* Green River, UT - July 27th-31st
After many years of being told by our guide to visit the Green in the summertime, John and I finally did it. There were many differences between the Green River in May and the Green River in July. We didn't drive out, we flew, we didn't wear waders, we wet-waded, we didn't need fleece and rainwear, we didn't have to use indicators or flies with droppers, and we didn't have to wait a long time between hits, either.
The area around Flaming Gorge was still sporting spring green, due to an unseasonably wet June. The dam was still releasing water, and the river was running higher than we had expected, but looked great, and the fish seemed unconcerned about the water level, as they were happily grabbing our offerings. They weren't actively feeding on the surface, but they could be convinced to come up if what you tossed looked good enough. We threw crickets, hoppers, ants and beetles, and they obliged, at least on Tuesday, they did.
On Wednesday, our guide, Doug Burton, took us to a beautiful lake, Sheep Creek Lake. It is a breeding lake for cutthroat trout. John caught a couple, as did Doug. They were fully colored, and beautiful, but great care must be taken when releasing them, as they are a little more difficult to revive. The lake is warmer, less oxygenated, and the fish a bit less vigorous, not having to swim in a river current.
On Thursday, we fished the river again with Doug. As easy and full of action as Tuesday was, Thursday was a study in frustration. We had lots of takes, but John couldn't hook and land a fish to save his life, and I worked hard all day just to catch five and bring them to the boat. We later joked that it must be the new hooks that Doug was using, made by Rubbermaid.
Friday, we had to make our way back to Salt Lake City for our flight home, but before we turned in the rental car, John made a pilgrimage to the Cabela's in Lehi. I suppose a little retail therapy was in order after Thursday's frustrations. If you've never visited a large Cabela's, you should. It's a sensory overload for sportsmen and women!
Overall, we had a good week's summertime fishing, we're glad we went, and will try to do it again next year. - Pat and John Steele
* July - Southwest Montana
In general: cool, high water, thunderstorms, rain, wind, and then more thunderstorms. More like spring than summer. The first snow will probably come before any forest fires. A tributary of the Blackfoot produced a 19" brown, of course caught by Elaine. The lower Rock Creek; what a treat, lots of 14"-16" trout. Firehole too warm. Galliton too cold. Madison, good fishing between thunder and wind with caddis. Beaverhead, total frustration trying to hook those big boys that kept showing backs and tails. Big Hole, got a whitefish fix plus a few nice browns and rainbows. Upper Rock Creek was fished twice, two weeks apart. Superb dry fly fishing the first time, then rain, rain, thunder and poor fishing. Maybe rainbows mean rain! - Elaine and John Cook
* Rainbow River Lodge, Iliamna, AK
A beautiful lodge, well managed, first class cabins, top knotch guides, super fishing, flyouts each day combined with the best food anywhere is how we would describe our recent trip to Rainbow River Lodge on the Copper River in Alaska! That's a big description but true!
We arrived Saturday evening after a flight from San Jose to Anchorage and then a little over an hour flight from Anchorage to Iliamna. In Iliamna, Chad Hewick, owner, picked us up in his DeHavillland Beaver and the 15 minute flight to the lodge showed us lots of water.
Rainbow River Lodge is located on Alaska's first Blue Ribbon Trout Stream, the Copper River. We fished this river twice, floating and catching numerous rainbows, 18-20 ". The water was about 2 to 3 feet higher than normal as we experienced some real weather the day after our arrival. The remnants of a typhoon, with high wind and rain battered us during the night and brought the water up. However, since this is a flyout lodge, we were able to fly out to some other rivers, not affected by the storm. We fished and caught some beautiful rainbows on Battle River, 22" to 29" and in many of the streams, the sockeye were plentiful and often were hooked...they were not always snagged and even caught one that was silver and fresh looking. Flying to the American River, we hiked in about 45 minutes after landing on a lake, and fished for Char. What a gorgeous fish and anywhere from 4 pounds up to and over 7 pounds. The colors of these fish were quite outstanding, red gill plates, white tipped fins, and dark red spots on silver/greenish body! Both these rivers are in the Katmai National Preserve and we saw lots of BIG brown bears. Fishing on one of the lakes close to the lodge, we had a great time catching Northern Pike. We cast for them as well as trolled. Catching several between 22' and 29' using big streamers...they are a hoot. This is a beautiful and rugged land. The fireweed was in abundance and blooming everywhere along the waters. We flew over glaciers, and thru valleys along rivers, saw Dall Sheep on the mountains and experienced the "land of the midnight sun".
We had several adventures that make this trip so memorable, but experiencing it with our friends from Colorado made this adventure so much fun!!
We highly recommend this lodge and look forward to sharing our info with you if you are interested.- Ernie and Diane Kinzli