The Fishing Trip

I want to Thank Nouh Bdee for all of the time he provided in editing this story for me and for all the advice and insights he provided!

It was a beautiful morning: the sky was that Colorado Blue without a single cloud, the air was warm for this time of year and as I walked back to my apartment, I was on top of the world.

My name is Noah Conway. I had just completed my last final of my Junior year. More than a year ago, I had planned out how I was going to schedule my classes this year so that I would be finished with all my finals by Wednesday of finals week and then I was going to head off to the mountains for a fishing trip. I was now walking back to my apartment to do just that.

While studying for the finals and taking some breaks, I packed up my camping and fishing gear so that once I finished with the finals, I could pack up any last minute things, grab some fast food and some ice and a package of hamburger and hit the road west.

When I entered my apartment Tom, my roommate, greeted me with sleepy eyes, still dressed in his night clothes. He did not have any finals today until sometime this afternoon. Tom said,"Are you really going to go fishing without me?"

I said "Yeees. We had talked about this several times already." I said " Your last final is late on Friday. I did that last year and is why I planned this Springs final schedule so carefully. I want some time to commune with nature before having to get back for my summer job!"

Tom's response will not be repeated here.

It took me about 20 minutes to grab my last minute things: camera, fly rod and reel, my fly boxes, and cooler, and of course listen to Tom's moaning. I placed them all in the car and began my trek.

I first stopped at a grocery store to get some ice, hamburger, bacon, eggs and a last minute splurge: a 6 pack of beer. I was going to have to limit my intake of beer on this trip, not for any reason other than I did not want the weight in my backpack. The way it was, my backpack was going to weigh over 40 pounds, not a pack that I would want to carry very far.

I then drove through a fast food place for a quick meal--ya you know the one--and turned west toward the mountains. My plan was to drive to a remote stream I had come across last summer when, at the time, I did not have time to explore. The stream at the road crossing was at about 8000 ft elevation and went up from there. When I found it, I had stopped to look it over.

I saw several trout in the time I was looking and I turned over several rocks to see what the insect population was like. There were quite a number of Caddis larva, mayfly nymphs and the ever present midge larva. My analysis suggested this would be a great place to spend a few days fishing, camping and hiking.

I drove west and up. The tree population began to increase and to change. The Aspen were budded up with lots of leaves, their catkins ever present, then the evergreens began to become the dominant plant. The smell of pine was refreshing and stimulated my excitement. Ponderosa, Spruce and Lodgepole were growing tall and casting shade.

I was a bit concerned about having time to pack in away from the road. I was hoping that two to four miles in I would be able to set up camp and to cook my special dinner before it got too dark. As the elevation got higher, the roads became more winding and my speed had to drop to accommodate. I really, really wanted to get there in one piece.

Finally, I arrived and was able to find a parking place well off the road. I did not want my car clipped by some wandering driver. I moved the meat from the cooler into my backpack, put the six pack in there too, and began to hike up the stream.The insects were singing their evening song.

After hiking about an hour, I decided that this location would have to be good enough.I was feeling stressed about the light running out. I stopped at an open area with room enough to set up my tent. I built a fire far enough away from the tent so that it would not be damaged or possibly catch fire from a spark. I set the tent and my sleeping bag on my ground cloth with the idea of keeping them dry.

I removed the hamburger from the pack along with the prepared ingredients for my dinner. I took the beer to the stream to cool it. The water is melted snow so the beer should cool down quickly. I gathered some stones to make a fire circle and cleared out an area around the circle to prevent the fire spreading. I built a fire in the ring to build up a sufficient supply of coals to cook my meal.

Once the fire was going, I used downed aspen logs for my fuel source. They burn fast and hot. The problem can be that they burn too hot to cook with, but I would take that chance tonight; I was running out of light. I then opened my aluminum foil packet that contained my preparations for this meal. This would be my last non-freeze dried meal unless I caught some Brook Trout to eat. Of course, I was not counting the bacon and eggs for breakfast; that is a necessity.

When I catch Rainbow or Cutthroat I always release them. Most of the time I release Brook Trout when I catch them, unless I'm camping. Brook Trout are an invasive species in these mountains so I favor their removal, but they are the most wonderful tasting fish I have ever eaten. Actually, Rainbows are invasive too, but I have never found their taste to come close to the sweetness of a brookie.

Getting back to my meal preparations, I opened the foil packet that contained seasoned carrot slices and potato slices along with quite a number of onion slices. I made a patty from the raw hamburger meat and placed it on a layer of the vegetables in the foil. I then placed vegetables over the top of the meat and folded the foil to seal the package as best I could. I then placed the packet in the hot coals and covered with more hot coals.

I moved over to set up my tent. It's a dome tent with a rain fly so it goes up fast. I placed the ground cloth on the floor for an added moisture barrier and threw my sleeping bag inside.

I would not be placing my back pack or any food within the tent. I did not think I would have problems with bears, but I was not stupid enough to risk food in the tent. I hung my backpack and the food between two trees using the rope I brought for this purpose.

The sun had set about an hour previously and the drop in temperature was immediate. When the sun sets in these high altitudes, the warmth one feels comes directly from the sun. The thin air holds little heat. My work on the fire and the tent had kept me warm but now I was sitting and waiting for my meal to be cooked and I was getting cold. I found my jacket in the pack and put it on.

As the sky became darker, the glow of the fire and coals seemed to become brighter. I was sure that sufficient cooking time had not passed but I was hungry. The smell of the cooking meat was talking to my stomach. I found two sticks to use to flip my foil packet in the fire. I also fed the fire some more small sticks to keep the hot coal supply maintained.

As I was turning from the fire something caught my eye. I stopped quickly with a shot of adrenaline rushing into my body but then I realized it was a patch of stars shining through an opening in the canopy of tree branches. They were so intensely bright in the thin mountain air. I have seen it before, each time I camp in the mountains, but it never gets old. I looked up and just feasted my eyes while the wind through the tree and the sound of the insects fed my ears.

I may have lost track of time because I became aware of a sizzling sound in the fire. This meant that my foil packet was leaking and if I wanted moisture in my meal as opposed to hard crisp food, it was time to eat.

I opened one of my beers and caught a whiff of malt with a hint of hops from a dark malty brew I like so much. I opened my foil packet on my cook kit plate, burning my fingers and trying to avoid breathing in the hot steam. The edges had some burnt potatoes and carrots but as a whole, it looked pretty good. I ate the meal. It tasted wonderful and I washed the dishes(the few I had used), and then hung my backpack between two trees.

I was beat and ready for bed, but when I climbed into the tent I realized that I had not set up my air mattress. It wasn't too big of a set back as it is self inflating, so I unrolled it and opened the valve. The air flowed in and I straightened things out in the tent as best I could. I did have a flashlight that I could hang from the top of the tent. I used the stuff sack from the sleeping bag both for my clothes storage and as a pillow. I laid down, stretched out, and smiled. My plan had come together. I very quickly fell asleep.

When I awoke in the morning I had to go to the bathroom very badly. It was cold but I moved fast, dressed only in a tee shirt. I wanted to find a tree some distance from my camp to do my business, then get back to the tent and get dressed.

To save weight in my pack I did not bring my waders. My plan was to wet wade, which means I brought my wading boots and neoprene booties to wear on my feet but my pants would get wet if the water was deeper than a few inches. To address this issue I brought nylon fishing pants that would dry quickly and I wouldn't wear underwear as cotton drawers would stay wet all day. My shirt would also be of quick drying material with long sleeves and lots of pockets. This would protect me from both the sun and the bugs.

Once dressed, I built a fire and fried my bacon and eggs. The smell of campfire, bacon and pine makes one think of heaven. There are some things that are just a requirement when camping. Bacon and eggs are at the top of that list. Before setting out for a day of fishing, I did the dishes by heating some water on the fire.Somehow the smoke kept finding me, causing burning and watering eyes.

I opened the tent window to air it out and I rehung the backpack. I was ready to leave camp and begin to fish by about 9:00am. Since the previous night had been cold, it would be some time before the insects started to do much moving and I decided to begin fishing with a streamer.

The flies I brought were limited to four boxes that would fit into the pockets of my shirt. One box of streamers, San Juan worms and egg patterns: this box would be the least used but would come in handy when needed. My other boxes of flies were: a box of Caddis patterns in larval, pupa and adult stages in multiple numbers and sizes; a box of Mayfly patterns in nymph and adult patterns of Trico, PMD and BWO (a Trico is a very small mayfly, the PMD is a Pale Morning Dun which is a little larger and light in color, and the BWO is Blue Winged Olive, a mayfly that is about 3/8" to 1/2" long and a wingspan of about 1"); and a box containing Terrestrial patterns. This means they are insects that are usually found on land but sometimes end up in the water and thus are available to the fish for food. My favorite fly is in this category: the ant. Trout seem to love ants, maybe because they are so readily available. Ants love willows. Willows love water. The wind blows, the ant falls, and the trout have a feast.

I soon decided to change to a foam bodied Caddis to both attract a trout and primarily to hold up the two flies that I would hang off of it. I tied the Caddis off the end of my 4X leader. I then tied about 18 inches of 5X tippet to the bend of the hook with a pheasant tail in size 18 on the other end. I again tied the tippet to the bend of this hook and added a midge larva in size 20 as the terminal fly. For those of you uninitiated, tippet is leader material and the measurement is the diameter of this material. 6X is thinner than 5X, etc. To add to the confusion, in tippet as the number increases the diameter decreases. In hook size, as the number gets bigger, the hook gets smaller. A size 20 midge larva is about 3/8 inches long and the hook gap is about 1/8 inch wide. The Caddis would float while the other two would sink.

I began moving up stream casting my flies along cut banks, in back eddies, and along foam lines prospecting for trout. Things began slowly, but as the sun rose higher I could feel the air become warmer. The action increased and I was catching trout at a pretty good clip. I had one period where I caught a trout on five casts in a row.

At about 11:00am my poor night's sleep was catching up to me and I took a seat on a log. I was enjoying the fresh air, the wind through the trees, the smell of pine, and the beautiful blue sky. The scattered Aspen were just beginning to leaf out. I am afraid that I may have dozed off. I really do not know if I dozed off but a sound that did not belong startled me. I could not make out what it was, but I thought I would continue to fish my way up stream since it appeared the sound was coming from that direction.

As I moved up stream the sound became louder and after about 15 minutes I decided that it sounded like screams, squeals and laughter. Someone else had discovered my stream and had invaded my space. In my mind I was upset as I thought I had found this secluded sanctuary and would have it all to myself. These interlopers were up stream catching my fish and having fun that I should be having.

I continued to fish my way upstream and as I moved closer the noise became clearer and my unexpected new reality became more interesting. The voices I heard appeared to be female. I decided I needed to investigate. The stream at this point was moving to my left and the voices seemed to be coming more from the right. I began to walk toward the voices and away from the stream.

As I became closer I again heard a loud scream followed by a happy laugh but I still could not see anything or anyone. I sought an easier pathway through the woods. I placed my fly rod against a tree with a distinct shape. I wanted to be able to find it again. I also left my necklace of fly fishing tools as they often made noise when I moved.

I moved toward the voices. I slowly placed one foot in front of the other. When I got close enough to begin to see movement through the undergrowth and trees, I bent down and continued to move closer. As luck would have it there was a fallen tree in front of me that provided a great hiding place.

When I put myself in what I thought was a great location, well hidden and close, I began to make out forms and shapes. As I shifted my location slightly, I managed to poke myself in the knee with a broken branch. I was still looking at my quarry through the pine branches and a growth of willows. As I looked and listened, I began to see three people. All were female and all were totally nude.

The stream had moved back right and I was on the opposite side of the stream from these women. They were busily engaged in attempts to splash each other with water. I had to move closer. I crawled under the fallen tree and up to the willows.

The women all seemed about my age.. One was brunette, one was blond and one was a color in between but her hair was the wettest, so it was hard to tell. They were all near the same height, but they had different body styles. From my point of view, they were all beautiful.

The brunette had the largest breasts, but not out of proportion to her body, and they defied gravity by pointing straight out. She was the largest of the girls but in no way overweight: she was just bigger. The Blond had a beautiful shapely behind and hair that came to the middle of her back. She was closest to me at this time and I could not see her front. The dark blond was of the slightest build and had breasts a bit smaller than the others. Those breasts bounced so beautifully when she ran and jumped and continued to defy gravity with their very pointy shape and tight nipples.

My eye balls almost fell out and rolled around in the leaf litter when the blond finally gave me her profile. The line of her breasts did not just drop off her shoulder, bulge out then drop to her nipple. Her profile showed a drop then a bulge with the line continuing outward and upward like a ski jump ramp. Her areola formed a puffy cone with her nipple at the end, then the line formed a re-curve back to her chest. Beautiful!! I was instantly in love! I know that sounds shallow but I am a college student.

Right now the girls appeared to be resting and planning their next move as they were equidistant and panting heavily while keeping their eye on each other. Their pubic mound was also an area of great fascination for me. The brunette had a dark pubic area and the dark blond had a darkened pubic area that appeared to be about the same color as that of her hair but the blond either had very light or sparse pubic hair or no hair at all. I could not make it out from this distance and I was afraid of discovery if I attempted to move closer.

The blond began throwing water with her windmilling arms and hands at the brunette. The brunette moved into the stream toward me in an attempt to get away. She was moving right toward me and when the water hit her she turned her back to the blond and was looking right at the place where I hid. I froze and hoped. The action continued and to my relief moved away from my hiding place.

I decided that I needed to back out of this spot before I was found. I wanted to meet these girls and did not think I would get many points from them for being caught spying. When the action of the water fight moved away and I thought the girls were not looking my way I backed out of the hiding place until the inevitable branch caught my shirt. I came to a stop and had to untangle myself before backing under the fallen tree.

I crawled about 20 yards back the way I had come before gaining my feet and walking as quietly as possible to the hiding place for my fly rod and equipment. When I reached that tree I took my first good breath of air for some time. I could feel my heart beating fast.

My plan to meet them was to go back to what I was doing, fishing my way up stream. I returned to the stream and discovered mayflies lifting off the surface and trout sipping them off that same surface. I changed my fly set up to a BWO and an ant trailer; both are dry flies. I cast to an area where the water was in an eddy, moving in a circle behind a large rock. I saw the trout come up and take something close to my mayfly and then saw the mayfly move. I set the hook. The trout had taken the ant but I could not see it so relied on the movement of the top fly to tell me to set the ant hook.. It was a nice rainbow about 12 inches in length.

I continued to move up stream and wondered about how the girls would react to my presence. If I caught them in the nude, it would probably inhibit our introduction. I decided to announce myself by doing a bit of hooting and hollering upon catching the next trout. I usually did not make noise when I had a strike or had a fish on but some friends of mine did, that's what gave me the idea. I wanted to get to know these girls: they were most interesting.

I am by no means a ladies man. I have had only a few girlfriends scattered throughout my college career. I did manage to lose my virginity in high school to a girl I dated for several months. I had quite a number of female friends and we got along well and had great times but somehow only in a group.

My communications skills were very limited when on my own. I could have long conversations with girls when in a group and not find a single word to say when alone with one. Neither am I a hunk. I am 5 ft 9 inches tall and weigh 170 lbs. I wear glasses and have "dirty blond" hair. I swam on the swim team when in high school but was not otherwise athletic. I enjoy the outdoors and nature much more than sports. So, I wanted to meet these girls. They were in my element and I might be able to impress them in my element. They had certainly impressed me.