Get a child on the Water.... It is a Win, Win for all involved.
Spent a couple of nights in the Idaho mountains, had to deal with a little forest fire smoke, but the fishing was great. The trip consisted of a long bumpy drive down a dirt road. The kids said they felt as if they were in the Australian bush… as we were lucky enough to watch elk, deer, and even antelope. (yes we know, no antelope in Australia) We actually had to do small river crossing. Only 12” deep at the deepest section, but still a true adventure for a child.
We had four youngsters casting dry’s to feisty cutthroats. At one time, we had four rods casting back and forth. We were all on the same small island in the middle of the river. There were hoots and hollers coming from each and every fisher. I was running from one to another to release a fish, tie on a fly, untangle a line, etc, etc. Yes, it was chaotic, but it was also beautiful. Too see today’s youngsters without an electronic gadget on their hands and being truly excited about hooking a trout…
As my buddy and I were watching my son cast a double nymph rig with an indicator, we were commenting on how he can cast better than each of us. Just then, the indictor started to rip across the surface of the water. We could hear the line ripping off the reel. One of the younger kids went over to help… He grabbed the rod … He was literally pushing the rod up into the air… Now my son was fighting a big cutty as well as a 60 lb kid. I wanted the kids to do it all on their own. Land that fish that is. After a few bad netting attempts were made, and after I got a better look at the fish, I decided I should lend a helping hand.
I fish this section of water often, and this is the biggest Cutthroat I have seen here. His jaw was all kyped up. Difficult to tell in the photos, but this was an old fish. Pictures are not great as a camera phone is all I had (which is not in a water-proof case).
Many fish were caught, but the pics here are of the biggest of the day. Actually a huge fish for the waters we were fishing. Hard to tell who had more fun, the dads or the Kids… Make it a point to get kids into nature, it is a win for all involved…
All fish were caught using our Cutthroat Furled Leaders. Both Dry Fly Leaders and Indicator Leader set-ups.
