The Green On The Green

The Green River is Utah's classic blue-ribbon trout stream. I've fished it many times in my past. 

Brent Greenhalgh is a fine and firm fly-fishing friend of mine. I've fished with him many times in the past

It was a true joy to combine these two "greens" into one mega-trip.

I have fished the Green River several times before. These trips usually consist of day trips wading on Section A from the Flaming Gorge Dam downstream or from Little Hole Take-Out upstream; on rare occasions, I've also fished from a boat working our way through Section A.  I've also fished downstream from Little Hole to the Indian Crossing Take-Out on Section B. In fact, last year we did that trip in the same day, but that was with several kids making fishing from the boat chaotic to say the least. But never have I been able to fish both Section A and Section B as a dedicated and extended fishing trip with a camping session in the middle of it. 

I pitched the idea to Brent and he like it.  We would definitely need his Fly  Craft fishing vessel to make this work.  So we found a weekend with decent weather, loaded up the fly craft, and went for it. 

At the Dam Launch Point, Section A awaiting.

Fly Craft, fully loaded and bogged down.

The first day was tough spotty fishing for sure. Brent hooked up immediately on a cricket pattern. Then things went silent for a few miles These fish are both finicky and fickle.  I did have a nice hook-up on a rapid section but we had to pull it through the rapids, where it broke me off unfortunately. Really, I am surprised I didn't break my rod on that section. Then finally Brent did get a nice hook-up later on with his own streamer pattern that we were both stoked on.  This was probably the fish of the trip. It was amazing to learn that the big fish were most active on streamer takes in choppy, semi-shallow water. This was because the fish had little time to be "finicky and fickle" when their meal is moving past them quickly. It's "eat now or go hungry for winter" for those fish, in those instances.  So we learned that streamer fishing is best in choppy water situations.

All smiles after a nice 18" trout take in some choppy water. 

The most exciting event for me on Day 1 was when I took an un-wanted and un-expected dip in the frigid waters of the Green River. I was fishing off the bow. Brent was handling the oars in the stern. We were in a sort of boulder field. Then suddenly we hit a submerged pillow. This is defined as a large boulder that is barely submerged under water. Boats that are loaded up with weight are more likely to strike such submerged boulders. And strike this one we did! It literally de-cleated me and launched me straight off the Fly Craft and immersed me in about 4' deep waters of the Green. I was wet and shocked, but ultimately able to dry off and keep moving. Many things could have gone worse here: 1) hit a rock with my head, 2) break my rod, 3) break my neck or back or leg or arm, and 4) drown if the water had entered my waders faster and deeper, ultimately dragging me down.  I am so grateful that none of this happened to me!

This experience caused me to reflect on the Spiritual Rock Pillows and Spiritual Shark Fins that we hit on our journey through life when we get complacent.  We contemplated this that night at our campsite around the fire.  We learned a lot about how to read water depths while still getting the fisherman on good water. It was an honest discussion.  We committed to doing better the next day on team navigation and team fishing. 

A well-kept and well-timed camp site on Section B - Sand Camp.

A Gorgeous Morning Sunrise from Sand Camp

The next day started off with an amazing sunrise, followed by a delicious stream side breakfast.

 Then we got dialed in on some fish on the river after some trial and error. I was very grateful to have the spin rod with me. The fish were being extra fickle this day with no real luck on terrestrials, dries, or nymphs, and only a few non-committal follows on the streamer. So we tried one of the most trusty lures of all time: The Jakes Spin-A-Lure. It saved us.

We each caught a few fish on the Jakes as we worked our way down through Section B and low crowds. Best of all, neither one of us got thrown back in the river during that Section! 

After releasing one of Green's nice Browns below Red Creek Rapids.

 The entire day culminated with a brief rain shower and high winds, followed by some fast fishing action. The Jakes Spin-A-Lure really did result in many nice takes on Day 2. All in all, it was an amazing adventure with a great friend. We both learned a lot about handling the boat, reading the water, and fishing the right kind of water with the right kind of fly. 

Fishing the Flats.

The Last Cast of the Trip Resulted in the Last Trout of the Trip - Lucky Me..