Brook Trout

I made another trip to this lake because they stocked Fall Fingerlings last year.  When they did this in 2007, we had a fabulous 2008 year.  MNR Pembroke will stock whenenver they can get trout.  And they like doing it in the Fall especially in lakes that have bass.  Bass are less active and consequently there would be less predation.  Only this year, it hasn't panned out, at least not yet. This is my second trip with no trout and another very technical fisher also got skunked earlier this Spring. I caught a lot of bass though even in 40 feet of water with a #4 sink line!  Trout will hold in deeper water if there are bass patrolling the shore line where they prefer to be.   This doesn't make for great fly fishing, unless you like fishing for bass!  But that is not why we come to a trout lake.  I can get better bass fishing closer to home.  I did notice a massive layer of small dots down 40 feet.  I suspect this is some kind of "hatch", likely zoo-plankton.  If that is the case, their bellies will be full and it will be very difficult to catch fish feeding thereupon.  Brian Chan says the only way is to put on a small woolley bugger and get it down into that layer but 40 feet is a bit deep for a flyfisher and I detected no fish in that maze.  Later in the summer when the thermocline develops, you will see a line at a certain depth.  That is the thermocline where the zoo-plankton like to reside.  Fish will cruise at that line, open their mouths and feed like whales.  Great for their wastelines!