St. Vrain Angler News & Muse September 21, 2004

Greetings!

I hope this finds you well, enjoying the cool wet fall weather we are experiencing today. Of course some of my readers will be in sunshine as you live or travel in other parts of the country. As we who live here know, the weather is going to change, and if you don't like it now, just stick around.

Mark and I spent an eventful week preparing for the TU meeting last Thursday and the Fly Fishing Retail show, which is the only trade show our business has in the US, over the weekend. I spent three days at the show and had eventful things happen. Mark was able to attend on Sunday and also found some goodies, met some new folks, renewed relationships with vendors and manufacturers and so on.

We do this in order to service and help you, our friends and compatriots in fly fishing crime. It is amazing how many folks have a better nick-knack, fly or paddywack they want you to buy. No bones about it. Rest assured that Mark and I look at and filter out what we think will work and won't work for one reason or another. Know this: we found some real good stuff that you are going to want, and we'll let you know via this media as well as in the shops. We've come up with some great new ideas for the shop that we will be working at with diligence and hope. Our hope is to earn and keep your confidence and business, and to help you enjoy fly fishing to the fullest. Stay tuned for the new things we'll be doing, the new classes and services we'll be offering, and the trips and other exciting adventures we are planning.

The TU meeting was very good. We had a nice turnout and folks enjoyed Mark's fly tying clinic and my program. See how much fun these guys had watching Mark tie flies? Cool.

If there are any other club folks out there who would like to allow Mark and I to present our Fall Fly Fishing program in the near future, please contact us and we'll set it up. Mark paid me one of the finest compliments possible when he said it was the best fly fishing program he had ever seen. We'd like to share it with other avid anglers along the Front Range. Please contact us by calling 303-651-6061 or dropping me a line at angler@peakpeak.com

I'm interested in figuring out how to include the program on this web page for your use, my friendly readers. Does anyone have any idea of how to integrate a PowerPoint presentation in to FrontPage? I'm all ears. Thanks.

The picture above of my friend and I, which I've used several times, received several comments last week. While the fish certainly looks like a brown trout on steroids, it is actually an Atlantic Salmon - a buck - that I caught using a dry fly on the St. Bonaventure River in Quebec in 2001. What a thrill.

It was 82° here yesterday. It is probably in the 50's today, and raining. A drizzle, in reality. I'll bet it is snowing at the Estes Angler, and I'm pretty sure we'll see a light blanket of new snow on the peaks when the clouds move off in the next day or so. It's a lovely time of year and the fishing should be as good as it has been for many years. We've had lots of water along the Front Range this year, flows have held up well, and the fish have been healthy and sassy. I expect them to remain that way.

I know we have friends fishing a variety of streams these days, including the Rio Grande, the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork, the Colorado, the Poudre, Big T and St. Vrain, and the Arkansas. Of course around here, nary a week goes by without someone fishing some portion of the South Platte, and Mark has been on the North Platte frequently of late. The Kokanee salmon are running in some parts of the state. That's one from the S. Platte above 11-Mile.

The key now is this: go fishing. Go soon, and then go again. Break the football habit and build the fly fishing habit. Get off the couch, tie a few flies and head to a local stream. Take a kid. Being outside is so much finer than not. Breathing fresh air that is becoming crisp and hearing the gurgle of a trout stream punctuated by the slurp of rising fish will refresh your being. Go ahead, go fishing instead.

With salutations and apologies to friend Bob, it's all said tongue in cheek. All except the part about getting out there and going fishing, of course. Going fishing is a good idea that demands action.

Here's what we're doing:

Most people who sign on to get the email are interested in receiving info on Classes and Guided Trips. Please follow the links for updated info and schedules on what we offer. All of our classes and guided trips are going great. People are learning and enjoying fly fishing.

Fly Tying Classes are scheduled through the Fall. Pick the one that fits your schedule and join us. Classes are from 7-9:30 PM Tuesday Evenings, and begin on the following dates:    September 14, 2004    October 19, 2004    November 16, 2004.

Please call to register: 303-651-6061. I've just finished revising the Introduction to Fly Tying Solutions Booklet, which we provide with the class. It promises to be more helpful and useful.

Thanks for reading. Please remember that we are here to help: we want to help, we're waiting to help, we're hoping to help. Won't you take advantage of us in the near future?

We all hope to see or hear from you in the near future. You can call us at one of the above phone numbers, write us at angler@peakpeak.com or visit this web site by wandering around.

If you need anything, please call us first. Chances are pretty good we'll have what you want, and what you need.

Talk with you again soon. There are some great things on the way. Please stay in touch.

Dale Darling

    A vivid imagination that is running rampant

back to newsletters

contact us: angler@peakpeak.com

or call 303-651-6061

© St. Vrain Angler Stores, Inc.