Creek Fishing an Old Favorite

The other day, I tried an old favorite. This creek was destroyed a few years ago due to fires and floods. It had some of the best Brown Trout fishing in the state. This is my first time back since the devastation. Join me for a minute.

 

 

Trail 121 and Fly Fishing

A couple weeks ago I decided to break out the fly rod and do a trail ride in an area I hadn't been to in a long time. The trail is in the Wasatch back and not too far from home. I took the Mule on this trip to give it a well-needed workout on the trail. I didn't get an early start and really didn't know how the trail or the stream was going to be. The last time I was up there it was washed out from winter run-off. I headed up the canyon and was on the trail by 10:00am.

At the trailhead the road was smooth but as I progressed up the canyon it got more rocky. This trail is in the easy category and most vehicles can navigate it without a problem. Good driving and choice of lines missing the larger of the rocks a car can make it. There are a few stream crossings but nothing too deep.

I arrived at the spot I was looking for and parked. It was a widened area of the road and there are beaver ponds next to it. I set up camp and had lunch, it was about 11:30. It took a little time to get to the spot, with filming and taking pictures along the way. Had lunch in the quiet canyon and listening to nature. After lunch, I got my 3 wt. fly rod set up and put on my hip waders.

The beaver ponds were very murky and filled in quite a bit from the last time I was there. I couldn't see any fish and moved around quickly trying to get better angles and more line out. It has been a couple seasons since I cast flies and it showed. The backcast and the forward cast was ugly, to say the least. My fly was slamming into the water, if there were fish in the ponds I know I spooked them quickly. Knowing this though I was watching intently and didn't see anything move. I kept moving downstream and found some moving, cleaner water, but still no fish. I fished for about an hour and decided to call it a day.

No fish were caught, but it had been a great trail ride and a good place to have lunch. The fly rod will be used more often, I forgot how much fun it really is to cast. Hopefully, catch a few fish as well.

Wyoming Fishing Episode II

This week Shifty and I went to Wyoming looking for some big rainbow and cutthroat trout. We fished this same area last year at the same time, we did it with Jimmy Kofoed as our guide, this year we went to try our luck on our own. We loaded up at 4:30 am and picked up Shifty's friend David and made our way to Evanston where we picked up license and supplies. We made it to our destination by 9 am and were on the water.

Fly Fishing the Green River 2017 - Day 2

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.

Fly Fishing the Green River 2017 - day one

This week Shifty and I went to the Green River, one of the premier, if not the premier fly fishing rivers in the lower 48. Only a couple hours from home, I don't fish it enough. Shifty not being a fly fisher in heart he always goes with me when I need a fix. He hadn't been to this area of the state since his teenage years, I on the other hand fished it with my sons last year with a guide. Which is a great way to fish the river, they know how, where, when and what to fish at all times. Plus the boat lanes are always productive. This trip we waded the river, Shifty did his homework and got all the "hot" flies and info from one of his co-workers that fish the river every week.

Fly Fishing on Mammoth Reservoir

Tuesday morning, I met up with Jason Golly and threw some loops at Mammoth Reservoir. Jason is a good friend and we had planned on getting together all summer but with the multiple interruptions we both had this was our summer fly fishing trip. We met at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon and made our way to Fairview. Stopped and picked up a little breakfast and supplies and drove through Fairview canyon to Skyline Drive arriving at Mammoth around 7:30 am. 

25 degrees is what the temp. read in the truck. We brought our gear to the front of the truck and readied ourselves for a cold fishing morning. We were floating today, I had my pontoon and Jason was in his U-boat. Both of thinking, this is a little crazy, but we were excited to fish. So we geared up and got as many layers on as possible and readied ourselves for the plunge.

Fly Fishing the Waters of Wyoming

Day two of our Wyoming fly fishing trip actually started off Wednesday evening. Our guide contacted us and we finally got back to him and texted a few times back and forth getting all the particulars down. But when he said he would meet us at 7:45 am Shifty and I thought well half the day is over by then and we aren’t going to catch anything. A phone call followed. Jimmy Kofoed, our guide, answered the phone and we discussed the trip for a few minutes. He told us that we didn’t need to arrive any earlier but he did agree to meet us at 7:30 am. He told us “it’s going off and that fishing would be great.” Shifty and I both thought, yeah right. We went back to the hotel hit the hot tub and crashed after watching Smokey and the Bandit.

Thursday morning came quicker than we thought. We woke up at 6:00 am, had breakfast at the hotel got our stuff packed and made our way to the rendezvous point. We met Jimmy at the appointed time and followed him and his dog Shadow to the water. We arrived at the put in around 8:00 am and readied ourselves for the day on the water. We watched as Jimmy set up our poles and readied his boat for the day. We talked and got to know one another including his first mate Shadow a very well behaved dog.

Small Flies and Small Streams

Thursday morning was a blur at 4:30 am when I loaded up and headed for Shifty’s place and met him for our flyfishing trip into the southwest Uinta’s and Uinta Basin. We made our way to Heber and stopped to pick up breakfast before heading into the backcountry of this pristine area.

The road was rough and dusty to our first stop on this flyfishing day. We found a pull off and readied ourselves for the stream. Putting on waders and stringing our fly poles. We started off with elk hair caddis and royal wulff flies. I quickly changed to a mosquito after seeing fish feeding and seeing what they were eating. The change was the right move, I got hits immediately and couldn’t hook up one of them. Did I mention it had been a while since I worked my fly rod? I felt a little out of practice at this point and they stopped hitting it after a few more casts so I moved up stream to a beaver dam catch pool LOADED with fish. Again hit after hit no hook set, I was thinking to myself well you suck, but then I checked my hook and it was bent up into the body of the fly…..AHHHH! I fixed it and on the next cast a nice little Cutthroat trout came to visit my net. After that I caught three more beautiful Cutthroat trout, and then, the next cast one hit and my entire leader with the only true mosquito pattern I had was gone. I watched the nice sized trout hit it and then disappear into the depth of the catch pool. Shifty came up to the hole as I was re-tying my leader and fly and he took a couple shots at getting it to return but no luck. I tied on a gnat pattern with similar color and pattern and tossed it few times getting a couple swing byes but nothing. I moved up stream and Shifty stayed and played in the pool, he changed out to a nymph pattern and got a couple Cutthroat out of the pool.

Upstream I started working the gnat pattern and could see the fish feeding. I worked my way up the bank as stealthfully as I could, but still spooked a dozen or so fish in the crystal clear water we were fishing. I set my line a few times checking my range and backcast and then went for it. Moved up again spooking a few fish but what I was after was still feeding. In the shadows of the willows it was quite a sight to watch as they poked through the surface of the water and fed on tiny morsels of insect life. I cast once into the upstream and watched as my fly was engulfed by a feeding cutthroat. This was a nice sized fish for the stream we were fishing and I was happy to see them liking my offering. After releasing it I cast again and again watched it get taken by yet another cutt of the same size. Netting him I let out a, woot! To let Shifty know I was on them. Third cast, what do they say about the third, it’s a charm, this one turned out to be. I watched as the fly was slurped up by a fish and then the fight was on. Running 6x leader which is 3lb leader I was trying not to horse it by any means. I thought alright a nice fighter, it darted and dashed side to side, then with one big run, into the undercut it went. I thought great lost that one but kept it tight and pulled the fish clear only to have race full speed between my legs. Doing a pirouette on one foot and trying to keep the line tight throwing my hand high into the air only to put my line into the willow above me and get the line tangled, again I thought great lost it. I didn’t lose it though and had enough pull to keep the line taut and ripping the willow half apart and leaves and branches wrapped into the line I kept fighting the fish. She broke again, this time for a boulder and debris submerged behind me. I kept good tension on the line and worked her out of the hole she found. She swung upstream and tried to snap the line but it didn’t give. I coaxed her into the net and that is when I realized I had a beauty of a fish. Filling the net completely and extending beyond its handle, I gave a loud Woot! I called for Shifty to come and see the fish. A very nice female cutthroat. He filmed it for a minute as I unhooked her in the net. I reached down to hold her up for a good shot and she had one last thought and splashed me with her tail as she swam to the bottom of the stream and pinned herself under a boulder. It was a great fight and one I will remember. Definitely my fish of the summer!

I cast a few more times up stream and landed a couple more fish and then the leader broke on a hit and I decided to call it for the morning. On the way back to the truck we fished a bend right below the parking area and got nothing but I was still smiling from the battle of the nice cutthroat I landed.

We loaded and headed south into Hana, a small town in foothills of the Uinta range and had lunch at the Hana Café. A nice hometown café with good food and friendly service. We made our plans for the afternoon session of our day as we ate lunch. Afterwards we visited the mercantile across the street and seen walls full of deer! Very cool. We loaded and headed for our next destination. Strawberry River.

Going up the canyon toward Strawberry Pinnacles. I had forgotten how cool that canyon is. I haven’t ventured into it for years. The river was running crystal clear and fast in the narrow sections and quick in the wider sections. We went quite a way up the canyon before Shifty asked where we were stopping, I said that we had passed a number of good areas already and I just thought he wanted to see what was at the end of the road since he had never been there. He pulled over and turned around laughing. We stopped at Timber Canyon turnoff and started fishing the river in both directions. Shifty went upstream and I went down. I hiked about a mile downstream along the canyon wall and then made my way back to the river to fish it. I fished the stretch back to the bridge. Hitting every hole and ripple along the way without success of any kind. I swapped out flies a few times but got nothing not even a chase. When I got back to the bridge Shifty wasn’t there, I figured he was still fishing upstream. A minute or two later I heard him on the bridge and looked up to see him taking pics. He had been done for a while he said, but did get a fish in the first hole we saw, he had gotten out his spinning rod and used a jointed rapala to catch it. I made a few more cast up under the bridge and didn’t get a turn so we called it a day.

Today was a spectacular day! I caught the fish of the summer for myself, it took out the nice Smallmouth Bass I had gotten earlier in the summer. What made it was the fight and challenge of getting it in the net and it was nice sized for the stream we were fishing. Till next time “Keep It Bent!”

All photo's courtesy of "Shifty Outdoors"

Video will be posted this week watch for updates.

Fly Fishing Small Streams

Thursday morning was a blur at 4:30 am when I loaded up and headed for Shifty’s place and met him for our flyfishing trip into the southwest Uinta’s and Uinta Basin. We made our way to Heber and stopped to pick up breakfast before heading into the backcountry of this pristine area.

The road was rough and dusty to our first stop on this flyfishing day. We found a pull off and readied ourselves for the stream. Putting on waders and stringing our fly poles. We started off with elk hair caddis and royal wulff flies. I quickly changed to a mosquito after seeing fish feeding and seeing what they were eating. The change was the right move, I got hits immediately and couldn’t hook up one of them. Did I mention it had been a while since I worked my fly rod? I felt a little out of practice at this point and they stopped hitting it after a few more casts so I moved up stream to a beaver dam catch pool LOADED with fish. Again hit after hit no hook set, I was thinking to myself well you suck, but then I checked my hook and it was bent up into the body of the fly…..AHHHH! I fixed it and on the next cast a nice little Cutthroat trout came to visit my net. After that I caught three more beautiful Cutthroat trout, and then, the next cast one hit and my entire leader with the only true mosquito pattern I had was gone. I watched the nice sized trout hit it and then disappear into the depth of the catch pool. Shifty came up to the hole as I was re-tying my leader and fly and he took a couple shots at getting it to return but no luck. I tied on a gnat pattern with similar color and pattern and tossed it few times getting a couple swing byes but nothing. I moved up stream and Shifty stayed and played in the pool, he changed out to a nymph pattern and got a couple Cutthroat out of the pool.

Upstream I started working the gnat pattern and could see the fish feeding. I worked my way up the bank as stealthfully as I could, but still spooked a dozen or so fish in the crystal clear water we were fishing. I set my line a few times checking my range and backcast and then went for it. Moved up again spooking a few fish but what I was after was still feeding. In the shadows of the willows it was quite a sight to watch as they poked through the surface of the water and fed on tiny morsels of insect life. I cast once into the upstream and watched as my fly was engulfed by a feeding cutthroat. This was a nice sized fish for the stream we were fishing and I was happy to see them liking my offering. After releasing it I cast again and again watched it get taken by yet another cutt of the same size. Netting him I let out a, woot! To let Shifty know I was on them. Third cast, what do they say about the third, it’s a charm, this one turned out to be. I watched as the fly was slurped up by a fish and then the fight was on. Running 6x leader which is 3lb leader I was trying not to horse it by any means. I thought alright a nice fighter, it darted and dashed side to side, then with one big run, into the undercut it went. I thought great lost that one but kept it tight and pulled the fish clear only to have race full speed between my legs. Doing a pirouette on one foot and trying to keep the line tight throwing my hand high into the air only to put my line into the willow above me and get the line tangled, again I thought great lost it. I didn’t lose it though and had enough pull to keep the line taut and ripping the willow half apart and leaves and branches wrapped into the line I kept fighting the fish. She broke again, this time for a boulder and debris submerged behind me. I kept good tension on the line and worked her out of the hole she found. She swung upstream and tried to snap the line but it didn’t give. I coaxed her into the net and that is when I realized I had a beauty of a fish. Filling the net completely and extending beyond its handle, I gave a loud Woot! I called for Shifty to come and see the fish. A very nice female cutthroat. He filmed it for a minute as I unhooked her in the net. I reached down to hold her up for a good shot and she had one last thought and splashed me with her tail as she swam to the bottom of the stream and pinned herself under a boulder. It was a great fight and one I will remember. Definitely my fish of the summer!

I cast a few more times up stream and landed a couple more fish and then the leader broke on a hit and I decided to call it for the morning. On the way back to the truck we fished a bend right below the parking area and got nothing but I was still smiling from the battle of the nice cutthroat I landed.

We loaded and headed south into Hana, a small town in foothills of the Uinta range and had lunch at the Hana Café. A nice hometown café with good food and friendly service. We made our plans for the afternoon session of our day as we ate lunch. Afterwards we visited the mercantile across the street and seen walls full of deer! Very cool. We loaded and headed for our next destination. Strawberry River.

 

Going up the canyon toward Strawberry Pinnacles. I had forgotten how cool that canyon is. I haven’t ventured into it for years. The river was running crystal clear and fast in the narrow sections and quick in the wider sections. We went quite a way up the canyon before Shifty asked where we were stopping, I said that we had passed a number of good areas already and I just thought he wanted to see what was at the end of the road since he had never been there. He pulled over and turned around laughing. We stopped at Timber Canyon turnoff and started fishing the river in both directions. Shifty went upstream and I went down. I hiked about a mile downstream along the canyon wall and then made my way back to the river to fish it. I fished the stretch back to the bridge. Hitting every hole and ripple along the way without success of any kind. I swapped out flies a few times but got nothing not even a chase. When I got back to the bridge Shifty wasn’t there, I figured he was still fishing upstream. A minute or two later I heard him on the bridge and looked up to see him taking pics. He had been done for a while he said, but did get a fish in the first hole we saw, he had gotten out his spinning rod and used a jointed rapala to catch it. I made a few more cast up under the bridge and didn’t get a turn so we called it a day.

Today was a spectacular day! I caught the fish of the summer for myself, it took out the nice Smallmouth Bass I had gotten earlier in the summer. What made it was the fight and challenge of getting it in the net and it was nice sized for the stream we were fishing. Till next time “Keep It Bent!”

All photo's courtesy of "Shifty Outdoors"

Video will be posted this week watch for updates.

Green River Fly Fishing

The boys and I decided this year to take a flow trip down the infamous Green River for fly fishing. We left Friday afternoon and after getting some supplies we reached our destination of Dutch John Resort. Where when we pulled up we found it locked up. After calling the after hours number, they came to the front of the store and let us in. We were planning on having dinner at the cafe since it was part of our package and luckily they hadn't turned the grills off. They took our order to go and we got our key to the "Cabin Lite". As we waited two more customers showed up to check in and get dinner as well so they let us stay and eat our dinner in the cafe. We finished up and went to our cabin. The cabin was okay, not what we expected for a "resort". The distinction of "Cabin Lite" means lite on everything it had 4 walls and a ceiling, a small fridge and microwave. The heater was a small plug in space heater that we had to find a working outlet to run it. The shower and bathroom was across the yard and the facilities left a lot to be desired, they were filthy! Filthy enough we were skeptical to even use the facilities. They did not clean them and when we woke up we decided to shower when we got home later that night they were that bad. We were hoping that it wasn't a sign of our entire trip.

After checking into our "cabin" we went fishing on Flaming Gorge at Cedar Springs recreation area. We spent the rest of the evening fishing from the bank getting a couple strikes but nothing to the bank. The evening was perfect and the sunset was superb. We went back to the cabin and played pitch until early morning. The alarm came quick.

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning we met up with our guides at the station. Rod and Spencer, Rod we had run with before a number of years ago, Spencer was our first time with him. We loaded and got on our way. 8:30 am we were on the river, Jim and Parker with Spencer and Rogan and I with Rod. Jim and Rogan had the nose of each boat. Spencer had his boat down stream quickly and Rod banked us while he set up our rigs. We started casting about 9:00 am the other boat stayed a little ways ahead for most of the morning. We fished until 1:00 pm and then stopped and had lunch together. Lunch was a good cheeseburger on the grill and some of Rod's pickled jalapeno's.

 

 

 

 

The morning stretch landed us probably 30 fish, browns and rainbows. Rogan landing landing more than me. Parker and Jim and had about the same success with Parker leading the count on their boat. The fishing was very difficult with winds sustained at around 15-20 mph all morning and gust up to 30 mph. We had a difficult time getting our lines to lay down where we wanted them to. We also had a few tangles due to the wind I had more than my fair share of tangles that's for sure. We persisted with the help of our guides and still put a good number in the boats. The water was stained for the most part and nothing was on top of the water. Making it a nymph kind of day. Watching strike indicators and hearing Rod holler out "Set it, set it, set it" and then say "Well I guess we didn't want that one anyway" was the words of the day......LOL. Meaning we could have had a number more in the boat. Oh well we were having fun!!

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we covered ground a little faster. The upper stretch has more holes than the lower section. Rod would run through a section of the river as long as we had hits or caught something. Then he would move to the next hole. The river was loaded with boats so we had to wait for holes to open up at times. The lower half was fun and bigger fish were being landed. Jim caught the catch of the day with a 21 inch brown trout weighting in at 3 lbs. He was happy but I guess not nearly as happy as Spencer their guide. He moved them to the bank and seen the big brown trout roll and jumped out of the boat grabbing both rod and net making sure this fish was landed. Parker and Jim said it was quite the site. Rogan caught the fish of the day on our boat with a nice 19 inch 3 lb rainbow trout.

We docked at Little Hole seven miles down stream from where stated that morning at 4:00 pm. We were pretty tired from standing casting and fighting the wind all day but still happy for the adventure we had. We parted our ways with our guides at the station and loaded up the mule and made our way home talking about our day and sharing stories of each boats catches. Spencer was a good guide for the boys, Rod was good for us as well, however he was worn out by the end of the day. We won't be doing the Dutch John Resort again it was not worth the money we spent.