New Website

So after months of work, and neglecting to update my blog. I now am operating out of a new and improved website http://www.guidegreenriver.com On it you will find a regularly updated blog. Fish of the Week photo blog, and a Tying blog.

See you there.

2010 Season Wrap-Up

I can't believe that we are now in early November, and this year's season on the Green is effectively over. While it is somewhat odd to realize that it's over, it is also encouraging to know that we are only a little ways away from the beginning of the fishing to come.

This years fishing was overall fantastic. With the lack of cicada's in the early season it made for more and better dry fly fishing late into the year. Never before have I seen the dry fly fish so well all the way to mid-October, and frankly it was a lot of fun. The fish responded to small brown and black ants with incredible consistency in the upper stretches. And continued to take hoppers on the lower stretches all the way until the first big storms started to happen.

July was a fantastic month filled with Caddis, Yellow-Sallies, and Hoppers. August was more of the same. And September was the beginning of the madness that carried us through to mid October.

Now all we can do is to enjoy some good winter fishing, some midges and baetis up top, and a bit of nymphing and streamers to add some spice. And bide our time until the Spring where great dry and nymph fishing will begin yet again.

It's about time....

.... for a little more consistency on new posts. My new computer is up and running and full of awesomeness. I have some good pics to put up. It's time to actually make a showing on this beast again.

The dry fly fishing has been alright, not quite reaching spectacular, but still good. The fish are looking up for ants, and some hoppers in the later day. Some good fish have been caught in the last few weeks. Here are a few of the highlights and a couple good ones from the shoot with ray ray.

Some Pics From July

So July has been an eventful month. And i haven't been on the net much lately. But I have some great photos courtesy of my buddy Ray Gadd ( http://rayjgaddphotography.wordpress.com ). Who came out and did a trip early in the month. I have to say they were incredible.

More to come.........

June Wrap Up

So here we are, almost to the end of June, and what a month it's been. The fishing has been slow at best, without anything major to get the fish looking up, we've had to work real hard for as few as 10 solid eats in a full day of dry fly fishing. But it's looking up, we just may see cicadas yet. I have been hearing buzzers (Cicada Magnifica (17 year cycle)) as high as the first half mile of the river, and been getting a few real good eats on smaller cicada patterns from Diving Board down. And it seems like it's only getting better. Let's just hope that this weather keeps up.

June is Here

So here we are in the beginning of June, and there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the weather is shifting towards beautiful. The sky has been blue and clear, and the heat is definitely on it's way. Unfortunately though we have yet to see many signs of cicada's. I think that I might have seen a couple holes on the bank from the Pupae emerging from the ground. But have yet to see any naturals on the water, or seen or heard any in the trees.

It is possible that we will be seeing them this season, as long as the ground temperatures continue to rise at a steady rate. It might not be too late. And remember that those years that we do not get cicadas, it makes for an even more impressive and productive dry fly fishing season in late August and September because the fish have been a little less educated to the imitations of varied terrestrials being thrown their way.

But even if the Cicada's don't make an appearance this year I am seeing a lot of flying ants both in the water and on the bank. And if they continue to be available to the trout for a week or so, that should be enough to get the fish looking up and more consistent terrestrial eats should be on the way. As well as the forecasts for an enormous amount of hoppers to be out and about. And with the weather getting as warm as it is, this should be sooner rather than later.

And don't forget about the annual PMD and Little Yellow Sally Stonefly hatch on the lower river in Late June and early July (which seems to be getting better every year), and the still possible emergence of the Large Cicadaea Magnifica (16 year cycle) Cicadas on the lower river in early July.

But for now, we are getting a good response (for high flows) to attractor style worm patterns being trailed by zebra midges, and small gray emerger patterns or small gray or olive scud patterns. And as the flows continue to subside, the fish should be spreading out into the river taking over some of the lower flow lies, and making them more readily available to the fishermen.

I have every belief that this season is shaping up for some good fishing and you should begin making your plans to come and visit the Green.

Spring Fishing on The Green 2010

So spring on the Green is in full swing. And typical to this time of year, the weather cannot make up it's mind. As I write this, the sky is blue, with temps in the High 50's it is gorgeous outside. Pretty impressive considering that yesterday it was blowing snow and below freezing. This years weather has been some of the overall windiest I have seen so far.

But, not to be discouraged, the fishing has been pretty darn good in spite of the weather. Multiple, highly productive days have been had. Even with the inclement weather conditions. Fishing sub surface has been stupidly easy. I have fished basically the same rig for two weeks now. A Zebra midge, and a Ju Ju Baetis sz. 18 fished below two no. 4 split shots suspended about 7 ft. from the indicator to the weight. The flies are separated from the weight and each other by about 12-15". Once I hit the lower 2 miles of river (Starting at Mother in Law Rapids) I have been shortening the rig to about 4.5 feet to the first fly from the indicator.

While the dry fly has not been as successful as I would prefer. With a little work good days can be had fishing the usual dry fly spots. And if you make it into the lower river early enough the Baetis have been coming out from Secret Riffle down. And that hatch seems to be pretty fair, just short lived.

Good Luck out there.

It's gonna be a great year.

I soon decided that my previous post was a bit hasty. I don't think that I could maintain my sanity in the real world. So I am now back in Dutch John ready to start guiding full time for the season. I cannot wait to get on the water, and spend some time with my cold blooded buddies. I look forward to seeing you out here soon.

Jonesing for the fish

It's official, my cabin fever is growing to immense levels. After a stellar January of some serious days put on the water, February was a brutal lack thereof. I can't wait to get out there and have some fishing with some midgie goodness, and maybe a little Baetis.

As soon as I can get out there I will be posting some updates.

Future Unknown.

In my time of guiding trips on the Green, I have discovered a few things about myself. I absolutely love everything about it. Being on the river daily, breathing the fresh air, seeing that beautiful canyon, and spending quality time with all the people who have been on trips with me. I have made many friends that I hope will remain friends for a very long time as a result of it.

But, I have also discovered a true passion for fish. Not just the pursuit of them, in an attempt to feel the tug on the other end, but a constant search of discovery in what makes them tick. In my past I had been a student at the University of Utah studying biology, and then philosophy. But the thing that was lacking was true passion. I had ideas of why I was there, but no pure goal to drive me to the point that I was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. So it was only natural that I leave academia and go out into the world.

My discovery of a passion for what makes fish tick has given me a new found sense of purpose. I intend on returning to school, refocusing my efforts towards biology, and hopefully progressing to pursuing an advanced degree in Marine Biology.

The unfortunate part of this whole scenario is the economics involved. Last year being a slow as it was not only slowed the development of my guiding business, but slowed the advancement of my educational goals.

At the moment, I intend on finding full time employment in the Salt Lake area, in order to have some savings so that I may be able to afford going back to school. I am saddened by the notion that I will have to sacrifice a season of living on the Green full time, and actually have to be in the real world for a little while in order to achieve this. But I feel that it is for the best.

I hope that this will only be for a single season. As the off time from school will allow me to guide full time from early May until mid to late August. And part time through the weekends in mid April through May, and mid August through early October. And if I were going to school full time, that would hopefully have me in a place of financial security that I could enjoy being on the river even more so.

So with that said, I figure it stands to reason that I do not intend on guiding full time this season. But as I have the intention of not being out there full time, I still intend on guiding clients that want to come to fish with me. I will just be doing so more on a part time basis. Taking the time off from my full time job in order to do so.

I hope to have the chance to fish with all of you that would like to come and fish the Green with me. Please contact me in person, either through email or phone, and we can get some dates figured out that will work for you.

I look forward to seeing you soon.. John

Wow, it's been a while.

I would like to apologize first for there not being a new post in a long time. I have had some technical and motivational lapses that have occurred in the last few months, yet again I will try to remedy these problems in the immediate future.

I no longer have a computer of my own to hold my photos, and have easy access to the internet. So for now I will attempt to post periodically when I have access to an internet ready computer, but this will limit my ability to post photos.

I have been a regular visitor and contributor to an online forum focused on fly fishing in the state of Utah. And on this forum I have recently witnessed a few threads focused on selection of a Guide for a trip on the Green, most of these have included recommendations by name, and a few have been asking who certain guides are that they have seen on the river that they wanted to avoid being in the same boat as. It is my hope that in this post, I might help alleviate some misconceptions about a guide day. And possibly help sell some of you not only on a trip with me, but more so to give you an idea on how you could get in the boat with one of my co-workers that will provide a better trip for you than I could.

"A better trip for you than I could", this seems at first glance to be a horrible sales pitch. I mean what salesman in his right mind would possibly steer a potential customer away from his own product, and towards that of his "competitor". First of all, let me clarify, my co-workers are in no way my competitors, even the ones who guide for other outfitters. I believe that all guides on the Green are there for the clients first. We are ambassadors of this fishery that we love, and should ideally work together to provide not only success in our boats, but in the boats of everyone on the river.

So if this is the case, how do I know whose boat I want to spend my day in? This question can only be answered by the two people who are going to be paying for the trip. Working for Trout Creek I have seen the advantage that being the largest outfitter has. It does not have anything to do with permits, or shuttle services, or lunches. It has everything to do with the variety of guide days that they are possible to provide. Having a large staff of guides, with it's inherent problems, has even more advantages. You will have many different personalities, and guiding styles to send you clients to the river with, thereby in theory providing for everyone to have the best day possible.

This is based on the knowledge that for every client, there is the ideal guide. Just as for every student there is the ideal teacher. There is no one perfect guide, even those who are considered the best guides in the business have had bad days with people that they cannot deal with on a personality level. This is typically a repercussion on differing goals in the direction of the day, ie.. A) the guide wants to catch the most fish possible, while the client wants to catch a large fish on a dry fly. Or B) the guide wants the client to learn to successfully fish a dry fly, while the client only wants to drink beer and pull as many fish to the boat as possible. In the two previous examples, the solution should be obvious, Client A should have been matched with Guide B, and Client B should have been matched with Guide A. What then is the solution to this problem, in one word communication. Hopefully these expectations will be discussed openly at the beginning of the day, and it will all flow smoothly from there. But sometimes the discussion is left on the back burner, lost in the shuffle of getting everything lined up, and meeting each other for the first time that morning.

So in the real world, how can one ensure that the match up is right, and the greatest chance for a successful (based solely on the smiles on everyone involved's faces) day. Before you book your trip, sit back and think. You have already taken the time to decide to go to the Green, or whatever river you have chosen. And have decided to take a guided float trip. So why not take a minute more to give yourself the best chance for a good time. After all the happy success of your trip could quite possibly depend on it. Take a minute to think about not only what you would like to do on the river that day, but about who you would like to spend the day with.

You will be spending an entire day with 1-2 other people in very close proximity, usually within a 15-16 ft. drift boat. One that you likely already know, and your guide and if you have never fished with him/her before they are basically a stranger. So what kind of guide do you want to spend the day with.

For every guide there is an ideal client, and for every client there is an ideal guide. So as the client what is your ideal? Do you want a quiet deliberate guide, who doesn't make much small talk, whose every word has purpose, and that purpose is to put you on the biggest fish possible? Do you want a high energy personable guide, one whose knowledge and personality make him not only a good guide but a genuinely fun person to spend the day with, and potential friend? Do you want the professor of the river, the guide who has not only devoted their life to learning to fish and guide the river they love, but to educate on the flora, fauna, and history as well? Do you want an older guide? A younger guide? A single, or married guide? A guide who grew up next to the river they love, or moved to the river and grew to love it? A guide who has a knowledge of fine wine? Or cuisine? These questions can make your day so much better if answered.

So after you have answered these questions for yourself, it is time to give the outfitter a call. Hopefully when you call you will talk to someone with a knowledge of the staff and a desire to make the right matches. And book your trip, if they don't ask you about what kind of guide you want, tell them, tell them the answers to the questions you just asked. You might feel as if you are being pushy, but in the end, it is better that you be pushy and ensure that you have a guide that will be a good fit for your trip. Because in the end, if you have a good trip you are more likely to return, and that is the goal of every outfitter and guide.

I hope that after reading this you will be inspired to book a trip. And ask these questions to ensure the success of your trip. And maybe, just maybe I will be the guide that will be the best fit for your day. If you have any questions, and even want to book a trip with one of Trout Creek's guides. Please don't hesitate to e-mail me at spartagain@gmail.com. I will gladly answer any questions you have. The answers might be short if I use my phone, but they will be prompt.

Until then, good luck, and hopefully see you soon on the Green.

John S.

September Happenings

Right after posting my last update I received a phone call from my parents that changed my focus for the rest of this last month. I am now able to go to Mexico for our family vacation, and I couldn't be happier. A full week of fishing for big game fish, both on the fly and with conventional tackle. Intermingled with surf fishing, hanging out with my brothers on the beach, and snorkeling (hopefully a little scuba) in the Sea of Cortez.

My hopes are that I will be able to have an even more enjoyable time than I am getting myself psyched to have.

After the first week of no work, I was able to pick up a few trips here and there. The dry fly fishing has been slowly fading into obscurity for the season for me. And it has caused me to have to revert to bobber watching.

For dries, small ant like bugs (mombas, triple doubles, and double uglies) seem to be working the best. With the purple triple double excelling at low light.

And nymphs, a deep gunga rig with assorted small emergers and bead head nymphs up top. And strangely enough, a deep rig with a small black wooly bugger trailed by a juju baetis seems to be working well.

Reel Recovery

On Friday afternoon, I was told of a chance of a lifetime. To share my love of fly fishing with a group of men who would appreciate, and be changed by the sport. A chance to buddy up with men who are suffering the ravages of assorted cancers on their bodies.

I went in to be a teacher of fly fishing, and it wasn't two hours into the first day when I quickly realized I was the student. I met a group of men who showed me courage, hope, humility, and gratitude in ways that are rare to see in this day and age.

Early in the day Monday, the volunteer buddies arrived. Most were seasoned veteran buddies, a couple of us were newbies. All of us were accomplished fisherman in one right or other, most just passionate lovers of the sport, and a few of us were professional guides. We had a bit of a briefing on some of the men in the group of participants as to an approximation of their health at the moment. And their previous experience fly fishing. In my immaturity I secretly hoped to get one of the more mobile and seasoned fisherman. But kharma, God, fate, or whatever it is had other plans. And as usual, the end result of God's plan is much better than what I could have ever hoped for.

My first fishing buddy was Bill, a great older guy who had valiantly fought off one cancer, only to be wracked by another. He had seen many things in his life, a few he shared with me. And had the most outstanding outlook on it all. We worked together on his cast, and some of the basics of fishing with a fly. Unfortunately we never got a fish to the net, but I quickly learned graciousness when he shook my hand and thanked me for the lessons we worked on together.

We then went in to lunch, a tasty and simple meal of cheeseburgers, but the real treat were the conversations that abounded. And the smiles solidly etched in every person at the tables faces. We sat eating, and talking excitedly of the mornings fishing and making plans for the afternoon to come. Stories were shared and laughs were had. During lunch I made plans to fish with my buddy for the afternoon's endeavors.

Since Parr, my buddy for the afternoon, was feeling a little tired and needed a nap to recharge a bit. I went with one of Reel Recovery's facilitators to a small pond that none of the participants were on to see if I could figure the fish out a little better. I thought George, the facilitator, and I would both fish but he, a cancer survivor, sat back and watched me fish. And with a little help from the fish I was able to at least appear I knew what I was doing and hook a few, and land a couple nice trout.

Then after about an hour of tooling around on the pond, I headed back to the lodge to meet up with Parr. I got in and he was still in his room resting, so I made myself comfortable and had a nice pleasant conversation with a few of the others in the group. I then was given a chance to listen to some evidence of the strength of each man in the group's character. Including an overwhelming showing of true gratitude.

Parr then woke up and we headed to the same pond I had fished earlier that afternoon. We sat on the banks of the pond him casting out and getting a few eats that we were unable to land, and listening to his stories of his life. Each story was impressive in it's own right as he was a career military man and doctor, who had travelled all over, done so much, tried so many foods, and lived life as some only dream. And now he was courageously facing the ravages of cancer with all the strength anyone could hope to have. Inside, I hoped against hope to help him into not just any fish, but THE fish. And towards the end of it all it happened. He hooked into and landed a beautiful 23-24" Kamloops strain steelhead. The fish fought hard, and Parr angled him like a seasoned fisherman. The day then drew to a close and a few of us volunteer's took off to our campsite for a little libation and fishing to close out the evening.

The next morning we arrived to find that we were a little short on volunteer buddies, so a few of us were going to buddy up with two participants. I was glad to do it, I spent the morning with Tom, and Craig. Two great guys with great stories, and great big laughs. We fished a couple different ponds, and I definitely got my morning's work out in going between them to have small little anecdotal conversations, maybe change up their flies, and to give them little hints to casting a little better, and suggesting new spots on the water to cast towards. Each man got a few eats, had a couple on, and each landed a beautiful Tiger trout. And again laughs were shared, and insights into life were given to me.

As lunchtime arrived, our fishing was done for the retreat. But we had a closing ceremony in which the participants each shared something that they gained from the retreat, and it was then that I was fully hit by the enormity of what I had been a part of. After the participants shared George walked around the circle talking to each man in a very personal and meaningful way. Hardly a dry eye remained as the one on one conversations cycled through and the Event was closed with a final cheer of the program's motto "Be well, Fish on".

As our goodbyes were shared abounding in photos, handshakes, and heartfelt hugs and thanks'. I hope against hope to see all of them some time in the future healthy and full of life. But I know no matter what, the lessons I learned, and the smiles I saw will stay with me forever. I cannot wait to be a part of this again. So until next time. "BE WELL, FISH ON"

Fun camps.

This last few weeks, I have been working a bit and playing a lot. When the sun has been out the fishing has been quite good. This year, largely due to the flows, we have been seeing days of catching a lot less fish. But the fish that we have been catching have been healthy and angry. I have had more Hot good fights in the last couple months on A than ever before.

When the sun has been high, and the clouds away. I have been having some luck fishing small ant patterns. Black with hackle seems to be the most productive. The lower river has been a lot of fun playing with different hopper patterns. When the sky has been angry, the Purple GT triple double has been best. But more productive is nymphing when the weather smacks ya.

The Walrus Doin his thing

Fire, Great to watch

Another Member of the 20" club

Comp is back. time for some pics

My computer is back up and running and in my hands.

So to kick it off, lets put up some pics long overdue.

Good little Brownie

Salmon Fly

Fishing with an audience

Breaking in the Baby Rainbow Streamer the right way

Fishing at Slough Creek in Yellowstone

Update

July has been a good month, soon after my last post I went to Montana for a week where I fished a few days on the Madison River, and then made my way into Yellowstone park for a few days as well. The fishing was fantastic, as I happened to catch the Salmonflies and Golden stone flies on the Madison. As well as some excellent gray drake and caddis fishing in Yellowstone.

After that fun and relaxing week, and expensive, I hauled booty home in order to make a guide trip for the 16th. After the 16th I worked on and off for a few days, making as much money as I can but still not quite as busy as I would hope.

I have been rowing a lot of A-B days on the few days I have worked, and they have been doing exceptionally well. Hoppers being the main source of fun on these trips.

I will be getting my computer back next week, and when it gets here I will start to update the blog a bit more often. So as always, until next time, Hopefully i'll see you out here for a good day or two. or three, of green river fishing.

Hopper madness is here again

So I have gotten off of a couple days on the river, and I have to say it's about bloody time. The hoppers are finally here again on A. We have been waiting for the dry to start hitting and I am ecstatic. What a homecoming.

A months worth of little adventures.

Well, since my laptop crapped out, and this season has been exceptionally slow. I have been fishing as much as possible as of late.

My weeks have been filled with a little guiding, and a lot of fun floats and fishing adventures on different waters as well as the green.

The weather in Dutch John, was really miserable for a while. Rainy, and blowy, hail, sleet. Just crummy. And when it was so nasty, I was really hard pressed to leave the house. But when I did, it was a lot of fun.

As June waned I picked up a few last trips for the month, and the fishing was somewhat less than spectacular. But better than it had been at the beginning of the month. But in the end, it was a lot better than working a real job.

After my last couple days of work in June I went on a little rally of traveling, partying, and a fair amount of fishing.

Immediately after wrapping up a three day two night campover trip for work, in which it was mostly work, and not much play. My good friend Ryan and I decided to do a little campover of our own. We launched at 7:30 in the evening, motoring through the top half of B, with a little fishing to keep it interesting. The Big Cicada worked well when the sun was on the water. But as soon as we hit the shade, it was all hoppers. The fishing was fairly good and a lot of fun.

We camped at Treetops camp, easily the most beautiful camp on the lower stretch of river. We ate well, relaxed next to the fire and under the stars, and fell asleep with visions of the big fish to come the next day. Unfortunately, the visions never quite hit fruition, But the fishing was still good. And the sun was a real roaster, My nose and face got burnt to a crisp. But with the fishing as good as it was, it was totally worth it.

On the 1st of July, my friend Daniel and I spent the day in SLC, having a good time, relaxing and enjoying being in the city for the day. I then made my way back up to DJ the morning of the 2nd, only to find the guide row cleanup day and subsequent party. That might easily have been one of the biggest I have ever seen up here. My evening ended soon after the arrival of my friends for a series of little adventures.

My good friends Tara, and Kris made their way to DJ for a little 4th of July Weekend fishing and fun. We spent the afternoon of the 3rd on Jones hole, where the fishing was a little less than spectacular. But Joners scenery never dissapoints. It was a beautiful day in the canyon and we had a good time. We then raced home for the fireworks and afterparty in Dutch John.

The morning of the fourth we decided to do a half day float, we floated the "A" section of the Green, with the soul purpose of providing Tara her very first fish on the fly. The learning curve was there, but the fish chose to not cooperate so much, But before the ramp (barely) we finally found success. A beautiful 15" brown. And I think she got hooked harder than the fish.

After leaving the river, the decision was made that I was going to leave DJ for the weekend and come hang out with them in SLC for the rest of the weeked, where we spent the night of the fourth lighting our own little fireworks display and just having a good time with close friends. Then we spent the 5th brewing up a batch of what will soon be a very tasty beer.

Kris and I then spent the day of the 6th fishing the Provo river, and on only my second trip to the Provo, I managed to catch a little brown, not so much but it was my first provo river fish. And I had to work pretty hard to catch that little bugger.

The posts will be few and far between, but I will try to keep some updates going.

The Green has been fishing tough on the upper section, but we have seen PMD's, Caddis, Yellow Sallies, Hoppers, Mormon Crickets, and some Cicada Magnificas (the BIG 17 year cycle cicadas) on the lower river. So it is still a good time and fish the Green.

I look forward to seeing you all out here again real soon.

Written Update

With my computer out of order, my updates have been a little slowed.

-I have some good pictures but for the time being, Have no way to post them.
-The flows are fluctuating, with upwards of 10 degrees f variance. This is not helping the fishing
-The weather is cool and wet. We should be seeing change soon.
-The fish still eat cicadas when the sun is out, and when fished right all through the river.
-Be prepared for good fishing, just not what we are used to seeing out here.
---Yes, we are spoiled here, even sl0w green river fishing is still better than a lot of other rivers.

Cicada's are back

So it's still to early to call it awesome. But we are getting some decent fishing with cicada's in the mornings. So book soon, to come and enjoy the madness.

On another note. My laptop crapped the bed day before yesterday, so my posts will be somewhat slowed.