Playing Hooky

I haven't written in a while. I know, but to be fair I also haven't been out too much either. The end of the summer was spent in my basement playing sheetrock games (there's a crazy story there, but now's not the time or place) and not out chasing fish. Hunting season came and went with only one close call, but I still suck with a bow and missed an elk at a ridiculously close range. Oh well. With all that behind me, I decided to skip out on working in my basement (flooring) and hit a local stream. The best news was Caden decided to join me! 

The stream in question is one that is pretty close to where we live and every time I fish there I wonder why I don't go more often. A beautiful stream, close to home, with some nice-sized fish in the mix. I guess I'm always looking for greener pastures. We arrived around mid-day and quickly hooked into a fish that almost as quickly freed himself from the hook, but it gave us the confidence to move upstream and make another go of it. We spotted some fish that were feeding at the bottom of a small riffle and in a spot where I usually find fish (I do fish here sometimes). It took a little doing, but eventually, the first fish fell for a black and copper Zebra Midge. 

Working our way upstream we came to another great pool and started to fish it. Caden was content playing with the camera while I changed flies and practiced casting. For some reason, another fisherman thought it would be okay to drop in right above us and start fishing. There isn't much stream to fish in this stretch and he parked right next to us, pretended that our day didn't matter, and started fishing above us. I was tempted to go let him know that he'd just pulled a jerk move, but instead, I caught a couple more fish and we walked back to our truck. 

We drove to another spot and found some very spooky fish, but I did manage to trick one more before Caden was too cold and we walked back to the truck. 

After letting Caden get into the truck I fished for a few more minutes just downstream where I could keep an eye on my boy. A couple more fish were anxious to eat a zebra midge and I finished out with the best fish of the day. 

I'm not sure why I haven't been getting out too much lately, but I plan to change that! I'll let you know if I do. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

The Koke Kid

I've been told by several people now that "boat" stands for "Break Out Another Thousand" (or "Bring Out Another Thousand") and I never would've thought it could be true until I owned a boat of my own. Now it isn't really funny... I've been trying to get the boat set up to do some trolling. I've upgraded the bow mount electric trolling motor and in preparation for this trip I added two downriggers that I bought from my brother Jeff. He was kind enough to deliver them and help me get them installed.

Since May I've been hearing about how great the fishing has been at Flaming Gorge for Kokanee salmon. Weston and my Dad purchased a really nice boat this past winter (I guess it was the thing to do...) and have been getting out on the water as much as possible. They finally talked me into making the long drive to try my hand at some salmon fishing, and I finally had the boat set up enough that I could. The drive took a while, but Caden and I passed the time by listening to the MeatEater podcast, specifically "The Meat Tree" episodes which are phenomenal.

Met up with Dad and his wife Deb in Evanston and followed him to camp. Camp was a great spot, close to the water where we could launch the boat/play in the water, but it was really hot when we arrived. We opened up the trailer and tried to get things aired out, and worked on getting the boat ready to launch. In the meantime, Weston and his family arrived. We launched the boat and took it out only to find out that the electric motor that I had re-mounted didn't clear the bow. Back to shore to try and fix it. Struggled to get the boat on the trailer. Got the truck stuck. Lost my temper and acted like a jackass (not a proud moment). After I settled down a little bit and got the boat fixed up, Weston and I took it out for the last 30 minutes of light and managed to catch a great kokanee to start the trip.

The next morning we hit the water early! At 5 AM, we all went out in Weston's boat since his family didn't feel like waking up that early. We got set up and it didn't take long for Cado to hook into his first-ever Kokanee! And then his second!

When Weston's family was up and ready to go we headed back to pick them up and Dad, Caden, and I got into my boat for the second effort. Caden hooked into another kokanee pretty quickly and we thought we were in business! Unfortunately, the fishing turned off pretty quickly after that. 

The next morning we split up to start because my Bro-In-Law Zach had arrived at camp. Caden and I were alone in my boat and Caden kept up his streak as the koke kid, quickly landing his personal best (so far) salmon.

I followed that up with my personal best Kokanee.

After that, our batteries on the trolling motor died and we had to head in. It's definitely an issue that I'm going to have to figure out for the future. In the meantime, Weston came and picked us up and we all headed out in one boat. Then we found out that the morning in the other boat hadn't been that great, but Zach did manage to catch the littlest fish of the trip, a little cutthroat.

Once we got back out Zach hooked into a much nicer Koke

The fishing turned off pretty quickly after that, so we headed back to camp for lunch and then we took my boat out to play in the water! The kids all got a chance to do some tubing, and even some of the adults took a ride. Lots of fun. 

The evenings were really tough fishing, but we still tried to make it happen. At very least it gave me a chance to get better at this trolling game, trying different set-ups and practicing putting rigs out. 

Barbequed salmon for dinner was amazing! According to Weston the fishing was pretty slow, but it was good enough to make us stay for an extra night just to give it one more try. Unfortunately, the fishing was incredibly slow for our last morning and our batteries died after only two hours of fishing. We did manage to catch some trout while trolling and Cado caught a nice rainbow on a jig. 

It was a good way to end a great trip out with my boy! It took us awhile to get all loaded up, but we made the drive home in a lot better time. With one big trip under our belt, I realize how much I have to learn about this new-to-me style of fishing. When we were kids we did a lot of trolling, but things have changed from the way we used to do things and I'm excited to dig in and learn new things. Also, I'm hoping that this style of fishing will make it a little easier to talk my family into going with me. We'll see how that goes! 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

(The morning after we left, Zach caught another great Kokanee)

Caden's Cutthroat

There is a list of places that I'd like to fish this year that is much longer than the days (or funds) available. So, despite the great day I had on my last outing, I wasn't too hep on trying to do it again and instead wanted to hit another spot on the list. The area I decided on is a longer drive than most, so I figured it would have to be an overnight trip. Luckily, Caden decided that he wanted to come! I love it when my boys take me fishing! We loaded up and hit the road. The boys always get to choose the music when we go on an outing together so we listened to the "Halo" video game soundtrack all the way there. 

A few years ago I registered myself and the boys for the Utah Cutthroat Slam thinking it would be a great excuse to get out and explore some different waters. Things being what they were, we never really got serious about chasing down the four species of cutthroat trout. Feeling like this would be a good year to change that, I made it a goal for this trip to check one sub-species off the list, the Colorado Cutthroat.

After a long ride on roads that were a lot rougher than I remember, we arrived at our destination. The first stop was a small lake that I know holds some really nice fish. Nothing like swinging for the fences! The water was more off-color than I've ever seen it, but I still had high hopes as we rigged up. Unfortunately, no fish were interested in our offerings other than a couple of small fish that would chase our flies but not eat them. We did see three small snakes as we worked our way around the shoreline which was pretty cool. 

We decided to move to another lake before it got too late in hopes of finding more willing fish. This lake requires a little hike to get to that years ago was almost too much for young Caden (you can read about his first trip to this area HERE). Now it wasn't a big deal at all for the young man he's become. Things started off good, with a few fish spotted and one chubby little tiger to hand. Then the wind started to blow, the temperature dropped, and it started getting dark.

We decided to try for a hail mary to one last pond in hopes of catching a fish that we could eat for dinner. When we arrived, there were a few dead fish floating along the shore. Not sure what happened, but this could be a regular occurrence this year with ridiculously bad drought conditions. We tried it anyway, fully expecting that we wouldn't catch anything but you gotta try, right? Back to the truck for the dinner that Caden was really looking forward to, Ramen Noodles. The temperature continued to drop, so we decided to sleep in the truck where we had a heater if we needed it. 

We slept pretty well for a night crammed into the cab of a truck and woke up to frost on the windshield and a Pepsi breakfast. We decided to start our day at a lake that I haven't fished much, and have never caught one at. Right away we spotted fish and I even caught one, a beautiful little cutthroat. We tried a bunch of different flies trying to figure out what the fish would be interested in as we worked our way around the shoreline. We found a better spot to stand with more backcast space before we started getting regular strikes from fish on a Damsel Nymph. 

Of course, the goal was for Caden to get into some fish, but more specifically a cutthroat for the slam. So he catches a splake to start his day followed by several rainbows. Right when I started calling him the 'Rainbow Kid' he finally catches a couple of nice cutts. 

I'm not sure if I ever figured out what the fish were really keying in on, but they would take a damsel nymph stripped slowly or suspended under a dry fly. I need to tie some damsel nymphs! The last few fish we caught became our lunch. 

After lunch we tried pond #1 again with similar results but fewer snakes. I wanted to catch more fish, but I also wanted to try different lakes so we decided to start making our way back home with plans to stop at some different spots along the way. Stop number one had smaller fish, but they were really interested in what we were serving up. It was fun to watch Caden catching fish (he's getting really good with the spinning rod) and he ended up catching quite a few cutts. He even got a couple with the flyrod! 

We spent more time than I was planning on at that spot, so we elected not to stop again to fish on the way home. One species of our Cutthroat Slam down, three to go! More importantly, a great trip with my boy and some memories made. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Turkeys and Trout

We've been really spoiled the past few years with turkey hunting success coming quickly and close experiences happening throughout the season. This year started with my Dad and my brother Jeff drawing out on a limited entry turkey hunt for Southern Utah. The whole idea of a limited entry turkey hunt is ridiculous and I wish Utah would rethink this. There are many options including an archery-only season, moving the youth hunt (which they should extend) and general season to earlier dates, creating an early season and a late-season to spread out hunting pressure. A lot of hunters believe that decisions by our game and fish come down to one thing: money. I'm not sure it's quite so cut and dry, but sometimes it definitely feels that way!

Anyway, the limited entry hunt was a total bust for us. We found areas with birds but failed to even lay eyes on a public land turkey.  It wasn't a complete waste of time though, we were able to chase some gobbles and I did slip in a few minutes on a small stream catching native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.

The youth hunt (which is only one weekend) was pretty fun. We were back to hunting areas that we knew and were close to gobbling birds the first morning. Caden and I set up in what seemed like a good spot and actually called in another coyote (you can read about the first time this happened Here) but we didn't get an opportunity for a pic or a shot. Three different toms came within shooting distance, but always on the wrong side of the fence and on private property. So close! An early-season success would've been awesome for Cado who always seems to just miss out on hunting opportunities. 

There were lots of evenings spent trying to guess where the turkeys would roost, and lots of wrong guesses. The mornings available were few and far between with work and family stuff competing for my attention. There were other opportunities, including a group of jakes that came in while I was hunting alone (if only one of the boys would've been with me!) and another group of toms that came within 10 yards, but wouldn't cross the property line. 

With gobbles becoming almost non-existent and hunting the same old spots becoming a little boring, I decided to head to a new area for the last outing of the season. Atley had to work (which is a new, and super annoying issue) and Caden just wasn't interested in the last attempt. So I headed out alone in search of turkeys, or trout. The hunting bug must be wearing off since I packed my fly fishing gear on this trip too and was looking forward to trying out a couple of lakes in the area. 

I made the long drive and arrived just before last light. I hurried to unload the ATV to check out the areas that looked good on OnX in hopes of roosting a bird. Unfortunately, I didn't hear any birds. When I got back to the truck I discovered that my plans of chili for dinner were flawed since I didn't pack a can opener. It seems like I always forget something, although it isn't always something as important as this. I had granola bar dinner and a restless night with no clear plan of what to do in the morning.

The morning came without any sounds of turkeys to direct my efforts, so I found a finger ridge to set up on and do some blind calling to start the day. Hound hunters driving on every little road they could find interrupted the morning quiet and inspired me to change my focus from ghost birds to fishing. The first small lake had some fish in evidence, with small ones rising to a midge hatch, and a nice one that like to follow my flies but wouldn't take. But other than that, the fishing started out much like the turkey hunting had ended. I moved onto lake number two and almost immediately hooked into a nice Bonneville Cutthroat Trout. 

Too bad for him, I was in need of something to eat. With no other fish willing to play, I headed back to the truck for a fried trout lunch. Rainclouds and wind set in just as I was finishing up my delicious meal. With little to inspire me to stick it out, I decided to pack up camp and head home. On the way down the mountain I did luck into seeing a couple of bull elk. I'll be back to this area soon enough, without the distraction of turkey hunting, to do some fishing. All in all, it was a crazy busy season, and I'm looking forward to focusing on fishing this summer. 

Hope you're as lucky, 

Kidder

Maiden Voyage

Anyone that knows me is aware of my fondness for inside jokes. So when we finally were able to buy a boat earlier this year, of course, we'd name it something that wouldn't be funny to anyone but our little family. Caden ultimately came up with the name, but I think we're all in agreement that it's the greatest. Our boat is "The Sea-Liquor". Really excited about the possibilities, and hoping that it will be easier to get my boys to go with me. 

Didn't get too early of a start, mostly because Deli stayed up late trying to get a paper done so she could go. Hitched up and headed out, stopping at the local gas station to fill up. Once the truck and boat were gassed up, the truck didn't want to stay started. It seems like if a vehicle is going to have issues, it will always show up when you're about to take a drive for fun. We headed back home to trade out vehicles and were soon on our way, only a little later than we were hoping for. 

I haven't been fishing in a boat for quite a while, so there was a little trepidation about launching and getting it started. Not big things, but a lot of little things that I could easily screw up. Everything went better than expected and after we picked Deli up (someone has to drive the truck and trailer off the ramp) we were out on the open water! 

It felt good to finally be able to try the boat and having it perform flawlessly put a lot of my fears to rest. I decided to try out the trolling motor and get fishing while Deli and the kids were more concerned about getting lunch. It didn't take long before we needed to get the top up and re-apply the sunscreen on a warm and sunny afternoon. 

We had several hits before I finally connected with a nice 18" rainbow to get the skunk off. We kept having more hits than hook-ups, but I managed another decent bow before the wind kicked up. We were mixing it up switching between trolling and drifting while casting our lures. Atley tried a fly and bubble with no luck, but when Caden borrowed his rod he quickly tied into a couple of feisty little bows. 

Not to be outdone, Atley finished out our day with a little bow of his own caught on a lure. A little joyride around the lake to teach everyone how to drive the boat and we called it a day. They dropped me off to go get the truck and trailer and Atley drove the boat onto the trailer like a pro. We're making a list of things we'd like to have with us next time as well as some upgrades to dream about, but overall I think the maiden voyage of the Sea-Liquor was a raging success.

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Never Enough

I love it when my boys go fishing with me! Unfortunately, I think I pushed them too hard when they were still too young and now my boys don't like to go with me. Either that, or I always want to go too far and stay too long...

Atley refused to go with my Dad and brothers on a long trip but promised that he would take me fishing sometime soon. That time came over Spring Break when we had a morning to get out and do a little fishing. We didn't have too much time, so we just brought one rod and decided to take turns. This is the first time in quite a while that Atley has gone fly fishing with me and it took a minute for him to remember how to cast, manage the line, set the hook, and the million other things that you're supposed to do on each cast. It wasn't too long before he made a good cast and set the hook on a tiny little fish that flew out of the water. We moved up to the next hole and it didn't take too long before Atley was into another fish, this one big enough to not take flight. 

The water was low and clearer than usual, but the fish were decently cooperative and willing to eat a Prince Nymph that was presented well. We traded off fish as we worked upstream, and it wasn't until we'd already made the call to order lunch that we found a pod of rising fish. I caught my best fish of the day on a Griffiths Gnat. Not sure if this is the first dry-fly catch of the year, but I'm sure it won't be the last! I plan on using my small fiberglass rod and throw dries every chance I get this year, hopefully my boys will take me again. 

Hope you're as lucky, 

Kidder

The Secret to Turkey Hunting

This morning, as I was laying in bed listening to a turkey gobbling in between the wind and thunder of a spring storm I was reflecting on the lessons learned this turkey season. The first one being that kids hate waking up early for anything, and turkey hunting is not an exception, but they also love taking little trips if you can work in a stop or two at McDonald's or something similar. The second is the need for a great hiding spot is more important than the desire to see everything from your seat and facemasks make a difference in your ability to blend in. Getting close to the roost is a dangerous game and sometimes the best tactic is to sit still, or even take a nap, rather than chase birds that aren't gobbling. But the secret? We'll get to that...

Caden didn't feel like getting up, so I headed out alone. Got set up in a spot where I've seen turkeys in seasons past, but that I hadn't really set up this season. The birds gobbled from the roost and the hens responded, but minutes after fly down it was over as the birds found each other for their morning hook up and went about their business. There was definitely a part of me that wanted to head home to get a little more sleep since it felt like the morning hunt was over before it began, but I keep hearing how mid-morning is when the birds disperse again and a Tom can be called in. Being patient does not come naturally to me, I want to get after it and make something happen, but I knew that it made no sense to start moving on a morning when there wasn't any gobbling or ways to know where the birds were. As the morning progressed and warmed I let my lack of sleep catch up to me and started to doze. Sleeping under a tree in the warm turkey woods is a wonderful thing. When I'd wake up for a moment I'd make a few light calls and listen until I fell back to sleep. 

Time passed much more quickly than I'd realized utilizing this method, and midmorning was in danger of ending unremarkably when I thought I heard something moving through the leaves nearby. I sat up a little and in a moment was only about 3 yards from a jake that had come in from the side to investigate the calling. Two other jakes followed him into the set-up, and I figured this was it, I was going to shoot a jake. I hesitated, trying to see which jake had the biggest beard (like it makes a difference!?!) when the tom came into view. The jakes were all off to my left side and extremely close, but the tom was checking out the decoy 10 yards in front of me. I held as still as I could until his head went behind a bush, then I reached down for my gun and got it into position before his head came back into view. Off went the safety and I made the shot on my first tom. A rush of excitement was only tainted by the wish that Caden had been there and had this opportunity. 

The walk back to the house was a sweet one, with a bird over my shoulder I answered the text from Deli asking if I was going to come home. Coming back heavy! I'm not sure how the tradition of getting a picture with your bird on the porch started, but I love it. Deli was nice enough to take some pictures for me. 

We tried to get out and replicate my success for Caden, but in the same set-up a couple of days later only a couple of hens showed up. We tried our best, getting up early and hunting late until the end of the very last day but it never came together. So the secret to turkey hunting? It's better to be lucky than good!

Hope you're as lucky, 

Kidder

The Way You Say It

The fishing itch has been creeping in on me again. So we planned our trip where I knew we could also do some fishing if the hunting would allow it. Hunting does allow for downtime if you let it, but usually, I can only focus on one thing and during the limited hunting season my focus has to be there. I've often said that I can't even have fishing gear with me because I might get distracted. 

The first canyon that we ventured up seemed to be overrun with OHV's to the point where the trees on either side of the main road were dusty. We tried a few spots and had a great tailgate hot dog roast (forgot the pan to cook in...) but it became obvious that this area was too crowded for what we wanted to do. So we made a late-night drive to another area where we've seen turkeys before and settled down to sleep for a couple of hours in the truck. The downside to the new canyon is that it isn't exactly a great one for fishing, but fishing can wait a little while longer.

Morning came quick and cold! Once we had our hunting clothes on and were mostly packed up we walked a few yards and made a call. We heard a faint gobble, so we moved toward a ridge to set up. Before we had walked the 80 yards to the ridge two hens fed their way towards us. Too bad they didn't have a tom (or jake) with them! This has been the story of Caden's hunt, all hens. 

The hens continued to feed past us so we moved towards the nearest cover to call and hope that our luck would change. Just before the sun crests the ridge is the coldest part of the day and I was sure feeling it! Or not feeling it in the case of my fingers... Caden seemed fine, so we toughed it out for a little while, watching deer feeding below us, when I caught a glimpse of something gray a couple hundred yards out. Immediately, I told Caden to pass me the gun and called one more time. The coyote came in a straight line right towards us and only stopped when it was about 15 yards away from us and 5 or so yards away from the decoy. I had a clear shot at its head so I took it and bagged my first coyote!

Coyote's get a bad rap and I'm not sure where I stand with it all. On the one hand, research says that you can't eliminate them, or even reduce their numbers through hunting or trapping. On the other, they kill turkeys and fawns and if we can knock their numbers down, even for the short term, at the right time of year we could help recruitment for these species. As far as I'm concerned right now, any hunt becomes a coyote hunt once you see one. Steven Rinella of MeatEater fame has said that if you pronounce it KIH-OAT-EE then you never shot one, but if you have you say KIH-OAT. So I guess I need to adjust the way I talk now. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder