Asher's Diligence

If you've been tracking the Rebel Trout Trek at all, I hope you've kept and eye on Asher's blog. He has posted photos and some kind of account every day since we left town one week ago, so that's a great place to learn where we've been and what we have seen.

I know all daddy crows think there little crows are the blackest, but I have to tell you that I've been hugely impressed by Asher's seriousness about his commitment to maintain his blog on this trip. He considers it his job, and works at in in the car and in the evening when we have access, and sticks with it till something is posted every night. He's likewise taken seriously his role in helping me get good photos every day we've been out and is joining in the task of finding and telling stories in every way he possibly can.

Though days are very long and we're having to spend less time in places than we like, Asher and I are having an extraordinary time working our way through the West. We've already caught a lot of fish and learned so much about ever changing landscapes as you cross the country. Friday, which we spent in Yellowstone National Park, was truly an amazing day with all the wildlife we saw between fishing stops. Asher had never seen a bison before we got to the park. Now he has seen hundreds. In the same day we also got looks at many elk, a mama black bear with two cubs, an antelope and a couple of mule deer bucks. Not to be forgotten we caught a bunch wild brook trout from a beautiful little creek. 

Today, we caught fat rainbow and brown trout from Montana's Madison River. Tomorrow we drive west again to Olympic National Park, where we'll spend three days exploring rainforests, tidal waters, mountain streams and even the Pacific Ocean. I'm reporting daily on rebellures.com and here as often as I can get in an update, but don't forget to check out Asher's posts!

Anticipating Deadwood Return

Most fishing stops along the Rebel Trout Trek, which begins in four and a half weeks, will be new destinations to Asher and me. Actually, all will be new to Asher. I've watched Asher's older brother Nathaniel fish Dry Run Creek in Arkansas several times. I've also visited Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks and California's Eastern Sierra region, but have not fished in of those places. Most destinations on our fishing loop will be places where I've never traveled at all.

Deadwood, SD, where  we'll begin our western fishing, is the exception. I've actually visited Deadwood and fished Black Hills waters twice previously, once through the ice during mid-winter and again last summer. Both have been among my favorite fishing trips, so I couldn't resist including a Deadwoood stop when I was planning the trip. The Black Hills are ruggedly beautiful, and I've only found excellent fishing in my admittedly limited exposure.

Even though I've fished out of Deadwood twice, most of the actual waters we'll fish will be new to me. Plan is to begin with Whitewood Creek (pictured above), where I fished on last year's visit, as soon as we get to town. However, the next day we'll plan to explore the tailwater of Lake Pactola, a special-regulations area that has intrigued me since I first leaned about it but that I have not fished, and do some other "discovery" together. The next day, before we continue west toward Yellowstone, we'll explore the dramatic landscapes of Spearfish Canyon and the creek that tumbles though it. That was actually supposed to be part of last year's plan, but with so much good stuff to see, we ran out of time.

I'm extra intrigued by the canyon portion of Whitewood Creek because apparently it can produces a good 'hopper bite for brown trout through mid-summer. One of the patterns I'm most excited about for the whole trip is fishing Rebel Bighoppers, Crickhoppers and Micro Crickhoppers in some of the waters where Western flyfishermen do best with 'hopper flies.

Fishing aside, I'm simply looking forward to returning to Deadwood and introducing Asher to the Wild West. If I think the town of Deadwood is cool and fun, which I do, I'm pretty confident a 10-year-old boy will too!

Remember, I'll be blogging daily and sharing photos and videos on Rebellures.com and the Rebel Lures Facebook page throughout our trip, which begins July 21. #RebelTroutTrek

Catch & Keep Requirement

I've been researching fishing regulations in various places, both in preparation for the summer's Rebel Trout Trek and as part of a writing project, and one type of regulation I've found in a few places seems so odd to me. In some waters where introduced game species compete with native species or where some specific species make-up is desired by game managers, it is illegal to release the less desired species. I'd seen this with species like the northern snakehead, but it wasn't until I started looking more closely at the rules in various places that I realized there were places where you had to kill species like smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleyes (Utah's Green River), brown trout (parts of Shenandoah National Park), and brook trout and rainbow trout (part of Yellowstone National Park).

I understand the regulations' intent, and in truth using normal angling activity as a tool is probably a really good way to remove an introduced species and allow the native fish to thrive. It just seems so weird to think that if Asher and I fish the Lamar River in Yellowstone this summer, we'll have to keep any rainbow or brook trout we catch. I have to admit that I'd be cheering for all cutthroats. I'm not a huge fan of trout as food, and cooking fish wouldn't be super practical, but I sure wouldn't let anything go to waste.

#RebelTroutTrek