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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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Small ball: Ciara McClain bunts to advance a teammate early in the Viking�s sectional matchup with Brown County.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
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The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
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The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
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ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury
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West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
- Local Interest
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Coach: Tim Terry is the South Vermillion baseball coach and plays in the senior league on Sunday afternoons.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
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
The Vigo County Youth Soccer Association will welcome more than 7,000 people to its Springhill Drive facility through two tournaments in the next five weeks.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
- High School
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
- Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
- Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
- Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
- PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
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- College
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea has battled through so many aches and pains during the 2013 season that it can be hard to discern the serious pain from the pain he pitches through.
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ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury
When Indiana State starting pitcher Sean Manaea slumped on the mound in obvious pain after he took his warm-up pitches, red flags raised for ISU’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament hopes.
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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 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'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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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
- Sports Columns
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. - Shooters compete to fight cancer
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
- Pro Sports
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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
- Colts
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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 hoping for more high marks on draft picks
- Werner at top of game
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
- Auto Racing
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. - Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
- Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
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TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic





