Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Upper Canyon Outfitters

They're not really outfitters so much as they are a ranch that caters to fly fishers, horse riders and familys. Its one heck of a place to stay at - nice cabins, good food, awesome scenery and very nice hosts. It's very out of the way, too. If you want solitude and the peace and comfort of the range, this is the place for you.

The river you see is the upper Ruby River. It was still quite high and turbid from the melting mountain snows so we didn't fish it as we had intended. We did fish the lower Ruby, which is the river after it leaves the Ruby Lake dam, and it fished very well. Lots of good sized browns and rainbows eager to take a dry off the water surface as long as it was presented with care and accuracy. I also took quite a few fish on Serendipity's - brown, and of the original style, not that spun, clipped deer hair style so many shops tie them like these days. I'll post a pic of the pattern I used in a day or so.

On the first full day there, we headed over to the Beaverhead River. It was flowing at a good level and clear and cold. Pale Morning Duns hatched from mid-day until dark, and the fish were on them. We caught a good number of browns throughout the day, some of them quite large. All on dry flies. The trick, or the tactic that gave the best presentation, was a PMD transition dun at the end of a 6X tippet off a long leader - 12 foot or more. Great fishing under clear blue skies, low humidity, and 85+ temps. You can't beat it for the first day in paradise.

Life is good. Find the right fly pattern, and its even better.

1 comment:

Dan (aka Beaverkill) said...

Never fished the Ruby but its on my short list...You didnt miss much locally...Welcome Back!