Spring Consumed!

Well I mowed the lawn yesterday.  Spring is finally here, but not final.  It snowed today! The trees we planted last year are starting to blossom!  I'm simply happy that they didn't die during the winter.

Busy! Busy! Busy!  I was already chasing spring way back in Dec. in pursuit trout.  We definitely took care of the itch during the cold season.  If I could give any advice to cold weather anglers to make your outings more pleasurable, it would be to keep a pair of  "hand warmers" in your pockets.  They are cheap and so effective at conducting heat into your hands.  Also of note, I camped out a handful of times this winter. The next best thing to having your loving companion next to you, is to sleep with these hand warmers.  You will likely end up tossing your warmers out of your bag, removing your hat or sleeping bag hood.  When you have these guys in your bag the chore changes from attempting to maintain heat to regulating it!  What a wonderful problem to have in below freezing temps!

Now I'm sure your are more interested in this winters photography records.

New ball cap design I put together, SOLD OUT! Thank you all!

My buddy who sticks fish and puts together some Sweetness in Graphics, he is called Mike Larsen.

Seam Shot! by Jordan Gilbert of Crimson Jaw

 This Little Piggy! Photo by Jordan Gilbert

Runnin' Shot by Cortney Boice

Carp Photo by Scott Jackson

 Photo By Phil Tuttle of OutSmartingFish.com

Bloody Pike Photos By Colby CrossLand of TheTroutSmith.com

 The Crimson Duo haulin' slabs!

 This Photo by Jordan Gilbert of Crimson Jaw

Photo by Jordan Gilbert

The Gall

Check in with CrimsonJaw.com for a solid Steelhead Post!

Good Day Sir!

A great day on the water and I was lucky enough to have a great camera dude on the boat as well.  David Komatar of Way Back When Pictures, was present to collect our experience.  The angler is a dude we call Colby Crossland.

Kudos Dudes! Thanks for furthering my cause!

Without further ado!

Masochists

I couldn't believe the most recent post here is all the way back in September.  Unbelievable!  The fall leaves have flown as has the time.

Plans were set.  Jake and myself had found a day that we could both be on the water pursuing Tiger Musky.  Another friend, Derek, and myself sent a phone call out to Jake from the boat ramp late in the morning.  Jake who had been serving time behind his rod all morning in pursuit of Tiger Musky met us in short order.

 As he rounded the shoreline into view, a musky size net sat  perpendicular to his person across his back.  The net bag was clearly carrying a burden. One not typical of a fishing net.  My first guess was that Jake's shore lunch was too large to fit in his pack and he had made convenient use of the depressed and empty net.  It was clear when he arrived at the boat that he not only brought the tools and skills to entice an eat from a Musky but he was building karma to close on a musky as well.  His net was full of garbage and flotsam! Boom! Look out musky, you will eat! TODAY!

Fast Forward.

Musky appears, Beast!  It seems that it has just come off a good run at Jake's fly.
No eat.  Musky! Here! Gone!

Fast Forward.

The boat crew has now built to 4, with the addition of Phil.
Jake's fly has not been out of the water long enough to catch its breath.  If his fly were a terrorist, it would have relinquished any information Jake asked of it and then started to fabricate information long ago.

"Here's one!
 Here's One!
 Here's One"
said Jake.

I looked over the gunwale from the console and there it was.  Nearly 4 feet of it!
All 4 of us, now peering over the side intently, studying every move this marvelous fish was making!
All 4 of us, peering over the side intently, studying every move Jake's fly was making!

The musky was on the verge!  4" of water was the only obstacle preventing the musky from ending Jake's fly.

Jake killed his fly and let it sink.  The musky maintained it's 4" buffer!

Jake accelerated the fly.  The musky maintained it's 4" buffer!

Jake figure-eighted his fly.  The musky maintained it's 4" buffer!

These scenarios repeated over and over again as the boat coasted about 50 yds.  All 4 anglers, hearts pounding out of their chests, leaning over the fly and musky, absolutely enraptured!

After an extremely short eternity the monster settled back into its abyss, leaving a boat full of shaking knees and pounding chests!

MUSKY!  One word, shouted as both an expletive and a jubilation!

Terribly awesome!

So much success and so much failure experienced in the same moments.  A truly fearsome monster raised from the depths with craftsmanship, skill, and karma. So close to capture and so far.

Truth be told, what a wonderful fish to take four grown men back to the youthful anticipation of Christmas morning only to rip it from their grasp!

The musky can give you everything you've ever desired of fishing and take it all in the same moment.

And we LOVE them for it!

PS.
Karma collected this day!  Jake stuck a hog musky 20 mins after the rest of us hit the road! Some people deserve fish.  Not only because what the fish means to them personally, but because they have put in the work, time and effort to be rewarded.  Musky are-----Work, Time, and Effort!
Congratulations Jake!

You can find more of Jake's good work at The Colorado Trout Devotee.

Derek and Phil are part of a site known as OutSmartingFish.com.  They put together tremendous content!

HYPERPHAGIA! (Also known as fall)

This is a time of year when people and animals get hungry.  Fish begin to glut themselves in preparation for the long, cold, icy winter.  It seems that fall, with its colder temperatures, shortening days and hungry fish, is a perfect time to fish.  It is!  Driving up the canyon early morning this week, I ran into temperatures dipping to 29*. Brisk!
Here is an example, I feel it applies equally well to fishing!
"Further increasing the odds of a grizzly encounter is the fact that hunters take to the field right when bears are most fixated on food. In fall, bears enter a stage called hyperphagia, a single-minded lust for calories in advance of their long winter’s sleep. When grizzlies find food, they can become so engrossed in eating they pay less attention to their surroundings than usual." Taken From Montana Outdoors
So here is my suggestion.  Get out as much as possible this fall, while your odds are high, to encounter the aquatic worlds meat-eating, monsters!

Note: This Kokanee is a poor meat-eating example despite its ostentatious apparel and dreadful grin, but an excellent fall indicator!  Photography Credit: Josh Gilbert

By:
Targhee Boss
Utah Fly Fishing Guide

Other World!

I'd been itching for a Grayling trip. As things began to line up, I had one of my oldest friends in town from HI.  We woke up one morning and hit a REI garage sale to see if we could score a few things that we "absolutely needed," ha.  As luck would have it I found a righteous deal on a down bag and my buddy collected a few items as well.  Good start to a great outing!
We hit the trail in the afternoon and started the relentless uphill climb in search of Arctic Grayling! By its name alone the fish conveys something "other worldly."
Years ago it was this "other worldly" quality that relentlessly beckoned to me.  After quite a bit of research I settled on a group of lakes that seemed to be my best option for a local-"out of this world" fish.  It was these lakes that gave my wife her first fish on a fly rod, an Arctic Grayling! These fish and this place hold a strong place in my soul.
Enough of that tangent.

We continued our march.  Realizing this trip, unlike trips past, that there is beauty in the journey.  We marched intermittently enjoying the pleasures of our surroundings.  Trips past have been all about the destination and the fish.  To a large extent fishing is always the motivating factor through the miles, I rarely hike at all unless there are fish included in the destination. This is most likely why I did not remember the hike being so vertical, my only memories were of the fish and the lake.

I am lucky to be passionate about such a thing as fish.  They are very generous, both as table fare and often take you to the most beautiful places this earth has to offer.
Up and up!  Passed lakes, passed people. The trail peetered out into braided game trails.  We'd arrived! One lake, NO people! Ideal!

We surveyed the water as we prospected sleep sites.  The lake seemed to be barren!  We set up camp and strung the rod.

Down to the waters edge! The only sign of life thus far had been scattered tufts of Mt. Goat hair.  Wait, add one bleached mule dear skeleton.  As the sun set the water began to communicate fish locations.  I worked my way towards an end of the lake nestled below a cirque.  Structure began to reveal itself and I placed a peachy, little soft hackle, with a golden bead head just off the deep side of a submerged boulder.
Lighting struck! Not in a jerk-the-rod-out-of-your-hand kind of way, but just as sudden!
The evening light burst from the Grayling's fins as it attempted to liberate the soft hackle from its fluorocarbon path.

The remainder of the evening followed this theme.
We surrendered to the invading darkness and stumbled back into camp to share memories and updates of families gained.
I hit the sac this evening tired and rejuvenated.  An existence only mountains, fish and dear friends can conjure.
Thank you Father.
 By: Targhee Boss
Utah Fly Fishing Guide
Utah Grayling

10% OFF HOO RAGS

For those of you that would rather skip my ramble,  here is the discount code (    TB7813    ).

Who is Hoo?  For those of you that are avid fisherman, there are two scenarios that you encounter constantly.  Intense Sun! The other, intense BUGS!  Until recently there has been one solution.  Oily, messy, stinky, and in the case of bug spray corrosive sprays and lotions.  These products require frequent reapplication, and for me reapplication never happens.  I am too busy fishing to stop and apply these products.  Plus they can be harmful to your gear.  They all have a scent that, if not unpleasant, is definitely distinct and puts up a caution flag for some of our target species both hunting and fishing.  The other downfall of blocks and sprays is you can't remove them until you hit the showers.

Most of us are aware of the company Buff.  They are a foreign company from Spain and have good products.  I have nothing against Spain or Buff, in fact I enjoy the thought of one day visiting and have a few Buff products on the boat.

BUT!!

Given the choice I would much rather wear a cooler (temp), thinner Hoo Rag.  Designed and Manufactured domestically here in the Good Old U. S. of A, Hoo Rag has my purchase every time.  Aside from being home grown, Hoo has the stellar-est designs with a price incentive that really gets me.  I'm a HOO-man!

Ask not What your countrymen can do for you, but what you can do for your countrymen!

Do yourself a favor, avoid skin cancer effectively and consistently. Avoid having your nose surgically removed! Avoid irritating bugs!  Look like a legit fishing Ninja!

Click HERE, and BROWSE their HOOS Then pick one of each and Check out!

At checkout enter this code,  (   TB7813   ),    in the "Enter Coupon Code" space and click "update".

Boom Discount Applied!  If you weren't legit before, now you know!

Tiger Musky Extravaganza!

Nate over at OutSmartingFish.com has put together some tremendous content.  Do yourself a big favor and discover this post for yourself.  Some of the best non-fishing moments of my day were spent on their site savoring every delectable morsel of this post. get on it!

OutSmartingFish.com

Photog Skillz courtesies of Cortney Boice, Click Here!

All orange text are links, click on them!


By: Targhee Boss
Utah Pike Guide

Lake Powell Utah

Lake Powell has come and gone once more.  This was a rough one not the fishing but the experience.  Of the 20 individuals that were on the lake in our group, only 3 managed to avoid morphing into barfing werewolves.  What ever demon visited us on the house boat was definitely a relation of the demon that wiped out whole civilizations in the past.
On the fishing side of things, it was as good as it always is at Lake Powell.  Boils/slurps/frenzies were common and we were able to pull up to four fish from them before putting them down for good.  I absolutely love the striper game at Lake Powell and they taste as good as they are fun to catch.  That being said, I am not a fish eater nor would I ever order it over a rib eye, but these guys taste good.  Between stalking carp, chasing stripers and tending to the requirements of a barfing family, it was an awesome trip! If everyone gets sick throughout the week and has still had a good time at the end, that is truly saying something about Lake Powell.  Of course there were always "Barbie" and "Cars" rods rigged and reeling in carp as well.  Between the Carp, Stripers, Catfish, Smallmouth, Largemouth, and Sunfish we kept busy!

Sandpaper Highs

I have been experiencing fishing highs and low blows.  Road trips with friends and family.  Big fish here, lost trophies there.  With only enough sleep to ensure that I maintain the pleasant feeling of turning my eyelids into sandpaper.  All in all, it would be tremendous, rough material for anybody with any literary skill.  But I just haven't had the writing bug lately.  Plus some moments/memories have been too scenery/environment focused to share with all you fishermen who do your due diligence on the web before any real adventures.  In short, it has been a tremendous week.  So here are few photographs to convey a few moments beyond the monitor.

 Tight!

 First Carp on the Fly Smile!

This Fish "Castanza-ed"  a pastrami sandwich off the bedside table, if you know what I mean!  This pastrami sandwich is also know as John Montana's Hybrid fly.

 Not bad for your first day carpin'!!!! Half Tail.

Now time to pack for the Next Utah Adventure!


By: Targhee Boss
Utah Fly Fishing Guide