Green River A-section

[gznokes]

I went up with the family to the Green River on Labor Day and did a float with the family and a few friends. We rented a raft at Flaming Gorge Resort. I've always wanted to snorkel this section of the river and so I didn't even take a fishing pole with me. It was a really cool experience and everything that is said about fish densities in this river appears to be true. There were a few things that surprised me. I guess they shouldn't have surprised me, but it was cool to see.
1. There are quite a few varieties of fish in that river. Trout are the dominant species, but I also saw chub and hump back chub and a whitefish I swear would eclipse the State record by several pounds.
2. There are some big fish in that river. I saw more big ones than small ones for sure. It seems like right around the time they start to approach 22" they just add growth to their waistline.
3. The fish really seem to school. I would float for hundreds of yards without seeing a fish and then run into schools numbering from a few to 20+ fish in an area.
4. The fish didn't seem too concerned as I floated over the top of them. Often, I'd be just a few feet or inches away and they'd stay right in their lane. I did see some move out of the way as boats paddled down, but for me just lying pretty motionless in the water, they didn't seem to care. I wondered if it would ever make sense when fishing to snorkel a section, find a lane with tons of fish, then hike back up and fish it.
5. The water is clear and gorgeous and there are some really cool under water rock features.

It didn't seem like Monday was a very good fishing day. I talked to a lot of guys who enjoyed a nice day on the water, but didn't catch many fish. I did not see many fish being caught and I didn't see more than 5-10 rise for natural bugs floating down the river.

I know there are some hardcore green guys on this board. I am not one of them, I just thought maybe a few of my observations would be of interest. Next time I'll take a Go-pro and get some better pics.
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[downed_Phly]

[quote gznokes]Next time I'll take a Go-pro and get some better pics.[/quote]

I was SO hoping to see the link for the video at the end of your post!

Sounds pretty cool.

Do you only snorkel in certain sections, I imagine? I'd be worried about going head first into a rock or log jam.
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[kandersonSLC]

Thanks for a very interesting report. We were floating and fly fishing this same weekend and had a similiar experience. You make me want to give the snorkel trip a try.

I don't know if it was time of year, but we also noticed the schooling -- long stretches of no fish then big pods hanging out. Actually thought about floating with wide-scan fishing finder to locate such spots. Will have to do that next time.

Also seemed fish more spooked by shadow than by actual boat. We saw more than a few osprey carry away some good size trout, so maybe they associate a shadow with a swooping osprey.

You must have some wet suit to stand the cold for so many hours. By the way, did you find any cool gear laying on the bottom?
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[gznokes]

To be fair, I only snorkeled the last mile or two before the pull out. I was wearing a 3 mm full length wetsuit. I was hoping to find some gear, but all I saw were 2-3 large dead trout (catch and release casualties I assume). One area that was really loaded with trout was the entire stretch about 1/2 mile above little hole pull out #3.

I tried to keep an look out for rapids, shallow water, rocks, hazards and other stuff. I'd just hop back in the raft when we came to a questionable section. It was helpful wearing fins to be able to maneuver around.

It was tough not going down the river without a fly rod, but it was a really unique experience.
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[kandersonSLC]

Interesting. Yeah, fish seemed pretty evenly spaced out the first third of the river and then seemed more spread out. Of course, we could only imperfectly see below the water. That's why I think I'll try side-scan sonar on next trip -- might be very enlightening.
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[Fishsticker]

Fun times. I have snorkelled quite a few rivers and love to freedive in lakes. I think many people would be shocked if they saw first hand how many fish and how big of fish inhabit our local waters. A camera or a fish finder just won't paint as accurate a picture.
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