Drifting Flies

I found a few hours to head to the river today. Temperatures were in the 40's with a few midges coming off, but I couldn't seem to crack the code today. Still a nice day to be out and standing in moving water. I scouted a few other locations that I thought may have some open areas due to the recent warm temperatures but nothing panned out. Unfortunately, my scouted spots were all locked up solid in the full grasp of winter ice. Maybe some water time tomorrow will be more fruitful in the pursuit of trout.

A nice hole on the river

Leeching For Browns

Another quick lunch trip for brown trout resulted in my best "quick trip" fish so far this year. Furious leaping and tail walking capped of a great sparring match on the three weight with this beautiful trout. I still can't quite understand their fury for the leech but I am reluctant to mix up flies when this continues to work so well. The weather forecast is calling for a change tomorrow. I hope the bite continues through the coming cold snap predicted over the next five days.

Brown Trout Brown Bag

A quick lunch trip on a 50 degree day in mid-January produced a nice brown with another broken off and a few slashing follows as well. It seems almost criminal to have browns chasing stripped leeches in January. A beautiful midge hatch was in full swing as well. I plan to keep taking advantage of this fantastic weather while it lasts here in the Rockies.

Beautiful Winter Day On The River

Adam and I headed out early under the stars and the hint of a sunrise to get a full day on the river. The forecast appeared perfect for a day out in mid-January. Upon arrival we found no fellow fishermen and a trackless snow covered shoreline. It was surprising to see very few people out on such a nice day. We fought a little ice in the guides early, and the fishing wasn't lightning fast but it did produce quality fish when a fish was hooked. I stuck to my big fly theory, fishing nothing under size 10, and was rewarded with some stout fish and my first brown trout ever from this particular stretch. It is heavily dominated by rainbows making the browns a very nice novelty and they also tend to be decent sized when found. We fished, enjoyed some good beer (Duvel and Slow Elk among others) and had a tremendous winter day of no wind and temperatures approaching the 50s. Wildlife sightings of mule deer, white tail, antelope, bald eagles, hawks and plenty of waterfowl kept the day interesting with many encounters. On the way back from the river we stopped in one of the least light polluted places in Wyoming to get a good look at the milky way in all its glory. It was quite a way to end the day and a perfect finish for Adam's first trip of the year.

Moon setting in the morning over the cliffs


Adam starts the year right with a nice wild rainbow


Icy guides and gnarly jaws


Mule deer crossing the river


Wild rainbow with a kype jaw


Video of rainbow being released


Brown trout taken on a leech


Adam finishing the day on a nice run

Open Blue Lines

A little adventure to some open water I scouted on Saturday produced a pair of nice brown trout during the short time I had available to fish. Swinging the little three weight for the first time in 2009 felt wonderful. A non-weighted tandem of the hot head leech and long annelid successfully enticed a few winter brown trout resulting in my first trout on the fly to ring in the new year. With less than an hour to cast, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Fighting the ice in my guides and slipping around in the fresh snow seemed like a small price to pay for the flexing dance of the three weight under load from a wild brown.

First brown trout of the year


Second brown trout of hopefully many to come in the new year