I had visited Silver just after ice-out this year, in early May, when I found large brown trout willing to hit my Rapala and Rebel Minnow plugs in the shallows. Water levels were quite low at Silver and Caples Lakes at that time, and I was pleased as we drove over Caples Dam shortly after sunrise to see that the reservoir had been allowed to fill over the ensuing months, nearly to capacity. When we pulled to the side of the highway next to Kay's Silver Lake Resort to unload the canoe, I noted that Silver had a high water level as well.

Reasoning that the long, hot days of late had sent the biggest trout into the lake's deeper holes (50-plus feet), we initially tied on the same plugs that had worked in spring, using lead weights and a portable, hand-crank downrigger to gain additional depth as we trolled relatively quickly, powered by my Minn Kota electric motor. When we traveled opposite the marina through the lake's northeast portion, though, we saw numerous splashes on the surface in the calm water and shade provided by the towering eastern ridgeline. Half an hour pulling plugs without a strike was all Brad could stand-

"Maybe the big macks and browns will hit a plug down in the deep holes, but the last fish that jumped was around two pounds, and fat. Let's try something else!" The trout were feeding on the abundant insect life at the surface- a paradise for the skilled fly fisherman. Brad is a dedicated hardware angler, though, and this was a trolling trip, so we tried a couple of our favorite techniques for taking surface feeding trout in lakes with spinning gear. We circled through the commotion with two new baits; Brad ran a Rebel Tiny-Wee Crawdad plug on four pound test off his Daiwa ultralight rod, while I let out a silver prism/tape Sep's Pro dodger with a 6 pound leader and threaded nightcrawler on my new Shakespeare 9 foot light salmon and steelhead rod.

Sometimes the trout will turn from their surface meal of insects to take the Crawdad, which runs just three or four feet down, while on other occasions those fish that are resting between bites, slightly deeper in the water column, will be drawn to the flash of a dodger. My rig was running around twenty feet down on a slow troll with fifty yards of line out, and as it has so many times in the past, the old "dodger-and-crawler" combo made our day. The first hit to register in the tip of my sensitive, graphite rod was from a 15 inch brown trout, which gave an excellent fight and provided a photo opportunity before Brad released it. After netting two more fish for me, both 14 inch rainbows, Brad also changed to a silver Sep's dodger, and began making up for lost time.

In four hours of fishing, from seven to eleven a.m., We caught a total of nine fish, losing several more. None were particularly huge, but Brad also had a nice, 15 inch brown, and we caught several rainbows in the same size class as well. We were especially impressed with the condition of the rainbow trout in this lake- I don't know what hatchery provides them, but unlike many planters found in area waters, the small (10 to 12 inch) freshly stocked fish had all their fins and full tails, with only a trace of fraying around the edges. The larger trout showed no sign of hatchery origin at all, and fought with a vigor that also spoke of deep lakes and turbulent streams, not concrete hatchery pools. The weather at the 7,000 foot zone was sunny but mild, with a pleasant cooling breeze by midmorning. The only downside to our trip was the obnoxious presence of waterskiers and a few inconsiderate trollers who blithely crossed close behind us, over our trolled lines. It seems to be beyond some people's conception that in my little canoe, I could actually be utilizing the same technique to catch trout as they are in their fancy "fish-'n'-ski" boats. We ended up keeping four fish; Brad's brown and three of the rainbows. I let him take them all for a barbecue he was having, and he reports that each one except the smallest rainbow had the rich, pink meat indicative of holdover trout.

Excellent fishing can also be found on nearby Caples Lake in midsummer, with the added bonus of good-sized brook trout, often caught slightly deeper than the rainbows and browns. The larger mackinaw usually respond better at this time of year to lures presented tight to the bottom with precision deep water techniques, but many anglers on both Silver and Caples have been surprised when a hog lake trout takes a bait toplined behind flashers or dodgers on light tackle.

The lake record mackinaw at Silver is eighteen pounds, and brown trout to eight pounds have been taken in recent years. Why not unclip that downrigger ball, leave the leadcore line at home, grab a tub of nightcrawlers and beat the summer heat with a trip to the high country!

Mark (Never stand in a canoe) Wiza