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Early morning forecast had dropped P{rain} to 5 %, and pulled the thunderstorm warning, but added winds 15-20, gusting to 25. I decided that Los Padres Reservoir needed at least one more try this year.
Forecast was for winds blowing directly upstream from the dam, which would make getting back a PITA, but when I got there, there was a nice steady wind blowing from the dam to the parking lot. Made the 1/3rd mile walk an interesting PITA. A blown up float tube makes a great sail. Took me 25 minutes to walk the 1/3rd mile. On the water about noon. Wind blowing straight downstream, almost whitecappy.
Took me thirty minutes to kick to where I usually start {about a ten minute kick}, and the first hour was uneventful, except for some minor thigh cramping. About 1330, I cut off the olive rabbit streamer I had been using, and tied on a fly that Lee Dewald and I use in the Alleghenies. It's a size 6, peach colored, brass cone head, wooly bugger.
Within a few minutes, I started getting hits, both while twitch trolling and while stripping. Ended up with five fish to the boat, another half dozen short dances, and a dozen or more "Damn, missed him!" occurrences. All the fish were on the same pattern, but I switched to a new fly when two in a row got off and I couldn't find my hook hone. Fish were all rainbows, 11, 9 10,10,13 inches; in order caught. Pretty obvious steelhead young of the year - a couple even fought like steelies. Acrobatics!!
Wind blew towards the dam off and on all day, no rain. Of course, when I was about 200 yards from the dam heading in, it just switched 180 degrees and started blowing me away from the dam. Glad I didn't wait another half hour to start back to the dam. I'd still be out there trying to get back.
Safe back at the truck when the rain finally showed up, and home an hour or so after dark.
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