Winter was an utter disaster, the Utah’s stream access fight was a long and brutal one. In the end, the anglers lost and private interests succeed… and I blew my top. I felt to continue to freely fish water other than the middle Provo river, I needed to move.  SO, I packed my stuff, jumped into my car and headed North. I was somehow fortunate enough to land on the banks of the Henry’s Fork river,  where I’ll be working and living at the world renowned Trouthunter lodge for a while. It’s calm and peaceful here, I enjoy not having a traffic light for at least an hours drive in any direction. So far, so good.

The weather has somewhat put a damper on the Salmonfly hatch. It’s either rained or snowed everyday for the past few weeks and the wind has been consistently blowing hard with occasional powerful gusts, casting has been, well, interesting. Now, don’t get me wrong, the big bugs are popping, they’re just having a difficult time drying their wings for first flight. The fishing hasn’t been half bad either,

The snowfall in late May killed the first wave of big bugs. Stopping the hatch smack in the middle of the transformation. These bugs are referred to by the locals as “still-born’s”. The insect inside is still alive,  but trapped in its exoskeleton, at emergence, by a frozen shell.

The long and the short of it….for me, being a amateur photohack smack in the middle of a sloooow emerging salmonfly hatch was a fantastic experience, it was nothing short of awesome.  Catching was the bonus.
A few photos from the past few weeks. Hope you enjoy.

And many more pics here –>http://www.flickr.com/photos/1bg/

Chris giving thanks

Its been a long grueling 45 days fighting for river rights at Capitol hill. In the end, the anglers will mostly likely lose, the Bill will not be vetoed by the Gov and Utah will be locking up rivers.  So much was going on during this time it was a task trying to keep up, all while trying to complete a work week and attending to my personal responsibilities so fishing was a not an option. Chris skipped on the work load and took on the issue head on, setting everything else aside.

My buddy Chris spent every day at the Capitol. Sacrificing money, time, fishing and day to day normal living is not easy task, it requires total commitment. Midway through the session we promised each other, the second this is all over we would go fishing, no matter what…well, that day finally came.

It couldn’t come soon enough. I really need to get back on the water, I know Chris did too. This legislature session was filled with corruption, lies, deceit and a blatant disregard for the Constitution.  I need to get back to what make sense to me… fishing.

I woke up to a phone call at 6am, it was Chris… it went something like this…

Chris – “you ready? I’ll be there in 40″.

Groggy with sleep in my eye I replied “Chris its barley 6am and its still snowing, I went to sleep at 3am, lets give a few hours.”

Chris – “you mean 4am”

Me – “huh? no, 3am”

Chris – “you did remember its daylight saving”

Me -”SHIT!”

Chris “laughing”

Me – “see you soon”

Normally I have a few bags ready to go depending on the day. BUT, since I had not been fishing lately, I wasn’t prepared. I grabbed a pack and started shoving in things I think I “might” need still while half asleep, on two hours rest. I had one goal, to not forget anything, so the words “might not need” were not apart of this packing equation. It barley zipped closed and my initial thoughts as, this is heavy, I definitely got it all.

The drive over the pass was a winter one, the clouds were racing across the sky pushing out the storm that laid down a fresh blanket of snow. Color broke through the dark gray clouds as we rounded the bend. A glace over at the windsock on the point, it was as stiff as a 2×4. Casting is going to be creative today.

The river never looked so beautiful. The smell, the sight, it all filled filled my senses. I instantly felt my body and mind recharging and once again, the world was filling with hope.

Karma must have been watching, the day was nothing short of fantastic. Big browns crushed our 4″ offerings. A few big fish were lost after a crazy thrashing battle, and a few made it to hand. Chris landed some brutes which was a great reward for all the hard work he has put into saving these precious rivers. Although, we might not be able to come back here for a while, the memory’s will last.

It was a great day back on the water. For the first time in a long time, everything was OK with the world.

Thanks for everything, Chris!!!!

More images here –> http://www.flickr.com/photos/1bg/

My buddy Clark “Cheech” Pierce set out on this little fun project. I must confess, I had a blast targeting Wipers at Willard Bay. One day particular, we experienced  some of the fastest warm water fishing either of us have ever had. Were not fish counters but when you go into the mid-range of double digits it gets quite hilarious.The rods were maxed and the reels were singing and laughter filled the air.

Cheech has been busy designing flies specific for these trips, and boy did they work! On more than a few occasions we were doubled up. I’d say pound for pound, Wipers will give you a run for your money.

SOUTHWEST MAGAZINE March/April 2010
www.matchthehatch.com/SouthwestFlyFishing/Default.aspx

Fisher ….”CHEECH”…AKA Clark Pierce
www.flyfishfood.blogspot.com/
www.rainysflies.com/clarkpierce.php?pageNum_rsPierceFlies...

Brian and Todd are really pushing the limits with fly fishing photography & cinematography.  My image landed in the “Angler Element” section of the mag.

Grizz is always accompanied with his trusty furry companion, Chili dog.  She has traveled the West and is very well-seasoned, be it by boat or  onfoot.  I’m stoked I had the opportunity to capture our furry crew-mate.

This shot was captured on the first, of our three day float…. half way to camp it started to rain, shortly after, a down pour.  Two days later we encountered gumball sized hail…overall… the fishing was ON the hook! Another fantastic trip.

Thanks Grizz and Chili!

Check out CATCH [HERE] and [HERE]

I was fortunate to get the call to work on this Winter Special for This is Fly.

We all really like the direction Paris and Tim are headed and are always stoked on the opportunity to be aprat of their brainchild.

When asked for a story on trout in the dead of winter we were faced with two choices. Try and drum something up that we already have in the archives or  make something happen. We stayed with the winter theme but avoided the standard winter midge fishing article type of thing.

We gassed the sleds and blazed off on the road less traveled. It was a terrific few weeks of fishing with friends in the backcountry.  A big thanks to Grizz who wrote the article and Cor snapped some incredible images. The red machine will forever be remembered on that trip, its always something… and no good trip ever runs smooth.  This was the first project for our new underground company launching this fall.  More details on specifics shortly.

Check out the  full-article at [THIS IS FLY]…… don’t forget to click the music playlist while browsing the rag.

Check out Corey’s creative work [HERE] and [HERE]

More images from this  project [HERE]

Nick and I hit a small local stream. We took some time to slow down a bit after the last few months of a ‘go, go, go’ mentality. We both looked forward to casting tiny rods to hungry fish.

We found some adult Green drakes, what a coincidence since the maiden voyage of this rod started with the same insect. This little rod seemed to be equipped with some good karma. We swapped turns after each landed fish as we made our way up steam.


Surprisingly there were a lot snakes out. One in particular was caught up in Nick’s fly-line. Nick was casting near a log jam when upon shooting the line forward a snake fell from the line onto hit boots. It somehow slithered on the line at that exact second. It scared the hell of us both, it was pretty funny. There were many snakes out that day, pone spot had over a half dozen.

The weather man was somehow right today as we did encounter a few brief rain drops. The sun would come out right after and this same scenario repeated itself during the day. The bugs sure liked it the weather, they stayed out right through the afternoon.

It was a great day of tossing dry flies, talking story and catching snakes.

I’ve always enjoyed searching for Cutthroat Trout. Even when I was a small water rat these guys were my favorite. I suppose its the eagerness of the fish to take your fly at that age where the entertainment factor is a top priority. As I grew older I feel in love with the colors, the shape and the curious face they possessed… much different that the other trout. Then it happened, one day I realized the places they live are sensitive, precious and remote. It finally dawned on me, over the years my search brought me deeper and deeper into the backcountry. Then one day we found it. Here hidden amongst the bustling ATV trails sits that tiny slice of heaven I’ve always been searching for. On the beaten path BUT tucked out of the lime light sits a sanctuary.

Each Year I try to visit these old friends. It’s also a place where the one we call “Yoda” loves so dearly. Each year we return to our master baring photographs of his old friends so he might gaze upon them as he once did. You see Yoda isn’t as agile as he used to be and his memory, although still sharp as a tack, still faded in some small way.

This image is how I view these Colorado Cutthroat Trout. I know I might have post processed them a bit more than I should have [rookie here] I so think of them as powerful, mysterious, calm and curious.