Revenge Fish

The last time I fished with my friend Peter on the Lake Fork, I broke off a huge fish because I forgot to retie my flies after a fish tangled me in some rocks.  The fish that got away haunted my dreams, but today was a chance for revenge.  Peter, Mitchell, Kyle, and I were fishing the stretch where I broke off the monster the time before, and I stopped fishing about 30 minutes early just to double and triple check my flies and line and think through how I would cast to and play the monster this time.  I wasn't going to miss another chance to catch this fish.

When we got to the spot, sure enough there was a monster rainbow hanging out in the eddy along the cliff, just like the time before.  After some discussion about the best approach to cast to this monster without spooking him, I put a cast along the cliff wall and watched my flies swirl into the eddy.  "Set!" Peter yelled.  The monster rainbow had taken my nymph and the fight was on.  A few minutes later, Mitchell scooped up the bow in his net before he could take off on another powerful run. I was shaking from excitement.  There would be no more nightmares about this fish--I had exacted my revenge!

Revenge Fish

We landed some more good fish over the course of the day, and at one point Kyle, Peter, Mitchell, and I all had a fish on at the same time--talk about a productive day!

Kyle and Peter work a riffle stretch

Mitchell and Kyle work a nice run

Kyle fishes a deep channel off of some rocks

Mitchell dons his sharpest sun hat

Kyle targets some rising 'bows

Quadruple!  Yes, four fishermen, four fish.

Peter wrote an article on Fly Dreamers about my revenge fish: Revenge Fish Article.  Check it out.

Sunset on a great day of fishing

I may have a fishing problem

Some family friends asked me to come out to their ranch, fish with them, and serve as their guide for the day.  It was fun to teach them how to fly fish and see them catch some good ones.  After fishing with them, of course, I did some more fishing of my own on my way home.  When I got back to town after dark and finally had cell service again, I had a message that a group of hardcore fly fishermen (Peter, with Devils Creek Outfitters, and Mitchell, with Dan's Fly Shop) were going night fishing at 10 p.m.  I called back to buy myself 15 minutes to be able to make it to the cabin, scarf down some leftovers, and grab some warm clothes and a head lamp.  I may have fished for 12 hours already that day, but I wasn't going to miss this.

We fished a section of the Lake Fork that is in a canyon.  It was a perfectly clear night, but there was no moon, meaning we were wading down the river by star light in a dark canyon (we kept our flashlights off as much as possible to avoid spooking the fish).  As we walked on, the night grew colder and our eyes began to adjust.  We saw some shooting stars while we were fishing, and the sky was so clear and dark that we could see flashes of lighting that must have been hundreds of miles away.  Once every half hour or so, a car would drive down the "highway" on the canyon rim above us, and its headlights would flicker off the rock walls as it wound past, giving us fleeting glimpses of the runs we were fishing in the canyon below.

The idea to fishing at night is that the fish often move out of their deep holes where they spend the days hidden from predators and fishermen and go searching for new sources of food; this means the fish can be more accessible and more aggressive.  I started the night by throwing a mouse pattern (yes, big fish will eat mice that fall into the river), but I didn't have any luck.  It was so dark that I had to listen for the splash of my mouse pattern to know that I casted it into the river.  After a while, I switched to a huge wooly bugger pattern.  I only got only one fish to hit that monster fly, but it was, not surprisingly, a monster.

Collectively, we landed two fish (both big) by 3:30 a.m., and we were ready to get after it again around 9 a.m. the next morning.  For those keeping track at home, I fished 18 hours in a 24 hour period, and 30 hours in around 40 hours.  I may have a fishing problem.

Doing some work as a fly fishing guide

Evening on the Lake Fork after I was done guiding

Sunset over the Lake Fork

Monster rainbow at night - around 21 inches

Night fishing: Because there aren't enough hours in the day

Back at it the next morning: Peter with a really nice brown

Peter's brown trout

The three of us each landed a fish simultaneously: Triple Fish!

Scouting out some pools along the cliffs

Targeting a fish rising along the bank

Mitchell landed an absolute monster of a cutthroat

We completed the day by catching some brook trout in a secluded pond

Cebolla Creek

I joined Peter for a day on Cebolla Creek, which is a small stream that drains Slumgullion Pass.  It generally has a lot of brush and trees along the banks, so you have to work in tight quarters to get a fly to the fish.  Although most of the fish are small (maybe 8 inches or so), there are some big fish in there too.  I was fortunate and landed a nice 20-inch rainbow and a beautiful 16-inch cutthroat that Peter and I cast to for about an hour before he finally took one of my flies.

Peter getting after some fish on the Cebolla

20-inch bow in about a foot of water

The beautiful cutthroat we spent a good chunk of the afternoon targeting

In this picture you can really see the "cuts" that give the cutthroat its name

A rare stretch of open water on Cebolla Creek

When we got back to town, we decided we needed to do some more fishing, so we went out to a pond and caught some nice brook trout, like this one

Beaten by Big Fish on the Lake Fork

I did some fishing with my friend Peter, who has started Devils Creek Outfitters, and we got into some big fish.  Unfortunately, all my big fish got away.  We were fishing a stretch of the Lake Fork that has great deep holes cut into the cliffs along the river, and at one of these holes we spotted a huge rainbow, and I immediately cast to him.  Well, the monster rainbow turned for my fly, ate it, and I set the hook. Snap!  The line broke immediately.  I was devastated and confused as I could only watch the fish try to shake my fly free.

In the excitement of seeing the monster rainbow, I had completely forgotten that I had just extracted my fly from some rocks after a fish had managed to get me hung up.  Not only had I been hung on the rocks, but the fish was still on the line, diligently sawing through my leader until he eventually came off.  I couldn't believe that I had been so careless and had missed a great chance at a huge fish.

I had several other big fish (over 20 inches) later that afternoon, but I couldn't get them to the net either. Overall, it was an exciting day even if it was marred by "the one that got away" several times over.

Pretty rainbow on the Lake Fork.  He would have been a nice snack for the monster.

A nice, dark rainbow on the Lake Fork

Lake Fork of the Gunnison

Peter fishing a run along the cliff face

Sunset on the river