St. Vrain Angler News & Muse May 3, 2005

Greetings!

Thanks for reading! To all my new readers, thanks for signing on; to all of you who have been reading for some time, thanks again. I hope you enjoy today's installment of the fishing times. I hope this issue is entertaining, informative and encouraging. Lord knows we all need some of each these days.

That we me on the Big T for an hour or two on Friday. As was the case for most of last week, it snowed. Estes got a couple of feet, depending on where you live or are up there, which is great news for the water users - us, critters, bugs and fish. Today is bright and sunny, and promises to be warm. The snow here is now gone.

Rachel is back. School at Ft. Lewis is complete for this semester and while she'll still be practicing her flute regularly, she's decided to take on the Estes Angler once again. We're remodeling Longmont a bit first, then we'll get the shop in Estes Park up and running by the end of this week. We've already been doing lots of guided trips, and folks are having a fine time at it, learning more about fly fishing fun while enjoying time outside away from the thing we are both presently staring at.

Ah, computers. I look at mine almost every day, writing, reading and answering emails from many of you, printing Solution Booklets and other handouts for the shop, ordering product that works for our friends and customers - I think that's the same group, after all - and so on. I play spider solitaire, too. There. I confessed. The computer is a delightful tool, although I have no idea how it really works. But I'm still in that mode with electricity - just amazed that someone could figure out how to make it work. I suppose candles were fine, and we know lots of wonderful literature, music and art were composed with their light, but we think electric light is better.

Frank was with me on Friday, and I liked this shot of him, the water, the snow and the green leaves budding through all of it. Oh my, was it cold! Frank had gloves and wore them most of the time. We traded off fishing, and I hooked one rainbow - it was pretty small, but I'm not bragging about that today - on a dry. The fly, at right, is tied with an orange post, brown spade hackle tail, olive dubbing and dun hackle wrapped through the dubbing behind and in front of the post. This makes it a thorax-style dry fly. The hackle is clipped flat on the bottom so the fly floats flush in the surface film. The fish took it with confidence, as though it really thought food was drifting by.

We didn't see any bugs emerging, which we really thought we would see, and the only fish we saw rise other than the one that took my fly was a large fish in a big pool. I don't know what it took, but we didn't see any more bugs or rises to anything. Oh well. We were out there, and the chili we ate after we finished was the best of the month.

There is something about being out in inclement weather that invigorates my being, lets me know that I am alive. I need to do more of it, that's for sure.

Frank headed back on Sunday and hooked some very nice fish, including this handsome brown. The T has some wonderful, wild trout; we are so blessed.

When the DOW met in Longmont during the winter I mentioned that I thought the river had four generations of fish, and the biologist told me there were five! That is amazing. What makes a trout get large is plenty of food and a long life. They just keep growing. Someone was in the shop the other day and said they saw a very large fish rise, but only once. I think we're going to see some legitimate twenty inch fish hooked and released this year. When will you try? Soon, I hope.

We're probably going to see more days with snow/rain/sleet and so on when the sky is very gray and the water on our streams looks like oil coursing down the side of the mountain, it is so dark and glossy. The glare is unbelievable, no matter where you stand and how good the polarized glasses you are wearing work.

What to do?

Tie on a hi-viz fly. I've been tying lots of them for the shop, using mostly orange posts. Small mayfly and caddis patterns for use on local streams as well as on the Arkansas, which is now officially red hot. Tie a few for yourself, or stop by to get a few before you head out. The fish will take the flies, even though there aren't many bugs with orange wings out there right now, and you'll be able to see them do just that. The trude patterns have red tails, dubbed bodies - one is olive, the other yellow - and white poly wings with fire red antron on top for visibility. The collar of hackle is thick so the flies will float. I like this pattern very much. In the middle are two caddis patterns with orange posts with the hackle wrapped as a collar behind and in front of the wing. They have dubbed bodies. One has an elk wing, and the other a feather wing. Both have the orange poly post material under the wings for contrast. The gray caddis on top is tied with a dubbed body, a gray antron under wing, a feather wing and grizzly hackle. It looks so real I tried to slap one when it fell out of my tying bowl onto the desk. The hi-viz BWO is at the left; we discussed it above.

If you need any help tying these flies just let me know. I love tying flies, and teaching fly tying is one of the real joys of this business for me.

On that note: I'm going to start one more Introduction to Fly Tying Class. It will begin next Monday evening, that's May 9, 2005, at 7:00PM in Longmont. We'll do three consecutive weeks, then take Memorial Day off, finishing the class the following Monday, which will be the first Monday in June. Please join the fun. There are only a few spot left, so let me know in the next day or so! Thanks!

Tying flies is one of the finest aspects of our delightful pastime. I hope you are filling your boxes with flies.

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.

The fishing was a bit tough last week, but promises to improve dramatically. Folks have been going and hooking trout. I've received reports from the Arkansas, Gray Reef, the Big T, Clear Creek, Cheesman Canyon, Spinney Reservoir and other spots. The votes are in, and it is TIME TO GO FISHING!

Here are a few pictures folks have shared during the past week or so. Notice the smiles. Notice the lack of stress and trouble. Notice the lovely spots. Notice that we aren't there!

LET'S GO FISHING!

Make's me want to go again soon. I hope I can. In the meantime, I hope to help you get ready to go in any way that I can.

All of our classes continue. Here's a short list of what's coming in the near future:

Introduction to Fly Tying: Monday, May 9, 2005 - 4 weeks from 7-9:30PM at the shop.

Introduction to Fly Casting: Saturday, May 7, 2005

Introduction to Fly Casting: Saturday, May 21, 2005

First Adventure in Fly Fishing: Sunday, May 15, 2005 (this is a changed date! The 8th is Mother's Day. Call your mom, then go fishing.)

First Adventure in Fly Fishing: Sunday, May 22, 2005

Organize My Fly Box: Several sessions; please see above.

Carp Fishing Classes: Call for times and dates, but go do this. It is fun!

All of these sessions have been filling fast, so please select the one you want and let me know soon so I can save a spot.

There are still a few Sage Rods left in the closeout sale. I must admit that I'm surprised they are still here because these are great prices on wonderful fly rods. Please see the list that remains here - Sale - and pick one that you like. Thanks.

Lots of folks are still trying and buying the new Winston BIIx fly rods. They are simply the best rods I've used. We have them.

The new Redington CPS (Core Performance Series) Rods are all 4-piece. Most are 9' long and come with a bag and case. These are fast, light rods that are great as an upgrade from a big box rod, or to get going. They are only $249.00. I have them from 3-12 weights in stock. If you have a saltwater or Alaska Salmon trip on the calendar, one of these is a great rod to get going.

You're going to need a reel to go with a rod, and we really like the line of Lamson-Waterworks reels. Come by and check them out. You're sure to like the value.

We also continue to carry Ross reels. They're great!

Guided Trips! Ours are the best around. Our guides are committed to solving your fly fishing problems, helping you to understand the "why" of "what" you are doing. That's a neat thing to know.

Our guides will help you catch more fish more often. I have to be honest. Along with "Gee, I've just been fishing too much lately" the other answer to "How are you doing?" is almost never, "I just came in so I could find out how to catch fewer fish. I don't seem to be able to keep them off of my line!"

Everyone wants to know how to catch more or larger fish. And that's what we teach. Along with a good dose of environmental sanity, that is. I'm not interested in ripping lips, but I do love teaching folks how to meet and match the conditions at hand with casting, line control, fly selection and so on.

The St. Vrain Angler's Trout Unlimited auction is coming on Friday, May 20, 2005. The group is meeting at the Radisson on Ken Pratt Parkway at 6:30. AK Best will be the keynote speaker, and lots of goodies will be available in silent and live auction.

The Club just received the Most Improved Chapter award at the Colorado Trout Unlimited Rendezvous last month. We're proud of this accomplishment and looking forward to more good thing.

The $25.00 entrance fee includes food, access to auction items, AK's presentation, and tickets for door prizes.

Mark your calendar now for Friday, May 20, 2005 and plan to attend. For more info, give me a call at 303-651-6061.

I don't know who might have noticed, but I now have a column in each issue of Fishing & Hunting News. It's fun writing for another outlet, and encouraging folks to enjoy fly fishing fun. Pick up a copy and let me know what you think.

If there's every any other info you'd like to see on this page, please let me know. I'm always open to input, which I genuinely appreciate.

I think that's about all that I have for today. I'm wishing you the best in life and fly fishing and hope to see you again soon.

We need to have a good week this week in the shop, so if you find you are in need of any fly fishing goodies, please let me know and stop by to pick up your stuff. I'm keeping it for you and it's ready to take out.

Thanks for reading.

I'll see you again soon.

Dale Darling