Stopped by the town park before heading to the golf course just to give the doggies a quick break before being cooped up in the car for a couple of hours. We walked a bit upstream and both of us were able to release one of the local browns. |
After a quick nine holes we made our way to that special place on the river we love so well. The fishing always starts out a bit slow, but when we got to the trough hole, life got better again. Both of us probably released a handful of nice size rainbows 12-18 inches here, and Sue found a brown by the bank as well. |
Interestingly the cutthroats that normally make up perhaps a third of the catch on this stream were noticeably absent today. I released this one ten incher, and that was it for that species. On a happier note the local whiteys were not in much of a feeding mood, and we didn't have to suffer through those difficult releases either. Mine seen further below was the only one of those fish played and released. |
Here Sue's about to unhook another nice rainbow taken along the brushy bank. |
 This was an absolutely wonderful
fat eighteen inch bow - again from the trough hole.
|
 We camped along the South Fork at
night to enjoy the water noises, but to get into some sunshine for breakfast,
drove the car up above the lake, and we ate up there. Frost is on the
ground every night so the van's furnace is a wonderful alternative to simply
being in a down sleeping bag in the back of the Element.
|
 A nice fat whitefish. Happily
it was the only one of the trip.
|
 Here Sue's unhooking a really
wonderful brown she found in some shallow water near the bank. The male
had to be a good 20-21 inches and probably three to four pounds in weight.
|
 Another nice fish for Sue on our
last day on the river - a beautiful female rainbow of 16-18 inches.
Except for a more substantial hatch of midges during the day, not many bugs were present. Once in a while we'd shake a caddis off the willows by the bank, but that was about it for insects. The most effective rig was a leading rubber leg WRS or other type of attractor followed specifically by a #16 red copper john. Sue experimented with a lime colored john for a while, but it simply didn't attract the same attention as did the red fly. We're pretty sad to see the season wind down, so hopefully we'll get at least another couple of days on the water when we get back from Arizona. |