Low water - big brown

[wwelz]

I have been fishing the West Branch in anticipation of higher water temperatures. I drifted from Deposit down to Balls Eddy in my new watermaster ( what a fishing machine). This raft was designed for fisherman by fishermen. I can turn on a dime to avoid rocks and the profile in the wind is very low. The feature I like the best is the ability to just stand up anywhere you can safely touch bottom and wade fish while inside the raft. This allows the quick exploration of new spots and is a safety feature when wading.
Enough about the raft. The wind was a royal pain most of the day but I caught quite a few fish on woven czech nymphs ,crane fly larvae and sulpher emergers. I caught two browns like this. I think it is interesting that these Browns are so bright they look like Salmon.

[frankm205]

Nice fish Bill!

[Magnet]

Great brown Bill. The color lends itself to a post Sal put up a while back about fish in different rivers. The float vessel is interesting. Do you have a picture of it?

[AaronJasper]

That's a nice fish. The water isn't low anymore. It look to be 850. I've floated that river a number of times and I still like shore fishing the most. It's the easy way to beat all of the boats to the spots

I have a whole rotation that I do when I go there!

[Troutastic]

I checked out those boats... look awesome! Maybe next year's tax return I'll get one of those and do a bunch of trips down the Green River... Damnit. More of my life savings invested into this silly sport...

[wwelz]

These images are from the watermaster web site. They show two of my favorite features of the craft. One it its extremely light and packable. The entire boat fits in a backpack that you can easily carry or in my case take up very little room in my rv. The second picture shows the ability to just stop and put your feet down and fish. THIS BOAT IS EXPENSIVE . I paid $1500.00 for it but I got the best boat with the old man comfortable seat option. I have owned two one man pontoon boats. The raft is far superior. Better maneuverability, safety and ease of rowing.
Aaron I agree with you about floating the West Branch. The accessibility of the river allows quick access to the best spots and the long sections of slow water are not appealing to me . I floated it for two reasons. One to find spots I could not see from the road. I found a couple of really good spots . Two - I wanted to do a shakedown cruise on the raft before I headed out west. Thanks for the positive comments about the fish. I have been fly fishing for over fifty years and I am catching more and bigger fish now thanks to this website and the instruction that I have received from Aaron. The site is a gold mine of information , all the fly patterns you need are in the videos and access to expert fishermen who are willing to help you become a first rate fishermen . The key is to fish-fish- fish.

[Magnet]

Bill,
Thanks for the info on the raft. Its cool. I see you got the old man seat option do they have a fat ass seat option too? Also, dont give Aaron to much of a positive testimony. The "be fair to other guides" police are monitoring this site and will confront you. You will be acused of subliminally suggesting that Aaron is the best guide and that those looking to up their game might serve themselves well by hiring Aaron for a day. The "BFOG" police will say its just not fair! :'(

[tim_y]

I have to agree with wwelz. Aaron and the TPO crew do a great job of making information available in an easy to interpret way. I too have experienced much better catch rates and larger fish due to some of the techniques I've seen on here. Aaron's video on the 265 nymph is well worth the time spent watching. That nymph (and a variation that I tie with acetate floss) have been killer in a size 16 for me this year. I love TPO on Youtube!

[castmaster]

I bought the TPO video compilation at the TPO store. its great to have this info at your finger tips.