It was 11 days ago when CF and I last made it to Roosevelt and we were hoping that the fishing was still outstanding. Our friend Ron joined us and he was quite anxious to try his new prototype insulated boots. We questioned our sanity as there was a thin coat of frozen rain on the roads but the road was bare and dry after 25 miles. We took this as a good omen and eventually made it to Keller Ferry. The steep hill into Keller was icy but was well sanded as it always has been for us.

Lines were in the water by 8:00 AM and the fishing was as good as it gets with 18 to the boat in the first hour. As our last trip showed, there definitely seems to be an early bite. The fishing suddenly slowed from incredible to fast and steady the rest of the day. We arrived back at the launch at 2:00 PM.

Water temperature was 49 degrees. Orange and pink Kekeda flies were the most successful weapons on down riggers between 15-18 feet. (Dave, CF will be calling for another order of flies as the fish have been merciless on your fish attractors.) I am not sure color or depth made a difference today. About 20 per cent of our fish came from crank baits long lined on planer board. Size and color did not seem to matter as I changed between perch, fire tiger , chartreuse, crawdad and brown colors in shallow to deep runners.

We ended the day with a record number of fish for us at Roosevelt, all C&R. It was a great day to share with great friends. Critiquing Ron's boots was icing on the cake!

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