Currant Creek is still sweet

Today was our chance to fish new water (to me) with Brad & Jeff Scherck (Brad's dad).  Jeff caught his first trout on the fly ever two days ago and was game to try for more. This time high in the Uintah National Forest.

My brother Rick and Mike Dover had been here a couple of years ago so it was on my list of potential spots to fish in the future.  Well, the future is now and it was a beautiful sunny day and a great day for fishing, but what day isn't a great day for fishing?

Brad and Jeff, father and son, on the stream.  This is how it should be.

We fished within site of the dam that forms Currant Creek Reservior.  A mixture of beaver dams and running water.  In the first hole fish were actively feeding but ignored the dry dropper I was tossing as well as the hopper dropper Brad was using.  I changed to an Irresistible Caddis and Brad to a smaller hopper and green copper john dropper.  I had a fish to hand shortly thereafter.  A small brown, but somebody has to be the first.

My first Currant Creek brown.  I was pleased.

I found several more in mostly pocket water.  Brad had several fish to the fly but he is so kind and gentle I think he must not want to sink the tip of the hook into the mouth of the fish.  We need to work on hook setting so he doesn't take up "farming" like his father-in-law.  Maybe one of the other Merrill boys can give him a remedial clinic some time to undo what he's learning from me.

Jeff however, was not content to follow my lead and decided to patiently watch as the fish below came up to his elk hair caddis that was floating (drag-free) in the current as it passed close to a grassy undercut on the inside corner of a nice long run.  A sure hookset and the fight was on.  I saw it from upstream where I was fishing and came to get the photo to record the memory.  Jeff says this is the largest trout he has ever caught.  I told him it might be a little while before he caught another one like this.

Jeff's first Currant Creek brown.  He was really pleased!

It was pretty exciting for him and us!  However, as you can see from the photo, he is going to have to work a little on the "long-arm" for photos.  As beautiful a fat brown trout as one can imagine.  It came up and sipped the fly and Jeff got it right in the tip of the nose.  Well presented, patiently waited to pull the trigger, carefully fought, gently landed, and gratefully released.

Check out the teeny elk hair caddis in the nose of this fish!

We had to get to St. George so we couldn't fish until dark.  Play day ended early.  However, we can look forward to more in the future.  Will Jeff ever be the same after these last few days?  Only time can tell for sure, but he was disappointed when we got to St. George and Sportsman's Warehouse had already closed for the day . . .