As I sit here in Ballard (a part of Seattle), I am beginning to reflect on how truly great the fishing has been for me on this trip up to now. The first stop was the San Juan River, where I fished on July 16 and 17. It was warm on the Juan, but the fish were definitely feeding on midges, as per usual. Both days were great.
From there, I drove to Colorado Springs and stayed with my friend Kim Pomeroy and his wife, Gina. Kim and I fished the South Platte River in Elevenmile Canyon on July 19 and 20. I caught one right away on a black beetle imitation, but from then on, it was small mayfly nymphs (think RS2's) that the fish were most interested in.
From Colorado Springs, I drove to Boulder to hang out with my friend Steve Terjak. Steve doesn't fish, so we climbed one day and hiked with Todd Paulsmeyer into Rocky Mountain National Park another. The main focus was to get a glimpse of a climbing route there. I discovered that there is a plethora of fly fishing choices within the park though. Next summer...
I picked up Mark Merrill at the Denver airport on July 25, and we drove to the South Fork of the White River near Buford, Colorado. We fished there for the next 2 days and caught a number of fish. I got close to a Grand Slam one day by catching a Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brown Trout, and a Whitefish - missing it by just one Brook Trout! The fish were not picky at all, so almost anything large and visible caught fish - Humpies, Royal Wulffs, Elk Hair Caddis, etc...
From there, we drive to the upper Green River above Pinedale, Wyoming on July 27 and fished there for the next 2 days as well. Oh my, this was a gem! We both caught so many Rainbows we lost count, and one of mine went 20" or better! The camping here is great and if you stay out of the developed campgrounds, it's free! The fish were a little more selective here, but not overly so. Small dry mayfly initiations seemed to do the trick. I used BWO's quite a bit.
Then, Mark and I headed to Rock Creek near Phillipsburg, Montana on July 30. We stayed at some cabins he knew of (but are not well advertised). Rock Creek was stupendous and I again missed a Grand Slam by just a Whitefish! Again, these fish are not snotty about what they rise to, so the big bushy dry flies worked well. This place needs to be explored more, as the best fishing was further from the campground. A whole wilderness area upstream of the campground awaits. A good backpack trip is in my future here!
Mark flew out of Missoula on August 2 and I met up with Bill Bendt and his wife Teri, along with their friend Bob Bouchet. On August 5 the three of us guys rode into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 28 miles and were dropped off at the river where Gordon Creek enters. For the next 9 days we fished for Westslope Cutthroat Trout. We caught mostly small fish, but there were enough larger fish mixed in to hold our interest. In any case, it was a great float.
After that, I headed to Seattle to meet my wife and no more fishing for awhile. If you have any interest in the particulars of any of these rivers, just give me a shout. And of course, if you want a truly customized fly rod, you know who to call!