Wednesday, May 25th
My good friend Jim Passage called a couple of weeks ago, asking me if I would like to join him for a day of fishing at “Back to the Wall”. This is a private lake, managed by Darc Knobel, owner of the Desert Fly Angler Fly Shop in Ephrata. I had fished here many years ago and caught so many fish my hand cramped so badly I had to quit. I cleared my calendar to be sure I wouldn’t miss the chance to fish here again, and to spend the day with Jim. When we arrived Darc was there to greet us. We launched Jim’s 14-foot Lund and headed out. Jim had been here a couple of times already this season, and he had the fishing figured out. We trolled black-patterned flies on sinking lines and were into fish immediately. Our flies were getting whacked constantly and we hooked and released a bunch of rainbow. I joked that if I hadn’t had a hit in two minutes something must be wrong. The trout were all very hefty 15 to 17 inches long. I was glad I made the trip as the spring season is closing. It will reopen in the fall.
Jim Passage holds up a netted fish just prior to release.