FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
With the warming river temps, yesterday I decided to fish the upper reaches of my favorite river for some stocked rainbow trout. The upper section of the river is the only stocked stretch, as the mid and lower is not stocked and relies on natural brown trout reproduction.
I arrived at about 6 am to fog and overcast skies which was a plus to keeping down the temperatures that never climbed above 75 for the day.
Access to the upper river can be made via the D&H Rail Trail which parallels the river for most of its course. As I entered the trail there was a sign posted "Caution Pipeline Construction in Progress" but figured that it was just a notice to make the general public aware of the construction going on.
I walked up the trail with a number of construction trucks passing me and waving hello with no one stopping to talk to me. My plan was to walk up the trail about two miles and fish the stream back to my car. On the way up the trail I cherry picked a few spots that were alongside the many bridges that cross the river and started off with a good number of rainbows, all on nymphs.
As I approached the bridge that I had planned to be my end spot another p/u truck pulled up to me and this time the driver stopped to talk. He asked how I was doing and I replied that I had landed a number of fish but was just really getting started. He then told me that the trail was closed to the general public while the construction was in progress. He was very nice about it and told me to just stay off the trail and remain in the stream as much as possible, which was my plan anyway so no harm, no foul.
Well the day proved very fruitful, as I landed well over thirty fish that probably averaged 12-13 inches. I lost a monstrous rainbow at my feet, probably close to twenty inches and finished up the day with my last fish being a palomino about twenty inches.
All the fish were taken on a nymph with an orange hotspot and if it had two orange hotspots, it was the cat’s ass.
If anyone had planned on taking a trip to that section, this is what I found out. The D&H Rail Trail will be closed from Simpson to Union Dale from May 2017 to November 2017 for the construction project. However the worker I spoke to thought that it would probably take till December to complete the work.
I suppose it is possible that the reason for so many fish being in that stretch is because it was closed so soon after stocking was completed this spring.
I arrived at about 6 am to fog and overcast skies which was a plus to keeping down the temperatures that never climbed above 75 for the day.
Access to the upper river can be made via the D&H Rail Trail which parallels the river for most of its course. As I entered the trail there was a sign posted "Caution Pipeline Construction in Progress" but figured that it was just a notice to make the general public aware of the construction going on.
I walked up the trail with a number of construction trucks passing me and waving hello with no one stopping to talk to me. My plan was to walk up the trail about two miles and fish the stream back to my car. On the way up the trail I cherry picked a few spots that were alongside the many bridges that cross the river and started off with a good number of rainbows, all on nymphs.
As I approached the bridge that I had planned to be my end spot another p/u truck pulled up to me and this time the driver stopped to talk. He asked how I was doing and I replied that I had landed a number of fish but was just really getting started. He then told me that the trail was closed to the general public while the construction was in progress. He was very nice about it and told me to just stay off the trail and remain in the stream as much as possible, which was my plan anyway so no harm, no foul.
Well the day proved very fruitful, as I landed well over thirty fish that probably averaged 12-13 inches. I lost a monstrous rainbow at my feet, probably close to twenty inches and finished up the day with my last fish being a palomino about twenty inches.
All the fish were taken on a nymph with an orange hotspot and if it had two orange hotspots, it was the cat’s ass.
If anyone had planned on taking a trip to that section, this is what I found out. The D&H Rail Trail will be closed from Simpson to Union Dale from May 2017 to November 2017 for the construction project. However the worker I spoke to thought that it would probably take till December to complete the work.
I suppose it is possible that the reason for so many fish being in that stretch is because it was closed so soon after stocking was completed this spring.
