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.

Labor Day Weekend - Part 2

So now much later I will add part 2 on our Labor Day Weekend trip to Montana. Part #1 is here.

Day 3 - The plan was to hit the Gallatin near Big Sky, MT in a stretch that Bill and Tom had fished in February or March. I had never been over to Big Sky and the scenery did not disappoint. We started the day meandering the various fly shops in West Yellowstone. The shop folks said there was some dry fly action to be had near the river edges with pine trees. I had never fished the Pine Moth, only read about it. We hit a stretch just past the main part of Big Sky. Wet wading again since the weather was so nice.

The fishing was pretty terrible really. I did see some really small fish rising in the edge water but they were taking dries a lot smaller than a pine moth. We fished pretty hard for a couple of hours with fish to the net. I had one foul hooked fish that popped free after a few seconds. That was it. Good news is that it was a beautiful day to be out fishing. Later at the fly shop in Big Sky we were told that we were probably fishing way too big.

This is why fly fishing is so appealing. It can be forgiving and fast fishing one day and then kick your ass the next. While the later is not my favorite thing, you hope that you learn something that will make you a better fisherman.















Day 4 - Beaverhead and journey home
Our last day had us headed over the mountain to Dillon, MT and storied Beaverhead river. Again this was a river I had never fished, but had heard many friends talk about it.

We put in at what I think is the 2nd boat launch point right under the bridge of I-15. Not knowing where I was going I decided to work upriver towards the dam. Tom went with me and Bill went down river. Since Bill was the only one to ever fish this river I guess we should have followed him but I like the exploring part of a new river.

I'm not sure my heart was in it this day. I was fighting a slight headache but was hoping the fishing would be just the medicine I needed. I saw lots of really good water but no good strikes to talk of. Went from nymphs to swinging some streamers in hopes of stirring some browns but couldn't make anything budge. After a while I was happy to sit in the shade of the bridge and talk to a couple of ladies from the east coast who were in Montana as part of a women fly fishing group.

We headed for home around 6pm and made our 4 hour trip back to the land of jobs and family.

















I had a really nice trip. Any fisherman will tell you that September can be tough fishing but we had a pretty good trip all things considered. I will say that the Ruby and Beaverhead have my attention now and I would really like to float the Beaverhead and see the water.

Labor Day, Sept 4th-7th, Montana

I've been home from this trip now a couple weeks and I've been kicking myself for not blogging this earlier so time to catch up.

Spent the Labor Day weekend fishing in Montana. The original plan was Slough Creek in Yellowstone but some road closures in the park mixed with not great reports made it a tough sell. So the decision was made to drive 4 hrs rather than 7 hrs and stay on the Madison River at the Slide Inn. Four rivers in four days and 3 were rivers I had never fished before. On the trip, besides myself, was Bill and Tom. I had never fished with Tom before so it was great to spend some time on the river with him.

The Slide Inn is run by Kelly Gallop who probably spends as many days on the Madison as just about anyone. He runs a great fly shop and has cabins to rent or even some RV spaces. I've been in the shop many times before but this was our first time staying in the cabins. The only real downside to staying at the Slide Inn is that you are out on your own. It is also a nice upside though, but if you want to go out to dinner you are quite a ways away from Ennis or West Yellowstone. Luckily we had planned on grilling a couple times and we found a grill to use. The cabins are adequate but the lack of a TV was sort of a downer considering how much we paid.

I was supposed to drive my Suburban on this adventure, however the day before our trip I was getting the oil changed when the technician told me I had a crack in my tire rim. My Suburban has custom alloy rims with slim tires from the previous owner and sure enough I had a crack all the way across one of the spokes. Not knowing how bad it was I took it to my "tire guy" and had them pull the wheel and sure enough it was broken all the way through. With no way to drive it and a spare that is an inch different in size we had to do some scrambling. Luckily Bill could take his van and saved the trip; Thanks Bill for driving and Liz for letting us steal her ride. Update: it took 13 days to find and get my hands on a matching rim but finally we can drive the 'Burb again.

So upon arriving at Reynolds Pass bridge we parked and hit the wade only section of the Madison. To call it slow is doing it a favor. We later heard from trusty sources that while the Madison had fished great all year it had slowed considerably as the fish were prepping for the fall runs. We caught a few fish - mostly small - and I managed to not fall in which was nice too. My best pattern was a fly I bought at the flyshop in Walmart in Idaho Falls. Yes I typed that right. It was orange bodied, prince nymph looking fly with a soft hackle collar. All I know is that it worked for some dang reason when nothing else would.















One Brown I caught. The rest were even smaller rainbows. It was kiddie day on the Maddy.
Let's throw in some random photos here. (No pics of the steaks Tom cooked)

















Ok - Day 2 - We journeyed over to Ennis, MT with intentions of fishing the Ruby River. Reports we read and people we talked to said the Ruby was off color and not fishing well. That may be true if you are a die-hard dry fly fisherman. When you a nymph-er and you hear off color river your mind gets excited at all the options. We drove over to the river and finally decided on the Coy Brown river access, which isn't well marked because the current landowners are a titch onry. Luckily Bill knew the way and we quickly rigged and decided to wet wade the day away. Bill and Tom headed upriver to some water Bill had fished earlier in the year. I decided to go down and explore. The first good hole I came to did not disappoint. I quickly had 3 to the net in about 20 minutes.














Man I suck at self portraits!!! After going down river a ways I had 9 to the net and a few other hits and misses. Most took a bright red Larva Lace Worm pattern with 2 taking a prince dropper. After a while I started wondering where the guys were at so I started back up river. Apparently Bill and Tom had a small run in with a land owner and they yielded and moved. We stopped for some lunch and went and checked a different access but the water was so skinny we decided to go back to Coy Brown. Bill and Tom walked down river a ways and I fished my way down to them. When I caught up I had 7 more and would end the day with 18 or so. The Ruby is a great little river. I caught all browns and one whitefish; but the browns were healthy and fat and beautiful. One notable fish that I thought might go 20" but when measured I roughly got 19 but still.... healthy and fat. Best flies were the Larva Lace Worm and Red dirty worm with 3 or 4 on a Prince.




























That night as a matter of coincidence they were having a Fly Fishing Festival in Ennis, MT. We made it back to town for the drawing on a drift boat and caught the end of the festivities. We had dinner at the sports bar in Ennis.

I'll post Days 3 & 4 on a separate post.......

July 8th 2009 - Weber River

I guess some days you just need to have your butt kicked to remember that fly fishing can be hard and the fish finicky. Today Jack and I pulled off the "Drive then Fly" day. Jack picked me up at 7am to hit the links and chase some golf balls around. Funny side note: while hitting a few on the range we got circled around by a bird. On the 3rd pass I realized this was an exotic bird. On the 4th pass it landed on my shoulder!! So I got a birdie before we hit the first hole!! Anyway, I went right up on my hand and I noticed it was banded. I'm guessing it was a cockatiel that flew out a window. Jack and I devised a cage from 2 range ball buckets and took it to the club house and called animal control. Here is a link to a picture of the bird. http://twitpic.com/9p02o Hope the bird found its way back home.

So after 9 holes we headed to Kamas for lunch at the Spring Chicken and then some fishing. So the fishing wasn't awesome this afternoon and we left the river around 6pm so we probably missed the evening hatch, but we put some in the net. Jack naturally had a mess of whitefish and he wouldn't say how many were foul hooked...... Anyway we both got a couple nice Browns so here are the pics. Can't say any one pattern really worked today but as a surprise Jack said he caught at least 3 on a rainbow glo-bug. No "hook in mouth" witnesses so we are taking his word for it. Still that is really late for eggs to work. My only thought was perhaps the Utah suckers are spawning? Don't really know.