Fishing Report - Grizzly Creek

Today I fished Grizzly Creek below the dam of Lake Davis in the canyon section. Warning! This section is sketchy at best. Steep walls with rock fall, loose unpredictable footing, mountain lions, and deep holes in the creek will claim a victim. It's spooky and remote down here. With that in the back of mind but ever so present, I scanned the water before casting my fly. Water temps were 59 degrees, and the water here is very dark - Not muddy, just dark and very far from being gin clear. I have fished here many other times and from those trips knew that dry flies were not the answer. I rigged up with a san juan worm with a #14 orange atomic worm with a good amount of weight and high sticked. This creek for the most part is tangled in high grass and willows, an angler must choose the open spots to cast to likely holding water. If you set your hook late your line and fly will find itself a home amongst the many branches, and you will be bushwhacking just to get your prized fly back. I C&R 21 bows from 9-15", and take note these fish are very strong fighters. As I made my way down to the last pool in a series of three, I took a deep breathe for this is the pool I C&R a 5 pound brown 4 years ago. I fished the pool and took 2 bows rather quickly. I then concentrated on the few foam patches and back eddies. I felt a tug and set the hook and my rod nearly came out of my hand - It was a brute! Fishing 4x I quickly got on the fish and muscled it back to the bank, and there it was, a 22" 4.5 pound brown! as I bent over to take a picture (mistake) The brownie screamed back into the pool and tangled me on a submerged snag - Game over, I just got my ass handed to me. Not the first time and it won't be the last. As I made my way out of the canyon one of my favorite birds came to check on me, a Clark's Nutcracker said hi, gave me a few calls and returned to his job of stashing pine nuts for the upcoming winter. Though this creek is beautiful, it is gnarly as well, and I would never recommend fishing it to anyone.