The strike indicator pulled sideways toward the bank of the river and I set the hook. I could immediately feel the power of the fish attached to the San Juan worm as he drove across the current. Up he came, cartwheeling in the late-June air, his sides glistening in the morning sunshine.
"A beautiful cutthroat," hollered Leigh, our enthusiastic guide. "Keep the tip up and force him toward the shallow water."
With that he put muscles to the oars and slid the float boat in toward the shore. He dropped the anchor out behind the boat and it swung gently on the current. I moved to the front of the boat as I played the fish. He wanted nothing to do with us and he swung wide into the downstream rush of the spring run-off.
With only a 3X fluorocarbon 12-foot leader, I didn't want to horse this powerful fish beyond the limits of my terminal gear. I grudgingly gave him a bit of line and as my nine-foot rod bent to the task. He went to the air one more time, shaking his head as he went cascading back to the dark water from whence he had come.
Leigh hopped from the boat with his net and waded on down the rock-strewn shoreline. I put the pressure on the fish by moving the rod sideways and turning his head. He got in next to Leigh, saw his feet in the water and drove off again, his weight made even heavier by the rushing torrent. I turned his head and this 16-inch beauty slid right into the net. Lee scooped him up but not removing him from the water.
The bright red markings under his jaw and his finely spotted sides marked him as a cutthroat. It set him apart from the rainbows and browns we had been catching. There are several subspecies of these fish throughout the west. They will crossbreed with rainbows producing a fish called the cutbow.
We took a couple of pictures, removed the barbless hook from his lower jaw and slid him back into his home waters. With a flick of his tail he was off.
We were fishing a couple of miles below the Palisades Dam on the South Fork of the Snake River near Victor, Idaho. Our guide was Leigh Gardner, a young fellow in his seventh year of working for World Cast Anglers. He had picked us up that morning at the fabulous Teton Springs Lodge and Spa located right on the Wyoming border.
The resort is ideally placed just 18 miles to Jackson Hole, 26 miles to Grand Targhee and near the entrance to Yellowstone Park. It features an unbelievably manicured private 18-hole golf course available to guests with heli-skiing leaving from its grounds in the winter.
Leigh took us to the fly shop and then drove us to the river. All of the west has seen incredible rains this spring so almost all of the rivers were very high. However, because of all of this water, this usually arid part of the country was a lush green with blooming wildflowers everywhere. It would have been a great ride on the river even if we hadn't been fishing.
Mary Gayle caught the first fish of the day, a surprisingly acrobatic whitefish. But in just a short while we really started to catch trout. This fishery is noted for its big rainbows, large browns, protected cutthroats and some brook trout. The fourth fish, and what turned out to be the largest of the day, came to a tandem set of Pat's Rubberleg Stonefly over a tiny San Juan worm.
Leigh had pulled the boat toward a midstream island and pointed to the side where the current ran over a stoney bar.
"Just behind that point is a deep hole that really produces," Leigh said. "Just pick up your line enough so the dropper doesn't catch on the stones and then drop the rig into the hole."
I followed his directions and was rewarded with a thunderous strike. The 19-inch Rainbow reached for the sky and then made a big hole in the water. The rod bent and the reel sung out in pain. The line ripped out of the spool and the fight was on.
About 20 minutes later Mary Gayle hitched up strong on our only brown of the day. As is almost always the case with browns, he eschewed the airborn route and headed for the bottom.
What a fight he put up in the heavy current. He ran his jaw along the bottom trying to rid himself of the fly to no avail. Keeping her rod tip high, the bending action soon tired the fish and he came to the net.
We spent the day catching fish, competing with the bald eagles, red hawks and ospreys which seemed to be around every corner. We stopped by a waterfall for lunch and then continued down river, a new fishing hole at every turn.
Striper Tournament
The Manchester-Essex Rotary Club is hosting the first-ever Cape Ann Striper Tournament, a three-day competition from July 9 to 11. Prize money totals $2,800 with a 1st prize of $1,500. Children 14 and under are offered special prizes.
Entrance fee is $50 per angler, $200 per boat based on four anglers. Weigh stations include: Winchester's, Fin n' Feather, Al's Bait & Tackle, 1st Light Anglers and Surfland.
The Captains' & Anglers' Meeting will be held Thursday, July 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Crocker's Boat Yard. Light food and refreshments will be served. A cash bar will be available. After fishing ends Sunday, an Awards Ceremony and a Barbecue Cookout will be provided to all anglers and paid guests at the American Legion, overlooking Manchester Harbor.
