Fishing the Salt and Rainbows in the Sky

 

We finished the studio and in anticipation I got my fly rod out. After a short detour to the landfill we parked above Salt River and it didn’t take long for me to make my first cast. Renita had come along as my ace photographer so now if the fish would just cooperate…

I made my first cast using the standard pheasant tail with an attached prince nymph. Watching the strike indicator I flipped the belly out of the line trying to keep the drifting flies in as natural a presentation as possible. As it sometimes does, the indicator stopped and then moved sideways and I set the hook.

I was fast onto a nice fish and on my first cast! It wasn’t the largest one in the world but it didn’t matter. Soon I brought the fish in and saw that it was a nice mountain whitefish. Now some would be disappointed but not me, as I couldn’t care less what the fish was, I only cared that I was having fun.

Making several more casts, I tried to remember how George had taught me about high sticking and so I raised my rod. Wading up stream I tried hole after hole and saw lots of fish but none would take my offering. I noticed that they were taking some small terrestrials, (bugs that fall into the water). And I tried to match the hatch.

Nothing however worked and so I didn’t have any more takers. The fishing was great, even though the catching wasn’t happening. A group of people in inner tubes floated by, but it didn’t matter, I was having fun. Taking another step my wader’s right boot tore and it suddenly filled with cold water. I thought that maybe I should have bought the new waders I saw in Jackson.

Storm clouds threatened and so we headed back to the ranch and I hung up my waders to dry. The storm finally arrived and I proceeded to take a well deserved nap, only to be awoken by Renita as she had been taking beautiful images of double rainbow.

Now every day is a blessing and this day had not disappointed me. The studio is finished, I caught a fish, and Renita had captured an image of beautiful rainbow. Who could ask for more?  Clear skies.