Morning On The River

The forecast was calling for heavy winds and rain or snow later on Sunday. I made a break for it and got in some morning canyon fly fishing. No one had been in the canyon since the last snowfall on Thursday. The trails were pristine crusted snow with nothing more than the occasional fox, coyote, or deer tracks. Crunching my way downstream I found the river to be running a little lower but the fish were still there in most of their normal holding patterns. The first little brown came on my third cast. The day was feeling great right from the start and I drank it all in. I keep thinking to myself how lucky I was to be out in the canyon with no bigger mandate than to fool a few fish and take an enjoyable hike. I managed a new species for the year as well, tricking a white sucker when I least expected it. He felt like a log or a snag at first and then started his rolling, bulldog run. Big brown is the first thought that runs through your mind, but then I got a glimpse and was just as happy to find a native fish enamored with my hot head leech.

I worked my way all the way down the canyon. The weather was much warmer than predicted, at least early in the day, and I had to shed a coat to cool down. While not paying attention to my footing, I took a hard fall on a shoreline boulder right to the left hip. I guess it was bound to happen at some point this year. A big bruise is certainly preferable to a broken bone.

The browns kept coming to hand in a timely manner and when the wind picked up I packed it up and headed for home. The snow started this evening. I guess tomorrow morning I'll find out if this was a "real" storm or not. Either way, I was fortunate to gamble on the morning and cheat the weather gods a little for a beautiful spring day in the canyon.

An early morning release


Canyon Entrance


Spring brown trout


In the shadows of the canyon wall


Native fish of the high plains


Hiking deeper in the canyon


More pretty brown trout for me to endlessly marvel at


The last fish of the day was a good one... a video release.