Category Archives: Places

Yellowstone Visitors Break Attendance Record in 2009

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Looks like Yellowstone was a very busy place last year. I didn’t personally get there, but I did visit Arches, Zion, Bryce, and Grand Teton. I expect the economy played into the increased park attendance with people vacationing closer to home. Plus the Ken Burns documentary might have pushed a few people out the door that might not have otherwise gone. Check out the full details: Yellowstone National Park – Record Numbers Visited Yellowstone In 2009 (U.S. National Park Service)

Eureka, Colorado – the early years

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Eureka, Colorado - the early years

Eureka, Colorado - the early years

The historical photo blog Shorpy has a great photo today of the Colorado mining town, Eureka which can be seen here in high resolution Eureka: 1900.  The photo is just really striking.  It is amazing to me to see how people scratched out a life in the rugged west, particularly so high up in the Colorado mountains.  There are some really cool details in the photo, I like the kid in the background wearing the 10 gallon hat.  The four miners in the foreground look like they are in the opening scene of a movie.  I spent some time in Southwestern Colorado last summer and was astounded by the beauty.  I got to Silverton which is near Eureka.  The character of those small mining towns remains.  I thought it was really cool to see how they have preserved their main streets; something we have sadly lost in many of the towns around Utah.

The photo is by renowned photographer William Henry Jackson who was among the first to photo document some of the West’s greatest treasures, especially the greater Yellowstone region including early life in Jackson Hole.

Great photo.

Cold Day, Big Flies

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I had a great outing today on the Lower Provo River in Provo Canyon, UT.  It started off rather sketchy as the day was really snowy and I wasn’t sure if my 20 year old Honda Accord was up to the task, but I figured if I just took it easy I could get there without any issue.  My usual 40 minute drive was more like 80 minutes, but once I got there I found I had the whole stretch to myself.  I went to Vivian Park and fished up from the bridge.  Given then weather I determined I would be nymphing.  It was about 18-20 degrees Fahrenheit and a constant snow was falling.  I had in mind to fish a fly I haven’t used in a while; a big, juicy cranefly larva pattern about size 6.  I trailed it with a size 14 red fox squirrel nymph.  For weight I used a BB size split shot and an 8 ft leader with 5x tippet.  On my fifth cast of the day, I took a nice brown trout about 15 in long.  It took to the air straight away after being hooked.  Once I landed it, I could see that he had eaten the cranefly larva.  Over the next 10 minutes minutes I landed two more fish both were mountain whitefish of decent size and both foul hooked.  I think they were taking the cranefly and I was hooking them with the RFSN.  The cranefly was big enough they couldn’t fit it in their tiny mouths.  I hooked 3 or 4 more browns ranging from 11-14 inches and all on the cranefly.  The fish of day had to be the 18 inch rainbow that was a healthy slab of a fish.  Rainbows aren’t common fare on the Provo River and this one as a great fish.  It took the RFSN.  The fish was a beautiful shade of steel blues and lavenders.  I had originally thought I was snagged when I hooked it but he eventually started moving and put up a pretty good fight.

By the time I hooked him I had run out of 5x tippet (I know, stupid) but had switched to 4x and it didn’t seem to be an issue and allowed me to play him a little harder.  I took a couple more browns from the same long run and then moved up several hundred yards.  The weather was getting colder so I called it a day.  Not a bad way to spend 3 hours.

Some additional notes from the trip.  I saw several american dippers, song sparrows, and a bald eagle flew over head through the snow.  I also observed at least 2 fish feeding up on the surface but didn’t make the switch to dries.  It was a fun trip.  Enjoy the slide show.

Arizona jigging

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During the recent Thanksgiving holiday my family and I visited my wife’s family in Arizona. My father-in-law is an avid fisherman specializing in bass of all kinds. We usually take his boat out at least once while during a visit. This year we went to Saguaro Lake in pursuit of Yellow Bass. Up until last year I had no idea that such a fish existed. They are small and resemble a White Bass, but have a yellowish tint to them.

To catch these little guys you have to find a spot where hey are grouped and jig for them. They tend to be in about 20-40 feet of water and you can really only catch them if they are on the bottom. Suspended fish are too hard to catch. The secret jig we use is a 1 oz lead weight painted white with a faint pearly fleck and a treble hook attached to the bottom. Such a simple jig has turned an amazing variety of fish in my last two trips for yellow bass including a channel cat, a largemouth bass, two bluegill and of course lots of yellow bass. Here are photos from the last trip:

Possibly the smallest ever yellow bass taken on a hook. Also you can see the jig here.

Photos from 2008:

This is a pretty standard yellow bass.

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Wind River Trout

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I am always on the lookout for big fish stories and found this great one from the Salt Lake Tribune. This woman caught an enormous lake trout on a fly in the Wind River mountains in Wyoming:
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_14027915
I am always jealous of stories like this. I never seem to have issues catching fish but they never have much size to them…hopefully soon!