Been Awhile.

Last Thursday, I went on a last minute, local-ish trip up to a canyon that I lived adjacent to that I havent been to since a big fire 3 years ago. @ColinShots and his son Oliver came along for the afternoon/evening fishing.

It's one of those classic West side rivers that looks so god damn fishy but holds mostly 8-10" fish. Sure, you could euro up some pigs and I know people do, but thats not why I fish these rivers and creeks. This day, I brought along my 7' 3wt Ijuin Yomoji and just had an absolute blast catching fish after fish. the strikes were vicious--often jumping fully out of the water to eat the fly. I caught fish on all kinds of different flies but parachute *anything* out fished any sort of deer/elk hair fly.

Colin and Oliver (in the background).
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Some fish.Screen Shot 2023-07-24 at 2.50.19 PM.pngScreen Shot 2023-07-24 at 2.50.53 PM.pngScreen Shot 2023-07-24 at 2.51.02 PM.pngScreen Shot 2023-07-24 at 2.51.24 PM.png

Colin fishing a tiny fish out of a giant net ;)
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Oliver contemplating the perils of turning 15 (the next day).
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Love that area, and have spent some time around there. Haven’t been since the fires.
 
Love that area, and have spent some time around there. Haven’t been since the fires.
I used to live at the top of the hill, right outside town, right before you drop down to the reservoir. Fished it a lot and love it dearly. It was the first time back since the fires. I can’t tell if I’m desensitized from the Detroit area or just that it’s been 3 years and there’s been new growth, but it didn’t feel as bad as I expected. Also my first visit was after three years whereas o went through Detroit basically right after it opened so the shock factor was a lot higher.
 
I've tried to crack the code of this river and eventually gave up.
 
I've tried to crack the code of this river and eventually gave up.
For me it’s just about being ok with small fish. I’m not interested in nymphing it for the bigger guys. Although it WOULD be cool to pull out one of the few bulls that are still in it.
 
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