Coffenbury Lake was a brand new location for us. After doing the basic internet research, Cheryl and I decided to turn this Fish A Long into a little mini vacation and booked a nearby VRBO for the weekend. We arrived the night before and checked out the lake and the picnic area. We liked what we saw plus got to see an Elk feeding by the lake.
On Saturday we arrived at Coffenbury Lake around 7am. First light was about 6:30 am and some local anglers were already fishing. It was raining during the night but luckily it stopped in the morning and for weather we had high clouds, little wind and mild temperatures; perfect conditions. The water was 66 degrees with about 3 feet of visibility. According to the locals the water level was way down and the usual water depth on this day was 5 or 6 feet with a weedy bottom.
We learned the lake had been stocked on Wednesday and that the early morning bite was best. Unfortunately for us fly fishers the “hot fly” was garlic powerbait; the bait anglers did pretty well catching 17-19” stocked trophy rainbows.
We hooked a few trout on flies but for the most part, small perch made up most of the fly caught fish. Sometimes a team effort helped. In the morning I was changing flies when unknown to me a fish started rising behind me; Cheryl called out and pointed emphatically to turn around so I did and then threw my fly into the last rise ring and was rewarded with a strong strike. It was a good fish and I fought it for a while before the hook pulled out. That would be my only trout of the day.
Coffenbury also has a large population of small perch. Their constant strikes kept things interesting, plus they helped a couple folks finish their 2019 Fly Fishing Challenge.
The sun came out for lunch and we enjoyed fantastic food: homemade spaghetti, ceasar salad and garlic bread.
After lunch we fished for another hour or two. A few more trout were hooked and lots of small perch. When the sun came out, the ambiance of the lake changed from quiet dawn anglers to young families & the cries of children enjoying a nice day on the lake. While the trout catching could have been a little better, all in all it was a good time. Thanks to everyone for coming.
