March 10, 2012 7:00 Vernal Utah. “Are you awake honey?” I asked Madeline, “Its time to go fishing.” Yes! Madeline has come back to fishing, as it turns out my prayers are answered, fly fishing is in her blood; she has decided to go on a fishing trip with me. It’s highly possible she is going because her friend Jaxon and his dad Stan have agreed to take us to the storied, mystical, Jones Hole Creek.
By 8:30 we are on Jones Hole Road, which starts in Vernal and takes another 45 minutes or so, although our drive took a little longer due to the speeding ticket Stan got from the Vern-hole Po-Po. Note: beware what looks like is should be 45mph is 25mph—speed trap. Jones Hole Road takes you on an amazing geographic transformation. Through most of the road, you are in the vast open barren Vernal area; it’s shocking when you come into Jones Hole Canyon. The last 20 miles or so of the drive, you enter a canyon that is reminiscent of Canyon Lands with majestic red rock cliff walls. “You guys will experience a spiritual awakening—trust me you will not be disappointed with Jones Hole. If you hear bells going off, don’t be alarmed” Stan promises that no one will leave the canyon without being permanently altered. Our plan is to walk all the way down to the confluence of The Green, then fish our way back up. Stan likens Jones to a neighborhood street meeting a freeway, The Green. That’s where he claims to have heard spiritual bells.
My fishing goal is to fish the world, to fish as many rivers as I can, before I go to the big river in the sky. So far I have fished exclusively in the western states, and in the last two years I have been lucky enough to fish a lot of rivers. In 2010 I fished over a dozen new rivers in Utah; a handful in Idaho, a few in California and Nevada, and one in Wyoming. I count myself blessed of late by the fishing gods; I have been stepping into some mind-blowing rivers.
To a fly fisherman, there are a lot of criteria that make up a “mind-blowing” river. It goes without saying that the river has to have a lot of fish, and big fish. Between big fish and a lot of fish, big fish has to be to crown jewel. Yes… fishermen will travel the world over, to catch a big fish, whatever the species. A river with a lot of fish means you have a good chance of hooking up, which never sucks. As Stan put it, “I’ve caught plenty of fish; now I’m ready to catch a hog (see video).
Not necessarily in this order, but I would say that where the river is located, no matter how many or how big the fish are matters. For example if you find yourself standing in a canyon with towering red cliffs marked with petro glyphs from an ancient Indian tribe; with walls that are so beautiful that you are forced to stop throwing your fly to hungry fish, and just soak in grandeur, surroundings matter. Not to mention, these cliffs house Rocky Mountain sheep! As much as we all get caught in chasing the fish, some rivers are so incredible you are forced to stop and just ravel in the beauty.
Water counts, New Zealand is said to have rivers with “Gin Clear” water, water that is sort of beyond water, water that is so pure that it glistens in the sun. Idaho’s Silver Creek is spring fed, and it has water that is astonishingly clear. Maybe water that bubbles up from the earth has been purified by the mother, and flows from her, creating nectar of the gods. Come on every fisherman gets off on clear water. New Zealand is on my list of places to fish, but I really don’t know how you could purify water any more that what comes out old Jones Hole.
Finally who you are with on your trip is the aspect that makes or breaks the experience. I’ve been on plenty of fishing trips, day trips and longer with a buzz kill. When this happens you hope it’s just a day trip, and you just try to get caught up in the river and fishing. But when you are with people like Stan and Jaxon, you don’t even care that your daughter came along for reasons other than fishing; you’re just happy to have another adventure on the river with her. Weather your sitting by the camp fire nursing a glass or Knob Creek or you’re in a hotel room reading your totem cards, with the right people bad fishing and crappy scenery still makes for a great trip.
But when all the above factors are world class, when the fish are fat, and plentiful, the water sparkles, the scenery stellar, and the people you are with are golden... come on what else do you want? Jones Hole is splendid enough to release your inner totem butterfly, run and frolic like a teenager through the forest. My buddy Zog always says “life is better to me than I deserve. I have to say I feel the same way. Thanks Jones Hole for being there, you rate world class! My only complaint about you is that I took so long to find you. Thanks Stan for pulling the trigger & making the trip happen, for the excitement and for being master guide (hope your leg cramps went away). Thanks Jaxon for getting my original fishing buddy back on the river with me, even if she didn’t fish. I know it’s in her blood, and I will wait; hopefully not long. This may be the beginning of many more trips to come. Alas, I feel permanently altered.
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