Thanks to the help and suggestions of others here in response to my prior post, and a visit to CA with a fist full of flies, my youngest and I and my buddy were all able to get our first trout OTF:smiley: Thanks guys!
We couldnt have asked for better weather, and the rains last week seemed to really clear out the stream of leaves and debris. I learned a lot, and got to experience the cause and effect of âdrag-free driftâ, etc. We did spend a lot of time freeing flies from tree branches, snags, etc, and I am sure we spooked way more trout than we ever knew.
Beautiful scenery
Our first day, we drove around looking for spots to try, and I saw an old-timer sitting in the back of his car with waders half off. I pulled over and we got to talking. He had caught 7 trout nearby and we compared fly boxes and he gave me some valuable tips on what to look for and where the trout were likely to be. I thanked him and walked up the bank and made a few casts with a yellow/green eggsack fly that TooBusy recommended, and Bam, fish on! Landed him, took some pics, released him and went back to thank said old-timer with a big handshake and smiles all around. He politely asked me and my youngest if we would help him get his waders off because of his bad legs. We did, and he was very thankful.
My first Trout OTF
My buddy Ken got a trout in the mean time also (same fly).
My youngest was disappointed because he didnt get a trout, and was frustrated trying to cast with so many obstructions around. That night, all he could talk about was wanting to get his first rainbow tomorrowâŚ
We hit a spot that TB suggested and we could see the trout holding near a rock. My boy was determined. By now he was doing great with a sidearm cast and actually doing some mending. I went down to the next
CONGRATS!!!
Beautiful fall colored brookie your son is holding. I love the white striped orange fins
I see the Corps has been at work again based on the background in your pic. I havenât been up there in 18 months or so. Looking forward to a trip during Thanksgiving break.
There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Kenneth Grahame
agreed, that thing is PLUMP!! beautiful. brook trout generally fight alot better than 'bows but get outcompeted on the food dept and are generally only found in higher elevations where they can live w/o the nonnative bows outeatin em. I bet he was pumped! great catch
Thanks guys! In general two things really impressed me. 1. How strong these little fish are. They are really meaty and fight hard. I can only imagine what it would be like to catch one of the big ones I could see. The old timer pointed to a pool and said there was an 18"er in there âbut no one can catch itâ 2. How amazing these fish camoflage into the brook. In a stony section there is no way to know they are there or not. You release them and they disappear into the surroundings.
Tommy, how can you tell the COE has been there? Do they place the rocks into the stair-steps?
All those boulders in the background were placed. Iâm not sure exactly where you are. It looks like the riffle just above the ranger only bridge. There used to be a problem with erosion in there every spring. They put a bunch of boulders on the bank, but there werenât any stairstep falls, just a nice long riffle.
There was a time that I could close my eyes and walk that stream from the park boundary to the bridge at Bullhead
There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Kenneth Grahame
Yes I think you are right, its just above a bridge big enough for a car but with a chain across it. Its also right across from the backpack camping area. The other pics are from just below the Bullhead confluence as you suggested. We all are definitely going to go back there. Its a great place to go camping - and fishing
Nice shots, glad you had a good trip! I was just thinking the other day about how much fun it is to catch fish in swift water. Even the little guys know how to turn their body into the current and use the flow to their advantage, and when they get downstream of you, they definitely have the upper hand. I havenât fished a stream since August and Iâm dying to get up there. The fall is the best. Again, glad you got into some trout otf. Did you cast any dries?
1720 Key West Sportsman
115 Mercury 4 stroke
-or-
1997 Honda Civic 200k+
My Own 2 Feet
Thatâs the place. There were a few decent sized rocks. Anywhere from a basketball to a beachball in there and a really nice undercut bank.
Best trout day of my life was Good Friday 1993 in the below Bullhead. I stood right where your son is standing and pulled close to 100 fish from that one section. Got tired there so move to the based of the fall in the gorge behind him for another 50 or so.
*BTW Donât try to climb down that fall. Go to the road and work your way down the hillside.
There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Kenneth Grahame
Yiman, thanks I did cast some dries but no takers. At dusk on the first day we did see some trout rise and thats when I tried but no dice.
TB, LOL I know! I almost killed myself on a boulder, I slipped and started to slide and spider-monkeyed myself back on the rock. I looked back and my oldest son just smirked. Ha Ha could have been badâŚ
Right on, they definitely can be finicky, but i guess thatâs part of the draw of fishing, you just never know how the fish will act and what you will see on any given day. I hope you enjoyed yourself enough to go again. If youâre ever looking for any recommendations on some new places to try hit me up I got all kinds of spots from WNC to the Rockies.
1720 Key West Sportsman
115 Mercury 4 stroke
-or-
1997 Honda Civic 200k+
My Own 2 Feet
Yiman, where have you fished in the Rockies? I guided this past summer in Aspen and have fished the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan, Colorado, Gunnison and a few other rivers
I guided the past three seasons out of Park City, UT. My main home rivers were the Provo and Weber river systems. I didnât really make it into CO much. I spent a lot of time fishing all over UT, WY (lots in Yellowstone), ID, and a bit in MT. I canât wait till I finish school. I am going to get back out there sometime, I had really got into stillwater fishing alpine lakes before I left. Donât think I want to guide anymore though ⌠I want to work to fish, not fish for work⌠I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, just want to spent more time on the water for myself. I have big plans for some CO exploring in the future though. I want to hit the Gunnison, the Yampa, the Colorado, and some high mountain wilderness areas. Done a fair amount of research already, and read every book of Gierach, so in a way I feel Iâve been to some of his haunts already.
1720 Key West Sportsman
115 Mercury 4 stroke
-or-
1997 Honda Civic 200k+
My Own 2 Feet
