Fall Cutts

[cpierce]

I thought I would post on the fly board too a not everyone reads the Idaho board.

I got a chance to do some more stream fishing yesterday. Wow, what a beautiful day to be out!! The weather was warm and calm, and the trees were amazing in all of their best finery. It was hard to believe that some of the leaves were that vivid. Some were such a bright florescent orange, I thought at first it was a group of hunters sitting together. I don't think I have seen them that shade of orange before. Strange and amazing! I took a few pictures but they really don't show what it was like in first person.




All of the planets must have been in alignment, because the fishing was good too.

I got to the creek at about 11:30 and since I already had an Adams on, I left on and fished with that until the poor fly gave up its last wisp of hackle. I was up exploring a different section that had a lot of beaver ponds and brush to beat through. The cutts seemed to be few and far between in this area, and I didn't see many young of the year in there. There is an unscreened irrigation diversion close to this area, that I think accounts for many of the moving fish and the young from above there. It makes it hard for fish recruitment.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against irrigation, I just think it should be done right for all of the resources.

I decided to move to a different section and try the fishing there. It was great! Lots of baby fish and plenty of other sizes, but it was still hard to sneak up on them in the clear shallow water, especially with a bright orange hunting vest on. At least with the leaves all colors, I blended into some of it. If I wasn’t cautious and moved too quick though, they spooked that run and two or three runs up.


There were still lots of hoppers around so I finished the next hour or two with hoppers and caddis flies. Some of the fish made some historic dashes out from under willow roots and just smashed my fly. It is a good thing they hooked themselves, because I was so startled that I would have pulled the fly away if I'd had time. Unfortunately many of them made another mad dash back under the willow roots and I never got another look at them.

I even had one where it straightened the hook on a small caddis fly I was using. Must have been a bad hook, but......I like to think it was a HUGE fish!

Most of the fish I caught were 8 to 12 inches, but most of my pictures are of the 15-18 inchers. I love looking at the different markings and spot patterns on cutthroats. They are such a great fish for small streams like this!




I did have a net with me on this trip, which is an amazing accomplishment for my memory!


I like this measure net. It is heavier and larger than my usual stream net, but it does make it easier to land the fish. The real problem with carrying a net on small brushy streams is.....well the brush. I had to use a cord to tie it behind me so it would stay. Then it was harder to get free when I needed it. Does anyone have an easier way to tote one?

Anyway, back to the fish.... Sorry there are waterspots on some of the pictures. Some of the fish objected to having their picture taken, and I didn't notice the splash on the lens to wipe it off.

























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[macfly55]

What a great post and pictures.. I am so jealous.. :-)

MacFly
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[flygoddess]

Me too! Imagine, catching fish in water you can actually see the bottom...LOL
Those are fantastic fish.
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[cpierce]

I am feeling pretty lucky this year. The fish have been good to me! And though this stream is clear....( at least upstream of where I was wading), the small streams of Eastern Idaho are really buggers to fish! You wouldn't believe the thickness of some of the brush.

For these fish I hiked about a mile and a half over hillsides and brush to get far enough downstream to come back up in the stream bed... which is the only place you can walk.

Then the larger and sneakier trout were in impossible to fish places. Most were under willow roots or brush piles, that you had to get the fly within inches of hanging up, before they would take it. I can't tell you how many flies I hung in the bushes! I spent more time either retrieving flies or tying on new, than fishing.

Sometime soon I will take another nice calm and relaxing float on a lake for awhile. But I really do love the challenge and surprise of the small streams!!
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[davetclown]

sweet.

blackend trout and eggs sounds good right about now. [:p]
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[macfly55]

LOL... that small stream in TN we fish in the summer.. I can see the bottom of it fine.. .just cant see the fish..LOL..

MacFly
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]To me getting out on the water in its self is wonderful, but catching all those great looking cutts is just the icing on the cake.[/#008000][/font]
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