2 more days on the Green—early June

[Joey Bagels]

My job as a professional dinosaur exterminator brought me to Utah once again. These rascals are everywhere, so I’m a busy guy.

So after I wrangled the last of these fiends, I beat feet for the Green River again to see what’s going on with the lower flows. But not before taking in some sights.
Controlled burns are smoking up the sky, making for some nice sunsets.

I made it to my campsite and settled in to watch bats chasing insects in the fading light.

Next morning I was up and at it. So were all the locals.

Willy the wonder weasel was chasing breakfast.

The next two days were a dizzying mix of fishing, chatting with fellow anglers, watching all sorts of creatures, and enjoying the beauty of Flaming Gorge. Nymphing was still the game. They were eating midge and Baetis imitations. Some of the other folks I ran into were fishing scuds on the shops’ recommendations. Most weren’t doing too well. I felt lucky. Pheasant tails, WD-40’s, and Top Secret Midges made the trout want to eat my hook.

How many trout do you see?

Ouch. Never EVER ask why I fish barbless.

Some of the natives were unimpressed. Tough crowd.

I threw some foam, but they were fussy. FINALLY found out they wanted beetles. But by that time, I had to leave. Of course. High flows last month took their toll.

Thanks for coming along.

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[Joey Bagels]

And because I’m limited in the number of photos I can include, here’s a follow.
Perfection in a wrapper:

Big ants abound.

The fish were happy. I’m always impressed how much the browns jump in the Green.

Choice food items.

Also, if you lost a Fishpond net with some zip ties holding together tears in the basket, know it’s in good hands with these two who found it by the outhouses a mile up from Little Hole.

They were pretty jazzed, even though they said they don’t use nets ever. I was going to try to wrestle it away from them since I was profoundly jealous, but the girl had an automatic strapped to her belt. So I congratulated them and fumed back at camp to Willy the wonder weasel as I slammed beers.



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[mcnerney]

Joey

That looks like an awesome trip to the Green right after the high flows of spring runoff. Gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing!

 

[Joey Bagels]

The flows are tapering nicely and the fish are settling into deeper runs, but there are still plenty along the banks in the usual spots. Clear water is making them EXTREMELY wary though.

Surface action should pick up as things stabilize. The guides in drift boats mostly have their clients fishing with tennis ball-sized indicators and nymphs of some sort. I’ve seen them pick up fish, but the dry fly flingers font seem to be nailing as many (read none that I saw). But that’s typical.


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[spm]

Great trip report, Joey. Beautiful fish. Photography is excellent.
Willy the Wonder Weasel seemed to be your constant companion.

Thanks,
steve

 

[Ard]

Another great story! What exactly do you use to take down the dinosaure's? There's obviously a lot of meat on the hind quarters of them is it any good? If I lived near that place I'd be there every day I think.

Beautiful and entertaining too,

Ard

 

[Joey Bagels]

Thanks spm and Ard! It’s a dangerous job exterminating prehistoric monsters, but someone’s gotta do it. I love the Green and the entire region. My wife and honeymooned there in ‘02 just days before the fires. Especially with changing water levels, it’s a completely different experience every single day and takes some work to figure out. Good for those with FDD (fishing deficit disorder) like me.


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[spm]

It’s a dangerous job exterminating prehistoric monsters, but someone’s gotta do it.

I remember when my wife and I were there, saying to her that someone needs to do something about all these dinosaurs. She looked at me and .....
didn't. say. a. word.

Keep up the good fight, Joey. We all sleep better knowing you're on the job.
steve

 

[itinerant]

Nice report and photos as always Joey.

The found net story made me chuckle, I was out there in March and saw a guy down by Little Hole who had the biggest hogleg I'd seen in a while on his belt. Made me and my companions wonder what he was worried about, he must have been afraid of dinosaurs.

Rick

 

[stenacron]

Fantastic report and pics!

Beware of Allosaurus!

 

[Joey Bagels]

It looks like flows are evening out at last. This should put the trout more at ease and let them settle into a regular pattern.

It also means the more visible fish will be seeing every fly pattern known to man several times an hour, all summer. PLEASE be careful fishing for the highly visible fish and don’t use a double nymph rig! A nice, older gentleman I encountered in the last minutes of my trip had accidentally snagged a 16” brown by dragging his double San Juan worm rig under it in his zeal to recast to it. He didn’t realize it was snagged under the tail until unsuccessfully trying to net it twice. I finally helped him net it out of pity for the fish, which looked pretty beat up and rough, like Gary Busey after a night out in Vegas.
So hey, HEY,

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[k_e_v]

Excellent posts on my favorite river and a place that is driving me to the poor house. Well done sir:clap:

 

[GlennNY]

Great looking trip, way to go.... thanks for sharing!!