My wife laughed at me when I told her what time I would be getting up on Saturday morning to go fishing. I wondered about the decision myself, but when the alarm clock beeped, I popped up like a daisy. With a little bit of coffee and a granola bar for the truck ride, I met up with Antonio and Keith for a day of fly fishing in the Arizona backcountry.
A few hours later, I was looking over the side of a canyon with no trails or signs of life. In the bottom, I could see a turquoise pool just waiting to be fished and without a second thought, we bailed off the edge and into the abyss. Loose rock, deadfalls, and pricker bushes made for an interesting decent and I tried not to contemplate the return journey which I knew would be miserable after a hard day of fishing.
The hike/scramble down the canyon wall was well worth it, and the cold morning air felt good as we rigged our fly rods for the day ahead. It had been 27 degrees when we left the truck and in the sunless canyon, I am sure it was a bit colder. We stripped streamers for the first hour or so, but figured the water was much too cold for fish to be active. Antonio started off the day with a bang with an engorged brown trout taking his signature streamer. The picture below proves there are some real predators living in these Arizona streams and how productive Arizona fly fishing can be.
Half the reason these fish get to be so big is because they live in these slow ice-cold pools feeding on the plethora of crayfish that also thrive in these backcountry streams, like the one pictured below. Although the crayfish help some of these big browns gain their size, some of these creeks are simply overwhelmed by the crayfish numbers.
As the day warmed up, the creek came alive with bugs and rising trout. I walked ahead to a small pool and amidst the dancing midges, I could see a trout finning in the current, occasionally rising for a bug or two. I opened my box and perused my fly selection and settled on a gray-bodied CDC midge pattern. A few casts later, the surface erupted as the healthy brown devoured my fly.
I cradled the fish and said a quick thank you before releasing him back into his home pictured below. With the skunk avoided, I was able to relax and get into a fishing rhythm.
The browns continued to come and around noon the prolific bug life on the creek came to life. I switched to a mini-hopper and an ice-dubbed pheasant tail and began pulling a fish or two from every pool. We fished our way up a mile or two enjoying the slight breeze and smell of the pines before turning back downstream
As we fished some of the better pools on the way back down, I stumbled upon a beautiful elk shed lying right by the creek. After admiring it and feeling it’s weight, I opted not to carry it out of the canyon and gave it to Antonio who politely posed for a photo below while rocking his Arizona Wanderings T-shirt. (In hindsight, I’m fairly certain the reason he landed his nice brown was because of the powerful mojo found in each AZW shirt – Get yours at the AZW Shop.)
I stopped at one more foamy run before our scramble up the hill and pulled 8 fish from the same spot. So much for small stream trout being spooky. Most fish we pulled throughout the day were fat, healthy and ready to eat more.
It was a great day on the water with a good couple of guys. Many thanks to Antonio and Keith for sharing the experience with me today. It has been a beautiful start to the season and I’m crossing my fingers that we get some more precipitation to keep the creeks healthy and flowing.
Sounds like a solid day, and a great memory to get you through a full Monday of classroom management.
Thanks Brandon. My thoughts exactly. It will just be hard to focus thinking about the next time I get to bail off the edge of a canyon and chase fish.
Ben
oh my – it’s been years since I’ve been there. mostly because of that climb out. that creek can be magical though…great shots great fish.
“Magical?” That scramble/climb at the end of the day is a ball buster to say the least. That’s not even taking into account the prickers and briars you have to hack through too. Beautiful country though. Thanks for the kind words, Mike.
Ben
hahaha. that’s why I haven’t been back there in years. one thing I have learned is have plenty of water back at the truck because after a day you will run out and unless you have a filtered bottle (which I now do), yer gonna be one thirsty hombre when you get out. and ginger ale? it just doesn’t cut thirst like water does.
best to spend the night down there eat breakfast fish and head out for lunch on top.
Agreed. We had plenty of water and fluids at the top waiting for us. I am looking forward to doing a couple days down there in the future. I just dread thinking about climbing out of there with a heavy pack on. Miserable.
Ben
oh yeah – we’d have to use surveyor’s tape or somesuch to mark the place we entered the creek so we’d no approximately where to begin our ascent.
What a great experience. Glad you had a great day fishing and took some good photos to re-live.
Thanks Howard for the kind words. It was a beautiful day to say the least.
Ben
What a great day– that first brown is awesome, good work
Thanks Brian. Antonio is a heck of a fisherman and his secret streamer must be tasty because he always pulls nice fish. Thanks for the kind words.
Ben
Those “well, I hope we make it back out” kinds of places are always the best of fishing. Good on ya for getting down and out and into those beautiful browns!
Thanks Erin. Those backcountry places sure do hold some nice fish. Looking back, I’m always glad that I went. But in the heat of the scramble back up to the truck, I always wonder what the heck is wrong with me.
Ben
Looks like another epic trip, way to go! I found some antlers in the same canyon.
I think there must be some decent bulls in that canyon. I pity the hunter who has to pack it back out of that canyon.
Ben
Those days of hiking down into a canyon like that are long gone for this Geezer. Now, if the elevator was working, I would be glad to fish that beautiful canyon.
Mark
Half of me wishes that it was easier going and that there was a nice elevator. The other half of me knows that the fishing would not be half as good if there was easy access. A catch 22 for sure.
Ben
Outstanding Ben, absolutely outstanding. You have me chomping at the bit for another road trip south…Well that and the plans to be on the road in a couple weeks in search of some fish in remote country.
Paul, Let me know when you’ll be back down here. I would love to meet up with you, and I have a couple of perfect tenkara streams in mind.
Ben
I’m going to be well north of you in 2 weeks if the snow is melted enough at 10,000 😉 We shall see. Not sure if a trip to AZ is in the cards this year or not, I would really like to but just don’t known. That steam there looks like it would work great and by right up my alley. Spent last week on a tail water in OR pulling 20″ browns on Tenkara rods, lots of fun fighting them.
Beautiful back country fishing.
Well done gents.
Thanks Alan. I appreciate the kind words.
Ben
Thanks for sharing your experiences in a wonderful canyon that makes you pay for the fun of it at the end. Beautiful stream and trout. Makes me look forward to my summer visit to northern NM. Now, if we only get the rain that’s so much needed!
Walt,
Thanks so much for the nice comment. I definitely paid at the end for the fun I had that day. I wish you the best in NM and hope we both get a bit of rain to keep the streams flowing strong this summer.
Ben
Simply beautiful post and love the pictures and detail. Those Backcountry waters are a treasure that every fly fisher ought to try at least once. Thanks for the effort in making the trip and sharing the rewards!
Thanks RC. I’ll be heading back in there for sure before this year is up. The backcountry is certainly a treasure.
Ben
That looks like a wonderful adventure! Thank you for capturing it for us.
Thanks Mark. I appreciate the kind words.
Ben
Ben,
Great post and beautiful images–that first brown caught by Antonio is a real pig. I love the milky color of the water too, fishing usually promises to be good in those conditions.
I really love getting into some of those canyon streams (as you said, the hike out can be a bear), and Arizona seems to be blessed with quite a few, with some outsized trout to match. The crayfish do present an issue, good in terms of feeding large trout, bad in terms of simplifying and damaging the stream ecosystem, although it is certainly fun to tie into predatory fish with streamers!
We will have to get together soon one of these days, and seek out a few backcountry trout (not to mention Oak Creek on the more accessible side of things)…
Thanks again for the post.
Iain
Thanks for the kind word Iain. The conditions were gorgeous and we had some great fishing. I look forward to getting out on the water with you here in the future. Hope you are having a good spring.
Ben
Ben – great write up. I’m no fisherman but i love adventures – which this obviously was.
The photos of the semi- submersed rod & reel, and the trout-in-hand are fantastically liquid looking.
PS – loving the mobile plugin.
Read, viewed photos, and commented from my iPhone.
Thanks Doug. I appreciate your support and glad that mobile plugin is doing the trick. Thanks for the kind words.
Ben
Ben, Loved the article. Due to my knees giving me notice of “intent to give out”, I have to limit myself to where I go. Short distance hikes and walks to streams are ok but, those “trail- less abyss” ones are for sure a rescue heli-port ride out, so I will just be there in my mind and let you make the “Arizona wanderings” for me by reading your well written posts and looking at those awesome pics. Jesse
Can I ask where this is?? it’s looks like a blast!
Where is this if you dont mind me asking? I am a die hard catch and release fly FISHERMAN and have been looking for back country spots like this but I have no idea where to begin. I am an avid backpacker and would love to spend a couple days here