After a tough night's sleep we got up, made breakfast and packed up camp. It was really beautify overlooking the West Castle River just as the sun was coming up over the ridge.
We cast for a bit there, but didn't see anything happening, so loaded up in the truck and headed north. We turned off at Castle Bridge and stopped there to cast a bit under the cliff face and by the bridge. Again having nothing happening we continued on.
We continued up Castle Falls Road and came up to Castle Falls.
We stopped for a quick lunch before trying our luck in the pools at the bottom of the falls. Mike tried his spin casting rod a little ways downstream and I was going with my fly rod right at the base of the falls. Neither of us had luck there.
I tried some dry flies on a pool between the two spots where we were fishing and there were dozens of trout. It was challenging in the wind, but when it lightened a bit and the sun was out, I could cast over them, see them rise up to the fly, have a good look at it and then descend back to where they were before. It was entertaining and frustrating all at the same time; but what an incredibly scenic place for it. After giving it a solid try for a while, they wouldn't take anything I was offering, so it was time to try somewhere else.
We stopped for a quick lunch before trying our luck in the pools at the bottom of the falls. Mike tried his spin casting rod a little ways downstream and I was going with my fly rod right at the base of the falls. Neither of us had luck there.
I tried some dry flies on a pool between the two spots where we were fishing and there were dozens of trout. It was challenging in the wind, but when it lightened a bit and the sun was out, I could cast over them, see them rise up to the fly, have a good look at it and then descend back to where they were before. It was entertaining and frustrating all at the same time; but what an incredibly scenic place for it. After giving it a solid try for a while, they wouldn't take anything I was offering, so it was time to try somewhere else.
Our route took us back down to Castle Bridge where we turned and cut across to the Carbondale River. We checked out a potential camp spot then headed up river looking for a place to fish. We turned off onto Lost Creek Road and worked our way though the scenic trail on a former wildfire burn. After seeing the size of Lost Creek we decided to cut back down to its confluence with the Carbondale River where there was a deep pond to try. We saw a fish rise once, then Mike got the fish to take his fly, but he couldn't set the hook.
The wind was quite atrocious by this point, where you could barely cast, let alone control where your fly was landing, so we loaded back up in the truck and headed on a road out towards the highway. The road was very scenic, in good repair, and with nobody on it. It follows the Carbondale River and Castle River but higher up on the valley wall. From our enjoyment of it, we nicknamed it the Mini-Dempster, after the Dempster Highway in the Yukon/Northwest Territories that we drove back in 2009.
We got back to the main road and drove to the bridge over the Castle River where we walked down to the water through very thick willows. Again the wind was relentless and only a few casts in we realized that nothing much was going to be accomplished, so headed in to Blairmore to camp.
We stayed at the Lucky Lemon Campground for the sole reason that they have showers. Much needed after a few days in the bush, and the tough hike on Sunday. We had dinner, cleaned up our gear, did dishes in a sink, and had a shower. We went out to the Cos Hotel Bar for a beer which has some great history going back to 1902; inside it seems like any other small town hotel bar.
We fueled up and stopped at the liquor store before heading off to bed. We were right across the river from the tracks and thankfully there were only 3 trains that came through during the night.
We stayed at the Lucky Lemon Campground for the sole reason that they have showers. Much needed after a few days in the bush, and the tough hike on Sunday. We had dinner, cleaned up our gear, did dishes in a sink, and had a shower. We went out to the Cos Hotel Bar for a beer which has some great history going back to 1902; inside it seems like any other small town hotel bar.
We fueled up and stopped at the liquor store before heading off to bed. We were right across the river from the tracks and thankfully there were only 3 trains that came through during the night.
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