St. Vrain Angler News & Muse December 7, 2004

Greetings!

Mark (once again showing off his big brown of a month ago) and I hope this finds you well and warm! For Longmont, it has been cold and there is still snow and ice on the ground, which is unusual for us. I can still slip and fall on my big fat head almost wherever I need to. The sky has been clear most of the time, which is why it is so cold for here, and the sun is doing its job of melting snow where it shines; still, there is a cover of snow on our front yard as I sit writing to you, my friends and weekly readers.

Thanks for being there week after week, and thanks for writing back!

Is this a hectic time of year for you? Are there programs with kids and grandkids at schools? Parades and Nutcracker performances to attend? Excitement among younger - and older - kids, with wish lists that seem to get longer every day? Is it fun?

I hope so. We've decorated the shop - some of the lights and little trees have been with us since 1991, if you can imagine that! - and we've added a few gift items, which is our wont this time of year.

This is when we get to meet mothers, wives and girlfriends of our angling lowlifes, as well as a few husbands and boyfriends of our angling lovelies. It's fun! All of our non-angling friends are trying to find a gift for their angling loved one, and we get to help them get you something you need. Cool!

Each year, I imagine people getting gifts from the shop, and how happy they must be, knowing their family and friends care about their angling passion. I tell the non-angling gift buyer that by getting a gift for their angler, they are giving them permission to go fishing, and almost all of them agree that their angler needs to go fishing more often. Permission to go

Interesting, that. I wonder how often Mark and I hear the answer, "I'm just too busy right now." to our "Have you been out lately?" question.

Hmm, and oh well.

How's the fishing? Anyone been out of late? We got a report from the weekend at Gray Reef, and two of the anglers did pretty well, and the other two didn't. So it goes with fishing. I remember being a kid, fishing off one side of the boat and not catching anything while my dad was catching them on the other side. I'd whine and do my best sad kid imitation - wait, I was a sad kid! - and he'd change sides with me. He's hook more fish and I'd continue to go fishless. There was some sort of wisdom relayed from that, but I can't remember what it was. That means I'll go fishless again, push Mark out of his hole, and he'll keep catching fish in my hole while I don't catch any in his hole until the lesson is learned.

Mark and I are pretty sure 11-Mile would still be very good, and that it will hold up most of the winter. Cheesman Canyon can be good this time of year, too. I've always thought the Blue below Dillon is good in winter, and have done well there when I've fished it without Mark. (If he was there, he'd catch all of them.) The Frying Pan is usually really cold, but fishes well near the dam. That's quite a drive, though, and not really a day trip. The Blue and Cheesman are easily done in a day, so that's where you might go. The Big T below the dam stays open and fishes well during winter, but it can get a bit too crowded, and may be very windy! Most of the canyon gets covered with ice this time of year. There are a few spots on the Poudre that fish well, too, but I've always thought it a bit less dependable. Can anyone contradict that with authority? If so, keep it to yourself and keep fishing up there. The Mile fishes well during the winter, and so does Gray Reef. My choice would be 11-Mile because those fish will keep on eating bugs off the surface, and sight fishing to rising fish is what floats my boat.

Or fly, as the case might be.

Go armed with midges, because that's what the fish will be eating. Also, a few scuds and golden stones are in order, and fish will eat pheasant tails and copper johns, too. a copper john works well to get the other nymph or larva pattern you might be fishing to the bottom.

A friend and I were fishing the S. Platte below Decker's one winter day, and the fishing was slow. The water was low and clear, and we saw a few fish along the edges and in feeding lies, but they weren't taking much in the way of bugs or flies. We continued walking the river, hunting for fish, and watching in riffles and the head of runs for flashes that would indicate a feeding fish. That's where the fish that were feeding were feeding. Is that good English?

We hooked a few; very few. John called me to come and see a fish he'd just caught and landed. It was an average brown of about 14" or so - Mark would say it was 26", but that's all he catches, you see. John left the fly in the fish's mouth; it was a size 22 midge larva, and the hook was in the middle of the upper lip of the fish, which means it ate it with confidence. Climbing out of the fish's mouth was a size 8 golden stone nymph, which the fish had obviously just eaten.

It made you think about what they eat, and why. I've always held that trout are opportunistic and will eat what drifts by, as long as they are hungry and feel safe. This guy had eaten a drifting golden, and before it could swallow, eaten John's fly.

Hmm, once again.

Golden Stones are in the water for three years, so the fish see them often. They must recognize them as food. It might be a good idea to tie and fish a few from time to time, just to see if a fish will eat yours. Need help tying one? Stop by the shop and we'll do just that with you.

Writing this is so much fun! Are you enjoying reading as much? I hope so. I'm wishing each of you the best.

A memory like that one never leaves us. The only way to deposit them in our memory bank is to go fishing. In planning for New Year's Resolutions, should we add a few fishing days? Give our selves permission to go fishing more often? To go with a friend, father, son, uncle, cousin, neighbor? Make a good choice. A sage once said that God does not subtract time spent fishing from the span of a person's life.

Do you think Holden will remember his first fly-caught trout? Age ten. What a smile.

Let's go fishing.

2005: Year of Angling Delight.

There. I've said it. I don't know what the Chinese think, but that's what we think for now. Isn't it?

I guess that about covers the Musing for today. Now, for the News. How's that?

Tonight, December 7, 2004 - a day that lives in infamy in my memory; thanks Ken - there will be a meeting at the Longmont Public Library at 6PM. The DOW - that's our Division of Wildlife - is holding an open-to-the-public session to review and revise regulations, including fishing. The DOW uses these meetings to collect information from the public so they can make good choices in wildlife management. I hope a few of you will attend. Maybe we'll go to O'Shay's after for a dark liquid and burger.

Several folks are thinking that the Big T should be designated as Wild Trout water. The river has not been stocked since about 1994 or so, so it is actually behaving that way as is. I'm not sure what this designation would mean, but that's a question we could ask.

The New Zealand Snail has apparently been discovered in Boulder Creek. This is not a good thing, and a question that might be asked tonight. Anyone who fly fishes with waders or in a boat, please be sure you clean whatever was in the water with hot water, and let it thoroughly dry before fishing another drainage. This snail is not something we want to see distributed throughout the streams and lakes of Colorado. Just when whirling disease seems to have taken a back seat of sorts, along comes the New Zealand Snails.

The pressure on the resource we love continues from many angles.

A group of local enthusiasts from Longmont met last week to form a committee that will focus on the water and the habitat of the St. Vrain River. There is much optimism on this front, and anyone who is interested in being involved with this group should contact me immediately. I'll pass your email on to the right folks so you can communicate. This group is going to do hands-on work on the river, collecting scientific data concerning bug life, water quality and so on. Then, they are going to try to build a coalition of folks who care about water issues to see what can be done to keep and enhance what we have.

There are lots of folks around the area, including our friend Bill in Colorado Springs, who take up the banner to save lakes and streams. This is a good thing. While lakes may continue to be built in Colorado and throughout the West, they are not building any streams or rivers anymore.

Let's keep what we have for the future.

Please, get involved.

More Shop News:

By now, many of you have received our Christmas Catalogue. How is it? There are some very special offers contained within. If you would like to receive it, please fill out this form and we'll get a copy to your doorstep ASAP. If you already signed up, it's on its way to you!

Events & Opportunities!

Saturday Morning Clinics Continue: We meet at the shop from 10:00AM until noon, and I tie flies of one description or another. Questions are always welcome, and a fine time had by all.

On-line Sales

Here's what we're doing. In addition to the catalogue that's being mailed out, we're putting info on this site in case you'd like to buy gear that way. There are some great deals, and I'll be working on this almost every day, adding info and opportunities.

Please remember this: everything we sell is guaranteed to work. That's it. We want you to be satisfied and to enjoy using the things you get from us.

Please take advantage of our friendly offers. We accept PayPal over the web, and credit cards of checks when you call us.

Gift Ideas

Gift Certificates: Fun to give and receive. Just follow the link to find out how we do it.

Fly Tying Kits: For the beginner, the novice, or the expert.

Fly Tying Tools: The right stuff to do the job.

Tying Materials: We have the best, and we'll help you get the right materials for the flies you'd like to tie.

We have copies of our Solutions Booklets available. They are $7.95 each. Winter Fly Fishing, Fish! Bugs! Flies!, Presentation 101, Caddis, Getting Started in Fly Fishing, Introduction to Fly Tying, and several more are available.

Mark and I hope this finds you well, enjoying the cold air and warmth of the Holiday Season, which is upon us whether you want it or not!

We hope to see you, or hear from you soon. Write as you will, stop by, give us a call - or do all three. We love seeing and hearing from our friends, and we look forward to fulfilling your fly fishing dreams.

Talk with you again next week!