Beaver Dams & Feisty Rainbows

My dad called me the other day and asked "hey, want to go fishing Saturday? I need to take my new car on a road trip." Of course I said yes. I was jealous as he had just bought a new Outback, a car I had been trying to find for months. Long story short, I was unable to get one, maybe someday I will. Right now the plan is to get one when I finish grad school. Though I will be in thousands of dollars of debt, maybe I'll pull the trigger. Time will tell.

We chose a stream that we knew would not be blown out from recent rains. I wanted to fish bigger water, but the rivers were either too high or chocolate milk, some both. I was confident the stream we chose however would be clear, and I was right.

This little stream makes it's journey through a spectacular desert landscape lush with pine trees and vegetation. It portrays true Indian country, with it's vibrant almost unreal red rock and towering cliffs.  It is also the home of a particular animal, one that serves as a double edge sword for fly fisherman; the beaver. You hear stories of how beaver dams provide great habitat for trout. The backed up water forms a sort of mini lake per se, why would there not be fish in there? Well, for this stream, the beavers have made a true mess. They have foraged sticks and branches from all over, creating lots of dams along a portion that stretches fifty yards. This has changed the natural course of the river, and created lots of very small streams that branch out like the roots of a tree. This made the fishing in this area nearly impossible. I saw a few fish, but they would pass as bait for an eight inch brown. We had no success until we went well above the beaver's chaos.

The fish that day were picky of our offerings. We finally dialed it in, the true producer being the elk hair caddis. Further confirmation of this fly was given when we were walking back to the car. A man and his son, fly fisherman, were rigging up and asked us how we did. I began talking and he eventually said "and they were hitting caddis?" Portraying he was already well aware of what the fish would want. I smiled and nodded.

The cloudy skies with distant thunder and five minute rain we had made for a great setting. I love monsoon season, and the unexpected weather it brings. Just as you think a storm is heading away from you, the wind shifts and a big purple cloud is soon right above you. It's a humbling experience, feeling so small and at mercy of mother nature. The power and beauty she shows enhances the wild experience.

The rainbows we caught that day really impressed me. They were aggressive, and often leaped out of the water to smack our dries revealing their crimson red stripe. My biggest, which had to be around sixteen, fought hard and made a few leaps. The browns also came out to play. We did catch a few, though they were smaller than the rainbows. Catching quality fish in small stream is tough to beat.