After getting up and on the road at 10 AM, I drove 14 miles upstream along the Logan River and took the Franklin-Baskin road to the left of the highway. The road quickly crosses the Logan River with a bridge, and a pool. Two days in a row? I geared up and took my chair down to the river bank.
I plopped a hopper-dropper (mini-hopper with a bead body PT nymph hanging in the water). Nothing happened for a couple of drifts, then a small fish tried to eat the hopper at the end of the pool. Two days in a row? The same situation? I kept plopping the flies into the water when, a 12 inch cutthroat smashed the hopper and I got it to the net. I was shaking as this was a huge trout for such water, and I wanted a photo to reflect how great this fish was.
I have used my phone for many photos on this trip, but never again for a photo of a fish. When my phone is pointed towards the ground, no image shows up on my screen. As I was shaking over this fish, I thought I took 10 – 12 photos of this fantastic fish. It turns out that only 3 photos were taken, with two of the photos almost pure black from my shadow.
The photo above was almost totally black. I used the Android photo touchup screens to show that a fish was in a net. The same fish as above but not as beautiful as it was in real life. I didn’t land another fish. When I headed back to the van and put my gear away, I expected 4 – 8 great shots of the fish. I only had one clear one (out of focus) and two black ones. Catching another fish in that pool was going to take a long time to let the pool rest. I got very lucky that I have two photos of this beautiful fish.
Never again will I take photos of fish with my phone, unless I’ve already used my Olympus TG-4 camera first. The TG-4 is waterproof, and the image to be taken shows up brightly on the back screen. I got really lucky today. I will be prepared from now on so luck will not be as needed. PHEW.
I will be heading back to Nevada to catch a Lahontan for the Western Native Trout Challenge. Plans are for me to visit my granddaughter starting on the 19th (and her parents, I guess LOL). I might as well drive back to Nevada for the Lahontan, and then fish the Utah Slam until the 19th. I may even jump into the Jarbidge River again, walking in the stream for catching a Bull Trout. I’m getting in better shape, and I actually brought gel kneepads in case I have to work on the van. They may save my trip if I fall in the stream and hit a rock. Regardless, this is a very fun trip.
Tight Lines!