Reality Check

It's a tough idea to follow through with, that if you find success you shouldn't try to recreate it again because it almost never works out. But if you knew where a bunch of big fish were hanging out for a while wouldn't you try and go after them again? It makes it even more tempting when you know that this situation doesn't last all year and any day could be the last. Super low, clear water added another level of challenge to the fishing where dropping down to lighter tippet really isn't an option. While a lighter tippet would definitely result in more hookups, it would decrease the number of fish landed and you'd definitely have to play fish longer which would result in higher mortality rates. 

So, heavy tippets with strong hooks so that every hookup would be followed by a quick fight and a fish in the net with as little stress as possible. We worked together as a team, spotting fish, watching drifts, and calling out when a fish took a fly. Once a fish was hooked, like my first of the day, the other guy quickly grabbed the net and moved into position. 

With a fish landed, it was Lane's turn, so we switched spots and I worked as spotter to try and get him into a fish. It didn't take long before Lane hooked up on his first of the day. 

We took our time, since we had a suspicion that the further we went upstream the fewer fish we would see. A perfect cast was needed to get them interested in eating, only to get them interested but it didn't mean that they would eat it. 

Out of one run, I caught a nice fish, one that would be fish of the day/week/year anywhere else. Lane followed up with a nice fish that was easily his best of the day right after that. 

It was again my turn, so I crawled up into casting position and did my best to get a fish to eat my streamer. Bow and arrow casts and lots of patience finally get me connected to a great fish, but trying to get him out from under the willows to where I could play him effectively was too much and he came off. In the few seconds that Lane and I discussed what had gone wrong another fish (even bigger) moved into range and without thinking about turns I flipped my fly towards the fish. It took a couple of tries before he finally opened his mouth. I set the hook and immediately started backing up downstream to try and get enough line out so that I could actually fight the fish. As I was backing up Lane made a quick move forward with the net and had the fish landed before it really had a chance to show off it's impressive stature.

Instantly, the guilt of not trading off fish set in even though Lane assured me that he wasn't too worried about it. Once I started getting the fish into a good spot for a picture I realized that this was an amazing catch. We marked his length on the net at somewhere between 26 and 27 inches, and in the guessed weight range of 7 pounds. A new personal best cutthroat for me.

We spotted a couple other fish but nothing was really in a spot that we could fish to them. We knew that fishing this stream was over for the year and hoped that next year we could meet some of these fish again, but with the low water there's always the possibility of these fish not making it until next year. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. So, instead of calling it a day we decided to make the drive back to reality and fish a stream with normal-sized fish. Before we knew it we were lengthening our leaders and tapering them down to 5x, using flies that seemed extra tiny, and casting to finicky fish. 

We caught some really nice fish on size 20 flies and it was refreshing to try and match a hatch and have some uncertainty. We still sight-fished as much as possible and still worked together taking turns to catch fish. The change was refreshing.

I know that there's a lot of fishermen that have trouble fishing for smaller fish after being spoiled. I've heard of people that can't fish locally and be happy after going to a place that holds lunkers. But for me, catching these nice-sized, challenging fish was just as fun as catching the mega trout on "Secret Stream". I'm looking forward to hitting the high country, using my new boat, and getting as much out of this summer as I possibly can. 

Hope you're as lucky,  

Kidder

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

Summertime!

The first week of summer break! As a teacher, having time off is one of the advantages of my career. Nevermind the fact that it's basically leave without pay with our 9 month contract pay is stretched across the full year, it's time off! As a music teacher that runs a summer band program, my summer isn't completely devoid of work but I still have plenty of time to spend on the water. The first week off seems to always be about catching up on all the projects that I've been neglecting, so when Lane texted and asked if I wanted to get out I had to check with the wife to make sure she'd be okay with it. "You can go play with your friend as long as you get your chores done," was her reply. I honestly think she was surprised that I checked with her at all before committing. 

The plan was to check on a stream that we know of in hopes of finding some pre-spawn cutthroat and maybe some rainbows that like to tag along in hopes of an easy meal. I figured we were still a little early, but we had back-up places to hit if the fishing wasn't what we hoped for. Lane was confident that we'd find fish because of the lack of run-off this year. Sure enough, we found low clear water and fish that were extra spooky because of it. A stealthy approach, some patience, and some tricky casting was all it took to get a chance at one of these fish. It was Lane that struck first with a beautiful cutthroat. 

Fishing with Lane is always a good time because, whenever possible, it's spot-and-stalk fishing. It almost makes it feel more like hunting, where you spend the majority of your time just looking for a target and planning an approach. Luckily for us, there were plenty of targets and I soon had my first fish of the day. 

If the day were to end there it would still have been a good one, luckily for us the day had just started and there was still a lot of stream to stalk and a lot of fish to throw to. The sun was intense, which was good for spotting fish but one application of sunscreen was definitely not enough. The cold water definitely helped though, and we kept fishing even though our skin was turning red before our eyes. 

There are a lot of different ways to fish together, and each one has it's advantages. For this type of fishing we tend to trade off fish. Meaning, it was your turn until you hooked and played (or landed) a fish, or missed three takes. It's a good system that allows the person who's turn it is plenty of time to have a chance and it frees up the other guy to act as spotter and hopefully net man. I'm sure some people don't like fishing this way, but I do. When you're fishing partner is relying on you to spot fish and describe their movements it keeps you in the game and an active participant. When a fish is hooked I feel the rush of adrenaline as I move quickly into position to try and net the fish as quickly as possible. There is a lot of pressure not to screw up the net job and accidently cost your friend a fish too. So any fish caught seems like a team win and makes the whole day very enjoyable. 

Never really found the fly that they would take consistently, but if you placed a good fly in front of their face enough times eventually they'd eat. That's where having a spotter was so important, to tell you where the fish were and what they were doing. These fish weren't taking the flies too aggressively, in relatively slow moving water, so detecting the strike was very challenging and there were several times when the spotter had to call the strike so the guy with the rod knew when to set the hook. Like I said above, definitely a team effort. 

This is one of our favorite spots, and a pretty well-kept secret so I was shocked to find someone's fly stuck in a streamside bush. Upon retrieval and further inspection, I'm pretty sure it's mine from last year...

I was fishing a couple of weighted nymphs under an indicator, so I was surprised when a big fish came up and slammed the indicator! Out of habit I set the hook and somehow the fish stayed on the line long enough for me to get it into the net. I was really shocked that I had just caught a fish on a hook-less indicator until we realized that my "hookset" had flossed the fish and my top nymph was stuck in the corner of his mouth. I decided to change out my rig for a dry/dropper, but I never did have another fish come up and take anything off the surface...kinda weird. 

We spotted a couple fish holding tight to the bank, just behind a boulder in a pocket that was covered with willows above. The fish were obviously very protected in their little hideyhole, but still feeding and moving into the current from time to time. Not easy, but definitely worth a try. It was Lane's turn, so I climbed the bank to keep an eye on the fish while he casted. Try as he might, it just didn't seem like his flies ever got in front of the fish. When they were in the current, his flies weren't. When he managed to tuck a cast behind the rock, they didn't get deep enough before being swept out into the current. Standing above, I thought I could see a way to cast upstream of the willows and drift the flies to where the fish were nosing out into the current. When Lane had finally given up on these fish, I asked if I could give it a shot. Realistically, I figured my first cast would get stuck in the willows and we'd have to blow the hole to retrieve them. Surprisingly, my first cast landed right where I had hoped and the flies drifted perfectly to the fish. The largest of them ate right when I figured my flies were in the zone so I set the hook and was tied into my biggest fish of the day. It was a short fight that would've been completely anticlimatic if the fish would've actually fit in my net. As it was, getting the fish into the net and keeping it there was quite the challenge, and we actually decided to switch over to Lane's deeper net for a quick measurement and some pictures. 

When I take pictures of fish the goal is always to keep them in the water as much as possible. That's why I rarely fish without a net. I get everything ready, figure out the best angle, make sure the camera is on and set up, lift the fish and quickly get a picture. I try and get a couple with the fish in the water, or just above it, and maybe a trophy shot. All of this takes just seconds and I make sure the fish is ready to go before I release it. There's nothing wrong with keeping fish, especially if you're going to eat them right away (I will never understand filling a freezer full of fish, just keep what you'll use and then you have an excuse to go get more!) but if you're planning on releasing a fish I believe it's your responsibility to do everything you can to ensure that fish lives. I'm always learning, and don't claim to be an expert, but just do the best I can until I know better then I'll do better. 

A great day with some great company and some amazing fish made for the perfect start to a Summer that I hope will be filled with good times. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

That's How It goes

A year ago, right when Covid was on the uptick I got a call from my Dad. He had met up with an old friend to do some fishing and was calling me to invite me to join them. Big fish on every cast, easy fishing, time of your life, all the regular promises to get me out the door. Normally, it would've worked and I would've been packing before the phone call ended. However, this time was different because of all of the unknowns associated with Covid. I didn't go. Being cautious (mostly worried about getting someone else sick) and having tons of work to do since our school was going online for the foreseeable future both played into the decision. I've been regretting it ever since...

Having already had Covid and not infecting anyone, this year when the call came with almost the same story I was ready. Dad said the fishing was awesome on small orange bead-headed buggers retrieved slowly, so I hit the vice and tied up what I hoped would be enough.

I'm not sure why, but it's been quite a while since I've been fly fishing with my brother Weston. It's crazy because Weston and I used to fish together a lot, but I guess life gets in the way and our priorities and schedules just haven't lined up. It's not like we haven't been doing things together, including my one and only ice fishing trip this year, which was among the worst ice fishing trips I've ever had. We just haven't been fly fishing together in the last couple of years. 

Of course, when the plans were made the weather thought it could dissuade us. As late as 10:30 PM I was getting the screenshots of the weather reports followed by a text, "Are you sure you want to go?" and I quickly replied, "Yes." Basically, I'd rather go and maybe regret it than stay home and definitely regret it. The snow piling up on the highway had us all questioning this logic on the early morning drive. 

When we finally arrived Dad and I had to change into some warm clothes, but Weston hurried and got his rod together and started casting. It took a few minutes to get changed and rigged up, but Wes hadn't gotten anything. When I walked up to his spot he told me to give it a try (or maybe he didn't and I snaked him out of it...I can't remember) and on the second cast, I hooked into a great fish on a Purple Frenchie. 

Fishing wasn't fast, but we were getting a few on nymphs. Dad doesn't like to fish nymphs under an indicator and would much rather catch fish on streamers and tends to stick to it even if he's not getting any action. I think we all would rather fish a more active method, but catching fish is my priority. Even if that meant fishing a nymph rig with weight under an indicator. Dad was really insistent that we go back to where he had success a few days ago, I think he was hoping to get faster fishing and to catch some on the buggers. My hesitation was that you don't leave fish to find fish and where we were fishing was my favorite spot. I finally gave in and we headed to Dad's spot to see if the fishing was any better over there. 

Once we got to Dad's favorite spot he hooked into a fish that peeled out a bunch of line and promptly broke him off, getting our hopes up! It didn't take long for me and Wes to start finding some, but the action wasn't what Dad had earlier in the week. To me and Wes it seemed like fishing was great, but expectations couldn't live up to what Dad had been hoping for, though he did get some on an orange bead-headed bugger. 

When fishing here, if you have a spot to yourself there is the feeling that if you move you'll lose it, and there might not be anywhere to fish. So we stayed put for several hours, even when the snow and wind made it somewhat miserable. 

With the day winding down, and the fishing really slowing, we decided to head back to where we had started to see if the fish were more cooperative there. Luckily, there wasn't anyone in the spots that we wanted to try and fish. I picked up right where I'd left off, but this spot wasn't being too kind to Dad and Wes. I'm not sure why, but sometimes that's how it goes. With the day that we'd all had, I didn't feel too badly for them. 

A long drive through some bad weather is never a fun way to end the day, but sometimes it's worth it.  

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Get Away With

I don't really like adjudicating music festivals, but when you get asked to do a small festival in the town where your brother lives you agree to do it. When that town is also near a pretty good trout stream that just happens to be in the best shape that it will probably be in all year, it makes it worth it. So, on Wednesday night I loaded all my fishing gear into the truck so that I could teach a couple of classes in the morning, go judge the jazz festival, and then get some much-needed time on the stream with my brother Jeff. 

It felt good to hear some bands and talk to other music directors, but when the festival was over I was more than ready to hit the stream. I met Jeff at his house and we headed to a stream where I've had quite a bit of success in the past. At the first stop, we pulled our waders on and rigged up our flyrods. The recent success of the Purple Frenchie made it a first choice, and it went on the line with a San Juan worm as a blind guess that the fish might be willing to eat these. Jeff let me have first shot at the pool and I started working line off my reel. I flipped my leader out to keep the flies from getting stuck around my feet and a small rainbow ate the purple Frenchie. A good sign!

I set Jeff up with a purple Frenchie and he started working the pool. It took a minute for him to settle in and get a good hook set, but the strikes were coming pretty regularly. We traded off fish in that pool until we either hooked or spooked all the willing fish. 

We decided to move to another area to see if we could find a little better size of fish and to explore a little more of Jeff's home water. He hasn't done too much fly fishing, but every time we go out he's getting better at dealing with different situations. This time, it seemed like it all came together and he didn't have any trouble casting a heavy nymph rig with multiple flies, an indicator, and weight. So I wasn't surprised when he was hooked up again. 

The action wasn't quite as fast in the new spot, but the fish were a little better sized. Jeff hooked into a nice rainbow but his net man (me) was on the other side of the stream and he couldn't quite hand-land the fish. I managed a decent little brown while I was over there and had to do the old one-handed picture.

I've always felt like this stream should hold some bigger fish, but all we caught were these little to medium-sized trout. Not complaining, but I think this water is holding a few secrets that we're going to have to work to figure out. 

Lately, I've had a few people ask me how I manage to fish so much. I usually reply that I don't fish nearly enough, but I just get as much time on the water as I can get away with. 

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Fly Tying: Purple Frenchie

 Here's a video showing how I tie the Purple Frenchie that has been responsible for so many of my fish lately!

Too Long?

With the weather starting to turn more towards winter the need to get out seemed more pressing than usual. I decided to make the long drive to hit a stream that I hadn't been to in a couple of years, hoping to find some decent sized fish. The time of the year has plenty of distractions with hunting, football, and school in full swing which often means that I get to have the water all to myself. It was early enough that I hoped to find some pre-spawn browns and maybe even a good hatch. 

What I didn't expect was to find several other like-minded people on a stream where I usually fish alone. Not a big deal, but I did have to put in a little more effort to try and find some lonely water. I struggled at first, finding only one little Cutthroat that wanted to play, but once I got about a mile away from the parking area fishing picked up considerably, with a nice cutty slamming my wooly bugger on the swing and a few others willing to play. 

I abandoned the nymph rig and started covering water with the streamer. I didn't see any fish on the reds (did someone already fish this water and harass the spawners?) but made sure to watch my step to avoid the gravel beds. Swinging flies isn't really my specialty, but I found a few places that looked prime and worked my fly across and down to get a good swing. When I was working the top side of a particularly nice looking hole, I was shocked that my first few casts didn't get some attention; but I got a good cast close to the cut bank a brown chased my fly almost all the way to my feet before taking. 

As I worked upstream, the bite seemed to completely stop until I started hitting some heavier water that held a couple of beautiful tiger trout that wanted to play. Most days I can't stop fishing, but sometimes you catch a couple of incredible fish that just seem like a perfect way to end the day. As I walked back downstream towards the truck I passed several people fishing the spots that might've tempted me into stopping and ruining my perfect ending, but I'm glad I didn't ruin a good day by staying too long.  

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder

Invaluable

It can be hard to justify spending time away from home (family, projects, practicing, work...) and heading out fishing this time of year. Freezing temperatures make fishing difficult most days with iced guides, slippery access, and lathargic fish. Some spots are off the list entirely because of icy conditions or the danger involved. Ice fishing is an option, but it doesn't scratch the itch in the same way as getting out with the flyrod.

Cabin fever is a real thing around here, although I 'probably' wouldn't call in sick to work because of it...... Probably. So when we saw that daily temperatures were going to sneak above freezing for a couple days in a row Jeff and I made a plan to hit a stream.

The drive went by pretty quickly (listening to podcasts really helps) and Jeff was ready to go when I arrived. It didn't take long before we were following up on a lead for a great spot to fish. Lots of small rainbows were waiting for our wired San Juan Worms and Zebra Midges of different flavors. They helped to get the rust off and get the "first fish of the year" thing out of the way.

We decided to try another spot, although we really didn't know for sure where that was going to be. So we drove some likely access roads just to find private property and no trespassing signs. We did, however, manage to stumble on some great looking coyote hunting spots and we spotted a really nice buck. Of course, we didn't have the spotting scope so you'll just have to take my word for it. Eventually we ended up going back to the area I usually fish on this stream to end out the day.

With the sunlight disappearing and the temperatures dropping we weren't expecting much, but we still had hope of getting one more before calling it a day. We took turns casting to likely spots and managed to miss a few takes before I finally woke up and made good on the deal. A nice rainbow was more than I could've hoped for to end out my day.

A couple casts later Jeff pulled a nice cutthroat out of the same hole, but struggled to hold onto her for a picture.

As we made our way back to the truck I toyed with the idea of spending the night and hitting it again in the morning. The invite was definitely there and Jeff even tried to talk me into it a little bit, but responsibilities were weighing on me and I just couldn't do it. Time on the water is invaluable to me, especially at this time of year when the walls can start to close in, but responsibilities at home wouldn't wait and I was grateful for the day we just had.

Hope you're as lucky,

Kidder