The Lake Opens Again

The lake is open again. It opened up about three weeks ago, but the weather fluctuated a bit and it closed & opened over and over until this week. From the look of things, the hold overs are bigger than ever!

This fish is one that a buddy of mine caught. Notice the hardware... that's NOT a fly in this pig's mouth, that's for sure. I'll have a talk with him. The good news is that he put back every one he caught, so I'm pretty sure they're waiting for me...

Consistency

I know, I know - write more. I just need another hour in the day, that's all...

Westslope Cutthroat Denied Protection

I'm still learning about the various efforts that affect conservation, access, fish habitat, etc. This one jumped out at me...

From the American Wildlands website there's this article. Apparently the appeal to have the Western Slope Cutthroat listed as an endangered species has failed yet again.

The publication of the original decision from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is available here.

As far as I can tell, there's more to this matter than meets the eye. My guess is that if the species WAS listed, a lot of major industries (timber, oil, gas, etc.) that currently get away with polluting rivers that host this species would be hauled into court and forced to recognize that their hurting one of the few native trout species in the Rocky Mountain region. Given our current energy situation and presiding party in Washington, I doubt this matter will ever be judged in favor of the trout and those that represent them.

Roaring Fork Here I Come

My new job requires me to travel all over the state of Colorado. I'll be in Glenwood Springs in two weeks. I plan on fishing the Roaring Fork and maybe the Frying Pan while I'm there. I'll let you know how it goes...

The Fly Fishing Show Comes to Denver January 5,6, and 7

There almost two (2) feet of fresh snow in the yard and the lake is STILL frozen over. I just picked up the newest edition of Fly Tyer Magazine and my vise is out of storage and ready for some tying. The first stop for the Fly Fishing Show is Denver (of course!) on January 5, 6, and 7. I know that I've already seen 905 of what will be at the show, but it is a great excuse to take my daughter out of school for the day. Besides, she's so cute, maybe someone will give her a flyrod... See you there. Fish on!

A little time off...

Now that I've entered into the realm of multi-sports (elk hunting, duck hunting, pheasant hunting, etc.) I'm not fly fishing all the time, every time. Don't get me wrong, I still love fly fishing, it is just that there's more to do in the outdoors and I want to explore a bit. Besides, there's 2 feet of snow in my yard and the lake is frozen over. It is hard to think about fly fishing under these conditions. Fish on!

Arkansas River Trip - Part 2

Before we got on the water we met Salida's local Laurel and Hardy duo. These two fellas we obviously challenged in some way. The each were carrying a spin rod without any tackle or lures. The tall one knew his fly fishing gear - he had the buzzwords down. He also asked me a LOT of questions about where we were going, how long we were expecting to be on the river, who was driving our car, etc. Sensing that this was not 100% kosher I offered no tagible infomation what-so-ever. My buddy, who works in security for a living, told me that I got an "A" for my peformance. Had I given out any information, he said he's have to give me a lecture on dealing with scammers like these two. Good to know that my time in NYC and LA paid off...

On the water it was business as usual. My buddy had the sticks first, so I was swinging and missing for a bit. After about an hour I took the sticks, only to watch my buddy haul in 3-4 fish in the first 10 minutes he stood in the bow. Figures. We were both swinging streamers (there was no hatch to speak of) and I suppose he's a better "swingger" than I am. No comments, please.

After lunch I got the "skunk of the box", hauling in a nice brown on a streamer from a deep pool. This was one of these pools that holds at least a dozen fish. If I couldn't coax a fish out of that pool, I had no business holding a fly rod. Lucky for me I found a hungry one. Luckier for me I trailed a Hornberg behind my Autumn Splendor. Fish on!

Autumn Splendor on the Arkansas River - Part 1

WARNING: This is a long post/trip report. You might want to get a beverage before you start... for the impatient and short attention spans out there, here's the summary: I caught half-a-dozen fish. Three were dinks caught around Rincon using BWO parachutes and Black Ice droppers. The other there were big (12" to 16"+) browns caught with an Autumn

Spent yesterday fishing the Arkansas River from a raft. My buddy and I floated from Salida to Vallie Bridge. Gosh it was a long day... but a good one!

Up at 4:30 AM and I was out the door by 4:45; arrived at my buddy's house by 5:20 and we were on our way down 285 to Salida by 5:30. Our goal was to be on the water fishing by 8:00. Goals are nice, but this one had a wait a bit until we found a shuttle. Too bad I didn't see my bed again until almost 11:30 PM. Gosh I love fishing, I just wish I didn't have to give up all the sleeping to do it.

Our first stop, ArkAnglers was a bust. Nice shop, nice folks, but nobody available to help with shuttle. Our next stop at Anglers Junction was the winner. There was just one lady at the counter and she said she couldn't do it, but got right on the phone and made a few calls. Within a few minutes we had a shuttle and I had a half dozen flies (Black Ice and chartruse Copper Johns) that would make or break my day of fishing.