"Who planted all these damn Russian Olives?"

The wind started promptly after I tied on my Letort #14, and I headed into the short microbursts that Ol’ Mama Nature occasionally gives us. The right bank, a mere 80 feet from where I stood, was my fly’s intended destination. I gave the hopper a light dusting of the fanny, and placed my left foot about half a meter ahead of my right foot, and commenced with the double-haul. Fishing a Boron IIx in the wind is truly excellent, especially with a 5-weight, even though it’s only an 8’6 rod. This green stick has just enough power to turn over large flies, even in the wind.

Within three false casts (I’m a minimalist when it comes to the threat of shoulder muscle fatigue) I had enough line and nine feet of leader to lay down Mr. Letort and try and tempt a fish to rise…

It has been just over a year from this time that I tied on what I classify to be the second most effective Caddis pattern on earth…the Palomino Caddis, tied by my friend, Cheech. With just enough material on the skybound side of the hook, this fine little artifical specimen has tricked many a wary trout in the last 365 days. It boasts a rusty cinnamon hue and a small tuft of feather that sits perfectly in the surface of the water and tempts even the cleverest brown trout. Yes, cleverest is indeed a word, for you ever-editing English nerds!

No fish this time around, leastways on this stretch of river. The Lower Ranch can be tricky, and can throw even a master angler off. And I do not consider myself a master, nor will I ever refer to myself in that light. There are far too many who have gone before, only to be outwitted by those pea-brained salmonids.
Save only the brutish Leven brown that Bobby scared up from the depths of the Mother Hole, and the ever sly trout that hit my Hemingway after a precise downstream cast just above the Forbidden Pool, our luck had run dry from the day. However, I do not remember a day that could compare in the sun’s rays, the balmy 68 degrees at 7300 ft, or the green foliage of budding Aspens and towering Ponderosas than that of yesterday, chasing trout on the South Slope.

Colorado River Cutthroat, Eastern Brookies and Browns “how do you know they’re German browns? Do they have little red swastikas?” (a joke I coined when I was 22 years old, fishin on the Logan with Dave) made the potential dinner menu, but as instructed by those wiser than us, we released all our fish, to live on and fight another day.

Perhaps I will give the Russian Olive Run another shot in a few weeks, when the stones and drakes come out to play. Until then, I can only visualize large trout bellies, bluebird skies, and enough Mountain Dew to make even a camel think twice about his next pit stop. My heart belongs to the slopes of the High Uintas, and perhaps, one day when I’m lucky, it will belong to someone very special.

Good Ol' Roy

One of my favorite lines from the cinematic world comes to full fruition when Roy Hobbs relaxes in a thoughtful pondering stare and calmly says, “I Love baseball.” The Natural is an all-time classic, and I think about the way Redford exclaims the joy of his life so solemnly.

This is the way I feel about flyfishing. I don’t believe I could ever leave the mountains, as I have stated before. Mountain streams, great rivers and just the presence of water send chills down my back. I still cannot believe my good fortune in landing a job at a fly shop. In just a short month, I have learned about how good rods are made, how a drag works on a reel, more knots than I care to mention, entomology, and the realization that there are others just like me who love fly fishing more than life itself!

I feel so free in knowing that I LOVE getting up every morning to go to work and feeling so passionate about my surroundings, confidence in my ability to communicate with customers, relive fishing experiences with others, hearing wild stories of both maddening frustration coupled with extreme joy, and working in a calm atmosphere. Here’s the great thing: It does NOT feel like work.

The habits I have created at work have crossed over into my living situation as well. I am constantly cleaning my bathroom, vacuuming my floor about twice a week, folding clothes perfectly, and tying flies for about two hours every night.

I also treasure my time to fish, and love having any opportunity I can get to cast new rods, test out new reels, and continue to educate myself about running a successful fly fishing business.

The Green Drakes will be poppin soon, as will the Golden Stoneflies. I will write again when these gorgeous mayflies make their presence known. Until then, Fish On!

Stimis & Hoppers & Hizzy Spizzies, O My!

Paul: Norm, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Norm: A minister, I guess. Or a professional boxer.

Paul: You think you could beat Jack Johnson?
I think you could.
I'd lay a bet on it.


Norm: What are you gonna be?
Paul: A professional fly-fisherman.

Norm: There's no such thing.

Paul: There isn't? I guess a boxer.

Norm: Not a minister?
Paul: Heh!




Thus is my new reality. While I wait for all to be good in the realm of massage therapy, I am filling my daytime hours with a job I can’t believe they pay me for down at Western Rivers Flyfisher.

Fly fishing has always been a heartfelt love, passion, obsession, or whatever you want to call it. I have thought about working down at the Shop for a long time, and just now, the timing seems absolutely perfect, and I have been given a full-time job in which I can learn about the industry, improve my skills as a fisherman, and also work as hard as I can to establish a good reputation for Western.
It’s pretty exciting that I am able to immerse myself in countless products of clothing, rods, reels, waders, fly tying material, and get to know so many wonderful people in the area who love to fly fish almost as much as me!
I basically have one day during the week that I get out and fish, and it is JUST what I need after talking all day to other people who get to fish. Yes, I realize I was in their shoes just two weeks ago, but I love the education I am getting from working in the shop and learning all about our products and