Took a family trip up to the American Forks campground, over the weekend (except for our son, who chose to just stay home and relax). Great campground, even if we could not get the site we prefer. Arrived late afternoon/early evening on Friday, got set up and had a relaxing dinner of BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (prepared at home and brought in the fridge of the camper).
Woke the next morning to overcast skies…but being June 1, it was the start of normal fishing options in WA, for the year. I was on the water by 10am, and working my way up the Bumping River.
Tried a #14 Parachute Hare’s Ear, to start, and had no success. Switched to a #14 Elk Hair Caddis, after about half an hour, but still had no success. Then I noticed the beginning of a hatch of reddish mayflies, so I switched to a #12 Adams…but still no hits. Finally tied on a #10 Parachute Adams, tied with very bushy hackle and some iridescent stripes in the parachute post…. and got my first WA Rainbow of the year! Nice 6″ fish, with a lot of fight for his size. The fish tried to hide in the current from me, running out into the heaviest flow it could find, as I stripped it in! When I finally brought the fish to hand, it was too tired for me to take a pic, as I wanted to get him back in the wild as quickly as possible. The bumping, especially this time of year, has a strong flow and was tough upstream wading.
Later that day, we all went to Bumping Lake, the source of the river, to just relax and enjoy the scenery. This is one of our favorite places to still-water kayak, later in the year, and reportedly has some good fishing. Eerie to glide through the water and see the old stumps passing below you, from before the dam was installed. Clear, high-altitude water, fed by melt from the surrounding mountains.
Saturday ended with a nice fire in the pit, a cold one, and hot dogs, home-made baked beans, corn on the cob, and S’Mores. Great day.
Great weekend, ending all too soon.
Tight lines!