The Way it Goes

The plan was that the four of us would go fishing the day after Thanksgiving, but soon after my family finished our dinner I heard the news that Jeff and Weston had decided to go duck hunting instead. So, Dad and I did the only sensible thing, we went without them.  

The day started out cold, but Dad found fish right away on his Thin Mint Bugger. I found a couple of smaller fish on a Wired Worm, but the hot hand was definitely Dad's as he pulled in several fish. 

When we moved to a new area I quickly hooked into a good fish that broke me off after a short fight taking both of my flies. Dad took over fishing his bugger while I started to re-rig but I had to stop when Dad hooked into a good fish so I could play net man. Dad made quick work of the fish and soon it was in the bottom of the net where I spotted a fly stuck into the corner of the mouth of the fish that looked familiar. I retrieved my fly and then tried to figure out where Dad's fly was hooked to, but his Bugger was only connected to my second fly, the Purple Frenchie. 

The next spot is one that is tough to fish, but the effort is usually worth it if you can make a good drift. I noticed some midges coming off the water so I paired a black and copper Zebra Midge with the Wired Worm and started getting some action on long casts and even longer drifts. 

Dad went back to the truck to get something to eat and I fished another spot, where I continued to find some willing fish on the Zebra Midge. Then I hooked into a great fish that ran me around the pool for several minutes before coming to the net. I tried different angles and holds but just couldn't get a decent picture of a really nice fish. Rather than put the fish at risk by trying longer I decided to just let the fish go and trust that no one would believe me. 

The warming day brought out more fishermen so we were forced into one of our backup spots that usually doesn't produce that many fish. Today the water was a little off-color and there were weeds on the surface. Without many other options, we decided to fish it anyway and I was glad we did. Right away I was into a fish on the Worm. Dad hooked into one on his bugger, but then he watched as I had pretty consistent action and his offering was ignored for the next hour. Finally, I convinced Dad to switch over to a nymph rig when I guaranteed him a hit. Unfortunately, the action had slowed enough that I was starting to think my guarantee wasn't worth much when he hooked into a fish.

We decided to finish the day where we had started and Dad finished the same way he started, by catching five in a row while I could barely get anything to take. Sometimes that's just the way it goes. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

"We're Doin It!"

I spent the end of the Summer chasing fish on still waters. One of those trips was to Southern Utah with my brother Jeff where for whatever reason he kept sayin', "We're doin' it!" Unfortunately, that trip and the one after it (this time with my Dad) produced very few fish and not much of a story. We went, fished hard, and caught very few fish. One of the highlights was finding a lake chuck full of grayling, but for whatever reason, we just didn't take any pictures of the few grayling we landed (and that's why you didn't hear about it here...)

School has started and my time is filled with work, but Jeff was able to get out and do some fishing mid-week and had some great success. That motivated me to head down his way on the weekend and get after some fish. A quick trip from his house got us to the lake where we found some dirty water, but I hooked into a fish pretty much right away on a Hare & Copper (I tie mine with a wire rib). 

The mud was from a pretty hard rainstorm they'd had the night before, so we moved away from the inlet trying to find clearer water to fish. I found some more fish on the Hare & Copper, but Jeff struggled to get into anything for some reason. It's weird how often this happens, even though we were fishing the same flies in the same area I was catching fish and he just wasn't. If I ever figure it out I'll let you know.

We decided to run and take a look at another lake in the area, but water levels were depressingly low there and we headed back to the original lake to finish out the day. The fish were rising when we pulled up and it didn't take long for Jeff to hook and land his first fish of the day. 

I was fishing a dry/dropper rig, because that's what I already had set up, and noticed that the fish were much more likely to take either fly if I stripped it in slowly. While we were both catching fish and enjoying the dropping temperatures a bull elk started bugling across the small reservoir and made the evening seem that much more beautiful and fall-like. 

Unfortunately, Jeff got into a hurry while landing one of his fish and lifted up too aggressively, breaking his fly rod. It always sucks to break a rod, and we seem to break our fair share, but especially while the trout are rising. So we switched off fish (or three unsuccessful takes) well after the sun went down catching plenty by popping the dry fly and either hearing the splash or feeling the weight of the fish taking the fly. 

The next morning we decided to hit a small stream that I've fished a couple of times over the years, but Jeff had yet to fish even though it's super close to his house. It didn't take long for us to find fish on both Hare & Copper flies and Chornobyl Ants. The fishing wasn't exactly easy with all the overhead tree branches, but the fish were willing if we got our flies on the water. Sooner than either of us were ready, the day was over and it was time for me to make the drive home. Until the next time when "We're doin' it!" 

An Epic Day

Jeff called and wanted to get out and do some fishing and I was more than ready even if it was a weekend. There were people everywhere, but we decided to try and go where we wanted and if it was too busy we had backup plans to float a nearby lake. Luckily, there was only one vehicle at the trailhead, so we loaded up and put some trail behind us before starting to fish. Right away Jeff was into his first fish of the trip on a yellow Chernobyl Ant and he followed that up with two more quick ones! 

It took me a minute, but I found my first fish on a tan Puterbaugh Caddis. We were catching most of our fish on top and they were a good mix of browns and cutts. 

Between the stoneflies we were seeing on the bank, the mayfly spinners over the water and the cicadas in the trees picking a fly pattern to go with was a little tough. Jeff switched to a Chubby Ant in cicada colors and fish started smashing it, I soon followed suit and we had consistent action on the dry fly for the rest of the day! 

We were working our way upstream, trading off fish when I hooked into one that was significantly bigger than what we'd been seeing. The fish ran all the way into the rapids above the pool where we started the fight, then rocketed his way to the riffle below keeping me off balance until Jeff was able to get below him with the net. Not exactly the way you're supposed to fight a big fish, but it worked. This is by far the biggest fish I've seen from this stream and one I'll be remembering for quite some time. 

As we continued to fish our way upstream we had to figure out how to go over, around, or through the many log jams but the great fishing kept us moving forward to see what was around the next bend. We ended up going a lot further upstream than I've ever been from this access point and it only made me want to see more. Every likely spot held a fish that would either smash the Chubby Ant or take our dropper. We didn't have consistent success with any dropper until I put on my old reliable Mod. Hare's Ear and then it seemed like we were catching fish on almost every cast. 

Even though the fishing didn't slow down, we definitely were feeling all the effort that we'd exerted. With a long hike back to the truck, we decided to call it after one particularly good hole that yielded several fish for both Jeff and me. We were so satisfied that we didn't even stop to fish any spots on the way back. Anytime that I can get out and fish is a good day, but this was more than that. We caught lots of fish, some really nice ones, a bunch of them on dry flies and all without seeing another person. It was truly an epic day. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

A Fisherman's Word

I've been tying a bunch of flies in anticipation of another trip to southern Utah to hit some stillwaters, but when my phone fell out of the car while we were driving it kinda put a snag in my plans.  Fortunately, my son Atley is a technowizard and could fix me up with a temporary phone while waiting for a new screen that he would eventually install for me. Jeff still wanted to get out so we made plans to meet at my house and hit a stream that I hadn't been to in a couple of years. (You can read about that last trip HERE) 

Once we arrived we could hear all the cicadas in the trees and I was really excited to finally get to use the flies that I tied for a trip to the Green River last year (you can read about that trip HERE & watch the video on how to tie the fly HERE).

I caught a nice fish right out of the gate on the cicada, it was a beautiful cutthroat that rose so slowly you'd think it'd never reach the fly. After that, we worked our way upstream, thinking the fishing would only get better the further from the parking area we were. While fighting my second fish on the big dry fly I felt the horrible cracking sound reverberate through my rod and knew that my favorite rod had broken again. (Read about the first time HERE)

Rather than share a rod for the rest of the day, I decided to quickly make the walk back to the truck to swap out my rod for a spare that I'd brought along. This rod was my little fiberglass rod that would make these fish seem like monsters. We were only a half-mile from the truck so it didn't take too long, but while I was gone Jeff caught two fish on dry flies. He was using a 'Top Shelf Hopper' from Drew Looknfishy that you can see how to tie HERE. 

When I got back it took a little time to find some fish, we weren't helped by the fact that every few casts or so we'd have to clean the moss from our flies. The moss made it almost impossible to fish a hopper-dropper rig, so Jeff elected to only fish one fly while I decided to fish two dries. Almost right away the dropper, a Purple Haze, produced fish. One fish rose to look at my flies three times before finally taking on the fourth. 

We worked our way upstream taking turns throwing to all the likely spots and getting a couple of rises out of each. I know we could've caught more fish if we would've been able to effectively fish a dropper, but it was really fun watching all these fish rise to our flies. We caught mostly cutthroat with the odd brown mixed in which kept the day interesting. Late in the afternoon, we decided to call it a day and started our long walk back. We were surprised to see a badger cross our path, but he got out of there too quickly to get any pictures so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

The Next Fish

For whatever reason, there was an area in the state that I've been wanting to get to for a long time, but it seems like I just can't make it happen. I'm sure it's only because of all the options closer to home that keep me from making the long drive, but this summer Jeff became curious about the same area and convinced me to make the effort. We decided to take our boys, Caden and Luke, with us (Atley had to work). 

When we arrived at Jeff's, we moved all our gear into his rig so we could drive to the lakes together. He also has a side-by-side that we'd be using on some of the notoriously bad roads. When we got to the first lake I found a fat rainbow pretty quickly. 

After catching that rainbow the fish at that lake all seemed unwilling to play our game, so we moved on to another lake. We took a hike that was steeper and longer than we expected to a group of lakes. Jeff caught a small tiger and I hooked into a fish that could've been huge but got tangled into some logs so quickly we'll never know. We didn't take nearly enough food or water with us, so we had to head back sooner than we would've liked but the hike was much easier on the way back down. 

The last lake of the evening held a bunch of brook trout and tiger trout. It was a lot of fun fishing to rising fish, so we stayed past dark. At first, they liked the Purple Frenchie, but as the night when on it seemed like we kept having to change flies to stay in the action. Wired Stones, Zebra Midges, Prince Nymphs, Purple Reign, Chironomids, Griffith's Gnat, Parachute Midge, and finally an Adams were all tried. The Adams was the answer to what they would take from the surface.

First thing in the morning we looked at another lake, but decided not to fish it since there wasn't really anywhere to cast a flyrod. Moved on to a bigger reservoir, but only saw a couple of fish w/o any feeding action. So we decided to hike to another lake, one that I've wanted to fish for a long time. The hike wasn't nearly as bad as the first one of the trip. Right away we found some cutts. The boys even managed to hook into some. Luke caught his first fish on a fly rod! 

We spent longer than we should've at the last lake which meant all that was left was to load up and head for home. We talked about other areas we should explore and made some plans for future trips, always looking ahead to the next trip, the next cast, the next fish. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Try, Try Again

As I've gotten older I've noticed that going alone is starting to lose its appeal, and I'm starting to really search out opportunities to fish with others. Especially if the 'other' is someone like Lane that really knows what he's doing. As usual, we met up before light in a random parking lot and rode the rest of the way together. This time Lane was a little late, so he drove the rest of the way. 

Right away, I hooked into a little rainbow that liked my Zebra Midge but we didn't see another fish for quite a while. What started out promising quickly turned into a rough morning with only a couple of small fish each and almost as many fly changes. There were people everywhere and that made us decide to change spots for the afternoon. On the way back to the truck Lane started picking up some fish by skating a dry fly. Then we watched an osprey dive out of the sky and catch a fish just upstream of us, then it flew a few laps around us showing off its fish. 

When that action subsided we got back to the truck and headed for Plan B. Plan B is a spot that we always leave in our back pocket just in case our day doesn't go the way we hoped. Almost right away, Plan B got us into fish right away on a Wired SJ Worm. 

Fishing is funny sometimes, but it seemed to me like today was my day as I was catching fish with ease while Lane seemed to have to work for each one. Then Lane caught the biggest fish I've seen from this stream and just like that, it was his day.

Right before dark, I managed to catch one on a dry fly which was pretty sweet. I couldn't see my fly, so I'd cast and then just strike if a fish rose where I thought my fly was. It works more often than you'd think. If it doesn't work the first time, you just gotta try again. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Back Again

I'm always looking for new places to fish. Sometimes that means heading to a new stream or lake and just trying it out to see what lives there. Other times that means talking with people to see if they'll let a hint drop on where they fish. Usually, people guard their best spots pretty aggressively but if you read between the lines sometimes you can get an idea of where to start looking. Then there are the places that you've been, you know it's supposed to be good, but you've yet to have a stellar day that could turn this occasional spot into a regular. That's the way the stream that I headed to the other day is. It's supposed to be good, but I've only ever caught fish from one little section of it and I've never had a banner day. 

I arrived and decided to walk down a little further than usual before starting to fish, hoping to expand on my successful area. Before deciding which fly to start with I flipped over a couple of rocks to find ridiculous amounts of midges that were very active. So, a couple of zebra midges in red and black went under an indicator and I started fishing the first hole. I played with the depth, starting shallow and working my way deeper but nothing seemed to want to play. Rather than panic and start changing flies, I decided to move up to the next spot to see if that would yield anything. Almost right away I was into a great fish for this size of stream and after a quick fight I had my first fish in hand.

I kept hoping that the midges I'd seen when I first arrived would soon be hatching and I could get some dry fly action but I didn't see any rises. The section above where I'd caught my first fish was pretty shallow, but I did finally manage a couple small fish. 

Then I was back in the water where I usually started, but fishing really didn't improve. The water being so low was definitely making things tough on me because of the nymph rig I was using, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while and I managed another fish. When I went to take the standard one handed picture I noticed the picturesque towering cliffs. It's kinda funny how we can get so focused on what we're doing we sometimes don't notice really cool things around us. 

After this hole I decided to jump back in the car and try a new spot. What I found was basically still water and not what I was hoping for. So, back to the car to head down river and try one more spot before heading for home. What I found was exactly what I was looking for: a meandering river with pools deep enough to hold fish. I thought for sure this would be the prime spot and tried everything I could to get into some. The fish had to be there, but they didn't seem too interested in what I had to offer. I did get into one more fish and decided that was a great way to end my day. Maybe that's how this place will become one of my regular spots, by giving me just enough success to lure me back again. 

Hope you're as lucky, 

Kidder

Despite the Weather

Ever have the feeling that if you didn't move quick you were going to miss out on something? I felt like if I waited to go fishing I'd end up not going and would regret that because a busy January is waiting for me on the other side of the break. Weston and my Dad said they had to wait until later in the week so Jeff and I decided to head out without them. The drive was long and pretty sketchy in spots but we made it in time to do some fishing the first afternoon. Right away we were both on the board with little rainbows, Jeff's came on a nymph rig under an indicator and mine on a woolly bugger.

We weren't finding the size of fish we'd hoped for, so we changed spots and Jeff found a nice fish right away. Unfortunately, I was fishing quite a ways away from him, and with frozen guides, he was having trouble landing the fish alone. I got there in time, but when I went to net the fish Jeff's line caught on my back and the fish got off. He was/is pissed, but I'm not sure what I could've done differently. To help ease the pain of a lost fish I let him net the fish I caught only a few minutes later.

I worked away from where Jeff was, making it up as I went without much luck. He didn't call me over to help when he hooked into a nice rainbow and a decent little largemouth bass!?!

With nothing happening elsewhere, and Jeff's disappointment eased by the catching of a couple fish, I went back to see if it was the location or my rig that was making fishing tough. I realized it was the rig as Jeff continued to have hits while I stood there looking like an idiot. Jeff suggested I try a streamer and I agreed, making the switch quickly. It didn't take long before I was hooked into another good fish. Thinking that maybe the code was broken, I moved back over to where I hadn't found any success before and almost instantly was hooked into a great fish.

The fishing turned off cold again after that, so we ended the evening back where we'd started and Jeff found the fish just as willing, but they didn't like my streamer presentation. Back to town to find an overpriced hotel and a half-decent night's sleep before heading back and trying it all again. 

The next morning we were up before our alarms and getting ready for a day of fishing. The beginnings of a cold had settled on me through the night, but I was still determined to get some fishing in even if I wasn't so comfortable doing it. The morning eventually came, cold and cloudy with an icy breeze that made me question why I do this to myself. We started where we had found the best-sized fish the night before, but only found a few smaller fish. We moved up to where we'd caught all the little ones and that's when we started finding better quality fish. Weird, they seemed to trade spots during the night...

The wind chill was getting pretty uncomfortable so we decided to drive to another spot for a chance to warm up. Conditions were tough at the other spot with super spooky fish so we moved quickly to another spot that we knew could be great or really tough but it usually wasn't anywhere in between. The short walk was made a little tougher because of the snow on the ground, but we made it quickly to where we wanted to start.  Aside from a couple of medium-sized fish, there just wasn't much happening at this spot. 

We decided to head back to the truck and plan our next move, but we spotted some fish on our way back and couldn't help but make some casts at them. It didn't take long before I was hooked into the nicest fish of the trip!

With that success, Jeff was interested enough to climb down the bank and join me, but after a few casts his line got hung up in the willows behind us and somehow his fly rod got broken. He seemed to take it really well, maybe because this was the 3rd time this rod had broken on him. I couldn't help but make a few more casts and was rewarded with one last fish.

At this point, the fish were wise to our game and I was feeling pretty sick so we walked back to the truck. Once we were there with the heater going we discussed our next move. I did the math and realized that if we left now, we could be home before it got too late. Jeff wasn't too keen on the idea, but I think he realized how sick I was feeling and agreed to head for home. It was a long drive, but the trip was definitely worth it despite the weather and how it left me feeling. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Consistent

Google photos started showing 'memories' like Facebook, and the morning of our trip I had a memory pop up that one year prior, to the day, is when Lane and I hit the same water that we were supposed to fish. It's pretty weird when you're that consistent without even trying! As I worked with the Summer Marching Band program I watched the clouds gather over the area where we were supposed to be heading. Ross claimed that he was too busy to go, but I wonder if those clouds had anything to do with it...

Once I was done working, I made the call to Lane to see what he was thinking and to make sure he wasn't going to bail. As I expected, Lane was still ready to go so we headed out to a small stream where we hoped to find some fish that were willing to rise. Or at very least hit a dropper so we could pretend to be fishing dry flies. We arrived at the empty trail head and decided to hike a little ways from the parking lot, hoping to find some less-educated fish. Started out slow for action on top, but we did manage a few on weighted nymph droppers.

We kept working our way up until we came upon a pool where fish were starting to rise. A couple fell for my purple haze before the rain (and hail) starting falling. The storm ended almost as quickly as it began but a couple minutes after it had stopped the stream changed colors and not for the better. 

A few other fishermen hiked past us as the fishing turned off and we started talking about bailing on this stream and heading somewhere else. It was about this time that we hooked into a couple more fish.

Then the water cleared just as fast as it had clouded up and we started catching fish on top again. Just like that. 

Evening was coming on and thoughts of making the hike back to the truck were intruding on our fishing when I tried swinging a prince nymph (okay, it might've been on accident) and instantly improved the catch rate. It kept working as I caught up to Lane. We switched over to caddis dry flies and started taking turns swinging them to splashy rising fish. Just before the light completely left the water we caught one of the emerging bugs that were making the fish go crazy, it wasn't a caddis but a green drake! 

Luckily, I had a head lamp in my vest that made the hike out much easier. Thoughts of getting back to this stream as quickly as possible to try and hit the hatch again was all we talked about on the hike out and the ride home. Unfortunately, we couldn't line up our schedules for another day of fishing for quite awhile. Oh well, maybe we'll hit it again next year...

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Not a Repeat

It's hard not to keep going back to the same places to try and re-create your experiences, but we all know that isn't really how it works. Last week I went to a local stream and had a great time catching some really nice browns on a nymph rig, so this week I went back hoping to have the same type of day. After taking care of a few things around the house (not the big project of finishing the flooring in the basement though...) I ended up getting to the stream at almost the same time as last week. I decided to start where I'd left off with the same rig and on the same stretch. 

This week, other than a brief connection with a small fish, they weren't having anything to do with my black and copper zebra midge. I worked my way upstream where I spotted some rising fish in an almost dead still pool. I sat down, trying not to let the feeding fish distract me, and retied my leader to be longer and finer. A #16 Griffith's Gnat with an orange hot spot and a #20 Midge Parachute dropper got tied on. The time away from fishing was evident as I struggled to get the longer leader to go where I wanted it to, but eventually, I put my flies in front of a rising fish that didn't hesitate to inhale the Midge Parachute. The fight on 6x tippet had me holding my breath, especially when the fish somehow got wrapped up for a moment, but it didn't take too long before a nice-sized male brown trout was in the bottom of the net. 

It seems like the majority of the time that I find rising fish in this type of smooth water I only catch one or two before I've spooked the lot of them and either have to wait for them to come back or move to find new fish. Today, for whatever reason, the fish just kept feeding and if I was able to put my flies in front of them without throwing a shadow, or my fly line, over them I had a decent chance of getting a take. 

Getting a take doesn't mean that you've caught a fish, but it's a good start. The takes were slow and deliberate and by some miracle I was patient and waited for (most) the fish to close their mouths before setting the hook. I found myself whispering wait just before setting the hook deliberately, but not too fast or hard. Then, if I remembered to play them gently on the light tippet, I would end up with a fish in the net. 

All the fish seemed like they were in really good post-spawn shape and should winter over just fine. The days are short in the canyon, and by mid-afternoon, the temperature started to fall and the action slowed down. Rather than fight it or switch my setup back to a nymph rig I headed for the truck happy that the day wasn't a repeat of the last trip. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder