FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors
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I stopped the truck and took this as I headed way up Friday morning. Just a reminder to look around and appreciate where you are.
Woke up way to early this morning which here is a good thing. Time for a ride. Today it was all the way to the top. On a prior ride we saw a ton of big mule deer bucks, today not near so many. I am sure one reason is the shear number of folks in the woods. I even saw 3 folks who were camping after riding their bikes – over 20 miles straight up.
This feeds a small creek in a big meadow, looks cool at daylight.
I did not see near the deer as usual but these 2 made my morning.
Mom was not to worried but Junior was gone in a second.
And finally a cow elk made an appearance. The elk are still in the high woods and at the moment they have no reason to start down. I have told you in the past that it is not easy to get wildlife to cooperate, and this cow elk is a perfect example.
That is the south end of a north going elk.
But picture aside it was good to see one. She was almost to the tree line and really not having me there. It makes it a ton easier having the Boss along, we can get pictures faster. This morning I spent too much time looking at her before picking up the camera. It is great to get a cool picture but in the end just seeing them works for me. Elk are cool creatures and I look forward to Yellowstone and then fall when they make their move. While I did not see to many bucks this guy stuck out like a sore thumb.
He was bedded down on a sunny hillside and in no hurry to move.
They look so cool in velvet.
One nice thing about this route after a couple of hours (It is 6o mile rough gravel trip in the mountains.) it runs alongside the stream where I caught fish on Tuesday, so I stopped and gave it a go. One thing that is a real learning process is water levels. Even though we have had rain the last 3 days the water in this creek was way down since Tuesday. I had 2 bites but missed them both, and they were really small. Clearly that may be it for that high up this year.
What made it interesting was the creek I fished on Thursday was up and moving, definitely affected by the rain. These are maybe 10 miles apart as the crow flies and completely different. But that is part of the learning process. Next up is the river, it will have to be early as there are lots of folks enjoying the outdoors, it is the weekend. But one of the great things about living here, there is plenty of room.
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Monday did some work outside and got the trees trimmed, a stump removed along with a pile of logs left by the prior owner. I had hoped to fish but around noon it clouded up and finally rained just a little. Not enough to raise any water levels but at least it was something. But the lightning that accompanied it was ferocious, which is always interesting. So this morning I headed up in the mountains and had a great morning.
Tuesday
Heading out at 10,000 feet on a beautiful morning.
I headed up to a big meadow that the Boss and I hiked a couple of weeks ago that had a small high mountain stream running through it. We saw small brookies heading out when they saw us, so I knew they were there. With the bugs and multiple hatches going on I stuck with the dry fly and managed to stick a couple.
A crystal-clear high mountain stream. Hard to believe there are trout in these waters.
It sure was nice to have the hip boots I scored at the garage sale as opposed to waders. No need for them, and since I was in and out of brush and rough country if they get a hole in them it is not $500 Simms. Right off the bat I missed a couple, it is still a large learning curve fishing water like this. One false move and you easily spook them, you can see them fleeing the holes so it requires a little stealth and precision casting.
Lots of flying and hatching bugs have them on the dry bite.
It is just so awesome to be fishing in such a wonderful place. Of course, keep the bear spray on and make plenty of noise as there are lots of critters near the streams. Walking through heavy brush has its moments but it is all part of it. And since we found a moose shed, it is good moose country, a little caution is a good thing as the moose are just as dangerous as bears. But it is part of living the good life here and makes my learning curve an adventure.
That is a little better. Went 2 for 7, still learning.
I fished quite a was this morning, weaving in and out of the creek and as I have the last few trips to this type of small stream, I learned a lot. First of course is fish up stream and be as quiet as possible, and definitely keep the shadow to a minimum. Second, there are fish in water you would never guess. The obvious places, shoots, undercut banks, little pools are no brainers, but a couple of the bites came from almost no water.
Fish are fish and I do know how to find them, but the real issue is my mechanical skills. They are small fish on tiny flies, and I seem to commit 2 errors. It is hard to change my hook setting habit, a real hook set is not the way, it seems an easy lift is all you need. And apparently I am not keeping my line direct enough from the rod to fly on the drift. Luckily both of these are easy fixes, just takes more experience. But some of the bites are barely detectable even though they are on top, but again that all comes with experience. Tomorrow it is the Rio Grande and brown trout. If life is good it will be 4 different places the next 4 days, it does not get any better than that.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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Wednesday was a wash out. I spent the day waiting on the internet folks and the gas company. Nothing ended up being resolved but at least the internet folks will be here Monday as it is beyond sketchy. I do not know squat about routers but the one in the house is older than my truck and they told me it had been here 13 years. The gas folks; Who knows?
Thursday
After talking to the Boss 0n her way to work time to head to the water. The wind was blowing like it is want to do here so I made a little change of plans and headed to one of the creeks that was protected. I figured a couple of hours there and then to the river, good plan that did not work out.
The water in the creek had definitely come up after that little bit of rain the last few afternoons. The one I fished the other days should actually be perfect and I will be there in the morning. (And it was exactly the opposite of what I thought it would be this morning.)
The creek was humping right along.
Sticking with the dry, not real sure how to fish these little creeks any other way, it was 4 or 5 bites and only one to the net. I lost my good fly when setting the hook and missing, the fly ended 10 foot up in a tree.
This guy made the trip.
The creek was moving right along, and it was another learning experience. A really big one for the creek tracked below it but did not eat, but it confirms there are a few nice ones there. The other bites were halfhearted at best. But it is still somewhat a mechanical issue with my hook setting, let alone keeping the drift correct for a natural presentation and for setting the hook. Around 11:00 I called it quits and headed to the Rio Grande as the wind had laid down.
Unfortunately, I misjudged the weather. After literally no rain it has come like clockwork the last 3 days, and it is thundering right now. As soon as I started a wade the thunder started, and it began to drizzle. I never had a bite what little I fished the river, but not surprising as I was trying a new place I had not fished. But no big deal as it is close to the house and there is always tomorrow, and there will be fishing tomorrow.
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Bighorn Sheep
You all know I love Bighorns. But I am a piker compared to my buddy Randy and I could not be any more excited for him. A lifelong hard-core hunter he has hunted the west for almost 30 years. As part of that he has entered the Bighorn Sheep draw with 26 years of points and it finally happened, he drew in SE Wyoming. He has hunted with these folks so long that he is now hunting with the son. He managed to draw the only tag in the area and things are looking good. Even better after the hunt he is going to come down here to visit. So good luck buddy, the hunt of lifetime starts in 2 weeks. Can’t wait to eat a little backstrap!
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Things are good here. Always something to do on the house, creeks and rivers galore, and weather to die for. Need to get to civilization next week for tire rotation and oil change before heading to Yellowstone. Other than that no plan except get outdoors and do something. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
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Water
The water crisis is becoming critical out West much less in other areas of the country, including South Texas. So, the Boss and I have made a commitment – no watering of the lawns. When it comes down to it watering the yard is simply a waste of what is becoming a precious resource. Unless we start really looking at the situation realistically it will only get worse. But one thing is for sure, quit building golf courses in the desert. What a waste.
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