The (Other) Green River

I love fly fishing the Green River as it's crystal clear tailwaters flow out of Flaming Gorge Dam in the north east corner of Utah.  There is another section of the Green River that I have come to enjoy almost as much.

July 19th I joined 10 young men (the Teacher and Priest Quorums from our ward) and 4 other adult leaders on a 44-mile canoe trip down the Green River in Southern Utah.  This was my third trip canoeing this section and I joined my 16-year old son Cameron.  What a thrill to spend three days in a canoe together! I've now had this experience with each of my sons. (My daughter Allie still holds it against me that I haven't taken her. I'll get her and her husband Jeff down there yet!)

The trip began by camping overnight at Ruby Ranch (109 degrees when we arrived). That night we shuttled vehicles to the takeout at Mineral Bottom. We then spent three days canoeing, including two nights camping on the sandbars in the river.

The river flows along at a mild pace eventually winding its way through Labyrinth Canyon in Canyonlands. The views are spectacular and the flow of the water is such that jumping in to float alongside the canoe is almost as fast as paddling!

Below are some photos and videos of this awesome trip.  I highly recommend it!

Cameron was a great canoe partner.

Lunch along the river

 It rained two of the three days we were canoeing.  This is a waterfall created by the rain on the slick rock across the river from the sandbar we camped on the second night.  This is also the location of the first two-hand touch football game (in the rain) in the video below!

A spontaneous game of two-hand touch football broke out in the rain on the sandbar campsite.  In the video, Hadley Clark hits Cameron for a long diving touchdown.

Cameron, Chance Gold, and Brandon Bringhurst at the River Register, where paddlers have carved their names in the rock for decades.  Cameron inscribed "CJM," I inscribed "D24," and we also inscribed "Lori 7/21/10" as it was mine and Lori's 27th Wedding Anniversary the day we stopped at the Register.

 Our third night (second night on the river) was spent at a panoramic bend in the river.  We watched a thundercloud roll in over the cliffs in the distance and bring rain for the second night in a row.

 Cameron and me at the only site on the Green River listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Denis Julien, a French-Canadian fur trapper, in 1836 became the first white man of record to navigate the lower Green River, including Cataract Canyon (a white water section).  The inscription says "D. Julien, 1836, 3 Mai (May)."  Julien also inscribed a boat, and what the map says is a bird.  Cameron and I had fun discussing what it might have been if not a bird (since Julien never told anyone what it was :-)).

The road out of Mineral Bottom is narrow, steep, and carved right out of the slick rock.

Jared Taylor and Dave Tobler driving out of Mineral Bottom ahead of me.  Nice Tundra, Jared!

Summer Huntington Hatch

On a recent picture-perfect evening I was lucky enough to retreat to my favorite water - Huntington Creek in Central Utah.  The Huntington regularly delivers great mayfly hatches on warm summer evenings.  That evening was no exception and fly fishing the vigorous Mayfly hatch at dusk reminded me just why it is I fish this water in the summer.

Below is a video in which you can see the Mayflies swirl in front of me (you can also see a few eager fish rise in the background).

As the hatch continued the Cutthroat began rising actively to this abundance of mayflies. It's a good sign when I can't decide between watching the fish rise and presenting dry flies to them!

The video below shows more than a dozen fish rising in one minute (I had to stop the camera and get back to fishing).

The video below is for Lori who wonders if I ever do more than admire the beautiful scenery when I fish.  I felt like a "one-armed paper hanger" trying to film and land the fish so I chose the better part and put the camera away.

I quickly found a #18 Parachute Adams and a #16 Grey Hackle Yellow were the perfect flies for the evening and had a marvelous time casting to, landing, and releasing the typically beautiful and energetic Cutthroats like the one below.

The near perfect night, and the typical beauty of sunset against the trees in this narrow canyon, got better, however.  As I was winding down I sighted a large cow moose across the canyon. As I watched her stroll along I hoped her watering hole of choice this night was not the stretch of water I was fishing.

Another great evening on some of the best water I'll ever fish.

Overreaching: Utah House Bill 141

In its session earlier this year, the Utah legislature passed House Bill 141 which restricts stream access for recreational use where public water flows across private land. This includes fly fishing.

"Restrict" is my word. The law now states that you can "float on" the surface of public water flowing over private land but you may not touch the stream bed - that's private. This means no wading in public water that crosses private land. This also applies to other recreational use, such as rafting.

The new law contradicts 75 years of Utah Supreme Court opinions that stream beds over which public waters flow are public and may be touched without risk of trespassing.

Public abuse of private land is unfortunate and I'm sympathetic to that concern. I own private recreational land on which there is a public road easement. Four-wheelers are on my private property daily and I occasionally deal with garbage or other evidence of public use on my private land.

My issue is not that private land should be unprotected. My issue is that the legislature overreached and ignored other, more balanced legislation, including HB80 sponsored by Orem's Lorie Fowlke, which had broad support of both landowners and the recreation industry.

Why the fuss? I have three primary concerns:

1. Punish the guilty, not the innocent.  HB141 effectively closes fly fishing access to a material portion of rivers and streams that have been fished without incident for decades.  The fly fishers I associate with are generally the most considerate, conservation minded of all outdoor enthusiasts.  If the concern is mistreatment of land by trespassers, give private landowners remedies with teeth in them against those who offend. 
2. Private use, private dollars.  Public tax dollars will now be going to maintain the quality of water and fish to which the public will no longer have access (effectively).  If a private landowner now owns the stream bed he or she should pay for the maintenance of the water and fish in that section.
3. Lost revenue.  Fly fishing is a billion dollar industry and many both inside and outside the state are simply choosing to take their fishing dollars to other more "fishing friendly states," such as Montana.  This impact is presented well in this editorial by Steve Smith, owner of Western Rivers Flyfisher.  Besides, the law just makes Utah look silly to fly fishers in other states.

Despite my objections to this legislation, I really didn't expect it to impact me much.  To my surprise on my first trip to the Provo River after the legislation took effect I ran into the sign below warning me I was on private land (poor quality photo with my iPhone since I was afraid to get closer as I may have been at risk of trespassing).

Finally, when I fly fish I like to leave the river or stream better than I found it and I often carry out garbage.  Before HB141 I would have exited the river where the sign is, picked up some garbage I saw on the bank near the sign, and gone on my way. 

My apologies to the landowner that HB141 prevents me from helping keep his or her riverbank property clean.