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St. Vrain Angler News & Muse October 11, 2005
Greetings!
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As I begin today's issue it is with a
full heart. What's it full of? Well,
 I
hope you'll find out. Love. Hope. Enthusiasm. Life. Joy. Grief. Sadness.
Encouragement and so on. I've got fishing stories to share with you today
and all of them are good ones.
I hope you are well this fine sort of
fall day. This morning the sky was still dark and moist, and now the sun is
out fully shining and mist is coming off the wood on the fence outside my
window. I'm not sure I've smelled fall in the air as yet, although the past
few days have been as full of fall as they could be.
Also, we're going to talk about some
how's and what's and so on that should help you get out and fish.
Here's what we'll cover today! Please
enjoy. I just hope this one comes out in reality as well as it is forming in
my head right now. We'll see...
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There are always people we enjoy calling friends. What makes the
difference between one person who's an acquaintance and another who becomes
a friend? I'm not sure I can describe that here, but part of it has to do
with like-mindedness about important things. As I've said before, and I owe
this to Robert Traver even though it is something many anglers must know in
their being, it's not that fly fishing is all that important but it sure is
fun. And it does something to us, especially when we go with a friend. (More
on this later in this missive.)
I met Mal, as I have with many folks,
in the fly shop. He was an avid angler and as it turned out a husband,
father, pilot and adventurous fellow. He had character and a sense of humor
that made those around him smile. It was his tendency to be dry but he could
get a smile going when we weren't quite sure if he was serious or teasing.
You know the type.
I hadn't heard from Mal for some time.
Even so, I knew when we met again we'd pick right up where we'd been in the
past, talking about Yogi, his dog, his new wife and his children. I suppose
we'd have talked about fishing, too. Mal loved fly fishing. He went with me
to Christmas Island and Andros Island lots of times, and spent
 time in
New Zealand and Alaska, as well as parts of the West we all love. He hunted
pheasants with Yogi and got a kick out of that darn dog, a yellow lab.
The other day I got a call from Mike,
Mal's son. I thought he'd be telling me that he wanted to book another trip
for he and his dad. Instead he called to tell me that Mal had died in early
August.
To say I was shocked doesn't quite do
it. I'm sad, but I know that this man lived life fully and with zest and
enthusiasm. I miss Mal now and know that there are going to be times that a
gush of sadness will flow over me. Then I'll remember him standing on the
skiff in the Pacific, just off the coast of Christmas Island, fighting a big
Yellow Fin Tuna, his twelve-weight rod bent into the water, his son holding
onto him so he wouldn't be pulled off. Or wading a Bahamian flat, talking
about life and much more, hunting for bonefish that just weren't there that
day. We practiced our casting and it served us well on the next flat; we
hooked plenty of bones, mon.
Goodbye Mal.
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Fishing
With Friends |
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All I can say about this is what a
day! It all began yesterday with a call from Frank. It was early in the
morning and he called to tell me that the trip he was supposed to take had
cancelled. It had snowed pretty hard in the Park the night before and the
people were worried about the weather and so on. That's fair enough. Tom
said he and
Monica would schedule the trip for later, perhaps November. They've been out
before and will be back, all things being equal.
Frank said, "What are you doing
today?"
"Writing. Resting. Reading. I've got a
few things to do in the shop later."
"Why don't we meet about noon to go fishing."
"Okay," I said.
I went to the shop - Frank was going
to the Park to see what the day would have been like - Tom and Monica, have
no fear: you made the right choice on this day to stay in the cabin by a
fire! - and got a few things done. While I was there, Andrew, our wonderful
carp guide, stopped in.
"Hey Andrew, want to go fishing?"
"When?"
"Right now."
"I don't have any of my stuff with
me."
"Do you have your polarized glasses along?"
"Yes." he said.
"Then go downstairs and get some
waders and boots that fit and we're out of here."
"Okay."
Notice the nice balance to these
conversations. Short. Sweet. Friendly. Ending with "Okay".
When it comes to going fishing, yes is
an acceptable answer.
Now I had fished with Andrew once for
carp. You might remember
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pictures from last week. He was fun to be with. However, one never really
knows another until spending some time on a trout stream in lousy weather.
Did I mention that it was raining hard
in Longmont and the sky was about twelve feet off the ground? Well, it was.
For many folks that means being happy behind a computer for the day, but for
me - and I've mentioned this before - such a day in March, April, September
or October means -
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It's like a flash of bright light goes
off in my head and my nerves kick in and I know it's time to gather a few
items and head out to the water.
Frank and I were all set to meet, and
Andrew and I just needed to stop by the house, gather a few things to go,
and then go. And we did. We stopped to get a burger and root beer, which was
pretty good, and ate along the way. It was raining pretty hard and we
couldn't see the mountains. Still, we knew they were up there, waiting with
a trout stream coursing through a canyon, and that that canyon with a trout
stream would have - ta da! - trout in it. Hopefully they'd be eating bugs.
Going is a good part about hope, and
hope does not disappoint. Andrew and I discussed various and sundry things
to get us from point A - Longmont - to point B - trout stream and our
rendezvous with Frank.
From that meeting I think the
following pictures and comments will entertain and say all that needs said.
Enjoy!
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When we started, we didn't know
what was up. The sky was low, the rain was falling, there was little to
no breeze and no fish were rising.
I tied on a dry, and so did
Andrew. Frank put on a big EZMac and a Frank's Flashy dropper. |
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Andrew said he saw a few risers,
but once-in-a-row. Frank hooked a fish on the dropper, and when I made a
cast along one bank and small brown took the fly.
Things were looking up! |
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It was slow. I asked Frank if I
could see his outfit and tied on one of my Dale's Midge Larva that Frank
had assembled on his home vise, for tying, that is. We put on 6X tippet
and tied it to the bend of Frank's Flashy Fly and immediately I hooked a
little brown on the midge larva. |
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That particular fish was in very
slow water along a bank, and it took the fly as it drifted right along
the bottom of the stream bed. It took it gently, too.
I turned to Frank and said, "How
many times have we drifted a fly past that spot, and now a fish takes
it. Go figure." Frank shook his head in amazement and with glee.
There's no accounting for trout.
An old friend of mine used to answer, when asked why he kept fishing to
fish that had already taken the fly or seemed to be down, "Trout
forget." |
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Andrew waded back upstream to
where Frank and I had been giggling and gabbing and we all fished
together, sharing casts, rods, flies and so on. I don't think Frank ever
changed the combo of the EZMac, Frank's Flashy and Dale's Midge Larva. |
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Andrew and I fished with dry
flies. We wondered if the fish would take them, and they did! The fish
were moving slowly to the fly, but eating it. There were very few bugs
on the water, but plenty of leaves and pine needles.
The water was a little murky
because of the rain and snow that was melting up higher. It was way
cool, man; way cool. |
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We were standing together along
one bank and looking at the far bank. The water between here and there
was moving pretty fast, and it was deep. Andrew tried to make a few
drifts along one spot but the fast water made the fly drag. I had my
7-1/2' cane rod rigged with a 15' leader, which is silly, but how I
fish, and about 6' of 6X tippet. |
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Above is the bank. Note the
current direction in green and the area we wanted to fish, in the red
oval. The current within the oval is noted by the yellow swirl. The spot
for the fish was somewhere within that area. Andrew said he saw a fish
rise in there. I asked Frank and Andrew if they wanted to see how to
make this cast and drift - we'd been working on it - and they both said,
"Yes."
We moved upstream so we could
approach the cast from above. Wading across in this spot was not an
option. Note the various current swirls between Frank and the bank.
Interesting; challenging. I love this type of fishing!
I made several casts until the fly
landed at the upper end of the yellow line and drifted into the bank
along the yellow line. There was lots of slack - there has to be to keep
the fly drifting away from the way the fly line is drifting. The cast
made a pile of the long leader/tippet setup, and I had to make a large
upstream mend of the fly line to allow the fly to drift without
interference. One shot; one mend. Any more mending would move the fly
line too much, causing the fly to drag.
Well, the long and short of it was
that a fish came up to take the fly and there was so much slack in the
line I missed the hook set. Oh well; we all laughed and thought it was
cool and moved on upstream. One of those casts is enough!
Still, give it a try next time
you're out there; it's fun! |
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We moved upstream to the big rock,
shown at left. This is a cool spot as the rock splits the river, who's
water has dub a deep trench along each side so the trout can hide and
feed. Andrew moved in there while Frank hooked a fish or two just below.
He cast his dry fly out and hooked a fish! |
I'd like to dispel the myth before
it gets started: Andrew was not kneeling because he needed to pray to
catch a trout. That's just not accurate. He kneeled because he wanted
to. |
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Frank and Andrew just kept hooking
fish. They made good casts and good drifts and the fish took the fly. We
hooked several fish by the big rock, and all on dry flies. It was fun;
we laughed and realized - although nothing was said - that we were all
having a fine, although wet, time of it. |
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It had to happen eventually. While
Frank was landing a lovely rainbow, I hooked a brown on another dry fly.
Frank made a point that his fish was larger. We both knew it was a joke
because fly fishing is not a competitive activity. We were just funnin'
one another, that's all. |
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Sometimes we netted fish, as
you've seen, and sometimes we used the good old Ketchum Release Tool to
let them go. I like this tool and use it most of the time. It allows me
to remove the hook without handling the fish. Here, Andrew demonstrates
the position. Does the fish look surprised? |
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It's always interesting to look at
trout. Some are a bit bland and not all that colorful while others are
brilliant, and full of vivid life. This brown had very large spots.
Others, you will note, had smaller spots that were close together. A few
of the 'bows had bright colors and others were more washed out, as they
ought to be during fall. |
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This fish was a surprise to all of
us, including the fish. It was snuggled right against the bank - see the
X below. As my dry drifted along
that bank the fish rose slowly and gently inhaled the fly, which stuck
deep in its mouth. I removed the barbless fly with hemostats, which was
easy. |
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There were a few more surprises in
store for us, including a large rainbow that rose twice; we never saw it
again and it is still there, waiting for our next time on the water.
Andrew hooked this beautiful brown; he let it go. |
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The next major league surprise was
the brown that ate the size 12 EZMac. We laughed. Frank had been fishing
it as a float to keep his nymphs moving properly below. Andrew took the
rod to make a few casts to some deep water and this nice brown came up
and nailed the dry! While we all agreed it was time to go eat hot soup -
we'd been threatening that for some time - we waded upstream to try
again. Oh well; it was us. |
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I just had to see one of my
favorite spots along this stretch. When we waded up there were a few
fish rising to very small flies. We had just finished our surprise with
the EZMac and I said that I just had to see if it would work.
There's no accounting for why it
does, but I tied on the Royal Coachman Trude anyway. |
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There's no reason this fly should
work this time of the year. What
does it look like to a fish that's eating emerging midges or small
mayflies? I sure don't know. Still, I carry them to size #20 at all
times, and had one in a #16 that had to be tried. We fished the spot a
few times with other dries, and Frank gave the multiple dropper system a
shot
Well, the only fish we caught in
that spot ate the Coachman Trude. Go figure. Some of the fish were real
nice ones, too, like the brown shown above.
All three of us were giggles at
this point, and if any of us would have admitted it we were cold and
ready for the hot soup. We walked back
 to
the trucks, removed waders and excess stuff, started the vehicle and the
heater and drove to the Stage Stop at Drake for soup.
It was good, too.
We also agreed that finding a new
fishing partner, in this case Andrew for Frank and I, and Frank and I
for Andrew, is a good thing. We talked about what made it so and decided
that it was this: we were all fisherman, plain and simple. We were there
to fish, and fishing is good. There was no whining about cold, wet
conditions or lack of fish or tangles or anything else that befell us.
We fished together, sharing rods and flies, testing new casts and
talking about where the fish were holding and what they were doing.
While we got refreshed and cold we learned more about living life, fly
fishing and sharing good times with like-minded buddies.
We also agreed that everyone
reading this should make a point of going fishing soon, and then again.
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What did we
use? I'm glad
you asked that question, because it is a good one. Here are some
pictures and thoughts about the right stuff to go fishing this time of
year. Enjoy!
Rods: Frank had his 7'9" 5-piece
3-weight Winston LT. He loves this rod, and rightly so. He had an old
Orvis CFO reel, which works great for that outfit. I think he'd get a
Ross Evolution #1 now, but one must use what one has. Andrew used my 8'
3-piece 2-weight Winston WT with a Hardy reel and WF fly line. He loved
it. The rod is so light and nice to cast and I use it frequently when
fishing with small flies. Both of these rods have plenty of backbone for
fighting larger fish and will protect light tippet - as long as you know
how to do it! I used my favorite fishing rod - a Mike Clark 7-1/2'
4-weight bamboo rod. It just casts and works great for me under these
conditions and I treat myself with it from time to time. This was one of
those times.
The fly lines were floating. Frank
was using a 5' furled leader, which was a bit short for the size of the
water. He's been fishing in the Park, though, and that is right for up
there. I had a 15' leader when it was said and done with 6X tippet.
Andrew's was shorter, but still fairly long.
Tippet: for me, when fishing with
dries, this means very long. I had at least 6-feet of 6X tippet. It will
stretch with a fish on, which gives it more strength in my opinion, and
the length also allows the fly to drift properly as long as I put it in
the right spot. Frank was rigged with about 2' of 4X to the big EZMac
fly, then had 30-inches of 5X with his Frank's Flashy Fly tied on. To
that we added about 30-inches of 6X and the Dale's Midge Larva. It
worked, too.
Flies: Frank had on the EZMac,
Frank's Flashy Fly and Dale's Midge Larva. He caught fish on all three
flies! I used various patterns, including a Dale's Thorax BWO in a #20,
a Rainy's Extended body BWO, Rainy's Extended body BWO Emerger, Small
soft hackle, and the Royal Coachman Trude. There were other flies in
there, but I forget them now. Andrew used Parachute Adams, a PMD
Emerger, PMD Adult and PMD Extended body emerger. All of them fooled
fish.
Here are pictures of some of the
flies we used. There are links to tie them in some cases!
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Frank's Flashy Fly |
Dale's Midge
Larve |
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St. Vrain Angler has all of
these flies in stock and ready to get wet with trout slime. If
you'd like to know how to tie them, please join me for one of my
specialty fly tying sessions, or stop by so either Scott or I can
show you how to do it. |
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Accessories: we used Dry
Shake to dry and rejuvenate flies; Aquel to keep dries floating;
no lead was used to hook these fish, although Frank's Flashy Fly
was tied with a tungsten bead, which gets it down and keeps it
there. We had extra tippet in 5- and 6X (7X was not required for
this day) and our polarized sunglasses were the critical item -
remember, that was the first thing after "Want to go fishing?" I
asked Andrew; I knew Frank had his along. We also had boxes full
of flies, nippers, Ketchum Release tools and hemostats and Frank
had his net. |
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Clothing. I'm glad you
asked. On a day like this no one wants to get cold. We all want
to stay out there for a long time and enjoy the process. Well, a
little cold and wet lets you know you are alive, but otherwise
misery does not love company, unless it is the company of fish,
which are already cold and wet and don't seem to care all that
much one way or another. Please connect to this link and see
what you should wear. It's good stuff, and we'll get your size
and color. Actually, stop in the shop soon to see our special
offer on the proper fall and winter fishing apparel. You'll be
glad you did! Patagonia. |
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What? Are your kidding? Carp?
Still?
Yep. That's right. After the
newsletter last week Joel wrote me a note and said, "Alright Dale,
you've got me. Sign me up for a carp trip."
Well, we didn't know what
the weather would be but Joel said he had Friday off and Andrew
said he had Friday off and fishing for carp would be a good idea.
They went. I suppose the pictures say it all, other than this:
this day was the record for fish landed at 7.5. Joel explained
that one was snagged. I guess the gauntlet is out there, Charles.
Here, then, are a few
October carp!
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How's that? Interested
in some fall/winter Carp Classes? We're going to do them at
the shop and I'll let you know: tying, rigging, spotting,
casting, fighting, landing. That's all good stuff! Get ready
for an evening of fun!
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Other folks have been fishing,
too. Please enjoy these pictures that have been shared for
your pleasure and enjoyment.
Brent is a hard-working
family man. He loves his wife and their
 children,
and he loves to fly fish. One of his favorite spots - and he
has them dialed in - are the lakes of North Park. During fall
he is particularly fond of getting up there with his dad and
some friends, camping near the lakes and float tubing.
During the summer Brent
came into the shop and said he was having problems making
certain casts, and fighting larger fish. We talked. He
listened to me, and I listened to him. As is the case with
many anglers, especially when they have young families, gear
is hooked and crooked together and a good time is had on the
water.
Until.... certain things
happen. A cast is not made well; the fight is tough. Brent
asked me about gear and we talked more. I told him about the
Winston BIIX fly rods. Someone was in the shop who owns one or
two, and they told him he could not go wrong. We did some
wiggling; then some casting.
He asked me if he could
put a 9-foot 5-weight on layaway. I said of course you can.
He did. The year before he'd bought a new reel. It is a Ross
Evolution that started out being a lesser reel of lesser
price. He loved it.
"You reel will go great
with your new fly rod, Brent," I said.
"I can hardly wait to
use it this fall up north," he said.
This fall came, and
Brent got his new rod. He headed to the lakes for several days
of fishing. He called one day to inform me of the trophy fish
he'd always wanted to land.
"Dale, I caught the
biggest fish I've ever landed up there last week. It was over
twenty-five inches long and very fat. We got some others, too,
but that was the one I've been waiting for all of these years.
You know, all the info you shared with me about fighting big
fish, along with that rod and reel made it all happen. I
couldn't have done it without all of that. Thanks."
It seems like sharing
all three shots of the fish are worthwhile to me. How about
you?
Cool, huh?
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Our friend Daryl H.
shared this shot of a Greenback he landed on a trip to the
Park about a week or so ago. This is a beautiful fish, and
I don't really know why it is so colorful this late in the
season.
More research is
required. |
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This kind of
sneaking around was possible - in shirt sleeves, no less -
last week in the Park. The results? A lovely,
colorful, full of life brook trout (below), which is
actually a char.
Want to go fishing?
Go ahead; you have
the Doctor's permission. |
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After putting out the
call for guided trips our friend Dave called about
going into the Park. He'd been on the road, working hard and
said he'd never caught any greenback cutts and needed to.
That's what I like; when someone needs to hook fish.
The time was set, and
Dave, Frank and I met at Janie's in town for breakfast. We
talked about lots of things, and learned that Dave is an
excellent angler, has fished all over the place while on the
road - a fly rod is his constant companion - and that he'd
learned to tie flies to waylay lazy evenings into productive
fly tying while in hotels and so on.
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We liked this guy from
the start.
After the trip, Dave
wrote back to say he'd had a great time with Frank, and he was
tickled to hook his first greenback. Well, more than one
greenback, actually. Frank's message with the pictures came in
at the same time, with the same comments about enjoying time
with Dave.
I thought that was a
good thing, and another reason I love putting people, gear and
fish together. Thanks to everyone who helps make that happen.
Keep it coming! I'm
ready.
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Classes! |
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We just completed our first
Introduction to Fly Tying Class of
fall,
and it was fun. It also went by very fast! Everyone had a good time and
learned how to tie some fly patterns, along with learning lots of
techniques.
The next Introduction to Fly Tying
Class will begin on Tuesday, November 1, 2005. There's still room, so please
call to register now! Thanks. |
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I
know there are friends and readers out there who would love to learn to tie
flies. Well, I love teaching fly tying skills, so we're going to
 get
together for a Crash Course in fly tying. Okay?
First, I'd like to know who's out there that would like to do this? We'd
meet on a Friday night to get started and tie all day on Saturday and into
Sunday morning. That way anyone who is flying into Denver to participate can
come in on Friday during the day, get to Longmont and then fly out on Sunday
afternoon.
Local folks can come to town and have a great weekend with me learning to
tie flies. I'm not necessarily tooting my own horn here, so take this as you
may. I can teach fly tying as well as anyone, anywhere. I'll prove it if
you'll just join me for this fun.
Please fill in and email me this form. I'll get back with you about the
details. Thanks.
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Swaps! |
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You've heard of them here before, and
we're going to do them
again. Swaps. Swap what? Flies. Hooks. Hackle. Beads. Here's how it works.
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Decide which swap you'd like to do.
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Let St. Vrain Angler know by calling
us at 303-651-6061, dropping by the shop at 418 Main Street in Longmont,
or sending me a note at
angler@peakpeak.com.
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Join the fun and fellowship of a
swap - or four.
Fly Swap #1:
Flies will be due on November 15, 2005. Tie 15 of one size of one pattern of
your favorite fly pattern. Keep them as consistent as possible. Limited to
the first 14 folks who sign up, so everyone gets one fly and the shop gets
one for reference. Call Scott at 303-651-6061 to sign up! No fee.
Hook Swap #1:
Basic hooks. Open to the first 10 people who sign up. We'll have a selection
of the most common dry, nymph and streamer hooks. Each size and type will
include 100 hooks and a labeled box to put them in. $100.00 per person.
anger@peakpeak.com or call the shop
at 303-651-6061. This is open to folks from out of town; we'll ship your
hooks. Deposit required.
Hackle Swap #1.
Basic colors and sizes of hackle. Great for anyone taking the Intro To Fly
Tying Class. We purchase one color and basic size of good grade saddle
hackle from Whiting farms for each person who attends. Then we get together
and pick, sort and count feathers. Each person receives a great variety for
a fraction of the expense of buying separate capes or saddles. This is
a great deal!
angler@peakpeak.com or call the shop at 303-651-6061. $80.00 per person.
Deposit required.
Bead Swap #1.
We'll buy bulk beads in various sizes and colors and types, including
glass, brass and tungsten beads and cone heads. We'll provide a labeled box;
this will be a great deal! $50.00 per person.
angler@peakpeak.com or call the
shop at 303-651-6061. Deposit required. |
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That's all that I have for today.
Thanks for reading, and for being
out there, caring about the environs where trout are found, which are
beautiful. Please check this link for new info that's posted concerning mud
snails and other critters that are invading our great outdoors.
Environmental Issues.
And hey, get out there fishing soon,
won't you?
Dale Darling
Fighting the good
fight, and wishing you the best. |
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