I told my girlfriend that I had some business to take care of and snuck off to meet my fishin' buddy, John, at the lake to fish at about 7:00pm. We thought we would give the last our of daylight a try. I had already caught a 4lb. broodstock with my parents the weekend before so I had high hopes of finding other large fish. We saw several fish rolling throughout the night but had no takers until I decided to improvise. Thinking that the fish might be on or near the surface, I switched over to a floating fly line and tied on a small Hotshot plug. We proceed to troll around the north end of the lake as 8:00pm approached and daylight was fading fast. I wasn't paying attention to my rod when the fish hit but the sound of it hitting the side of the boat repeatedly alerted my to the strike. I set the hook sharply and immediately saw a good-sized trout clear the water. "Another brooder?" I thought as I proceeded to play the fish. With flyrod in hand I worked the fish in to the boat and soon we netted a 21" and approximately 3lb. broodstock rainbow fat as a football. Although this fish was not quite as large as the fish my mother landed the week before, I was quite pleased as I I have been fishing Lake Ballinger for 16 years(two-thirds of my life) and I have never caught a trout this size. The lake is still very cold and the planted trout are few and far between, except for the brooders and the action overall should heat up in a few weeks. Trolling small plugs in this lake is a can't miss as the larger fish as well as the small planted ones climb all over them. Good luck and tight lines!

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