St. Vrain Angler News & Muse March 29, 2005

Greetings!

I hope this finds you well. Thanks for reading! Thanks for signing up to get this weekly internet rag. There are now more than 3300 of you and I appreciate all who read, write, respond and add info each week.

Thanks!

We're in the throws of Spring. The Ides of March. The emotional rollercoaster that transitions winter to summer. We've had days in the 70's and days in the 20's. Wind. Calm. Clear. Cloudy. Dry. Rainy. Snow. Chill. Warm. And so on.

And, fish! They don't seem to care all that much about the weather. Fish are wet and mostly cold, hungry and ready to eat bugs or little fish that swim by, therefore making them ready to eat flies that imitated said sources of food.

Cool, huh? We're towards the end or March, 2005: the year to go fishing soon and often. Do you know where your fly rod is?

Jay is still taking a level of grief from fly shop friends for his antics with the bunny rabbit at Lake Maria. (I said Lake Marie last week, and was wrong, so go back and change all of the "e's" to "a's". OK?) We are forming another trip for the 10th-11th of April, and I suspect it is about full Thanks to all of you who expressed an interest in joining us. If you'd like to go along, please call Jay at 303-651-6061 and let him know. OK? He may not express proper etiquette with rabbits, but he's pretty good with a fly rod and large fish, 'eh? That one was a hog! And, it's still waiting for us to come back and try to fool it again.

We're getting reports from near and far. A few of the guys from the shop headed to 11-Mile Canyon for the day yesterday. Tom, Chuck and Dan met with mixed conditions, including lots of wind and plenty of fish, but not many emerging insects, so few rising fish. They hooked fish on zebra midge larva, small pheasant tail nymphs and other small brown bugs - a joke we have.

"Hey, what you getting them fish on, anyway?"

"Little brown bugs."

"Oh."

That's what most nymphs seem to be, so the description is accurate.

Tom, above, is a fine tier of small midge stuff and likes to try them out on fish. I'm sure he hooked a few on this or that. Dan's on another one of his wet fly kicks, so probably found a way to include grouse or partridge in the flies he tied on. I'll bet they worked, too. Fish love being fooled by small soft hackle flies.

It was reported that Chuck, at right, hooked a few on dries, but rising trout were not the norm as we'd seen during our shop trips to 11-Mile during January and February. Oh well. You buy the gas, take a drive and cast your flies and see what happens. An enjoy the process.

From this shot we see that a few small mayflies were emerging, and when one or two start more will follow. So, there's reason to go again soon to see what's really happening.

Dan, Chuck and Tom did manage to hook fish and had a fine time together.

That's a big part of fly fishing fun: the camaraderie. At least it is for me. You know, when you're fishing and not hooking anything and your friend is hooking something and you accidentally let a rock fall into their pool full of rising fish, then make them buy dinner on the way home. That sort of thing. Camaraderie.

Sharing their fly box and tippet material, maybe trying out their new fly rod just to see how it casts. (Note: Do not let Jay try your outfit out if there are rabbits around!)

When you can enjoy time on the water with a kid, that's all the better! Our friend Steve has been getting son Matt into fly fishing over the past few years, and they have a fine time together. Steve has been kind enough to share pix of their outings, and the one here is of Matt with a fine bow landed on their weekend trip to Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, west of Loveland. For about the past three years they've done a father-son outing over a long weekend, sharing time on the water, telling stories, have a few laughs and giving mom a few days on her own.

Neat stuff, if you ask me. That's a lovely rainbow, too. Do you think Matt or Steve will ever forget this day? This place? This time together?

I don't. Fly fishing memories last. Build a few soon.

If you'd like to go to Sylvan Dale for a half day, we can take you there. Ask for info and I'll send it to you.

We're getting a few good reports from the Bighorn in Montana. The picture here is of a rainbow caught recently on the Bighorn. Apparently the river has done a flip again with more bow's than browns. Low water has changed bug life, too, and there are fewer fish overall. However, the ones that are being hooked are big.

The Green was tough last weekend for a shop friend, but it will be picking up - and getting crowded - as the Blue Winged Olives began to emerge during April.

The Big T has been good; the Poudre mixed, but getting better.

The Colorado around Glenwood is seeing action as are the Roaring Fork and the Frying Pan. A few folks are still fishing in Waterton Canyon on the South Platte - take a bike to ride up towards the dam - and Cheesman has been pretty good as well. The Arkansas is heating up with little mayflies emerging and the promise of caddis on the way.

Our dear friend Patrick just called. He and his family are at the hospital on a death watch with his father-in-law, who is well into his 90's. His end on this earth is near. Your prayers are invited for Patrick, his wife and their children. Open up, pearly gates.

We have several used, but never fished, outfits for sale. A friend purchased the gear from the shop over the past several years and has encountered health problems, requiring the sale of the gear. These are all fantastic deals and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Call soon to get the outfit that works best for you. Follow the link Sale. If you have any questions, please call the shop at 303-651-6061 or drop me a line at angler@peakpeak.com

Thanks!

Check them out. Tying. Casting. Fishing. On-water line control. Wiper. Carp. Entomology. Bugs & Flies. Much more.

We love teaching fly fishing. Everyone is welcome to join the fun!

St. Vrain River Cleanup!

Please mark your calendar for either Saturday, April 9 at 8:00AM. The City of Longmont is hosting a River Walk cleanup. People will meet at the Isaac Walton Clubhouse on South Sunset street at 8:00AM to form into groups. Lots of folks will turn out to clean up along the stream and river walk, but few folks will be there to climb into the water to pick up trash and mark spots that need special attention.

That's where we come in. Anglers have waders, and we need to have a great show of support for this effort. We'll walk in the stream, picking up trash and so on. It will last for about 3-4 hours and be fun, useful and full of insight on the condition of the St. Vrain River through Longmont. Please join this effort! THANKS.

Will you help? If so, please complete and send me this form.

Thanks!

New products arrive in the shop every day. We just received a large shipment of fly tying materials, have some great fly tying feathers packets from Whiting Farms, hooks from Targus and Tiemco, flies from here and there, lines, leaders tippets, rods, reels, waders, packs, vests and so on and so forth.

It's time to go fishing. Please call us for information, places, fly suggestions and so on. We're here to help!

We're booking Guided Trips for now and throughout the summer. If you know when you'd like to take a trip, please drop us a line and we'll take care of the rest. You can also register online. Register Online

That's it for today. It's raining out now, and hopefully snowing in the mountains. It would be a great time to drop everything, grab a rod and a box of small mayflies and head to the stream. If I didn't have the terrible flu bug going around, I'd probably do just that.

What would there be? Raindrops falling on my head; mayflies rising to the surface and wild brown and rainbow trout intercepting their float to freedom for a quick meal. I'd rig up with a 9' leader that tapered to 4X, add 3-4' of 5X tippet and tie on one of my favorite fly patterns - something that I was experimenting with last time at the bench. At the tail of a riffle as the water settled into a run, I'd watch for telltale rise forms, informing me that a trout was awake, hungry and looking for food. I'd place my fly just upstream from the rise form and allow it to drift into the fish's feeding position, hoping he'd decided my offering was good enough to intercept.

If he took the fly, I'd gently lift the tip of the rod, set the hook and smile. After the fight and a quick picture, the fish would be set free to feed and get fat.

Mark and Jay send their best greetings, and the three of us look forward to hearing from and seeing you soon!

Thanks for reading. Mark your calendar for the Stream Cleanup.