Trout
Broke into fishing on an old SouthBend automatic flyreel. Poppers for bass n' panfish. Went to college in Madison, Wisconsin and gained access to a bevy of tiny springcreeks chuck full of brookies and browns (a few rainbows). Fish them with 6' 1/2 ft. spinning rod and a tiny Mitchell 304 in harmony with the land as everybody else (Shamus included) were out on the lakes whackin' walleye, northern, and the odd muskie or two. The latter two, as you can see from Shamus' photo are essentially freshwater barracuda.
Moved west and got into flyfishing with a vengeance. I'm here to tell you that it WASN'T for the aesthetics of it all, i.e. the poetic artistry of long, looping casts. Nope. Caught more and bigger fish.
I've had the good fortune to fish the Deschutes (home river if a hundred miles counts), Owyhee in Oregon, Rocky Ford, the Big Wood and Spring creek in Washington, Silver Creek in Ketchum/Hailey/Sun Valley, Idaho, and the Madison, Big Horn, Yellowstone, Lamar, Gibbon, Snake, and three of the lovliest spring creeks God has designed in Paradise Valley, Montana. Also the San Juan in New Mexico and Lee's Ferry on the Colorado in Arizona. Oh! Hat Creek in N. California.
There's more but those are all notable and for real.
Coolest story was fishing Silver Creek with a buddy and a guy about 100 yards upstream hooks a small rainbow. Playing it, he suddenly starts screaming (poor form, btw) that he's got a big brown on that's attacked the lil' rainbow. Fights for a minute and loses the brown but has the rainbow still on and five yards from his net...
...when the brownie attacks again. It stays on the rainbow literally to the net before dropping the rainbow.
Ahhh, too late. Brownie lets go half out of the water but, alas, the net is under and this dude lands two on one fly at once. Awesome moment. 23", 51/2 lb. Brown. VERY nice.
Nothing larger in my world than a 25" rainbow on the Big Horn but a LOT of 16-22" fish. It's one of my few passions.
Broke into fishing on an old SouthBend automatic flyreel. Poppers for bass n' panfish. Went to college in Madison, Wisconsin and gained access to a bevy of tiny springcreeks chuck full of brookies and browns (a few rainbows). Fish them with 6' 1/2 ft. spinning rod and a tiny Mitchell 304 in harmony with the land as everybody else (Shamus included) were out on the lakes whackin' walleye, northern, and the odd muskie or two. The latter two, as you can see from Shamus' photo are essentially freshwater barracuda.
Moved west and got into flyfishing with a vengeance. I'm here to tell you that it WASN'T for the aesthetics of it all, i.e. the poetic artistry of long, looping casts. Nope. Caught more and bigger fish.
I've had the good fortune to fish the Deschutes (home river if a hundred miles counts), Owyhee in Oregon, Rocky Ford, the Big Wood and Spring creek in Washington, Silver Creek in Ketchum/Hailey/Sun Valley, Idaho, and the Madison, Big Horn, Yellowstone, Lamar, Gibbon, Snake, and three of the lovliest spring creeks God has designed in Paradise Valley, Montana. Also the San Juan in New Mexico and Lee's Ferry on the Colorado in Arizona. Oh! Hat Creek in N. California.
There's more but those are all notable and for real.
Coolest story was fishing Silver Creek with a buddy and a guy about 100 yards upstream hooks a small rainbow. Playing it, he suddenly starts screaming (poor form, btw) that he's got a big brown on that's attacked the lil' rainbow. Fights for a minute and loses the brown but has the rainbow still on and five yards from his net...
...when the brownie attacks again. It stays on the rainbow literally to the net before dropping the rainbow.
Ahhh, too late. Brownie lets go half out of the water but, alas, the net is under and this dude lands two on one fly at once. Awesome moment. 23", 51/2 lb. Brown. VERY nice.
Nothing larger in my world than a 25" rainbow on the Big Horn but a LOT of 16-22" fish. It's one of my few passions.
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