Well there it was gone! August came and she went and she left me wanting a little more of those carefree summer days and nights. The Elk and tribs continued to be a little finicky running hot and cold for most of the month.
There were hatches and there were fish, maybe not in the numbers that we are used to but they were there and people smiled. When I think back to the days on the water in August I am not reminded so much of catching Cutthroats or epic hatches of Green Drakes. I am instead reminded of all the individual experiences I had with my clients and friends this month and I love how much time I spent smiling and laughing.
Dirty South
I got to spend a good portion of August with my boys from Shreveport Louisiana, and they let me take them all over hells half acre chasing Cutts, Bows, and Bulls and fuck did they make me laugh!
The wanker above is Ed.
Ed is a "Hoover".
He has caught more fish than most of us have seen, Ed always like getting one last cast.
Now I not much for grip and grins but this is only half of the latter as Randy looks like he is about to poop while holding that piece of meat. Randy worked his ass of all week, he let me abuse the shit outta him.... Good things happen when you listen to your guide...
Now Scott, if your reading this don't feel bad that there isn't a photo of you. I love you and your greasy ass Jerry Curl....
I will post a proper fishing report later in the week after I do a little fishing.... In case you haven't noticed that there are flying ants around, well, there are.
Mother nature has a glorious way of making us adapt doesn't she.
What a whirl wind of adventure and high water we had down around these parts. With the Elk and weather being unpredictable for most of the month we found ourselves looking elsewhere for awesomeness.
We found awesome hiding down dusty prairie roads, we found awesome at the bottom of impossibly muddy tracks, and we also found it in late night revelry.
One of the best parts of working in our area is that there is more fish-able water here than you could explore in a lifetime.
Exploring is exactly what we have been doing, we fished the Elk when we thought that conditions were prime, and when they weren't we went adventuring.
I found myself revisiting many of my old AB haunts, chasing Browns and Rainbows with my friends and man did we have a good time!
So what of the Elk and our areas tributaries?
Well the Elk has finally come into her own, there are a plethora of bugs ripping off the water and our hungry little Cutts are looking up eager for a meal. We are still battling higher than normal flows and cooler morning water temps, so act accordingly. All in all I think that we are going to have some serious "Hero" fishing this month.
The tribs are experiencing the same high and cool temps, but water levels are dropping rapidly. I have found the fishing to good all around. A cautionary note to all you small creek stalkers, as the month progress's please keep an eye on water levels and temps. As the water drops the fish will begin to congregate in the same pools and competition and stress will increase. Ask yourself, "Just because I can, does it mean I should?".
I know that you are all waiting with baited breathe to hear how our beloved Elk is fishing. Well thank god I am here to tell ya!
I'm here to tell ya that its not really fishing that well yet...
I floated yesterday with some friends and well, we drank more beer than we caught fish...
Lets be clear though, we spent a majority of our time dry fly fishing, yes would could have nymphed and yes we could have got sl*tty with streamers but that's not why we fish the Elk. There are decent numbers of Goldens in the air and there are Drakes staging in riffles with ripe wing buds, but the fish are still dealing with high dirty water and aren't super keen to eat on top yet. We had clients out today on a higher run than yesterday and they had a slow day, all reports from other guides in the valley are similar.
Be patient friends, good times are coming and there coming soon, hungry Cutts will be wrecking your dry flies in no time... In the mean time drink gin...
DRINK GIN! BE HAPPY!
Whats with the Gin drinking obsession of mine you ask? Well not only is it amazingly tasty it helps keep the mosquitoes at bay!
I'm serious...
The British Empire may have been built on tea and spices but it was maintained by gloriously yummy Sundowners "AKA" Gin and Tonic. You see it is believed that the Junipers used to concoct Gin repel mosquitoes and its a fact the Quinine contained in Tonic water cures Malaria. Malaria may not be a concern here in the Western world but the F'n mosquitoes are. They are gonna be bad this year, actually they already are, so to anyone coming up to fish bring Gin, and bring enough to share with your guide because Sundowners are best shared with friends!
My chosen brands of Gin are Hendricks and Bombay, just in case you were wondering...
Man was it hot out on Sunday! Muggy as heck too. Well sh*t you could even call it sticky, and I liked it...
I woke up at a reasonable time on Sunday morning and hit the road. It was an amazingly lovely sort of dank all morning. There was no wind to speak of while gassing up in the Pass, smallish stone shucks hung still wet near the high water mark on bridge pilings, and the sun was so hot that just breathing was making me sweat. The sun had been working its magic, things were alive and well after the monsoon. Conditions being what they were and given that it had been a couple of weeks since I had visited the pass, I decided to go on a little adventure.
The best part of going on adventures is that the outcome isn't always guaranteed. I decided to go have a look a the Oldman tail water. I had an inclination that there was a chance it was in shape, it wasn't.... The water looked dead, the swallows were barely active, I couldn't find the bugs I was looking for, it didn't have that vibe of good fishing. So I reeled in and hustled to my truck, while on the way I paused and made a mental note that things are priming up on this little tail water and it won't be long before it gets silly.
I left the Oldman and headed to the Crow, I had decided to revisit some water I hadn't seen in a while. Coniditions were maybe on the tougher side, the sun was real high and real hot, but the water was running high and coldish so thing might be ok, right? I started in a deep riffle with a blue green run cutting a 45 degree swath downstream and to the right. I flung my dry bug around, poking and prodding looking for that greedy take, and it didn't take long for me to miss a fish. I continued working up and continued to miss fish, once there were no more fish for me to miss, I sat on the bank and watched an Osprey circle over my dog.
So after a day of wandering around the river looking at wild flowers, listening to the song birds, and watching my dog ward off various birds of prey, I came to a few conclusions;
1. The really big bug movement is losing steam, fish are liking the medium stuff right now.
2. Fishing early and late is probably dope as.
3. There are Caddis and Mahoganies present.
4. My dog is a ninja.
So what of the Elk you ask!!! Well, I know that people are here and fishing it. I know that a friend of mine was out there smashing large Bullies, I know that I saw small fish rising at dusk last night, but I also saw me a shark eat an octopus once...
Wow! Its been two weeks since my last post and I almost feel a little bad about it. Almost. Lets face it folks, the weather has been piss poor out there and the fishing has been fair... There have been moments of brilliance in the fishing but they have been sparse, it seems that the only people having much fun with there rods are the one willing to be creative with there fishing choices. What do I mean by that?
Well the people I talk to who are railing fish are the ones looking past the obvious choices and tootling about looking for there fishing opportunities. Lakes, small tribs and even some of the bigger rivers have had there moments. So where do we stand?
THE ELK:
Forget about it, its blown out. If you were planning on coming down to Fernie to rail some hungry Cutts I would say come down and enjoy some of the sun shine that has come our way. Fire up the BBQ and throw some Portobello mushroons stuffed with pesto and smothered in Asiago on and pour yourself a GIN. Really though the Elk is dropping and clearing daily and it won't be long before we're all blissed out drinking gin and banging Cutts.... Patience.... Its gonna happen soon...
SW AB:
Well its been a while since I was last there, the 21st of June to be exact and it was freaking fantastic! Destroyed Rainbows all day on Salmon Fly patterns, and then the rain came and I ran away... In checking flow reports I think that it is close to being awesome if it isn't already. I will be over there very soon and I will get back to you asap.
THE LAKES:
From all accounts there fishing well, I haven't been on them in quite some time. If you plan on going make sure that your box is stocked with the usual suspects. Pay attention out there, lake fishing is cerebral, and for god sakes watch for the Swallows as they will show you the way.
DA TRIBS:
I have had the pleasure of working for Lotic Environmental during the off season, lately they have had me out on a spawning survey, so I have had the pleasure of running around quite a few of our little tributaries. This week I was wandering around high but clean tribs, yesterday I witnessed a pod of Cutts getting dirty on hatching stone flies! Today I took a water temp of 10 degrees Celsius. Not too shabby... Get some! On that note, watch where you are stepping... Our little high country friends are getting busy and they don't need us stepping on their Kool Aid
THE COLUMBIA:
Yeah that's right, I said the Columbia. I wiggled my way over to Nelson for the long weekend to do a little fishing on the Columbia. Fish in the Columbia? Yup, Rainbows, not to mention the gargantuan Sturgeon. Its Caddis season over in the West Koots and the trout are loving them up. If you have never heard of trout fishing on the Columbia check out my friendo Curtis Lamey's website FREESTONE ! He's got the JuJu rigged on that massive river! The place can be magic, breaching Sturgeon and whirl pools. Fantastic!
Well folks that's all for now, its Friday and the sun is out. Grab a friend and what ever libation suits you and enjoy some of that fine sun that we have all been waiting for!
Yup! Get Some!
I love you all!
Spence
Oh!!!! Big Happy Birthday to Cait!!! Loves ya babe!
Deanna!! Where have you been all my life!!
Nate! Your going to be much prettier after, heal fast friendo!
To all you Zanzi's out there still plugging trees in the ground. I miss you all! Whalen put that shovel down!
So, I went fishing yesterday. Yes it was fathers day and I still went fishing. I woke up early to check the flow report and then I went up stairs and hit the tying bench. I had wanted to leave early but the river was running around 16cms and that is a little too quick for my liking. I delayed in hopes that the river would slowly start to drop as the day progressed and maybe bring off a hatch of the juice bugs we all like so much.
I arrived at the parking lot around noon and it was hosing rain, but I could see the leading edge of a high pressure system was about to push the wet weather away. So again I waited. Finally I found myself strolling through grassy meadows watching my dog chase butterflies. The sun was out the river looked a little high but it was where I wanted to be. I worked a run with a dry for about an hour, hitting seams, and skittering big dries into bushes unfortunately no fish would come up to play... There something you all should know about me, I love to nymph, I love getting dirty and working sub-surface voodoo so that is what I did next.
Even though the river seemed to be raging there was still definition on the water, subtle observation showed a drop off and a seam. Tumbling deep with one fly and a super heavy swivel produced immediate results. The rest of the day was much the same as the start, work water with a absurdly large dry and then rig deep and catch fish.
It's interesting to note that throughout the day the river began to rise and the fishing declined accordingly. Last night the river peaked a 17cms and as of this morning its dropping again. If the weather holds and we see some dry weather like we are supposed to the fishing will improve. Watch that flow report, anything under 15cms is game.
Big ups to Papa Glen
I would like to send some love to all the Daddy's in the world! I know that I wouldn't be as happy as I am now without the love and guidance I have received...
Well after three days of plodding around and adventuring I have come to the conclusion that we could be in for some grand fishing. All signs are pointing to another pulse in big bug movement, which will inevitably lead to some aggressive fishing, right?
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that we are in for a great time.
Two days ago I hit the water with a friend of mine, river levels were mellowing out on the tails of a small high pressure system. There was evidence that a recent push of bugs had come off with the last surge of water. Fish seemed to be tuning in accordingly. We managed one fish on a large shaggy dry fly, but dries weren't even close to what the fish were looking for.
99% of the fish caught were on large nymphs, running them deep and tumbly was smack'n the sh*t out of fish.
Yesterday I had to go back for another sniff, I was and am really excited to get some dirty dry fly action. I pontificated and pondered about water levels and the right time of day to fish and decided to wait for the water to "pulse" again and settled on fishing the evening. The weather was slowly deteriorating and almost from the moment I arrived at the river I knew things were going to be tough on the dry. I saw one solitary over sized bug dipsy doodle through the sky and then get destroyed by a Robin. Humph? A good sign? I landed three fish on the dry and one on the dark-side.... By this point I began to feel like I was rushing things a little, I should have been at home tying flies for prime time... Fishing is way more fun than sitting at my desk though...
Fishing is fun right! That's why this morning I decided to have one more really good recon along the river, with a little angling for good measure....
The river has come up a foot, visibility is still good but conditions are not prime for nymphing or dry fly. There are bugs present and the fish are keying in, but again things aren't quit there yet..
I am sure that if you get in the right type of water with the heavy tech you will bang fish. Not my cup of tea right now though.
Me, I'm going to wait and watch water levels and the weather, I'm going to bide my time because good-times are coming, and there coming soon...
Remember the other day when I said watch the CMS reports for your area? Well I meant it. I was lucky enough to spend the day prowling a river with an old friend of mine, and we had the entire thing to ourselves, and it was awesome...
We had hoped for some serious dry fly action but the trout weren't going to cooperate, so of course we went nymphing and the results were nothing less than extraordinary!!! BIG FISH EATING BIG BUGS! I have a feeling that the dry fly action is happening over there, our timing was a little off but I am confidant that it is happening, and will continue to happen for quite a while!
I don't plan on being on the lakes for a couple of days, but I spoke with a gaggle of khaki ninjas last evening who had spent the day on one of our local lakes. They weren't in the best of spirits, they had shared the lake with 40 other boats! WOW! 40! They said the fishing sucked, geez I wonder why!? Maybe if you roll up on a lake and there is like a buzillion other people there, you might consider going else where?
I just checked the flow report and it looks like I will be headed out this evening for some action!
Ok here we go! Believe it or not people there is some darn fine fishing happening right now. The past two weeks I have been out and about, here and there and have been privy to some pretty fun sh*t.
In case you didn't know already, the lakes down here are doing just fine...
Saw a friend of mine lay waste to an army of rainbows yesterday. Another beautiful rainy day with swallows getting down to a meal of midges. The hatch was strong, green chrome and tiny!
So anyways, the lakes are in full effect and if you get the chance you should get out there and have some fun. There is opportunity to fish just about any way you please, from hanging Cronies to creep'n dragons it seems that if you pay attention out there you will catch a fish. We managed to sight fish a 14 inch Rainbow on a size 14 hot-butt caddis, it was rad!
Ummmmmm, the rivers are high, and sometime all you can do is dance...
I went fishing on a river last week, before things got really wet out there and it was educational. Water was cold clear and high, but there were signs that the big creepers had been moving... We managed to hook some meat, even caught us a fish on a dry fly, but I also seen me a shark eat an octopus...
Watch the CMS report, good things are coming!
Keep dry, and for the love of all that is awesome, don't forget to have some fun!
Spence
p.s.
Watch out for the old fella in the silver pram, he's kinda crusty.
I have been hesitant to write about fishing, and so I haven't. You
see, I spend a lot of time out on the water and I worry that if I spend
too much time with fishing that I may become a little bored of it...
Well things changed last night while I was going through some photos I
have taken in the past few months. I realized that I will never get
tired of fishing or talking about fishing. Fishing is one of those
things that shows you beauty in nature, yourself and your friends....
Above are some of the stinkiest critters on the planet, together we create a trifect of awesome stink! xxxo!
Sometimes we are blessed with glorious people in our lives... This is someone who melts my heart.. Luvs ya Cotch!
I was privalaged to spend the first sunny day in March with my good friend Coleslaw... Chatting, chortling and pretending that fishing was the real reason we were on the river...
It was still effeing cold out, crisp and sunny and the fishing was good... In one of those moments that stick with you I happen to look down and see a feather, when I flipped it over the fishing got even better...
Sometimes you really have to wanna be out on the water.... Dress appropriately...
The little bully got down on the righteous streamer....The Juju was undeniable... Friends give friends cool shit!
FACT: FISH EAT WORMS. CAN YA DIG IT?
Open water in Feburary.... The Buurcat came out to play, rum, food and chitty chats..
Can't fish all the time, some times you just gotta dance!
JJ, there in the mail....
Like I said, you can't fish all the time!
How many little nephews can fit under a towel to play some of that nintendo?
Finding beauty in every fish helps...
Home sweet home....
Tech shit, bring it...
Who the F invited the Rabbits ?
Fishing Derby October, email for details....
Above and below are two of my favorite people on the planet.... Shotgun rules apply....
Skwala eater...
Muh Nugget
Doesn't Get Betta!
Steeze that shit out!
Thank you for having a look at the past few months of my life.... Enjoy yours and smile..... Much Love and see you all soon....
Spence
P.S.
Don't forget to Express Yourself...
WARNING THIS VIDEO MAY CONTAIN CONTENT THAT MAY BE DEEMED OFFENSIVE!
