George Abernathy
There are very few experiences in life better than being out in the wilderness, off the grid, and enjoying the Zen of fly fishing and the challenge of pitting your intelligence against an animal with the brain size of a pinhead and getting your butt kicked most of the time.
In July five Sun Lakes Fly Fishing Club members converged at Flaming Gorge, Utah, and fished the Green River. David Lott and I flew from Phoenix to Salt Lake City and met up with Elaine Drakulich who flew in from Portland. From there, we rented a car and drove the remaining distance. The following day, Bob Ludwig and his son Matt drove in from Denver, Co., and joined us.
On the second day, Elaine and David floated the A section with a guide and landed several brown trout. I wet waded and had success in landing primarily rainbows with dry flies and droppers at the A section takeout, during which time, two deer opted to cross the river 200 feet above me, which turned out to be the highlight of my morning. That afternoon I waded just below the dam and got into rainbows by throwing black jigs. On the next day David and I floated the A section together, and flat-out got into landing sizable brown trout all day long in a way I wasn’t accustomed to fishing. It’s called the “drop shot” method: 12 split shots on the bottom with one fly tied about two feet above the split shots and the other fly tied 15 inches above the bottom fly. Instead of using a normal strike indicator, the guide used a small balloon (size slightly larger than a silver dollar) attached about eight feet above the top fly. I’ll just say, it was a lethal combination. In addition to having dual hook-ups several times with David, the catching lasted all day long and the following day as well. Elaine, Bob, and his son had similar success with this method as well for two days while floating with guides.
The fishing success we enjoyed at this fishery has prompted me to arrange for an annual club trip to the gorge next year. None of this would have happened without the professional guides we hired from Trout Creek Flies (troutcreekflies.com). In addition to using their guides, we also stayed in their lodging, which was conveniently located close to the river.
The Sun Lakes Fly Fishing Club’s philosophy is to bring people together who want to fly fish—no red tape, no politics, “catch and release,” just wet your lines and go hunting. Be an experienced caster or new to fly fishing, you’re welcomed to our club. For additional information, please contact me at [email protected] or 480-521-1060.