SAO Pages

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Adventures of Flybum - Part 7

The last time I wrote, I promised we would head upstream on the Teton in my next blog. Well, I'm keeping my promise although it has been a number of days since my last entry. The delay in getting you up river was due to the fact that I wanted to do so through the avenue of video. So, I make my return in this western adventure series with another Flybum Media short.

This section of river will be forever burned in my memory for a couple of reasons. The first being that it was the first time I had ever come across a mountain lion den (yeah, I was standing right in front of it before I realized it...pretty daunting really), second because that is where I lost the biggest fish of the day, and last but not least, it was the place where I caught my first Rattlesnake....Oh Yeah....It was a rush! You'll see more of this in the video.

Until then, here are a few more photos of fish that we caught on our day on the Teton.

SAO GUIDE BEN BARGER WITH A HEALTHY
YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT

SAO GUIDE PATRICK ROBINSON HOLDING
A NICE CUTTHROAT OF HIS OWN

Toward the end of our day, we headed back downstream to a confluence and decided to fish it up. It was a great piece of water! I only wish we had more sunlight so we could have explored it further up.

AN AWESOME FIGHTING FISH IN FAST
WATER ON A 5WT!

As we fished upstream in the last few minutes of light in the canyon, yet another first presented itself, and I wasn't gonna pass this one up. Some call it a bit crazy....some completely insane. I call it cool and living on the edge : )

Below is a photo of the Rattlesnake I noticed trying to climb the vertical rock face in the background of the photo above. I noticed him swimming along the wall and then he disappeared into the only crevice for quite some distance. I hollered out to Ben, "Rattlesnake" and pointed across the river. He said, "How do you know?" I said, "Just trust me, I know my snakes" and headed off for the other side of the river to see if I could get a look at him. The following photo is all I could take considering I had left all cameras but my iPhone downstream. It was the end of the day, the sunlight was disappearing and so we decided to wrap up the filming for the day....ughhh. Always happens when you need the camera(s).

FIRST RATTLESNAKE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN
THE WILD IN ALL HIS GLORY! TRULY AN AMAZINGLY
BEAUTIFUL REPTILE. I GUESS YOU HAVE TO APPRECIATE
SNAKES TO AGREE WITH ME ON THIS.

Wow, that was really cool to see! However, I always wanted to catch a poisonous snake and here was my opportunity and a good one at that. Please keep in mind that I don't advise this. I spent a large part of my childhood catching snakes, learning about snakes, visiting serpatoriums, and educating myself on what makes snakes tick. That being said, this was the best opportunity one could have. Snakes are cold blooded reptiles which means they rely on the warmth of the sun to increase their metabolism. That means if they are cold, they move slow, if they are hot, they are lighting fast. This snake had just come out of 55-60 degree water, had been in the shade, was climbing straight vertical, and could not achieve a coiled position if he tried which is the position they need to be in for an optimum defense/strike posture. So, his ability to defend himself was extremely limited and his metabolism was very slow due to being in the water (and this was proven in the fact that he could barely shake his rattle). So, again, please understand that I know what I am doing, read all the available signs, and proceeded knowing the inherent risks.

So, with a little encouragement from my friend Ben, it was on! Just a minute later, I was proudly in control of one mean looking set of teeth! But to be quite honest, and I hate to say it, because it takes the "macho" out of the story.....this could very possibly have been one of the easiest snakes I have ever caught.

PATRICK SMILES WITH HIS FIRST
RATTLESNAKE IN HAND

THE BUSINESS END AND A BEAUTIFUL
RATTLE ADORNED THIS AWESOME SNAKE!

So, without further delay, here is the latest film I worked on. I wish I had more to offer, but when you are torn between filming and fishing, sometimes you come up short on the footage you really would have liked. Regardless of what I didn't get, it turned out decent in the end and will always be on my shelf as a part of "The Adventures of Flybum - Volume 2." Also please note that in the flick, some censoring has been done to protect names of those who shared information and also to protect the names of specific locations. I think we all understand that YouTube videos and blogs on the world wide web can be a place that puts a lot of unneeded pressure on some of our favorite haunts. Therefore, for conservation reasons as well as the need to respect the wishes of others who so selflessly helped me build a successful trip, I have added the censors early in the flick. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I did fishing it, filming it, and editing it down.


Next time, we will take a trip across the Teton divide and check out a brief stint on a tributary to the Snake River in the area of Jackson, Wyoming....home of Snake River Fine Spots!

Until then,

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson
Head Guide
Steelhead Alley Outfitters

No comments: