Colorado Sampler Part 2

Now that everyone has probably forgotten all about my glorious trip (yes I am gloating), I'm going to bring it back up. I promised some more stories from Colorado so here's part 2. Recall that our first stop was at the Taylor River and while we caught fish, things were not quite as good as last year. Last year there was one river we didn't get to fish. I was quite disappointed because the Gunnison is probably one of my favorites. This made up for last year and then some.

Our first day on the Gunnison consisted largely of moving and setting up camp, but in the evening we got in a few hours of fishing. We made our way downriver from the campground as the shadows crept up the towering canyon walls. When we started fishing, it took a little time to get things figured out, but it was worth the effort.

We were camping at East Portal which is as far upriver as you can go in the Black Canyon National Park and the only place in the park where you can drive to the river. The fishing here is generally considered technical with small midge patterns accounting for a lot of the success. As you go downriver, hopper/dropper rigs begin to work better. The river has a large biomass which supports one of the designated Gold Medal waters in the state of Colorado. Rainbows and browns grow quickly and average an honest 16-17" at least in the East Portal area. Finding the fish is easy since the large fish often feed high in the water column and in the riffles in only 18-24" of water. Figuring out what they are eating can be a little more tricky.

I started out fishing a Copper John that has produced well on the Gunnison in years past. The fish didn't seem particularly impressed though and I started thinking about trying something else. Fate decided to intervene on our behalf and my fly snagged the bottom of the river bringing up a large clump of weeds. Instead of throwing the mess away in disgust, I did a quick bug check in the mass of green. Our problem became obvious since there were a ton of tiny midge larva throughout the weeds and not much else.

A hurried check of the fly boxes turned up some of east Tennessee guide Hugh Hartsell's blackfly larva pattern in black and brown. With just a little surgery to cut off the poly yarn sticking off the front, I soon had a decent larva pattern and was into fish right away. Several fish later in just a matter of a few minutes had us both convinced that we didn't have nearly enough larva patterns.

I stuck 2 or 3 large fish and even saw one before it ran into the heavy current that would have approached 24". All the fish I brought to hand were in the 16-18" range and interesting were mainly browns. That's the perfect size for having a lot of fun if you ask me and I was having a blast. Unfortunately our small supply of midges was quickly drying up so we planned on a quick trip to town for more tying supplies. I only had 2 colors of the proper material for these magical larva and wanted a better match. The next day would prove the flies capabilities even further...

Carrying Your Gear: A New Perspective

For many years in this sport, a vest was the only way to carry your gear. There were very few fly fisherman that even considered any alternative. Things are different now of course but I had not realized how different until this poll closed. Nearly 50% of you are apparently using a chest or lumbar pack of some type. That doesn't mean that people aren't using vests, just not as much.

Personally I still have a vest and where it some of the time. If I can get away with a lanyard I prefer to go light. There are times though when you are on a new stream or perhaps a challenging spring creek or tailwater where you don't want to be caught unprepared. In those circumstances a vest is still very beneficial. My vest is organized carefully and I always know where everything is when I carry it.

The beginning of this summer brought about some big changes in how I carried gear. Up until that point I had always used a vest. Then I got a lanyard and everything changed. Now I usually like to wear a fishing shirt with the large pockets so I have a place to stow a couple fly boxes. The vest holds pretty much everything else I need. I can always throw an extra pack of leaders and a couple strike indicators in a pocket and I'm good to go.

The benefits far outweigh any negatives for me. When I carry the vest, I'm prone to carrying too much. This seems to be a common problem for most fly fisherman since we always like to be prepared. When you have a lanyard, there just is not anywhere to put more gear so you are forced to cut back. A heavy vest can pull on your shoulders all day leading to tightness in your neck and consequently tension headaches. Once you get used to a lanyard, you almost forget that it is there.

I haven't tried any chestpacks. Honestly I was planning on getting one before I found an excellent deal on the lanyard. I am guessing that the benefits of a small chest or lumbar pack are very similar to that of the lanyard. If anything it might be better because you can carry slightly more stuff without overloading.

The final word for the day...my recommendation: If you haven't tried something other than a vest yet, try a chest or lumbar pack or a lanyard...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised...

New Endeavors

Redeye caught by my cousin, Nathan Stanaway

As implied in the name of this blog, I prefer to catch trout most of the time. Other game fish have demanded my attention from time to time, and with the recent high gas prices, I've taken to fishing for more warm water species. The one thing I haven't done much of is fishing for smallmouth. Sure, I've intended to target them for awhile now but just haven't gotten around to it...until now that is.

This past Sunday I decided to try something different. Small stream fishing will always be special to me since that is how I learned to fish. Here in Chattanooga, there are lots of small streams around the area and I finally tried one out. The results were good and the potential was unreal. I'm not going to name any names so you can put your atlas up, but let's just say that for the size of this stream there are some BIG smallies present.

According to rumor, the fishing only gets better the higher you go up the creek so you'll probably be hearing more on this location soon. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures from the day. All my fish came on beadhead Simi Seal Leech patterns in crawdad colors. The best fish of the day was a smallie of around 12 inches that escaped at my feet before a picture could be taken. Even that fish would have been bait for some of the ones that never got stuck in the first place...but they will soon...

More Tropical Moisture for Tennessee?

The last hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast temporarily sent oil prices back up and set into motion a huge evacuation. The powers that be clearly don't want a repeat of the fiasco that was Katrina. Now another threat is looming. Hurricane Ike is still well out to sea and the forecast path is still somewhat uncertain. Some of the computer models are now hinting at the possibility of a landfall along the Gulf Coast somewhere near the Alabama/Mississippi border. Of course others show a possible landfall as far west as Texas. Forecasting a hurricane so many days out is an uncertain science at best, but if the remnants come any where close to us, Tennessee stands to get another tropical soaking.

Our current drought situation has improved somewhat thanks to the rainfall from what was left of tropical storm Fay. Another big rain event could just get us out of the woods. While the landfall of a major hurricane is not something to be wished for, it may have some hidden benefits. The most recent drought forecast from the Climate Prediction Center is showing improvement in the southeast. I don't really care how that happens just so long as it does. Our streams have been low for too long...

Late Caney Report

Student teaching is keeping me fairly busy. Probably the hardest part is getting up at what to me seems an unearthly hour. I was quite spoiled this summer while working at Little River Outfitters. Since the store didn't open until 9:00 each morning, I didn't have to get up until the sun was clearing the ridge above the cabin I was staying at. Now I'm up well before first light which leaves me tired in the evenings when I should be spending time tying...priorities you know... Anyway, the one good thing about this new schedule is that we actually get holidays off. The prospect of a long weekend sent me home as soon as I could get away last Friday with visions of Caney Fork monsters in my head.

Unfortunately this trip wouldn't turn out to produce another 20 inch plus trout. Still, I can't really complain about a day where I easily lost count of the number of fish brought to hand. The browns and brookies are really starting to color up nicely as we approach fall.




A highlight of the day was spending a bit of time instructing a young man that is fairly new to fly fishing. My buddy had the idea of inviting him along and helping out a bit. Late in the day he had caught several fish including rainbows and brookies but was still looking for that brown to complete the Caney Fork slam.

We were all lined up working a section of bank that sometimes holds large fish. I moved down and told him that we would finish the slam. After just a little instruction he was putting the cast precisely where I asked him to, and within 5 minutes or less we were admiring the third member of his slam for the day. Catching fish is a lot of fun, but helping other people catch fish can often be just as much fun if not more.

The fishing was a little strange last Sunday but not too unusually for a hot late summer day. When we arrived at the river we immediately were into fish. As the sun climbed higher in the sky the fish sought refuge in deeper water right on the bottom. Later on as the sun crept closer to the western horizon, the fish started feeding again. By approximately one hour from sunset, the fishing was just silly. I experimented with several rigs over the course of the day but the old faithful of a dry and Zebra Midge dropper proved to be best. The river continues to be a zoo on the weekends and I really don't recommend fishing it except midweek until the weather cools off a bit. My next fishing target date for the Caney is early October but we'll see if I can actually wait that long. Until then I'll be checking out some wild streams in East Tennessee.

We're Back!!!

Finally...the long awaited moment is here. I have Internet again and that means that the Trout Zone is back on a regular basis. There are still lots of stories from my trip to Colorado last month along with current fishing reports to give. Additionally, I'll be have information soon about some great new patterns that might be of interest. In Colorado, the fish have seen just about every pattern available in the fly shops and so we were forced to make some adjustments. The result was nothing less than spectacular. I'll get things kicked off shortly with a late (and brief) trip report from the Caney last Sunday. Coming over the next few days will be more recent fishing stories along with the best of the Colorado 2008 trip. Stay tuned for that and much more...

Gear Poll

Many of you have already noticed our new poll that has been up for the last week or so. For those that haven't voted yet, please take a minute to vote and let me know how you generally haul all your gear. I've changed things around just a bit this time and allowed people to choose more than one option. For example, I've largely switched over to a lanyard and cram a fly box into my pocket. When I vote, I pick those two options since they go together. If you use a landard and a backpack or some other combination, you can vote for both at the same time... The middle of this week is the long awaited day for getting connected to the Internet so expect an end to the recent down time.

Change of Season

Despite the warm weather that remains for at least a couple more weeks, fall is lurking just around the corner. The drought has continued to worsen with several weeks passing since the last area-wide rain event. That is likely about to change though as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay are forecast to move across East Tennessee. Moisture should begin increasing from south to north beginning tonight into tomorrow. The details are not perfectly clear yet, but according to the National Weather Service in Morristown, 2 day rainfall totals may approach 3-4 inches over parts of East Tennessee. With the bad luck we've had this year, I'll believe it when I see it but at least things are looking up.

The upcoming season is my favorite of the year. Typically our freestone streams are low and clear making the sight fishing opportunities better than average. The fall colors are always great. The browns will start becoming more aggressive in the upcoming weeks as they feed heavily before the spawn. Best of all, the warm weather crowds will start dwindling leaving me with a lot more water to myself. As winter sets in, I'll be able to sleep in and hit the water in the middle of the day and probably see no more than 1 or 2 other people out on the colder days. That's my kind of fishing...

Busy

To all of you that have been checking back daily for updates and reports from my trip to Colorado a couple of weeks ago, please be patient. I moved back down to Chattanooga late last week and started student teaching this week. Unfortunately we haven't got Internet access yet at my apartment but I promise it will happen soon. When it does, I'll be back with regular posting including stories from my trip and current fishing reports. This next weekend is looking like a possible Caney Fork trip. Chickamauga will need to be visited quite a bit again as well. So keep checking back and I should be back up and running within a few days...

First Day, Big Fish

The first day of my trip to Colorado this summer started off fairly slow. Our first destination was the Taylor River just north of Gunnison Colorado. Over the course of the first day, I only managed 2-3 fish and nothing really worth bragging about although one of the rainbows was a nice fish approaching 17 or 18 inches.



The fishing this year seemed strange with many of the areas that were stacked with fish last year appearing barren in comparison. There were still some fish but not the same numbers as last year. During our time on the Taylor, we found many more fish but they tended to be stacked up in deeper water and not up feeding in the shallow runs. When we could find fish up feeding, the fishing was not too bad. Finding the correct fly was often a tedious process but once tied on, the proper fly would immediately hook a fish.

Before ever leaving for Colorado, my buddy Trevor and I had discussed the possibility of night fishing. This year we were determined to give it a shot. As darkness set in, we each stuck some fish on small spinner patterns and other dries and then switched to nymph rigs. The reason I switched to subsurface flies was that I could fish them on a tight line and theoretically feel the strikes. This type of fishing can be frustrating and I finally switched on my head lamp to look for fish feeding along the banks. As I walked up the stream, I finally spotted what appeared to be a large rainbow feeding on the edge of the faster flow. I switched off the light and waited a couple of minutes before beginning to cast to where I thought the fish was. After what seemed an eternity and many casts, I felt a bump and quickly set the hook. The fish raced off into the blackness with me frantically running up and down the river as the large rainbow ran at will. Finally, after what probably was 15 or 20 minutes, I finally led the big fish into the shallows where Trevor netted it for me.

The first thing we noticed where the apparent wounds on top of the fish above its head and also near the tail. Large chunks of skin were missing without any apparent puncture wounds which seems to rule out a heron. I don't know if there are any otters in this area but have never seen any. If anyone has any ideas I would be glad to hear them.



After a couple of "hero" shots, I carefully let the big fish go, cradling it gently in the current until it swam off to be caught again another day (or night). The surprising thing about night fishing was that there were several other people doing it as well. The poor fish in the C&R section of the Taylor get hammered day and night all summer long and probably a good bit of the cold season as well. After this trip, I told Trevor that I had some serious doubts about fishing the "famous" Colorado streams during the summer ever again. This was brought on by another incident but that's a story for another day...