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St. Joe River Report
I told Sean that I wanted to leave town between 8 & 9 AM. At 8:10 we were both loaded up and ready to go. After a quick stop at the grocery for road snacks and incidentals, we were on the road. Sean is new to fly fishing and had never been to the St. Joe before. There was a lot of conversation about how pretty the river and the surrounding terrain was. I've been there several times before but had never noticed a barn on the far side of an irrigation pond. It seemed fitting to get a photo, so I did.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...1/PondBarn.jpg
A few more miles up the river we came upon one of my favorite views. I took this photo last year but still like it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ech1/001-8.jpg
When we reached our destination, luckily there was nobody there. So we geared up and started working the water. Here's a shot of Sean trying to figure out the knots.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...uttheKnots.jpg
At river's edge, the pool I want us to fish looked perfect. There weren't any fish rising, but there wasn't last year either. Not until I started casting to the pool with a Royal Coachman did any fish start feeding. Then it turned into a frenzy, but that was last year. This year there was no action at all. We worked that spot for about an hour with no results. The wind was blowing so hard upstream that fly always ended up above our lines. That way the fish would always see our lines before they could see the flies. So, we moved on. Just past a steep switchback and river overlook
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...JoeOutlook.jpg
we stopped for lunch. We found a place with some rocks acting like guard rails and one of them was just right to use as a table. Hence the name table rock.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../TableRock.jpg
The scenery there was remarkable. It looked like the Tamaracks were on fire when the sun shone from behind heavy clouds.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...umnColors2.jpg
It was a perfect place to stop and enjoy brats on a bun with kraut and chips.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...tsForLunch.jpg
We stopped at one more place to fish that looked like it held fish. And again there was no action. Some locals stopped by and asked if we were having any luck. He explained that the fish in the St. Joe are migratory and have moved downstream. I told him about the great luck I'd had last year and he said that opposed to last year, the freak 10 degree cold snap we had a couple of weeks ago had moved the fish early this year. So that's my reasoning (excuse) for us getting skunked on this outing. It was a great day however and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were close enough to the upper end of the river that we decided to continue upstream, over the hump to St. Regis Montana. Then I-90 back home to Liberty Lake, Wa. On the way over the hump we came across a reminder that whether you are ready or not, it's on it's way. Winter, ugh.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ReadyOrNot.jpg
We are already making plans for next year and we really enjoyed the day. I hope you like the report and photos. Autumn is beautiful on the upper St. Joe.
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Nice report and photo's. Thanks for sharing Lotech. Some day's the fishing can be just as much fun as the catching.
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Thanks for the report Lotech. One day I would like to fish that St. Joe. I live near the St. Joseph River of Michigan which is a nice river for flatlanders; at least we don't have to scramble down scree to get to our river.
mcsteff
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Joe -
It ain't all about the fish. Sounds like you and Sean had a great time despite getting skunked.
I had a similar experience recently on Crooked Creek Fork and the Lochsa. Places I fished just weeks ago were devoid of fish. Over the course of four hours, I saw one fish rise and had not one come to the fly. I wondered if the cold snap had something to do with it - maybe the fishies headed on downstream - and likely so.
John
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We didn't really scramble down any rockslides to get to the river. Here is a pic of the actual fishless honey-hole from last year.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/Lotech1/012.jpg
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Now thats a nice fishing report for me, great pics, i have my stove in my jeep and am expecting to have a simaler outing come this Wendsday in the moutains, the leaves are all turning color here, thanks again for the report, and also we have had ssnow in our moutains here as well...;)
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Joe,
Nice photos and commentary. As we know from living here, a day (or two) on the Joe is a good thing...regardless of the catch. Thanks for sharing and as always, Best Regards....
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Joe, I've said it before, that is one beautiful place! Someday I'll make it there, hope it's sooner than later. Thanks for the wonderful report and pictures. The brotherhood (and sisterhood) of flyfishers means much more than catching fish, although that's what we go for, but memories are forged regardless of the catching. It's called fishing for a reason. Keep those beautiful photos of that neck of the woods coming our way.
Thanks,
Kelly.
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Great stuff Lotech. Love the pictures, especially the second one, and the sun on the tamaracks. That's special country, and a special river. You are fortunate indeed. Keep 'em comin'.
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Fantastic! I think I'm moving to your side of the state. Great scenery and looks like fairly decent eats.