Dad and I took advantage of the weather today, and decided to try the Elk River with our 2 and 3 wt rods. It has been almost a year since we last fished it, and with rifle season opening today, we thought the crowds would be much thinner than other Saturdays.
this guy got trapped when the water fell out, so we had to help him out
Fishing started out very slow at the dam, and the rest of the anglers were not doing well either. After trying our usual patters, we decided to head downstream, and I gave the deeper water a shot. It didn’t take too long before I was dialed in with a wooly bugger. after a few different presentations, we finally found the fish.
A typical Elk River rainbow
Dad and I spent the next couple of hours catching fish steadily, not one after the other, but enough to keep us busy. At about 1pm, the fishing slowed a little, and it was time for lunch. What a perfect day to break out the folding chairs and prop our feet up on the cooler.
After lunch, we headed over to Farris Creek Bridge, and caught a few on soft hackles and pheasant tails in and below the run, but the catching did not last long over there. We headed home after about an hour and a half at Farris Creek, leaving with yet another beautiful day on the water with dad in the books.
Flies:Wooly buggers (dead drift), pheasant tails, and soft hackles
-Our next trip to the Elk will be a river cleanup, we will post the date and could use some help out there! It seems that some folks have mistaken Farris Creek for a landfill!
Good luck,
-Braton
