More Photos from FISH XXIV


The next few days of FISH XXIV brought cloudless blue skies, light breezes, warm afternoons and lots of fish. We rigged mainly hoppers and hopper/droppers, but there were a few hatches especially of tricos in the mornings.


Being watched from the shadows

Justin makes his selection

Bloody thumbs are often a good sign!

Chic Born sporting a few of the past FISH venues!



Hopper man Jeff.


Some of the streams we fished were tight with short slicks and logjams at the bends guarding deeper pools. Other streams had river rocks stairsteps piled up by the spring runoff. This creates a classic prairie trout stream theme: rocky riffle, run, pool. Here, the biggest trout were found nosing up into the shallow riffles hoping to get their first choice of tasty morsels carried downstream. If spooked, these trout immediately headed for the deepest pools. A long cast from the below at the runout into the riffle above was often necessary to avoid spooking these wary big fish. At times, it felt more like bonefishing as I made many a 60 foot cast to a nose in six inches of water. The reward for the effort was some BIG trout!


22 inches of muscle




Panorama Chalet
Our Neighbors

We also fished small creeks that slid by grassy "hopper" banks, fast little streams that raced through shaded red rock canyons and lazier streams that flowed through stands of cottonwood trees or slid by steep cutbanks.


Cole rigs up Chic







....and what a cast of characters we had!

Steve Pratt enjoys the cool morning air

Deeni Taylor looking good

Chic ready to go!




Mike Turner and Brett line it up

Next: Photos from the Bighorn