FisherDad – Page 8 – Outdoor adventures, particularly trout angling

Pre-Thanksgiving at Cold Creek

Some slushy snow at Cold Creek pond, and across the glass-like water surface you see the snow-capped Sheep Mountains in distant background.

I didn’t fish last Saturday when I visited Cold Creek in a light snowfall, although I was able to enjoy the drama displayed by Mother Nature instead. So, I decided to fulfill my ceremonial pre-Thanksgiving afternoon fishing trip. I probably shouldn’t have gone since I was feeling under the weather, but I was curious about the snow remnants. Enjoy the pictures.

Cold Creek Coyote Gives Chase

Indian Ridge runs along the the Cold Creek Road to the west. This day it was draped in a dusting of light snowfall.

Three days of drizzly weather in late fall was producing snow-capped mountains in the Spring Mountains Range. The peaks were enticing me to try fishing Cold Creek in the snow, although I wasn’t sure how low the snow got down. Studying Red Rock Canyon and La Madre Mountain from town indicated the snow level was about 5,000 feet. Since Cold Creek Pond was at 5,900 feet I knew I would be driving in the snow. Still, it was worth an early morning adventure.

Cold Creek – Fall Stocking

A view of the town of Cold Creek in the distance (a little dusting of snow on Willow Peak in the Spring Mountains)

I had received a few inquiries on the stocking of the pond at Cold Creek – my Veterans Day visit confirmed it is so. An email from my friend Mitch this morning also said it occurred two weeks ago. Chan will be smiling because I didn’t jump the gun this year.

Dacey Reservoir, Sunnyside, NV

Dacey Reservoir, looking southwest (Hot Creek Butte on left, 11,000 foot Grant Range in center background)

Sunnyside (now Wayne Kirch Wildlife Management Area) first came into my consciousness in the 1980’s through fish-talk with the EG&G Purchasing Director, Merl Rees. Merl told stories of large trout, sixteen to eighteen inches, in the Sunnyside reservoirs. At the time my fishing interests were focused on streams and high mountain lakes. It wasn’t until April of 2005 that I first visited the Wayne Kirch Wildlife Management Area (i.e., Kirch, a.k.a. Sunnyside). Kirch has four fishable reservoirs. On all four reservoirs the only shore-accessible fishing is from the dam; boats, pontoons, and tubes are the most effective way to fish these reservoirs due to significant bulrush growth along the shorelines.

Dacey Reservoir, Sunnyside (Wayne Kirch WMA)

Here’s Dacey Reservoir from dam, looking north with the Egan Range on the right, White Pine Range in distant left.

Do you notice how sometimes our initial impression of something, perhaps driven by a comment from someone or a story we may have read, sticks with us and clouds our judgment. It can cause us to avoid the person or thing for a long time until we decide to investigate the reality. I suppose belief in God can be like that for some.

Illipah Reservoir & Cave Lake – White Pine Co.

To those of you who read my blog for the fishing, my apologies for my slight diversion today. But I have to say that God knew what he was doing when he gave man a helper (Genesis 2:18).

Can a Passion for Fishing be a Ministry?

Nice 12-inch Cold Creek rainbow on 6-foot fly rod

I fished Cold Creek Pond this morning. Set alarm for 5:30 am so I could get ninety minutes or so of fishing with my little six foot fly rod and still make it home before Emily woke up (she knows my days off and always calls for me to get her out of bed on those mornings). The weather was amazing and the short visit scratched my itch, as they say. The fishing was slow despite having the pond all to myself. I practiced double-haul casts, which were amazingly efficient with that little fly rod. There was a Great Heron that flew away upon my arrival but left telltale tracks all around in the shallows, and for the first time ever I saw a little Kingfisher working the pond, even witnessed it diving and catching one of those little goldfish that ignorant people keep dumping into the pond.

Cold Creek Contrarian

This photo looks north through a light snowfall on the trail to the Cold Creek Pond.

I have a friend in the investment business who often refers to himself as a contrarian. He observes many, if not most, investors become emotional about their decisions, and lacking the discipline to stick to their plan they succumb to the “group think” of the masses. He believes it’s important to stick with your long-term plan especially when you see the multitudes moving money between investment classes that is contrary to to your long-term plan. This usually occurs when short-term events cause emotional distress. He somewhat jokingly quips that when he witnesses this type of unjustified, emotional mass-movement it’s often fruitful to move in the other direction. I believe he is right.

Cold Creek Fall Stocking Completed

Brian and I made time Thursday afternoon for a half-day trip to Cold Creek. The last time we fished together was in May 2010. As I recall, on just his second fly-fishing excursion Brian out fished me that day. That was a very good day.

Cold Creek Pond Stocking Reconnaissance

Since it was getting deeper into fall and the weather had turned decidedly cooler I took a quick run up to the pond at Cold Creek to see if it had been stocked this week. As most of you Cold Creek followers know the Nevada Department of Wildlife stocks rainbow trout in the late fall and early spring. The short answer was: no.