06-10-2024, 01:34 AM
With the Mirror Lake highway opening up this weekend, I decided to head to the high country and get out of the heat. My plan was to fish around the Trial Lake area, however, the road wasn't plowed past the Trial Lake dam, so no access to the Crystal Lake trailhead and placed nearby. So, I pulled off there, loaded up the gear, put on the knee-high boots, and walked through snow, water, and up and over the dam. I was surprised that the lake was still 85%+ iced over. The edges were clearing, but there was fresh skim ice on the dam end, but the corner was open, so I set up. Fishing wasn't on fire, but I had steady luck. Quite a few people fishing but not a ton of catching, although I was mostly paying attention to my own line. Fish weren't cruising the shoreline and the fish I caught seemed to be 20 feet or more offshore and down deeper. About 80% rainbows, 20% tigers. The bows had their colors on. I would imagine the ice will be rapidly retreating and the fishing will just keep getting better.