myt1
Well-known member
Here is the second installment of my one month trout bum odyssey.
After dropping my wife off at the Boise airport I started the second part of my trip.
I considered the North Platte to be my ultimate destination, but before that I was planning on making a couple of interim stops in Idaho and Utah.
Destination:
East Fork of the Big Lost River and the Big Lost River below Mackay Reservoir.
Basically, head to Ketchum and the Sun Valley Ski Resort, this is the last place Ernest Hemingway lived before he committed suicide, and take a right turn and head over the mountain.
The road along the east fork is a smooth dirt road and parallels the river. I went all the way to Copper Basin and when the river made a right turn under the road I made a left turn and found a very secluded campsite.
Like anyplace new, it took me awhile to figure things out. I fished a dry dropper setup and finally discovered that the fish were hanging out under the overhanging bushes. I caught a relatively rare Whitefish. Supposedly, this is one of the only locations where there is strict catch and release regulation in place for Whitefish. I released mine right away, but I had problems removing the hook and it was bleeding from the mouth when I let it go. I hope it survived. I feel terrible.
The fishing gods got even with me though. It was while fishing this section that I lost a really nice fly box full of really nice flies. I spent a significant amount of money in various fly shops during the remainder of the trip replacing a lot of the flies. Being recently retired and on a fixed budget, replacing a significant number of flies at full retail price isn’t the trivial expenditure that it used to be.
During the second day in this area I fished the the Big Lost River proper, below Mackay Reservoir. The access is very bushy, but I eventually found a nice hole. It was such a nice hole in fact that more than a few of the locals let me know in a not so subtle way they wish I would’ve been fishing elsewhere, like several miles downstream. I’m not kidding. Anyway, I caught a few fish in this area and then packed up and moved on to my next destination, the Middle Provo.
He is one of my favorite authors. He is buried in Ketchum.
Here is the Whitefish with the damaged mouth. I hope it survived.
I saw a herd of Elk on the way to the Mackay Reservoir.
The Middle Provo River, UT.
This was the only location where I got skunked. I learned there is such a thing as the fall irrigation season and the river was blown out. Of course this didn’t stop me from knocking my head against the wall for a few hours as I tried to fish a pretty much featureless river that was over flowing it’s banks. I didn’t even see a fish.
On a more positive note, I camped at the nearby Wasatch Mountain State Park Campground and it was very nice.
I hope to return to the Provo River when the water isn’t so high.
Flaming Gorge, UT.
This was my second trip to Flaming Gorge and just like my first trip last October, I got my butt kicked.
Fishing from shore is just tough. I managed a few fish my first day and only one fish my second day. I fished the top of the B section and the top of the A section respectively.
If only I had a boat. I met a father and son who never fly fished before the previous day when they went with a guide in a drift boat. They had a friggin’ 22 fish day! Fishing from shore the next day though they were having as much luck as I was, which is to say almost none at all.
I think the best time to fish from shore is when there are huge hatches going on, but there was none of that going on during this trip.
So in summary, the middle part of my trip didn’t quite live up to standards of the first part of my trip, but I learned a lot and had a good time. It’s just that I would’ve had a better time if I caught more fish.
Flaming Gorge definitely doesn't lack for scenery. I just wish the fishing was better from shore.
After dropping my wife off at the Boise airport I started the second part of my trip.
I considered the North Platte to be my ultimate destination, but before that I was planning on making a couple of interim stops in Idaho and Utah.
Destination:
East Fork of the Big Lost River and the Big Lost River below Mackay Reservoir.
Basically, head to Ketchum and the Sun Valley Ski Resort, this is the last place Ernest Hemingway lived before he committed suicide, and take a right turn and head over the mountain.
The road along the east fork is a smooth dirt road and parallels the river. I went all the way to Copper Basin and when the river made a right turn under the road I made a left turn and found a very secluded campsite.
Like anyplace new, it took me awhile to figure things out. I fished a dry dropper setup and finally discovered that the fish were hanging out under the overhanging bushes. I caught a relatively rare Whitefish. Supposedly, this is one of the only locations where there is strict catch and release regulation in place for Whitefish. I released mine right away, but I had problems removing the hook and it was bleeding from the mouth when I let it go. I hope it survived. I feel terrible.
The fishing gods got even with me though. It was while fishing this section that I lost a really nice fly box full of really nice flies. I spent a significant amount of money in various fly shops during the remainder of the trip replacing a lot of the flies. Being recently retired and on a fixed budget, replacing a significant number of flies at full retail price isn’t the trivial expenditure that it used to be.
During the second day in this area I fished the the Big Lost River proper, below Mackay Reservoir. The access is very bushy, but I eventually found a nice hole. It was such a nice hole in fact that more than a few of the locals let me know in a not so subtle way they wish I would’ve been fishing elsewhere, like several miles downstream. I’m not kidding. Anyway, I caught a few fish in this area and then packed up and moved on to my next destination, the Middle Provo.
He is one of my favorite authors. He is buried in Ketchum.
Here is the Whitefish with the damaged mouth. I hope it survived.
I saw a herd of Elk on the way to the Mackay Reservoir.
The Middle Provo River, UT.
This was the only location where I got skunked. I learned there is such a thing as the fall irrigation season and the river was blown out. Of course this didn’t stop me from knocking my head against the wall for a few hours as I tried to fish a pretty much featureless river that was over flowing it’s banks. I didn’t even see a fish.
On a more positive note, I camped at the nearby Wasatch Mountain State Park Campground and it was very nice.
I hope to return to the Provo River when the water isn’t so high.
Flaming Gorge, UT.
This was my second trip to Flaming Gorge and just like my first trip last October, I got my butt kicked.
Fishing from shore is just tough. I managed a few fish my first day and only one fish my second day. I fished the top of the B section and the top of the A section respectively.
If only I had a boat. I met a father and son who never fly fished before the previous day when they went with a guide in a drift boat. They had a friggin’ 22 fish day! Fishing from shore the next day though they were having as much luck as I was, which is to say almost none at all.
I think the best time to fish from shore is when there are huge hatches going on, but there was none of that going on during this trip.
So in summary, the middle part of my trip didn’t quite live up to standards of the first part of my trip, but I learned a lot and had a good time. It’s just that I would’ve had a better time if I caught more fish.
Flaming Gorge definitely doesn't lack for scenery. I just wish the fishing was better from shore.
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