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

Utah Fishing in Jeopardy

For those of you with videography or cinematography skills or what ever you'd call it when you know how to use a video camera and editing software you'd better be in on this one. Help raise awareness and win the battle to ensure our ability to fish our waterways!  Fishing Utah is totally awesome and we'd like to keep it that way. Click on the link Below for more details:

Utah Stream Access Coalition Video Contest

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

Out with Dad

It had been a little while since Dad and I were able to hit the water together.  We exchanged schedules a handful of times and we weren't able to sync.  Well,  things came together and we put a day on the calendar.  I picked dad up at his place in the late morning and we hit the road.  I was hoping for thunderstorms in the late afternoon, and the forecast looked promising.

In the truck we talked; work, family, and of course fish.  We chugged up into the mountains and slipped down into Pineview Reservoir.  We started seeing fish in the usual spots.  Dad was throwing a massive, gaudily gorgeous fly. My rod was rigged with a relatively small, plain fly. 

I could see the tip of a tail peeking out from beneath some structure.  Unable to determine what fish I was looking at, I cast to find out.  My rig hit the water, strip, strip! The fish shot out from its shelter and ate!  

Fish on!  I really put the wood to the fish for two reasons.  

First to keep the fish from breaking me off in the structure.  

Second, the water temperature has really climbed.  

Fish generally tolerate being hooked in the face quite well if they are handled properly and quickly. But if high water temperatures are present being caught can be a real downer for a big fish!  

Dad netted the fish in short order.

We snapped a few pictures and sent the fish on its way.

We continued to fish.  We caught quite a few crappie and one nice little Smallie.  This smallie was by far the heaviest (by fight, not weight) smallie I have ever caught.  I thought is was definitely a musky until it showed itself at the surface.  What a stud of a fish!

Thanks for being Awesome Dad!

Utah Fly fishing Guide

Targhee Boss

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!