Piney Creek (Day 3), U-Cross, Wyoming

DATE: Thursday, 9/8/2005

TIME: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 80’s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: Normal, clear

LOCATIONS FISHED: Piney Creek, near U-Cross, Wyoming (upper limits of the creek on Dave and Sandy Todd’s Ranch)

HATCH: Small cream midges, blue winged olives, caddis

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #6 muddler minnow

OTHER: Fished with Dick. We fished the deep pool at the very upper end of Dave and Sandy Todd's ranch. I finally got rid of the top water stuff and small streamers, and fished a #6 HEAVY muddler minnow. It did the trick! After the 3rd or 4th cast across the creek, I threw the muddler minnow into the deep riffle and on the strip back I thought I had hung vegetation on the bottom. When it moved, knew I had a great fish. I managed to fight and land about a 16-inch rainbow trout that was HOT! Dick changed flies and put on a #6 muddier minnow as well, and made the best cast of his fly fishing career up into the same riffle. I saw a small flash and thought he had hung a 6-inch rainbow, but when I saw his rod doubled over, knew he had a good fish. He fought and landed a 17-inch rainbow that was very strong and heavy. We both quit fishing after the big fish, knowing that it would not get any better. We both saw a bigger fish than either of us caught but it was swimming for all it was worth after we scared it from its undercut hideout.

I took Kay back up to the riffle about 30 minutes later, but the casting was very difficult for her. I made a couple of casts and hooked two fish, both on the #6 muddler minnow. The secret to Piney Creek was to fish the deep riffles, with a heavy fly! This is a great creek, and will yield some big fish to the fly fisher that knows how to fish it.

As an aside, Dick, Carolyn, Kay, and I "scoped" out the upper parts of the ranch in the morning, and moved several mule deer with great sets of horns. When we got to the back edge of the ranch, we jumped 5 of the largest mule deer bucks either of us had ever seen. We followed them with binoculars across a ridge and onto the next ridge where they eventually laid down. Imagine this, five world-class mule deer, at one time, laying within a 25-foot diameter circle. In addition to these deer, we saw many other bucks, does, and fawns, as well as a small herd of antelope. This was indeed a great day God gave us, and one that will never be repeated in our lives.