Pretty Much a Perfect Day on the Water

 Dr. Bill Young and I got a chance a few days back to get out and chase cutthroat trout. Our goal was to cover lots of water but Bill suffered an injury that made a long stomp not a great idea. Instead we hiked an hour downstream and fished a section of water that we both love. Bill brought along Copper, his golden retriever ! The river treated us well and yes the "foam fest" was still on. We did switch to hopper-dropper fly fishing with fantastic results!  Tying a size 14 flashback or pheasant tail about 2 or 3 feet below an Orange Crush (tie the tippet onto the curve of the dry fly) (golden stone imitation) yielded lots of action! When I got home, I realized how well mannered Copper was. He loved running along the water and hanging out with us.

We took the time to cover a lot of water that most walk right past. The cutthroat continue to be active.

Copper wanted to confirm that the gigantic cutthroat was indeed GONE!

Brothers Prowse on the River

It doesn't happen often! So when Larry and his brother, Ken, get out to fly fish together; they cherish the day. There is lots of laughing and story telling. Yes the fly fishing is lots of fun but two brothers getting to spend the day together away from the daily grind is special! What a fun day out on the river.

Well somebody had to climb the ridge to get this cool camera angle!

A Nice Brown Caught on the Red Deer River by Troy!

Troy tagged this big brown on the Red Deer River with a streamer a few days back! Well done Troy! Thanks for the pictures Steve!

Beautiful Big Bruiser Buttery Brawling Brown Trout

Steve Luethi sent these fabulous brown trout pictures along. Steve is a very passionate fly fisher but I think he particularly  loves to stalk browns. These images are a testament that Steve is an awesome flyfisher but he also has a fantastic eye when it comes to photographing his quarry! Stunning shots Steve. Thanks!

Cutthroat, Cows and Stoneflies

Today was just about perfect. We put our trip to the west country off a day to avoid showers (and to do yard work). It was so worth it! Spending an awesome day in the sunshine with my wife fly fishing for hungry trout was the perfect way to spend a Sunday! We did have to tangle with some feisty cows that would not get out of the way so it felt a bit like a round up at times as we headed to our destination!

We finally arrived at the section of river we wanted to fly fish. Karen quickly scrambled down the bank with Pepper, Tiki and I right behind her. We rigged up. Karen got the first cast out and the drift was short when a colourful cutthroat devoured her stonefly imitation!  Catching a fish on the first cast can be a bad omen but not today! Today was a foam fest! The cutts were looking up and more than willing to strike our imposters. Cutthroat love big blue sky days as well!

We quit at about 3:15 pm. I love the fact that cutthroat are so civil. They seem to like bankers hours. We were back home at 5:30 in the afternoon and yes we had our fill of catching colourful cutthroat trout!

Action from the Parkland Region of Manitoba

I love capturing the action of fly fishing. Each moment is unique and tells a story. Take a look at several fun moments. A few are traditional grip and grin shots but most are what leads to those kinds of celebration pictures!

...enjoy!

A big brown trout rockets out of the water while Doug Pullen attempts to bring to subdue his quarry!

Dr. Bill Young hooks up along a weed line!

Taking a look at a throat sample.