I used to do that too, before I moved. Pan fly fishing is great fun. So many of the retention ponds and all of those ponds that resulted from the building of over passes are filled with pan fish, some of them monsters.. The are very under fished or not fished at all. After I figured that out, there wasn’t a body of water that I would not cast a line into.
Do you fly fish the lake for salmon? I used to get one on a lure, use a turkey baster to evacuate its stomach, see what it is consuming, match the hatch and beat all the lure guys.
I’m in West Texas now so, I’m taking some “forced” time off. Really trying to get to the LLano River for panfish; I’ve been told it is exceptional.
I have tried “flying” for Steelies in the Au Sable and wasn’t quite successful. My King/Coho trips were always on big water with body-baits.
And...the ONLY reason I would try to draw out the innards of a salmon would be to get roe. Always kept salt&pepper on the boat for a “sashimi” indulgence.