Rams On A Cliff

 Ran into this guy and his women. He was the only male with the group so this must be the top dog.

 Hoke's first time fly fishing and he caught on pretty quick.

 The first one got away but Dalt made sure he netted this guy. We were teasing Hoke on his fish holding skills. He will get it next time.

 Sunset as we made our way to Dutch John.

 Selfie at the truck

 Came around a corner and these two were hanging out.

 I had to pinch myself when I got this shot. One of the best shots I have ever taken! If I do say myself...

 

Floated the A and B sections.

 One more of the rams on a cliff.

Had a rough time on the Green. It was a full moon the night before and fish were few and far between. Who cares though when you get to drift those stretches...

Thanks,

Chris Giles

Long Day Trip

McGuin, Danny J and I were lucky enough to get out for some wading and the weather was just right. Still cold enough to freeze the guides but the sun hit the spot. We had a great time and caught lots of fish.  I was basking in the silence. Minus the moving water, birds and the occasional joke it was perfectly silent. I could still hear the kids voices in my mind but they eventually subsided. I want to go back. Am I a bad Dad??

Picture of a picture. Danny got this guy after site casting to him. Sweet!

McGuin with a biggie. Must be two species of rainbows in here... This one has lots of small dots and is silverish in color. No cut on the throat though indicating a cut bow. Below the rainbow has larger black dots with a red band and red cheeks. Anybody have any insight?

21" on this buck

21" looks like 14" in my hands. But I swear it was...

Chunky. I caught a rainbow, cut bow, colorado cutty, snake river cutty, whitie but I never got a brown.  The potential to catch seven species in a day exists. Pretty amazing.

Check this guy out!!! red band and red cheeks.

 McGuin gearing up and Danny J rocks a pissah. We passed ribs around the car for lunch in between spots. We moved around a bunch.

 Snake River Cutty. Check out his ripped fin.

 One more of Danny's monster.

Selfie time.

Thanks,

Chris Giles

Trout Camp

Sometimes you just need to fish and get out of the noise. I set out on Saturday morning and arrived at the river in great energy. As I drove up I saw small herds of antelope and mule deer dotted on the horizons. I saw bald eagles and golden eagles, bunny rabbits, hawks, magpies, mice, squirrels,  and coyotes. Swans, ducks, herds of honking geese flying over head two hours after dark, rainbows, whitties, cutty's and browns...

I fished deliberately for 7 hours which was so good. I got to focus in on trout as thoughts of work melted away. My thoughts did wander though as I thought of the first time I came here on a tip from my father in law Randy and a picture of a 24" rainbow! Dalt and I made that first trip and did our best to find the big ones. I also stood at the boat ramp where we christened Darby earlier that year with Ash and the kids. It's become a special spot for sure.

 I caught lots of fish. The browns were in full bloom. I fished hard and drove down a mile or so from camp. Ate smoked gouda and crackers on the drive down. Fished a run for 3-4 hours and caught some very memorable fish.

 Quitting time due to cold hands. Changed the clothes up to deep freeze mode and an old buddy J.W. Hackett pulled up in camp as I was getting the place organized. He and his buddy had floated that day in his drift boat. They were headed home that evening but it was so great to shoot the shit and catch up. We vowed to line up some floats next season and I am looking forward to those floats. 

 Trout Camp

 Spent sometime hanging out at the river that evening watching the birds and then Danny J and Adams rolled into camp!

 The next day we bounced around and Danny showed us some sweet spots..

 Caught this big rainbow.

 Adams was feeling it and got this nice bow.

Danny J wrangled this beauty of a cutty.

All smiles...

Jeffery with a slab.

Jeffery with a big kiss for this old gal.

Caught this 23" hen when I was fishing alone on Saturday which is an all time fish for me. Had to walk up stream to another guy to get my picture taken. pretty amazing and satisfying. Can't wait to get back out there!

Thanks,

Chris Giles

Hebgen

Spirits were high...The first day we went to float Box Canyon but the river was flowing at 250 cfs! Not going to try that. So we went and waded a favorite spot but had bad luck with no fish brought to hand.

Lava rock lines the bottom of this freestone. 

Had a moment at this spot. Took a swim in the crystal clear water. Could feel summer fleeting as I dried in the sun. Sat and gave life a good think. Mean while Dalt worked his way up stream.

Later that day we launched Darby with all of us. Pemi, Fletch, Morg, Dalt and I. Above Dalt fights a famous Hebgen brown.

Pemi's cabin

Ready for anything.

Darby rests after a Hebgen afternoon float.

Big browns with some unreal spots.

The whole crew. We were way over the weight limit but we had to give it a try. She still floated just fine..

Cooking breakfast as a group.

Saturday we floated the Madison from Lyon's Bridge to Palisades.  Fletcher fished off the back with a streamer and Dalt was up front.

Dalt with his first Madison rainbow. He caught 15 or so and the fishing was awesome.

Took this shot at the Palisades boat ramp while Fletcher hitch hiked to grab our rig at Lyon's. When he got back he told us he got a ride with some other drifters and one of them was the Governor of Montana. Never know who you will run into on the Maddy...

Dalt and Fletch turned into cable guys and re-installed the satellite dish that had been taken down for the year. Had to watch the Utes... They won!

Found this classic corduroy hat in Pemi's cabin and wore around one night.

 

View from Pemi's dock is pretty.... Good

Thanks,

Chris Giles