Some Days You're the Windshield...

Some Days You're the Bug!

We all got up early - eager to get back to the Gorge. We had quite a surprise when we arrived. The rains of the previous evening had raised the level of the water and it was running fast and furious. There was so much sediment in the water I could have been at the Brazos or San Bernard rivers back home.

We tossed a couple of spinners but it was obvious that our fishing was over.











We had the gear and the licenses. We had the flies and the location...
Oh well it's just fishing!

It is a beautiful spot and I'm sure when the weather is right is a great place to fish.

You can't beat the folks at Shannon's - thanks again Jim!


Ken Lockwood - whoever you are - I SHALL RETURN!
DJWB

Ken Lockwood Gorge

After a nightmare trip from SLC to Philadelphia (via Phoenix) and making my presentation at the business meeting in Atlantic City, I'm ready for the long-awaited and much anticipated trip to KLG.

My traveling buddies and I called Shannons Fly and Tackle Shop in Califon, NJ and Jim promised to stay open until we arrived. The weather was threatening and we were only going to have a couple of hours to fish before dark.

We picked up some recommended dry flys (Sulphurs & Hendricksons).



These proved to be very similar to the naturals we saw in the area.



We decided to fish the open-access area in honor of J. L.'s decision to use his "pole" and worms. We stayed fairly close to the pickup as it was raining and threatening to get nasty. There were some T-storms in the area and we were concerned about lightning. We would save the restricted area for the next morning - hopeful for better weather.

I caught one small Brown on the white roostertail before we went to the motel to check in and that got us all pumped up. We saw some fish hitting the surface and were sure that we were in for a fun evening.

When we returned, it was raining pretty steady and the fish were down. I managed to catch one Rainbow on a green Wooly Bugger.






J. R. caught a smallmouth bass and J. L. did a long-distance catch & release on some form of aquatic life (trout).

We fished till nearly dark and decided to call it a night.

Better luck tomorrow???

Wildlife

As I was preparing to leave Daniels Creek, I snapped a few pictures of the area.






To my surprise, a moose came out of the creek right where I had been fishing.





A great way to end the trip. I'll be back..........

Tuesday Morning on Daniels Creek

My flight out of SLC wasn't until late morning so I got up early for one last trip to Daniels Creek. I was feeling a little guilty for not using my flyrod - after all I packed and carried the thing across the country - I should at least use it!

I had picked out a few places that I thought I could cast without hooking too many trees and where I knew there were fish.

My first strike was on my third cast in a small pool near a nice overhang. I had a #12 Scofield Special (see tie one on post) and this nice cutt nailed it.



My next available flyrod-friendly pool was "The Spot". I had already caught several nice fish here and knew where they hung out. I really had to sneak to get in position to cast without being seen. As I got close to the pool, I noticed a few caddis coming off the water ahead of me and decided to switch from the Scofield to a Stimulator I had tied a couple of months ago. My first cast missed by 6 feet and as the fly drifted down to the bottom of the pool I didn't see any action from the fish. I was convinced that he was there and on my second cast tried to get closer to the tree. I got close OK - my fly found a stray branch that was hanging out right over the perfect position and as I watched it wind itself around I thought I had blown my chance. Just as I was about to pull the line tight and break off, the fly and tippet unwound from the branch and dropped into perfect position. The fish I knew was there came busting out of hiding, grapped the fly and went airborne! I actually set the hook while he was in the air - so that is why you call it "fly fishing". It was by far the coolest fishing that I have ever experienced. That mental video will play for a while in my mind!







I picked up one more fish before it was time to head back to the airport.



Once again well worth the trip. Off to the East Coast!

Daniels Creek Day 2

It had to be done and I was just the man to do it!

Daniels creek was calling my name all day and after finishing up the last meeting of the day I headed out from Salt Lake City to Heber City. It took me 30 minutes to get from the office to Interstate 80 (rush hour) but I finally got moving and arrived at the pull out at about 7PM - 1.5 hours total drive time. There was the big decision to consider,(fly rod or ultralite?) but brother Paul helped me out over the phone. In the words of his eldest son - "some streams are fly fishing streams and some are made for ultralight spinning gear".

Daniels Creek is definitely the latter.

As I eased down into the first hole, I was surprised to see a buck in velvet standing in the creek. He didn't see or hear me at first (you really have to sneak up on these fish) and I even got a shot of him through the trees before he headed out.



I tried the white roostertail spinner and once again it proved to be just what the Dr. ordered for this fat rainbow.







I picked up a nice cutt in the next pool.



When I arrived at "the spot" I decided to try a white wooly bugger that I tied for a situation like this. If I was going to use a spinning rod at least I could use a hand-tied fly!

As I hoped, there was a nice cutt just waiting for what I was offering.




I had a lot of fun and caught a total of ten fat cutthroats.

Just before dark I caught the most colorful fish of the evening.

Look at the gill plates on this one:



This beauty was almost as showy as a brook trout!





I hated to leave but two hours of good fishing made it worth the drive.

Daniels Creek

I had a safe trip to Utah this afternoon and had enough daylight left to wet a line. A fellow passenger told me that there had been plenty of rain and a that the snowmelt was still keeping the rivers high. I made an executive decision that I might as well look at the small water instead of trying the Provo.

It was a good decision! I drove through Heber City and headed up Daniels Canyon. As I pulled over at the spot where I wanted to start, another fisherman pulled up and stepped down to the creek. He quickly came back to his car and said there was a hatch going on and that he had already caught a 12" Cutthroat.

I moved up to the next pullout and observed the hatch.



These small reddish brown Mayflies had already come off the water. They were about size 14 red quill. The fish were not rising that I could see and I tried to use the fly rod but the brush was so thick I wasn't doing any good. I remembered the trip Paul and I had made to this spot four years ago and we had good luck using an ultralight spinning rod and a white roostertail spinner. I guess it still works!



I caught several 10-12" cutts and then I saw "the spot". I probably should have gone back for the flyrod since there was enough room here to cast. Doesn't this look like home to a big fish?



This was a nice 15" Cutthroat. What a thrill!

These fish are beautiful and full of fight. I'll be back tomorrow!

Montana Caddis

I spoke to my brother Paul today and he told me he has his trip booked to Montana to fish with Paul Jr..

Man would I like to join them! I'll be returning from NJ and at least I'm supposed to fish the Ken Lockwood gorge while I'm up there.

Paul Jr. has been fishing and requested some flies: Adams Parachute, Pale Morning Duns (PMD), and Elk hair Caddis. I tied three types of caddis this afternoon to send along with Paul.


Another fine mess




The first ones are Light Caddis tied with a yellow body, tan elk hair tail & wing and light ginger hackle. I tied them on a #12 Mustad dry fly hook.






Next I tied a #14 Brown Caddis using brown deer hair, peacock herl body and palmered brown hackle.






I saved the best for last...The Woodchuck Caddis tied on a #16 Mustad dry fly hook.
Made with Woodchuck tail & wing, and a Woodchuck fur body with brown palmered hackle and collar.






Not a bad way to spend the afternoon!