Dad showing me how to bonk hatchery fish and put em in the cooler from a day fishing in the white mountains in AZ.
It wasn't very often Dad would keep brown trout, but every so often on a camping trip he would keep one and cook it for dinner. Here he shows off a nice one caught in a small eastern AZ stream.
My dad taught me how to cast a fly rod in this exact spot on Hawley lake, in eastern AZ, where hes coming tight to a fish.
I still make it a point to stop and fish this spot, as we did on every trip when I was a kid. 1992, and it still looks exactly the same to this day.
I remember this fish being a lot bigger than this picture from 1994 shows.
On the first trip back to Lee's Ferry in 12 years, it felt as if no time had passed, and I was fishing with my dad again, I think he helped me land this fish.
Mandatory sight seeing selfie with Kayla.
Kayla looking down at a stretch of water that I have hundreds of memories fishing, tourists call it horseshoe bend, fisherman call it 9mile.
What horseshoe bend looks like from the river, something that most tourists will never see.
Renting these jetboats from Lee's Ferry anglers is the best way to explore the canyon and fishery on your own. Plus they are just as fun to drive as the fishing is.
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The trout spey really opened up some water that is normally out of reach. Plus its no secret that Lee's Ferry fish love a swung fly.
Learn MoreSpey casting in the canyon.
When you're not starting at a bobber, and swinging flies, you can actually look up and take in what you are surrounded by.
Lee's Ferry fish aren't the largest rainbows in the west, but they don't seem to know that. These little dudes PULL. there are some bigger fish around too.
It's hard not to feel this good down here.
Kayla fishing a riffle that I distinctly remember fishing with my dad in 1990.
In the winter its not unlikely to have the whole river to yourself.
There is so much history surrounding the river, Kayla was ready to move into this old house.
Crazy geological formations are what makes the Grand Canyon area such a wonder. I think this is a petrified ice cream cone, for dinosaurs.
Native Americans have been adapting to living in this environment for 100’s of years, and their culture is still evolving, shown here by a contemporary giant wheat paste on a structure that has lasted for a long time in the harsh desert environment.
The drive south on highway 89a in northern Arizona is one of the most beautiful drives in the world.
