Keswick Reservoir Trout

Took the bike and fishing gear past Keswick Dam to try for Keswick Reservoir Rainbows.

The mile long Fisherman's Trail is single track dirt with a few side trails leading to the water. I wish there were more side trails as the reservoir banks are heavily covered with brush.

The bike is a hybrid. Not expensive, it's an excellent climber, probably the best climber I've had. It does ok on packed single track. I clip in on pavement but today I was in my hikers for fishing which was a good thing. The trail was rocky in spots which was a little much for the bike. There were plenty of steep dropoffs on the water side such that staying on the track was necessary to avoid a tumble down into briars. Takes a little getting used to. Maybe someday I'll also get used to the iCamera :)

I arrived at the dam at 7:45am and it was morning calm. I started down the trail and came to the first cove. It had a side trail so I decided to start the day here. A north wind was starting to develop. Spent about 45 minutes fishing red worms suspended about 4 feet below a small bobber. Not a touch. This is a pic of the cove after I decided to move on. The access trail was just before the submerged brush on the opposite bank.

By the time I arrived at the second cove around 9:15, the north wind had freshened and was gusting to 20 mph. I was on the windward side of the reservoir so I figured the partial shelter of the cove was the best bet. Again I started with the same strategy I used in the first cove. Not a touch. I tipped the offering with a small ball of orange power bait. The rainbows are used to seeing orange from the salmon roe and orange is a good color for the river. An effective fly is tied in an egg shape with flourescent dyed wool of different colors. They're called Glo Bugs. The originators are the Bug Shop located about 14 miles south in Anderson. In this cove there was no interest in my orange tipped offering. Not a touch.

This is a view at waters edge just outside the cove facing north, into the wind, which by 10:15 had freshened further with sustained at 15mph and gusts easily at 25mph. You can see the opposite bank of the cove extended a little further out which created a small intermittent lee on this side to about 20 feet offshore. I figured I'd give it a try. I switched to a bottom rig of a large split shot with the same bait offering. Because of the low flow of the Sacramento caused by the ongoing drought, the shoreline was flat for about 8 to 10 feet and consisted mainly of drying moss. Then there was a sharp vertical rise of about 3 feet where the grass and brushes grew. That's the normal waterline. Sorry I wasn't thinking blog here so didn't get pics. I sure wouldn't want to climb that trail in the distance on the bike but I bet a walk up there would be just fine.

It is beautiful here on the reservoir. Lots of hawks enjoying the wind. Missed getting a group of five.

So at 10:15, figuring I'd call it a morning in an hour or so, this is my forward view of the final spot I was going to try. You can see the little lee created by the opposite bank of the cove. Also there's a little submerged sandbar about 15 feet out. Because of the wind it didn't make sense to fish with a bobber so I put on a large split shot and bottom fished about 10-15 feet outside the sandbar. Not a touch at 11:30 after casting to several spots outside the bar. I decided to wrap it up and started to put things into my backpack. I reeled in. The bait still looked good and I had a hunch. I put a small split shot on in place of the big one, and I casted just this side of the point of the sandbar (a bit to the right of the photo). It was deep enough between the bank and the sandbar that I couldn't see bottom. I loosened the drag, laid the rod on a tuft of grass, and continued packing. About a minute later I heard the zzzzzz of the drag and saw the rod bouncing.

After a short but spirited tussle I netted this beautiful 16" wild Keswick Rainbow. I unhooked her, took a quick pic and released her unharmed. What a nice way to end a terrific morning!

On my way out, at the top of the side trail was a very nice spot to overnight. There was a fire ring, and also this. Please don't leave your trash behind like this when you enjoy the outdoors. I packed this mess out.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time Get Outside and Play!