A few from Summer 2004. What a blast!
I love Fly Fishing for these beautiful Resident Brown Trout.
It's not about catching huge fish but rather the enjoyment of Nature.
Standing in the stream with the sun on your shoulders can't be beat. I wait all winter and the summer is too short.
You can only fish one pool at a time. Oh well, sure beats working.
Thanks for dropping in. Check out the rest of the fly fishing galleries.
One of my "quick tie" hand tied slate grey with brown hackle and tail, grizzly wing. Not much detail, but they work! Poor fish. Dragged through the water and hoisted up for a quick pic. In previous history the fish would have been killed. It got released and still slaps the caddis and mayflies in his lie. I can't raise him! He calmly takes real flies right beside my flies.
Pike on the flyrod!
As the bead head hit bottom I began to slowly strip in the fly. After only a few feet the line tightened and I set the hook. I was very excited by the violent headshakes I got in return. I thought I had the big lunker Brown Trout I'd been trying for all summer.
24" Trout are nice too but I'll always remember this Pike and it's BIGGER brother who hit on the previous cast. My first and second pike on the fly. The first one eluded the photo-op but I got a hammer handle on this on for the pic. Aint trout fishing fun. Ironically I'd been out earlier in the year trying to catch pike on purpose and got skunked everytime. I released both pike.
I've been told that I should of killed the pike but I would never kill a fish just because of what it is. I released them and then I looked into it. The Pike eat mostly crayfish and minnows, not trout!
Store bought Black Bead Head with red collar.
I couldn't even see the fly but I saw the rise. My reward for toughing it out late, late dusk.
This gorgeous Brown Trout was caught on my own fly. It was fooled by an olive #12 long shanked polywinged parachute fly with black tail and hackle fished in a riffle that ran up against some boulders in 12" of water.Roll casts all the way, trees everywhere behind. It took all I could muster to roll the line and fly all the way across current to the other side bank. If it's more than a foot from those rocks forget it. Get the fly to run down right beside them and hold on. I know this Trout still lives there. I released it, and I've raised (and missed) this trout since the picture.
I use single barbless flies even when not required by law. The trout need all the help we can give them. A fish lost is just as big a thrill as a fish released. I would never eat one of these Gorgeous resident trout. And certainly not a brookie!
Another Resident Rainbow
This rainbow gave me the best fight of the year. It smashed a dry fly in the middle of a very fast riffle and jumped and thrashed and raced up and down the pool.
It's barely 1 1/4 lbs. but all I could do was hold on.
We got this photo of me finally getting a grip on it. Then, out of film. I don't usually take the digital camera on the water. This fish was of course released. I try very hard to avoid this kind of poor handling! Please do the same. No touch is best !!
Another great memory of fly fishing in cool, clear waters made possible by great local conservation orginizations !!!!
You just never know...
Perch like flies too apparently. They even seem to get along with Brook trout! Who knew? I had to weed out the perch to get to the trout. Who would of thought something would feed more aggressively than brookies. All the perch were stunted so I guess they just eat whatever they can before the trout cruise in and take over the feed.