Canyon Creek Jan 18 th 2019
Drove up to Canyon Creek AZ, little snow on the drive up. The last five miles is on dirt roads, needed four wheel drive in places snow and mud. I think if we do not get any rain or snow in the next couple of days it will dry up and you will be able to get to the creek without the four wheel drive.
Ken Wade drove his jeep up and we parked near the derelict Porto Potty, we both wanted to fish the lower canyon creek. On arrival Ken went down stream and I went up stream. I fished a dropper hopper at first drifting with the current but had no luck. The water was higher and dirty, more so than in the past couple of times I have been up there. Next, I changed up to two nymph under an indicator, fished a few runs and deeper pools, again no luck.
Time to go to the dark side!!! I put on a green wooly bugger, cast downstream and across the creek. Letting it swing thru the current then stripping back up on the edge of the current nearer the slacker water. I also would let it come back across to my side and strip up along the banks or along the side of any weed structures.
Second cast small brown trout, life at last! Third cast straight into a bush, lost my only green wooly bugger!!!! Changed up to a black and purple wooly bugger and we were off to the races. The browns loved this fly, ended up catching a bunch of nice browns and losing a few also. It was difficult to cast upstream as the current was moving very fast, you had to strip really fast, not much time for the fish!!
The day just sped by, noticed it was starting to get darker so headed back to the truck, when I got there no Ken, a little later on in he comes from fishing lower down. We had not seen each other all day, turns out he had much the same experience as I, taking a bunch of nice browns, losing a few all on a black wooly bugger.
Late drive home, great day at Canyon Creek in January
Flyfishingwhynow 