Oak Creek, Sedona AZ

So, I was finally able to get out and attempt to curb my fishing craving that I have had for a couple of months now.  I think this trip had been planned and postponed at least a couple of times.  So it was good to finally get out.   We decided to go up to Oak Creek after doing some research.   We knew that if we did not catch any fish we would at least be in a very scenic part of the state.  My good friend Jesse went with me.  Luckily, we were able to catch some fish, so the scenery was just a bonus.

The Red Rock is the trade mark of that part of the state, parts of the river actually ran right over the rocks, making for some very interesting features in the river.

The lower parts of the river right above Sedona looked amazing for fishing. However,  we were two of the hundreds of people there this weekend.  And the lower parts of the river were the most popular, this is one of the few sections without people swimming  in it.  So there was not much fishinig to be had here.

We camped in Cave Springs campground which is in the upper part of the Canyon.  The campground was full the night we got there so we found a place off to the side of the road and slept in the back of Jesse's truck.  We got up early and got in line at the camgground to make sure we had a spot. 
The upper part of the river was a lot less crowded .  Although we did have to compete with some sort of youth group, and a bunch of spin fisherman around the campgrounds and major parking spots.  We were able to find some areas of the river that we could fish on.

The water in the river was some of the clearest that I have ever seen.  Making for some tough fishing.  This was combat fishing to its most intense.  Make one wrong move, and those brown trout went flying out of their hiding places.  You could not see them until they were spooked or they hit your hook.  We spooked most of the ones that we saw, but we were able to fool a couple of them. 

Here are a couple of holes were we caught some of our bigger fish.  We did not get any good pictures of fish on this trip.  Most of the fish we landed were in the 4-8'' range.  My big fish of the trip was about 12'',  I think Jesse had one about the same size.   We also caught of few of the stocked rainbows that were in the river. 

We had to make us of every bolder and high pool to sneak up on these fish.  Needless to say both of us had some slips as we attempted to not spook the fish, watch our back casts, make good casts, and watch our footing.  

We fished with a dry dropper combination for most of the time.  The mornings and evenings they were on both the dry and dropper about the same.  During the day we switched to only a dry.  They hit the stimulator mostly.  With hits also coming on the caddis and adams.  We fished mostly some pheasant tails nymphs underneath. 

This was my big fish of the trip.  Right as we were getting ready to take his picture, I dropped him.  Sorry, you will have to take my word for it.  There were a few hatches coming off.  Mostly small midges and some caddis.   The fish really never got up on the hatches very heavy.  There were a few holes were they got fairly active and we had some success.  We just felt good any time we could even induce a strike. 

So a fun trip.  Not a lot of fish, but a very fun place to be up in the mountains.  We will probably hit Oak Creek again early in the spring or late fall.   Thanks Jesse for going with. 

Flaming Gorge

My Uncle was kind enough to share some of these pictures with me.  (Maybe he shouldn't have because now I am mad that I was not there).  Hopefully my time of living vicariously through other people's pictures won't last much longer, but these sure are an eye full.

My father in law was able to go for a day.  Hopefully he feels good about not telling me he went on this trip.    I was told not to reveal the location of this place.  But to give you a clue.  It is a creek running into Flaming Gorge.  Spring run off is just starting, and these are all spawning fish.  

You can see how dark and murky the water is, so no sight fishing.  But look at the dark and bright
 colors of these fish.  Pretty awesome for lake spawn's.  The fly of the trip was jig-a-glows.

This appears to be one of the biggest.  Around 23''.  A very nice catch in that size of creek.

My Cousin Carlton broke in his new birthday rode here.  I great way to break in a fly rod.

You can see the weather was perfect, a little wet, but very nice to be fishing in.  I love the colors of the rocks in this area.  Makes me feel a little home sick for my child hood home.

Thanks for sharing the your trip Guy.  It looks like you had a great time.  4 Days of fishing, and a lot of fish later.   I will be seeing you next year for this trip

Fishing Fun

I really enjoy fishing. Being out in Nature, being able to see new places, enjoying the weather (Yes, even the cold), watching wildlife. I cannot think of very many thing that are better than that, and if you are able to catch fish on top of that...... On of the things that I do enjoy more than fishing is being with my family, and I hope someday that my kids will enjoy going with me to catch a fish. I haven't taken them yet, but plan to this next summer. They already love camping and hiking. I also want to be able to enjoy these experiences with my extended family and nieces and nephews. Camping, being outdoors, and fishing is something that both sides of my family enjoy, and I hope to be able to do this for a long time. My niece Hadlee has been fishing recently (I will have to get the details of the trip), but I thought she should be on my blog. Nice catch Hadlee Sue

Christmas in Utah!!

First off, Merry Christmas to everyone!

We are up in Utah again to be with family for Christmas and New Year. And of course being this close to the Green I had to make a trip. I almost did not go because I could not find anyone to go with me, and because it is a lot colder here than in Tucson AZ. Luckily a face book post caught the attention of my old high school buddy Tyler, and we then talked another buddy Broc into heading up to the Green for a morning trip. It was actually a bit warmer up in Flaming Gorge than in Roosevelt, and being waist deep in the Green just felt great. Thanks Tyler and Broc for going with me. We only fished for a few hours, and it took us a little while to figure out what was going on. We ended up catching most of the fish on copper johns, and I landed a few on an egg pattern. The fishing was getting better right when we left, they lowered the flows to about 900 and we were able to get into a few. We didn't catch anything big, although the Rainbow that I landed is probably the biggest fish I have landed on the Green for a while. But it was fun, I think I missed as many as I landed. I was having trouble setting the hook. But it was a fun trip. I think I am going to have to make this a tradition, so next year you are all invited.
Broc landed a nice Brown for his first fish

My Rainbow

November Utah Trip

I was able to take 2 days in our trip to Utah to get some fishing in. Friday the 20th I went with my Father and brother in law up to Jones hole on Diamond Mtn. It was a great day for fishing, just someone forgot to tell the fish. My uncle had gone up the week before and said that he had done great, which is evident by the nice Rainbow he landed there. So I was pretty excited. We to there and the first hole I casted in I landed two fish, one decent Rainbow and a little Brown. So I was pretty excited. But the rest of the day went pretty slow. I think I landed maybe 4 more fish, nothing of any size. Both John and Cody did a little better but nothing spectacular. The fish were everywhere, just not eating what we were throwing at them. This time of year the Browns are spawning there and are usually pretty aggressive. I threw a little jigaglow egg pattern most of the day, landed all my fish on that. I did have a few hits on the big dry I had on top. Cody and John had luck throwing spinners. The most exciting part of the day was in the last hole on the way back to the truck. I hooked a nice fish but he broke me off. I never really got a good look at him but he felt really nice. So I called it good after that. Just nice to be up in the mountains.

My Uncle Guy and his Big Rainbow

Saturday my Dad and Brother drove up from Logan and we floated down the Green. There were actualy quite a few other boats on the river. The morning was perfect, actually really nice for that time of year. We had come prepared for snow and had to take off all our cold gear. Around 11 though a cold wind started blowing and the temperature dropped. Again, the fishing was not super hot. I think I landed around 8 fish, Ryan and Dad about half of that. We did double up once with both Ryan and my dad landing 16-17 inch browns. Again we fished with Egg patterns but had a few hits on the Dry, I think my dad landed one on the Dry, a big foam ant pattern. It was just really nice to be up on the Green after more than 2 years. We got to Little Hole just as the storm blew in and we drove off the mountain in a snow Storm. But a fun Trip.

All of the fish were almost identical in size, 16-17 inch fish. Ryan landed the big one of the day

Lots of boats on the River, But we were the only boat that ever doubled up. (Good guiding I think)Thanks Ryan and Dad for taking time off to go fishing with me, I sure enjoyed it.

Fish Pictures

So, I am always on the lookout for nice pictures of fish and nature. I found a site that has some pretty awesome Pictures. I thought I would share the site with anyone who is interested.

http://www.castawayfilms.com/
Enjoy

Fishing Withdrawals

So,
I am beginning to forget what it is like to catch a fish. I can't wait for November. We are heading up to Utah for Thanksgiving and are planning at least a trip to Jones Hole, and hopefully a trip down the Green. If you are going to be in the Uintah Basin at that time and would like in let me know. Anyway, I thought I would post a few pics to make me miss the fall and fishing even more.

No, that is not me. But someplace that I am going to go someday. Platte River in Colorado. MAN!

My Dad, Sister, and Brother in law. Paradise, Cache Valley Utah. That a girl sis. I knew you had some of the fishing blood in you. My Dad and Aaron went fishing while Carly and the kids came to visit us down in AZ. Thanks Aaron for letting your family come and visit. We enjoyed them. Hope you had fun fishing.