Time for a much needed getaway had come. I had rowing lessons prescheduled when I first got my raft, I didn't really need them anymore, but I figured I would do em anyways and make a few days trip out of it. Floating the canyon, and running around that general neck of the woods.
Wednesday:
The wind was brutttalll. I spent an hour in the canyon from the shore, and decided to drive elsewhere in hopes of losing the wind. It only got worse. I had to take time to remind myself it's better than work, and decided to head higher in elevation, in hopes the denser forest would offer some wind break. It did to a degree, and small fish started hitting stone nymphs and then PMDs. What they lacked in size they made up for in aggressive air assault acrobatics to my dry fly. Every time it was like they hadn't eaten in a week. Fished till 6, then headed back to camp.
I was camping on a third river, but it's raging waters with a platinum sea foam green color had only a foot of visibility, so I didn't really try that one.
Thursday:
A calmer morning, much to my relief. I don't know if I could have floated in that weather. Started fishing in the canyon around 630 from shore. Quickly hooked into a smaller 8" on a stone nymph, then nada until my lessons.
Lessons started, fairly quickly we changed plans into working on navigating smaller runs at the Y's and such. I made a deal that I would forward row, and get the lesson over with quickly, so he could go home early and still get paid, and I can relaunch and fish the rest of the day. We arrived 45 minutes before the shuttle arrived, so waited, then I drove back to the fly shop and relaunched to fish.
As the theme of the trip, plentiful small fish taking dry Flys. No lunkers bit. But I enjoyed the solitude and scenery with the occasional bite.
Today:
I made it a point to target larger fish, I wanted just one pig today. Rod with my normal stonefly. Rod with a medium weighted streamer. And brought my 25' sink tip with a bugger on it.
Quickly netted 2 more 8" range on the stonefly. Grrr, but shouldn't complain.
Down river, letting the streamer dead drift then strip. Half way through the dead drift, the line stopped, dammit, I'm snagged on a rock. Give the pole a couple tugs, stuck. Start trying to reposition to get a good tug, and the Damm rock moved. Then the rock jumped. It was a big ass rock. He quickly shook off though, since I wasted 5 seconds getting "unsnagged". That was the pig I was looking for, and I messed it up. Oh well.
I ran out of time eventually and headed home.
Was nice getting to learn a new river, see the scenery and netting some baby fish.
Wednesday:
The wind was brutttalll. I spent an hour in the canyon from the shore, and decided to drive elsewhere in hopes of losing the wind. It only got worse. I had to take time to remind myself it's better than work, and decided to head higher in elevation, in hopes the denser forest would offer some wind break. It did to a degree, and small fish started hitting stone nymphs and then PMDs. What they lacked in size they made up for in aggressive air assault acrobatics to my dry fly. Every time it was like they hadn't eaten in a week. Fished till 6, then headed back to camp.
I was camping on a third river, but it's raging waters with a platinum sea foam green color had only a foot of visibility, so I didn't really try that one.
Thursday:
A calmer morning, much to my relief. I don't know if I could have floated in that weather. Started fishing in the canyon around 630 from shore. Quickly hooked into a smaller 8" on a stone nymph, then nada until my lessons.
Lessons started, fairly quickly we changed plans into working on navigating smaller runs at the Y's and such. I made a deal that I would forward row, and get the lesson over with quickly, so he could go home early and still get paid, and I can relaunch and fish the rest of the day. We arrived 45 minutes before the shuttle arrived, so waited, then I drove back to the fly shop and relaunched to fish.
As the theme of the trip, plentiful small fish taking dry Flys. No lunkers bit. But I enjoyed the solitude and scenery with the occasional bite.
Today:
I made it a point to target larger fish, I wanted just one pig today. Rod with my normal stonefly. Rod with a medium weighted streamer. And brought my 25' sink tip with a bugger on it.
Quickly netted 2 more 8" range on the stonefly. Grrr, but shouldn't complain.
Down river, letting the streamer dead drift then strip. Half way through the dead drift, the line stopped, dammit, I'm snagged on a rock. Give the pole a couple tugs, stuck. Start trying to reposition to get a good tug, and the Damm rock moved. Then the rock jumped. It was a big ass rock. He quickly shook off though, since I wasted 5 seconds getting "unsnagged". That was the pig I was looking for, and I messed it up. Oh well.
I ran out of time eventually and headed home.
Was nice getting to learn a new river, see the scenery and netting some baby fish.
