Fly Fishing the Big Lost River

Fly Fishing on the Big Lost River

Today started out cold (34 degrees F) with a strong, cold wind and storm clouds covering the mountain surrounding the valley. The weather was not so good for fly fishing as I had planned. So I went about my daily routine.

I have started to build a greenhouse for next season. You need a building permit to build anything in Mackay so I went to City Hall to get one. After lunch I went back to work setting up the railroad ties I will use for the foundation for the greenhouse. It is hard work to move the 9 foot, tar soaked ties and I had to take off my jacket as the temperature had warmed up. It was then I noticed that the wind had quit blowing.

Needless to say, I picked up my tools and headed for the garage to get my fishing gear. There won't be many days left for fly fishing. The stretch of water close to home, runs too high to fish from mid May until early October because of irrigation in the valley. Last week the water at the access crossing was mid thigh deep. Today when I got to the crossing, the water wasn't even knee deep; just perfect for fishing.

No wind, 60 degree temperature, beautiful fall colors, great water with well defined holes and riffles; what more could you ask for? Maybe a few more days like this one!

Big Lost River

(About 1-1/2 Miles from My House)

Wayne Olsen Photo

Oh, I almost forgot! The fishing was great! The catching was good. I usually release all the fish I catch unless they are good sized. That was the case today. Leave the little ones to grow for next time. So, I went home and cooked some Schwan Talapia loin fillets. It was much easier. I plan on fishing again tomorrow if the weather is good, I can work on the greenhouse even in the snow!

Comments

Early Mining on Mackay Peak

Early Mining on Mackay Peak Mackay Peak (10273 ft ) Ore was first discovered in what is called the Alder Creek mining district in 1879. However the prospectors who discovered the ore were too poor to develop their claims. In 1884, additional discoveries, including one in the area of what would become the Darlington Shaft of the Empire mine, created a boom in the area. NOTE: The Darlington Shaft (700 feet in depth) is located at the top of the the current open pit mine. . A 50-ton smelter was built at Cliff City on Cliff Creek This smelter was build by Wayne Darlington as an experiment to see if it would be economically feasible to recover copper from the ore by smelting. Wayne Darlington NOTE: I t could be said that Wayne Darlington was the visionary who saw the potential for the mining of copper in the Alder Creek Mining District. The Office of State Engineer was establ...

Jesse McCaleb

Jesse McCaleb Jesse was born on Christmas Day, (December 25) 1837 in Roane County, Tennessee (west of present day Knoxville) to James Newton McCaleb and Susannah Hope. Jesse was one of 7 children. There is not much information about his childhood except for census records showing that the children may have been deserted by their parents and their being raised by close family members. Jesse left Tennessee (at the age of 20) in 1857/8 going to Camden County, Missouri (southeast of present day Kansas City). The 1860 census records list Jesse as living with the James Vernon family (James' wife Harriet was Jesse's first cousin). It was here that Jesse met his second cousin and future bride, Anna Boyd Vernon (Harriet's daughter, who in 1860 was 13 years old). Jesse was working as a clerk in the mercantile owned by James W. Vernon, but when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in the Confederate Army at Camden County, Missouri and ...

Wayne Darlington Mining Visionary

WAYNE DARLINGTON MINING VISIONARY It could be said that Wayne Darlington was the visionary who saw the potential for the mining of copper in the Alder Creek Mining District. “Mr. Wayne Darlington, one of the most successful and experienced mining engineers in America, was for five years in charge of John William Mackay’s mining properties.” (Harper’s Weekly – 1907) Wayne MacVeagh Darlington was born on March 3, 1862 in Pennsylvania. The early 1880s found him in Idaho. Idaho State mine records show that Darlington had a theory that smelting rock containing the copper ore would be an effective way of recovering the copper. Darlington persuaded some New York investors to help finance his operation. Upon securing financing, a 50 ton per day through put smelter was built and operated from late 1890 to February 1891. Darlington would have been about 28 years old at that time. The smelter produced about 200,000 pounds of base copper bullion by di...

Wayne's Reflections