11/25/25 Looking for a Cutty

[Ham]

 I decided to float the Norfork in my kayak hoping for a Cutthroat Trout. It was gonna be low water all day and mild temps and “mild” wind. I had expected the sun to burn off the clouds, but they hung around all day pretty much. And the wind was very annoying.

You see signs of trout everywhere, but the numbers are clearly down. It’s not the end of the world. I would say if you put in a FULL Hard say of fishing that you could scare catching 50 instead of a 100 + +
So, I brought three fly rods. 5 wt, 4 wt, and 8 ft Bug Launcher. As it turns out I could have just brought one. All my fish came on a 1/32 oz Zig Jig fished like a streamer. 
I tried a Crackle back in multiple riffle areas to not effect. I had an egg with a tiny nymph behind it and I broke off the nymph on the only sure thing bite I had #bassfisherman

I caught my first fish in the pool with Gene’s trout dock. I missed a couple before I caught one and lost a couple that I hooked. It was difficult enough that I changed my goal from 20 with a Cutty to 10 with a Cutty. 
Dropped out of that pool and got another on a hard current seam. Missed another one. Paddled back up and added one. Then I got a solid take from a heavy fish. I could see Brown. Good sign. Fished pulled back down in a spot with a lot of current. I managed the boat and took my time. I got another look at the fish and it wasn’t a Brown Trout maybe it was a Big Cutty. Still playing the fish carefully. I got my little net ready and managed to secure the fish. It was a Big Redhorse. Because it was so large I thought it had to be a Golden Redhorse. that would have helped me on the species for the year, but it’s looking like it was a MONSTER Black Redhorse. I really wish I could get them to eat flys more often. Great Fight!

Well, I worked my way down river and figured out a couple things. I needed 2 foot of water or so for what I was doing to work. Transition areas from shallow to deep or deep to shallow held fish. If you missed the first bite, you could often put it back on them and get a second chance.The fish seemed to be more colorful than usual. I did not find them to be larger and sadly I did not catch a Cutty. I had the river to myself and if I am able to make that trip again this year, I will concentrate on a few areas and paddle through some others.

I finished with 21 fish to hand. I missed a bunch of bites and lost a good number of fish. I have a love / hate relationship with barbless hooks. 

The Jigfest folks should be encouraged. River traffic will be low and the fish will bite.