Thursday morning we loaded up after getting a quick breakfast sandwich and headed to Little Hole for our second day on the river. Today, however, started last night at the Flaming Gorge Resort talking with JD. We spent a good hour talking with him about what to use and where to go. He gave us great insights on where to go and the patterns to use and how to use them.
We got to Little Hole and went to ramp 3 parking lot. We geared up and tied on the flies that JD told us to use and how to use them. Turning downstream today we hiked to the end of the trail, we didn't go over the top but right to the cliffs. We fished here the majority of the day wading up and down the small island at the cliffs, from the inside channel to the swifter deeper channel in the main stream. The flies and set up JD had showed started to work from the beginning. I had on a trailer set up and got a couple fast strikes, kept going back to the spot but it wouldn't strike again. Taking a closer look at my line and noticed my trailer fly was gone, it's like fly fishing when you use super thin leader it doesn't take much to lose hooks. This showed me though that the fish were targeting a pattern, so I tied on a single fly pattern and went back to work. I was at the tail water of the island and Shifty had gone to top of the island. I got four fish to my net very quickly, nothing of size some planter rainbows that had just been released. I could Shifty was not getting anything so I called him down to where I was. He started casting and got a couple quick hits, so I moved up into a couple deeper holes in the stream and worked them.
I worked the holes for some time and could a couple bruisers rising and finning. I worked my way into a position I could get my line to dead drift through the holes. I kept at it for a period of time and finally hooked up fish, not the ones I was after but still knew I had the right drift. So I tied on a different fly pattern to give the fish a new look. In the meantime, Shifty had caught a couple fish in the lane I gave him, he got a decent one online but couldn't net it before it released.
I cast a few times with the new fly and got it to lay down in the position, and the big brown surfaced and the fight was on. I worked it in and out of the column to tire it out and get a better shot at getting in the net. Shifty came over to help by netting it for me. Getting the big brown to cooperate was a chore, but I finally got its head up and the net was right behind him. I was excited to say the least, not just for the size and beauty of it but the time and effort to get the big brown to surface and take my fly was exhilarating. After a picture or two and giving it time to catch its breath it was released. To watch it swim back to hits hole was awesome.
Back at the casting, I left the hole to rest it but I knew there was another in the hole to be caught. Moved up stream to the apex of the island and the inside channel and fished it for a time, A couple flyers came into the same holes we were fishing and tried to move us completely out but we held our spots. They fished right into our spots, amazing the rudeness of some fishers. The one gut was literally laying his fly three feet behind me in the holes I was fishing and the other guy went right into the holes I had just left and worked his way down to within casting distance of Shifty. We didn't move and they didn't catch anything. I moved after a little bit back down to where Shifty was and fished back up to my holes and started working them again, and they finally moved on.
I worked the hole for a bit and then had Shifty come and try them. He cast into the hole where the one big fish was rising and finning, I stayed and gave directions to where I could see him holding. Shifty fished it for a few minutes and then relinquished back to me. I worked my way into the backwater of the hole and started casting. I worked it for few minutes, before the big fish rolled and took my fly. The fight was on again. I worked this big fatty back and forth up and down and in and out of the column. This guy was giving it all it had to stay out of the net. Shifty was ready with the net when I got it in the right position. You could see the bright colors on the flanks a big purple stripe and gill plates to match. It was fatter than the brown and fighting harder. After a few minutes of working the fish it gave in and Shifty netted the beautiful cutthroat, we determined later that it was a cutbow with its markings, any case it was a beauty. After a couple quick pics I got it back in the water to revive it. Filling its gills with fresh water it swam away back to its holding spot.
We fished for short period of time before moving upstream. I could see the clouds forming and wind was changing. I worked up the bank for a bit and got nothing, so I got on the trail worked my way upstream looking for another hole with risers. I didn't see any rising the fishers that I watched were nymphing. Shifty caught up with me and we tried a couple more holes as we worked upstream. The clouds came in fast and with a load and proceeded to open and dump on us. The rain came down in sheets and we looked for cover from the downpour. We made it back to the truck soaked, tired and happy from our days fishing. The storm continued for a good hour with large hail and rain the entire time.
We headed for home, but we stopped along the way to protect the truck from the hail. We made it to the dam and Shifty wanted a couple pictures. When we stopped we saw the affects of the rain, coming in the form of a flash flood as the water came gushing over the top of the of the cliffs that surrounded the dam. It was awesome watching this from the safety of the truck and glad we were not in the middle of a canyon. But just like it came in it ended fast and abruptly. Shifty headed the great white home and we made it home before night fall.
This trip was great for me, I was elated after catching two nice fish and working the holes. I had fished this river a few times while wading but never really had any success. I know by some standards this wouldn't be a great successful outing only catching a few fish, but for me it was a huge success and I won't hesitate to return to wade the Green River.
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| photo credit Lane Shurtliff |
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| Photo credit Lane Shurtliff |
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