Lazy Lopez Productions – DRAFT

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Deschutes River

Here are the pics from my trip to the Deschutes. We spent four days floating down the river camping along its banks fishing for Redsides and Steelhead. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Yellowstone River, Montana

Our second and last guided day brought us back to the Yellowstone River. The wind was howling which made casting extremely difficult.

After lunch things picked up a little and we were able to hook into some decent fish.

(If you look closely, you’ll notice she has a prolapsed rectum)

My brother continued his assault on big brown trout.

Smile for the camera!

The fish weren’t as big as in the Big Horn but there were plenty of them.

Conditions were tough but we managed to have another successful day of fishing!

Big Horn River, Montana

Our first guided trip was on the Big Horn. We split up into two boats and fished a lower stretch of the river in order to avoid the crowds.

Within 15 minutes Diego hooked into a beautiful Rainbow Trout who decided to munch on his hopper.

The day just got better and better. The hoppers were out and the fish were feeding. We managed to hook into several more fish throughout the day, and all of them were hot & healthy.

We landed just a few fish around 12″, the rest were all in the 16-20″ range.

Diego caught some nice Brown trout as well.

Another beautiful Bow.

Throughout the day, we were able to stop and wade a few spots which gave us a chance to fish with our dad and his buddy Jim.

This will definitely go down as one of the best days I’ve had on the water. So glad I got to share it with family.

Exploring Montana

My brother and I got to do a little exploring on our first day in Montana. We drove to the town of Red Lodge and headed up into National Forest land to fish Rock Creek. After only fishing for about half an hour we were met with a hail storm. A week ago temps were up in the 90’s but a cold front happened to come thru just before we arrived. We jumped back in the car and headed to a small lake we had passed on the way up. It was call Wild Bill Lake and was stocked with small trout.

There were lots of families there teaching their kids how to fish, both with fly rods and conventional gear. A few folks were using cheese as bait! My brother and I each caught a Brookie then jumped back in the car and headed back into town. On the way out we saw a few deer…

Next stop was Rosebud Creek. It was a bit wider and easier to access. The sun broke thru for about 15 minutes and we got to see some fish rising to a caddis fly hatch. We pulled a nice rainbow out then jumped back in the car to try and fish some bigger water.

Stonefly Shuck

Our final destination was the Still Water River. We got there about an hour before dark and managed to land a few more fish. Here’s Diego landing his first trout on a nymph.

A few days later, after my dad and brother had already left, and just before my flight, I decided to try Rock Creek one more time. This time I stopped closer to town at a bridge that had a nice run just downstream of it. I managed to hook into a few brownies and tons of whitefish. A nice way to end the trip.

Desolation Wilderness – Crag Lake

Jeff, Maggie, and I got a late start Friday night. We arrived at the trailhead around midnight and decided to hike in 6 miles lit only by our headlamps and the waning moon.

We woke up early the next morning to find the lake covered in fog.

We didn’t see any fish rising so we switched to streamers. I had a few fish chase me all the way back to the shore, but nothing would eat. We hiked around the area and found a few other lakes near by. One of them had a large brown trout cruising its shoreline, sipping flies off the surface.

Jeff managed to hook into him, but lost him during the fight. We couldn’t land a single fish between the two of us either day.

On the way home we hit some nasty traffic on HWY 50. We happened to be along side the South Fork of the American River so we pulled over and decided to fish. I caught and landed 6 fish in 30 minutes fishing the pools and riffles. I think I need to go back to fishing rivers for a while…

Some more pics of Desolation Wilderness

Good Morning Flamingo

I went home for the weekend to attend my cousin’s wedding and managed to sneak in a few hours of fishing the morning of my flight. We were supposed to go out on the kayaks, but since my brother messed up his ankle, we hired Benny instead.

The wind was howling so we put down our fly rods and switched to conventional gear. My brother was able to land two nice Reds,

and I landed my first Black Drum.

We had a shot at lots more fish (Snook & Tarpon too) but conditions made it tough. Looking forward to the next trip…

Tuolumne Meadows

We started at Soda Springs Trailhead and hiked in about 6 miles to Glen Aulin camp. Most of the trail was along the Tuolomne River.

There were a ton of waterfalls along the way…

Every single pool, riffle and run held fish.

All three species – Rainbow, Brook, and Brown Trout.

More pics can be seen here.

Desolation Wilderness – Lake Velma

Spent the weekend teaching my friend Jason how to fly fish up in Desolation Wilderness. The hike was about 5 miles each way, but steep and hot! The views of Lake Tahoe were amazing. We found a nice camping spot among the granite rocks.

I started him off fishing the inlet creek. He had no trouble landing a few small rainbows.

Then it was off to the lake to catch the adults.

This nice Brook trout managed to shake loose just as I was taking the picture.

We only spent one night back there, next day it was time to head back home…

Does size matter?

In this angler’s opinion, NO. Stealth and a bit of creative casting will reward you with lots of fish out of the Sierra’s. The Golden Trout Wilderness, in particular, with some of the most beautiful specimens in the world. Although the average size is 6 inches, they can reach up to 10 inches in length.

They range in colors, some with very bright orange bellies.

Always be mindful of where you are walking.

And fish even the smallest creeks, meandering through wide open meadows.