An evening Dry Fly bite

So one day last week after I got home from a guide trip I wrangled up Amy to go out for an evening float. The fish had been going crazy on midges late in the evenings and I wanted her to get a few on dry's. Unfortunately, the fish were not going bonkers but we did find a pod or two of rising fish and scrapped out a bakers dozen or so on the surface and several more just under the surface in the film. The weather was nice, the company was great, and as always Life is Good on the River!

Trip of a lifetime!

Sunday was the trip of a lifetime for me...I got the chance to guide Chip and Hayden Butrick. The bite was not incredible but we caught fish! At times we would get on a roll and catch several in a row, then it would slow down. The experience was awesome though, at least for me. Chip and his son Hayden who had  special needs were two of the most amazing people to hang out with! Hayden and I became engaged in conversation all day about his favorite things and places. That conversation would consist of talk about John Deer tractors, Mom's farm, Hard Rock Cafe, Potato skins, Anaconda, and trains. It touched my heart to watch Chip be so patient. I don't think Chip Hooked a fish that he didn't let his son bring to the boat. Maybe one... and that was because Hayden wanted to net it. Look at the smiles in these pics of both Men. They are priceless. It was a bummer we had to work so hard for the fish that day but in the end its not always about the number of fish boated that make a trip a trip of a lifetime...At least not for the guy rowing the boat!

Mahoney and BG

Saturday I took out a good client of mine Ryan Mahoney and his pal BG. The River was good to us but she certainly made us work for our fish. We covered a fair amount of water and fished with several different techniques to make up our day. Ryan landed the nicest rainbow he had ever caught so that certainly made the day exciting. At the end of the day we had around 50 fish to the boat and I was certainly happy with that! Here are a couple pics of the boys with a few trout from the day!

Evening Dry's with the Doc

So my man Doctor Usdan was long overdue for some fishing. He came up yesterday for some afternoon fishing. Until the sun got low we had to work for them. He did manage to hook up with a 20+ inch rainbow that popped off right at the net. We picked off several other decent fish and a sucker. The magic did not begin until the sun started to ease behind the tree's. We busted out the 3 wt and dry fly's. White wolf's, midges, gnats, and Adams. What a blast!  Right now with these evening temps being super pleasant and low flows, the river gets empty and the fish come alive. If you want to try something different this summer other than the normal day trip, we will be tailoring some trips in the evenings to take advantage of the low light and surface feeders!

Mahoney's

So Ryan and Bill have been fishing with me quite a bit this year. We have fished all sorts of conditions and had fairly stellar days every time they have come.  This weekend we had extremely low water on the Red and some spooky fish. Both days Ryan Hooked up with some monsters...fish over 7 or 8 pounds both days...For a guy that just started to fly fish he has already got some serious voodoo. Despite the fact we did not land "Walter" we did catch some amazing fish. The guys caught several nice browns and loads of suckers...which in case you have never caught one pull like a freight train! Here are a few of the pics from the fellows trip over the weekend!

B-Rad is Back

On Friday I got the chance to fish with Brad again. The first time he came it was his first cold water river trout fishing trip. We wanted to fish the Red but she was blown out and so we fished the White River. Friday, the Little Red was low so we decided to go get our feet wet. I tried to keep Brad on his game. We fished some streamers, we did some midge fishing, and we did some nymphing. We waded, we drifted, we did it all. Brad landed some nice fish and got the chance to put his eyes on a few really nice fish. We were not able to make them eat, but it was nice to see them turn on our fly. Brad's game has improved a lot and he did well on the extremely technical low water we had to work with. Here is a cool photo of one of the nice rainbows he landed!

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who voted for my man Jack and I with his monster cuttie he caught earlier this spring...I am still having that fish swim around in my head while I sleep! We won the slab of the month contest on moldy chum and we appreciate all the votes! I'll be sure to hit you all up again when the slab of the year contest begins!

Little Red's status update

The Little Red is fishing good. Afternoon squirts of water are keeping the river cool. Most of the caddis are done but we are seeing some larger mayflies in select locations. Midges play a crucial part of the fish's diet. Blue winged Olives have been coming off heavy in the evenings and fish are willing to eat the adults. Size 18 are average but some are larger. Wade fishing has been great and drifting in the low flow can be very productive for anglers who can be a little stealthy. Afternoon generation makes for some awesome fishing on the upper river...If you think you may want to experience something a little different than you need to let me know. I can tailor your trip around the evening water...no boats, more bugs and great temps! Here is a solid brown who gulped a streamer tonight!  He was one of about 15 that ate in the 2 hours we fished!

Big Ole Rainbow

Well the Little Red Continues to fish well! We are working for the fish, but we are taking them in all sorts of fashions right now. Stripping streamers. Swinging soft hackles. Suspending emergers and of course good ole dead drifting. Today I guided Dick. I have guided Dick several times in the past but today I decided to push him to his limits and do some things outside of his normal comfort zone fishing. We rolled several super nice fish on streamers as well as some swinging soft hackles.  This fish certainly took the cake for us today and set a new benchmark for Dick. Its his biggest rainbow to date!

March Brown eating Brown!

Over the past couple of days Jamie and I ran a group trip. A long time Client of JRFFA and his four brothers fished with us. The first day we waded the fellows most of the day. The second day we decided to boat fish the boys and try to cover lots of water to put a few more bends in the rods. Jim landed this nice brown with me right before lunch on a Brown Drake nymph!

Steve and Adam!

Last week I got the chance with two fellows from Texas. Steve and Adam. The sun, the moon, and all of the stars must have been lined up just perfect for both days of their trip. The fish were active, the weather was nice, and the water flow was perfect. It really could not have gotten any better! Both days we got a several nicer fish mixed in with loads of 12-15 inch cookie cutters. On day two, Adam landed two nice browns and had a third one pop off right at the boat! It was a killer two days of trout fishing for these guys. Lots of smiles and laughs and good memories should hold these Texans over until the next time they can come to the Little Red River!