Basketball (for those of us who can't jump as high as NBA players)

This Friday late night post has nothing to do with fishing, fly fishing, trout, pike or the like. A friend of mine turned me on to the Mini Basketball League (or MBL). A bunch of white kids, an 8.5 foot hoop, a mini-basketball. It is basically like a real-life NBA JAM. Check out this article for more information or just watch this amazing game recap to figure it out for yourself.



Top this Lunker Hunt.

Grown

Hit up some familiar local water with Zach from False Casts and Flat Tires one evening last week. The going was a little tough. We managed to move a couple fish on streamers and nymphs, but no fish came to hand. I don't often do this but, through the magic of self-editing, I put the footage from the evening of fishing from last week together with some footage from a more recent trip out to the same water. I was able to get into a couple solid cutthroat on nymphs. Some dark mysterious fish chased some meat during the beginning of the day, but nothing came of it.

As some of you may know, Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment this weekend. Say what you will about her life choices, she could sing. I came across a remix of "Tears Dry on Their Own" by Organized Noize and Dungeon Family and fancied it a whole wad of awesome and used it as the soundtrack to this video. Do yourself a favor and listen to this video with some real speakers. Specifically, speakers with good low end. Enjoy.

grown from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

P.S. If any of my wordy followers and blogging friends want to name the next YGF video. Please leave a comment with your suggestions. I am running out of video naming steam. As evidenced by the title of this video..."Grown."

Not that there's anything wrong with that

I see how it is, spin fisherman. I wanted to say something about how I would be a lot more offended if this guy didn't have a spectacular moustache. But, I was never offended. I can take a joke. Mostly, I just wanted to give props to an excellent 80s era moustache.



I am one upping the Lunker Hunt with an even more hopeless Friday night post. That's right...an 11:50 pm Friday night post. Boo-Yah.

Drunk

I am drunk. I have been drunk since the beginning of May. It is not the kind of drunk you measure in BAC, but the kind you measure in CFS. I am drunk with runoff. I haven't seen normal flows in nearly three months and it's affecting me.

At this point, enough fluid has passed me by, that my beer goggles are in full effect. From afar, any and all clear water looks low and worthy of my fishing attention. This past week, the Clark Fork, the Bitterroot, and the Big Hole all have looked beautifully low.

While all of those rivers could be considered fishable, for a man without a boat, they are far too high to effectively fish. Last weekend, I fished the Big Hole. It was flowing at more than 4,000 cfs or, in more relatable terms, at least four times higher than I have ever fished it. While it gave up a couple dinks, it certainly wasn't the Big Hole I have come to love.

On the way back from the Big Hole, I passed by the Bitterroot. Up high, near Darby (water that I hadn't seen yet), I exclaimed, "Look at the Bitterroot, it looks maaad low right now." The goggles were in full effect. As we drove downstream and passed more familiar water, I realized that the Bitterroot was indeed still high. High and clear. Fishable, if you were ON A BOAT.

Certainly these rivers are on the drop, but, my runoff drunk has me thinking it is a typical low water summer. I just hope this high water hangover doesn't last too long.

Cutties and Bows

Found some clear and fishable water outside of Missoula. Still running high. The fish were stacked up in deep, soft water. Hooked into a gaggle of fish. Some monsters were hooked, but not landed as they found their way into fast water and came undone. Nice summer day on the water.

.....And I got a new camera.

Cutties and Cutbows from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.