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Fishing Reports

> Fishing with my Nephew: Third Annual Trip, Page 2

Here we are before the trip at the botannical garden in Phoenix.

Smallmouth on a wooly bugger caught from a kayak on Fool Hollow Lake.

Apache trout caught at the Fool Hollow boat landing on a wooly bugger.

Fishing the upper reaches of the Little Colorado

Montazuma Castle.

Cliff dwellings at Walnut Creek.

West Fork of the Black River. After a 3 mile hike in, some of which was vertical, we arrived at this small beautiful stream. It was full of wild brown trout.

An upper meadow on the West Fork of the Black River.

A West Fork of the Black Brown.

After spending the day fishing about two miles of the West Fork, we stopped for a photo, and then started the three mile hike out of the canyon. To say the hike back wasn't easy would be a bit of understatement. At the elevation it was hard to catch our breath at times. Then we had to cook dinner back at camp and crawl into our sleeping bags in 42 degree weather with the wind howling. I won't forget that day anytime soon, not would I trade it for anything. We slept pretty well, except for a few times waking up gasping for oxygen in the thinner air, or pulling the sleeping bag over our heads to warm back up.

Then the lap of luxury. An old desert motel, with a real bed! And a shower.

Our final fishing, up the the dam above Lee's Ferry, with guide Jeff English. If you go there, go with Jeff, get to the landing at 6:45, and fish on Sunday. The Lee's Ferry Anglers website will give you a sense of why to do this. Jeff is a superb guide, a bit of a curmudgeon, who really knows his stuff. If anyone can put you onto big fish there, Jeff can.

Jeff estimated this one at 19"; I had another take me downriver fast. After I followed it as far down as the shore would let me, it popped the 6X like thread.

A grand finale to the trip.