Low in the mountain valley, the river slowly winds its way through the pass, gradually cutting its own trail. In this section of the river, there seemed a comical amount of cutbacks and directional changes of the water’s passage. I have never seen anything of the sort. So plentiful were the curves and turns, it seemed the river was trying with all its might to avoid the downstream flow, preferring to stay in the beautiful valley forever. Gravity was of course having its way with the water and so it went, 100 meters one way, a sharp turn, then 200 meters the opposite way. Each turn allowing only the slightest progress downstream. This was of course what made this section of the river so productive for the beautiful cutthroat trout. Each bend in the river was a place to find these fish waiting to ambush any prey which carelessly drifted by.
Saturday mornings of my childhood were reserved for fishing shows. My favorite was Jose Wejebe’s Spanish Fly, which was primarily saltwater fishing. It was a religious experience for me. The far-off waters, scenic views, and most importantly, the eager fish. He was my hero.
For many years I watched as the hosts of these shows caught all manner of fish in all sorts of places. One of the clearest memories of these shows is of the winding, remote rivers favored by cutthroat trout. The camera would zoom in on a fish lying in wait just below the surface of the clear water, and the guide would describe why this area of the river was so amazing. Then, the camera would pan wide angle to show the host casting his fly upstream of the fish, the camera would immediately zoom in to the fly on the water, and catch the final moment as the hungry fish gulped the fly, and the fight between fish and angler began. I loved every part of this. On this day, I was part of it. (minus the guide, cameraman, and adoring fans of course 😉)
I had scoped out the aforementioned impossibly winding river a day before on a long drive in Wyoming along a forest service road. Armed with my camera, and a tiny fishing rod, I went to catch my trout. After a long and muddy hike, I finally arrived at the river.
Despite my many years of saltwater fishing offshore where I would catch mahi mahi, and grouper, I was not prepared for the challenge of catching these shy trout. Trolling for large pelagic fish is really nothing like the delicate bait presentation required for shy trout. It took about an hour for me to get it sorted out. I had to walk quietly to the water’s edge, gently cast my line upstream, and use a very slow retrieve until the trout became interested, and then speed up a little to trigger a strike. Once I got this technique, I was catching a fish or two at every turn. All of which were released safely to fight another day.
They are beautiful fish who fight hard when hooked. They are known as, “cut throat”, which you can see why as the gill looks like it was cut. On this day, I caught many sizes, even a couple big girls. I could have stayed until dark, because I was having so much fun. It felt like a childhood fantasy coming true. I never thought catching 16 inch fish could be so deeply rewarding. The scenery, the isolation, and the ferociousness of the fish all contributed to the great day.
For all the fishing shows I watched where it seemed impossible to see such healthy and beautiful rivers, I guess I never thought I’d be able to find one. I didn’t really imagine it was possible to be out here until I retired and “had the time.” These parts of the world can be hard to get to, but they’re only here because of an improved focus on preserving the land for the people of America to use. Remote, uninterrupted habitat allows animals to thrive, and as a result, it allows people to enjoy it. Whether you’re a fisherman, a hunter, or a wildlife photographer, we all want the same thing; more animals in the wild. I always think of this when I think of our wilderness areas. They are worth protecting.
But honestly, it wasn’t as hard as I worried it would be, and this experience really motivated me to go for the remote and difficult challenges, and to be more vocal about protecting these areas. Moral of the story, don’t wait to go do things you think are amazing, they are probably worth the effort to do now.
