Out With The Boys

I know that no one feels bad for me, probably because of all the fishing and hunting I get to do, but I needed a break. I had a personal day that needed to be used or I'd lose it come the end of May and Southern Utah was calling me. In anticipation of the native cutthroat trout that I imagined we'd be pulling in hand over foot, I signed Atley and me up for the Utah Cutthroat Slam figuring that it'd be easy to cross off at least one of the species. 

I'm not sure if it was just the appeal of a day off from school, or if they actually wanted to spend time with their dad, but either way the boys wanted to come!! On the road for a bit of a long drive but the boys had fun picking what music we listened to and I enjoyed the scenery.

First stop was a cool little spot that Loah at Utah Water Log told me about and it soon produced some beautiful tiger trout that were suckers for a Woolley Bugger fished deep. It was all fun and games until Atley found out how cold the water was when he fell in.

The fish were nice, but the bite was slow and soon the boys wanted lunch and a change of scenery. After some peanut butter and honey sandwiches we were on our way to lake #2 in hope of more fish and maybe some cutthroats. The boys seemed more interested in playing games with each other than fishing, which is fine by me. I love when the boys fish but I was still just happy that they were there with me, and they still ran down to reel in a fish or take a picture of one I caught. 

I'm not sure why I didn't try it at the first spot, but the first fly I tied on was a Barber Pole like my Dad had taught me how to tie about twenty years ago. Maybe I'll show you how we tie and fish them like a soft hackle. The fish sure seemed to like it on a slow strip and we caught one every two or three casts while the hatch kept up. Tiger trout really are pretty, even if they are a little weird. We even managed to get a Cutthroat, our only one of the trip.

As the light went off the water we watched a deer make its way down the hill for a drink as I kept catching fish. The boys were having fun playing with the camera and throwing rocks. I wished it could've lasted for hours. This lake is one of the prettiest I've been to and in the evening half light, watching the deer, hearing wild turkeys and having fish on the end of my line with the boys it was the best place on earth. 

It seems like food was the only thing that interrupted my fishing on this trip, and it wasn't long before the boys were begging for dinner. Reluctantly I ended my evening fishing and we headed out in search of a place to camp. 

We found an amazing camp site under the ponderosa pines where we cooked hot dogs over the fire and hung out. Dessert was supposed to be roasted marshmallows but they were pretty nasty so we burned the whole package. The boys thought it was hilarious how the flames changed colors and it burned for over an hour. The dropping temps of Spring in the high(ish) country prompted us to forego the tent in favor of the cab of the truck. Where we were surprisingly comfortable.

In the morning we set about cleaning up the camp and found a pretty old looking pile of trash. I figured we could take a few minutes and clean it up, but there was so much trash we'll have to finish the job the next time we're there. After we had cleaned up as much as we had space for we headed to a new spot where I know some nice Cutthroats live. Apparently nobody told them they were supposed to make an appearance, but we'll be back. Heading down the mountain we decided to make one more spot to eat lunch before making the trek home in time to color eggs and all that Easter stuff. Started making some Top Ramen for the boys and caught a pretty brook trout before the water had boiled. 

The boys managed to catch a couple of small, but fat, rainbows to end our fishing for the trip. It was a great time out with the boys and I'm glad we got it in while we could. With the upcoming move and house build there might not be too much time for many trips like this. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

I found my sign!

One More

This has been one of the most boring Spring breaks I can remember. 1st world problems, I know, but we ended up having to spend more money than we were expecting for our upcoming move, I hurt my neck/back, and the weather sucked. This all adds up to not enough fishing. I even had some plans involving the shed hunting opener here in Utah and trying to put together some videos. About midweek I was really starting to pull my hair out so the boys and I hit a stream for a quick trip (Read about that trip Here). It was such a raging success, and such a short trip, that I couldn't wait to get back.

I saw my chance at the end of the week for a solo morning trip. Despite the cold, rainy weather, I was still excited to be out and expected some great fishing. It started out the exact opposite of what I was hoping for. Only a couple of half-hearted nips at my woolly bugger made up the action for the first couple of hours. I mixed it up, trying a bunch of different rigs that have produced for me in the past to no avail. I was heading back to the car, tail between my legs, when I decided to put on a Prince Nymph with a San Juan Worm dropper (again) to try the bottoms of a few pools. On a dime my luck turned around and I had my first fish in hand.

From there on it was a new day! Fish were more than willing to take what I was serving up, several of them took it quite aggressively too.

Fishing picked up even more when I put a flashback Hare's Ear on. I was just starting to wonder if I'd see any of the bigger fish today when a decent one made an appearance. 

I moved up to a pool that has always been a weird one for me. Either it's great and I pull several fish from it or it's a complete blank. Today it was great and it saved the best fish for last. This guy jumped three times, straight up and straight back down, before coming to hand. 

Just like the other day when I was here with the boys, this fish had a hole in it's back. Must be some sort of predator around.

Fishing continued to be good, so good in fact that I overstayed when I told the wife I'd be home. A text informing me that I was a liar reminded me of things I'd said and I headed for home. After one more fish...

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

"Slutty Flies"