After tying several wooly buggers, it was time to move on and start trying some dry flies. Several suggestions came down and I decided to keep it simple. The Griffiths Gnat is a extremely basic dry fly that is tied similarly to the wooly bugger. Sitting down today, I tied up 4 and by the fourth (bottom left) I felt like I actually knew what I was doing. If you look at the picture, you can see the hackle getting smaller and smaller as I realized I needed to use the smaller feathers. I enjoyed myself immensely and am looking forward to tying again soon and maybe using some of the elk hair.
Reports have drifted to my ears that the Salt River is a toxic hole that occasionally is stocked to please local Phoenix fisherman. In my opinion these rumors have always seemed a little harsh and I decided to always wait to pass judgment until I could form my own thoughts. After fishing today, I can appreciate what others have reported. The Salt River is not the finest river in the West. I was amazed by all the garbage and trash littered on the banks. People say that the River is “mobile spring break party” once the temperature heat up and the tubes hit the water, and I can see from the evidence that this is correct. I was disappointed to say the least. I saw several fish rising later in the day to a Blue Wing Olive hatch, but was unsuccessful in hooking a single fish for the few hours I was there. Not the best experience I have ever had.
The Beautiful Scenery
There were several positive things that I did appreciate about the day. Number one, I did not have to wake up at 3:30 to drive two and a half hours to fish. Number two, I did not freeze my hands off. Typically on the Rim or in Sedona at this time of year, you would have found me huddled in my truck at daylight attempting to tie a fly to tippet with frozen fingers. Number three, because the fishing was subpar, I was able to scout and look at several different areas that I could possibly fish in the future. Number four, I met a really friendly and pleasant fly fisherman on the river who was fishing with his girlfriend(?). Pete stopped by and gave me several different flies to try as well as a bag of elk hair to tie up some different flies in the future. We talked extensively about tying and he invited me to come to a Arizona Fly-casters meeting and tie with some different members. Always nice to meet good people.
New Flies
Final Analysis on the Salt River… I hate getting skunked. I’m pretty upset with the River and with all the people who leave their garbage everywhere. I was not thrilled, but due to it’s relative closeness and a feeling that I must go back and redeem myself, I will definitely fish the Salt again.
With the holidays fast approaching and the temperatures dropping rapidly, I really wanted to fish the mountain streams one more time this year and give my Frankenstein wooly bugger a good try. Like any good coach, I gave my new fly plenty of game time throughout the day, hoping that I would see him rise to the occasion and put up big numbers for me. Apparently the trout were not as impressed with my tying skills as I was and Frankenstein will have to wait for another day. I was fortunate to pull in one decent size brown and several smaller rainbows on a parachute adams. (Note: In these small streams, I have seen bigger fish lurking, but “decent” to me is anything over 12-13 inches) I did hook onto one of those lunkers later on in the day. He slammed my dry fly as if he had not eaten in a week and ran a ways up the pool. Jumping several times, he showed me his glistening white and orange belly before spitting my hook. When the scene was over, I could do nothing but stand there with my mouth open as my mangled fly floated past me. He looked to be well over 17-18 inches and would have been quite a fish to reel in and hold. The day flew by and before I knew it the sun was already dropping behind the canyon walls.
Brown Trout
From what I have read, the Mogollon Rim turns off for the winter except for the occasional warm up where some fishermen brave the snow and ice to tempt some hungry trout. There are several other streams and rivers closer to town that I would not mind checking out as the weather turns to winter. I’m looking forward to tying up my wooly buggers and learning and practicing some other flies to tie.
I have taken a step. One I hope I will not regret. After my recent visit to my foot orthotics doctor I have begun reading and pondering the pros and cons of tying my own flies. Look for Matthew Galumbeck, MD and learn more. With the possible advent of a “fly fishing club” beginning at my school, I decided it was time to begin. I settled on a DynaKing Kingfisher vice which is quite simple but durable. Gathering the other necessary tools and supplies, I decided to begin by tying just one type of fly. The “Wooly Bugger” was the first victim on the operating table/vice . Broken thread and wild fibers lead to frustration, but in the end I finalized a bug that somewhat resembled my goal. He may not be perfect, but this little Frankenstein looks alright to me like on the time my foot was broken cured me. The quality of his character will be tried tomorrow on an Arizona mountain stream.
Fly Fishing Oak CreekTemple Fork Outfitters Finesse
It becomes difficult to tie knots with 5x tippet when the temperature drops to near freezing and your fingers refuse to work. This is the dilemma that I found myself in yesterday morning. While everyone else was clocking in bright and early on a Monday morning, I was looking at an ice cold creek attempting to will my numb fingers to submit and listen to my brain. By some miracle, I was successful in tying on a small dry fly to my brand new TFO rod. After logging many hours of painting these past two weeks, I convinced my fiance and ultimately myself that I had earned a new fly fishing rig. With a few months of researching, reading reviews, and trying then retrying different rods, I settled on a Temple Fork Outfitters Finesse 3 wt. My patience and deliberation payed off yesterday with the enjoyment that I experienced on Oak Creek. I actually had a bit of a scare with my new setup. By the second or third pool I noticed that something was wrong. The rod was either not casting or the line was not shooting correctly. After careful inspection I observed that the guides of the rod were starting to ice over. This was my first experience with ice (because who expects ice in Arizona) and for the first few hours in the morning I spent a good portion of time picking ice out of the guides.
Oak Creek Brown Trout
Fishing was very slow with only two fish landed all day. I took my time and was able to spot several pods of fish before they were aware of me, but nothing that I was casting was appealing to them. I fished all day and found myself in a large still pool about the time the sun was leaving the canyon. In this large pool, trout were rising to what appeared to be caddis flies. I tied on several different flies to try and “match the hatch” but again had no luck. The size of my #16 flies seemed to be a tad larger then the flies they were feeding on, but the experience of actually seeing a hatch was very inspiring. Hunger, the cold, and a desire to see my fiance (and Budder) drove me back to the truck. Roaring off to the valley, I realize I am hopelessly addicted to fishing.
Words and pictures fail to describe the beauty of the Arizona desert at sunrise. My buddy, Travis, and I arrived while it was still dark to one of our usually productive quail spots. This year has been a difficult year for the quail coveys with a drastic lack of water, but we have been successful in bagging a few birds each time we head out. The morning started out on a bad note when, as we were gearing up and drinking the last of the coffee, a large pickup truck passed and could be heard parking just a 100 yards down the wash that we were getting ready to hunt. Apparently, “our” spot is not as hush-hush as we have hoped. So instead of hunting the wash and the adjacent hillside, we headed off at an angle that would take us away from the other hunters. The brisk 45 degrees quickly disappeared as the sun warmed the hillsides. On our way into a tangle of mesquite, saguaros, and jumping cactus, we busted a few small coveys, but most of the birds in this area were pretty keen on what we were there for and kept at least a 70 to 80 yard distance from us. No matter how hard we tried to be quiet on the crunchy desert floor, it always sounds as if you are walking on bubble-wrap. We hiked farther than usual and looked at some different country, but were unable to capitalize on the quail that were in the area. We were on the other hand successful in bringing down several doves, whose season just opened Friday.
Arizona landscape
The morning ended on a festive note as we stopped by Campbell Mercantile Store, a cornerstone of the Peoria community, and feasted on the morning’s special of biscuits and gravy while drinking copious amounts of coffee. Without a doubt, the morning was a successful way to start of my week long Thanksgiving break. The rest of the week should hold some more wanderings, perhaps into the water. Did I mention I love being a school teacher?
Several weeks have passed since I have strung up my fly rod and I have been getting restless to get outside. I seriously thought twice about my decision when my alarm went off at 4:30 a.m., but I forced myself to roll out of bed instead of hitting the snooze for an indefinite amount of time. I had heard rumors that Tonto Creek near Payson was a decent place to fish so I bit the bullet and took the mountainous drive there. My little S-10 struggled up and down those hills through low and high deserts and finally entering my destination in the ponderosa pines. I was wading by 7:30 and catching stockies on my first couple of casts. Most of the fish I caught were between 4-8 inches but a few measured at 11-12. I lost count of how many fish I caught and had a fantastic day. Most of the fish were rainbows stocked by game and fish, but there were several brown trout in the mix too. Unfortunately due to the fact that I’m a lummox and was not taking my time, I spooked several large browns into the pools ahead of me which made me feel like a fool. All of the fish I have been catching have been off of parachute adams and other dry flies. I have tried tying on small droppers to my dry flies and have only had success in getting tangled and frustrated. Everything I read is telling me to fish subsurface but I feel like I’m being successful using dries. One thing I am 100% sure of is that I need some sort of camera. The cell phone camera is not cutting it…
Since moving to Arizona, I had yet to bag a big game animal. Hunting in the open desert and hills of Arizona is much different than the well worn game trails of Pennsylvania and New York. I had been able to buy over the counter archery tags to get out on the weekends in late August and early September, but have been unsuccessful with a bow and arrow. This last weekend was the first opportunity that I had to venture out with a rifle and chase around desert mule deer.
I was accompanied by my good friends Austin and Travis. Travis and I both had a tag for a unit about an hour and a half outside of the city near the town of Yarnell. This would be my first time out with a rifle in Arizona and a first time for Travis to ever be hunting deer. Waking up early for opening morning, the sun found us hiking up a hillside to begin glassing the surrounding canyons. We jumped several different deer, of which a couple sported smaller racks, but no shots were had the first day. All three of us headed back into town for the evening to spend with our respective wives or fiance (in my case). On our way out of our hunting area, we spotted a heard of 30 deer moving through a stretch of private property which naturally raised our blood pressure more than a little.
The next morning (Saturday), we decided to hunt the same area and while we made our way silently up the hillside, one of our party spotted movement across the valley. After glassing the herd for several minutes, we confirmed that there was a small buck in the group. The first shot of the day was mine and even though we could tell the buck was not a monster, I ventured out with the mindset of “bird in hand.” I hiked about a mile around and up to keep the wind in my face. As I topped the opposite hill I could see several hunters moving adjescent from me. Fearing they would spook the herd they could not see, I moved into position quicker than was advisable. I found myself looking at a gathering of deer all attentive to my every move. I made an offhand shot at roughly 100 yards and lost sight of my buck. Austin and Travis on the other hillside watched the scene unfold and saw the male deer drop 50 yards from the shot. Excitement and adrenaline coursed through my veins as I found my fork horn deer, downed with a decent shot through the shoulder. I sat down and drank my celebratory coffee as I watched my good friends struggle through an impenatrable maze of cat claw to my position.
The day was not over. After field dressing and butchering the deer, we ran into town and put him on ice and were back in the field by 3. By 5:30 Travis too had a deer on the ground that could have been a twin of the one taken earlier in the day. Saturday was a success with a double deer day. My first Arizona mule deer, with many more to come…
