It was a Tuesday afternoon, the weather pushing 80 degrees but the high forecast for the morrow.... 40 something. With..... snow. Did I mention snow?
I had been in the basement coding all morning when I got a serious case of the "I got to get out and toss hoppers before they are gone" blues. Why am I the only one afflicted by that malady?
So bout 2ish I dressed L, packed up the gear, made sure I had some ponchos and emergency space blankets in the fishing pack and headed out with L in tow. We headed up to a creek somewhere between "No Tellum" and "Willowy" creeks.
Now L loves to fish, so he is always willing to tag along with dad. And it is always easier to get a kitchen pass when I take him along. Though he does get mad when I toss the fish back. In his mind fish are for catching, then eating. I'll have to work on his catch and release ethic ;) .
This creek has about as much water as "No Tellum" but in its lower stretches is very turbulent. The trail head starts in a narrow canyon where the water tumbles and drops off falls and rocks. Classic pool and drop structure with fish hiding behind and in front of the rocks. It opens up a bit higher on, but I must say this is the most scenic of the local feeder creeks. At least to my eyes.
The flora was putting on a show. The colors were gorgeous. L had to pick a few maple leaves to take home to mom. He studied rocks and crag, pointed up various tracks ranging from deer to bicycle and had a great time. He also got a spinning light up toy at the convenience store on the way out.... which I couldn't get him to put down so it shows up in the majority of his shots.
The fish are nice sized cutthroats. We did pretty good till the winds of the oncoming cold front kicked up, knocking every leaf in the valley into the river. I think the fish will hit a few yellow cream colored leafs thinking they are hopper and then give up hunkering on the bottom.
L landed a few nice cutts. Big fish was in the 16 inch range. He had fun tossing rocks, picking weed, and finding sticks, punctuated at time with casting and occasionally catching a fish.
I really liked the creek and will have to hit it again, but will most likely be next year. We have had at least 2-3 snow skiffs now and it is sticking at the elevation of the creeks. High temps for the last week have been below 50 and nights have all been below freezing. Think any hoppers are left?
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