I spent the day up in the mountains yesterday, driving dirt roads that climb up to the snow-capped peaks where my favorite small creeks begin their long journey to the valleys below. The creek I fished is about 6 to 8 feet wide in most spots, with plenty of twists and turns where you can just hop across from one bank to the other. It’s pretty small. But the beavers have done a nice job damming up the creek in several spots, and the beaver “ponds” offer some good fishing opportunities. After some bush-whacking and crawling in the mud to get under a barbed wire fence, I came to a large beaver pond with a really nice riffle running into it. On about the third cast, my rod bent in half and my drag started screaming. After an intense battle, which took all I could to keep the fish from taking me into piles of branches and brush, I landed a beautiful 19-inch brown trout. It still amazes me that a fish can get so big in such small water. I think I can thank my friend the beaver for creating the opportunity to catch such a mighty fish in a small creek.
