Hunting
Ending Where We Started
Feb 4th
This years waterfowl hunt flew by like a Teal through the decoys. I was only able to get out a handful of times before it was to late. This season started out awesome with a great opener at FB and finished off with a crazy goose hunt in my backyard.
Read more below
The Making of a Pheasant Tail
Nov 17th
One of the all time most successful flies in fly fishing is the Pheasant Tail nymph. It works on fooling trout all over worldwith its mayfly appearance. I personally took a liking to it early in my fly fishing days, in fact I remember the first summer I started fly fishing on a regular basis. I was sixteen and had an old 70 Chevy truck that was my vessel to places and things I always wanted to experience. With the freedom to drive I started fishing the Lower Provo River whenever I got a chance. Since I could only tie a few flies the pheasant tail became my go to fly. At the time I didn’t realize what it imitated, all I knew was that it caught fish and it made fly fishing fun. That summer alone, I probably tied over 200 pheasant tail flies to full fill my fishing craz and all those dang break offs. (2 PTs per break off) Since those days I have expanded my fly boxes, but when the situation calls for it I don’t forget my roots. I always have a few trusty PTs to pick up some picky trout.
To me the making of a pheasant tail nymph goes a lot deeper than simply tying feathers on to a hook to imitate a small mayfly. No to me its a unique experience that makes these little bugs special. The process starts ever early November as the cold weather graces us with its presence. It is the time to bag the birds that carry the tail feathers that make up the flies name. The ring neck pheasant is a majestic bird known for its beautiful colors and long tail feathers. It is the king of all upland game birds. 
A week already into the pheasant hunt I was starting to wonder if I was going to have the chance to bag a bird and rep 
the benefits. So with an open Saturday and a fresh coat of snow, I was off to try my luck. At first things started off good as I heard a rooster chuckle, but somehow the wiley birds eluded Cash and I. For the next few hours Cash I pushed through the thickest brush possible, but all we had to show for it was
soaking pants, cold hands and a wet dog. As I was about to give in, I noticed in the distance a couple pheasants walking back into the pasture where we started. I sprinted to the spot and started looking around for the birds, but again nothing. By now I was done, I couldn’t believe they had given us the slip again. So I started walking back to the truck, when I thought what the heck I’ll try this patch of tumble weeds on the way out. I walked through the weeds confident-less, as I approached the end of the patch aroyal ring neck erupted from my feet. I only had seconds, I brought my gun up, shot! Missed!!! I pumped in another shell this time aiming at the target that was flying away like a jet, it was getting out of shooting range, but I pulled the trigger…the bird dropped like a rock!!! Cash ran after the fallen bird and with a big dog smile, let me know our day and season was a success.
As I looked at those tail feathers today I couldn’t help but feel a longing for summer fishing and pheasant tail nymphs. Its funny as I am hunting pheasants I sometimes envision the fish at I will catch on the pheasant feathers I that I harvest and make into flies. It is truly the purest form fly fishing that I can get when I can harvest the features from the pheasants I bag and than get peacock from a friend who raises them to make up a completely pure fly that symbolizes the reason why we all fly fish. So to me a pheasant tail isn’t just a fly, it is a story of a bird that I bagged and a fly that I personally handcrafted to imate a mayfly nymph that will outsmart a trout that is as wild as the pheasant that roamed the pastures. So next time you tie on a pheasant tail nymph sit back and think for a second about what its story could be, because I will.
Pheasants Forever
Nov 9th
Growing up on a farm has had it rewards. How many kids do you know that can say there backyard was 500+ acres of farmland? With all that open space I was constantly occupied with with exploring and using the land to its fullest. If I wasn’t building huts along Utah Lakes shoreline or catching monster channel cats, walleye, white bass, and carp, I was chasing ducks, geese, and my favorite the mighty PHEASANT!
A Dream Come True-2009 Duck Opener
Oct 5th
For years, my good friend Brandon Carter would tell me stories and show me pictures of the amazing opening day of the Utah waterfowl season. It is something I have always dreamed about experiencing and I had put it on the top of my list. Brandon Carter is one of the greatest sportsman I know. He lives and dies spending time outdoors with friends and family and thrives over the challenge of the hunt. It is this passion that has proven to be his secret 
weapon to success. He simply has put in the time and effort to improve his odds and make success in the field a thing of constant matter. It was this reason I was ecstatic to be part of his group for the opening of the 2009 duck hunt. The hunt started a day before the legal shooting began, Carter and a couple of his other buddies wanted to claim one of the best spots in the marsh at a very popular duck resting marsh. (In fact it is the largest resting spot on the Pacific Flyway) After setting out the decoys that night, we were all set and now awaiting the blessed morning to come. As I approached the parking area that night, I was 
blown away by the excitement, craz, and culture of waterfowl hunting that I had never witnessed, in my years of hunting ducks on the Utah Lake shoreline. There were $40k dollar Air boats, hundreds of long shaft motor boats, camo as far as the eye could see, excited water dogs and a parking lot full to the brim with jacked-up trucks covered in waterfowl decals. It was the real deal when it comes to public land duck hunting. In fact as I glassed over the parking area there were as many license plates from out of state then in state. I just couldn’t get over the excitement and feeling of the hunt to come. At our camp we were living life to the highest standard when it comes to hunting. We had a group of 8 shooters, 2 young guns and Max the dog. To top it off 
we were going to be spending the night all together in the Carters 35ft motor home. As the night progressed and the hunting stories started to stretch a bite, we decided we better turn off the Duck Commander DVDs and get a few hours of sleep before 4:45am was upon us. As the alarm rang, we all were more then ready to start the day. It is always hard for me to sleep with the anticipation of any hunt or fishing trip on my mind and I know it was for the rest of our group. (Plus it was hott) So we loaded the boat with shells and guns and sent them off while the rest of the group got on their bikes and headed down the dike for a 15 min ride to our spot. The next 2 hrs was torcherous, as the daylight broke the ducks started flying by the 1000s. It was one of the coolest sights I have ever scene out in the marsh. When the glorious 8am came I wasn’t ready for what was to unfold. It was as if a war had begun in the marsh. Shots by the hundreds rang the air for the next 2hrs. The ducks must have been just as excited because they were flying high and fast. It was as exciting as one gets when it comes to fast shooting for ducks. Within the first hour most of our group had shot over 2 boxes of shells and working on their 3rd. As we settle down, our shooting got better and the ducks started to fall.
We even were lucky enough to have the chance at a high flying banded goose that Carter hit just right with his 2 shot. (It was an awesome shot!) It was an amazing experience to say the least. We ended up shooting over 30+ birds and a banded goose.
Brandon, Brian, Travis, Tyler
I fill very lucky to have been part of such a great day of waterfowl hunting, as well as sharing this experience with my new friends (Bobs (Both), Bryan, Tyer, Shawn and the rest of the crew) I can’t wait for next years opener!!!
Birthday Weekend
Oct 28th
Fox Hunting with Carter and friend…With are bad shooting, we let the wilie fox go!
So this past weekend was pretty much perfect! The weather was unreal for this time of year and the fishing lets just say fast. What more can you ask for when it is your favorite weekend of the year. So it started out on Friday morning up on the Middle Provo. I was fishing with Mallary and Gunner in hopes of a pre-spawn or some little BWO’s. As the morning temps rose from 17 degrees so did the fishing. By 10:30am we had our first hook up! I was in a battle against a nice 22 inch Brown that had taken my little #22 WD-40. I fought the fish until it finally tired and decided to come to shore. But just as you know it he didn’t want to stick around for a pic and spit the tiny hook as I was trying to pick him up, Oh well! He was a nice dark colored, hooked jaw male that would have made a sick pic, but like I said before, oh well. (I’m still a little mad) The rest of the day was taken over by the emergence of BWO’s that were captivating the fish all over in our hole that we were fishing. There must have been over 100 fish working the whole pool in front of us. Mallary managed to hook and quick release a little brown before she had to jet at 11:30am. Gunner and I stayed for another hour and had a blast hooking/missing a handful of average sized browns. 
It was awesome to see so many fish and know exactly what to use. I wish we could of stayed longer, but work was calling and I had to make an appearance. 
Saturday was a little bit of a different story I still woke up at 6:30am, but it was for a late season Mt Bike trip up Payson Canyon. 
We rode hard and had a great time tackling the steep trails of Blackhawk, Bennies Creek, Shram, Pipeline and what ever other trails we connected to to reach the bottom. 
In all we rode close to 25 miles worth of trails before Noon. (Two shuttles) When I got home Liz told new I shouldn’t waste such a perfect Saturday watching the BYU game, so with that incentive I was packing my fishing gear and heading up Provo Canyon in search for some more technical BWO fishing. 
I reached the Lower Provo about 2 pm and from up above I spotted a few little rises. (I fished from the big lot to the beef jerky eddy) That afternoon the fish never committed to the bugs like they did on the Middle. However the few that I saw rising I could zero in on and get a take 90% of the time. 
I ended up having a 20 fish afternoon that day on either fish I would spot rising or by simply fishing the riffles with my dry and dropper set up. I caught 95% of my fish on a #22 tung WD-40. 
I nymphed for about 20 mins before I left and hooked up twice with nice healthy Browns that were pretty much twins at 17 inches. 
It was a great afternoon to be on the Lower Provo. I only saw a few fishermen and it seemed more like a weekday. The only thing I could of done away with was the hard wind that blew all afternoon. But with 65* weather on the 25th of October, I can’t complain.
In past years it has always been eat at the Hub Cafe then hit Strawberry. This year I decide to try my luck at the X. I knew that this would be a gamble, but I wanted the challenge and a chance at a huge fish. And you know what that is just what I got! We didn’t get to the X until around 10 am, but It was fine because with the bright, windless day I couldn’t get anything to commit. Unlit the wind picked up around 12pm. I finally started getting a few good hits with my streamers and Chronomids. Then I hooked up good with a monster that ran and never looked back. I finally decided to switch to a deep AP Emerger and Gray Scud set up and on the second cast as I was dragging the bottom at 14 ft, I felt some resistance on my retrieve. I thought moss, but then it moved to the right and I instantly set the hook and had a big fish on! I was only using 6x tippet, so I gently fought the fish until it made my forearm burn and to my amazement after 4 very hard runs I finally coached the 24 1/2 inch Tiger trout to my net. I estimated its weight between 5-6 pounds. (Freaking fatty) 
After that fish nothing else matter. I had accomplished the what I set out to do and I was as happy as a birthday boy could be. Its funny to think that I was satisfied with only one netted fish, but at the X one fish landed on this technical lake makes up for 100 fish landed any where else in the state. Plus they are hogs and the hardest fighters!