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Show Outdoor Wisdom At the end of the year I find it easy to reflect on some of the more exciting events of the past 12 months. One of them had to be the day I looked at so many fishermen on the stream before me. They swarmed the more picturesque pools. But mostly because they were not in the shallow riffles I gave them a try. To my surprise three very respectable rainbows, charged charg-ed out after my spinner from behind one brushy cutbank. However, I had to retrieve the flashing blades downstream downstr-eam in order to interest those fish. Several other trout were taken on the same technique. But I believe there is a greater challenge in enticing them on artificial flies, so I resolved to return and try a dry. That didn't work. So, I tied on a large stone fly nymph, one often tabbed in Utah as a "mosier." Several nice rainbows took quickly. But I couldn't hold them on the light leader tapering down to 2-lb. test. I knew I had to go with something stronger for such fighters in fast current. The water was slightly off-color, so I managed to entice them on 6-lb. test, although undoubtedly on any given day more would hit the lighter stuff. My best trout on the , nymphs that day was just under three pounds. Most struck when the pattern was sunk to the bottom, best accomplished by casting slightly upstream. Yet when I did that I would see the line stop or shoot slightly to one side, with my strike back too late. 1 was losing fish. I began to hook them when I cast slightly downstream so the line remained tight; but with my rod tip down so the nymph could sink. Raising the tip hurriedly, I could then connect. One way an angler can attempt to improve this method is get out now for whitefish on several open streams. Whitefish take a nymph riiuch like a trout, although if you succeed in finding a school of them in a riffle you will have even faster action. Check the fishing proclamation to determine det-ermine the nearest "whitie" water near you. Huntingwise, my top le-- le-- arning experience for 1982 it isn't necessarily what you accomplish in gathering meat which makes the best outing-occurred when not even toting a rifle. It was the scouting forays, mostly for deer, including one horseback horse-back ride in which I located six nice bucks. When I returned for the hunt they were not precisely where I had spotted them in mountain mount-ain mahogany, but I knew they were in the same drainage somewhere. Because of that I kept at it. It was not long before finding them on a nearby feed-rich slope, and I managed man-aged to get there ahead of the crowd. It simply reinforced my belief in scouting ahead. Ask any hunter who scores consistently; consist-ently; you will usually find he enjoys hiking and looking for game (as well as taking his rifle to the range) more than just a week or two a year. You likely have some outstanding memories for 1982, which may not be directly involved in bagging fish or game at all. It might be a vivid sunset from a camp high in the -Uintas, or beside a four-wheel drive in Book Cliffs, West Desert mountain range, or northern Wasatph. It could be a wind-wheeling red-tailed hawk or eagle, or marsh-loving marsh-loving snowy egret, or perhaps a kit fox or weasel (now in its white ermine wrap) doing what- they do naturally without man's interference. in-terference. If you have not had such an experience in the past year, resolve to enjoy at least one or two in the year ahead! It will make for a happier one. And how do you go about doing it? Just plan to put the routine work load aside for a time, perhaps take the family or close friends, and let the - outdoor experience happen. y. Or perhaps happen again., t . - , t . |
