Still Need Snow

The snow situation here in Colorado is still far from being encouraging.  Wyoming is faring a bit better which at least suggests that a Yellowstone trip is still a definite possibility.  However, here in our local area, the snow is still severely lacking.  Here is a picture I took last Saturday.  The lower valleys in Rocky Mountain National Park do not even have any snow.  The peaks have some but nowhere near enough.

While the snow might be meager, the howling wind and blowing snow is keeping the highest elevations locked in winter's embrace.  The following pictures were also taken this past Saturday.  Snow was blowing along and off of the mountain tops by strong northwesterly winds.

A storm is at least possible this upcoming weekend.  We need a lot of moisture this spring to avoid another bad fire season here in Colorado.  While I am ready for warmer weather and lots of open water fishing opportunities, I will be glad to wait for more snow before the warmup starts.

Help Me Out Please

So, I know there are some good sources out there for cheap tungsten beads and was wondering what the best deal (quality + price) is out there?  Anyone have a good source for tungsten beads that you would be willing to share?  I'm not looking to buy in quantities of more than a hundred at a time at most.  Thanks!

Poll Extended!!!

The poll on how much fishing you hope to do this year has been extended.  I know there are lots more readers who have NOT voted yet so please take just a moment to give me some feedback.  Just a couple of mouse clicks is all it takes.  Find the poll over to the right near the top of the page.  You only have a couple more days so do it now!

Moraine Park: After the Fire

For the first time since the Fern Lake Fire burned through Moraine Park, I returned to see what damage occurred.  Not sure what I would find, I was probably more apprehensive than anything else.  The first glimpse went a long ways towards encouraging me.

The meadow is changed, that much is for sure.  The vast majority of the tall grass burned while the fast moving fire rolled through.  A wet spring will help a lot though and the meadow is ready for a lot of new growth.

The fire obviously did not burn hot for very long as it made the run down the valley.  Islands of unburned grasses were to be seen throughout the meadow.  Stream-side willows and other vegetation were a bit charred towards the ground but not dead, at least not in the small area I saw.

Here are a couple of pictures I took.  You can tell that the meadow was burned but it should recover nicely once the growing season returns assuming we have some moisture...

Just Four More Months!!!

Here's hoping for a good hatch this year!!!

Fishermen's Excuses Go Big Time

We all know that fishermen are creative story tellers, not to mention that they come up with some of the most creative excuses.  From the classic "It must have been the moon phase" to more unusual excuses such as "there weren't enough cows standing," fishermen have an excuse.  Occasionally we even take responsibility along the lines of, "I just wasn't on top of my game and couldn't figure the fish out."

Now, in a sure sign that our beloved sport is on the verge of going mainstream in pop culture, the Federal Reserve is borrowing from a classic fisherman's excuse.  In a statement released today, the Federal Reserve says that "Growth in economic activity paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions..."

My question for you is this:  Is the weather now an acceptable excuse for a poor fishing day since the excuse has gone mainstream or is it okay to call your fishing buddies out when they attempt to claim that a trip was lame due to weather?

Tying Season

As spring approaches at a now rapid pace, the warm days with hatching bugs and rising trout are not so much a distant hope as a soon to be reality.  Lots of snow is finally falling in the mountains, although still not "enough" (is there ever enough?).  My spring break fishing excursion is looming closer as is an early summer Yellowstone excursion if everything works out the way I hope.  In preparation, things are definitely starting to happen at my tying desk.  I'll be cranking out more and more flies in the coming few weeks with only a couple of fishing trips planned.

Also upcoming here at the Trout Zone is a review of a new book by Randy Kadish, entitled "The Way of the River."  When first contacted about a possible review, I was excited since I enjoyed his last book.  This book was a good read as well and in fact I could hardly put it down once I started reading.  Reading Randy's books always encourage me to contemplate my own life more including both my successes and failures as well as how to continue growing as an individual.

In addition to preparing for the upcoming fishing "season," I also have a tentative trip lined up with Juan Ramirez of Hopper Juan fame.  Yep! The next few weeks should be both productive and enjoyable.

Finally, I'm super excited about a new rod I ordered yesterday.  After years of drooling every time I saw or was able to cast a Helios, I finally bit the bullet and bought one.  I got a smoking deal from Taylor Creek over in Basalt or else I never would have justified spending the money.  For all of you who are always on the lookout for a great deal, I recommend signing up for the Taylor Creek email newsletter.  The deal (or was it a steal?) I got was highlighted in the newsletter and was not available on the website last I checked.  Taylor Creek treats their customers right as well and I have always had positive experiences with them.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to my friend Byron Begley over at Little River Outfitters.  He is working hard on the website and honestly I don't think he stops looking for ways to make it even better.  Right now he is in the middle of a project to completely redo the "Flies" section of the online catalogue.  It is a work in progress but the great photography (for you tiers out there this is a great way to see what the flies you are tying should look like) and new organization is going to be awesome.  The flies are going to be divided into categories based on primary purpose and usage.  There will be Smokies flies for each season as well as warm water patterns and tailwater flies, and don't forget the saltwater selection which is excellent especially considering that LRO is nowhere near the salt.

Fishing Trips Poll

Please vote in our poll on the right side of this page if you haven't already.  The poll is running for a few more days before I take it down.  I'm really impressed with the projected time on the water for at least a few of you.  Someone out there is living the life (although perhaps you're on the water everyday as a guide and not fishing much yourself).  Thanks for participating!

Handling Fish

I just came across a great article from Louis Cahill over at the Gink and Gasoline blog.  Titled "14 Ways to Prevent Fish Mortality," there are tons of great tips for everyone from the beginner to the seasoned veteran.  Over the years I have seen everything, including someone playing a 12 inch rainbow on the Caney Fork for over 5 minutes.  One of my favorite all-time fish abuse stories is the South Holston body slam.  After catching a big trout in the neighborhood of 26-28 inches, a man lifted the fish and slammed it to the ground (slight exaggeration because the fish probably squirmed out of his hands), at least that's what it looked like to me.  The funny part about this story?  The guy then proceeded to "wonder" out loud to his buddy for the next hour why the fish was just sitting in 6 inches of water behind a rock and not moving for the next hour.  Regardless, I'm sure we could all treat fish with a bit more respect to ensure that they are healthy for someone else to enjoy.  Check out the article, and if you don't already subscribe to Gink and Gasoline, I recommend you do that while you're over there...

Cure for Cabin Fever

Like any good fisherman, winter can take its toll on me, especially now that I'm living in Colorado where winter apparently means frozen water instead of cold but fishable lakes and streams.  Yes, in the short term I miss Tennessee, but just wait until summer.  In the meantime, I've got to occasionally get out and fish even if the weather is nasty.

On Monday, the weather was anything but nasty.  Probably just about as good as it gets in winter, the temperatures were flirting with 60 degrees, there was practically no wind, and it was a holiday so I had NO SCHOOL!!!  The previous day I had already satisfied my craving for time in nature with a great hike up the Flatirons near Boulder.  The views were magnificent, and I gained some much needed exercise.  Oh, and those are people on top of the 2nd Flatiron pictured below...

While hiking is great, I still wanted some time on the water.  My last fishing trip was over a month ago and was beginning to seem more like ages.  That's why I decided to get out and do something about it!  That's right, when all else fails, its time to actually go fishing instead of daydreaming.  Knowing that I-70 would be clogged with traffic due to the holiday and all the skiers heading back to Denver, I opted to instead head south to Pueblo and the Arkansas River.

Having fished the Arkansas above Canyon City before, let me start off by saying that the tailwater is definitely not the same remote and uncrowded experience as points further upstream.  However, the fishing is good enough that I only noticed the differences until I started catching fish.

Sometimes the drive can produce some of the memories on a fishing trip.  This was the case on Monday for sure.  Cruising down a mostly deserted road in Colorado is downright peaceful.  Watching the scenery go by is always one of my favorite parts of any trip.  What I didn't expect were the cars pulling off up ahead like something was the matter.  Yep, you guessed it, a Greyhound was racing along down the road..............seriously.  I'm not joking on this one although my first reaction was the same.  By the time I realized I was not dreaming, I was flying by in the other lane.  I'm still not sure what was going on...

Finally on the water, the plan for the day was to nymph and hope for a hatch.  I rigged up my go-to 5 weight, a 9 foot St. Croix Legend Ultra that has caught many nice fish over the years.  For flies, I'm not going to be any more specific than to say that larva patterns, mostly of the midge variety, were my top producers.  For an indicator, I have been gravitating towards the indicator system some people now refer to as a New Zealand Indicator.  I love the ease of adjustability and the sensitivity of these indicators.  Byron Begley from Little River Outfitters got me started on these, and I've used the system in just about every situation since then.

I wandered slowly up the river in search of fresh water or at least some solitude.  Finally, with fishermen all over the place, I decided to walk a ways.  Apparently approaching another access, I started to run into more fishermen and decided to turn around and fish my way down through the open water below.  Other anglers would appear above and below and then vanish again as if someone was sitting in the control room shuffling the pieces of a puzzle.  My piece of river was always respected however and for that I was grateful.

Just below one deeper hole, I found a perfect run that I knew held some trout.  They just weren't where I thought they should be.  Continuing to drift my rig through time after time while slowly shuffling downstream, I started to get some hits...or was it ticking the bottom?  The possibility of fish playing with the flies refocused me just enough so that when the indicator twitched and then slowly sucked under, I was completely ready and in command of the situation.

Upon setting the hook, I discovered more than the 12 inches of trout I expected.  The fish pulled back, hard.  Worrying about the quality of my 6x fluoro, I settled down to whipping the fish.  Every time I thought it was ready to come to the net I was proven wrong.  The strong surges were beginning to make me wonder if the fish would ever come to hand or if it would have one last trick to throw the hook.  When the fish slid into my big net, I was like a little kid at Christmas.  Starting a fishing trip with a 20" fish is the perfect solution for a relaxing finish.  There just isn't any more pressure to catch something spectacular.  A nice gentleman happened by at just the right time and graciously agreed to snap a quick picture for me as well...a good day on the water and kind strangers to boot!

I was so satisfied that I almost quit fishing right then, but of course I didn't.  Surprisingly, the longer I fish, the more I occasionally consider calling it a trip at one good fish.  Maybe I'm getting to the point where the experience is more important than catching fish, but I guess I'm not quite there yet because so far these thoughts end with more fishing.

Continuing slowly downstream while giving other anglers a wide berth, I picked up a fish here and there and occasionally found an especially hot run that was good for several rainbows until I either caught all the hungry fish or spooked the rest.  Over the next couple of hours I caught enough rainbows to 18" to keep me satisfied.  One brown was hooked but not landed.  I also saw a couple of other guys stick some pigs so I have a few more ideas of where to fish next time.

Oh yeah, there will definitely be a next time.  This river is pretty awesome, especially considering that I don't have to fight the ski traffic on I-70 and its only about the same distance for me as going to the Smokies was in Tennessee.  That said, I can't wait for some local water to open up a little more.  There are a couple of browns over on Boulder Creek that I owe some attention to...