X-Diamond Ranch

My family and I just got back from our annual (soon to be semi annual) trip to X-Diamond Ranch. While there are several great places to fish in Arizona if I was forced to name favorites I believe X-Diamond Ranch would have to be in my top three.  Not only is the fishing fantastic, the opportunity for a hog Brown Trout a possibility, but the ranch is a wonderful place to bring the entire family.  My family and I have stayed in 3 of the 7 cabins available. While each cabin has it’s own charm they are all spectacular and have everything you need for a great vacation.  I enjoy the ranch because I can fish 3 minutes from the door step of my favorite cabin (The Beaver Lodge).  My wife and son enjoy it because they can come down and fish with me when they want and head back for naps and nature walks when they choose. 

Not only does this section of the Little Colorado River contain some monster Brown and Rainbow Trout but Wink the very hospitable owner has 3 ponds that are a lot of fun for the little ones.  While my son is only 2 he talks about fishing all the time and enjoys manning the net. The ranch is a great place for him as he can fish with me along side the river or the banks of the ponds while I catch, and he nets several of fish, or in the words of my son “Baby Fishies”. 

The water was 58 degrees and off color due to the heavy rains passing through this past week. Despite the murky water the fishing was the best I have experienced in the past 3 years of vacationing at X Diamond.  It took me a some time to figure out what the fish were hitting on. However when I narrowed in on the right fly the weekend instantly turned from a good fishing trip to a great one.  Do to the murky water most all the fish were caught sub surface. I did manage a few fish on a dry and there were a few small hatches coming off the water in the late morning and afternoons.

One of the great things about fishing X-diamond is not only can you catch a lot of fish, the average fish size is much bigger than most other moving waters  in the state.  Like many fisherman I have been known to exaggerate when it comes to fish size but I would estimate the average fish of the 50+ fish landed this trip were in the 13-14 inch range.  I personally would rather catch larger fish than more fish, but you sure can’t argue with that constant tug on your line. I had one big brown break off after running me 20 feet down the shore. When I tried to stop him from running into a pile of sticks he broke off like I was fishing with thread. I landed another that was the most beautiful brown I have landed all year, bright colored and full of fight. I would estimate that 75% of the fish were Rainbows the rest being Browns.

If you are looking for a great place to take the family with incredible scenery, cool weather, and fly fishing, or if you need a base camp as you hit many of the great waters the White Mountains have to offer I would highly recommend you cal Wink at X Diamond Ranch. (but don’t wait to long, they tend to book up fast).