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The Day's Worth
box is
manufactured by Matt's company, Cliff
Outdoors.
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Winters
can be long and harsh in Wyoming and I always look forward to the
first "creek" fishing of the year. We are blessed with lots of great
water in Wyoming. The North Platte goes right through town and
fishes well all year long.
As spring approaches it is time
to think about small water and some of my favorite fishing of the
year. I like to fish small remote streams. One of my favorites is
basically a tiny spring creek (with a healthy population of wild
brook and brown trout) that drains a large sagebrush basin in
central Wyoming.
The reason I hold this creek with
such high regard is not because of the size of the trout (14 inches
is big), it is because of the setting and the time of year I fish
it. In late April or early May, (as soon as the one particular
snowdrift is passable), you can get up into the high plains where
this creek is located. You need a 4wd to get there and at that time
of year no one else is around. Everything is in full Spring mode
(sage grouse are strutting, wild flowers are out of control, and the
big game hasn’t been bothered in months). It’s a great place.
The creek is spring fed; however,
there is a short runoff period when it nearly runs out off its banks
and is off color. By late May you can fish dry flies, but the stream
gets so low that the fishing gets tough (you spook one fish and
every other fish for 100 yards knows about it). There is about a two
week window when I like it best. Just after it peaks and starts to
clear, it is time to break out my favorite small stream rod (a 6’6"
4wt)) and tie on the only fly you need, the "western-style" Blue
Dun.
My buddy King and I have fished
this creek for years and a small muddler minnow (Herman is right,
see his "smuddler") always
produced. However, on one outing, King invited one of his friends
(Dan Wolford) along to fish with us. On that trip, I watched Dan
catch fish after fish. He would swing his fly across a riffle and
strip it slowly upstream along the foam lined undercut banks. He
just hammered the brookies. I had to find out what he was using, and
he showed me what he called a "western-style" blue dun. He told me
he had learned about the pattern in one of the books by Jack Dennis.
Jack had referred to this pattern as his dad’s favorite brook trout
fly so he tied some up. He gave me one and the pattern has become a
small stream favorite. Sure enough, brook trout like to eat it.
It is a pretty simple pattern.
However, what makes it fun to fish is that the white tips of the
squirrel tail wing make it easy to see in the water (and see the
fish eat it). Give it a try.
--Matt Cassel
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