I'd seen the
pictures sent by my friends - HUGE cutts and
cutbows (over 20" and counting) caught on
the White River by Meeker. I too wanted my
chance at these beautiful fish. Finally, we
found four days to make the trip and get our
reward - yes, truly large cutthroats,
cutbows, rainbows, and whitefish.
The White River originates in
the Flat Tops. The North Fork starts at
Trappers Lake; the South Fork starts just a
few miles south. They meet up near Buford
and form a gorgeous freestone river
traveling through a broad valley of
hayfields.
 |
Fishing along
the South Fork next to a wall of
limestone |
There's some really decent
access on the White River. You can fish the
major river for several miles between Meeker
and Buford. If you like slightly smaller
stream fishing, head to the North or South
Fork. Access can be found on the North Fork
primarily on USFS lands. The South Fork has
little public access except for the section
in Flat Tops Wilderness. Luckily there are
20 miles of river, with a trail along side,
and a low gradient (average 2.5%). The bad
news - there are lots of "willowy" sections
- you will have to beat your way thru the
willows lining portions of the river. But
once on the water, you can wade upstream in
most sections and then look for a decent
spot to exit.
 |
 |
| Pools on the
South Fork - you'll spot fish in
the feeding lanes. The challenge
is to tempt them with your fly! |
Dry flies and
nymphs work equally well when
fishing seams and riffles along
the main stem of the White |
The Big Fish
OK, I'd come to this river
to not catch just fish. I wanted a large
fish like my friends had caught. We decided
to put our trailer at Sleepy Cat Guest Ranch
so that we'd have easy access to their 2.5
miles of the White, as well as a reasonably
short drive to other parts of the river.
Upon arrival, I pled with the husband to get
the trailer organized and look after our Lab
so that I could go check out the flyfishing.
I put on a size 14 H&L Variant with a small
beadhead pheasant-tail dropper (my
semi-standard when I don't know what else to
use) and I was off. Almost immediately
(well, within 30 minutes or so) I had landed
several rainbows and whitefish. The
whitefish were especially fun. They
certainly rose a lot to the dry but setting
them was a different matter. I gather that
their small mouths make it harder to get
that large fly swallowed. Then, NIRVANA!
First I landed a 20" rainbow, nice and fat.
He was waiting in a reasonably shallow run
along the side of the river. I waded about
30 feet upstream, fishing the narrowed runs,
side seams, and smaller riffles. BOOM!
I had found my whale - it didn't take to
long to land him and he was fairly docile. I
maneuvered him over to shallower water to
release him (I don't use a net) and just
stood in awe. With no camera or audience, I
tried to keep a mental picture of this
beautiful cutbow and held my rod next to
measure him - 23 inches of glory. One of the
largest fish I have ever landed. He released
easily and I remained in shock for hours
while re-telling the story to my husband and
dog over several G&T's.
The next day we hiked up
the South Fork in Flat Tops Wilderness. The
trail is easy to hike and follows close to
the river. After about two miles, we found a
spot where there weren't too many willows
and we could hike into the river. Very nice
water - manageable size and crystal clear.
We started wading the river. Within a few
minutes we came to a nice bend that just
shouted "Fish here, perfect spot" - you
know, one of those outside river bends that
has logs and deep water. I told husband to
fish it - he deserved first shot. He did,
but then got his line caught so called for
me to try before he spooked the fish out. I
cast a few times and then had a strike on
the nymph. Cast again and I got him. Pretty
soon I realized this was not your average
smaller stream, high altitude fish. He took
off and gave me quite the practice session
in landing a large trout. I was glad I had
decided to bring my 5-wt rod instead of my
normal lighter weight, packable rod. After
minutes of giving me some great anxiety, I
finally landed him, again sans net. I had to
have a picture of this guy. I carefully
unhooked him and held his slippery body up
for husband to get a shot via zoom lens from
across the river. We estimate this cutt was
about 18" long and he certainly was healthy!
 |
 |
| I knew I had
hooked a pretty large fish |
The gorgeous
Cutt |
Access points on the
White River (starting at Meeker and going
upstream)
