IF4 Fly Fishing Trip 2015

Mike and his boys and I went up north to the International Fly Fishing Film Festival - IF4 back in March. This year, the festival took place in Provo, Utah. For those who don't know, this film festival displays professional short fly fishing films from independent film makers. Most of them are quite good and very entertaining to watch. Films feature anglers in exotic locations and many species of fish. There are also a ton of giveaways at the Utah show. In 2014, we were not so lucky. We came home with just a few stickers. Fortunately, this year I won a pair of Smith ChromaPop sunglasses, (which I love-gear review to come!). Mike and his boys won hats, stickers, buffs and a Tacky Fly Fishing box. It was a fun night filled with amazing films and lots of prizes.  

The next day, Mike and I headed out to a couple fishing spots we were itching to try. The first was a lake known to hold monster tiger trout. It's well hidden and sits in a unique desert landscape. Knowing there were numerous scuds in the lake, we geared our rods up with scuds hoping for a scud buffet from the fish. Upon further viewing, I happened to notice that the cutthroats in the lake were nose diving straight into the weed beds trying to eat scuds. This was a thrill to watch. Never before have I seen anything like that.

Moss bed through my Smith ChromaPop's

Scud Confident, and hopeful to catch a big tiger, I cast out my line. It took a while but I did start to catch some fish. Not the big tigers, but the willing cutthroats. After fighting scud hungry cutts, we headed out to a nearby tailwater. This water was new to the both of us, and proved to be one that we will for sure come back to. With only a few hours of light left, we hurried to the stream. Upon arriving, we switched out our rods in favor of some meat chuckin' arsenals. I absolutely love fishing big streamers whenever I get the chance. Knowing there were big ravenous browns awaiting, we tied on tandem meat. We did pick up a few fish with streamers, however, due to the low water, we found that a double nymph rig out-produced our bushy, flashy streamers. As nighttime fell upon us though, the streamer bite picked up again.

After a rough, and quite uncomfortable night, due to the fact that we slept on an enormous air mattress stuffed into a tiny tent, we were eager to stretch out and battle big browns once again. With the rising sun warming our cold bodies, and shaking off the nighttime squeeze, we were off. It turned out to be another great day. One hole, in particular, produced at least six fish. All browns, all over seventeen inches. Yes, you could say it was the "perfect hole."  Every fish was taken on Mike's trusty muddy water worm pattern. This pattern is heavy, gets down deep, and irresistible. With sore wrists (due to fighting these fish on a 4wt), and a heightened ego, we called it a day 

 The video/slide show posted below will give you a glimpse of the greatness we had. It shows a few brief pictures of the first lake we fished, followed by this tailwater river. Sorry for the lack of quality. This video was shot on a point and shoot Canon, and edited on a stock editing program. Anyways, hope you enjoy, and tight-lines everyone.

Taste of Fall

Fall weather is starting to set in in Southern Utah and my urge to go fishing is high. Fall is one of my favorite times to fly fish. Cooler days, colorful autumn leaves, spawning aggressive fish- what could be better? To me, mostly nothing. This particular trip, my wife and new baby (4 months) and Mike and his family decided to set out for a high alpine remote lake. This lake is hidden and off the beaten path. The hike into this lake includes a steep (3000+) elevation climb. I knew going in that it would be interesting carrying a 17 lb baby along with fishing gear. However, I didn't pay much attention to that because I knew what this lake had to offer. My thoughts were toward the fish and beautiful scenery.

With baby and gear ready, we set off for the tough and treacherous climb. After many stops along the way, and some re-adjusting with gear, we made it to the lake. The lake from now on which will be known as "Hell Lake" according to my wife. Lets just say she wasn't too fond of the hike. 

Connor was a champ

Fall is approaching

"Hell Lake" 

The first fly I chose was a small black leech pattern that Mike and I developed. This fly has proven to be quite effective on high alpine lakes so I was confident it would produce. However, with only subtle strikes and no fish to count for, I decided to switch to an olive damselfly nymph. First cast, and only two seconds in the water, bam! Fish on. This was going to be a great day.

Blue Halo

I eventually made my way onto a small grassy island on the lake hoping to target deeper water. Upon arriving, I looked over the edge from where I was standing and discovered a nice deep drop off. There was a rock ledge I could see under the water where I knew would hold fish. Positioning my fly just right, and getting it to drop below the lip of the rock was the plan. I tossed my damsel a few feet from where I was standing and let it sink. As soon as the fly dropped below the rock ledge,along with a couple quick strips, a brookie bolted out and grabbed my fly with lightning speed. Never before have I had such fun fishing close proximity with only a few feet of leader. I caught fish after fish with this technique. 

Happy to have rod in hand after a brutal hike

The allure of brook trout in the fall is worth any hike and/or obstacles in my opinion. With crimson red tip fins and under-bellies, and dark yellow marked bodies with blue halo markings, the brook trout in my opinion is the most beautiful trout. Combine that with the beauty of where bookies reside, and its the ultimate package. 

First Video

On Father's day weekend in 2015 my dad, Mike, his dad and I set out to central Utah in search of high alpine brook trout and arctic grayling. This video I put together is my first video edit. For those of you who put together these types of videos you know that they take LOTS of time. My hope is to get better each time with both filming and editing and make them more enjoyable for everyone watching. Please comment below on what you think, I would love your feedback.

Introduction

Welcome everyone to Tightline Pursuit blog. This blog is geared towards fly fishing, fly tying and photography. My intent is to provide fun and quality material to all of you. I am very passionate about this sport and am looking forward to sharing my passion in the form of a blog. 

Ok, now a little information about myself:  

My name is Sam Fetzer, and I live in Cedar City, Utah. I have been fly fishing consistently for about five years, and first picked up a fly rod when I was around six years old. I credit my father who first introduced me to the sport. He taught me the basic principles of fly fishing on a northern Utah stream. I cherish my memories with him tossing dries to hungry cutthroat.  I credit my brother-in-law, Mike Anderson in broadening my skills of the sport and teaching me the art of fly tying. Tying flies has greatly expanded my interest in the sport and made me want to be a better angler.  Living in Southern Utah I have had the opportunity to fish many streams and refine my skills. My goal is to share my fishing stories with you through photography, video, and writing.

Thanks for taking the time to read, feel free to comment below.