St. Vrain Angler News & Muse May 10, 2005

Greetings!

Welcome to all my new readers, and welcome back to those of you who have been reading for some time. Thanks for being out there, and for caring about fish, flies and St. Vrain Angler Stores. I hope you are well.

Today I'm going to use a new format. A reader wrote and said I should try putting links within a page so he could scroll through and read what he wanted. It seems like a good idea, so I got out the help menu on FrontPage and read up on how to do it. As it turns out it's pretty easy to do, so I'm going to take a jab at it. If you would be so kind, please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Today is my brother's birthday: Happy Birthday Don!

There's lots to talk about. Just follow the links to your spot, or else read the whole News & Muse for fun, entertainment and fishing info. Here we go!

The fishing is good. I'm getting lots of reports on our local streams, such as the Big Thompson and St. Vrain, as well as in the Park, and they are good. Folks are hooking fish and having fun. The picture at right is of Joe C. His dad took the picture after Joe hooked and landed this fine rainbow. Guess what? He caught that fish on the St. Vrain, but I'm not at liberty to tell you exactly where. Sometimes a good exploratory trip is in order and one is rewarded with something special. I suppose this is a very special fish - Joe's dad said that Joe told him it was the best day of his life, so far! - but I really think the memory of this day, dad and son, will last a lifetime. Joe is 9 years old, and he's in my new Introduction to Fly Tying Class. Last night he learned to use a whip finish tool and tied a few lovely woolly buggers, along with the remainder of the class folks. We had a great time.

Families and friends fishing together is a good thing. Our friend Frank had a chance to head out for a few days with his son and reported in with this story and some pictures. Enjoy!

So far the water levels are good, but we're going to have to stay in touch on that front as conditions will change. Someone said cold temps are supposed to get going once again, so that will hold the snow in the high country while adding to snow pack if there's any moisture. Those are good things. Lower levels of streams will still fish very well. There are several web sites that report stream flows, and I would encourage you to track your spot. I'll keep them posted again on a weekly basis here. Still, track them on your own as well, and always have a backup plan when you head to a favorite area just in case.

The backup plan should be a lake that is close by. I know that many of my readers are lake anglers, so a lake is their first choice. Reports are coming in from Delaney Buttes (that's a brown from one of the lakes), which are all open, Honholtz, Spinney and other areas. Folks are having some great trips, hooking nice trout on a variety of flies. For me, as long as blue winged olives and caddis are emerging and trout are eating them on streams, I'll head there. However, a trip or four to some of the lakes is a great idea, too. Go soon; then, go again.

Lake flies you ask? It's a good question, and the flies can be different than the ones we use on streams. There are crossover patterns, though, including Pheasant Tail and Prince nymphs, for example. Buggers can be very good on lakes at this time, as will Zonkers, Hornbergs and other streamer patterns. A crawdad pattern will catch bass, carp and big trout, so be sure to take a few along for good measure - and good fishing. I like to carry a few Renegades when I fish lakes, and it is time to have a few small damsel nymphs, water boatman and so on. Scuds abound in many of our lakes.

If you're going to fish Stagecoach, Spinney or Eleven Mile Reservoirs, be prepared for Pike! Take a few flies along and a wire leader just in case. These prehistoric-looking behemoths will attack when the mood strikes them. You'll just have to be willing to strike back!

Cooler temps might put the bass and other warm water species off again. If they live in Colorado they'll just have to get used to it, and dress properly before going out.

Our friend Scott, who's been tying some lovely flies for the shop of late, caught and released this beautiful bass on Saturday morning. He finds that bass fishing is best early, and I'd tend to agree with him with the privso that the best time to fish for bass is as soon as often as possible. Given the choice, go early, go late: just go fishing! Scott hooked this one at Pella Crossing, which is just south of Hygiene on 75th Street. You'll see the sign on the east side of the street where you can park. There are three lakes east of the parking lot, and a trail will take you north, then west across 75th to the lakes that are on the west side of the street.

Take a float tube along. I just received several Outcast Super Fat Cat float tubes. These are the best I know of. Part of you is out of the water - more than when in a standard tube - and the boats are built to maneuver well on lakes. Everyone who's bought one and used it is tickled pink and would buy another, which is always a good testimonial to products. Outcast makes great products that are built to use! (While we do have yellow, there are other colors available and in stock as well.)

We also have pumps and a great new flipper/fin that will help move you around the lake! Stop by to shop and plan to get yourself a new boat, flippers and flies for fishing lakes! You'll be glad you did.

When fishing lakes and streams, you'll need a good net. Fisknat is a small, family company in Washington State, and Bob, who owns the company and builds the nets, makes lovely nets. He's found and developed a new rubber bag that is fantastic to use. St. Vrain Angler has a good inventory of Fisknat Nets in stock. They are great for fishing, and make wonderful Father's Day or Graduation presents - hint, hint.

William and Joseph, a small company from Utah, thinks outside the box and builds wonderful chest and fanny packs. We have lots in stock and would enjoy showing you the benefits of using one of these delightful products. The Maxi Chest Pack, shown at right, is the one that I think all of us should have set up and ready to go. One of our friends, Mark K, recently bought one and was in the other day saying he was going to buy two more and get them all set up so he could just grab the right one for the conditions he would face. One for small trout streams, one for carp, and one for lake fishing for trout. Wow!

The Ketchum Release Tool, shown here in action - which is what all of this stuff is about, by the way - should be required of every angler, in my opinion. The angler never has to touch a fish and the tool saves flies, thus paying for itself in one outing.

We have plenty in stock and have a special deal going. Just ask when you stop by and make your next purchase.

Our Line, Leader & Tippet program has been such a success we're continuing to offer it. For $15.95 we'll examine your fly line and reel, cleaning both. We'll check the knots and let you know the condition of everything. Then, we'll add a leader with our no-knot connection and provide you with two spools of monofilament tippet material. That's a good deal. Bring your reel in soon and take advantage of this delightful offer.

Fishing Tips: May is such an interesting time to fish as we have so many opportunities. Warm water bass, wiper, carp, bluegill, perch, crappie and so on, as well as pike and smallmouth bass. Then there are the streams teeming with hungry trout that eat small dry flies and the lakes that offer angling for large fish on the prowl. Last year I wrote a Fishing Tips page on fishing in May. Check it out to see what you think. I hope it helps you enjoy fly fishing today. Fishing in May. I just updated it yesterday, adding a few pictures and additional thoughts.

If you have any questions, please drop me a note and let me know what they are and I'll do all that I can to answer.

During the course of last week I sent an Extra! Extra! Read all about it! memo concerning the presence of the New Zealand Mud Snail in the South Platte at 11-Mile Canyon. It appears to be sad news, but the votes are still out. Lots of information is being disseminated in the media and we should plan on seeing much more before this is settled or just forgotten - does anyone remember whirling disease? (I'm sure many do, but confess, it's not at the top of your mind any more.)

Please read the info on the link. It's what I received from the Colorado DOW. If you have the opportunity, please read the article by David Nickum found in this issue of the Colorado Trout Unlimited publication, which we have in the shop. It's the best I've seen so far.

Does anyone else have a problem with the mixture of water and 409? Is this stuff safe in a trout stream? Are we going to do more damage by adding 409 to our water than the snails will do? I don't know. As always, use caution, be careful, respect the environs where our fish are found, which are usually lovely to behold - the fish and the environs, that is - and use common sense.

As you may recall, the rejuvenated St. Vrain Anglers Chapter of Trout Unlimited just won The Most Improved Chapter at the recent CTU rendezvous. Cool beans. You might also recall the dandy work done recently with the Longmont Cleanup days, where the club had lots of folks turn out to clean trash from the St. Vrain through Longmont, and the River Project that they hosted in March. At that event, the club prepared to sample various areas on the stream to find out about water quality and bug life. Several local High School Biology classes participated and a fine time was had by all. The data collected is still coming in and is in the process of being dissected and organized into meaningful information that will used to help beautify the St. Vrain River. The hope is that there will be self-sustaining population of trout from Lyons through Longmont.

This is an active club that is going places, and doing the right things! Now, it's time to raise some money to keep the right things on the move.

It's time for you to be involved in the future of the St. Vrain. The St. Vrain Anglers TU club is hosting a delightful evening on Friday, May 20, 2005 at the Radisson Hotel in Longmont. The combination social, informational, fund raiser will be fun, entertaining and useful to all who attend, as well as to the positive future of the St. Vrain River. Here's the info that I have:

1. Friday, May 20, 2005. Radisson Hotel off Ken Pratt Boulevard in Longmont, Colorado. Entrance fee is $25.00 per person and includes food and raffle tickets for door prizes. Show up at 6:30 or so, eat some goodies and enjoy the festivities.

2. Featured speaker is AK Best, local fly tier, author and all-around find young man, who will share insight into his St. Vrain experiences. AK has donated flies that will be auctioned off, and we'll have signed copies of his books for sale and auction as well.

3. Lots of goodies in raffles, silent and live auctions.

4. Opportunities to sign up for upcoming events.

5. Much more! Please join the fun.

I'm donating lots of good things to help the cause. Included will be two sets of mounted flies that you'll be able to bid on. One is a set of Green Drake patterns, and the other a set of wet flies. Here are some pictures of the wets, which I hope you'll enjoy.

If you are unable to come to this special event and would like to support the St. Vrain Anglers TU Club, here's how you can do it!

Make a generous donation to the club. Consider $25.00, $50.00, $100.00, $250.00 or more. I'll tie one or more of the above flies and send them to you in recognition of your support, and send you a gift certificate to use in the shop during June, 2005. How's that?

While I'm on the TU wagon, I'd like to invite you to a presentation I'll be making on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at the REI in Denver, at I-25 - you know, the superstore. The meeting starts at about 6:30, and I'll tie some flies, then present a program on fishing in and around Rocky Mountain National Park. Please join the fun! If you need more info, give me a call at 303-651-6061 or drop me a line at angler@peakpeak.com. Hope to see you two weeks from today!

Classes continue to thrive, and folks continue to learn about fly fishing skills so they can hook more fish and have more fun on the water. How about you? When you are ready, we have a class that will help you understand the "how" and the "why" of fly fishing. I hope you'll sign up soon for the class of your choice. They fill fast.

Please follow the link for schedules and class descriptions, then sign up on line, or give us a call at the shop at 303-651-6061. If you have any questions about the classes, please drop me a line, stop by the shop, or give us a call. Classes.

Okay; filling fly boxes with flies is an interesting proposition. How does one organize a box of flies, anyway?

Who would be interested in a class on Organizing the Fly Box? I'd like to teach one, and if you are interested please let me know. Fill out the form below and I'll call you to confirm your interest in it. I'm going to charge $20 for the session, and will give you a gift certificate for that amount that you can use to buy a fly box, tying materials or flies so you can fill your own fly boxes!

That seems fair enough.

Shop Hours: In Longmont, we're open from 9:30-6:00 Monday through Friday. On Saturday, we're open from 9:00-4:30 or so, depending on what's happening and if we need to get out for some fishing!

The Estes Angler will open this Friday, May 13, 2005. The shop will be open from 9:00-5:00 until Memorial Day Weekend, and then we'll be open from 8:00-7:00.

Rachel, Ryan, Bob and the rest of us hope to see you soon!

Guided Trips are in full swing, and going great! Our guides are excited about helping you learn more about bugs, casting, fly selection and presentation and how to hook more fish! Check the web page for info at Guided Trips.

Thanks for reading today. I hope you've enjoyed the info, the fun, the news and the musings. It's always great hearing back from people. I appreciate comments and ideas about making this weekly visit more meaningful and useful.

Please stay in touch, and go fishing soon!