Author: TB

Battenkill, Guide Talk

Battenkill Browns

By TB

The Battenkill River in Vermont is one of those “historic” places to fish.  You have a great, wild brown trout fishery located in one of the most beautiful areas in the country.  In addition, you have a rich history of fly fishing that is chronicled in the American Museum of Fly Fishing which houses numerous exhibits sure to wet the interest of fly fishermen.  And, any visit to this area would be incomplete without a visit to the Orvis mothership location in Manchester, VT.   Want to buy first run Orvis gear and clothing… head to the Orvis flagship store.  Looking for bargains, there is the Orvis Outlet store just down main street.  Interested in how that new Helios 3 rod is made, a trip to the Orvis Rod Factory is sure to enlighten you to the intricacies of rod making and the care taken in crafting these incredible tools.  Oh, and if you want to improve your own skills, there is the Orvis Fly Fishing School right across the street from the flagship store.  It that weren’t enough, right next to the flagship store is a large field and trout pond with giant rainbows waiting for students to ply their skills, catch and release these behemoths.

But we were here to fish the Battenkill, so we embarked on a day with Orvis-endorsed guide, Ray Berumen, the owner and head guide of Taconic Guide Service in Manchester Center, VT.  Ray prepared us for a “challenging” day on the river citing the fact that in a couple of previous days, clients had not landed fish.  Undaunted, we literally dropped into the river from a high bank, crossed over to the other side and headed upstream to a riffle/run/pool section.

As I headed upstream of Ray and Barb, I was alone in this beautiful river, searching for deep, slow runs where an unsuspecting brown trout might feed.  I was lucky and hooked into a 10″ brownie on a small nymph and got him to hand (I wasn’t carrying a net and Ray was really too far downstream to call).  After I released the gorgeous fish back into the Battenkill, I continued to fish the run with no luck.  After about 45 minutes, I headed back downstream where Barb had been working her run/pool section.  She was throwing dry flies at a few rising fish.  She’d not hooked anything yet so Ray took me downstream.  As soon as we got to a spot I was going to fish, we heard Barb “Fish On!”…. and it began.  The rest of our time on the Battenkill, Barb was the “hot stick” for sure.  She landed 5 brown trout over 16″, the largest right at 18″.  It seemed like every time I looked up, Barb’s rod was bent into that taco shape with a big, wild trout tugging and pulling on her line.  Very cool.

At the end of our time on the Battenkill, Ray told us of a spot we should do our “Guide Talk” with him.  We stopped at a covered bridge, but not just any bridge, the one Norman Rockwell painted in several of his iconic works.   We set up our camera and had a great time shooting Ray’s guide talk which we know you’ll enjoy.

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Guide Talk, Lackawanna

Urban Oasis

By TB

Through the middle of coal country, right through downtown Scranton PA, flows the Lackawanna River.  As we read the section on the Lackawanna in the TU Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams, we were a bit concerned given the description of the fishery.  However, when we arrived in the area and drove to A&G Outfitters, we parked in the lot and climbed a levee to see this beautiful stream flowing right through Dickson City, a ‘burb of Scranton.   We read the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail sign at the top of the levee and were impressed with the history, and more so with the conservation efforts of two organizations, the Lackawanna River Corridor Association and the Lackawanna River Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The next day, in that same parking lot, we met our guide for the day, Adam Nidoh.  Adam and his father own and run A&G Outfitters with Adam doing the largest share of the guiding.  We got in our Crosstrek and followed Adam through downtown Dickson City, into Scranton, parking across from a pallet company warehouse.  As before, we climbed a levee and there was the Lackawanna.   We crossed the river on an old train bridge and walked on the levee downstream a bit before wading into the river.

At river level, with the levees framing both sides of the stream, tall trees swaying in the morning breeze, we were so far removed from the city, it was truly an urban oasis.  We tight line nymphed our way upstream, picking off fish at each riffle and deep hole.  Fishing inside a metropolitan area of well over 100,000 people, we caught beautiful, wild brown trout and never saw another person.  Amazing!

For our guide talk, we went back to the river, just over the levee from the A&G Outfitters parking lot.  Adam did a great job of explaining how this fishery came to be and how TU and the Lackawanna River Corridor Assoc. continues to improve the river.  Adam is President of the Lackawanna Valley TU Chapter and is passionate about protecting this urban stream.

 

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Guide Talk, Westfork Kickapoo

Driftless Kick!

By TB

Ever since we heard Jen Ripple of Dun Magazine talk at the Guadalupe TU TroutFest about the “Driftless” area of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa, we’ve been looking forward to fishing this unique landscape.  Glacial movements missed this section of the midwest leaving a beautiful area behind with numerous drainages holding small streams with trout everywhere.  Our first stop was the West Fork of the Kickapoo River near Viroqua, WI which bills itself as “trout central”.

Jen had mentioned we should stop in at the Driftless Angler in Viroqua and say “hi” to Mat and Geri, the co-owners, so we did just that on our first day in Viroqua.  Mat shared some local flies and flavor and we were off to our campground at the Westfork Sportsmans Club.

The next day, we met our guide, Pete Cozad at the shop and headed out to the river.  We didn’t head to the section of the West Fork that runs through the campground, but took a different turn and headed further upstream.  We hiked down a bit, crossed over a large metal gate and landed squarely in a field of cattle grazing.  Skirting our way around the cattle, we made our way to the stream and began fishing.

After fishing a few sections of the river, landing some really beautiful brownies, we headed back to the campground for our “Guide Talk”.  As you watch, you’ll notice Pete’s dog, Teak, patiently watching us, waiting for Pete to throw the frisbee again.  While Teak waited, we had a great conversation with Pete, talking about the fishery, his efforts to get kids involved in fly fishing and a great “one fly” tournament he holds annually.  We hope you listen in to Pete’s “guide talk” and learn more about fishing in the “Driftless”.

 

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Bois Brule, Guide Talk

Canoeing the Brule

By TB

The Bois Brule River is rich with history, having had 4 United States presidents come to fish its waters.   An outstanding article, Brule: A River of Presidents, was written about the river and its history by Judy Nugget for Lake-Link.

For our trip down the Brule, we took the “classic float” in a canoe with Carl Haensel of Namebini.  Carl has been guiding on the Brule longer than anyone and his knowledge of its history and geology made our trip so memorable.  We floated down sections of the river that resembled a small spring creek and then we’d be in a large lake before heading down a rapids section of whitewater.  The changes in the river were a part of its character and added to its mystery.  As we floated by the Cedar Island Estate, one could imagine all the titans of industry and other luminaries who’d visited here and fished these waters.  As we moved downstream of the estate, it seemed around each bend in the river, a boathouse would appear, with a rich history all its own.

Carl was an excellent guide and his “Guide Talk” revealed his passion for this fishery and area.  This is his home water and it shows in his ongoing conservation work on the river.  Carl is very active in making sure the Brule stays a top trout stream and remains as it has been for decades.

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Guide Talk, Yellowstone

Chernobyls on the Stone

By TB

The Yellowstone River is the last major undammed river in the lower 48 states.  It flows for 671 miles from just outside Yellowstone National Park until it empties into the Missouri River in North Dakota.  We’ve fished the Yellowstone numerous times both inside and outside the park.  The three sections outside the park we’ve fished are from Gardiner down to Yankee Jim Canyon, the Paradise Valley section and the section below Livingston.  All of the sections offer great fishing and while similar, offer a bit different fishing experience.

For our “official River Ramble” guide trip on the river, we fished with Jeff Pavlovich, guide and owner of Flies Only Fishing.   We actually had a connection to Jeff via our daughter Krista who had worked in Yellowstone National Park with Jeff’s wife, Chris.

We met Jeff in the Albertson’s parking lot in Livingston, not really knowing which section we were headed to fish.  It turned out a mud plug had come out of the Lamar River in the park that muddied the section below Livingston, so Jeff decided we’d head up toward Gardiner and fish the section down to Yankee Jim Canyon.

When we put in, Jeff had a yellow bodied “Chernobyl” dry fly on my line and a brown bodied one on Barb’s.  These dry flies are mainly a couple of pieces of foam tied together with a little foam topper to help you see the fly;  nothing fancy at all.  About an hour into our trip, I’d been catching fish at a ratio of about 5:1 to what Barb was catching, so, Jeff put Barb on with a yellow bodied fly and BOOM, she was catching fish, too!

We had a great stream side lunch and when we went back to fishing, Jeff tied on flies exactly as we’d started the day… Barb with a brown bodied Chernobyl and me with a yellow bodied one.  Of course, Barb started catching fish right and left with the brown Chernobyl and after she’d caught about 4 fish to my none, Jeff pulled over and tied a brown onto my line… POOF… I was catching fish too.

The funniest part of the day occurred when we’d caught so many cutty’s with our brown Chernobyls Jeff decided we needed fresh flies and tied on yellow Chernobyls.  Immediately, we stopped catching fish… so…. Jeff asked us to give him back our torn up, ragged, brown Chernobyls and he tied them back on.  BAM… we were catching fish again.  At the end of the trip, after these brown flies had caught dozens of fish, Jeff gave them to us as a memento of our trip…. especially given that he couldn’t possibly tie them onto another clients line.  However, he did make a stop at the Angler’s West fly shop to buy some new brown Chernobyls.

We had an epic day on the Yellowstone with Jeff and really enjoyed our Guide Talk with him.  We hope you do too!

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Guide Talk, Snake River, South Fork

SF Snake

By TB

We’ve spent a lot of time in the Jackson Hole area over the years, visiting Krista (daughter) and Chris (son-in-law) who worked at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park as well as at the Jackson Hole ski resort.   One of Chris and Krista’s friends who worked with them was Tim Smith.  Chris and Tim actually worked together at Snake River Angler and of course, Tim was at Chris and Krista’s wedding at the lodge.

We have fished with Tim on the Snake River before, so when we were planning our “River Ramble” trip, we called Tim to take us on a river he’d been wanting to show us for some time…. the South Fork of the Snake.  Tim guides out of the Lodge at Palisades Creek, a gorgeous fly fishing lodge property in Irwin, ID.  We headed out for the river, not really knowing what to expect.

When we arrived at the river, we were awestruck.  It was absolutely gorgeous.   Our trip involved first class fly fishing, of course, but also included incredible canyons, eagles everywhere and geologic features that were amazing, including “the air conditioner”.   We caught both Snake River and Yellowstone cutthroats, rainbows, cut bows and more.  It was an amazing day on the South Fork and our guide talk with Tim, conducted on the river in the “air conditioner” was so special.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed our day with Tim.

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Green - WY, Guide Talk

Boots on the Green

By TB

Boots Allen is a legend in guiding circles, not just in the greater Jackson Hole area but around the globe.  When we called Snake River Angler to book a guide for our trip on the Green River near Pinedale, WY, we asked for Boots and were so excited when he was available for our trip.  Boots is a third generation guide and his knowledge of not just the Green, but all of the internationally renowned rivers in the area is second to none.

We met him bright and early at Hoback Junction and headed for our put in at Warren Bridge.  We had a great day on the water with Boots and got some beautiful fish.   His “Guide Talk” is not to be missed.  Enjoy!

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Green - Flaming Gorge, Guide Talk

Flaming Green

By TB

The Green River is over 700 miles long, originating in the Wind River mountains of Wyoming.  It flows through Wyoming and Utah before joining the Colorado River for about 40 miles in Western Colorado.  There are two sections of the Green in the TU Top 100 Trout Streams book.

The Flaming Gorge section is in northeastern Utah, specifically flowing out of Flaming Gorge Dam near Dutch John, UT, is the section we floated with Ryan Dangerfield of the Flaming Gorge Resort.  We stayed at the RV park connected to the Resort so our commute to meet Ryan and head to our put in was easy.

The Green below the dam is broken up for fishing purposes into 3 sections, A, B and C.  Ryan decided we’d do a “mix”, the second half of the “A” section and the first half of the “B” section.  What this meant was that we put in at the beginning of the “A” section and then rowed downstream, not fishing, until we made the midway point of “A”.  This way, we didn’t bother those people who were fishing ONLY the “A” section.  Clear as mud?  As it turned out, we avoided both a muddy river (red creek was blown out and muddying the Green) and a downpour in “A” because of Ryan’s decision to do the “AB” option.

We caught beautiful, strong rainbows and browns on dry flies all day and enjoyed the great scenery of the Flaming Gorge area.  We also had a great interview with Ryan in a “Carpool Karaoke” kind of way on our drive out.  We hope you enjoy it!

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Cascade Creek, Lagniappe

Cascade Canyon Caper

By TB

When we booked our guide trip on the Animas River (see Animas Antics) with the good folks at Duranglers in Durango (CO), I asked them about other fishing opportunities in the area we might want to try.  We always ask the fly shops this question in case there is a “nunya” creek that is fishing hot, or a special, scenic river nearby.  In this case, the shop said “You’ve gotta ride the train up toward Silverton and get off along the way to fish one of the remote mountain streams.”  Well…. it sounded like a pretty good plan so we called the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (DSNGR) company and booked a couple of tickets.   We told them we wanted to fish one of the creeks along the way, so we needed to be dropped off.  The shop recommended Cascade Creek in Cascade Canyon so that’s what we booked.

The day arrived and we made it to the station on time to catch our 8:45 train and off we went.  The “Cascade Canyon Caper” video really tells the rest.  We hope you enjoy it!

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Animas, Guide Talk

Animas Antics

By TB

When we checked into the Duranglers fly shop in Durango (CO), we asked about our guide, the kind of boat we’d be floating and what section of the river we’d likely float. We also asked if our guide was “fun”.  We’ve discovered that we really enjoy having the “fun” guides on our trips.  Sure we love to catch fish… a lot of fish when we can… but it’s about so much more than that.

We were a bit surprised and excited when we were told our guide’s nickname was “Crazy Mike”.   “Crazy” can have so many meanings….. crazy fun…. crazy river running…. crazy insane…. etc….  The next morning, we met “Crazy Mike” Sulkosky at the shop and immediately started appreciating his brand of “crazy”.

We had a blast!  Mike navigated all the boulder fields we encountered and made it look easy, although we know it’s not.  We also caught some good fish along the way.  But most importantly, we had an incredibly fun day on the water with Mike.

We’ll definitely be back to fish with Mike again, but until then, we hope you enjoy our “Guide Talk” with this incredible, thoughtful, talented and “FUN” guide, “Crazy Mike”.

PS   You’ll also hear why he’s called “Crazy Mike”… priceless!

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