Several spirited cutthroat took dry flies throughout the morning, but I decided to try a small nymph in a deep pool just behind a monster bolder with a beautiful flow spilling in from both sides. It didn't make sense there that I was not getting a fish so I switched from the dry to the nymph.
It was a short cast, and I let the fly sink slowly for a very long time. With the current I could see that the fly was circling its way down into the depth when I felt a strong tug and a good fight.
At first I thought it was a 9-10 inch cutt, but as it came out of the water I noticed the attractive and very distinctive splotches of yellow, orange and red circled with a blue ring. The fish is easily one of the most beautiful, and 9-10 inches is not bad for a brook in these waters.
As any self-respective trout fisherman knows, the brook is not actually a trout but a charr. Lake trout and the beautiful Dolly Varden are also char.
Below is one of the cutthroat trout I caught this morning. The water is about 225 cfs today -- a little higher than it was a year ago at this time due to some rain earlier in the week.
Down a steep ravine in the valley is the Middle Fork.
