After Friday's cool weather and evening fish-fest on the Upper Sac, Saturday dawned clear and hot. The LT Nancy and I stayed home long enough to see American Floyd Landis clinch the Tour de France, and then headed for the mountains.

Our destination was Upper Gray Rock Lake; a small mountain Brookie lake where - 1.5 years ago - I'd caught a 14" male in full spawning colors. I've fished it once since, but had been frustrated by its fly fishing unfriendliness.

"One day," I vowed secretly to myself (notice the dramatic use of self-narration) "I'll drag a float tube up to that lake and show those Brook Trout who's boss."

Today, it seemed, was that day. [cue the dramatic music]


The view from Gray Rock Lake. It's worth a hot, sweaty hike.

First, the float tube... Even jammed in a backpack, a float tube and all the gear is heavy. And while the trail to Upper Gray Rock is only 2.5 miles long, it's a very rocky, hilly, exposed-to-the-burning sun 2.5 miles, where - at several points - the old truism about "a little hard work never killed anybody" seemed like it was about to be proven false.


The trailhead. TC's Sense of Humor was never heard from again... (LT Nancy photo)


On the water, things didn't quickly improve. Something grabbed my "lazy leech" right off the bat, but I didn't hook up (an ominous portent), and after fishing the whole lake, I realized the fish were holding deep in the a long slot, which I proceeded to flog to the tune of better than a dozen grabs before I landed my first brookie - a 6" specimen.

An hour later I hoisted my second brookie - a 7" fish - to my tube. Clearly, I was missing all the fish because the fish in question were barely big enough to eat a #10 hook.


A 7" brook trout looks a lot like this. The lake is clear enough that only his head is out of the water. Check out those fins.

And that, as they say, was the whole of it. No 14" males. No hatches. No rises. No revelations.

Still - except for the heart stoppages on the trail in, a great time was had by all (I challenge you to find a better place to spend a Saturday). Even Wally the Wonderdog - though he looks ready to lunge in his picture - ran his paws off exploring, and the LT Nancy hiked to an imposing overhead ridge and then swam away the soreness - getting to star in our first Trout Underground Swimsuit Issue in the process.


Wally the Wonderdog. He's a wild, vicious killer - if you come between him and his food bowl.

The LT Nancy knows how to stay comfortable a lot better than your average, dumb fly fisher...

The hike back was cooler and downhill (and the 4-wheel road out was "exhilarating"), but I didn't know if I had Upper Grayrock out of my system or if another trip - in cooler weather - wasn't in order. Had I plumbed the depths and discovered only small fish? I'm still thinking about one more try. I'll show those brookies who's boss...


Every day of fishing should end like this.