More Than The Fish or The Water

My boys and Del gave me a "Go-Pro" style camera for Father's Day this year and I decided to get out and try it sooner rather than later. The state of Utah seems to be on fire right now, so I had to be sure that I could still get to the water but luckily the road in question was still open. Listening to the MeatEater podcast makes for a short ride on these solo trips and soon I was there.

The cold water trickling down my leg had me thinking about a new pair of waders as I tried to figure out what the fish would be willing to take. Years ago, I used to wet wade this stream but the cold water made me glad that I had half a pair of waders for today. This is one of the first streams that I ever fished, when a single fish would've made for a great day. Our family would come camping to the reservoir above this stream and I would beg Dad to take me down the canyon. We caught plenty of fish from shore or out of our small boat at the reservoir, but fishing the stream was an early obsession. Back then we only fished one fly and would have to wait until late July for the stream to come down to fishable levels. Our long-term drought has changed that, so fishing in June is now possible even if the water was a little high and cold.

I brought my little fiberglass rod thinking that it would compliment these little browns perfectly, but I kinda forgot about the usual canyon breeze and how hard it would make casting. This stream can be tricky to wade even when the water is low, but with it just a little higher than normal I had a hard time navigating my way upstream and even a tougher time casting across stream when I couldn't wade over there. I didn't find very many willing fish to start, but a few came up to my Chubby Ant even if I couldn't find a consistent producer to use for a dropper. 

The Go-Pro didn't seem to want and cooperate. For much of the morning the SD Card wasn't reading, once I figured that out it wasn't long before the first battery died. I still have a lot to learn, but it could be fun to do more fishing videos without having to coerce Atley into being a cameraman. 

The fishing got better as the day wore on, but I headed for the truck a little earlier than usual to try and make up for the mistakes of the past trip (Read about that HERE). I try to make it to this stream at least once a year, but the fishing is only part of the equation. Memories of being with my Dad and learning how to fly fish are as much a part of this canyon as the the fish or the water in my mind. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder