Hello all,

Well, I made it back from my annual spring fishing trip to the US unscathed by the volcano.

The fishing was absolutely incredible. Normally, I go a bit earlier in the hopes of avoiding crowds, but certain circumstances kept me back a bit later this year. Luckily, spring has been as late in Colorado/ Utah as it was here, so the fishing is only just starting to pick up, and the word wasn't exactly out yet.

We spent two days on the Green River below flaming gorge dam. The stark surroundings really add to the beauty of the river.



Before hitting the river, we stopped in at a favourite fly shop in Vernal, Utah - BigFoot Fly Shop and Music. Guitars, Fly Rods, and a big ars3 gray parrot. Frikkin' cool. And the sign is a work of art:



We saw good hatches of midges in the AM and then about 4 hours of very strong BWO hatch in the afternoon. I switched to a dry after my first hour of fishing and never switched back.

Me messing around casting much farther than I needed to (there were fish rising within 5 feet of me).



There were lots of ospreys this year - this one eventually plunged into the water about 10 feet from me and came up with a 12 inch 'bow.



And of course we also caught our share of trout - some nice ones too. On Tuesday, I had 22 fish on a single biot body olive thorax I tied up specially for this trip .







Kneeling in the rock snot...





Here's a video of my friend Greg landing a nice Green River specimen. I stress that this is only a *little* but above average. We were catching fish like this all day long.

YouTube- greenriverbrown.mov

On Wednesday we fished a little 'secret' Utah creek I'd fished once before. We knew it held some big rainbows from the last time we fished it. It didn't disappoint this year either.

Greg into a really big rainbow - moments before it snaps his 4x like angel hair.



One I managed to land - the only big fish I kept on all day. This one slurped a sz 10 PTN almost the instant it hit the water:

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On Thursday and Friday, we headed over to Colorado to fish the infamous Frying Pan. I love John Gierach's books so I was pretty excited to experience this river - especially when the BWO's were coming off. We took the time to find, and then pay our respects, at the 'Grave of the Unknown Fisherman'.



'Ole Ken's memorial sits on one of the best stretches of trout habitat I've ever seen. The Frying Pan was amazing. The fish weren't as big as the Green, but there were plenty of them, and it was a great mix of fast pocket water and smooth pools, which made for really exciting fishing. The river allows for much more close-quarters fishing - often with very little fly line out. A long and fine leader is a must to overcome the complicated, twisty currents (I fished 3 feet of 2lb stroft on the end of a 12 foot flouro leader with dries). The biggest dry I tied on was a 22, and the biggest nymph - a 24.

The surrounding scenery was also a bit easier on the eye than the green (if you could ignore the road and the frequent PRIVATE NO FISHING signs). I guess that's the downside of this river - and we can't say we hadn't been warned. There's still plenty of public water, and there wasn't TOO much pressure. We saw license plates from all over the country at the pull outs along the road that winds 12 miles up to Ruedi dam and the start of this amazing fishery:



Here's a typical 'Pan tailout. The slack water on the top right and the little pool above held several nice browns. It seemed like every time you'd think 'there's a couple of fish in there' - you'd be right, and you'd be rewarded with a rise or a flash to the nymph.



We didn't take as many fish pictures in the Pan - mostly because it was too tempting to drift apart when you looked upstream to the next delicious set of pockets and riffles. And also by this time we were feeling less of a need for grip and grins, and were just sort of in the zone...casting to the tunes in our heads and not really worrying about capturing moments for posterity. But here's a cool shot to round things up. A lot of the browns we caught had absolutely brilliant red spots - especially on the adipose fin. Gorgeous:



That was pretty typical of the fish we caught on the pan. We had some bigger ones whilst messing around with streamers before the BWO's came off, but these little beauties that came to the dry were more special.

Well - that's all folks. Thanks for looking!

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http://wanderingangler.blogspot.com/

Looks great Mike. You must have missed the litter!

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Musha rig um du rum da

Great report Mike, looked a bit cold on the Pan?
The E has been fishing well since your departure, and your "friend"is back in residence

A.

I know. I hooked him briefly the day before I left. He's fatter and grumpier now.

The Pan was freezing. But marvelous.

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http://wanderingangler.blogspot.com/

Fan-ruddy-tastic Mike! What an environment to 'lose yourself' in; wonderful!

Back to blighty now though, eh? Ade and I fished a stream so small on Saturday that I could actually stand in the middle and touch both banks without moving!

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Fish are like sex; tons around but I never seem to get any.

Thanks for sharing Mike, truly mouth watering fishing, any fish and chip shops though .

Mick

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"I will give him seven feet of English ground, or as much more as he may be taller than other men"
http://derbyshireonthefly.blogspot.com/

Nope. And certainly wouldn't hold a candle to the one you took me to anyway!

But there is an all you can eat steak place in Vernal! I think I ate half a cow. I felt a bit guilty so I tried to put some green on my plate, but by the third trip to the grill it was all meat - and a couple of onions.

<M

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Well done that man!

My dear old grandad always said ! "if it don't bleed it ain't worth eating" .

Mick

__________________
"I will give him seven feet of English ground, or as much more as he may be taller than other men"
http://derbyshireonthefly.blogspot.com/