Eyes > Stomach

So on the cutthroat trip, Chad had some real success using a big nasty Tarantula tied up by a local expert. Even this tiny minnow couldn't resist, despite the fact that the fly was bigger than its head. I say hats off to him for having the guts to try and eat something that probably could have eaten him if it was real.

You've probably determined that the catching of this tiny bait fish presented a real dilemma for me. I never let Chad catch the biggest fish of the trip, so how could I in good conscience let him catch the smallest? It bothered me so much I had to go out the next day and capture this beauty, which is a good 2 mm shorter than Chad's sardine.

I also caught two of the prettiest fish ever, a couple of Uintah cutt-bows. They had the markings of a redband rainbow, but with the glowing copper sheen of a fine-spot cutthroat. Throat slashes to top it off.

Cutthroat Chronicles

There's just something about those cutts that'll make you do crazy things to have a shot at them. Like drive until 2 am and then get up at 6:30 to head up into the wilderness. Maybe it's the crystal clear, freezing cold, pristine waters they love.

Or maybe it's the fact that they love to eat on top, even if it means rushing up from the depths to take a big, hairy Tarantula or a hopper.

Or maybe it's all the spots and the throat jewelry.


Whatever it is, it'll eat at us until we search them out the next time...

Road trippin'

Me and Moose took a little road trip the other day (actually it was mostly in the dead of night). Saw some cool road signs. Not sure what the first one means, but we liked it.

How could you not laugh a little at the second one?

We also stayed in a really posh hotel room, the kind with no free shampoo.

Trading Off

Last time we went to the Provo, Chad slayed 'em and I got skunked for the first time this year. A good hard skunking too, where I fished intensely the whole time and didn't even come close. This trip we traded, which I was more than happy to do. Chad did hook 3 fish, but none came to the new rubber-bagged net. I had probably my best fight this year w/ a monster 'bow that took me a couple hundred yards downstream before another guy kindly helped me net him. Took a couple other big 'bows and a beautiful brown starting to get his hook-jaw. Funny how fortunes change.

Chad's Feud

Chad's been exchanging unpleasantries with a large brown trout as of late. Specifically, the last three outings. Always in the slick behind the big rock that breaks the current. The first time, I heard Chad shout and ran over just in time to see his line rip all the way across the river before the leader parted. The second time Chad had him on for longer, but the result was the same. In that episode, he lost his temper and his beloved Cub's hat. Today I was lucky enough to get the tantrum on camera after the hook popped loose and Chad lost his glasses in the ensuing anger management highlight. This is one reason why flyfishing is so expensive. Chad has lost about $10 in flies, $15 in hats, and $30 in glasses to this one fish! Take a look:

A few pics from the land o' rivers...

You have to love places with so many awesome trout streams that you have a hard time deciding what to hit and what to pass by. The possibilies are endless and there's never enough time to fish it all. Should we do hoppers on the So and So River, stones on Watchamacallit Creek, or caddis on the Pick A Name Fork?

Test results are in!

In a study already being heralded by many scientists as the most comprehensive of its kind, trout were shown to prefer the Death Pupa almost 5 to 1 over $.79 Taiwanese flies. Said one Henry's Fork rainbow, "They just taste better. When a Death Pupa drifts by, you know you're getting a complete meal, and not some processed soy burger." In the statistically significant sample, trout were asked to remain in their natural habitat and choose between garbage flies tied by some guy who's never seen a trout, and the meaty awesomeness that is the Death Pupa. Although the results speak for themselves, the creators feel that more in-depth testing is needed.

Fly Selection

I'm not the smartest man in this world. I know that's hard for some of you to believe, but just ask my wife and she can get into the nitty-gritty details with you. Anyway, the point is this: I'm not the smartest man in the world, but I can usually pick out a fly that will give at least decent results. The trick is to find that balance between the S.W.A.G.(Scientific Wild-A** Guess) method and going way overboard w/ stream thermometers, pH testers and bug seines. Just take a second to be observant, look at the water and the situation before you hop in and start rifling through all 8 of your fly boxes. For example, the other day I was walking toward a river through a field of grass, and there were hoppers flying everywhere. You could hear their annoying "clack-clack-clack" as they drifted on the breeze. Wait a second, breeze? Does that mean some of these succulent Trout Biscuits could end up in the water? And would trout rather eat a huge amount of protein in one bite if it's readily available, than eat a couple hundred midge larva to get the same amount? I felt a hypothesis beginning to form in my feable mind...

Slow Rise, Take It Easy

So, I've always had a problem with Cutthroats. I've never really fished a stream where they were the primary fish. One of the home waters has enough of them in it to where about 15% of the stikes you get are from cutts, but I almost always miss them. I get used to striking on browns, and then when a big cutt drifts up, I'm almost always early. When the chance came to fish a small river full of decent cutts came up, I was more than willing. I think it helped to know that it would be all cutts, so I kept thinking to myself, " Take it easy on the strike. Let that slow rise happen and then just gently tighten up." Worked wonders. I stilled missed some fish, but I defintiely did better. Plus, the scenery and the fish were stunning. I was the only angler on the water, the streamside log said the only one in the past 4 days. Go find you a little Cutt water and remember "Slow rise, take it easy."