Bamboo and Bull Trout

Dave Westburg

Dave Westburg

Fish the classics
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IMG_2147.JPGDidn't fish for bull trout this fall due to coaching commitments so I took my 9' 5 and 5/8's oz phillipson and a wallet of bull trout flies to the river today. "Stay alert in the woods" said the coyote hunter in the parking lot, "I hunt around here and there are lots of cougars." No cougars, but two ospreys and an eagle sat in the trees watching me fish the first run with no luck.
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I suppose they were hanging around for this..
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Saw two anglers leaving a riffle upstream just as I arrived. Put on a small size 8 white ghost...
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First fish of the year!
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Love the New England patterns. My grandfather had both those patterns in tandem for Landlocked salmon trolling, and I tied them both on smaller single hooks for spring river landlocks for the smelt spawn. BG remains a favorite, I just don't have the colors for the Supervisor.
 
Tallguy said:
Love the New England patterns. My grandfather had both those patterns in tandem for Landlocked salmon trolling, and I tied them both on smaller single hooks for spring river landlocks for the smelt spawn. BG remains a favorite, I just don't have the colors for the Supervisor.
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I've caught bull trout on a supervisor, black ghost, white ghost, chief needabah and col bates. I like the mustad R79 9XL size 8 or size 6 hooks. Big profile but small hook which keeps motality down.
 
Dave Westburg said:
I've caught bull trout on a supervisor, black ghost, white ghost, chief needabah and col bates. I like the mustad R79 9XL size 8 or size 6 hooks. Big profile but small hook which keeps motality down.
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Don’t forget the Magog Smelt.

Well done, Dave. Way to avoid the big kitties too.
 
Dave Westburg said:
aView attachment 138655Didn't fish for bull trout this fall due to coaching commitments so I took my 9' 5 and 5/8's oz phillipson and a wallet of bull trout flies to the river today. "Stay alert in the woods" said the coyote hunter in the parking lot, "I hunt around here and there are lots of cougars." No cougars, but two ospreys and an eagle sat in the trees watching me fish the first run with no luck.
View attachment 138656
I suppose they were hanging around for this..
View attachment 138659

Saw two anglers leaving a riffle upstream just as I arrived. Put on a small size 8 white ghost...
View attachment 138657
First fish of the year!
View attachment 138658
Click to expand...
That is such a pretty river.

Hopefully it wasn’t too busy and you got to enjoy the solitude👍

and after watching some Youtube compilations of zoo cats stalking small kids I’ve been considering wearing a mask on the back of my head like people do in lion country IMG_8206.jpeg

think it would become trendy?🤪🤪
 
outstanding!
 
M_D said:
That is such a pretty river.

Hopefully it wasn’t too busy and you got to enjoy the solitude👍

and after watching some Youtube compilations of zoo cats stalking small kids I’ve been considering wearing a mask on the back of my head like people do in lion country View attachment 138697

think it would become trendy?🤪🤪
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This would also freak out anyone considering low holing you as they tried to sneak past downstream, LOL.
 
Dave Westburg said:
I've caught bull trout on a supervisor, black ghost, white ghost, chief needabah and col bates. I like the mustad R79 9XL size 8 or size 6 hooks. Big profile but small hook which keeps motality down.
Click to expand...
Dave's traditional style, Carrie Stevens streamers are works of art and those bulls are huge fans. When I started fly fishing in the early 1980s while visiting Upstate New York I got a chance to throw streamers for Landlocked Atlantics as they came along the shores of Cayuga Lake and upstream to Ithaca Falls (the runs were overlooked by Carl Sagen's home at the top of the falls). That's the first time I learned how effective those Carrie Stevens patters are. Those toothy Bulls fall for 'em too.

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Dave Westburg said:
"Stay alert in the woods" said the coyote hunter in the parking lot, "I hunt around here and there are lots of cougars."
Click to expand...

Bust out your Zulu warrior mask cuz I think I happened upon a kill site Wednesday. 😮

I was a 20 minute or so drive away from where (I believe )you fished and initially thought I'd found a poacher's kill site but the tracks and drag marks didn't make sense.

Hairs appeared to be from a deer. Blood and drag marks seemed to indicate it was being taken deeper into the brush rather than toward the clearing (and easy trail out).

Using my city boy - non hunter skills, I spent a little time trying to decipher what I was seeing but never put it together while in the woods.

Later, at dinner, when I was telling the wife about it, she was the one who suggested it might have been a cat.

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guess it's time for eyes on the back of my head

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whaddaya think? pink or purple ? 😁
 
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Dave,

Did you climb a rope to get into a run on this trip? I found a bent hook version of your top fly in the parking spot for it on tuesday, looks like it had been through it!

Made me think of your ties, and then I saw this!
 
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