Rugged Stream Browns

Sunday was a day full of hiking and exploring a beautiful creek. The recent rains left the water a bit murky, but it was a great adventure.


Once I got off the main trail, the water cleared up a little bit and the fishing picked up nicely. Though I caught a lot of fish, they all required some work. Many of the pockets were situated in places that left me hopping from boulder to boulder while trying to remain undetected.


Marabou jigs in black, brown, and olive/black were the best producers, though I stayed with the brown the longest. Spinners worked for a few fish, but the ability to work the deep pools with the jigs proved to be the most effective.


Here are a ton of pics:


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Neat little overhang, just off the main trail. Unfortunately, there was a bit of litter left by some jerks. I packed that out for them.


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Plenty of smaller fish:


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This hole was a winner:


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Structure everywhere:


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Here's a bigger one that I caught from one of those hidden pockets I was talking about:


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater026.jpg


All I did was hang the jig and bounce it a couple of times next to the collection of foam.


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater027.jpg


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A few cutthroat also came my way. One was about 14", but slipped away while I was messing with the camera.


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Nice bridge:


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Awesome creek:


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater051.jpg


One little collection of foam along a steep bank looked especially ripe for the picking, to which I obliged. My jig landed where I wanted it to and I let it sink. The line bounced and as I set the hook, my rod tip was pulled into the water for a moment.


Whatever had my jig was big and didn't want to be bothered. After bulldogging me through an underwater obstacle course in that hole, it took to the air and decided to fight me into the next pool, downstream.


It didn't stay there for long either, shooting down to the next one as well. It was all I could do to keep up with it, hoping my 4lb line would hold.


Finally, I guided the bruiser into some shallow water and cornered it. What a fight!


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater052.jpg


Another look:


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater053.jpg


Gorgeous fish!


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Continuing upstream, there was more of this:


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And this:


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This hole kept me busy for awhile. It's sure to haunt my dreams with the deep shelf and that hollow spot behind the falls. Just incredible.


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That shelf went back about six feet and held a good eddy. Casting a jig in there was pretty tough, but thanks to my lunch break fishing, I get a lot of practice, hitting small spaces with jigs.


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater076.jpg


Something big struck in there, but shook off after only a couple of seconds. Never got to see it. A smaller one came in on another try.


Surprisingly, the hollow spot didn't give me anything, though it was full of water and looked perfect.


http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/...thWater082.jpg


What a stream!


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Before I knew it, I'd burned much of the daylight and needed to turn around. This was the last hole I fished before doing so.


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Several bites were missed there, but a couple of fish still made it to hand.


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Time to hike back down.


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It was a blast to get out and fish that creek again. The canyon was all mine once I broke trail and I couldn't have asked for a better day of stream fishing.


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Happy Fishing, Humans.


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thats some good fishing. :2thumbs:

Way better than my weekend @ Scofield that yielded 2 hits for me and no fish. The Boss Lady caught a nice 16" Brown out of the river below the dam, but that was all for the 2 days. Luckily 4 wheelers provided a way to pass the weekend!

Damn! :hail2thechief:

Wow, great day! Great stream! A stream that small, the color in the water might have helped you a bit with easily spooked browns.