Utah's Green River, 5/12-5/14

After moping around Kathryn's apartment for a day and a half, I headed over to Steamboat Springs to meet my good friend Dave. Steamboat is only 2 hours from the 7200, but all attempts to spend a weekend at his place were foiled this winter - weather, Dave's appendix, my crazy schedule, etc. So Dave was eager to take me on a fishing trip, and I was eager to hang out with Dave for a few days, cold or no cold.

We left Steamboat Friday morning and arrived at Utah's Green River around noon. I won't bore you with geographical, geological, or hydrological details, but I will say the Green is one of the most beautiful rivers I've ever seen – and I've seen my share of rivers, bitch.

We met up with Dave's friend Bruce and Bruce's stepson, and by Friday afternoon we were floating the "A" section just below the dam. This is strictly a flyfishing habitat, and the Pabst swilling bait-and-bobber types were nowhere to be seen: artificial lures only, a restrictive keeper limit, and absolutely no motorboats of any kind. Heaven, if you're a touchy-feely tree hugger like me.

A few miles downriver I cast a streamer (a lure that acts like a small fish) into a promising pool beneath a cliff, and as I stripped my line I saw a silver flash in the water, a fish darting to my line, and then the unmistakable tug. The rest is a blur, but someone was smart enough to take a picture.

We camped at a local campground on both nights, and Saturday we floated the "B" section but I didn't catch anything. Dave caught a few more, but mostly we just enjoyed the float – well, I enjoyed it as best I could, since my cold hadn't improved at all.

On Sunday Bruce and his stepson took off early, and Dave and I spent a few good hours at the boat ramp below the dam. We each had bites and fish on the line, and we each lost them without ever pulling them in. Around 1pm we headed back to Steamboat in time for grilled meat and cans of beer on his condo's porch.