Upper AR! Mountain biking, rainbows and a brown

**O.mykiss hunter** · 10-16-2012, 08:57 PM

You're right on about the mixed bag, it was pretty much a "right place, right time" kinda thing. We'll definitely have to meet up before the 15th, I'm hoping to squeeze in at least one more trout trip before then so I'll be sure to let you know if I do...I just gotta get rid of this salmon fever...

**dirty530** · 10-15-2012, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by DownToFish

Nice job man, gotta love that gin-clear water and those beautiful specimens of native trout. BTW, remember the post I made with my personal best brown earlier this year? You're not too far from where I caught it...

I know

Don't think that I forget that every time I pass that or that I didn't point out that hole to my buddy. Funny story, after you posted that me and a coworker fished downstream from the stretch I fished today and on the way back I told him about your fish and had to fish that hole. Bad part was I hiked down the other side which turned out to be very steep, very star thisley, and heavy blackberry coverage at the bottom. All snags and I was thinking, "Damn it DownToFish, come out here and show me what's up!"

I think that stretch of the rivers a random mix bag. Of course there's a possibility of large fish - like your pb brownie - in every pool, but it's not as heavily concentrated with larger fish than some of the other forks, in my experience. I would love to meet up if you have time before mid Nov!

**dirty530** · 10-15-2012, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by RideNfish

Awesome Dirty! Nice pics and story. When the water is clear and low I sneak up on the holes. I stay in the shade when possible and stand way back from the hold for a few cast. If no shade I stay low and even have crawled. Haha. It ABSOLUTELY makes a difference on the bite. I have had hot bites many times as I am in stealth mode only to shut off when another fisherman just walks up.

I did that plus waited a few minutes before casting. Almost like letting the dust settle

**O.mykiss hunter** · 10-15-2012, 07:12 PM

Nice job man, gotta love that gin-clear water and those beautiful specimens of native trout. BTW, remember the post I made with my personal best brown earlier this year? You're not too far from where I caught it...

**Bainter1212** · 10-15-2012, 06:54 PM

Awesome trout! Some of the best color I have seen all year. Something about low flows, and cold clear water really brings out the best in color, spotting etc. Or maybe you just have a killer camera

"One Fish" Bainter

**RideNfish** · 10-15-2012, 06:46 PM

Awesome Dirty! Nice pics and story. When the water is clear and low I sneak up on the holes. I stay in the shade when possible and stand way back from the hold for a few cast. If no shade I stay low and even have crawled. Haha. It ABSOLUTELY makes a difference on the bite. I have had hot bites many times as I am in stealth mode only to shut off when another fisherman just walks up.

**salmonid** · 10-15-2012, 06:30 PM

Nice trout dirty! Love the colors on those nates!!

**dirty530** · 10-15-2012, 06:07 PM

Had a beautiful day of fishing on the AR! A little chilli in the morning, but things warmed up quick. I rode my mountain bike for a few miles along the upper AR, chained my bike to a tree and hiked down to the river. On my first cast I missed a goood hit! Second cast ended with a nice rainbow. Fished the tail end of the same pool and caught a nice fighting brown. Walked up and down the river for a total of 14 fish, with a lot of misses! Tried woolybuggers (for quite a while), a sinking jerk bait, and a kastmaster to no avail; nightcrawlers were the ticket though the fish were relatively scarce. They seemed to spook easier than the fish I fish for, though the water here was a lot clearer and lower. If you like to fly fish, THIS IS THE SPOT! They were hitting surface flies LEFT AND RIGHT! I will fly fish here next year when I get a fly rod! Wide open river to wade in and long pools for long casts.

Excellent day of fishing with few snags, and I only saw four people! Fishing on weekdays is the best! All fish were perfectly hooked in the lip! Perfect C & R all day!

Now for the good stuff

Long stretches of pools

Crystal clear water

First catch of the day

Brownie!

Lanky trout

Best fighter of the day! Beautiful specimen!

Nothing better than a day of gorgeous scenery and wild trout!