For those of you who enjoy fly fishing or would like to learn a very rewarding technique to catch trophy brown and rainbow trout, read on.
Vaughn Rightly had never picked up a fly-fishing rod before until he took his wife Kristy and daughter Olivia to Harden, Mont., to vacation at the Eagle Nest Lodge. One evening while sitting around a camp fire, they taught Vaughn how to throw a fly and he was hooked.
The lodge is on the Big Horn River on a Crow Indian Reservation. The area they fish is catch-and-release with barbless hooks, so that is why you can catch fish 15 to 20 inches long with as many as 20 fish a day in this category.
The most popular method of boating is the McKenzie Style, which you float in a medium-sized, flat-bottom boat that the guide can row while you walk around the boat to position yourself to throw your fly and work your line.
Each section of the river has a name like “The Aquarium” or “The Three Mile.”
While the guides were launching the drift (boat), Vaughn saw large fish from the bank and forgot about his fishing pole and wanted to jump in to do some Hillbilly Hand Fishing. Vaughn’s first was a white fish and the only one of the day.
They had two newbies in the boat, so can you see all the line flying everywhere?
For the first brown trout Vaughn landed, the guide pulled out a turkey baster with a small hose attached and he slid the hose down the fish’s mouth into its stomach to suck out the contents to see what the fish had been feeding on. They changed the fly to a white larvae type and Vaughn said, “Boy, the fishing was on.” He had the time of his life.
Remember, when you are fishing with barbless hooks, you cannot let your line go slack or the fish will spit the hook out and go on its way.
The Big Horn River holds a greater number of large trout in the 15-to-20 inch range than any river in the United States, with around 8,000 trout per mile. The Big Horn host phenomenal hatches almost year round. It provides excellent fishing from April through November. From the Blue Winged Olives of spring to the midsummer PMDS and Yellow Salies to the Black Caddis and Trico’s of late summer, there is dry fly fishing to be had nearly every day of the season. As a tail-water fishery, heavy runoff is never a problem, making it one of the few fisheries in the West where fly fishing is as good in April and May as it is during summer and fall.
Vaughn, you are envied by many outdoorsmen for you have experienced a fishing trip of a lifetime!
Brian Smith announced that Indiana Outdoor News (ION) and wildindiana.com have teamed up to launch Indiana’s No. 1 online resource for statewide outdoor news. The redesigned indianaoutdoornews.net website went live at 11:59 p.m. Feb. 16. Leveraging the resource of Indiana Outdoors News magazine with the content of wildindiana.com, the new website promises to keep Hoosier outdoors enthusiasts informed about what is happening in the woods, fields and waters of the state.
Kenny Bayless can be reached by e-mail at kwbayless@aol.com.
Sports
REDNECK QUAKER: Montana trip gets man hooked on fly fishing
- Sports
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Softball sectionals
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. -
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
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But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
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The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
- Local Interest
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Softball sectionals
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman baseball to play DePauw on Thursday after Tuesday's rain
The Rose-Hulman baseball team has rescheduled its non-conference game with DePauw to Thursday night.
The start time remains 7 p.m. for the single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for today. Tuesday’s scheduled Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Anderson was moved to Sunday because of rain. -
Vigo County Youth Soccer Association to host Indiana Soccer Cup Games
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METRO ROUNDUP: North, South well-represented on All-Star teams
Two Terre Haute schools, two Terre Haute coaches and four Terre Haute All-Stars.
When it comes to the 21st Annual North-South All-Star Classic on April14 at Rose-Hulman, it would be hard to discern any North-South bias.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
- High School
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
- West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
- Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
- Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
- Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
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- College
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ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
On the heels of their thrilling double victory at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships both the Indiana State men and women moved up in the national rankings which were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. -
ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
Robby Ort celebrated his Indiana State baseball Senior Day on Saturday by becoming the Sycamores’ all-time leader in RBIs as ISU ended its regular season with a 16-7 win over Bradley at Bob Warn Field.
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
ISU couldn’t do it.
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ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
- Sports Columns
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Shooters compete to fight cancer
A team of employees at Taghleef, formally A.E.T, would like to give a personal invite for you to join in on a lot of fun while helping save lives.
Cindy and Mark Wilguess are the inspiration behind the Taghleef Team. Cindy herself fought this battle with cancer and won. Last year she led her team to be the No. 1 fundraisers in the Relay for Life. - TILL IT'S OVER: Terre Haute Triathlon's new race director seeks more events for his hometown
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Shooters compete to fight cancer
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts received high marks for the impact players the team added through the NFL draft.
Of the 10 players selected, five ended up either starting or seeing extensive playing time (quarterback Andrew Luck, tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and running back Vick Ballard) during the Colts’ 11-5 season.
While this year’s class may not rival that group in terms of name recognition and flash, it may produce just as many major contributors once the 2013 season gets underway. - Colts in wait-and-see mode for tonight’s NFL draft
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Colts hoping for more high marks on draft picks
- Terre Haute Rex
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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. - Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
While the Indianapolis Colts put their rookies and a handful of second-year players through workouts this weekend at the team’s Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, a pair of first-year coordinators are getting a chance to do some valuable on-field work as well.
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
- Auto Racing
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Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. - Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
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Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat





