k_e_v
Well-known member
Hey everyone, how about a trip report from my most recent Green River trip. I met up with my future Son-in-Law, Ian, for a "get to know you" trip and spent several days floating the Green. Before he got there I spent a day on a local stream about an hour from Dutch John. I went there with a new Euro nymph rod and a box of Jerry's Euro nymph selections and meant to spend the whole day just learning the nymph game. After catching a couple of small ones nymphing i noticed noise coming from the trees and upon inspection found these......
I promised myself that this would be a nymph only day but just couldn't resist this event. Although I didn't bring a lot of flies besides the nymph box I managed to scrape up a few black foam bugs and started throwing big dries on this small stream. I really love this water and have visited it several times over the years. This time instead of hole jumping and looking for primo spots I did something new to me, I practiced patience and thoroughness. I entered the water and didn't get out. I fished with only the leader and at the most 2-3 ft of line out of my rod tip and threw the bug at EVERY piece of water no matter how skinny or seemingly void of fish holding capability. And instead of loosing my usual 6-8 flies in the trees (this is really tight fishing quarters) I fished the same fly all day and caught more than I ever had in my previous trips. I lost my net somewhere along the creek so I have no fish photos but I do have a few scenery shots
The next morning we headed out for Ian's first guide boat trip and as he says "his first day on a real river". We did a A/B float the first day. It was an OK day, this was my first time with this guide and he was resistant to our choice of river section and our preference to throw dries. Everybody was indicator nymphing and he wanted us to do that and we had a hard time getting him to go along with our wants. We finally got his mind right and we got on fish with Dry/droppers in the morning and Dries only in the afternoon. A trend that continued the next 2 days was the size of the fish. They were much bigger/heavier on this trip than my other trips to the Green. We caught many fish over 20" and several over 24" which is better than I normally do. Ian was the worst picture taker of all time so I will only include 1 of him not awkwardly holding a fish but with some beautiful river in the background
[url=https://flic.kr/p/S6iQKi]
The next day we did my favorite section of the Green, the C. We were with a guide from Trout Creek Flies, Brandon Fellar, that I have used many times and he has the perfect attitude and knowledge to fish the C section. He cautioned us a dozen times or so that the C was fishing slow and to expect a 0-2 day at best, we assured him that was fine with us. We then proceeded to knock the C section dead. Big, fat and tough fish were everywhere. I had my best day ever on the C, again doing dry/ dropper in the morning and crickets on top after lunch. Fishing was so good that I have no landscape pics of the C but if you have never seen it you should, a very special place.
I said goodbye to Ian as he has a normal job and had to head home to work on Monday. My daughter called me later in the week and said he would not shut up about the Green and the time he had. I think he is hooked and was lucky to see the river at a good time.
I spent my last day with Charlie Card from SpinnerFall Guide service for a single trip. I thought that I had fished with the best guides on the river on previous trips but I was told by 2 other guides that I needed to fish with Charlie. He did not disappoint. First he met me 1/2 hour earlier than the other guides and after talking about my experience with the river and my preference for the days float he suggested a B/C float. This is where you fish the lower section of B and the upper section of C, a long day for the guide but a great way to find some solitude on a very busy river. Charlie loaded and launched his Boulder Boatworks boat quickly and as we headed downstream he gave me lessons on entomology, geology, the building of Flaming Gorge dam , the history of Browns Park and the status of salmonoids in Utah and the west. Charlie is 50% scholar and 50% fish bum.
We again threw dry/ droppers in the morning and black beetles in the afternoon. Charlie worked the water thoroughly and put me on lots and lots of big fish. He liked to use bigger nymphs than I was used to seeing from other guides and it seemed to work down there. I also got my first ever "Solo Double" Both fish hit simultaneously and made for a fun fight and interesting netting
I am always intrigued by how different guides see the same river and approach it in their own way and Charlie was no different. He had a unique style and fished spots that in the past with other guides we floated on by. We finished up vey late, last boat on the water and his enthusiasm was just as good on the way back as the way there. A couple more pics from a fantastic trip
Well, another awesome trip to the Green as the river stepped up and performed well. Good times with old friends and good times with new friends. And its the least I could do for Ian as my daughter is a handful, poor guy
I promised myself that this would be a nymph only day but just couldn't resist this event. Although I didn't bring a lot of flies besides the nymph box I managed to scrape up a few black foam bugs and started throwing big dries on this small stream. I really love this water and have visited it several times over the years. This time instead of hole jumping and looking for primo spots I did something new to me, I practiced patience and thoroughness. I entered the water and didn't get out. I fished with only the leader and at the most 2-3 ft of line out of my rod tip and threw the bug at EVERY piece of water no matter how skinny or seemingly void of fish holding capability. And instead of loosing my usual 6-8 flies in the trees (this is really tight fishing quarters) I fished the same fly all day and caught more than I ever had in my previous trips. I lost my net somewhere along the creek so I have no fish photos but I do have a few scenery shots
The next morning we headed out for Ian's first guide boat trip and as he says "his first day on a real river". We did a A/B float the first day. It was an OK day, this was my first time with this guide and he was resistant to our choice of river section and our preference to throw dries. Everybody was indicator nymphing and he wanted us to do that and we had a hard time getting him to go along with our wants. We finally got his mind right and we got on fish with Dry/droppers in the morning and Dries only in the afternoon. A trend that continued the next 2 days was the size of the fish. They were much bigger/heavier on this trip than my other trips to the Green. We caught many fish over 20" and several over 24" which is better than I normally do. Ian was the worst picture taker of all time so I will only include 1 of him not awkwardly holding a fish but with some beautiful river in the background
[url=https://flic.kr/p/S6iQKi]
The next day we did my favorite section of the Green, the C. We were with a guide from Trout Creek Flies, Brandon Fellar, that I have used many times and he has the perfect attitude and knowledge to fish the C section. He cautioned us a dozen times or so that the C was fishing slow and to expect a 0-2 day at best, we assured him that was fine with us. We then proceeded to knock the C section dead. Big, fat and tough fish were everywhere. I had my best day ever on the C, again doing dry/ dropper in the morning and crickets on top after lunch. Fishing was so good that I have no landscape pics of the C but if you have never seen it you should, a very special place.
I said goodbye to Ian as he has a normal job and had to head home to work on Monday. My daughter called me later in the week and said he would not shut up about the Green and the time he had. I think he is hooked and was lucky to see the river at a good time.
I spent my last day with Charlie Card from SpinnerFall Guide service for a single trip. I thought that I had fished with the best guides on the river on previous trips but I was told by 2 other guides that I needed to fish with Charlie. He did not disappoint. First he met me 1/2 hour earlier than the other guides and after talking about my experience with the river and my preference for the days float he suggested a B/C float. This is where you fish the lower section of B and the upper section of C, a long day for the guide but a great way to find some solitude on a very busy river. Charlie loaded and launched his Boulder Boatworks boat quickly and as we headed downstream he gave me lessons on entomology, geology, the building of Flaming Gorge dam , the history of Browns Park and the status of salmonoids in Utah and the west. Charlie is 50% scholar and 50% fish bum.
We again threw dry/ droppers in the morning and black beetles in the afternoon. Charlie worked the water thoroughly and put me on lots and lots of big fish. He liked to use bigger nymphs than I was used to seeing from other guides and it seemed to work down there. I also got my first ever "Solo Double" Both fish hit simultaneously and made for a fun fight and interesting netting
I am always intrigued by how different guides see the same river and approach it in their own way and Charlie was no different. He had a unique style and fished spots that in the past with other guides we floated on by. We finished up vey late, last boat on the water and his enthusiasm was just as good on the way back as the way there. A couple more pics from a fantastic trip
Well, another awesome trip to the Green as the river stepped up and performed well. Good times with old friends and good times with new friends. And its the least I could do for Ian as my daughter is a handful, poor guy