Surf Fishout - June 4th
Fishmaster: Sam Bishop
Surf Fishout - June 4th
Fishmaster: Sam Bishop
Nine of us took on the Palm Beach surf at high tide on June 4. Fishing was fun but spotty. Jim Tolonen, on his first surf fishout caught a Barred Perch, Tom Bradley caught a couple, Jim Hall got his second Striper of the season, Alex Ferber (new member, first time joining us), got a couple. We were so spread out that I don't know how well Ron Lindsay, Gary Hazelton or Pat Marshall did. I got a new first, a Halibut! Yes, I know it was a baby, but still it is the first one I ever caught.
Green River Challenge
by Pat Steele
This year, we chose to visit the Green River a little later in the month of May, mostly owing to a family obligation to travel to Florida, to celebrate my mom's 90th birthday. Ordinarily, going later would be a good thing; in most years, the major ramp-up of water releases from Flaming Gorge dam would have stabilized in late May, the fish would be settled in their favorite feeding lanes, and the bank fishing would be good, having plenty of fish hugging the edges, happily eating midges, emergers, and the occasional dry fly. We were looking forward to having an easy time of it, as were the other SCFFers who joined us.
We also hoped to escape the remnants of winter weather, expecting warmer, less rainy or snowy days, but as we drove up through Park City, it was snowing enough that there was about a six-inch accumulation of it along the roadside. So much for our expectations!
Our gang of SCFFers included Kathy Powers, Elaine and John Cook, who were beginning their three-month annual nomadic trek, Doug Severin, Kelly and David Lehrian, Tom Pelikan, Bob Peterson, Pete Thomas, Kennette and Bob Roberts, and Deanna Raudman. After John and I spent one night at a local bed and breakfast, we all gathered at Trout Creek Flies Lodge to plot our strategies and firm up our guide trip days.
The dam releases were slated to begin on Monday, so John and I bumped our first drift trip with our guide, Doug Burton, up to Sunday, hoping to do a run before the water went up. We had a reasonably good day's fishing, but since the weather was chilly, we had to fish subsurface, using bead head nymphs, split shot, and indicators. Later in the day, after things warmed up a bit, we got some top water action. Still, it was fun, and we caught plenty of fish.
On Monday, the water began rising, and the fish were bumped out of their feeding lanes, making bank fishing a challenge. Those of us who bank fished stayed in the upper river section, closer to the dam, where there was less debris in the water, and coped with the situation. Others went to the reservoir and caught the spawners near the shore, or went to Jones Hole, and fished the little brushy stream with some success.
Doug Severin and Tom Pelikan went on a hunt for a "secret" lake, and ended up taking a three-state peregrination that resulted in more sight-seeing than fishing. The location of the lake, now dubbed "Snipe-Hunt Lake", remains a mystery.
John and I went on another drift trip mid-week, with Gene Gautieri. Gene is an expert nympher, and rigs his clients up so that no matter how bad the conditions are, they catch fish. Not only did we have high water, lots of debris, sulking fish, and complicated, hard-to-cast gear, we got high wind. Still, we managed to catch a good number of fish, more to the credit of our guide than to our own expertise.
On Thursday, John and I went on a third drift trip with Doug Burton, and it was a real struggle. The river was high, moss, grass, limbs of trees and other debris was constantly fouling us up, the wind was roaring up river at 35-40 MPH, and it was difficult to get a line into the water, let alone catch fish. We spent as much time untangling our gear as we did fishing. I caught three fish all day, and John, who always graciously fishes the stern and allows me to take the bow, caught one. Doug had to be one tired guide after rowing in such adverse conditions!
Even though this year presented us with challenges, I think we all enjoyed the trip. We owe many thanks to Grace Breer and her Trout Creek Flies crew for making us comfortable, hiring a chef, Bill, who fed us scrumptious food, and seeing to our every need. The Green River is a beautiful place, the quantity and quality of the fishing is unparalleled, and while it may not always be the easiest place to catch trout, it calls us back every year.