The end of one season and the beginning of another...

A few fish from the last couple trips of 2012. Looking forward to many more amazing trips already planned for 2013!

The first trip of 2013 was with Sam below the lake I fished last before winter hit. It started out slow but after a few fishy spots that went unrewarded, we discovered the combination and had a great day catching small bows and browns on a 50/50 split of surface and subsurface patterns. I was surprised at how many fish went for the Stoned-hopper...and in February! That pattern has performed time and time again. I fished a copper john for the first time in ages and it worked well for me.

Sam got into tying recently. This is his first fish on a fly he tied...

This little brownie had some freak-spot on it's mouth...a fungus maybe?

Sam caught a brown that looked like it had a close encounter with a bird...

Fall Canyon Fishing

 Sam wanted to learn to better fish sub-surface so I took him to one of my favorite streams to fish in the fall. I love this canyon and it often loves me back. We started the day fishing double nymph rigs through the deep holes dotted along this canyon stream. Later in the day we tried a section of stream I'd failed to try before. There was a lot of frog-water in the beginning, but we soon reached some faster water. A hare's ear below a stone-hopper was the ticket.

This little run rewarded me with three fish in three casts.

Willow Creek

Willow creek has always held a special place in my heart. In fact I contribute it to changing my paradigm about fly fishing from the casual fly-angler to the obsessed. I can't count the number of times I've fished this small valley stream, but each time has been unique and rewarding.