Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Fly Fishing Flaming Gorge



Fly Fishing Flaming Gorge
Photo Nice Kokanee taken on a fly.  Kokanee
Salmon are found in large numbers throughout
the reservoir.                                                                                                                                 
I love fly fishing, in fact I love all types of fishing, but fly fishing is very near and dear to my heart.  Recently I had the opportunity to return to the lake known as Flaming Gorge and took the opportunity to spend time with Captain Monty Thurgood of http://www.montysfishing.com/.  Captain Monty is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed Captain & his Thunder Jet boat is U.S. Coast Guard inspected.  Captain Monty runs a tight ship and offers his 30 "+" years of fishing experience to all guests no matter how little or how much they know about catching fish on Flaming Gorge.
Fish The Streams That Feed Into Flaming Gorge Reservoir 
Photo Kokanee swimming in creek bottom
Fishing The Canyons, Creeks & Streams that flow into Flaming Gorge is a real treat.  Monty's fishing works in conjunction with the Lucerne Valley Marina in Manila Utah & Ashley National Forest.  With Captain Monty at the helm we headed out in the early morning hours looking for a quiet stream or creek that was not flowing too heavy from the Spring runoff.  Today we were looking for Kokanee, Small Mouth Bass, trophy Rainbow Trout, Deep hole Brown Trout & state record size lake trout!  In other words any and all fish were fair game.  There was no disappointment this day and we were soon fishing on a small creek that is only accessible by boat, a really shallow boat that can run in only 12" of water to get over the big boulders in the mouth of the creek.  Learn more about fly fishing at Flaming Gorge Reservoir at:
http://sites.google.com/site/montysfishingflaminggorge/fly-fishing
Captain Monty lived up to his reputation as a knowledgeable licensed Captain and manuvered his jet boat next to a large boulder so we could leave the boat without getting our feet wet.  The jet boat holds next to shore for guests to easily disembark to the shore to fly fish, stretch your legs or visit a full service rest stop.
  
Floating That First Fly In Flaming Gorge Reservoir
Photo Konanee Salmon fresh from a strong fiight
After a quick stretch of my legs my partner and I were on shore and casting into a stream that no one else in the world seemed to be aware of at the moment.  It didn't take long to hook the fiirst, second, third, fourth and so on.  Rainbows and Browns were everywhere and running in the 22-26 inch range.  Not bad for a # 16 Bears Paw.  The light morning hatch of gnats and mayflieswas just what we were looking for.  Active hatch means active fish that are unmolested in this incredible canyon.  See more Kokanee photos and details at: 

http://sites.google.com/site/montysfishingflaminggorge/kokanee-salmon 

More Fishing For The State Record
I will cover more sites and fishing for record size lake trout, trophy rainbow trout that run up to 40 lb.s, huge brown trout, & fat small mouth bass. Captain Monty is a highly qualifed fishing guide and can be contacted at his web address      http://www.montysfishing.com