absaraka cabin guests5

Zoe and Dave…..I wanted to send a note of thanks for a wonderful stay….Sarah and I have been fortunate in our lives to have had some great vacation experiences….but I find myself telling people today that this is perhaps the most enjoyable vacation of my life…..

And much of that feeling is the comfort and homey feel of your cabins…..and the friendship you share with the people you meet, and host at your cabins.

Just as information….yesterday on the river was great….Sarah had a bit of a slow start (which is a relative thing since we still had a great morning)….but she finished up with 5 hook ups (and three or four fish in the boat) as we floated the last seam on our way to three mile access and she wrapped it up wading with a few casts and landing a nice rainbow at the run just off the point of the island near three mile access ramp…..the cased caddis (we got to calling it Zoe’s caddis) and a bead headed electric caddis (bright green, small case…and some fuzzy feathers like a wet fly)…seemed to get their attention…..we did try the midge….and the Ray Charles…but they were not as effective as they had been the days prior….we hauled out at about 200pm

We have already started planning our next trip…..it will either be October or Thanksgiving weekend as discussed (or maybe both)…..we will let you know once we get it finalized……enjoy the fall and we look forward to seeing you again….soon……jay

What a wonder time we had at your place and on the Bighorn. The Kornman gang enjoyed a second year of great fishing and good times as your guests. I wish I could have stayed longer, however I got some great fishing in and it just made me love the sport even more. Hope to get back up in your neck of the woods this September for another try at those Rainbows. Here are a few of the pictures that we took and want to share with you.

Does this fish look familiar? This is the one that you caught, I watched it run back into the riffles and I caught on the second cast to it.

Great first day on the Big Horn River! We all did a float trip - 4
boats total, each boat had 2 GAFIA members plus a guide. We floated
down 13 miles of the Big Horn river, starting at the dam where the
tailwater starts at 7AM and left the water at around 6PM. The early
part of the day was perfect, sunny 70-80 degrees, but by the late
afternoon it was 100 degrees. The river stays around 50 degrees the
whole time - hot and cold at the same time.

We all caught a ton of fish - each boat (2 guys) had about 40 fish
hooked on line and landed in the net about 25 fish per boat (no one
was skunked - we all caught a ton of fish). We all agreed this was
the best fishing we've ever experienced, and the guide were a great
help. They tied all the flies, all the lines, helped with casting
and landing, and rowed the boat, all allowing the guys fishing to
concentrating on throwing lines out constantly. Float trip on the
Big Horn is the only way to go!

Even the newbie Dave Graham did great - Dave caught 8 fish and caught
the biggest (heaviest) fish all day! In the pic below Dave looks
like he's saying "oh crap!"

We were all happily amazed at how big the fish are in the Big Horn -
all of the fish were over 12 inches and many were over 18 inches.
Some of the best pics of the day are below.

Flies used - double nymphing all day (no surface activity) - best
flies were size 18-20 orange and pink scuds, sow bugs, and grey and
tan "Ray Charles" - named Ray Charles because they work so well, even
a blind man can use it!

Fantastic way to start the trip - on to day 2!

Todd

PS: No one was lost and everyone is accounted for in camp......

Dave, Zoe, we always enjoy your hospitality. Our stay was very enjoyable, with many, many fish. Hooked some brutes. Some got away some did not. See you in the Fall

Thanks

The Maxey Clan