This weekend I caught rainbows, browns , and cutthroats, pretty soon the snow will melt enough to add brookies and goldens
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On the water but not fishing
Kid in the middle friends on each side.
We had a great time rafted for 3 days in snow hail rain sun class 4 and down. I brought a couple of rods and even though the water was way too high for fishing I showed several people how to cast, how to rig, basic techniques, next thing you know person after person approached me to demonstrate how tenkara works. Lots of elderly, yet active, some younger people, but 100% positive perception of trying tenkara.
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I just moved to Idaho (Pocatello) last weekend, and yesterday I went off bushwhacking up a tiny nearby creek to see what I could find. Ended up catching one little (7-inch) native Yellowstone cutthroat trout—my first Yellowstone cutthroat and my first Idaho fish. I’m happy with the result!
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What a beautiful fish !!
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Lucky! I was in Idaho 2 years ago, Palisades area and did a bunch of fishing. Take a ride to north of Driggs and check out Bitch Creek.
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No pictures but was walking my dog along the canal, water is high and dirty. Tied on my modified hares ear bead head and practiced casting to spots like grass floating, bubbles, riffles. When I saw the water moving in a strange way. So I thought about Masami and stealthy approach and tiptoed up until I could cast up stream, second cast and the line slightly moved. I set the hook and bam the fight was on. The fish dove deep and uses the current to challenge me. I kept the line tight, and worked the fish as quickly to hand as possible. It ended up a beautiful 13” brown that I let go in the water still feisty. So much fun, one fish, dog walked, back in time to cook dinner for the family!
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beautiful day, lake is filling, temperature are fantastic.
made my way to back, water was flowing fast.
I cant wait for the back country to open up!
made my way to back, water was flowing fast.
I cant wait for the back country to open up!
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Well, I think the curse had finally been broken. The weather has not been cooperating this year. Fishing has been horrible, unfortunately. Prior to this post week end, the longest we had without rain in New England, was three days. Anyhow, got out for about 3 hours yesterday. All wild fish. Not to mention I did better about my catch and release. Didn’t physically handle any of them and only took two out of the water.
Sorry for the bad photo, but this brown was beautiful.
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Yesterday a friend (using a western fly rod) and I went to one of the mid-sized rivers in a drainage of the Cascade Mountains’ Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area to fish for native Coastal Cutthroat (CC). The CFS for that drainage was running about 50% higher than I prefer for (safe) wading and finding fish.
(from a footbridge above the river)
There is a very popular trail that parallels the river but the river is seldom visible from the trail.
After 1 3/4 miles we came to a stretch where the map shows the gradient decreases and the river broadens. Virtually all the hikers that make it that far are headed to the lakes so we have always had the river to ourselves there.
Because of the high water I tied on one of these that had fooled some nice early 2018 season native CCs for me at lower elevations. I started out with my DT zx390 and my later tried my Suntech GM 53.
I found it was exponentially harder to keep my fly out of the trees with the GM so as soon as the river had begun to narrow/deepen again I switched back to the shorter rod. The GM is going to take some getting used to.
After fishing upstream for a couple of hours and not seeing any fish we stopped for lunch near the lower end of the next high gradient section where the water was really rockin’ through a big boulder garden. We decided that since we were on the opposite side of the river from the trail, continuing upstream wasn’t a good idea. While eating my sandwich I noticed a few PMDs began coming off (that lasted for the rest of the day) so I tied on one of these.
I managed to catch my first fish within just few feet of starting downstream in a plunge pocket behind a big boulder.
We got to a side branch creating a large island that my buddy had explored on the way upstream, but had not gotten to the head of the branch. Boy, it looked fishy. On the right side a rock ledge created a little plunge pool and there was a log in the run below where the channel turned back to the main stem. The left side looked even better, splitting into two braids with plunge pools, then merging again to make one channel just above this small point jutting out with trees on an undercut bank that had roots extending into the water creating a corner directing the water back to the center of the branch.
My friend hadn’t had any success so I started down the right and managed to catch a little guy on the downstream swing in the run along the log.
My friend started down the channel on the left and lost a fish when he got to the point. I told him to pull back, get something to eat, wait another 5 minutes and try it again while I worked my way down to the mainstem. After about 15 minutes I went back up to his location and he had had a few more misses. I rigged up the GM again, went up to the head of the channel and started working my way back down the left side and wound up with my fly in a tree in one of the braids. When I got the fly free my buddy was down below the point so I moved down a bit to where the braids merged, greased the fly, extended the GM to its full length, and swung the fly into the corner close to the tree roots and this fellow came up to say howdy.
I think the biggest fish I’ve ever caught in this river might push 11 inches. Yesterday I only caught 3 fish and they were smaller, but I landed each fish that came to the fly, and the fact that I found fish at all at this CFS level made this a very good day for me.
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I did some Google Earth stalking. Is that near the Tucquala Meadow CG?
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Hi, @R_Ruff. No it’s not. I fished the drainage you mentioned once many years ago and again last year after a brutal but fun and highly successful high lakes trip as a warmup/shakedown for a trip around the Mt Rainier Northern Loop 2 weeks later.
I hope you understand that I try to avoid hotspotting the lightly fished waters I frequent on the www.
Are you from around these parts?
Brian, looks like a beautiful and uncrowded place to fish. The kind of place and day that draws us all to go a fishing. 
No, but I’ll be up there in the next few years. I’m good at finding out of the way places. This year is Utah and next year is Montana again.
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