Joni - The Utah Fly Goddess

Eight day trip....

2011-10-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

We plan our week long trip in September every year.

We arrived mid afternoon on the Sat. 17th. Right out of the gate, hubby says he has a killer headache, so we set up camp, he laid down and I headed for a hike and some rivers. Storm moved in and it got wet

Had a blast on the rivers using my Hardy "The Test" four weight.
Caught Brookies, Cutthroats, Rainbows and Whities

They liked California Leeches:

Thought this was cool pic of the whitie swimming away

Our camp was perfect

And one stretch of the river I fished

Bummer is, we drove over 300 miles for this week of fishing the lake, but the hubby's head was not going to have it. Maybe sinus, or stress, but it came and went all day long the whole week, so we only managed two days of about three hours each on the lake.

We made it count. First off, the clouds were cool as heck:

We did the state boat dock, so the Brookies are a lot lighter colored than what I have seen on the other side of the lake. Has to be something to do with their surroundings, I guess, but here is one of my Brook Trout

And here is a few of the Cutts:

All were quickly released

OH! They were all caught on a Black and Purple Gartside Softhackle
and Type II Line

On the trip home, about the time we passed Last Chance, a sportsman and one of the bosses from Trout Hunter was getting mauled by a bear. Spooky stuff!
But the view was nice, very sad to be leaving it....

Summer Fun

2011-08-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

July 24th is this weekend and here in Utah it is a day off Holiday for many. Well the Hubby is one of them, I simply requested Monday off as I get Fridays off anyway.
I worked Thursday morning till 8:45 a.m. made it home by 9 and hit the road by 9:45.

Headed north to Idaho, hoping that there would not be the masses of campers.. GOOD CHOICE!
There were two other campers this weekend at this Lake. (Due to the small size of this Lake I will not mention the name).
We went all the way to the end of the dirt road for our favorite camp site up the rare shade of Trees.

We got the camp all set up then pumped up the Renegades and set-up the rods.

Then ate some lunch. By now it was around 2 p.m. and the wind was kicking up a bit.

I went ahead and headed out. Deep nymphing in 27' of water with flies at 20' and 18'...It was awesome for a couple hours.

All fish were returned very quickly and safely....

Hubby joined me after his quick nap with "B" dog as his co-pilot

Fishing was great for several hours. We returned to camp and had dinner and got ready for bed and called it a nite.....

Got up the next morning and hit the water bright and early.....not a good thing and went several hours with one or two fish.

Water was glass smooth which meant bugs. TONS! of Damsels and midges

Nothing a little face BUFF can't help ....

Later in the afternoon, wind kicked up a little. I watched little tornadoes on shore ....

And had a guest roaming the camp sites ....

Well, I got my Co-Pilot back and the fish were on ....

....and the key fly.... ANYTHING that looked like this ....

Here is some fish candy ....

All fish were returned quickly to the water and swam off immediately ....

.... And ONE..flew......

Willard Bay and then some......

2011-08-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Long, wet winter did take a toll on the fishing. Rivers still running high, fast and muddy.
Plus storms every other day, a new job and remodeling the house continues.
I still manage to get out about twice a week. Forget the camera several outings but here is some recap highlights.

Trying something new this year. WILLARD BAY...would like to hook a Wiper, but as summer progresses, so do the bugs out there so might be awhile before I get back
But the CRAPPIE...they are HUGE. I caught a bunch anywhere from 10" to 15" ....

Even doubles ....

Also, hit Deer Creek for some great Trout and CARP fishing ....

Had my Lucky Charm with me ....

Back home, we've made several trips to Strawberry. Damsel nymphs, Bunny Leech (white) and Irish Spring are the main flies with Midnight fire working great also ....

What the fish were eating for dinner ....

All fish were returned to the water for another day of fishing ....

Running out of Soft Water time for 2010 ....

2010-11-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

I seriously love days like these. Don't get many in November so I grabbed it ....

Headed for the hills for a fantastic day ....

Got there at a little after 8 so got to watch the sun come up and it was beautiful ....

A little cool though but ready for it ....

Hit the water and was still in a trance at the beauty ....

Oh and yes the fish wanted to play, but they do hit lightly ....

All were released as soon as they gave me back my fly ....

Plus the great company on these beautiful days ....

Hubby of course (schooled me on this day) ....

And we tried to get as many trips as we could in with our new BFF (best friends forever) Zach before being shipped out to Kuwait....

He is gone for now but will be back at ice out ....

Here is some more eye candy ....

And some with Tatoos ....

Black Leeches and Blood Chironomids were all good choices but the winning fly is the Chub Special by Jason Haslem ....

ZACH>>>>WE MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall at Strawberry

2010-09-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning September 26th, as we got close there was the mist cloud hanging over the harbor ..

We arrive at the Soldier Creek launch ramp at around 8:30.
Air was around 38° and water was glass smooth with no breeze.

Saw good friends Zach and Brianna already getting into the swing:

I loaded up and grabbed my Navigator ("B" dog) and we hit the open waters.

Fishing began slow but soon "caught" on..

Of course "B" dog had to inspect every fish caught and give a little MOUTH TO MOUTH...

Flies?

For the majority of the trip I was using a TYPE II sinking line and a Chub Pattern by Jason Haslem and also my LEECH

A stomach pump revealed some great Chironomids as in the picture with my imitations

A day fishing with my best friends (hubby and dog) and two new found friends was perfect enough, but to add to that, the last fish of the day for me turned out to be a double.

First fish a nice 20"ish Rainbow on the Chub pattern ....

.... and a 25" Cutt on the Leech, which I was unable to fit into my net, so Zach saved the day

All were safely released back into the water ….

"Henry's Lake - September, 2010

2010-09-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

The yearly week trip up north has come and gone. But the memories will live on. Loaded up the NEW trailer and headed to a good friend (Bob) cabin.

He invited us to set up camp on his property with hook-ups. What a guy. Did I mention Bob has his own way of catching fish?

The camp site was fantastic:

Now on to the details. This was what the fish were eating:

So, this is what we offered (before water and after water):

Well it worked, "Game On"....

And the trophy at 26"

Brookies were to be had this trip as well:

All were safely released:

I even had a BAT try to board my pontoon:

Weather was do-able but it still had it's moments:

But the bend was on:

So, till next year we will hold on to these memories:

A day of fly tying....

2010-08-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, getting me to sit down and start tying is like pulling teeth, ..... but when I do, I can't quit!

Here are some of the latest ones ....

Two of Kelly Galloup's flies. They are called the SEX DUNGEON and BUTT MONKEY (hey... Kelly named them not me LOL) ….

These are some spiders with rubber legs ….

And last but not least some Holographic Chironomids ….

Four of a Kind....

2010-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

We hit the Uinta's for a few hours Monday before the storm hit. It was windy the whole time and I am more impressed with the Escape. Might not be a pretty tube to some, but it is a beauty on the water. Anyway, I headed for the far corner and was catching Tigers by the dozens.

Here are a couple of nice sized ones (species number one) …

…. then there were Rainbows (number two species)….

…. and Albinos (number three species….) but these slippery guys were camera shy so no pictures today...

but the coolest catch of the day was a double ….

.... a Grayling on the lead fly (species number four species) ….

…. and a little tiger on the dropper ….

…. then I went with Kelly Galloups idea of big flies mean big fish ….

Yeah, riiiiight …. LOL

Pioneer Weekend 2010....

2010-08-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Headed north to Idaho for a nice four day weekend....

We arrived around noon and noticed a friend (Cindy Pierce) was already on the water and hooking up. We leveled the trailer, then grabbed the pontoons and hit the lake.

My first hook up was the best of the weekend. A 26" long 15" wide Kamloop:

Many fish to come, but this was the trophy.

Got some great samples of their diet:

Orange Scuds:

Burgundy Chironomid and Blood worms:

And Leeches:

Here are a few of the catches from the weekend:

Even Mojo was a hooking up regularly:

All were revived and released:

Got the feeling my boat was sitting too long:

The last night there was this FULL MOON and a beautiful end to a fabulous weekend ....

.... and TRAVELOCITY rated this a bodacious trip ....

.. this is NOT the Sierras....

2010-07-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

We hit the 11,000 elevation yesterday for a little ff. It was nice and cool and started off very quiet.
We stayed about 4 hours and by the time we left, there was no place to park and it looked like every fishable spot on the shore was taken.
A storm was starting to move in and they hit hard and heavy there so we opted to leave.

Even with the wind at our backs, the Escapes held up to their names. Rowing was simple.

Here is just a few shots for you all.

... a nice albino... right down to the red eyes....

.... another one who forgot how to get away...

... cool shot of an underwater release...

Fourth of July fishing weekend.....

2010-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

This past Fourth of July weekend was the first one in about twenty five years that I wasn't playing music; so we packed up and headed NORTH ….

A cold front came through hard and heavy that left us with temperatures in the highs fifties. Granted, we are use to the colder temps while at this special lake, but, that is in the fall! This has been an unusual start to the summer and these colder weather patterns have been putting the fish catching off ….

We were greeted by the locals …..

and some that looked like Aliens from a horror movie …..

but, there was this smell.........

Not sure what that was. Maybe "Home Cookin'" .

Stayed at Bob's cabin for the first two days (Thanks Bob, Irene and little Baxter)

Got some river fishing in ….

and a few on the lake ….

Even made it up to West Yellowstone

Bob and little grey Baxter came by the last night to say bye ….

The weekend was way tooooooo short …..

A little after Birthday camping/fishing trip:

2010-06-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

Fished a little lake that we love because of the Chironomid action AND the big strong Kamloops. Checked several fish to see what was cooking. One full of little green pupa and one was FULL of olive/gray scuds. Still getting use to the new Kodak so please excuse the slightly out of focus ... ;-)

Then this guy showed up. But, no adults and they weren't taking the imitations ....

... but anything CHIRONOMID with RED in it, or an occasional black and blue, brought a most bodacious fighting Kam to boat.

.... and ya got to love the underwater effect of the "SEE YA"

Overnite trip to Idaho...

2010-05-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday Morning May 15th 2010. Got up at 4:30 a.m. The truck and trailer were all ready to go. Grabbed the final things we needed for an overnighter plus a cup of coffee to go, and headed north again to Idaho. A different lake we will call Lake C.

We got there, got the trailer straight, boats put together and hit the water by 9:00 a.m.

After several very expensive mishaps (the brand new gas motor falling over and breaking the control lever, so unable to try it out. Then dropping the ENGLISH Orvis Battenkill LA reel loaded with Depth Charge line on my step, to have it bounce and SPLASH!!! gone!

Fishing was very slow. The Chironomids were not effective at this time, so, went with regular old Woolly Buggers.

The Fish were all safely released for another day...

Oh and the Birds were AWESOME! Love that yellow ...

Packed up and headed home around noon on Sunday. Motor is in the shop and the line is on order......... Such is life!

Our nieces graduation weekend....

2010-05-18T13:18:00.001-07:00

Friday, May 7th 2010 Headed up to Chubbuck for niece Ashley's Graduation from Idaho State University.

The Ceremonies were scheduled for Saturday, but we headed up Friday morning to meet up with Match and wife Marisol on a little lake up there.

They were already on the water when we got there, but Match came in to say hi and ...well take care of business.

We got the new Tubes (Escapes by NFO) aired up and ready to go..

Alan "MoJo" supporting his Fiberglass forum...

Fishing was a little slow, but those caught were ready to play...

All were released unharmed ...

We came back home Saturday after Ashley's Congratulation Party...

2010 Wasatch Fly Tying Expo (March 26)

2010-04-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Day started off for me at 8:00 a.m.

It was a day of meeting people and having another opportunity to do some fly tying along side some fo the the greats in the sport...

I was also asked to do a furled leader demonstration. At around 1:00 p.m. I did the demonstration in front of another very receptive and enthusiastic crowd....

Just before 2 p.m. I headed outside to try my hand at the casting contest. It involved different targets at different distances, then a distance cast. On top of the restrictions on the course, we had swirling wind to deal with, but I gave it my best ... and ...

It paid off as I placed first...what a great feeling ...

what a great ending to a PERFECT day ....

All these photos are courtesy of Jay Morr Photography...

If you look close, you can see him, or at least the lens of his camera ....

A Day on the Lower Provo....

2010-03-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Through our mutual friend Mike McFarland I met up with a gentleman by the name of Gary on the Lower Provo this past Wednesday.

We met at the tunnel and I pointed out some areas that he may want to fish and then suggested he start with a sow bug.

He landed this nice brown at one of the spots ....

He moved up river landing more along the way….

Today was also the christening of the T.L.Johnson I built this winter. I was experimenting with different flies. I ended up switching to a Sunset Sow and landed a few on that.

Overall I'd say it was a Great Day !!!

Ice Fishing with the New Greys.....

2010-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

The UOTF freeze your buns off party Saturday was just enough to get my juices flowing. I broke down this morning and headed out foe some "ICE" fishing.

Getting there was fun as the clouds were right on the ground.

But once there, I walked down the river heading to a spot I wanted to try. As I came around the corner, I notice two gentlemen fishing there. I greeted them and asked how they were doing. The replied, not a bite, and I was welcome to try as they were heading down river. So, I cast out the little dry dropper set-up and BAM! Fish on! Needless to say, the gentlemen stayed a few more casts before moving on.

I stayed and fished the edge of a little gravel fall and it was awesome!

Did I mention it was cold?

Rod choice was a little 8' three piece 3/4 Grey I purchased on "Deals On The Fly" for a killer price. The rod worked perfect, I like it allot!

Flies of choice, I was using a #22 Black Midge dry….

…. with a 20" dropper and a #22 silver tungsten bead WD40 grey....

All the fish were safely released:

Great morning an allot of fish, but it was MAJOR cold as the fog did not burn off. The drive home was in and out of fog:

The Utah On The Fly annual "Freeze Your Bums Off" rendezvous..

2010-01-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Hit Heber this morning at 8:30 a.m. and headed to CHICKS for the rendezvous with the rest there to fish the Utah On The Fly annual "Freeze Your Bums Off". Westy, Cort, icthy's and a couple others I am not familiar with were having a little breakfast. My brother in-laws, Tracy and Greg (aka: Pokymon) showed up and joined in on the fueling. We then hit the river and the temp was a balmy 18 degrees. Cloudy grey sky, but no breeze.. WAHOO!

We headed out south (Family that is) I spotted a nice stretch and cast away. I was using a #22 Olive emerger with a #22 Olive WD40 dropper. First fish on the WD:

Took the fish on both flies:

Got to try out the T.L. Johnson rod I built and LOVE IT:

My guys did just as well down river:

Some little guys, but still a blast on Glass:

All fish were released:

What a great SATURDAY!!!!!

November Creek Action ....

2009-11-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

With the weather being unseasonably warm yet, I went up the canyon for a little creek action. A little snow still on the ground from a week ago:

I followed the board walk finding several nice pools and riffs:

My equipment choice today was the Orvis 7' 4 weight full flex four piece "Trout Bum" coupled with the CFO reel and Sharkskin "TROUT" WF4. with a 6' furled leader. Haresear in a #14 was the ticket.

Bit chilly on the hands, and a quick reminder WHAT time of year it is but definately a great day to be on the water !!!!!

October at Nelle'

2009-11-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

In late October I met up with some fellow tubers at Jordanelle. It took awhile to find them however, as there was a nice layer of fog hanging right on top the water. Since their cars were there I knew they were there. I knew they were there because their cars were there.

The fog slowly dissipated leaving nice calm water.

The water was filled with the fall moss and it was pretty thick in spots.

The moss didn't seem to affect the fishing much though. I had a nice 16 fish landed day with sizes ranging from 16" to 19"

Fly of choice was Bill Schiess's Mighty Mouse (in fishes mouth) and Kelly Galloup's BROWN Egg Sucking Sculpin' in a #4.

All fish were quickly and safely released back into the water.

Henry's Trip 2009

2009-09-29T09:03:00.001-07:00

Time once again for the 2009 Henry's Lake week of fishing. Got our little but cozy trailer rigged up with a receiver to pull the boat trailer. Pulled very nice and 13 miles per gallon all up hill.

We arrived at the Red Rock R.V. Campground around noon Saturday the 19th of Sept. Wind was blowing and we were told a cold front would be moving through for the next couple of days. Wind put white caps on the water and stirred the shallow bottom ........

........ so we hung around camp for most the day.

We went and hit the rivers for the next couple of days due to the wind.

Sunday and Monday morning we were able to get an hour or two before the wind picked up again.

They were hitting on Hot Chocolate, Lynn Scott Softhackle Halloween, and the Henry's Lake Renegade by B.S. Flies. Also the Denny Rickards Seal Bugger.

Poky-Mon had to leave us Tuesday morning so we fished the morning and then headed to Yellowstone for a little shopping.

Wednesday morning we hit the lake at it looked like this:

Beautiful, but ....WE NEED A RIPPLE!

Fishing was fair ......

Sunsets were fantastic ........

The next three days were pretty much the same, but we were able to fish longer and not as beat up without the wind.

Baxter got into it as well ........

Some big fish ......

Ran into some friends on Saturday; Ed, Mike, Lynn Scott and Shelly ......

And Shelly made the day with this beauty:

Went back to camp and got a good night sleep. Got up Sunday morning, tore down camp and headed home. Week was definitely tooooooo short.

All fish were handle quickly and carefully for another day.

Every year we stay at Red Rock RV Campground.

Full hookups, laundry room, showers. Wi-Fi, great people- many thanks to Gordon and the gang. http://www.redrockrvpark.com/index2.html

Four Cast Four - Species Day on the Upper Provo/Unitas waters..

2009-08-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ive been reading a lot locally about catching the Grayling and the upper Provo/Unitas area. This got me to thinking about hitting it this weekend.

With fishing gear and my annual pass in hand we set off to do some fishing.
We did not take our waders or tubes so fishing the river banks was the plan of the day.

We get up to Washington and hubby said let's go. We had Baxter with us and I knew he was going to love all these trees.

It seemed like it took an eternity to get there. The walking seemed to go on forever....I WANNA FISH!!! Don't get me wrong, I loved the walking through the trees and all that, it's just...I WANNA FISH!!!!

I was getting cranky and really anxious to be on the water doing some FISHING! To top it all off, I had my bamboo and my 10' TFO (thinking it would be a nice edge on the shore fishing.) in hand while walking through the forest. At one point I look up and the top section of the TFO is gone. Let me tell you one thing for sure…. NO ONE WANTS TO BE AROUND ME AT THIS POINT!!!! . To keep themselves safe from harm hubby and Baxter backtracked and found it.

Well now we are dealing with COLD! and wind in the face. I was not quite dressed for the 8,000 foot more or less elevation.I decided to give it my best and calm down.

I tied on a big dry like a Tarantula. Rolled it on out there and a couple of good slams on it but no hookups. So I attached a 20" dropper with a fly tied by Lance called "THE GUN SLINGER". Rolled it on out and BAM .… on the Gun Slinger I get a ….

TIGER TROUT:

Rolled it out again and BAM! ... again on the Gun Slinger I get a..

A BROOKIE:

As I roll it out again Im thinking.. thirds times a charm and then BAM!...the GUN SLINGER comes thru again with ....

A RAINBOW:

Okay, I am a little freaked about now and thinking what a killer fly this gun slinger is. I cast out again, this is my forth cast with the nymph.....BAM!! … I hook a ….

GRAYLING:

CRAZY!!!! I caught more rainbow and brookies but had to time it between wind gusts. even got this brookie on thebig old dry fuzzy ....

Besides being very cold and wind in the face...it turned out to be a pretty great day….. FOUR CASTS …. FOUR SPECIES !!!!

Baxter loved it....so many trees and so little him...

Hubby and Baxster leading the way....

Utah Pioneer Day Weekend fishing getaway....

2009-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here in Utah and parts of Idaho, the 24th of July is a holiday (Pioneer Day) So with a three day weekend, we headed North. Had mixed weather, with Rain, Big wind storms, and Hot muggy days all rolled into three fantastic fishing days.

Storm rolling in:

Check out the BIG FISH cloud!

Species? KAMLOOP!!!! Best fighting TROUT out there. First off, what are they eating?

Okay Chironomids!

And Damsel Nymphs:

FISH!

Even Baxter bonded with the fish:

Oh and Mother Nature was at her best:

... an afternoon escape to Millcreek..

2009-07-22T13:25:00.001-07:00

Tired of sanding drywall and painting I escaped one afternoon and headed for the hills. I took the Boo and the Sharkskin, tied on a Copper John and MAGIC happened. If you look close, you will see the paint on my still. I soooooo needed this:

... now this is the way to end the day...

Fly Goddess and Rosa, "The Joan Jett sit in", Birthdaying it up!

2009-06-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Fly Goddess and Rosa (aka Joan Jett)... having fun...

Fly Goddess feeling her music...............

........ looks like a great time was had by everyone...

Memorial 2009.

2009-05-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

We hit one of my favorite lakes for four days The weather was up and down, but we made it work.

Tried out the new ride..

Baxter even caught fish:

All fish were caught on barbless hooks and safely released…..

BUT, Memorial Day Morning the heavens weeped with a sudden break in the clouds for a beam of sun to peek through and let me know that my Brother-In-Law, friend and husband to my sister had passed away. He is so missed, but I know he is in a better fishing ground.

Ron Cartmell

Outlaw X5 Shakedown on the Berry...

2009-05-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

Mojo and I did a shakedown cruise on the new Outlaw X5's this past Sunday on the Berry Here are a few pictures from the day.

I left the lean bar off because I had Baxter with me. I've got to figure out how to leave the bar on with him on the back......

MOJO standing tall......

CHIRONOMIDS were on........

and this is why Daniels ..... is CHIRONOMID HEAVEN.....

2009 Annual Idaho Falls Fly Tying Expo

2009-04-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

I was invited to participate in the Idaho Falls Fly Tying Expo this weekend, I got to hang with the big name tiers not to mention I am on their DVD for this year...WAHOO!

Mr. Jack Dennis:

Mr. Denny Rickards (center):

Mr. Bruce Staples:

Mr. Mike Andreasen (left):

The show ended Saturday and I was itching to go fishing. The rivers were all blown, so we headed for a couple of stillwater places. Weather was fantastic, as was the fishing. NYMPHS were the ticket.

Sunday….

Monday on our way home:

All fish were released safely to fight another day......

A long awaited day of CHIRONOMID fishing…..

2009-04-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

Found a little ice free water and put the Chironies to the test.

Chironomids of choice today were a #12 with red rib and a white bead plus my standby that is a #16 Black bead, black with white wire. Both flies got hit equally.

I even had a few Albinos that wanted to come out and play…

Let it snow........

2009-01-23T10:50:00.001-08:00

... Middle Provo this past Saturday (17th)....

Breaking in the New Boo…..

2009-01-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

With this global warming, I found some open water today (1/13/09). STILLWATER too, go figure. I broke out the boo for a little practice and fun, and OMG!

A little beat up but what a fight! Biggest Albino/Palomino I have ever caught...where the heck did HE come from!

Trip to November 16th 2008

2008-11-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

Strawberry, 7,600+ feet elevation. Home to Bear Lake and Bonneville Cutthroat, sterile Rainbow, and Koke. Got to the Lake Sunday Morning around 9:30. Air Temp was in the upper 30's and water temp in the mid 40's. A little alarming on the weather being mid November:

Beautiful day, with no wind.....until.....WE hit the water. Thinking the fish had moved into the shallows by now, and could be a bit lethargic, we went in slow and easy, plus 10' to 20' of water. A few bumps here and there, and finally a few to the net:

Did okay for about an hour then it died off. I headed back towards the dock in an attempt to go to the other side where there had been boats and tubers earlier. When I got over to the ramp, I noticed everyone was gone. Thought to myself, this could be a slow day…..I was now in 40+' of water and BAM! Fish on, and on, and on. I was catching one right after the other. I was using very FAST sinking line, a weighted fly, and with the wind pushing me, plus the long strips, a VERY fast retrieve.

Killed my first idea about the fish being sluggish and shallow.

Fly of the day was a #4 Chub Pattern introduced to me by Jason Haslem:

The fish mutilated this fly.

Final count for the day (9:30 to 2:00) over 30 fish in the 18" to 24" range.

Great day! The trip home down the canyon was very similar to late September landscape:

Relaxing trip to local pond nets amusing surprise...

2008-10-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

On lazy days I frequent a local put and take pond, however I never take. Just a little casting practice and fly experimenting. Got out for an hour or two this past Friday as a storm was moving in. The fishers already there said it was very slow, but I had to try. I threw out the old indicator and Chironomid twins at about 6' deep. Missed a bunch but landed a few. Here is a nice couple of bows:

Then something amusing happened. I went to roll cast, but the line would not come out of the water. I thought maybe I had gotten fouled up on some weeds or something so I stripped the line back in to clean the hooks (I was fishing two different Chironomids at about 3' and 6' ) Looked down and no weeds, but these two little guys:

Notice the different colored flies:

Overall I had a very relaxing time fishing with an amusing surprise at the end!!!!

2008-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Our Annual Henry’s Lake Trip for 2008 (August 30th – September 5th)

We arrived at the Red Rock campground on the early afternoon of the 30th.

There was strong wind and the lake was choppy, so we set up camp in the hopes the evening would bring a calming....but it didn't……

So we got up Sunday morning and hit the lake for a couple of hours. Again the wind picked up and blew us off the lake. Sun was out, but it was cooling down.

We fished as long as we could, then the waves came and was hard to hold position. So, we packed up and headed to West Yellowstone for some shopping and early dinner.

The next three days were cloudy, cold, wet and windy, with periods of sun to tease us

Thursday was a fair day and allot of fish were caught, but again the wind kicked up.

Because of the cold, wet, and windy weather Baxter only made a couple of trips out onto the water with us, but, he made new friends anyway…

Mountain Fishing

2008-08-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

I got out this morning on Millcreek and had a great day! In fact in Baseball terms it was "A GRAND SLAM"!! I caught 4 browns, 3 bows, 2 brookies, and ONE cutt. Didn't get a picture of the brookie, but here are the others:

RAINBOW FATTY:

BROWN:

CUTTHROAT:

These three were all caught on a #16 Olive Cripple.

URBAN CITY BONE FISHING

2008-07-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

With gas prices going off the charts, we are now forced to look for closer waters to fish.
This opens the door to new species also.

There is a major river that runs through town within walking distance from my home. I began to walk the river always looking for movement under water. Finally, last year I noticed a rainbow moving about in the water. I ran home and grabbed my gear and headed back.

The trees and bushes, plus high banks does make fishing with a fly rod a challenge.

But, as they say, where there is a will......

Hanging with my left hand from a branch of a tree, I flung my line out the best I could. On that outing I landed one sick looking carp and Crappie and a White Bass.

Then this year, I returned but to a different section and found a honey hole. So far, I've caught small carp to 30", several at a time.

These are Grass Carp, so a heavier weight rod and line are required.

And the Koi do add color:

The two specialty flies I use come from the "RAINY'S CARP COLLECTION".

The POPCORN BALL:

The CARP HEX:

I think I have found a new species of fish to go after and a good way to save some money as well.

They Still Like My Flies (8 July 2008)

2008-07-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

I had to work the 4th, so we went up North Saturday and stayed until yesterday morning. Damsel flies were every where, but the fishies still preferred my Chironomids. Water temps are getting up there so, it was all very quick releases for the fish's well being.

This lake is stocked with Kamloop and anyone not familiar with this breed, they are a very fast growing trout, and fight better than just about any trout out there (except maybe Tiger). Massive numbers of fish taken all day with 18" to 22" being the norm with the majority measuring in at around 21" average.

On Strawberry this past weekend

2008-06-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

My brother in law was in town and wanted to go fishing. We rigged him up in the H3 and the Hubby and myself in the NFO Navigator II (I say NFO cause there is another Navigator II that is a "U" tube.....not even close ) We got on the water about 10:00 am. It was a little breezy, but not too bad. We launched at a tributary of Indian Creek Bay.

We had to kick out quite a ways to get out of the Tributary since it is not open to fishing till July some time.

I got out into the bay first. To start off I used a depth charge line and a crayfish imitation. As I was floating I noticed on my sonar that several fish were hanging about a foot off the bottom (around 16'). Since nothing was happening I figured what the heck and threw on an indicator and a black and red chironomid.

The guys didn't even bring their floating line as we never deep nymph there.

Well despite the full moon, fishing was very good for me:

Fish on !!

The first of what ended up to be many fish
to be brought to hand:

Safe Release:

This is my third one.. where's yours:

Hey!! are you guys actually fishing..

or just talking to each other??

Yet another beautiful fish caught and released
safely:

Just another day of fishing on the Strawberry:

I dont think I could do what I do without my
faithful companion and fishing buddy...
Baxster :-)

I did miss several, but it was steady action for about an hour or so. Once the action died off I went back to a full sink line and the crayfish imitation. I was able to land a very nice 24". To put it into perspective the fly is 4" long.

Overall it was a GREAT DAY! for me. The guys had one fish each, but only with
my guidance. :-)

Mojo's 26" beauty:

Glass On the Provo

2008-06-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

We got word a week ago that Cameron and Mt. Shark were coming to the city of Salt. Excited to meet them, but a little dissapointed that it was this time of year. Looking forward to fishing with them but the rivers are all blown. So, the Hubby and I took a quick trip up Millcreek to check that out and not good. We then decided that the Middle Provo would be the spot. Cameron's flight was delaid so he didn't arrive till 4 pm. We met up at the River Road and hit the river around 6. Beautiful evening, but the river had taken on a whole new personality. Off shoots everywhere. There was a BWO hatch coming off, but no risers. We walked up river a ways, but the word FAST AND HIGH just kept coming to mind. Found a nice riff into a pool, so I threw out a small damsel nymph on a 6' mono furled leader and 3' fluoro tippet. I was using 3 "BB" split shot and a "Thingamabobber" indicator set at the 7 1/2' mark. BAM! fish on, but LDR..... tried again a little farther up, same thing. Everyone was striking out. Finally the old man had an LDR then Cameron, but Mt Shark still nothing. Sun started to go behind the mountain and it was cooling off, so we headed back. I stopped at one of the spots we had tried earlier and threw on a RED San Juan Worm on the 7 1/2' mark and a tan at a 6' (right off the ring of the furled leader). Rolled it out about 30 to 40' and let it drift. Indicator went down, so I pulled, but no hook set. I rolled it out again, same thing but this time Mr. Brown wasn't so lucky. I am standing there with bent rod looking for the guys which are no where around (of Course) That's okay, I netted and GOT A PICTURE HA! You will note however, no rod/reel in picture. Well, I took my lami, but I knew I was going to be using weight (at one point a full sink line) so, I was using the JWF...sorry no glass here on this one. Here are a few pictures:

Here is the Mr. Brown that did not get away ( until I released him that is... )

Here is Cameron hard at work:

and here is the old man and Mt. Shark GOOD TIMES guys, sorry the fish weren't more co-operative.

Let's do it again soon! FG

A little more about me and what I do.......

2008-06-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Along with my passion for fishing and guiding, I look for new things to try and make life even more wonderful. First it was fly tying and the rush from a fish taking my creation, not just once but several times. More recently, I got into making my own Furled Leaders. I got a DVD that tells it all from Kathy Scott. I got her style and recipe down and loved the finished product. From there I tried other recipes and came up with others for heavier gear. I then found tippet rings that not only made production easier, the LEADERS last longer. I still do a small "SHORB" loop on the line end for a nice loop to loop connection. I am now selling these in a 5' line weight 2 to 4, a 5 1/2' line weight 4 to 6, and a 6' in line weight 4 to 6. I also customize them for special applications and add Kevlar for bigger species. I have sent leaders to special fly tying friends and in return they have sent me beautiful flies.

Here are a few:

Guy Montera contact at http://fliesbyguy.com/

Nome aka: Fly Gal contact at http://tightlinesblogzine.com/

Mike Janosko aka: Shorthaul:

Thank you all, they have earned their place in my special fly box:

My leaders are made out of Uni Thread, MONO, and Nylon. They are in various colors, and I have them with built in indicators, like one pictured on the left. I also have them with 2 mm or 3 mm rings. For more information and pricing please contact me at flygoddess@gmail.com

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

While several of our friends went farther north for the big opening at Henry's we stopped about half way at another Idaho lake. I call this lake Chironomid Heaven cause they WORK. It is deeper lake with 50 to 60' at deeper points. I generally fish the 20' mark. We got there Sat. morning and set up camp. Got out on the water with instant action. I fished mainly the deep nymph 20' leader with a chironomid at the bottom and one three feet up. We caught well over 60 fish each with 2 to 3 hour outings before weather changed. Monday rained all day with gust of wind, but turned out that shore fishing was working just as well. All fish very healthy with a16" to 24" being the normal (nothing under 16") Here is the kicker, I have several upper end rods, but recently bought a new Eagle Claw Glass rod (6 wt. 6') off e-bay for like $10. I and I decided to use it for fun. The line cost more than the rod let alone the reel! What a hoot! This thing was bent to the max everytime, but I do think it helped on the hook sets and the leader.

Fiberglass rod being put to the test:

One of many fish:

Here's another one:

Fish On !!:

Gotcha':

Kinda cold but I still got a fish:

Underwater picture: