Fishing the end of '09, and the beginning of '10

I thought it would be cool to fish the last day of the year. Of course the weather woman was for more below-freezing temps., but
my urge to fish was overwhelming. It had been two weeks since I last fished--seemingly forever, and I couldn't take it anymore!
I decided to check on a local stream that I have been fishing since my childhood. It became my winter fly-fishing destination after I
got my driver's license, and I found it to always be open somewhere, enough to fish. Sometimes I even caught fish.

Mid morning on New Year's eve, found me piling on layers and stomping my way though snow and ice, to a nice-looking hole not
far from where I parked. Mojo and Ariell pranced around the snow, happy to be out of the house. The river was mine. A few people
drove by, touring the canyon, but I was the only one fishing. At about 18 degrees, I suppose maybe they were the smart ones. I
decided to use my newly aquired Kiley cane rod, a 2 pc., 4wt. demo, that I enjoyed lawn-casting when visiting Steve in his shop.
It was past time to put the rod to the test.

My first casts were wonderful. I pulled the coils out of my line and it cast just fine--considering it was frozen. I sung my Marathoner
pattern along and under some ice sheets and coaxed one little Rainbow to follow the fly. It didn't bite after several other attempts.
I worked my way downstream to a beautiful hole that used to be a riffle when I was in high school. I was happy to see the change in
stream structure, especially since I could see a decent fish feeding at the bottom! My first cast was rewarded with a tug. However
with ice built along the entire length of line, I didn't feel it, until it was too late. I felt some extra weight, finally tried to set the hook,
felt the fish flip from my offering.

To keep this recollection somewhat short, the day progressed in much the same way. I was out of synch. My hands were cold, the
icy line and guides made me miss the light takes from fish. I figure I missed about four fish. And as beautiful as the canyon is, I was a
little peaved I didn't catch a fish on the last day of 2009. That evening, I decided I'd try again next year. Lucky for me, I only had to
wait a day!

The next day started about the same way, though a little warmer. The dogs ran about as I rigged the Kiley 4 wt. with the same rig I
tried the day/year before. However, I approached the hole much differently. I started down a bit, on the first hole, and worked
upstream. I knew there were fish, but I was not moving any for a while. I got to the head of the hole, line covered in ice so I could
just flop my fly to the current. I kept the fly in the deepest water and felt a sure tug! Even though I couldn't retrieve line, because it was
frozen, I set the hook. I kept side pressure and managed to pull some line in. Mojo ran to my side to see what was going on, and as he
wagged his tail in excitement, I was a ball of joy hoisting in my first flipping fish of the year!
http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...ojowatches.jpg
Mojo makes sure my first fish of 2010 doesn't get away!

http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...igbadbrown.jpg
There it is, all 15 inches of pure color, fight and joy!!!
http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w..._firstfish.jpg

After landing my beautiful Brownie, I decided to head up to my "Honey Hole," where I always see fish. I don't always catch them,
but I always see them. I took a few minutes to admire the scenery. It really is a beautifully magical place--when the Poison Ivy isn't
up yet, and the Rattlesnakes are in thier dens...
http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...onupstream.jpg

http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...e_upstream.jpg
Looking upstream from the tailout of my "Honey Hole." I know there's fish there!

http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...ingforfish.jpg
And Mojo and Ariell are pretty sure there's fish in there!

Despite seeing fish on the stream's bottom, catching one proved difficult. I fished through the whole hole, and caught nothing. How does
that happen?!! I worked a stretch above this hole for a while, saw a few fish, and still managed to catch nothing. I was a little frustrated.
I was incredibly happy with my big Brown, but I was miffed at the difficulty of catching the fish I could see. I worked back downstream
to give my favorite hole another try.

I fished halfway down the hole, and was swinging my flies through the tailout. Still nothing. Man. I half thought of quitting, and just stared in
to the water, waiting for the river to speak to me. And it kinda did. I saw the flash of a few Whitefish below me. I love Whitefish, especially
when nothing else is biting. I remembered some converstations from the summer, talking with other guides and mentioning how we'd usully
put a Prince Nymph on if nothing was working for clients, because the Whitefish would always hit a Prince Nymph. I rerigged with a Prince
on point, and a dirty ol' San Juan Worm as a dropper. Yes, the SJW!!! I was desperate. I cast upstream, got a decent drift, and my/Steve's
rod bend over from the weight of a fish!
http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...tie_Tongue.jpg
The following photos are blurry, but I was frozen, as was my camera, as were my hands. I appologise.
But, this is the first fish to hit the Prince!

http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...ow1_Tongue.jpg
A few more casts and I got this pretty little Rainbow--about 12 inches! The sun had set by this time, and the valley was getting icey. But I didn't want to quit.

http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/w...ow2_Tongue.jpg
A couple casts later, and I got this beautiful specimen, a 13-inchish Rainbow!!! The valley was icy-black, and my hands were stinging from frozen fish
slime. All the fish took the Prince. That was the fly. It took me a year to figure it out, from 2009 to 2010, but I got 'er figured. I sauntered on back to the
car, and enjoyed a celebratory beer. 2010 is proving to be a promising year.

Congratulations on the success of the first day!
You've been fishing such a beautiful stream with full of trout since you were a kid!? Boy, you are a lucky man!
Thank you for sharing your experience.

Hi Zac,

I really enjoyed reading your report (story) and your photos are just great; even though you were frozen! the Setters looked to be having a good time in the snow! What a beautiful area! I bet that's a great place to fish when the weather conditions warm up a little; but not keen on the Rattle snakes! Although the river looks very inviting!

Thanks

Mostyn

Thanks guys on the heart-felt feedback! Satoshi: Yes, I've been fishing that place since I was about 8 or 9, I think. And, then often since I got my driver's lic. There's a tributary on top of the mountain, above the canyon, that is sorta well-known in the region. It has catch-and-release regs., so the fish get a bit bigger, and you get to pick your way through willows always leery of Moose! The whole river is a great being. Cutthroat in the tribs. to Smallmouth and Catfish in the plains. The stream I grew up on is similar, but farther south. But, it freezes solid (on the surface) in the winter, and doesn't get fishable until March of most years. Good memories.

Mostyn: Yes the stream is better when it warms up, but there are three problems: tons of poison ivy on the banks, lots of rattlers in the rocks, and once it warms up, it gets fished regularly by the local population(s). And with no special regs. encouraging catch-and-release or artificial lures, many of my favorite fish get killed every year. Then, with dewatering from irrigation, it sometimes get lethal in the summer. The section I fish is above all but one diversion, so it has the possibility of holding fish all year. But, it is a great river. Once it warms up, I usually hit the same stream in the mountains. There are quite a few people there, now, as word has spread, but I know it well-enough to get away from everyone. I surveyed most the stream and its tribs. while working for the Forest Service in college. I'm glad you liked my writing! I like to use this as excersize for my book :)

great stuff zac,love to see the rod getting some action,could i have a picture of the rod and fish to put up on my shop wall? thanks steve

Very nice pics. Thanks for posting.