Southern Utah Browns on Hoppers

I went to bed at 3am, up at 5:30am and I was ready to go. After meeting up with Kyle and Matt, I followed them to our destination. Matt was finally able to ride shotgun since I had to work at 3:30pm (don't get too comfortable fool!). We stepped out into frigid cold and I could barely tie my knots while I shivered for warmth. I decided to go with a combo of meat and subsurface. I tied a few articulated Zoo Cougars and I was hoping to hook some nice browns on them. I also rigged a great pattern that's got the masses talking, if only they knew!
I took the first couple runs hostage hoping to break in the day with some vicious predatory strikes. I had a brownie chase and mouth my fly, but I didn't set the hook in fear I would pierce Matt's other ear (he walked behind me at the wrong time). I got back at him later in the day when I tried to "help him tail" his fish of the day, at least 18"+.
Matt ad Kyle both seemed to have the magic with the larger browns. I on the other hand was bating cleanup on brownie crumbs.


It was my turn to cast first in a small pool. On the first cast, my thingamabobber almost became a victim to assault. Before I could switch to a hopper/dropper, Kyle jumped in with his trusty Joe's Hopper. He hoked and landed a beauty. The further we waded up, the better it got. I switched to a green Stimi and caught some brownies on top. I switched to a green Dave's Hopper after some advice from the beer-man.
Time was drawing close for me to part ways and head to work, but I hated to leave. I slaughtered a stretch of prime water with risers along he whole run. When I say "slaughter" I don't mean the fish...only the water with missed takes and sloppy casts. With minutes to spare, I spotted a pool with a small tributary flowing into it. The pool was shaded with over-hanging grass and I knew this was my best chance to get a sizable fish. A few casts went unnoticed until I hooked into my fish of the day. It swallered my hopper real nice and I landed it after a great fight.


I decided this was a great point to end my day. Kyle and Matt were nice enough to walk back with me to the trucks. My chicken legs felt like noodles as I tried to navigate down stream. Kyle showed off his ballerina skills, but took a couple dips in the process. I lika the hoppas!