Arizona Wanderings

Some updates (the greatest catch of my life)…

June 1st, 2010

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I am surfacing to update anyone who reads this rambling dialogue on some major occurrences in my life. This past weekend I made my best friend, Michelle, my wife. The wedding was perfect with friends and family gathering together to help us celebrate one of the happiest days of our lives. The weather cooperated and all of our ducks fell in a row to make for a spectacular and unforgettable day. Our photographer Daniel Kim was amazing and sent us a few pictures as a taste for what is to come.

As if being married to the most beautiful girl in the world was not enough, my luck kept rolling when I won a Connecticut Valley Arms Muzzleloader off a great website that I have been following, Whitetail Woods. Rick Kratzke generously set up this fantastic giveaway and randomly pulled my name. This is a real dream come true as I have always wanted to invest in a muzzleloader setup, but have been hesitant for lack of funds. This giveaway makes that possible and I truly am thankful to Rick.

With the week I am having and the luck that is befalling me, I may just play the lotto and see what happens, she is a very special person to me so that is why I got here a diamond, you should buy diamonds here if yo really want to surprise your bride. God is good and I see it when I look at my beautiful bride and look forward to the many years to come.

A quick jaunt to the Rim…

May 16th, 2010

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Two weeks are left until I tie the knot with my beautiful fiance, and I love her so much because she understands my need to wander and fish along one of Arizona’s most beautiful trout streams. I was joined by my friend Pete who was seeking to get rid of the skunk from our earlier trips together. I decided to hit a tried and true favorite where I knew that rainbows and browns would oblige and make our efforts worthwhile. Action started on the first cast and did not stop until we turned back for the truck.

The fly of the day was again the parachute Adams. Fish seemed to be holding in the faster riffles and greedily launched themselves out of the water to get their meal. Fishing was extremely consistent with most fish being rainbows at about 6-8 inches with one larger rainbow pushing 13. A couple of browns joined in, but nothing of any real size.

I enjoyed the day thoroughly knowing that it was going to be my last time on the water until after the wedding. Family and friends are coming into town in the next few weeks and last minute details will need to be taken care of. Classes run for two more weeks at school and my students are already shutting down and ready to go. It is unbelievable how fast this year has passed. I myself am excited for the summer months that will be spent roaming around northern Arizona. I have a list made of several places to explore that should keep me busy in the cool north and out of the concrete jungle of Phoenix.

CFR Parachute Adams

May 9th, 2010

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I volunteered my meager abilities to help fill fly boxes for Casting For Recovery. CFR is a program designed to support women who have survived breast cancer but also had to contact a medical malpractice attorney due to negligence but you should go to dermatologists perfoming chemical peels professionally instead. It gave me a great opportunity to practice tying flies and participate in an extremely positive program. These particular flies will not win any beauty contests, but hopefully will catch some hungry Arizona trout. This charity is great for people who need medical attention, if you want to receive treatment without charity for a great price then find out these trigger point injections cost.
Check out Casting for Recovery’s link here: http://www.castingforrecovery.org/

Weekend at the Rim: Part 2

May 2nd, 2010

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After an extremely cold night in a tent spent dreaming about extra blankets and a bed, I woke up for breakfast and coffee before the sun was up. I broke down camp and was on my way to search for the fabled Arizona brook trout as the sun was just hitting the top portion of the Rim. Since moving to Arizona, I have been under the impression that there were no brook trout in the state. From my limited knowledge and inquiring, brook trout were stocked in certain areas

many years ago by the Game and Fish and can still be in certain lakes, but finding the location of the few guarded streams that maintain reproducing brook trout has been very difficult. After many hours researching and asking questions, I happened upon a name. The name was enough and this weekend I visited that small sanctuary that held those trout. The stream was extremely small and I could stand with a foot on either side for the most part. about half way up I found a deep pool and watched my line go tight with brookie after brookie who thought my fly looked like a tasty breakfast. Most of these colorful fish were 4-6 inches, the largest was 13. This stream was the most difficult fishing that I had ever experienced with tree limbs hovering a few feet over the water and briar patches littering the banks and ripping at my waders. The end result was well worth it with a dozen or so brook trout to hand. I now believe the fables and legends of the Arizona brook trout.

Weekend at the Rim: Part 1

May 2nd, 2010

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It was about 7:30 at around 5,000 feet of elevation when I started second guessing my decision to go fishing. All the trees were topped with a fresh coating of snow and even though the heater was cranking in my truck, the thought of having to tie on a fly in freezing weather sent a cold chill down my spine. The plan was to fish for the day and keep an eye and ear open for any sign of turkey for a friend who was coming up to hunt the next day.

I saw no sign of turkey but the crystal clear creek gave up plenty of fish. I fished from about 9 am to 4 pm and lost track of how many fish I had landed. Most of the fish that came to hand were rainbows but a few browns were in the mix. From what little I understand about this particular creek, Game and Fish stocks at a bridge a mile or two down stream. The rainbows that were nipping at my line were full of fight and color, and did not appear to be recent stocked trout.Whether stream born or holdovers, they were extremely colorful and no two were the same in their shadings and spots. The average size was around 6-8 inches with a few pushing 10-11 and every fish I landed day came on a parachute adams. I attempted several times to switch up my rig to tempt any of the bigger browns in the deep pools but had no luck.

The creek was the best I had ever seen it and I walked farther than I ever had before. At the end of my hiking, I was greeted by 25 foot falls that cascaded into a beautiful green pool. I worked my way to the top of the falls and fished farther on only to find the creek thinning out very quickly with no fish present from what I could tell. The trudge back and out of this particular creek is a real bruiser at the end of a long day, but I

made it to the truck in good time and found a decent spot to camp for the evening. As the sun went down and the fire started to warm my hands and feet, I made plans for the the following day to check out a creek that I had only heard rumors about.

Oak Creek…

April 25th, 2010

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Oak Creek looks like its old self with crystal clear water that is almost back to normal flows. Along with the beautiful weather and pristine creek conditions came gobs of campers and hikers taking advantage of this beautiful canyon. Throughout the day, I landed two fish, one a good size brown and a stocker rainbow. Mid day, I was drifting a heavy nymph through a deep chute when a large brown laid into my stonefly. After about 30 seconds, my 6x tippet snapped leaving me empty handed and more than a little frustrated. In the late afternoon, I moved a little farther north and walked quite a ways, taking the time to fish only the best looking water. Overall a beautiful day on the creek, but probably one of my last for a while. The kicker of the day came as I was fishing my favorite portion of the stream. As I was working a usually productive run, I observed a father, wife, grandmother, and a few kids working their way towards the creek from the opposite side. With literally miles of productive water in both directions, they plop down 30 yards away on the opposite bank and begin casting spinning gear into the same pool that I was fishing. Immediately, the fish I was

Someone else is already fishing this hole — Blue Heron

working darted for the depths and the cover of the rocks as lures are landing just a few feet from me. Common sense should dictate that this type of behavior is completely unacceptable and wrong. I probably should have said something, but due to the fact that I was boiling mad and probably would have said something regrettable, I bit my tongue and walked away. The actions and attitude of anglers like this, perpetuate my thoughts of looking for waters that are a little more remote and devoid of a human foot print. I love Oak Creek and its high canyon walls. It has taught me many things about fly fishing, but the rumble of the passing cars and the kids throwing rocks into the pools that I am fishing can only keep me coming back for so long.

Fly Fishing Lake Pleasant…

April 17th, 2010

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Money has been going out much faster than it has been coming in these past few months. So to save some money and wear and tear on my truck, I decided to do some hiking around Lake Pleasant. I was not disappointed. Largemouth bass were still holding close to shore for their spawn or post spawn activities. A weighted brown simi-leech was the soup of the day and my 5 weight was bent to extremes trying to play the bass pictured below to shore. Several other smaller largemouth came out to play, but I called it a day about 11. Good day overall…no snakes.

Oak Creek…

April 11th, 2010

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Wedding plans are in the works and I am looking forward to making Michelle my bride on May 29th. Saturday was her bridal shower which left me with day to myself. Leaving at 5, I was on the creek by 7:30 for the start of a slow but satisfying day. The first pool started off with a bang as a good size brown trout hooked into my simi-leech. As I played the fish closer to shore, I realized that unfortunately my net was safe and secure at home. As I reached for the trout, he gave one last effort and was successful at loosing himself from the fly. I was still in high hopes of a profitable day with a hookup in the first pool, but the day had other plans. The winds picked up making it difficult to make solid casts, and even though the water was relatively clear, the usual lies were under a foot of runoff. The stream was teaming with insect life but I was unable to make any use of it. The second half of the day was spent exploring other portions of the stream which proved to be very profitable. One particular section of the creek was an interesting science lesson. The rocks were covered with casings that were filled with the larva of an insect that I learned latter were caddis flies. I rigged my line with a variety of different nymphs and connected on a fat little brown. The day was beautiful and I saw no other fishermen which can probably be attributed to the high flows. Despite the lack of fishermen, the hiking trails were choked with day-trekkers taking advantage of the pristine weather. It will not be long until there will not be an empty parking spot the entire length of Oak Creek. Despite my slow day of fishing, the cool weather and warm sun was the perfect way to spend a day off.