Open Roads in the Prairie Schooner

[LTFI]

Hell of a road trip so far, looking forward to the rest

That fire disc....I want one.

[RockyMtHigh]

Finally, some updates. It's like the trip has taken 6 months to complete, or something....

keep it coming.

[421sd]

Fucking wiper blades.....they're always going tits-up at the wrong moment.

Still riveted by the truck.

[ironman]

Part 1 Day 14

Dnymph set up the post Luau travel, and did a great job. For the next 2 nights, we'd be checked in to a well known lodge, campground, and guide service. Originally, we would rent a couple drift boats for our last day. Don, Mike, and Ben made that work well. As for JZ and I, we have one rower and one photographer. For an extra hundy, we could get a guide. No brainer.

The digs were really nice. Indoor plumbing, well appointed kitchen, a fukkin' dishwasher, and comfortable beds. Our guide was also the manager of this place, and stopped by to say hello and let us know what he'd like to do in the morning. We were unloading the cooler, and Pliney, because the raw chicken had leaked all over the ice base in the Yeti. It was beyond a gross, salmonella, Magoo, mess. (Looking at you Porno Mike)

Cap'n: I like to be floating at 5:15-5:30 am. Tricos are the game.
(I can just hear the thunderous laughter from my friends, Timber, CE, and Lander)
Me: Are you fukkin kidding me?!?! I don't like fishing tricos at home! We're out West! This shouldn't be the case.
Cap'n: Yeah, well the river has been unusually high this year. I'm happy it has finally dropped below 10,000 CFS. You guys said you'd prefer dry flies, so that's what we need to do. If you want to float bobbers, we can leave whenever.
Me: (Blank look, long pause)
Also me: Can we talk about it while we get things squared away with this cooler and unload some gear?
Cap'n: Sure, thing. I'll stop back later.

There was a spirited discussion, and ultimately, we decided to trust the guide. We do prefer dry flies, this is the last full day of fishing before a long drive, so.... The Yinzers opted for a more reasonable departure time. 8 hours it is, starting at o'dark thirty. See you in the morning, Cap'n.

I don't have to tell you how early that was, being the morning people we are. We were ready for the Good Cap'n at pickup.

The launch was infested. Worse than Buckingham in May. Way worse. We maneuvered our way to the preferred area. Sure enough, there were Trico spinners in the air, and rising fish eating the ones that fell. Cap figured out right away we could get things done. It was a glorious morning. Here are some pictures.









Caught fish until they stopped feeding on the trico spinners. Switched to streamers, and went down to the takeout. Cap'n said we're going back up river, as we're only a few hours into the trip.

Hotspot Alert! Not really. Over 100 drifters launch here per day. So fuk off with the feined outrage.


ChubbLivesMatter. They really are fun to catch.


Hit an afternoon hatch. First of the season the Cap'n said. Catching continued, and not a soul around.



8 hour buzzer ding.


Cap'n: That's it fellas. Reel em in.
Me: It's 2pm on a blue bird day, what are we going to do now?
Cap'n: Head back to the lodge, hang out?
Me: Fuk that. Would you like to fish?
Cap'n: My friends see me throwing flies on a guide trip, and I'll never hear the end of it.
Me: So what? You wanna fish? Or no?
Cap'n: Yeah.

Turned out he was a streamer junkie, and a self avowed upland hunter. Makes himself a better living than teaching during in-season, and lives for the fall hunt. Put him in position to stick a couple on the ride down, and he couldn't stay buttoned. I had hoped to get a pic of him with a fish.


A real nice way to spend the first part of the day. There will be Part 2. Likely not today.

I like this fly.

[BigTimber]

yep, I've shat there before.

[CarelessEthiopian]

But.......that's not a whitefish.

[ironman]

But.......that's not a whitefish.

Yeah.... I just saw that. It's a chubb. That's what you get working with thumbnails. Plus my eyes are shite.

[RockyMtHigh]

no way that you purchased that Coors Light (dog piss) in the same town that you launched in... Or so I hear.

[CarelessEthiopian]

But.......that's not a whitefish.

Yeah.... I just saw that. It's a chubb. That's what you get working with thumbnails. Plus my eyes are shite.

Yeah....it's not a chub, either.
Your guide should have pointed out what it was. It's a bit of a notable species, as in there aren't many places to catch them IME.

[Honyuk96]

Killer reportage and i'm intrigued w the fish in question ? Do shad grow that big ?.

[Obie]

Yep. But shad don't have teeth.

[Transylwader]

Hey, man, fuck y'all and teeth talk.

Spent the day in the dennis.
Think of those poor finned slimebag bastards when you hook em.
I'm playing catch n keep. Fuck a trout.