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The Fly Fishing Frenzy 2009
May 26th
This years Fly Fishing Frenzy has been one of the best trips of my life. It met all of my hopes and goals and fulfilled some I didn’t think possible.
Since these past 6 days have been filled with so many experiences and stories it is hard to combine them into one without missing something. So I think the best way to capture the memories is to break up the Frenzy 09 into a 4 chapter story.
Chapter 1: Big Hoss’s Day Journal
Hoss gave a great summary of this years frenzy on a daily basis as the events happened. Each night after fishing for 10-12 hrs Hoss would post each days events and feelings on the frenzy site. It is a nice way to look back at what happened and how the attitude was at the moment as a tired fishermen tried his best to share the excitement to the world.
Click here to see Hoss’s Posts: www.flyfishingfrenzy.com
Stay Tuned For The Rest of the Story
Chapter 2: The Frenzy Went Big in 09…Best BIG Fish Stories
Chapter 3: It About the Little Things…Things that are small, but mean a lot to the Frenzy
Chapter 4: The Whole Truth…The Complete Write UP of Frenzy 09
Appendix: What, Its Over? Lets start planning next years
The Wife, The Green and The Rainbows
May 11th
I go fishing a lot. Most of the time I fish I’m solo. Its usually easier and it gives me a chance to practice my own skills instead helping develop others all the time. And just maybe my long hours in the coldest crappiest conditions don’t excite too many people either. There are times when I am the luckiest man in the world and my beautiful wife joins me for a day on the river. (That gives me an idea about my next blog rant, Fishing with Girls, Wives, etc…) In this particular case Liz and I made a deal. If I worked out and ate healthy with her all week, she would come fishing with me on Sat. I didn’t even second guess myself. That Monday I was already planning on hitting the Green or the Berry if the ice was still around for the weekend. As the weekend grew near the Green was looking hard to beat. So on Sat morning we packed up the Jeep and headed northeast in search of hopefully some BWOs, Midges and most importantly some good quality time together. There is something special about going on trips with Liz, the lunches are always 100 times better, plus she makes the experience fun and alive. (She is that kind of person) As we got to the river around 10am I was shocked to see a half full parking lot, I guess the economy is even affecting some peoples time on the water. Today’s fishing trip was going to be a simple easy going outing, but as we started our float I notice a couple fish rising across the stream. Better go see what going on I though, as I finally got over to the opposite side of the river I notice fish scattering everywhere. I said in an excited voice “Liz check out how many fish there are in this run” I think she was shocked to see so many fish in such a small area.
It was this Big!
We could have stayed in that area and caught fish all day, but with two hours of non-stop fish we decided to move in search of other fish and a new scenery.
The rest of the float was was as I had planned, simple, easy going with a fish or two in each area I decided to get out and fish. I was hoping for a good hatch, but with the constant breeze and bright sun it just didn’t happen, until the sun went down and we were just about off the river. Oh well, next time I’ll stay out past dark and just kill them, but this time it wasn’t about the fishing it was about spending time with my real true love, Liz.
Ice Off Is On
May 11th
Knowing that “ice off’ doesn’t stay around for long I made it a priority to get up and fish the berry as much as possible. Within 3 days the ice had peeled back 30 yards making it harder to fish from the shore. Knowing that I would have to fish blind, I decided to change that. I hiked up the side hill until I had a good look at the water below. Within seconds I spotted two very large cutthroats cruising the shore line. I sunk down the hill and with perfect conditions. (A little breeze picked up and put a riffle on the water covering my shadow casts) I stripped in and as my bugger approached the shore, I saw a big silver flash and a large cutthroat had rolled on my fly feet from the shore. I set the hook and with two head shakes the hook was loose. WOW, I though, that was sick! In hopes that the second fish was still there I casted out again. Strip, tick, hook set and a miss. One last desperation cast I thought, count to 5, strip, pressure, hook set, fish on! This fish was nice, it rolled, shook its head and tried about everything it could to brake me off. After the tug a war the beautiful 24 inch Cutthroat can to hand. After the sun went behind the mountainside my spot fishing came to an end. the remainder of the night was given to slot cutties and watching the amazing sunset finish its day with a masterpiece.
I Spey Strawberry
May 9th
I woke up Sat morning to the sound of rain beating against my window. The first thing that popped into my head was BWOs. So I got up and mentally planned out my day as I got my warm clothes put together. I couldn’t help wish I was on my way to the green, but the extra sleep and The Middle would fit the mold just fine. After a trip to The King and Sportsman’s for a new rain jacket, I was on my way. The drive up Provo canyon wasn’t very promising. The LP was running high and cloudy, giving me second guesses on my choice of location. As I approached the Charleston turn off I couldn’t do it, I had talked myself into making the extra drive just to see if there was any open water at Strawberry. (I also thought if there wasn’t, I would still be able to make it back in time for the bwo hatch) The drive to Strawberry was wet and that turned into snow and ice. I watched as my gauge turned from 47* to 22* in the matter of 10 miles. When I finally reached my destination, I was stoked to see the gamble paid off big time. I had hit “Ice Off” just right! As I was getting ready, I was greeted by another fishermen that was cursing the crappy conditions and was leaving because of the thick slush that covered any open water. “You can’t get your flies through it” he said at least 10 times to me. “Good luck, you’ll need it” he said. I took that as a challenge and was on my way to the limited open water. He was right the slush was thick, due to the snow that was falling, but it was totally fishable with the right set up. For me the right set up was a 9 ft leader (with a couple weights placed 2 ft apart) with heavily weighted Sex Dungeon. The fly would brake through the slush and the fine tippet would cut through the slush allowing it to stay below and not get pulled to the surface where the fly line was. Within a couple cast, I felt some pressure and thought crap, a snag! As I pulled the line tight, it moved and then took off like a bullet under the safety of the ice. I yelled out in hopes that the negative fishermen could here me on his way back home. It was done! I had met the challenge with a beautiful 23-24 inch Cutthroat. After warming up, I continued to pound the ice line getting hookups and misses on a continual basis. The weather finally decided to give me some relief and with a little wind and rain the slush monster was gone and for about 45 mins the sun emerged and gave me some much needed warmth. In all it was an amazing outing. The fish were big and healthy and I was virtually alone all day. So who would have thought that a BWO hatch could be so good!
Drift Boat Makeover #2 (Fly Fishing Edition)
May 7th



After Pics





The Art Fishing with Kids
May 5th
This is a subject that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is something that is so important to our sports future and the tradition of Fly Fishing. After many years of teaching fly fishing to all ages, here are my most important points to teaching kids how to fly fish and enjoy it.
#1. Its never to early to take a kid fly fishing: Kids are kids no matter what the age…Sometimes adults act more childish than 8 yr old anyway. I hear all the time “I can’t take my kid fishing until he is older “ I think that attitude is just a little selfish. There are times to fish with hardcore buddies and times to fish with your kids. For example: I am 26 and have no kids of my own, but I have helped teach many kids how to fly fish and now they have moved from the kids group into my hardcore fishing buddies at age 12-15. My little brother Gunner is living proof of that. Growing up with fly fishing siblings, Gunner was introduced to fly fishing when he was old enough to walk. He got his first fly rod at age 4 and caught his first fish that year. At age 6 he could cast, hook and land fish alone and now at age 12. He is completely self sufficient and can out fish most adults that we go with. (Don’t get me started on his little sister Addie, who is now 10) So when I hear someone doesn’t fish with their kids because they are too young, I just shake my head, knowing what they are missing out on.

#7. Make sure to be prepared. Have warm clothes, food and water at hand.
#8. Pick a good day and location: Don’t fish the Provo River with a rookie. Choose a river or lake that you know holds a lot of hungry fish that are easy to catch. I like high country lakes and streams (lots of brookies) and community ponds. Also make sure you go on a nice day. Fishing in comfortable weather is lot easier than sub zero weather. Plus it’s a lot more fun for kids.

#9. Bring a friend along. Kids show off to their friends, which in reality teaches them to be better. Plus sometimes it makes it fun for them to stop fishing and just hangout with someone else. Remember its about having fun, not just fishing.
#10. Don’t over teach: teach them when they want and are ready to learn. The best time is when they ask for your help.

#11. Be Positive: Give lots of complements, kids always perform better under a positive teacher.
#12. Teach Through Stories: Most kids relate to stories better than lectures. Stories give kids a chance to visualize the situation before it is done. Plus kids will really pay attention when a story is being told.
#13. Get treats or food after (before) the day. (Build a tradition-ex: During the summer we always get a Slurpee after a day on the provo)


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