Trip Report: Milton Reservoir

The first ever Float Tube Navy outing has come and gone. It was a beautiful day at Milton Reservoir with very little to no smoke from the fires that are lighting up California. The lake was surprisingly quiet for a weekend, with very little fisherman.

I finally made it down the bumpy road(if you can call it that) to the lake at around 8:30am. Put the float tube out in the water and started to throw the line. Before arriving, I knew the number of people attending would be small. In fact, there were only two of us. Not much of a Navy, but it was an enjoyable day, none the less. I'm not sure he wants his name mentioned, but the guy who showed up was very nice and he shared some tips for still water fishing. Something I desperately need.

Unfortunately for us and everyone else on the lake, the fishing was difficult. I saw and heard of one or two fish caught the entire day by everyone I talked with. Needless to say, I was skunked. Sure, I got several bites, but nothing actually got hooked. I still have a long ways to go figuring out the whole still water fishing thing, but I feel a little more comfortable now that I've been out with someone and could absorb a little information.

As my fellow float tuber headed off for another lake, where he planned to spend the night, I decided to explore the river that feeds Milton. It was a small creek that was quite fun to walk along and explore. (I didn't catch anything, nor did I actually see any fish.) The time was between 5 and 6pm and the mosquitoes started to come out. And they were on the warpath! They swarmed me like I've never experienced before. I had probably 15 on me at once. It was awful. Of course I forgot my bug spray, so I frantically wiped them off me, almost ran back to the car and threw my rod in and drove off! Whew!

This was only part of my weekend of fishing. Two more reports are on their way!