during a stormy-day callibaetis hatch.
In the near-decade since I moved here, I’ve fished it exactly twice.
The problem? It’s a fairly spectacular lake – one you can drive right up to.
On summer weekends, the cars pile up in the lot and spill out onto the shoulders of the road up the mountain, and my attraction for a pretty lake has always been overwhelmed by my desire to avoid crowds.
The view from the overlook – Mount Shasta wreathed in clouds. (L&T photo)
Still, with the last snowfall still fresh on the ground, we gambled there’d be few folks up there, and for once, I gambled right.
The lake was frozen (it’s home to ice fishermen all winter long) and largely untracked. We pounded through the shoreline drifts on the right side of the lake, the untracked snow permitting us a powerful self-delusion: we were the first to ever see this gorgeous place (forgetting the crowds of summer).
Eventually, we circled around the right side of the lake, then tracked directly across the lake (and I don’t care how thick the ice is, you listen for cracking noises), arriving at a pair of ice fishermen’s holes minutes after they left with five trout.
Massively altered image of the L&T and our gear on the snowy, frozen lake.
My two favorite beings on the planet.
It wasn’t an “adventure” by any real measure of the term, but it was damned fun, and yes, everyone walked off the ice with sore legs (busting thigh-deep snowdrifts is work) and a powerful hunger.
The Wonderdog ate his weight in dog biscuits, and I won’t embarrass the L&T or myself by revealing The Ugly Truth (extra fries, anyone?).
Today? If the cloud cover holds, it’s BWOs, and perhaps even a gear test of a prized Christmas gift from the L&T – a really, really warm piece of clothing.
See you on the frozen lake, Tom Chandler
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh thanks for the tour into winter. I love it from down here. Enjoy—–cbc cbchandler(Quote)
It is 70 degrees here in “Bama today. Good to at least SEE pictures of snow! Very cool picture of Mt Shasta! Alabama flygirl(Quote)
I recognize that a surfeit of eggnog is likely to make you giddy, but Wally ain’t a being – it … is an it.
Despite sharing many heartwarming traits with humans; farting loudly, smackin his lips when eating pot roast, etc., be advised you’re suffering from a multi-year marketing campaign of PETA’s making.
If it lifts it’s leg to pee, it’s a flea bit, thick skulled, odiferous, emotional sponge – a.k.a. Hydrant-kitten. KBarton10(Quote)
Jeeebus! You’re a brave man for publishing comment 3. I might have deleted it and spent some time on the punching bag wondering about the fate of humanity.
Beautiful pot! I’ve just recently become aware of your blog. You have a heartwarming style that makes me feel all mash potatoes and gravy on a cold winters day. Hope you don’t mind if i “borrow” lightly some of your techniques like parenthesizing inner thoughts and idealizing the bat chronicles.
Keep up the good work! Dejon Hamann(Quote)
CB: There’s still plenty of snow to shovel up here if you’re interested.
Flygirl: Way the weather’s going, you may see some yet.
Kbarton: You brownliners should know better than to kick a man’s dog in public. And I think the heavy metal festooning your bloodstream is interfering with your synapses; a “being” isn’t limited to human beings (definition here). Don’t speak ill of the Wonderdog, or be prepared to be chastised again.
Dejon: Thanks! Tom Chandler(Quote)
I would never kick the Wonderdog, never. Well maybe once … or twice.
Based on the location of the dog bed, I’d say once you’ve got the fire going Wally is as firmly rooted as an oak tree.
Oak trees respire too. KBarton10(Quote)
I never got used to the walking out onto a frozen lake.
On Eagle Lake–which takes a lot of freeze to be frozen–the only way I can describe the sounds I would hear is that the ice was singing. I was told it had something to do with the shifting layers of ice. No idea, but it was surreal.
When goose hunting on Honey Lake, we would set up the decoys around openings in the ice where the birds would land to drink. As I lay there on my stomach under a camo cover, I always wondered, if the ice was thin enough to allow open water holes, how thick was it under me.
And the most beautiful were probably the full moon, midnight cross country ski treks on frozen McCoy Flat reservoir (between S’ville and you).
Thank goodness for hot chocolate with Rumplemintz (not necessarily in that order). A. Wannabe Travelwriter(Quote)
Hey Tom,
We have the same definition of best of winter activities – snow shoeing (or skiing) with our girls and pups. We had a beautiful weeks worth with 10 inches on the ground, and then a sixty degree day sent it all back to mud. If I can’t fish, I really want snow on the ground, and I love to be out under a moon. I wish we were surrounded by the scenery you have. And yeah, the ice always gives me the creeps.
Wasn’t it Thomas Nast that said something about the mission of the guy who sees somebody kicking a dog. – not stopping him so much as kicking the guy?
Best for the new year.
Rick Rick(Quote)
Tom-I think you are going to have to give Wally better billing. How about-”The Trout Underground, featuring Wally the Wonderdog” .
Come to think of it, I bet if you ran a reader poll about whose picture they would most like to see in a post Wally or ??, Wally would win it hands down. harry(Quote)
Kbarton: Oak trees don’t fart, which is one advantage they have over the Wonderdog.
Wannabe: I don’t care how thick the ice is, I walk gingerly on a frozen lake – as if walking on the balls of my feet somehow makes me lighter. It’s the same as squeezing the steering wheel harder when you’re running out of gas.
Rick: Kbarton would never kick the Wonderdog – he’s just a brownliner trying to stir up trouble. And besides, there are lots of better reasons for kicking him.
Harry: Wally the Wonderdog already gets the best spot near the fireplace, the prime spot at the foot of the bed, the key begging spot in the kitchen, and the door opened pretty much whenever he wants it – now you want me to give him top billing on my own blog too? Tom Chandler(Quote)
Maybe if you thought of it as an investment in increasing readership? After all-even the most obnoxious and cynical reader can hardly resist the happy go lucky charm of the Wonderdog! harry(Quote)
The Wonderdog has abandoned his contract talks with the Underground, and is pursuing a movie deal. That’s all I can say at this moment. Tom Chandler(Quote)
wow the snow looks amazing we down get snow too often here in Myrtle Beach, SC Grande Dunes(Quote)