Going to be missing my springtime Utah fishing...

[remo_5_0]

Saltwater for freshwater is a trade-off, I think I’ll be fine, but I am going to miss my springtime Bows’
[signature]

[riverdog]

Mike,
There is Spring time bow fishing in Florida. North of Tallahassee and just west Lake Iamonia there is a doctor that stocks his pond in the fall and it’s fishable (fly only) until late March. There is a honor system fee to fish. My brother in law lives close by and they fish it in the spring. I think they catch a lot of 15-16 in rainbows and it can be pretty quick fishing this time of year. I’ve never been but he’ll send pictures or mention fishing it occasionally.
Found an article on it from last year. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports...110227190/
Even Hawaii has rainbow trout fishing.
[signature]

[remo_5_0]

Hmmmm, I’ll check it out. Thanks!
[signature]

[riverdog]

Rainbow trout probably now have the widest distribution of any fish outside it’s native range that aren’t in aquariums. Most fly fishermen are probably are aware of them in NEw Zealand and Patagonia. I caught a bad case of wanderlust after moving to Arizona at age 5. Have been to all 50 states and 6 continents and it amazes me where I’ll find rainbows. As mentioned Hawaii has them in streams of Waimea Canyon plus I heard some reservoirs. I went to Austin last spring and found them in the Guadalupe River between there and San Antonio. They are rainbow trout in Sacred Valley of Peru. This is the route people take the train from Cusco down to Machu Picchu. I didn’t fish it as it was too pricey for the private access. They’re in South Africa. Don’t remember the name of the Resevoir but I found rainbows in the mountains not too far from Kruger National Park. What I remember most is not having a 4 wheel drive and damaging the transmission - the car eventually died on the drive back to fly out of Joberg. I’ve camped and stayed in a cottage on Mount Kenya The Equator runs through the mountain. I think the area was called the Aberdares where a stream flowed down below the cottage at high elevation. I made it down briefly by myself to look at the stream and saw rainbows. As a group we were able to get armed Forest Service rangers to accompany us on hikes. However I was the only one who wanted to fish and they weren’t going to accompany just me. The elephants seemed pretty benign. However without an armed guard or at least a couple of Rhodesian Ridgebacks to scare off lions I chickened out and didn’t fish it [shocked].
I’m sure you used to gators by now. Just assume they are present in fresh and brackish water in all of Florida. Other than wading the edge of the pond they are too stupid to be worried about. 5 pound LM Bass are also a dime a dozen in Lake Iamonia a few minutes away. They’re not considered big until they go over 10 lbs in the Panhandle. They readily take flies, bait and lures. Poppers, streamers and minnow patterns tend to be very productive there.
I’m heading to Utah in 10 days. Staying at Snowbird so my son can snowboard some. Any suggestions on where I can find those fat bows in March in Utah would be appreciated. Someone did say I could fish their private property on the Weber when my wife was in Park City in the summer. I just got to get her to follow up on it to make sure the offer is still on the table.
[signature]

[richyd4u]

[quote remo_5_0]Saltwater for freshwater is a trade-off, I think I’ll be fine, but I am going to miss my springtime Bows’[/quote]

Since I've lived vicariously through you for my Saltwater fix, you can live vicariously through me this spring...I'll make sure to post plenty of bows for yeah.
[signature]

[remo_5_0]

I got out yesterday and caught a ton of small sea trout, I did see a handful of big Snook 30” plus, they are starting to show up. Saw about a 5’ shark also. I’ll be fishing a week straight starting the 18th so keep an eye out for some posts.
[signature]

[T-DOG91]

That looks pretty sweet!
[signature]

[Saltslam]

Looks like you may have your own little slice of paradise! Glad you're staying connected to the Utah forum. It's fun to hear of salt water experiences.
[signature]

[Tarponjim]

You won't miss dredging elbow-to-elbow up there in that arctic, trust me. Its gone to hell with everybody and their brother trampling all over the place, and guides from every state in the west bragging about "solitude". Right. There's guys floating all winter. Daily facebook and instagrammers making sure everybody knows they're now instasnaggers and instaexperts. No, you won't miss it. And, its been around zero up there all week, one morning -14. That's below that zero line on a thermometer!

The tarpon are coming, the snook will eat, and all the other fish you'll target that would just as well eat rainbow trout for breakfast. (Toss a big life-jacket orange streamer at those sharks with your 8 or 10 weight!) You got the new ride, more intel that you can probably process, and they don't call it the sunshine state for nothin'. Have fun!
[signature]

[remo_5_0]

Ha, you have good points friend. I remember back in the day when I could hit that place on a Saturday and have the whole river to myself, got to the point that not even a week day was safe from the masses up there. Oh well, I guess it’s ok that I won’t be fishing it since my buddy who was a fish cop a at the headquarters moved on to the Marshall service. I’ll have memories of what it used to be. Used to love staying at his place.

On to new fishing adventures. And you are correct, more water and fish than I can imagine down here, fresh and salt. I’ll start getting it figured out in time.
[signature]

[riverdog]

I only looked at a picture or2 initially and didn’t realize where he was fishing. Has it really gotten that bad that quickly? Hard to imagine but if it did. I’ve still never made it up to chase Spring rainbows on POW Island. Can only find people to go up with me during the Summers. If you or Mike ever want to go up in the Spring for those steelhead I’ll cover the vehicle and lodging. I’m sure it more heavily fished than when you guided in the 80s but it’s far from being over runned and combat fishing. Most streams you still encounter more bears than people. With the road to Whale Pass paved a few years ago you won’t be at risk of losing any dental fillings any longer either[laugh].
I did eventually find the falls and pools on upper Lower 108 Creek below where it comes out of the cave. Hit it several times since and always a blast for a couple hours.Thanks for the tip.
[signature]

[Tarponjim]

Oh, I still dream of that place. Every spring! But my busiest season is from ice out to May 15, prime time for the steelhead run. Otherwise, I'd be on it every season. If there was a good fall run there, I'd be on that in a heartbeat too. That was the most unique and awesome place I've ever steelhead fished. Big wild fish in a trickle of water, none of that spey crap. Mostly sight fishing. Never got one to take a dry though.

As for that other place back in WY, yes it has turned into a joke. There is another internet forum that it got huge exposure on year after year after year by a few guys with all the big fish, and people are now coming from all over the country to fish there. All the regional guides fish there when their rivers are high and blown out, as well as a bunch of full timers. And then all the locals (UT-ID) who never used to fish there, now it's their normal hangout. Both campgrounds are often full, as well as every little pull out below the campgrounds. But it's not unique, more like a sign of the times. There are no major waterways anywhere in the west that are secrets anymore. It was just one of the last ones during the 90s and early 2000s where you could go and have a big river all to yourself on most days. One must hike the blue lines to get away now, like you do. Or, fish the fringe seasons, and the other less popular sections like I do. Or be like Mike, and move to Florida!

There's a ton of people in South Florida, but the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands is still a good place to get lost! Where I've been fishing in Mexico, we generally only see a couple or three boats all day, and most days we never see another fly fisherman.
[signature]

[riverdog]

I guess in retrospect maybe we should be glad that it somehow escaped the limelight for so long. I only fished it for 7 or 8 years but only encountered guided trip a couple times and never saw more than a handful of people fishing. I cover miles when I fish if there is access so it’s not like I sat in one spot. I did float it on my own a few times. Most trips I didn’t encountered anyone fishing and the campgrounds were nearly empty. It was hard work but the payoff was worth it.
Well I still go up to POW Island at least every other year. It’s an open offer if you decide to every want to go stealheading. I enjoy fishing alone but that’s a big multi day trip with not much else to do to go up by myself. There are now 3 ways to get to the island. Daily ferry, float planes and there is a mile long (imagine it’s a backup strip for the military) landing strip outside of Klawock. Cessna Caravan flights multiple times a day that can fly with instruments when the float planes are all grounded.
It looks like I’m moving back west by October. I just accepted a position in Albuquerque. Pay and benefits are good and better yet it’s a less than full time job. Plenty of good water in New Mexico and outside the San Juan River there is less fishing pressure than Utah. I Won’t have Wyoming to head north to in the Summer so I’ll just have to substitute southern Colorado as my road trip destination.
[signature]