Crashing Surf

My vacation in Maine has been enjoyable and relaxing and was made extra special with the large dose of snow we received yesterday.  There's nothing like staying home all day and watching the snow come down.  The feeders were a big hit with our feathered friends, and I spent plenty of time trying to photograph them from the comfort of the warm indoors.

Today we made it out to two well-known spots in the Portland, Maine area, Two Lights and Portland Headlight.  The first is a state park on the coast complete with rocky shoreline while the second is a famous lighthouse.

My camera has been kept very busy the past couple of days.  I have tons of pictures to sift through and it will take some time to finish that process.  In the meantime, here are three pictures that caught my eye at first glance.

Merry Christmas

Things have been quiet on the fishing scene for me the past few days.  Thankfully I'm in full Christmas break mode which involves a lot of relaxation (much needed I might add) as well as time with good friends.  Yesterday was a ski day, and as it was only my third time ever, I'm a bit sore today (okay really sore today), mostly in one or two spots that I repeatedly fell on.  Apparently the ability to cast gracefully with a fly rod on liquid water does not translate into grace on frozen water.  Still, I had a great time and am already planning a trip in Colorado when I get back home.

Once I return, I'll be kicking into high gear on the fly tying scene.  A fishing trip or two may also be in the works although probably not too many of those will happen for the next 2 months.  Stories of BIG trout being caught over on the Frying Pan have me considering a weekend trip, maybe sometime soon during the cold but quiet off-season.

Yes, this has been a great year for me and next year is looking like more of the same.  I hope that all of you are as blessed this Christmas season as I am.  Merry Christmas to each of you, and here's to another great year in 2013!!!

Last Trip

Sunday may have been my last trip of 2012.  There is the possibility of venturing out while in Maine for Christmas (yeah, you read that correctly), and if any of you have any helpful hints and suggestions I'm all ears.  Realistically, however, in all likelihood I logged my last trip of the year.  Best of all, the fish were still hungry!!!

A trip to Boulder provided a great excuse for tossing a fly rod in the car.  One can always hope right?  On Saturday, I drove about a mile up Boulder Canyon and was dismayed at the amount of solid water. Yep, winters in Colorado are just a little bit different from those in Tennessee.  Amazingly, there is still a fair amount of open water in town.

After quickly rigging a rod, I hit the stream with, you guessed it, my favorite little white streamer.  Time has been tight lately but I promise that I will get around to doing an article about this great winter time fly.  In the first pool and riffle, I found zero fish.  Not to be deterred, I worked my way upstream.  The next pool was much more promising.

A little trick I like to use this time of year is to find pools where I know fish spawned.  Normally fish will move to the closest deep water after spawning to ride out the cold months.  The next pool I fished was such a pool.  The tailout still had the telltale signs of recent spawning activity so I was fairly certain there were some browns nearby.  In fact, my first cast into the heart of the pool produced a rather impressive follow for the size of the creek, one of those "I'm coming back again later" type of moments.  Not a giant fish mind you, but large enough to be interesting.

Working my way into the run/riffle area at the head of the pool, I was surprised at how many fish were following the streamer out of the faster water.  The fish were definitely hungry and willing to eat while the stream conditions were still marginally favorable.  Finally, I saw two fish racing to hit the streamer at the same time.  The smaller of the two won, and I was a bit surprised to discover a brook trout with a face full of streamer on the end of my line.

Working my way up through riffles and pools, I found a few more willing fish.  As usual, I discovered several creative ways of spooking the best fish of the day.  This time of year can be particularly tough with low clear water, but I was already satisfied.  I hadn't really expected much out of the outing, but those are usually the times when the fishing is actually pretty good!!!

For Christmas, as I mentioned above, I'll be in Maine.  If anyone has any tips or suggestions for a place to fish this time of year, I'll be just northeast of the Portland/Freeport area.  I still haven't decided if I'll go to much effort to get out or even bother taking gear but must admit that the idea intrigues me.  I'm already thinking about some late winter or early spring trips to tailwaters like the Taylor or Frying Pan for BIG trout.  Apparently cabin fever sets in early here in Colorado...

Lost Reindeer?

While driving through Boulder yesterday, I found Santa's lost reindeer...or at least that's the first thing I thought of when a group of deer came tearing down the street just in front of me.  My first thought was that they were running away from Santa, but then I realized they were just regular Mule Deer.

I'm still not sure what frightened the deer so badly, just as I'm also not sure what they were doing out running around only a few blocks away from the Pearl Street Mall in broad daylight.  Still, it provided a great opportunity for me and my camera which is almost always close at hand.  As luck would have it, the settings were already almost right on for the lighting.  They briefly stopped in someone's yard to pose, still obviously disturbed about something.

Next, they attempted to fly which started me wondering again if they were perhaps reindeer in disguise.  However, their brave efforts always brought them back down to earth.

Not long after, they decided to pose one last time before disappearing in the direction of the Mall.  Maybe they were just on a shopping spree looking for red bows and ribbons to wear for the holidays or maybe some red face paint for their noses...

Saturday Evening Sunset

Today I got caught up on several things including uploading pictures from my camera to my computer. The results of today's brief fishing trip are just about ready to be shared.  However, one of the most beautiful moments this weekend was last evening's sunset.  We were walking on one of the many Open Space trails near a local lake.  Our timing coincided with the sunset which was reflected on the water for a nice treat!!!

Early in the hike, the light was still bright enough for a picture of an interesting plant growing along the path.  I don't know exactly what these are (hint: This is where one of my knowledgeable readers graciously helps me out) but they look intriguing and a bit prickly as well.

Further along in our walk, the sky overhead started to reveal the colors still to come.

Almost to where we could see the lake at this point, I started to hustle.  I really wanted a reflection in my sunset pictures!!!

Relaxing

I have not fished yet this weekend and at this point it is becoming a little more unlikely.  The Blue is still an option and I also have thought of the Big Thompson below Lake Estes.  However, today was a great day for relaxing.  After a great Christmas Cantata at church, we had a nice afternoon that included a walk with a great sunset!  I haven't had time to look at my pictures yet, but you can see some here taken by my girlfriend.  Check them out!!!

Summer Rainbow

Looking through some old pictures, I came across one that was beautiful, but remembered that when writing about the trip I skipped over this picture in favor of another angle.  I kind of like this picture.  It looks a bit like a painting to me.  The fish was caught on the Gunnison and the memory now has me excited about the possibilities for next summer.  Nice to dream about while its cold outside...

How...

...bad is the fishing right now?  That's a question I've been asking myself as the weekend continues to draw closer.  Perhaps I should be asking myself how good is the fishing though because so far I haven't had a bad day in Colorado.  My goal was to get to 70 days on the water for the year, so getting stuck one short sounds like a great opportunity for annoyance.  This becomes even more of a factor when I think about all those warm days a few short months ago that I did not choose to go fishing.

Hindsight is definitely 20/20, but now the question becomes, is it really worth it?  I think the answer is probably yes, which then begs the next question:  When and where to go?  I'm thinking about exploring in Clear Creek again.  I'm sure the ice situation will be less than ideal, but maybe there will still be enough open water that I won't go entirely crazy.  The Blue sounds like a possibility as well although with highs in the low 20s forecast most of the weekend (at best), I'm not sure that my frozen fingers could thread the tiny midges that will probably be required.

Dilemmas about where to go fishing are good ones to have, so maybe a little help is in order.  Where do you think I should fish this weekend, considering that I don't really want to drive more than an hour or two at most and prefer less?

Cold and Busy

Things have finally cooled off a little, although today and tomorrow will see highs back in the 50s on the plains east of the Rocky Mountains here in Colorado.  Still, we had a bit of snow a couple of nights ago and in general things in the high country have cooled from reasonably chilly to frigid cold.  My fishing excursions will be limited for a while which means I might have a little more time to tie.  My nymph and streamer boxes need some (will actually a lot) of help and because of my move, I now need to tie some regionally appropriate (or should I say required) dry flies also.  There will be occasional fishing trips as well including at least one or two trips to area tailwaters.  I use the term area loosely, suggesting anything within distance of a day or short weekend trip is fair game.  Do I dare dream of the Frying Pan and the Taylor?  Time will tell.

Outside of fishing, it is that dreaded season of final exams, Christmas programs, and all of the other activities that consume unusual amounts of time.  Of course, I'm glad for the holidays because that means some time off, but getting past the flurry of things to do is always tiring.  I'm already dreaming of warmer weather, spring BWO hatches, and yes, even my spring break trip to Tennessee.  After all my adventures to places like the Grand Canyon and the Everglades over the past few years, I'm returning home for spring break.  The timing is perfect so the bugs should be hatching and the fish hungry.  Until then, you'll find me trying to keep warm and rest up for another great year of fishing in 2013!!!

A Date That Will Live in Infamy

December 7, 1941 is naturally memorable to any patriotic American, but then there is December 7, 2012.  I'm guessing the trout of Clear Creek might remember this one for awhile.  I did not have much time on the water, 2 hours or so at best, but the trout were out and hungry.  The weather is mild enough to have the trout on the feed but still cool enough that most people are avoiding this stream.  That's just fine with me.

After taking care of a few items of business, I grabbed my gear and headed towards Golden.  After having a blast throwing streamers last Sunday, I assumed the continued warm weather would have even more of the stream open to fishing.  My hunch proved correct as the majority of the stream was free of ice now at least on the lower end where I focused my efforts.  Small streamers were again the name of the game.  I fished a couple of different white streamers and the fish were willing to eat them both dead drift with occasional twitches and also ripped through the currents to imitate a fleeing baitfish.

The irony of the situation had me feeling sorry for the people hurrying past just a few yards away on the busy highway.  Here I was, enjoying the beautiful afternoon and evening out in nature, while everyone else was in a hurry to get to the casinos not far up in the mountains.  It made me very thankful that I find so much pleasure in nature although I'm not sure that I'm saving much money compared to everyone else...

Back to the fishing, things started out okay but not great.  I had a few half hearted follows and a few more genuinely interested fish.  Amazingly, there were still fish out in the riffles and pocket water although many more have already moved to the larger pools where they will spend the cold winter months.  The water temperatures had come up some since last Sunday.  Again I relied on the highly scientific hand dip technique and feel fairly safe saying the water temperature was at least 5 degrees warmer than on my last trip.  As the shadows grew longer, the fish responded to the more comfortable water temperatures.  Perhaps the approaching front had them anxious to eat as well.  Whatever the reason, more and more fish started to attack the streamer.  Finally I brought one to hand and the skunk was off!

Over the last 45 minutes, I stung and even plain ol' missed more fish than I can remember.  The first fish was the smallest and the others included some very respectable trout.  Again, like the last trip, I couldn't connect with the largest fish of the day.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part was the fact that the stream was living up to its name.  I could see the bottom even in the deepest pools and was sight fishing despite not wearing my polarized sunglasses.  The fish were sitting out in all types of water and it was an enjoyable game seeing which ones would chase and eat and which ones would totally ignore my efforts.  Apparently a few fish received a memo detailing my fishing trip because they were just a bit wise to my efforts.  The rest though were not so intelligent and kept me entertained until I knew that it was time to head home...

I wrapped up the evening lying down on a boulder overlooking the top of a nice pool with my camera pointed upstream.  As the light grew less and less, I took several pictures to remember the peace that I found along a busy highway.  I'm sure there is a profound lesson to be learned there as well, but at the moment, I was just glad to be outside soaking up the experience...