Three Rivers One Day

 December 5, 2023

Three tributaries in one day. First one I fished for little more than an hour before I gave up on it because it was so canopied movement was simply too troublesome. I knew there's fish in there as my buddy had fished it in the summer with great success. I fished it until the growth was so bad I simply couldn't go any further without so serious bushwhacking. The second I was curious to see how it was doing after the fires and then the winter flooding. The last time I was here it wasn't promising. All holes were covered in silt and it didn't look like a freestone. Today it looked a thousand percent better. It was low but the river is healthy. Silt for the most part is gone. There is holding water for fish. Bug life abound. Unfortunately no fish. I've been told by a friend when I was driving home that I needed to go further. I only made it half way before quitting and heading back. I wasn't going to get skunked today so I had committed to going over to the next tributary where I knew I get a fish or two. While hiking down a county employee in his truck stopped and we chatted he asked if I would a ride back down the trail. I accepted because with short days now I wanted as much time on the other water as possible. He dropped me off and I headed toward my car. While unpacking I realized I left my gopro in his truck. I race down the road to see if I could catch him. I knew I had some time as he still needed to unlock and lock the gate. I caught up with him at the gate and got my camera back. I was told about a section downstream that was fishing well. I tried to get into the area but found no easy way in so I gave up after looking at a few options. By this time it was nearing 3pm. I'd have about two hours of light or so. If I wanted to prevent the skunk I needed to get on the water soon, so I abandoned this area for another I knew held fish. I normally do not fish the next area as it easy access and trash, both in liter and human form, is excessive. But with no time to hike in I would have to fish here to save me from the skunk. I was fishing fast and probing all day. Much quicker that I normally do. I didn't want to waste time on dead water. I eventually came up to a big pool. I stood perched on the man-made boulder dam and threw a cast in. Because the boulders were unstable I looked down to see my footing when I looked back up my fly was gone. So I lifted the rod and I was on. Bent my 2wt and ran me ragged. Gave me multiple jumps and would not come to the net. Ended up at least 12 maybe 13inches. Surprisingly big for this part of the river. Managed a few more before giving up for the day. Got out of there before the sundown.