As the winter has rolled along, the house improvements have become more visible. But, the fishing has been virtually non-existent! Time to change that.
Later this month, Mark Merrill flies into Phoenix from Sacramento, and we’re headed up into the White Mountains to fish Christmas Tree Lake for two full days. The dates we will be there are May 27 and May 28. The plan is to camp at Hawley Lake for three nights. Jeff Martin, Rick Allen, and Lee Lynch will be joining us.
I have written prior to this about Chistmas Tree Lake, but it is situated at 9000’ on the White Mountain Apache Tribe lands and requires a special permit to fish. The past few years I have attended Fish Camp there, before it is opened for the general public, but the cost is pretty high, and frankly, it’s not worth the expense, unless you want someone to cook for you. This trip is our own “Fish Camp”!
June promises more house projects, but starting on July 1, I drive to Las Vegas to meet Mark Merrill again. We’re headed to the Ruby Lake NWR in central Nevada. I’ve written about this before too. We will arrive July 2 and fish for 3 full days before leaving on July 6.
From there, we are headed to Thermopolis, Wyoming where we have rented an Airbnb and will fish the Wind River. Our plan is to fish there on July 7, 8, and 9. On July 10, we are headed to Missoula, Montana where we meet up with Bill Elk on the 11th. The three of us have rented three separate cabins on Rock Creek beginning July 12. We will be fishing Rock Creek from the 13th to the 17th. Both Bill and Mark fly home on the 18th.
Then, I have another trip into the Bob Marshall WIlderness on thr South Fork of the Flathead River. This trip begins on July 23 and the take out is on July 31. Kim Pomeroy and Rick Allen are joining me for this one.
After that, I have no specific fishing plans except that Jeff Martin may fly into Denver and the two of us will fish our way back to Arizona. I do have a side trip to Boulder, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park to climb a few of the classic routes there with Steve Terjak.
Once back in Arizona, I will probably take a few days to put everything away and then head to Southern California for more family time. I may fish the salt there a few days though.
As always, let me know if you can meet me in any of these places. I’d be happy to spend some time discussing fly rods, your preferences, and analyzing your cast, so I can hopefully put in your hands, the best fly rod you’ve ever cast.