St. Vrain Angler News & Muse June 21, 2005

Greetings!

Thanks for reading again this week, and welcome to our new readers who signed up during the past week to begin receiving my weekly missive. There are lots of them in the archives now, so if you'd like to see what was going on sometime in the past, please follow the link and have a good read.

Last week was interesting and enjoyable as we got to meet lots of family members who wanted to get something for dear old dad. I hope all of you will get out and use your new goodies soon and often. Going fishing is what your families want you to do - I heard it over and over again. So, go ahead and go fishing: you have permission!

Today is the longest day of the year for us. I'm going fishing this afternoon to take full advantage of it. I expect to see a few mayflies and golden stones in the air and on the water, and lots of caddis towards the end of the day. I'll fish with dries regardless of whether or not fish are rising, just to see if I can force feed them a big, juicy steak. I'll start with an attractor of some sort - unless I see specific bugs emerging and trout eating them - and change flies after hooking one or two fish on a fly. That is fun to me: seeing if I can fool fish that aren't rising by putting a fly in such a spot that the fish simply must take it. We'll see what happens.

I like to start by looking at the water, seeing what I see and asking myself a few questions. Are there any bugs emerging? Do I see any rising fish? If not, where would they be holding right now? Where is the shade? How clear is the water and how fast/slow is it flowing?

I rig up appropriately - for tonight, I'll start with a leader that tapers to 4X and add about 3 feet of 4X tippet and my attractor dry - unless I see rising fish and need a smaller fly, in which case I'll tie on 2' of 4X and 3' of 5X in order to properly present the fly.

I'll probably start with either a Stimulator or a coachman trude. They are two of my favorites. If I'm in the right mode, I might even start with a Royal Wulff, which is another favorite for searching for hungry trout. If, after a few dozen casts, I don't move a fish I might tie on a bead head dropper and search deeper and faster water just to see if the fish are feeding. Who knows? Maybe they await the evening caddis emergence as we would a late hot dog cookout, and are saving their appetite until then.

I doubt it, but its fun to anthropomorphize our critters, isn't it? Walt did a fine job on this front.

If the fishing is slow, meaning little activity, I'll move fast, covering lots of water and making sure I'm getting a good drift. If the fishing is fast and lots of fish are moving to the fly, I'll cover water more slowly, but change flies frequently to see if there's something they won't eat. A few pictures will be taken of bugs, water and fish and I'll sit on a rock and watch the river flow by, trying to figure out yet again why I'm out here, and what in the world the attraction is. I'm a mess, for sure, but love this fishing stuff. Where did my mom go wrong.

I'll have to stop by the shop and tie a few more flies. The fifty-one-thousand-four-hundred-twelve plus the ones I tied last night just aren't enough for some reason. I can't go unprepared!

I think Mr. Chris is going with me, so we'll take a few pictures and report in later this week on this outing.

Why not make the choice to fish this evening? Head to the St. Vrain, Big Thompson, a local bass pond or Rocky Mountain National Park. Go ahead. It's fun, and the days are going to start getting shorter. Top of page

We offered a tying evening for last night and several folks said they were interested, but didn't show. At the same time lots of folks ask about tying lessons. Here's what I'm going to try. On Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30PM I'm going to offer a Drop-In Fly Tying Session. Whoever is there first will have the option of asking a fly tying question, unless I decide there's a certain pattern or family of bugs we ought to learn. The fee will be $15.00 per person for the session, which would be cheap at twice the price. I love tying and teaching tying tricks, so this will be fun. Please call the shop to let us know you are coming. The first session will be next Monday evening. 303-651-6061. Top of page

Last Tuesday evening I offered to tie a Jock Scott. Four of us set up and tied until 11:30 that night. It took us four hours to tie the fly, but we had a great time doing it! (This is the one I tied; it is mounted and gone to a new home!) I was proud of everyone for sticking with it and tying this difficult pattern. In the future, I'd like to do another full dress Atlantic Salmon fly. I'm thinking Green Highlander for the next go. Interested? Please let me know by dropping me a line at angler@peakpeak.com or calling the shop at 303-651-6061. Thanks! Top of page

The anatomy of a 1st Adventure in Fly Fishing Class. These sessions have been going so well I wanted to share with you how we teach our basic fly fishing class. I've been working on this since the early 1980's, back when Dick Reeves owned and operated Front Range Anglers in Boulder. He wanted me to design and teach a class, and I did it. We had fun. I've learned lots about this since then and we continue to enjoy teaching fly fishing skills and fun to our angling friends. (For a complete definition of the class, please follow the link to First Adventure.)

We begin at one of the shops. At this time of year, we usually do the sessions at the Estes Angler because we teach the on-water portion in the Park.

We meet at 8AM. Hot coffee and fresh donuts are there just in case a sugar rush is required. The group goes out to the park to do about 1/2 hour of casting as a refresher. We take a look at the water, then head into the shop to discuss water types, bugs, the needs of the trout and basic fly selection. Then, we go out for a bit more casting and another look at the river. After a short break its back to the shop to learn to tie knots and understand the basics of rigging.

We'll buy lunch and a beverage, which will go down well in anticipation of time on the water. That's next.

We drive to the Park. There are never more than 3 anglers per instructor on the water session, so you'll have plenty of time to understand what's going on. We'll spend about 4-5 hours on the water, doing what we discussed in the class. This will include:

In addition, we'll turn rocks and observe bugs, and look at the fly patterns that will imitate them.

Each technique will be explained and demonstrated and everyone will try it for themselves.

As I mentioned, these sessions have been going great! Many folks are signing up to take a 1st Adventure before taking a guided trip, while others are taking a day off to learn more about fly fishing before a weekend getaway or vacation.

How about you? When could we help teach you and a friend or family member to fly fish? Please call 303-651-6061 or 970-586-2110 to register a time. We have 1st Adventure Classes scheduled, but we'll do one for you and a friend at any other time.

We provide all of the instruction and gear you'll need. Top of page

Carp: Yuk!

Carp classes continue and much fun is being had. Last week our friend Charlie decided he'd like to learn a bit about casting, spotting fish and how to hook and land these big, tough fish. So, we set a time and Charlie and Andrew, our carp instructor in residence, headed out to Union Reservoir.

Here's a spot that is about 5 minutes from lovely downtown Longmont, and feels like it is way out in the boonies. That's a good thing - being in the boonies, that is.

Andrew has rigged out his flats boat to imitate the boats he grew up with in Biscayne Bay, Florida. He's got the poling platform; he's got the casting platform; he's got the rod holders' he's got the depth finder; he has the electric trolling motor; oh, yeah: he doesn't have the 200 horse Merc hanging off the back! Oh well; silence on the water is a good thing.

Charlie's done some Red fish fishing in the recent past and really wanted to hone his spotting and casting skills. In the meantime he realized what a fine quarry a carp was.

Andrew poled around his spots, spotting fish. Charlie made the casts and hooked and landed several carp during the course of the day. Several in this case was five, if I remember correctly. That's a good morning of carp fishing!

In some cases, the carp look surprised - after all, they do have the attitude that you can't hook them - and Charlie had a look of contentment after a well-earned hookup.

We're not sure about Andrew as we don't have any photographic evidence, but I'll tell you this: he was smiling like crazy! He loves doing this carp thing and sharing it with others.

I hope you'd like it shared with you, and soon! It's close; it's fun; it's worth the investment and we won't tell anyone you did it.

Call the shop to set your time at 303-651-6061 or drop me a line at angler@peakpeak.com. Thanks!  Top of page

June Deals! As I mentioned in a note sent last week, we're dropping Simms, as we have with Sage. Both companies make great products. They've just decided that their future is with big box stores such as Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops. That's fine; it's their choice. We are a small specialty fly shop that focuses on service, instruction, friendly helpfulness and information that is as accurate as we can make it. Our staff are not only fly fishing enthusiasts, they are professional retailers, interested in finding out how they can best fill their customer's needs.

We still have a few Simms items remaining, and all are marked down 30%. You really should call or stop by soon to get something that will work for you. As might be suspected, we have smaller sizes, so anyone who has a child or any of our lady anglers should stop in to get a good deal on good stuff.

This week, we expect to get our first shipment of Patagonia waders, shoes, vests and so on. As many of you may recall, we once carried Patagonia and decided to go fully with Simms as they were the fly fishing pro shop wading company. How things change. Patagonia continues to support small shops as well as their own company stores. They are committed to the environment, building environmentally friendly products and returning much of their pre-tax profit to environmental causes. This is good.

Follow this link to find the list of Simms product as well as consignment rods and outfits. We also have in-shop specials, so stop by and give em a try! June Specials!  Top of page

Change is interesting, and in many ways useful. St. Vrain Angler is going through them. I'm trying to make good decisions that are good for you, my readers and friends. What would you like to see? Please let me know by filling out the survey below. I'm just interested in what you think, and what you'd like to see. Thanks. Top of page

Sometimes, it's just time to look at pictures and enjoy them. Here are a few fish, flies, bugs and so on for your enjoyment. Please, go fishing soon!

Well? How about it? Anyone out there want to go fishing?

You have my permission - doctor's orders. It's good for your health - mental, physical and emotional.

That's it for today folks. I'll probably send a short issue later in the week about today's outing, as well as a few other special surprises.

Ryan, Rachel, Bob and I all hope to see you in the shop soon. We also have a quiver of guides who are ready and willing to take you to the water fly fishing.

Hope to see you soon!

Please stay in touch.