Big Fall Browns!

 Caleb and I hit Willow Creek last month. The water was a little off color and the fish didn't seem to be looking up much. We fished through a few holes before finding a winning combination of a hopper-muddy worm dropper. Caleb must have tapped into his Fetzer-flyfishing genes because he was hitting each spot with great precision.

About 10 fish into the trip we came upon an elbow in the river with a deep undercut bank. The first cast into this spot elicited a voracious hit and subsequent hook-up. I could see the fish had some heft but had no idea it's stature. Caleb masterfully landed the Brown--largest I've witnessed in 5 years of fishing this stream--with a grin from ear to ear. I couldn't have been prouder in that moment!

Later last month...

I've been preparing to take the GRE all summer and on the eve of the test I needed to unwind. A solo trip to my favorite stream to fish in the fall was in order. It was briskly cold and cloudy; a perfect day to chuck meat. Mouse patterns were on the menu and that's what I tried to serve the trout the entire afternoon. It was slow at first and I began to doubt my game plan. I retreated to casting a streamer and began to catch some scrappy rainbows on a fast retrieve. But I realized I was catching most fish when the streamer barely skimmed below the surface of the water.  Once I tied on a smaller mouse pattern, it was game-time! And it wasn't long until a big boy peeked it's head out to play. One of the fattest, largest, and prettiest Browns in my history!