Weber 3-1-10

Got out and hit some fish today on the Weber above Coalville. This was Brents second day fly fishing...the first day didn't go too good. We were on the water at 0915. The temp in the truck read 24 degrees and when we left read 45. Georgeous day and, despite the iced up guides we both stayed warm...I got some very SEXY thigh high wool sock...yeah...I looked delicious in them! The Weber was super low, fish were stacked up in the deeper pools. Started out with neon gnats in pink and olive and lime green serenstupidies. No luck early on so I put black zebra midges on for both of us and we finally started hitting fish, even if they were whities. I got Brent squared away with his rig and decided to explore downriver a ways. I got a couple whities and a brown on the zebra. When I hooked back up with Brent he had his first fly caught trout, a 12" brown, on his stringer (Brent is catch-and-kill guy, not catch-and-release...yet). We moved up river and were gonna go when I put on a different midge emerger pattern. I hit 4 whities and 2 15 - 17" browns in one hole. We kept them for the frying pan. Brent got a couple more whitefish out of the same hole. I figured we'd keep moving upriver til we got to the truck. We crept up the shore and saw a pod of fish actively feeding in the middle of the water column, all looked to be trout. I got another couple browns right away followed by more whities. By this time I figure it's been a good day and time to leave. I decided to throw some of the big articulated bugs I'd tied up, starting with the brown one. This area was super deep, had a real steep, log choked bank on the far side with a slow current and foam line across the river. My second cast I got nailed, and was hooked up with something big! I yell at Brent to get the camera and then realize I've snagged a f*ckin' whitefish in the dorsal...wishfull thinking! I threw each color of articulated bug I had, had 2 light strikes, but hooked nuttin'. Brent had a little mishap with the camera...I held up a nice brown to get a pic of and apparently Brent didn't push the button hard enough...by the time I'd figured that out I let the fish go. This same thing happened with my buddy Sam on the Beaverhead in Montana...Sam landed the biggest brown of his life and the biggest I'd seen out of the 'Beav ever. As I was scrolling through the digital camera I got the pic of him running down the bank chasing the fish, him fighting the fish after a 70 yard run downriver, and then a pic of his daughter...didn't get the pic of him holding his trophy before releasing it. Now mine wasn't a trophy like Sam's but at least I have a witness. A good day to be on the water and good for Brent on his first fly caught fish(s).