I decided to hit the river the other day. The air temperature was hot at 101 degrees F. Getting in the water was nice; it helped me cool off.
The river was down to 79 cfs but the current was still very strong. I was wading in places up to my waist, and with the current I had some fun trying to stay on my feet!
I measured the water temperature to be 66 degrees F. This temperature caused the fish to be a little off, but I still took four species: rainbow, mountain whitefish, brown and cutthroat. This river doesn't have brookies in it so I'm counting this as a modified rocky mountain grand slam.
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| Rainbow |
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| Mountain Whitefish #1 |
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| Brown |
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| Mountain Whitefish #2 |
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| Cutthroat |
The whitefish were big. Both came in at over 16 inches and the largest was likely almost 18 inches. They don't fight as aggressively as a trout, but with their size and weight they are still a challenge in high gradient streams like this one. When hooked they dive to the bottom, swimming aggressively against the current. It's sort of like hooking a heavy swimming log!
To control the fish I had to use my power rods. I started with a
Shimano LLS36NX but switched over to a
Daiwa LT36SF when the current got faster. Both of these rods are excellent. They can easily control fish in fast, heavy currents when other rods would feel over whelmed.
Anyway, I enjoyed being in the water, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Here is a video of some of the fish:
Very nice video Tom? What are those whitefish? They look like cyprinids.
ReplyDeleteHi Christophe. Mountain Whitefish do have a body shape that resembles cyprinids, but they are in fact a member of the Salmonidae family. They are cousins to trout and are native wild fish of the streams in the rocky mountains. They prefer cold, unpolluted waters, and are considered a bellwether species for water quality.
DeleteIn a hot day like that i thought would have a chance to see your skin into a swim suit! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI could have done -- it was so hot! I sunburn quickly, so no go.
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