We have talked about this float for a few years and it finally came together. We took off Friday morning early and we were to the boat ramp by 10:00 am. Downing, Cutty McGuinn and myself made the trip.
Once we got to the boat ramp we drew straws to see who would go ask the only guy around for a shuttle to the take out. Cutty was our guy and he went and closed the deal. The guy (Ron) wanted to fish for another hour but he agreed to shuttle us. So McGuinn and I waded across to an island and fished while the shuttle ran it's course. Holy Shit!!! We both lost big fish and one I hooked was scary big. Left me breathless. It tore off up stream so hard and fast I didn't even have a chance. That set the tone...
Crystal clear tail water.
Floating along... The first day we floated 3-4 miles.
We stopped at a great gravel bar and I landed this guy. The other guys were up stream so I did my best getting photos. There wasn't a blemish on this fish and the spots were vibrant as you can see...
One more shot of this guy...
As you can see the next fish wasn't as clean looking but fought just as hard. These fish have some gusto...
Photo for photo.
We met a guy on the boat ramp that was solo named Ethan and he asked if one of us wanted to jump in with him. McGuinn jumped at the chance to get off the already crowded boat we were about to launch. We fished together though and pulled over at gravel bars to fish hard for the elusive giant trout.
That night we soaked up all the sun light we could and McGuinn fought a huge rainbow for a while but he got off. Several big fish got off.
Fishy water indeed... That night McGuinn and I cooked chicken fajitas with guac and all the fixings.
Saturday morning we awoke to a a complete freeze out.... Mid teens, but we all knew from the start what we were getting into. The camp ground filled up that night so we were on shuttle alert that morning. I drew the short straw this time and I wandered into another groups camp, started the small talk and before long we got in on the shuttle! Everyone in camp was on the same page and it was cool to see everyone rally and figure out the shuttle. We launched Cutty's boat and Downing drove the truck down and car pooled back with the other drifters...
More of the freeze out... Downing rustled up some damn fine breakfast burritos that morning. The hot meal really hit the spot...
Golden Eagle (above), Bald Eagles, Crows, River Otter, King Fisher, Ducks, Geese, Hawks, Seagulls, Magpies, Osprey, Owls, Deer, Antelope, Hawks, Cuttbows, Rainbows, Browns, Whitty's Kokanee Salmon (dead and alive) and one guy at camp said he landed a Lake Trout.Wow...
Caught this guy on our lunch break.. We also got yelled at by a rancher threatening to have us "all arrested for trespassing".. We were all giving him a piece of our mind under our breath but we got out of there.... What a dick because it was a small island but we didn't want to argue. So we all got ankle deep in the water, turned the tunes up and made lunch while he glared at us in dis-belief... PB & J's for lunch hit the spot.
Big Brown.
Real healthy.
Take out was bitter sweet. I stripped down and jumped in naked and then air dried. I got some good laughs from the fellas and luckily no pictures of the scene survived. Man I really do love cold water.
Last shot with some filters. Picture of a picture. Cutty has as beautiful boat. I am not far off on buying a drift boat myself. I figure it's a great way to get the family out on rivers as well as friends!
Thanks,
Chris Giles
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