Future Fly Tier

Birthday Fishing

May 21 was my birthday, and after the celebration Nadya and Stefan and I went back to the ponds for a few hours in the evening.  It was a calm, clear evening with another nice sunset over the Rockies.   I caught about 10 bluegills that Stefan reeled in for me.

Stefan tried to teach Nadya to cast the rod.  He showed her all the things in the tackle box.  He walked her around the pond.  He was one happy clam.

 

It was interesting watching the transition that took place.   The first few fish he reeled in fast like he always has, and then I showed him how to point the rod tip up, stop reeling when the fish was pulling, and to reel in when the fish was resting.  After he practiced that technique, I showed him how to angle the fish from one side to another - if the fish was going right to point the rod left, etc. 

At first, when he reeled them in I took the line above the fish's mouth and showed him how to hold the fish, smoothing down the dorsal fin with my hand so as not to get poked by the spines, and then how to take the hook out.   At first I did all of this, and then I had him grab the line above the fish's mouth while I grabbed the fish to take the hook out.   For the last fish of the evening that I hooked, I gave the rod to him and stood back.  Nadya and I watched him pull it in using all of the techniques I showed him earlier.  When the fish was out of the water, hanging from the tip of the rod, he looked at me but I did not jump to help out.  Instead I asked him what he was going to do with the fish.   So he grabbed the line, then the fish, smoothing out the dorsal fin, and held it as I took the hook out.  He did a good job....and then the fish jumped around and fell to the ground surprising us both.  A quick toss into the pond and the fish was set free to go forward. 

Evening Pond Fishing

So after dinner, I got permission to keep Stefan up a tiny bit past his bedtime, and we drove to some nearby ponds.   After we parked, we walked back about 500 yards on an old tractor trail that cut through some open space.   It was a nice cool evening with clear skies, and we had a nice backdrop of the Rockies in front of a setting sun.  The ponds were glass still.  A few belly boaters were coming in, and one fisherman told us that there were a bunch of small fish where he was just standing and we could give it a go.  Stefan boldly said "thank you", and "we'll let you know if we catch any."  A few women were later standing on the other side of the pond and Stefan yelled out "hi" to them, and then proceeded to tell them we were fishing and caught one crappie.  He mostly played in the tackle box, and when I caught a fish he would run over and reel it in.  When they jumped, he called them "tricky fish".  On the way back to the truck, Stefan was singing the whole way home at the top of his lungs a song he heard on the kids radio station earlier.  On the way home, we saw a huge buck mule deer cross the road in front of us.

Spin Fishing Again

This morning after our routine of getting coffee and cupcakes at the local shop downtown, Stefan and I stopped by Boulder Creek, just over the hill from the University of Colorado football field.  Well, I just happened to have a spinning rod in my truck, and it just happend to be set up.  This was my old spinning rod combo from when I was a kid, a 4.5 ft Diawa complete with a blue foam handle.  I tied on a gold 00 Mepps and, as we walked to the stream, I saw a few trout rising.

Yesterday after work I scoped out the stream, which is running a bit high due to snowpack run off.  I saw this spot, water falling about three feet rapidly over some boulders, forming eddies on both sides and a long swift run downstream.  It had nice flat rocks next to the falling water which made for some easy casting to bring the spinners back through the eddies.

Soon after we got there, I was into a fish and let Stefan reel him in.  A little 8 inch brown that Stefan threw back in.  Had a few more strikes and some fish that got off.   We tried upstream a bit, where I cast down and across a long run, let the spinner drift back across the stream, and pulled it back up along the near bank.  We caught another this way, and again I had a few get off.

It was nice throwing the spinning rod again.  Not sure if it was due to the fact that it was much easier to catch the fish than with flies, or the feel of the blade vibrating in the current, or watching it flash as it drifted across stream, or feeling the tug of the fish as it moved closer.

Later, Stefan and I went swimming at the rec center.  We looked out the window and there was a pond behind it.  When we left, we walked over for 20 minutes or so and caught a few small bass before going home.

May 08, 2010 - Big Thompson (Sylvan Dale) Colorado

Today I fished the Sylvan Dale waters with the Trout Unlimited club.  A few of us car pooled up from Boulder, taking a nice scenic country route to the ranch.  About 20 of us gathered for coffee in the lodge as we got the low-down from the host, and then half of us went to the river and half to the lakes for the morning session.

I decided to fish the river first.  It was a nice freestone stream which was flowing about 150 cfs. I started on a long, deep run that was getting the first rays of sun but after 40 minutes had failed to get a strike.  Meanwhile, the guy downstream from me was pulling them in.  So the pressure began to mount.  I took note that he was in the shallower water that had been getting more sun, so I quickly changed tactics and stopped fishing the deeper run thinking it was too cold for the fish and instead worked the drop off between the shallows and the deep run.  Still no luck.   I switched to a black beadhead wooly bugger and immediately landed a nice 14inch + brown.   Throughout the morning I moved up and down the river catching good sized browns and rainbows on either the WB pattern or a size 10 golden stonefly.  Big stuff that made the fish want to move in the cold water.  It suddenly made sense, and always does after you land a few.   Once, after landing a nice brown, I forgot to check the tippet.   The next cast I was into a very nice fish that pulled hard a few times and then got off.  It was one of those releases where you automatically know that the line snapped instead of the hook pulling loose.  Indeed, I checked the terminal tackle and saw that the tippet snapped just above where the fly was tied on.   Amateur hour.

We had a stream side lunch at the lodge.  BBQ pork, chili, salad, potatoes, etc.   Blue winged olives started coming off - one landed on an iced tea glass - and we watched a few fish rise to them as we ate.

After lunch I went to the lakes for the first time fishing this way for trout.  We drove up through ranch land fields and parked near the lakes.   Some guys were in belly boats while the rest of us were wading from shore.  Some insects were popping off and fish, big ones, were rolling on the surface at them.  When the wind died down we could see rise rings all over the lake.   After moving down to the shallow end of the lake, I landed a steelhead who, although was only about 20 inches, was extremely strong.   I think I lost 6 flies throughout the day due to strikes that resulted in snap offs because I set the hook too strong against heavy cruising fish.  They were hitting #18 callabaetis emergers (red/brown) tied 18" behind a floating dry fly indicator, as well as red serendipity emergers and cream midges.  The lake was small, really a large pond about 10 acres, and we could talk easily to one another across it.

Overall, it was a nice day out with a bunch of nice guys spending time fishing together.

April 18 2010 - Boulder Creek

Was torn today.  Felt a little guilty that I had not been out in April yet, one of the better months for fishing here, and at the same time felt a little guilty that I would be traveling next week and should spend time with the family.  So I split the difference. 

A beautiful spring Sunday, I suggested that we go to a park in town which had Boulder Creek running beside it.  Not ideal for fishing since its a city stream here with lots of people throwing rocks and shadows, but better than nothing.  I rode my bike there and Nadya and Stefan showed up a bit later.  Water was a little high and slightly discolored with a lot of debris floating in it.  Nadya and Stefan sat on the bank and read books while I fished.  Stefan took his socks of, rolled up his pant legs, put on his boots and waded in the shallows.  After a while I caught a fish but it got tangled and released before I saw him. 

Stefan got bored so Nadya took him up to the park.  After a while they came back and soon after I hooked a good fish on the other side of the stream.  I waded over to Stefan's side, gave him the rod and let him reel it in.  We netted a 12" brown, and Stefan watched intently as I removed the #22 brassie from its lower jaw.  He touched the fins, the red spots, and then I placed the fish in his two hands for him to release.

Later, on the way home, I stopped the bike along the way and caught another from a likely looking place.

March 28, South Boulder Creek, Colorado

After breakfast I decided to drive up into the mountains for some fishing.  I drove over Flagstaff mountain to South Boulder Creek, about 15 miles from my house.  It was a sunny spring day, no snow down at my house, but up at 6700 ft there was quite a bit.   I hiked down into the stream carrying my backpack of lunch and wading boots.

I walked the snow covered streamside path for a while and fished below the first foot bridge after seeing some fish lined up in a channel while I peered into the river.  The flow today was about 60cfs.  I landed one or two from here at about 11:00, two hours after putting my breakfast dishes away, and then went further downstream.  I found a nice boulder area which had a deep-ish hole behind a fast channel.  I immediately saw fish lined up feeding on drifting nymphs.  Through out the morning I maneuvered this area, and was able to see the fish turn from waiting on drifting nymphs, to rising up into the current as the nymphs increased in numbers, to taking them off the surface.  The midge hatch really picked up about 1:00 - tiny slate grey ones.  I stopped counting fish landed - but estimate it must have been about a dozen- using a three fly rig of a dry and two small nymphs.  They liked #22 Black Mercury Midges, #18 red Brassie, and an emerger pattern I had tied many moons ago.  Some 10 inchers and some fat 13 inchers of the brown and rainbow variety. 

One in particular  I recall vividly. I sat on the shore rocks behind a big boulder of which I could see over the top to the rising fish on the other side.  I cast my dry fly upstream beyond the boulder, sat there and lifted the rod over it as it drifted by, and right on cue saw the fish rise across from me, and I looked into its eye as it floated back to inspect the fly drifting downstream, open its mouth, and strike.  

Cat (or canine?)tracks along Cache la Poudre

I fished a river near Fort Collins today, called Cache la Poudre.  The Poudre (pooder).  Did not catch anything, did not see any fish, did not have a strike.  Very gusty winds, low flow (50 cfs), and very clear water.  Saw these tracks.  At first I thought they were feline, but upon further research they seem to be canine.  Not sure.  Either way, they are big.

A lesson in water conservation

Decided to try SBC, which is only a small trickle of its powerful mountain self once it reaches Hwy 36 a short bike ride from my house.  I loaded up the Burley trailer behind my bike with rain boots, lunch, and rod and took off.  Once at the stream fishing was tough since the flow was very, very low.  I did catch a few tiny trout.  I wondered how any fish of any decent size could survive this flow.  I had an answer shortly.

As I walked upstream I saw two 22"plus browns, dead and belly up, next to an ice shelf.  Evidently they could not find enough food and/or oxygen to survive the winter.

A week later I took Stefan there hoping to "discover" the fish, which we did.  We also found one other one about 24".  He asked about them, and I told him about how the low water did not allow them enough to survive, which led to a conversation about why the water was low, which turned into a hypothetical illustration about using too much water to shower, water lawns, etc.   He got the point, and now corrects me when I use too much water.

February 28, 2010 - Boulder Creek

I hit Boulder creek today for the first time after a family hike up a local mountain-side.  Nadya and Stefan dropped me off about 1:00 near 19th street and I strung up my little Sage 1 wt with CFO reel for the fist time.  The litle rod and reel combo was perfect for this tiny stream and little fish.

The water was clear and less than 12cfs today, sky was overcast, and temp in the upper thirties.   I started at the tail end of a small plunge pool where I saw some risers. I had tied on a #20 red CDC emerger and soon had on the first fish of the day at hand.  I worked my way up to the top of the pool and noticed some active fish nymphing so tied on a Griffiths knat dry trailed by a #22 black mercury midge I had tied a week before.  I think I caught five more as the temp dropped and snow started falling.   I worked down stream checking various fishy looking pools and landed about four more as the snowflakes fattened up.

By the time I was done my fingers were stinging and the temperature was in the low thirties.  I walked home, about a mile, and by the time I arrived the wet snow clung to my fleece making me look like a snowman.

Ten fish in a few hours less than two miles from home.  Not bad for a Feb Sunday afternoon.