Catching fly rods and hoppers

[Cowboypirate]

Ahhh.  Brings back rememberies...when I CAN remember.  As a kid in Idaho I lived near a small creek that came down out of the mountains, ran through town (Idaho Falls) and emptied into the Snake River.  That was Willow Creek...which has since been channeled into Ririe Reservoir and no longer exists except in my childhood memories.

During the summer I fished it almost every day...with grasshoppers.  I would pick them off the weeds in the early morning while they were still less active, stuff a few in the button down pockets on my denim shirt and  head for my favorite spots.  Often those spots were twin culverts running under the roads in town.  Big trout liked to hang out in them.  I would float a hopper down into the culvert until I heard a splash or felt a tug.  Then I would wait a few seconds and set the hook.  On bigger fish I often had to handline them out.  My old flimsy steel telescope pole took a big permanent kinky bend otherwise.

I probably caught more rainbows and cutts over 16"...and sometimes a lot bigger...during the last two years we lived in Idaho than I have during my later years...almost all on summer hoppers.  Often, as I proudly walked home with two or three hefty bows on a forked stick someone in a car would come to a screeching halt and exclaim that they drove hours to fish and did not catch fish that big.

In my adult years...after marrying and having kids...I made a return visit to Idaho Falls to visit relatives.  Of course I had to go look at my childhood fishing spots.  But, alas, that was after Willow Creek was diverted and no longer ran through town.  I almost refilled it with my tears.

Here's a picture of me holding one of the many brute bows I caught on hoppers.

Ya. Good memories. I think uncle Alvis enjoyed watching me catch the hopper as much as he did fishing with them. Its good to be a kids raised the way we were.