Top 10 List
The year is still young but here is my top 10 fish of 2009.
#1 - 24″ Brown Trout- Besides being the longest fish of the year he was the hardest fighter. He ran me in to my backing and fought like a bull. He was caught on a dry fly on the Strawberry River in Utah.
24" Brown Trout
#2 -18.5″ Wild Brown Trout- He was landed on a small stream on the rim on a size 18 nymph with 6x tippet. After fighting for a couple minutes while he refused to give us a look at him he shot up and jumped clear of the water, my heart skipped a few beats and the excitement was on.
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18.5" Brown Trout
#3 - 18″ Brown Trout- This fish wins the third spot because of his great coloring. I caught this fish is a river in the White Mountains. There was a turn in the river with an inside cut bank. I knew that if I could just get a fl close enough to the undercut in the bank that it would hold a monster fish. After numerous casts and a lot of faith this guy hit and hit hard.
18" Brown
#4 - 22″ Rainbow Trout- This may be the heaviest fish of the year. He fought hard and deserves to be on the list. He was caught on a Semi Seal Leach on Panguitch Lake, Utah.
22" Rainbow
#5 - Rainbow Trout- I did not get a measurement on this guy however I would guess 19″. He made the list because of his unique dark coloring. He was caught on the Provo River in Utah on a Pheasant Tail Nymph.
Wild Rainbow
#6 -16.5″ Wild Rainbow Trout- While fishing a great hole with by Bud Steve on a small creek I spotted a large fish swirling 6 inches below the surface picking of mayflies that were hatching and being swept under from the turbulent current coming off a ledge. On my second cast over him he shot up for my fly and it was on. He was landed on a 3 weight rod with 5X tippet and a size 18 nymph.
16.5" Wild Rainbow Trout
#7- 19″ Brown Trout- Caught in the white mountains on one of it;s many still waters at sun set amongst the most beautiful scenery Arizona has to offer. Caught on a Stimulator. (sorry for the bad picture, no one around to take if for me).
19" Brown Trout
#8 -16″ Wild Brown Trout- This monster was landed on a small creek on 5X tippet and a size 16 nymph. He was in strong current and was a great fight.
16" Wild Brown Trout
#9 -13″ Wild Brown Trout- While this fish is no monster he was my first fish on a dry fly of the year. I was heading up stream when I saw some of these guys rising to a mayfly hatch and could not keep my hands from shaking withe excitement as I tied on a size 18 Parachute Adams.
13" Brown on a Dry
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
dude solid website moved to az from wisconsin 2 years ago discovered flyfishing and its all i can think about. You got some awesome pics in here
so hows the rim fishing i heard it really didnt get a runoff this year and the streams are awesome.. thinking of going up soon and hiting up woods canyon and tonto creek
any tips ?
lately ive been fishing the the local bass ponds around scottsdale doing good
time to gear up for trout
later maybe we can fish sometime?
Sweet pics - I get a rush from seeing this stuff and it makes me want to drop everything and hit the river. Yeah, I’m an addict and I have a serious problem. The #1 Brown is an awesome haul - that’s a nice fish - love it when they jump! Thanks for posting and sharing - tight lines, as always.
Great looking fish! That first brown is a really nice fish…congrats!
I have not seen any recent comments and was wondering if you are still fishing the White Mountains area?
Between having a new daughter and being really busy with work I have not been able to get out as often as I wish and when I do I haven’t had time to post about it. I hope to get some of my trips up soon.
Nate, we haven’t seen you guys in ages. I am heading up to the Black River this week and was surfing the net and found your blog. I had no idea you were into fly fishing. We are going to have to get together and go. It would be nice to get the families together also.
Mark, Great to hear from you. Have fun at the black. I did not know you where into fly fishing either, we will have to go soon.
Nice. I’ve never thought about making a top 10 list like this. That’s a great idea.
I’m partial to that first brown. ;o)
If I remeber correctly, you got that fish to take twice!
Those are indeed some fantastic fish. congrats.
Gorgeous fish. I’ve not been to those spots before but they look great and appears you had tremendous success.