Trip Report: Nice Morning in the Woods

Today I spent a nice morning in the woods. I headed to the Preston area first to fish a stream where I anticipated some hot midge action.

By 9:00 I was heaving my WVF 6 weight at stocker bows. Four or five came to hand in short order. This stream was clear but had a chalky greenish stain in areas deeper than 2 feet or so. Fish were stacked in these areas but didn't feed with aggression.

 A few browns came to hand as I pushed upstream but nothing over 10 or 12 inches. All fish ate a size 16 orange scud. I didn't see any midges in the air and spotted no risers. Around 11:00 I turned back to the car and headed to a stream on the way home in hopes of landing a few bigger fish.

 This is the spot I had in mind! The water ran crystal clear and fish rose to midges sporadically. I landed three on a size 18 griffiths gnat and a few on the pink squirrel of prey before going back to the orange scud.

This was the big fish of the day. He sat tight to the rock outcropping and took the scud as soon as it hit the water. After a short fight he was cpr'd. By around 2:00pm clouds came out and the fish seemed to shut down. I didn't temp the water but I'd guess water temps began to drop around that time. All in all it was a great way to spend my morning.

Trip Report: Wrong Way Hike

 

Today I got up early to hike down a ridge to chase trout. I arrived at the parking are around 9am and hiked for around 45 minutes before reaching the stream. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn. The well manicured atv path that I intended to take would have made a much safer decent into the valley but I lived to fish another day!

I hoped to find fish rising but only noticed sporadic rises throughout the day. Two fish ate the Griffiths Gnat including this averaged sized brownie. I nymphed upstream and tossed a streamer on the way down. Fish ate the pink squirrel of prey and orange scud but didn't turn for the streamer.

 The stream was crystal clear. I didn't check water temps throughout the day but fish ate consistently from approximately 9am to 3pm. The sun cut through a thin layer of clouds making the fish easily spooked so most fish came out of deeper or faster water. Fish scattered in fear whenever I approached long, slick flats.

After a death march back to the car I headed to a nearby stream in search of brookies. I exchanged the 7' 9" three weight for the 9' six weight and I'm glad I did. In a stream small enough to hop across in most areas I landed my two big fish of the day.

This trout measured against my fly rod was approximately 14" long. He ate a drowned size 20 Matt's Midge fished behind an orange scud. This stream had a good stain going and although few fish appeared to notice midges fluttered all around.

This guy was approximately 16" and holds the distinction of big fish of the day! He also took the Matt's Midge. Notice the variation in colors between these two fish. They came from the same spot but vary greatly in color. Air temps hovered around the mid 30's all day. I expected the fishing to shut down as snow melt impacted stream temps but experienced consistent fishing all day.

Stay tuned: I plan on fishing for holdover stocker bows and brownies tomorrow.

Trip Report: Fishin' With Cody

Our friend Cody made the trip out from Montana for a few days. We decided to go for a little drive and cast a line in a cold stream today. Temps were stupid cold but it felt good to get out of the house and the valley with fished was heavenly.

I don't think there's a better place on earth. We arrived on stream around 1pm and fished until 230pm. Snow began to fall before too long and ice covered much of the stream. The open areas looked good for fishin' but catchin' was slow.

 We fished upstream using orange scud and pink squirrel of prey nymphs. We spotted no fish rising and very few scattered upon our approaches. The water was clear but the clouds helped conceal or efforts.

Cody struck out and I landed three little guys. We each had a few missed hook sets which is to be expected this time of year. It looks like temperatures over the next week should warm and fishing will improve throughout the week. We'll probably see some some good midge hatches next weekend!

Trip Report: Cold Water Trout

After weeks and weeks of tying flies and working on rods I made myself free to fish this weekend! I hoped yesterday would have been a little warmer but by noon, at 8 degrees, I went for it. I chose to hit a short easement on the headwaters of a popular local stream. Expecting to find the stream low and clear it ran at a good volume and with a heavier stain. I fished from 1230-330pm and landed a half dozen or so. I didn't take any pictures and kept the fish in the water to avoid exposing them to the bitter cold which would likely damage their gills.

Today a friend and I hit a local hot spot that is usually free of ice even during the coldest periods. The stream was ice free but this stream also had a heavy stain. We fished a little ways and I landed one 12 incher. As we fished up the stain became chocolate milk. We called an audible and headed to a spot with smaller fish but cleaner flows.

This is the key to finding open water and willing trout. It's striking to find healthy greenery in the midst of a frozen landscape. We found fish stacked in areas dense with springs. Most were on the bottom and in deeper pools but I took a few fish from faster and shallow runs.

 The cloudy skies and slight stain on this usually crystal clear water concealed our prowl. This guy and many of his friends took a size 16 orange scud. Others ate a size 14 pink squirrel of prey. For a rod I used a Whitewater Valley 7' 6" three weight. Check out Whitewater Valley Flies for the flies and rod I used today!

One of only two brookies, he was the lone fish to eat a size 20 rusty mayfly nymph. Despite temperatures reaching the low 30's the wind left today feeling much colder than yesterday. 

 Conditions weren't too bad for winter fishing today. Temperatures are on the upswing and fishing should improve throughout the week as long as the area doesn't see any rain or sunny days with temps above the mid 30's. If snow begins to melt into streams water temperatures will drop and fish will become more lethargic. I'm not sure why the streams we checked out today had such a stain to them. We saw no bovine activity and it couldn't have been run off. If anyone has any thoughts let me know!