There have been some notable updates on the ranch. My good pal, roommate and fellow guide, Jesse, accepted an unbelievable job in Seattle working for the company that umbrellas Sage, Rio and Redington products. He was flown to Seattle for the interview, nailed it and was called the day after returning to the ranch with the good news. Unfortunately, he will be leaving us earlier than expected in August. We rallied the other guides after stopping at the liquor store to pick up some nice whiskey and ventured to the top of our property on Goose Creek to celebrate and maybe do a little fishing in the process.
We iced Les at fifteen bridge. He wasn't pleased.
I told Les to hijack four whiskey glasses and some ice from the bar to better our whiskey drinking experience. It seems much more classy and better tasting out of a good glass with a cube or two instead of passing the bottle around and inevitably exchanging saliva from a saturated spout. After bringing in a half dozen fish from under the bridge, we built a fire and clinked our glasses in Jesse's honor and simply enjoyed each other's presence. It is amazing the direction conversations take when a flame is the centerpiece of a circle of friends. A certain truth and comfort is unearthed, reaching depths within that are rarely revealed. Whether it is jokes, pain, religion, politics, struggles or triumphs, our words are sincere, spoken within this steadfast circle of trust. Even though we are all excited for Jesse, it will be difficult to see him leave. He's a strong part of the team and a good friend to all of us. We wish him the best as he turns the page on this next chapter.
The crew.
The nice whiskey glasses lasted for about two rounds and then the inevitable passing of the bottle occurred. I figure you should always at least make the effort to start classy. Whatever follows is neither here nor there.
Another bit of news that has been lingering for quite some time is I'm headed to New Zealand in January for three months with Les and a buddy of his from North Carolina. We had been talking about this for awhile now, but finally bit the bullet and committed. We are awaiting a good deal on flights and as soon as it comes along, consider it booked. Jesse did this trip two winters ago and said it was the most unbelievable experience of his life. He has been showing us the ropes with where to go, what to see, what to bring, etc. He also has a few connections down there for us to take advantage of. The nervous excitement is overwhelming, however, I know it is the right thing to do. When else am I going to be able to have an experience like this? Never.
Last weekend, we went to a creek, which is only about a half hour from the ranch.
A great start to the trip. The joys of 9,000 feet. You should have seen the other guy.
We spent most of the day leap frogging all of the water. Between 5 guys on a small creek, you cover a lot of water very quickly. It's an absolutely gorgeous little body of water that holds a decent amount of fish in the 10-14 inch range. They were a little finicky at first, but once we switched to an ant pattern that Les tied up, we started getting into them pretty consistently. I was throwing a pretty large hopper pattern with the ant off of the back and ended up catching the fish of the day and probably the most memorable fish of the season for me. We were sitting down along this run that ran right along a huge cliff. It was pretty sexy water, but after fishing it pretty thoroughly, it didn't produce. Above the run, there was a large foam back eddy that looked about as good as it gets. The term "foam is home" comes to mind. I drifted my double dry rig through the foam eddy probably ten times before I saw a giant nose break the surface and my fly disappeared in a toilet bowl fashion. I set the hook to find a large chunk of a rainbow thrashing the surface and attempting to throw my fly. After a few impressive runs, I finally got his head up and out of the water and dragged him to hand.
It definitely wasn't the biggest fish I have caught this year, but it was one of those fish that from the time you casted your flies out there, to the eat, to bringing him to hand and finally being able to admire its beauty, sticks with you. It isn't always the largest fish that make the biggest impact. When I think back to this summer of fishing, that rainbow will be the first memory that surfaces and the first story I'll tell.
Until next time...
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