Fishing in a Remote Canyon for Mountain Trout!

[music] We are rigged and ready to go get our dangle on here in Colorado. Now, I'm fishing uh a river system today that I've I've never fished and I know it's got some decent trout in there, but the water is very low right now because they didn't have much snow. Should be rivers, but nevertheless, going to take the buggy whip down there and see what we can do. So, I rigged up a dry fly last night. It's no longer dry cuz it rained. Never been up here in the summer. So, lots of bugs, tons of of bees. The kids have been down in the the creek. They've seen uh lots of insect [music] casings all over the rocks and stuff. Live bugs. Looks like a lot of stone flies and, you know, critters that live in the water. So, stopped at a local fly shop. They recommended uh Purple Chubbies right now. Chubby Chernobyl is the name of the fly. brought a full nymphing rig. Got spinning equipment too for spoons, fishing lakes. But in today's video, we're going to be foot stomping on this small creek here. This is the San Juan, which is normally a river. We're going to see if we can find some decent pools that have some fish in them. So, got the hiking boots on, got our flies, got our one pole. Let's go do some good oldfashioned bank stomping and try to catch some trout. Comp check. Comp check. Well, look at that. Uh, I can hear you. >> I will see you in a couple hours, honey. >> And speaking, will you find any diamonds? >> If I find a diamond, you'll be the first person I give it to, sweetie. >> Hey, Dad. >> So, this is our first mission out, guys. Insanely. I'm going to make my first cast with you here. I haven't even made a cast yet. I've mostly just been um playing Camp Dad. making sure everybody's safe and fed. And to me, this is really what it's all about. If you're going to come up here to Colorado, if you're not hunting, you know, do some do some hiking and do a little fishing. It's great exercise. It's incredible scenery and uh trout are just beautiful. All right. Well, it looks like we're doing some propelling here today. >> [sighs] >> Yeah, I got to get down there and fish that. That's no question there. That's a straight up cliff. That's not happening. Yeah, that's not happening either. Water looks much clearer today. That looks good. Oh god. Just had one right there. Came up for the chubby. Got him. Oh. Oh. Oh. Didn't quite get it, guys. had a good hook set on him, too. Just little bitty seam there. Right in there. I think instead of sitting here changing flies, trying to catch this fish, probably going to walk down a little bit. Keep stomping. Wow. Look at all these little flowers. Holy snikes. Oh, this is getting a little crazy here. It's getting a little wild. We are in a canyon, guys. Look at this. Well, this is new for me. This is cool. Oh god, one hit it. All right, screw this. I'm going down here, guys. I don't care if I get wet. Should have got the old waiting boots on, but do a little rock climbing here. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, baby. Oh yeah. Here we go. Now, now boys, this is the juice. There it is. That's her. Dang. Definitely had one right in there. Kidding me. It's the old Oh my gosh. Good one. Oh yeah, baby. Oh, that was sweet. Oh yeah, he's going down. Holy moly, guys. Did you see that on the dry? Holy moly. What do we got here? Nice fish. Oh yeah. Looks like a rainbow. Maybe a cutthroat. That was phenomenal. Seriously, that just made my day. Let's see if we can get this sucker in this pool. I got heavy line, so we're good. Got too much line out. Oh, dude. Oh, that this actually looks like a uh a stalker fish. I don't think it's a cutthroat. I think it's straight up rainbow. Wow, y'all. Just out of this stream right here. Easy, buddy. Easy. Get you some oxygen flow. on the dryfly. Guys, wet our hands with this fish. So, I'm guessing this is a stalker fish cuz it's atapost fins or it's pectoral fins are snipped. Just going to hold hold your mouth open like this, buddy. Just examining this fish. I'm going to wet my hands. I'm going to be gentle. But this fish does have those those patches underneath those bright orange patches to be a uh a cutthroat trout. So, we'll let him go. This is the fun part. Yes, guys. Our first fish in Colorado for this year and on a new river. Feels good. That was a a stalker fish. You know, anytime you see those fins cut, but I'll take it. I mean, I'm looking up cliff edges on both sides. This is this is why I love doing this kind of fishing. You know, it's it's totally different than the bass and crappie fishing that I do back home. Look where I am. What? Look what I'm looking at right now. There's just not many places you could see this when you're bassing crappie fishing. And it's just part of it. I would say it's half of it is just being out here in these really cool trout environments. So, I basically had to repel to get down here. It's getting even steeper. I'll probably have to backtrack my way, but this little pool right here looks awesome. And got our first fish on the dryfly. I'm looking at some some bugs that are emerging right now. But dryfly chubby Chernobyl. I made about 10 casts in this area. And I did I did have a bite fishing from the other direction, but that one was kind of tucked up on the seam over here. Nice thing is right here I can really control my my fly. I can bend it. [music] Another reason I love this kind of fishing is like hunting. That's where I should get tattooed right there. There's just not a snowballs chance that there's not a fish right here. I know for a 100% factoid, there's a fish in there that I can't get up and around. See what the other side looks like. [music] All right, over the mountain. [music] We're going to try a different flavor hopper here. One that's got some pink on it. Not going to go to a nymph quite yet. Got another rod. back at the camper. I might rig up. Look at that big boy. That's a big hopper. Oo. Riding that scene. Delicious scene. Come on now, big dog. Oh yeah, good pull. Another good pull right here. All right, guys. Still one fish so far. These pools are looking too good, though. [music] I'm thinking I I see somebody. You caught anything good? >> Have you caught anything good? >> Yeah. Uh, chubbies. >> Yeah, chubbies. >> Cherobles, minis, and then just like a small little this color. >> Okay. Little dry dropper. >> Yeah. >> What are you getting the most bites on the the nymph or the top water? >> So, the browns have been biting the nymphs and the rainbows have been eating the chugs. >> Thanks. Thanks, Joey. We'll see you. That right there was Joey. He's watched a bunch of the Googans for a while. when he saw me, he was like, "Yeah, I'm going to help you out." You probably don't know the program. I was pretty close. So, they're throwing uh he's throwing a dry dropper rig. Some smash rainbows and browns, guys. I really want to catch a brown. That'd be sick. Boys, we're hooked up. I didn't even mean to catch this fish. Look. Look at where we are. I'll explain here in a minute if I can land him. There we go. Look at that rainbow. Nice fish. So, I hooked it into that fish cuz I literally dropped my fly right here to as I was walking to head to another pool and that fish came out of that. All right, there we go, guys. Beautiful little rainbow. We'll let it go in this pool. That's crazy. He was just telling me like, "Hey, don't over don't pass up these tiny little pools like this, too, cuz there might be some some rainbows in there." And he was right cuz I dropped my fly in there. I was walking across and then I just pulled up and the fish was on there. I didn't even see the thing go down. I want to go back, get regrouped, uh, bring my straight Euron frig and dry dropper out here and explore a little more. Absolutely gorgeous. >> [music] [music] >> It is officially hot. In the Rockies, I have worked up a mountainous thirst. [music] Rocky Mountains and Mountain Dew. That's a heck of a combo. I'm going to enjoy this delicious beverage and then regroup. I'm going to get another fly rod and we're going to get back after it. Definitely one of the coolest places I've ever fished. And it's crazy that in some of those tiny little bubbly pools, there's trout sitting in there. Man, I'd love to catch all three in one day. The brown, the brook trout, and the rainbow. Cheers. Mountain Dew. Tasting great since 1948 and supporting the outdoorsmen. [music] All right, anglers, we're reloaded. We're changed. wet weight program ready to go. And I've rigged up a Euron nymphing pole as well. Kind of want to get a little more dialed because I know I'm not the only one fishing out here. And every good looking pool, I want to be able to to catch them. So, let's get in the river and start walking up. All right, we go. Yeah, that water is cold. Cold, but nice. All right. Little skinny right here, but we're going to do some walking upstream. Oh, got him. Oh, darn it. Had one right there. All right, let's try the Euron nymph. Oh gosh, I just had one right there. Dang, I missed him. I was going to make another cast and I had him on. Oh god. Hit my dry. Hit my dry. Missed him. Oh, there we go. Oh yeah, baby. Let's go. Let's go. Little rainbow in the pool where he should be. Heck yeah, boys. Just a be. Oh yeah. Hook out. Gorgeous little trout. Looks like he's Oh, shoot. I'm going to get right in here with you then. I guess it's not a big one, but he's not a stalker trout. He's a gorgeous rainbow. Doesn't have those orange patches like that cutthroat. So, let this little guy go. So on that one, I actually saw the hopper disappear. So dry dropper. First one on the dry dropper. Just doing a little roll cast upstream. Yep. Oh, there he is. Oh. Oh no. And we got in that tree up there. That's not good. Ah, I lost both of them. All right, let's try some Euro action. Oh, got him. Got him. Got him on the Euro. On the Euro, baby. Oh my gosh, this rod is so sensitive. No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't get over there. I got such light line on this thing. Wow. No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, woo. Trout in the streams. Might be a rainbow. Come here. Oh, it's so hard to land him with this Euro rod. There we go. That's just straight up rainbow. A nice one. The more I fly fish, the more I realize like you just it's less like bass fishing and other fishing where it's more about the spot and the uh like just the general presentation. This is you got to have the right thing. Very technical. That's a beautiful trout right there, y'all. All right, I think this is my fourth or fifth fish of the day. This is a gorgeous one. It's just a not a giant, but man, so pretty. So pretty. Really dark spots on them. Trout are just different, man. They're gorgeous up here in this oxygenrich water. So, another beauty that we'll let go. I'll show you guys what what I caught that on. Back in the pool you go. All right. So, I had the the dry dropper rig. I was getting bit on the nymph rather than the hopper. Tried the hopper standard unit in this pool. Didn't get bit. And then I switched over to the Euron. So, with the Euro Nymph, I have a 10 and 1/2 ft rod. I can place the the nymph exactly where I want in the stream waiting like this. And instead of having the the float, the indicator or the the hopper, I'm I'm doing all the the work keeping the bait in the seams and the rod is so limber, so sensitive that it felt like a freaking bass jig bite. Just hammered it. And then, you know, you set the hook and it's just all noodle. Just just noodle. So, if I'm feeling a rock, I'll lift up. And then if it feels deeper, I'll just let it go down. That way, I'm keeping it in the zone. All right. Keep working. One more. One more. It's dinner time, but I'm feeling the vibe. See if we can get upstream of these right here. Get one of these bad boys. Oh, trout ate it right there. Got him. Watch him come eat it. That was sick. This might be a brown. And it is. Look at those spots, man. This is not a big fish, but it marks catching the cutthroat, a rainbow, and a brown trout all in the same day. Just love those colors. We'll let you go, buddy. Watch them come right up and eat that euron nymph. See you. Ah. Uh, what a great first day. Getting the fly ri fly rod bent, getting my feet wet, literally out here. Kind of learning how the fishery is. I'm going to explore a little more. But today, it's been a great time. This would be super awesome to end the day on a pure dryfly bite. See some fish rising in here. Oh yeah. No, that looks it's in the juice there. Don't make me nymph you. I will. You're a nymph few. Got him. There we go. Oh, he came off. Oh, [music] there he is. Got him. Another one. It's not as big. Well, you can just feel them on the Euro. Oh god. This is a little piss missile here. Other one was much more colored up. Colored up. much bigger. But hey, the euro nymph is is working. Pretty little rainbow. Bonus fish. Found this one last pull. I just had to give it a dangle. There she goes. [music] >> [music] >> The fishing so far has been really good. I'm I'm not an advanced fly angler by any means. I think just walking upstream the hopper dropper I got hung up like two times and I broke it off and so I decided just to go straight nymph, see how it went. this little peragon, paragon, however you say it, with the copper pinkish head, little green foil, and a red feather on the back. I've had a couple pull a little drag, but they're just fun little fighting fish. And then the rest of it just scenery. It's the It's the sound, the water flowing through. You've got these gorgeous pines sitting on these rock clips and just out there getting that rod hit, baby. The tug is the drug no matter where you are. So, we'll keep steady boopping on these mountain fish. [music] [music] Catastrophic Oh gosh, got one on here. Look at this guy. Right at the tail end. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I'm getting current. Well, it's always easier to land the little ones. Bye-bye. It's crazy just to watch them swim off in the rocks. You think there's not going to be a fish in there. There's no way they're going to be able to hold themselves in the current right there. These rainbows are insane. Got him. Got him. There we go. Got doinks. What do we got here? Get you in the net, buddy. Get you in the net. It's like a beautiful little rainbow. Well, my friends, we're just up and at him. Back at it again. Look out. Oh my gosh. So cool. Great way to start the morning with a little rainbow. Little sunrise rainbow. Let him go. Let him swim back in this clear water for you guys. these rainbows in these tight little shoots. It's pretty fun. Feels like you got a two-lb bass on. And we're on. We're on, baby. I mean, they're just right there in that tight stuff. Opens up a lot more spots to fish. Look at that, man. Look at the rod bending. That's great. Net this guy. Little rainbow to start the day. Well, bam. All right, hook out. Send that little rainbow back to his pretty little creek. Should be one right in here in this little seam. Got him. Wab. Bam. Smoked it. Wow. Well, that one gave it a nice thump. Oh, I got one. Just kind of loaded up on it. Think it's a rainbow. Just a pretty rainbow. All right, buddy. We're downstream from you. Just come on over. There we go. Just running the mill. Beautiful rainbow trout. This guy's got a little injury from being hooked before. I am using barbless hooks just to, you know, you're fishing such a small stream, you know that these fish are going to get caught again. So, preferably don't even touch them and you can get the hook out. This guy's got that fly a little deeper, though. Oh, it came out. All that thrashing. It came out. All right, buddy. We'll let you go. Not even going to touch you anymore. See you. Just chilling there. Look at that. That's three fish out of this little seam. thing that's cool about the Euronimp 2 is I don't have to mend. So if I had a floating line and I was trying to get it in there from trying to hit that spot from across. Oh gosh. Oh my gosh. Do you see that guys? So like right there. If I was trying to hit that from across, my line would get in the current and it would I'd have to mend. It'd be pretty difficult. But with this 10ft pole, I can just literally stick it across there, hit the far current. It's a little bit better one here. It's four. It's four out of this hole. Gorgeous little rainbow there. Oh yeah. Just right in the schnoz. We're going to take our forceps. Get you unhooked. Hook is out. Just like that, buddy. Calm down. All right, amigos. Four fish out of this tiny pool. Beautiful little rainbow trout. Love catching these things up here, guys. The scene the scenery is half the fishing, but these little dudes pull like you wouldn't believe. All right, buddy. I know you're ready to go. So, take off. Wow. It's It's just nutty to me how many fish can be in a tight spot like that. That one was just right on that far edge. Got him. Oh my gosh. Got doked just in that little slow spot. Oh yeah. Oh, rock. Oh yeah. on in the stream in the cut. Oh, pull and drag. Pull and drag. Going ballistic. This is a better one. It's amazing they grab it when it's going that fast. Wow. Just putting the smackdown on the rainbows this morning. All right, guys. We'll get this one unhooked. That one put up a absolute fight. Let this fighter go. Eat some more bugs. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to do this type of fishing, y'all. Just take a couple of poles, stomp around on the bank, and read the water. are just an old form of fishing that never gets old. [music] And being surrounded by the beautiful landscape and the sound of the water, it just gives you a reset that is so nice. And up next in our Colorado series, we are hitting the road and OSG just [music] might outfish me. And we're going to do something we haven't done yet on this trip, and that is cook up some delicious mountain trout. I'll catch y'all back at the camper for more mountain action on the next episode. [music]