Gillespie’s Annual High Country Trip

Every year my whole Gillespie family tries to go somewhere in the back country on a fishing/hiking trip. Most of the time my parents don’t come and its just the kids hiking into beautiful alpine lakes, but this year I decided we should try somewhere just a little different that the whole family could enjoy. It payed off big, everyone had a great time and we still got to hike around and explore the five different lakes in the area. 

Trip highlights:

Road from Hell: The first night we tried to take a rough road into a place that we wanted to camp for the weekend, but after 5 miles of beating we turned back and camped at the trail head.

Seeing a Black Bear: As we walked around the lake scouting for places to fish I noticed a big black object about 200 yrds away. As it saw me it got on two legs and looked at me. I though “Bigfoot” then “Bear”. I tried to motion to Jer, but he was too late. We decide to tell our younger sibling that it was just a Moose so they did get freak out the rest of the trip. But that didn’t matter because the best fishing was right where I spotted the bear in the first place.  We could see where it was bedded down and its skat. As it got darker the youngest Addie said in a trembling voice ”Jeremy There’s a Bear” and sure enough the bear must have been coming back to bed down and it was 20 yrds in front of us. It stood up on two legs, probably thinking if it could eat us all, but with instinct Jer being 6’6 , and I stood up and waived our arms until it ran back into the forest.  He finally lived up to his nick name “Jer Bear”

Sight Fishing:After bushwhacking to find the lake, we stumble on some rising fish in shallow water. After seeing what they were feeding on we crawled in and Jer landed the first fish of the trip a nice brookie. The rest of the night was fast action for top feeders.

Float Tubing:The next morning we packed our float tubes into a near by lake. Jer and Gunner went out, while Greg, Mal and I hit the cruisers from the shore. The were a little more selective with the bright sun, but a small dropper produced fish all morning, but you had to hook on sight not feel. Pretty fun stuff. Jer did good from the tube, where as Gunner had a couple problems with water getting into his waders and falling down 5 times trying to get out of the shallow mud. For the last 2 hrs I decided to get out on a  float tube and I’m glad I did. Jer was throwing leeches and hooking up almost every cast. So I switch from choro’s to leeches and instantly started hooking up with 15-17 inch brookies. It was a ton of fun to be back out in a tube. It had been years and something much needed.

Four Wheeling:We had a great time four wheeling around the roads by our camp. It was a good break from fishing and a chance to explore the area outside of a jeep. We even took the family to a remote lake and had a picnic for the 4 th of July.  

Perfect Camp Spot: They are those camping spots that are just right, well this one was one of those. We camped at the end of a 5 mile dirt road as far away from all other humans as possible. It was a pic perfect spot with a great view of a mountain meadow. Plus it was only a 1/2 mile hike to our lakes we fished most.

Jeepin:  With a tip from a local we decided to Jeep into another lake that rumored to having some nice fish. The road proved to be a true jeep road and one more suited for a four wheeler, but that’s why half the fun just getting to the lake and testing your jeeping skills. I made the group get out a couple times going up some rock slide hills.

Big Bookie:This was the reason for choosing this area. My goal was to catch just one over sized Brook Trout. It took fishing 5 lakes and on the last day, it all came together.  I had scouted this lake the day before and knew from the slashes that there were some big fish in it. I had decided with the aggressive top water shows that these fish were chasing minnows to the surface and devouring them. So with this in mind I tied on my trusty brown Sex Dungen, snuck to the area and casted it in. Strip, strip, strip, then as I could see my fly I noticed a huge brookie fallowing it. With only 5 ft left  and in two feet of water I raised the fly a little and witha flash the fish opened his mouth and consumed my 3 inch fly and headed for the safety of the deep. The fight was on! I yelled across the lake to the rest of the family I GOT IT , I GOT A BIG ONE!  Then I though don’t be an idiot, focus and don’t lost it. I was shaking from head to toe in excitement. As the big fish tired and came to shore I was the happiest man on the mountain and glad to share the moment with the family. It was the challenge and trophy I dreamed about. It didn’t come easy, but it was a great way to finish off the trip with a big bang.