Fishing Henrys again

With rain and snow predicted at Henrys Lake, I still ran up to get a few hours in.  We thought the storm would roll in about 11, but it rolled in about 9.

I got there early and had caught eight cutts before the sun started to come over the eastern skyline.  The clouds were rolling in, but a beautiful eastern sky made catching fish a little more enjoyable.

Before the weather chased me off, I was able to fish next to some fishing friends.  Dave from Utah who is "Utah's Greatest Olympic Diver"  (another story for another time) and Garth from Burley, Idaho, helped me laugh about some old experiences.  A very enjoyable few hours. 

The cutthroats were willing as I caught a total of 14 for the morning before I headed in to protect my camera from the rain and snow.

Another wild day in Idaho.

Henrys Lake - Again

Yesterday way my fishing day of the week.  So off to Henrys Lake I went.  The moon was full and I was on the water, catching fish, before the sun came up.

Just before the sun peeked over the lake, thin clouds shrouded the full moon, making for an interesting Halloween picture.

Mid morning the geese returned to the lake after feeding in the grasslands on Henry Lake Flat south of the lake.  Flock after flock returned, singing their hearts out.  Most will migrate south before the hunting season opens for them.

Not long ago I was asked, "Why do you always fish Henrys?" 

"Why not!!!" was my reply

With cutthroats like this 22 incher and hybrids (cutthroat/rainbow cross) often pushing eight to ten pounds, it is a thrill for me.

Not long after I caught the cutt, this 19 inch female brook trout took my Light Olive Crystal fly.  What a battle.  Fishing was great as the weather was not too hot nor too cold, but the fishing was consistant all morning.

It was a holiday weekend, so many families were out just boating around.  At times they came close enough to spook the fish, but what the heck, the fish returned a short time later and readily took my fly.

Most serious fishermen on Henrys Lake fish alone or with only one other person in the boat.  Here Harry fights a cutthroat at Staley Springs just as I was leaving the Henrys.  He said it was a slow morning, but I saw him fighting a fish when I went out before dawn and saw him fighting this one - couldn't have been too bad for him!!!

As I was parking my boat, this young duck with four others came swimming by.  I watched as they would dive and come up with a mouth of veggies.  Mom kept quacking at them if they got too close to me.  I didn't mind.

It was just another enjoyable wild day in Idaho for me.

Skywatch #2 - Island Park - Henrys Lake

This morning I got up at 4:45 to go to Henrys Lake fishing.  It was partly cloudy and I figured the colors would be fantastic with the sunrise.  I got to the Buffalo River just as the east started to color up.  The deep blue sky with the sun reflecting off the thin clouds was a sight to behold.

Bob, Harry and Ed was already on the water and Bob in the far boat is landing a nice trout.  But the beautiful sunrise beckened me to take a few more pictures.

Here the sun is about to peek over the eastern mountains as verga (rain that does not hit the ground) forms a ray of light shooting up into the cloud.

Sawtelle Mountain stands black on the south side of the lake against the colored sky.

Even without being the first boat on the lake, the fishing was great with brook trout, hybrids and cutthroats coming regularly to my flies.  The best fly was the Light Olive Crystal with the Mity Mouse a close second.  This male 18 inch brook trout has already dawned his spawning colors.  The belly was as orange as the early morning sky.

On the way home I had to stop at Swan Lake near Last Chance to look for the Trumpeter swans, but they had gone elsewhere.

Another beautiful wild day in Idaho.

Beula Lake in Yellowstone

I spent most of the week working on the "Teaching American History" grant and getting ready for school. My meetings start next Monday and school starts on Wednesday. The Student Body Officers' assembly will be on Wednesday so we will spend part of Monday and Tuesday finalizing it.

With summer coming to an end a fellow teacher, Lucas, and his son, Pax, decided to join me for a hike and a fishing trip. We hiked into Beula Lake in Yellowstone Park for some native cutthroat fishing. Here Pax and Lucas carry their float tubes for two and a half miles in to the lake. I did not take a float tube, but my heavy camera was enough weight.
Here Pax, a ten-year old, catches a nice cutthroat. All fish were released.

He a cutthroat, named after the bright red stripes on the bottom jaw, comes in after being hooked by a Black Rug Yarn fly. They were willing fish as we caught between 80 and 100 in about three hours of fishing.

We weren't the only fishermen on the lake. A pair of Common Loons, a Blue heron and an osprey all tried harvesting fish.

Yours-truely releasing a nice cutthroat. I waded out on a sand bar to where it drops off in deep water. I caught six fish in my first six casts and it did not slow down much.
It was a great way to finish the summer even though I will have a lot more fishing days before winter sets in.