Dates: August 17, 2008
Location: Canyon
Air temp: mid 80s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 4 or 5 browns
Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:
QD
Xan
Quickdraw recently purchased a canoe. The USS Poopship (Arleigh Burke Class) once again set sail down the Canyon, for a day of sun, fun and trout. We floated down to the Alpha Hole where we started fishing. Not much was going on there, but we did see a beaver swim by. Sadly, QD wasn't able to tie on a mouse fast enough to try and catch it.
We made our way down, fishing along the way. We saw numerous other floaters, including a 30 person kayak horde.
Times are tough these days, as the summer has brought forth the underwater plant life to full head. We rid our nymphs of vegetation almost as often as we cast. The only trout I was able to land were in the deeper runs, mostly devoid of the undergrowth.
QD skillfully navigated us through the perils of the Canyon, and for the second straight day, I put in an honest day's work on the stream. Hopefully this will be one of many trips on the Poopship.
Dates: August 16, 2008
Location: Warwick & Famous Original Ray's
Air temp: mid 60s to mid 80s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 bow, 2 panfish, 2 suckers
Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:
Xan
I've had quite a lot on my mind as of late. I'd been racking my brain, pacing the room, lost in my thoughts. I didn't even want to go fishing, but I knew I needed to. So early Saturday morning, I woke up without an alarm at 3:30, got my things and headed out. I've been wanting to fish a particular spot after visiting it months prior, to see if it held large trout. I arrived at the Warwick just before dawn and headed to the dam.
I stood on a large chunk of stone on the bank, and casted an egg sucking leech around my perimeter. As daylight slowly filled the areas around me, I started to see fish rise. I tied on a stimulator and eventually got a hit. Quickly getting the fish in, I discovered I had caught a crappie. The chances of large trout faded from my mind, but I continued to fish other areas by the dam to see what else I could land.
The sun started to peek over the large concrete wall. Standing in that place, faced with the cascade of water, the glowing mist, the trees, all amplified and sharpened with the yellow tint of my polarized glasses, I finally felt like I was in the right place. I hadn't solved my problems, but I knew, over time, that I would.
After landing one more crappie, I headed downstream to look for trout. I went directly to a deeper run, tied on some nymphs, and set to work. I was rewarded with two consecutive suckers, but was finally able to land a 12" bow. That was my fill of the Warwick, and I headed off to McD's for some biscuits.
Refueled, I drove to Famous Original Ray's. I tied on a hopper and set to work. I fished all the way up to the gallery, only sporting a dry. Between a hopper and a stimi, I had hits throughout the day, but wasn't able to land a single fish. I fished until I had worn myself out, until all the worries in my head were gone and the decisions I needed to make at this point in my life were made. I returned to my car, with my mind silent, my body exhausted, ready to go back to the world. And so I did.
Dates: August 1, 2008
Location: Great Lawn
Air temp: mid 60s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: mice
Fish landed: 3 or 4 browns
Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:
Xan
TP
Trout fishing has been few and far between since Montana. The weather has been hot and humid, so freaks like TP have spent the time chasing giant suckers. He claims they fight like hell, take you to your backing, yadda, yadda, yadda... But they are still suckers. He has slightly redeemed himself by landing a sweet Muskie, but only slightly.
It was time to return to the trout, under the stars and the new moon. We hiked way up the river to runs that TP felt would be productive. As the last bits of sunlight were fading across the valley, I got some nymphing in. Through cleaning the river bottom of much vegetation, I was able to land a decent 15" brown.
Soon, night took over, and it was mousing time. TP started to get some action and landed a trout or two. As we made our way down, most areas were active with trout, and we started to land them here and there. No huge fish were caught, but it was still a lot better than the last time I had night fished this area.
As the night wore on, I started to lose energy. TP decided to fish one last run, but lost his mouse in a tree on his first cast, and that was the end of our session. As night fishing goes, it was fairly productive, but Walter still eludes us...
