Wet and rainy, yes it was, but Jeff and Jack still wanted to fish. They had a great day and here are some of the fish Jeff caught.
I will upload one and do a slideshow of a few more photos. Enjoy!
The weather is getting wetter and warmer and the river is on the rise.
Best laid plans: On May 1, Jack had a great day of fishing with John Hickman and Terry Nobles.
Yesterday, May 2, he and I were going to fish – acually scout, but if I get to go along, I get to fish! We pulled into the access and I (and a few other cars) hear Jack yell, “What the heck happened!” As, I look at the river, I see what he means. Water that was gin clear the day before is chocolate brown, muddy as heck. We had looked at the hydrographs and there was no surge in run-off. This meant that a “ditch” up-river had blown and deposited sediment, a lot of sediment, into the river. Jack has a client day today and tomorrow. He was visibly concerned. All we could hope was that somehow, it would clear. It did and Jack is fishing his clients.
In the photo below, taken at the same access early this morning, the water is clear. Maybe it isn’t gin clear, but it is very clear and fishable. We are happy campers even though I didn’t get my boat fishing in. So that is the 3 day “In, then OUT, then In” story.
It is a tough business. According to some shuttle drivers, there was a flurry of shuffling guide boats and rigs up, and up, and up river to try to find fishable water on May 2. I hope they found some.
Jack owed Casey Hackathorn on a bet – something about the Pittsburgh Steelers… The payoff was to row Casey on a stretch of his choice for a day, so he did on April 20.
I just found this photo of Casey on Jack’s boat camera. Casey is holding a northern pike. Ugly, huh? That must have been fun to reel in.
John caught fish, but the photos are all about Terry and his fish. John is in love with our Chesapeake puppy, Freda, so Jack had to take her along. She is a bit of a handful and won’t be a fixture in the boat on guide days, only as a special request.
Terry insists on sitting in the rear seat, but with Jack rowing and Terry’s skills, he doesn’t get the short end of the rod, he catches trout, always.
Right click the photo and choose “view link in new window,” it is worth the view of the elk in the trees!
Billy’s message:
Attached are photos of a recent catch, close to home, on the Arkansas River, and Walter the Wapiti; finally mounted on the wall in our living room. He was harvested from Jeff’s Dad’s ranch in western Colorado last October. Take care and God Bless…………..Billy Burk
