Kissing Suckers....

Memorial Day 2012.   Like so many others I knew that today I had to do some fishing.  With plenty of Honey-Do's to get done I could only sneak/justify a half day on the river.   After some discussion with Jack we decided to sleep in an extra hour and leave at 6am rather than our traditional 5am.  A weekend full of rain and colder weather meant that this morning it was around 40 degrees in the canyon but the sky was clear and we knew it would warm once the sun crested the mountain tops.  Our biggest challenge is we needed something closer to home to make that half day fishing worth it.  Decision was made to try a piece of state land in Peterson that I had heard fishes pretty good.  That is 25 minutes from home so just about right.   On the way up Jack tortured me with an article from Field & Stream magazine about doing the Wyoming Cutt Slam (http://www.cuttslam.com/) which makes me now ask publicly, "When are we making this happen, Jack?"

This stretch of water is between the irrigation diversion in Morgan and the overflow water return in Mountain Green so the water was a bit skinny.  In fact there were several holes that would have fished MUCH better with some more flow and current in them.   In the first hole I fished I popped a little Brown Trout.

We got into some of the slower pools and we found a big bunch of Nerf Sharks (Utah Suckers).   Some took the fly and others just got in the way enough that the hooks found them.   These were all pretty big fish. They are like reeling in a submarine.

I told Jack to kiss it and he did.  This picture went straight to his wife's email.

We even pulled off the super rare "Double Sucker"

At another deeper hole I was able to convince a decent little Bonneville Cutthroat to take a freestone caddis fly.   Thanks to Steve and Sam whom we met on the river today because Sam took this picture for me.  These are the Cutthroat trout that are of major interest to the State biologists.  Some of the Trout Unlimited work we have been talking about is reconnecting the small creeks that feed into the Weber to allow these fish to migrate up them and spawn and then allow the fry to live in those creeks for a fish year or two before they return to the Weber.  It is always a special thrill to catch one and watch it swim away.

Bonneville Cutthroat

 Because we had to be home by noon for Jack to head to work we started making our way back down river before 10am.  The thought was to hit the big holes on the way and see if we could stir a few more trout to hand.  Well that was foiled by every big hole having a fisherman in it!!  Who would think when you pull into a fisherman's access point with 4 cars that making theirs the 5th car is a good idea??  Apparently some do.  We skipped down river faster than we thought so now back at the hole where I fooled the brown trout, Jack and I were engaged in conversation when I flat out missed the set.  I was asleep at the wheel.  I had the fish for a few seconds and then it was free and gone.  Ridicule from across the river was well deserved.  So to redeem myself I shut my mouth and focused.  Two casts later I was locked into battle again.  I was hoping for a Mountain Whitefish to make the day a 4 species catch, but it wasn't to be.  After a few seconds of no head shaking or big runs upriver I figured it was Nerf Shark time.  When this submarine came to hand you just couldn't believe how big it was.  We rough measured it at 25" and it had to be 10 pounds.  As wide across at the head as I can stretch my hand.  Normally I wouldn't pose for a picture with a sucker but this one was picture worthy.  Not a bad end to the morning.

2nd photo of a "Double Sucker"

2011 Ramblings

So 2011 has been a wild and wacky fishing year.  I never fish as much as I would like and this year was really tough because of abnormally wet spring months that followed with HUGE spring run-off that lasted well into July.  Some mild flooding due to all the water.  So my local fishing haunts were literally too dangerous to fish so when we could we would sneak up to Wyoming to hit the "Pork Fork" in search of big rainbows.

On May 27th we hit the river for probably the 4th time.  We had caught fish on previous trips but had not really found the big hogs we were lusting for.  Here are some of the pics from our May trip.

Our next trip to this river was on July 5th which has to be the latest into the year I have ever fished it.  Usually the run off is over and the fish are moving back down river by now but with all the water and snow pack the river has stayed and so did the fish.  In fact as the spawn ended we saw more life on the water than ever before too.   So on July 5th, Jack and I helped setup girls camp for his wife and then headed to the river.  By the time we got there it was noon.  Our plan was to fish until dark or until we were sick of fishing.  Jack's dad and friend Roy were already there and had some numbers already.   From noon until around 3 it was slow but steady.  About a fish every 30 min or so.  We weren't killing them.  I wandered down to the pond and caught my first flush over chub and a Lake Trout.  About that time the fish in the pond were really starting to rise to bugs on the water and I wanted SOOOO bad to catch one of these pigs on a dry fly.  I switched to dries and studied the water.  It looked like caddis and I have seen lots of Golden Stones around so I put on a dry golden stone and an elk hair caddis.   The main run of rising fish was just at the edge of my casting ability.  After about 30 minutes I fooled one.  It was game on.   Landing that 19" bow with an elk hair caddis in its mouth was a good feat when that pond offers plenty of water for the fish to just swim away from you.  It took a while to wear out the fish and bring it to hand.  It was so much fun that I wanted it to keep going, but the fish kept giving my flies the middle finger (or fin).  A few rejections and it was getting a little frustrating.   As the sun was slowly dropping on the skyline I had brought 3 to hand on dries.  Lost 2 others and suffered the pains of trying to find that secret fly that they wouldn't be able to resist.  As the action on the surface slowed I finally noticed a different bug that I previously thought was a golden stone.  I managed to catch one and to my surprise......   Brown Drake mayfly.  HUGE BROWN DRAKE MAYFLY in fact.  How did I miss this???  I started seeing more and more.  As I closely watched I came to realize that most of the rings were the fish backs as they arched to head back down.  I believe they were focusing on the emerging drakes or ones that had drowned.  To add salt to my wound on my ego I didn't even have any Brown drake patterns in my boxes.  I sat on the bank and was feeling ready to call it a day.   That is when Jack started sticking fish in a stretch of water that we normally walk past.  I watched - more dejected than ever - as he caught 3 or 4.  Then he told me to rig back up for nymphs and get my butt back on the water.  I gave in and re-rigged for nymphs.  The fly that Jack told me was his secret......  Copper John.  I laughed...... you know how long it has been since a copper john caught a fish for me???  Forever!!!  But it made sense.  Golden Stones on the water all morning.....  Drakes this afternoon.....  I could see how in fading light this would work.   We stayed until it was too dark to see.  We killed them for the last 90 minutes of daylight.  Including a 23" buck that I brought to hand that made the whole damn thing worth the gas money.  Love this stretch of water.

18" Bow on a dry

I know the bandana is sexy but if you saw all the mosquito bites I had on my hands you would understand why I had to cover my neck!!!  It saved me.

 AND FINALLY.....
A few weeks after our July 5th trip, Jack's friend Roy sent me a text.  It said something about a picture I had to see.  When I finally got the picture it was seriously unbelievable.  This is why we fly fish - for the chance to go to battle with a fish like the one Roy brought to net.  This is probably a flush over fish from the upper reservoir but who the hell cares.  This is fish porn at its finest.  Wish I had been there in person.

Yes... he let it go.  It is still haunting my dreams!!

May 7th - "Pork Fork"

With spring quickly turning to warmer weather we had not made any trips to "Pork Fork" in Wyoming. To remedy this oversight, Jack and I took a Friday and headed up. We knew the water was going to be skinny but were hopeful that the slab rainbows would be there and available.

We got to the river around 8:30 and we were happy to see water flowing from the middle channel of the dam again. We wandered down to the pond area and starting hooking up immediately. We didn't catch a lot but the ones we caught were worth the drive up. If the run off would get going the fishing would get really good.

We started off with a quick double. You be the judge of the fish but mine is the bottom fish. Look how fat they are......
As the day went on we would have moments of quick strikes and then periods of nothing. During one period of hot action, Jack caught a 20-incher and then I caught a 21-incher. Naturally Jack followed that with a 22-incher to once again out class me with the fish. Both of us hooked and lost a few others in the deep pond area below the dam. Here are the pictures.















Here are Jack's 22-incher pics.




























After lunch at the car we decided to leave and hope for run off in the weeks to come. This is one of the coolest places to fish in the spring and I love making the trip.

Weber River - March 20th 2010

We made a quick Saturday trip to our favorite stretch of the Weber river. Jack and I made our way pretty early on and were joined later by Jack's father and our buddy Matty Hansen.

We caught plenty of whitefish (mainly Whitefish Jack) and a few fun browns too. No rainbows that I know about where caught. The water was still down but a little off color from the recent rains. We are still waiting for the run off to get going.

After seeing some fouled hooked Whities I dared Jack to catch one in the mouth. He stirred up the Whitefish mojo magic and caught the next 3 whitefish in the mouth. It took a picture to verify/validate the hook-ups.















Jack always makes up for it with a good fish. Here is the brown he brought to hand.

I caught mostly Whitefish except 2 little browns that took pity on me. Here are some other random pics including the stonefly that was typical of the ones we screened from the river today.
We capped the day with a late lunch at the Spring Chicken Inn in Wanship.

March 9 - Weber River

I decided several days ago that I didn't care if it was a full out blizzard I was going to do some fishing for my birthday. I was in a fishing drought and had not seen the waders since Thanksgiving. It was past time.

I did some work in the morning and made it to the Weber around 3pm. Water is really low and slightly off color. Almost like the water managers have it artificially low trying to hold water for the summer. The off color-ness was most likely due to the rain/sleet that had been falling most of the day in varying degrees of severity.

I did some screening and was surprised to see a lot of big Yellow stoneflies with a mix of smaller Brown stoneflies and thousands of midge larva. I did not note even one caddis or sow bug and I thought that was really odd. I did see some blue wings in the screen but not as many as I hoped. In fact I thought the weather might have the blue wings in a little hatch but it never happened.

I went about to fishing and quickly picked up a small (10") rainbow on a zebra midge. After that it went totally silent. I switched rigging numerous times and even re-screened to confirm what I thought should be happening. But alas... nothing.

As the sunlight faded I began working my way back upriver to the car. Hopes of some browns at dusk were being dashed at every hole. I was figuring that I was just rusty and out of the fishing mojo as I made it to the final hole before I would leave the river. Like serendipity shining down through the sprinkling rain - it happened. The take was almost impossible to see but I had been focused on setting EVERY movement my indicator was making. I thought I had a Whitefish because the fish ran deep and shook its head. After a minute or so I thought perhaps I had the fish foul hooked because I just couldn't turn the fish towards me.

After another minute the fish tired and I stepped out to make the netting. First glance at the fish and I knew I had it in the mouth and boy did I have a good Brownie. It took 2 more tries to get him in the net and it was birthday wish come true.

I found a patch of snow for the picture (since I was alone), and a quick measure. I think the pictures speak for themselves.














In almost the same spot last year I caught a nearly as big Cutthroat, so I think the Weber is doing okay. It goes through some tough low water at times but you can see how the Blue Ribbon status of the middle section is beginning to pay off. Naturally this pig went right on back so I can fool him again another day.

In the mouth baby......

Ice Fishing with Davis

So I sent the wife and daughter to Louisiana for a family wedding and I was home having a boys weekend. On Saturday, January 9th, I had an offer from a friend to do some ice fishing. This isn't my normal area of expertise so having a buddy with some extra equipment is pretty handy. When I asked Davis if he wanted to go ice fishing he quickly responded "yes..... and dad.... can I use that 'Cars' fishing pole in the shed?" Davis already has a Shrek fishing pole but the little thinker was quick to find an excuse to need to open that Cars fishing kit that I had stuffed in the rafters of the shed. I guess any good fisherman needs his summer equipment and winter equipment.

So Steed's Pond is my old stomping grounds. Plenty of time was spent here just being a boy. You know ... chasing frogs, swimming, fishing, smashing pennies on the adjacent train tracks and just getting dirty. Good times, but in all the years of living nearby I have never ice fished there.

I was hearing from neighbors and friends that the DWR had dumped a bunch of Rainbow trout and Brook trout into the pond that came from the hatchery they use for the community ponds. Also the rumor was that they were having good success through the ice.

So Davis and I dropped off Garrett with Grandma & Grandpa and we hit the ice with Jack.

For about 2 1/2 hours we fished and while it was a little slow, Davis was a great fishing buddy. He stuck to it and was quite dedicated. After missing a fish he got pretty mad at himself because he really wanted to "see that fish". Convinced of course that it was the "big one". I think Davis caught 4 fish and we all missed a bunch too. Can't wait to try it again soon, guess I need to buy a few ice flies for the next time.

Fly Fishing Net Retrofit

I decided after some research and blog reading that it was time for me to either get a new fishing net with a rubber mesh or somehow retrofit my current net with the rubber mesh.

The problem was finding someone who sold the rubber netting for a price that wasn't sky high. Most of the online sources I checked had just the netting for $50 plus and that just seemed silly considering a new net would be anywhere from $60 - $120 and most of the work in building a net comes from the wood bending and gluing of the frame. I finally heard that a fly shop in Salt Lake had the nets for $25 and I went to check it out. Fish Tech Outfitters is a really nice shop too and while I don't frequent there (45 min from home) I do appreciate a good shop. Sure enough they had the Brodin nets for $25.

Before I really knew what I was doing I cut the old mesh off my net and was fiddling with how to connect the new rubber mesh. One of the websites I had read talked about using the white cord from an old set of blinds. It just so happened that I had a trashed set of blinds out in my shed. I cut the cord out and I was in business. I grabbed my bobbin threader from my tying kit and I was ready.

Being a computer guy I had a bunch of velcro straps that we use for cable management and I used those to hold the net in the approximate location for the stringing. I made one adjustment to the net and cut off the very top ring of mesh to give me a little bit better fit. I started stringing it up using the bobbin threader to pull the cord through the holes in the net. About 1/2 through the bobbin threader busted and while that sucked it forced me to think of something else to use and I found some old monofilament in a tackle box and that worked well enough to finish the stringing.

The net has been out on the river many times since and I have loved it. Not having my hooks get caught up in the nylon mesh is fantastic and being a better net for the fish is a bonus too. If you fly fish or trout fish, you should consider making the move to a rubber net. As a bonus - the clear mesh is supposed to be harder for the fish to see in the water.