What an amazing day for January! I was never cold all day ... not even when my hands were wet, and I wasn't even wearing a coat. I am in awe that I got such a perfect day of "spring fishing", where I caught just about all of the fish on a dry fly today.
I fished and poked around in several areas from Lava half way to Thatcher.
Well, these aren't actually pictures of my very first fish of the year, but it is of a couple of the fish that I got on this outing. I caught some average sized rainbows that I didn't take any pictures of, and I also forgot and left the camera in the car at a few places.
Besides the trout, I caught a nice carp that I got up to my feet before it broke my tippet. I guess he wasn't as ready to give up as I though, or he didn't like my boots![blush] What a fight though! [cool]
The Portneuf River is at a good level, but the Bear is a huge Bear this year. There is a lot of water flowing in the main river as well as Black Canyon. It is a whole lot higher this winter than I like to wade very far out in.
A nice cutthroat
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The main Bear River
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Black Canyon
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And another nice little cutt.
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It was a very nice day. I am glad you were able to enjoy it.
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Great report and pics glad you were able to get out and enjoy the day. I bet that carp was a lot of fun [cool]
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Great report as always. This winter is crazy, but I'm not complaining. With how much snow we got last year, I'm not too worried if we don't get much this year. Looking at how full the rivers are, they obviously still have plenty of water. The Bear down here in Cache Valley is flooded in several locations. There are lakes out by Amalga. I think I'm going to take advantage of the weather tomorrow and enjoy it before the cold and school return next week. Blah.
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I am not complaining about this nice weather either, but if we don't get some snowpack we will have some water problems this next summer. I sure hate to see places like Chesterfield get drained dry.
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Looks like a wonderful day and you took some beautifull pictures. Awesome
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It was a fun day, and that carp was a riot a a 4 weight fly rod!! He wasn't huge, but big enough to give me a really good fight to get him in. I wish I got a picture of him, but at the last second he did some kind of triple lutz with a back flip the won him his freedom.
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Great Report. I can't believe the weather this year. I am a little worried for the water in the future.
Windriver
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Looks like a great day out. As for lack of water i wouldnt worry to much. As long as we get rain we will be fine... 1' of snow is equal to 1" of rain.. moisture is moisture. I hope we get lots of rain i could care less for snow.... course if this weather keeps up ill be back out in my tube by next month..
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The snow is important because it melts slower over a longer period of time. That way it doesn't just run off in a week or two, but continues to recharge the streams over most of the summer. The streams in turn recharge the reservoirs.
Without a steady supply over a good portion of the summer, the reservoirs like Foster, Winder, Pleasant View, and Chesterfield will be drained down past fish survival levels. It takes several years to get the fishing recovered.
How much water is in 1 inch of rain varies with the type of snow and several other factors like temperature etc. It is usually about a quarter of an inch of water to an inch of snow. But that is from memory so take it with a large grain of salt.
Anyway, I am hoping for lots more rain down here and tons of snow in the mountains.
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Pretty sure its a foot of snow to an inch of rain.. i dont know im not very worried about it. I think we are in for a suprise when it does come.
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I like not having as much snow in the valley. We are behind the average water content in most areas. In general 1 foot of snow is about 1 inch of water. The last snowfall it was 8" snow for 1" of water. It is great skiing when it is 20" snow or more for 1" of water content. Great weather to fish in for January.
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Looks like you had a great first outing. Thanks for sharing. Were you targetting the carp or did you just end up catching it by suprise?
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Yeah, I don't think Idaho got quite as much snow as northern Utah did last year. I remember in June the Bear River drainage was at over 1000%. Judging by the look of the rivers around here, that water is still coming through. I do hope we get some mountain snow, but with the reservoirs all filled up from last year, I think we might be okay. Now if we get two winters like this, then I think we'll be in some serious trouble.
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Congrats on a good outing. Glad it all came together for you Cindy.
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I was semi-targeting the carp. I knew they were in there, and I could see a pod swimming around in the shallower areas of the pool. I was mostly fishing the seam just off the fast deep water. I could see some sippers, but I wasn't sure what they were. I thought some might be carp. Turns out they were mostly trout--(-rainbow planters), but obviously there were some carp there too, because that is where the one I hooked was.
I don't really mind that he released himself. He saved his own life! I would have liked a picture though.
I love catching carp! They are a blast on a fly rod. They really perform with amazing runs and all kinds of antics.
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[quote pa]Congrats on a good outing. Glad it all came together for you Cindy.[/quote]
What he said....
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Glad to see someone caught fish on their first trip of the year [
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Nice fish! But you are still waiting for the first skunk. So am I. Ron
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I am sure I will get plenty of skunks! Especially as it cools off again, and the fish slow back down. I think the fish liked the nice weather as much as I did.
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