4wt Extreme Angling: April 2009

So here is how the plan went down. 2 weeks prior to this weekend we had planned a trip to the Green River for an overnight stay however mother nature had a different plan and since highway 80 was closed, we simply bagged our idea and thought we could reschedule for another outing. Well that date came and I wasn't able to make that rescheduled trip so I was out. So Corey, Doug and Garth decided they were going to go to the Green minus me. So low and behold and Utah Spring storm canceled their plans and the weekend after we had discussed the option of hit the Green River below Fontenelle. The drive was further with a slim chance of catching a decent size fish. They were there we just had to weight our options to see if the extra 2 hours of driving would be worth it. Now Doug in the meantime is checking flows all over the place to see how the early season run-off is shaping up. So at work while I'm busier than hell I get an email from Doug saying.. "I think I want to go Tribal!!" well that sparked a phone call and after some quick discussion we decided the flows are really good and maybe since it would be interesting to check out we decided to get our Ute Indian Permits and have at it.
At this point Doug is calling Garth to leave a day early to see how things look. Throughout Friday now less at work I called Doug in hopes of having reception on his phone and low and behold he answered. So I asked him how were things looking and he said " I've landed a 20 brown 20 minutes ago and Garth has lost 2 so its looking pretty good being that they have only been on the water for about an hour. So I called Corey to relay the message and than both Corey and myself get another email stating to call the Ute Grocery Store and buy those permits!!! Right away I call and get mine set-up and I shot an email to Corey stating... " Yo man I got mine!!!" Right back at me Cor has got his as well. So the plan was to meet up with Cor at 7am to pick him up.

So Sat. morning rolls around and I meet up with Cory with the excitement of whats in store. Its a beautiful morning and the drive was quick. Talking about past trip and new ones to come the time quickly flashes by. Before we know it we are in town about an hour earlier than we were suppose to. I couldn't figure it out. How did we make such great time? So anyways we were not sure where Garth and Doug were staying the night so we stopped at a gas station grabbed a few things and we try Doug's cell again.... no answer.....crap!!! minutes later Corey's phone rings and it was Doug. Surprised at our early arrival, he gave us directions to dive of a motel that they were staying at and met up with them. This was the first time for both Corey and myself to meet Garth which by the way is one crazy and funny dood. Well our game plan was for 2 of us to fish high on the reservation while the other two fished the lower area. More or less to see what ares would produce first.

So the teams were picked I went with Garth to start on the lower section while Doug and Corey started up high. So what we did was since we drove 2 vehicles we decided to park mine upstream to get it later in the day and we drove Garth's rig and dropped off Doug and Corey in the middle section of river so they would be working their way towards my truck. Garth and myself drove down stream and started there.

early on the water was pretty cloudy and I was a little concerned but kept my spirits up hoping that something would come of it. Well after losing a few rigs to the tree behind us and some wind knots we moved upstream to some other holes which Garth said they are fail proof. We should get something out of the run up higher. Well after walking upstream and finding the hole produced zilch zero squat!! Well at this moment Garth realized he didn't have his phone on him so he decided to walk back over to his truck and grab his phone to see how the fishing was for Corey and Doug. To our surprise they were having a Hogfest!!! Damn It we said so we crossed the river and decided to move further upstream in hopes of some clearer water.

That idea paid off. Once we parked and decided to move into a nice run Garth hooked up right away with a decent Brown. That brown fell victim to a San Juan that Doug tied up and it worked great!! Even on the phone call to Doug earlier said that they were smoke'n on San Juan's and that we should try them. I wasn't ready to give up the big stone and soft hackles just yet so we walked up further and finally met up with Doug and Corey.

To my surprise there were Crane Flies in the river. Not many but they were there. I thought to myself.."That's probably what the fish are keying on."

photo credit Corey K.

These are some of what Doug got into with his SJ's earlier when we called him.

Photos by Corey K.

So here is how things start to get nuts!! in the picture below Corey and me are on the bottom end of this run. I simply had a change of heart and decided to totally switch up on what to use. I decided to throw on a Red Copper John size 16 and a Flashback WD-40 size 20. Knowing from the past that this river for some weird reason is always a small fly producer. I worked my way to the boulder in the middle of this run. casting upstream and letting it drift on either side of that submerged rock you see in the middle of that run. OK, so I'm drifting my rig and all of a sudden my junk stops... Thinking I had probably snagged the bottom of that damn boulder, I rip back in hopes that I can get out of my jam. Well that's when things go crazy...Suddenly that snag starts to move and its got some serious weight behind it. Now keep in mind I have about 30 yards of fly line at my feet and the current is somewhat strong through here. That fish or what ever the hell it was started to move upstream real sloooow. I've got that damn 5wt bending back into it self now. At the same time I'm trying like a SOB to get that fish on the reel so I can work him against the drag so now I'm trying to to reel in all this line while maneuvering this heavy bastard. I finally get the line on the reel and now the fish has changed directions now and is heading downstream. I couldn't see the fish from this vantage point due to the sun's reflection on the water. Not sooner than that the hook come out of the fish and all is lost. My heart just fell apart as I was at least hoping for a glimpse of that toad. My after thought on the whole ordeal was I bet it took the WD-40 and since it has a small gape that I didn't get a decent hook set on that damn boney ass jaw of it. So next cast yielded somewhat of the same results but this time the fish came out of the water and Shazam!!! Off as well. Needless to say I was fishless, but the thrill of hooking into something that large was insane!! I know its out there what ever it was and it was a shame I didn't get a chance to see its true size. Damn!!

Photo's by Corey K.

Right before all this went down Corey decided to change up and throw some meat. To his surprise he's getting a lot of attention and he's witnessing follows but none of the fish wanted to commit to his streamers. There was something that these fish wanted but we just couldn't figure it out. We tried different colors and stuff but they would follow that flies to a point and turn away....frustrating none-the-less. We well have to be ready when we return with some other patterns and see if anything makes a difference.

Photo by Doug Barnes

As the afternoon progresses the Spring Thunder Clouds started to build and it was refreshing to have some sprinkles on this warm day.The birds were out and singing away. A nice sound to hear from a long winter behind us now.

Came across some private property and I thought this old stable was pretty cool so I decided to take a shot of it. Needless to say the day was full of excitement and disappointment on not bringing that beast in but that's what makes you hungry for more. Its the challenge that us as Fly Fisherman keep coming back for more. I know I'll be back again but until than I can only dream of what that fish could have been like.