My hall pass was given to me freely, and I ran like the wind to Fink’s Creek with a strung-up rod and plenty of caddisflies. Bullwinkle decided to join us both nights and we graciously stepped past, behind and way out of his way. There is so much green vegetation right now it’s tough to pass up this alpine stream in June. The Green Drake hatch is going strong, and there are many Spinners (adult mayflies) out on the water. The fish go NUTS for these insects, and as my fishin’ mates would concur, it makes feeding time a spectacular event to behold.
I fished with my Dad on Tuesday night, and instead of the fish eating, we were literally consumed by billions of small caddisflies. We managed to hook up with a few nice browns and cutthroats, see some deer and have an amazing time on the river together. The fishing was tough, but it was rewarding for me to spend some time with Dad.
George is a good stick, indeed. Growing up in Victoria, George learned to fly fish about ten years ago. Tasmania is where he longs to fish the most, though he has spent time in his college years in Nottingham, England and Melbourne, Australia, where he currently lives. If you ever have the opportunity to spend time with an Aussie, I highly recommend it. The accent is wacky, but completely fascinating, and you will find most Aussies (New South Wales’ residents commonly excluded) are pretty laid back and have pleasant personalities.
The hatch that evening was quite heavy. There was a massive spinner fall of drakes, mixed in with a few small caddis. The competition was grueling: Who of us would catch the smallest trout? Loser buys dinner afterwards. “King’s to you George”, who landed what we estimated as a 3 inch cutthroat, yet brilliant with cantaloupe orange coloration and light cutt markings under his bill. We hit Desert Edge Pub & Brewery afterwards and threw down Turkey sandwiches, but he demanded he foot the bill. George is a class act.
This could be the best picture I have ever taken, and quite on accident. The brookie was wriggling about when I was trying to take a still pic, but his action and his swinging caudal tail really tell its own story: “Get this fly OUTTA my mouth!” Notice the red spots, surrounded by blue halos. This species is TRULY remarkable!
This is the prettiest fish I have caught in a week. I love the blue spot just northeast of his mouth, on the gill plate.
Fishing with Schroeder is always a fun time. He was stoked when he learned he would be fishing a new spot last night. I guaranteed him we would only catch brookies, cutts and cuttbows. You should see how animated his face is when he catches fish. And it’s refreshing to know that someone is perpetually jonesin’ all the time about fly fishing as much as I am...in fact, he may be even more! We fished Fink’s all night, and skipped my all-time favorite section when the sun was dropping and Bullwinkle came out to greet us. The moon was at half last night as the heavenly bodies of Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the massive Class M Red Supergiant Antares guided us back to our car after wetting the line and sharing time with our salmonid and char brothers and sisters.
Spending the night during Caddis hatches are my favorite of all that fly fishing has to offer.
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