St. Vrain Angler News & Muse February 15, 2005

Greetings!

I hope this finds you well, wallowing in the wonder of life! Life is a good thing. Thanks to all of the new folks who signed up to receive this weekly missive: welcome aboard!

Two years ago today, my dad, Bill Darling, died. Over the past few days I've been thinking of him and a variety of emotions wash over me in the process. For those of you who knew my dad, share a moment of silence with me in fond remembrances...

Thanks.

That's dad and my brother, Don - when he still had hair - back in Ohio where we all grew up - theoretically grew up, that is. Our sister, Diane, has grown up, but I'm not sure about little brother Don and I. Okay. I'm sure. We haven't.

Over the past few days it has been lovely along Colorado's Front Range. Clear, blue skies - some wind, to be sure - and warm temps. Once again we're reminded that if you don't like the weather, just stick around! as it is snowing this morning. And that's great! More water, up to about flood stage, is usually a good thing around here, and snow is the main source of our moisture. I hope it is dumping on the mountains, and the skier's season lasts for a long time. That means fish will have water to live in, thereby frustrating us with how to hook them.

I generally wonder, when I'm landing a fish - or even tying a fly or getting ready to go on a trip - who has who here? You know what I mean? Well, I know I'll keep going and assume that most of you reading this now will do the same. In the shop, we'll keep finding ways to help you solve fly fishing problems in the hopes you'll have more fun at the vise and on the water. Fair enough?

Thanks for the support you've been expressing. Classes are being well-attended, and that usually means folks want to get out and go fishing.

The big hog of a rainbow was caught on Saturday at Grey Reef on the North Platte. What a fish! Our friend Robert's dad, who's name is Greg (Greg took the picture of his smiling son and surprised rainbow), said the fish was hooked on a midge larva that Mark recommended. Robert used 5X tippet material and it took about 25 minutes to land the fish. What a memory that makes! Cool beans. If you have pictures to share, just send them to me at angler@peakpeak.com or drop a copy by the shop so I can make a scan of it.

More on the Reef..

Our friend Larry, who's been up the Reef regularly, says the water has been clear and the fish plentiful. Larry uses small scud patterns along with midge larva. Uncle Tom went with Larry and hooked a very large fish on one of his midge larva patterns, too. This is the time to go. Mark has a good sense of what's happening up there - as a matter of fact, he's going up this weekend for a few days with our buddy Charlie - and is always happy to share with you. We'll have a full report in two weeks on Mark's outing.

The fish eat blood worms, such as the one at the right, in tailwater streams. They are abundant and must provide a good source of protein for hungry fish. Small krystal flash midge larva (below, at right), Dale's Midge Larva with red thread, a red wire larva and so on will all work well.

Little green scuds, at left, are also numerous and tasty. Try one - they taste like lettuce to me. I guess we don't really want to go there, do we? Tied on either a straight nymph hook or a scud hook in size #16 scuds work great this time of year.

Use the largest tippet you can get away with. I was pleased our friend who caught the big bow above was using 5X. Often, folks try using 6X or even 7X, which seems silly to me. If you want to hook a very large fish, use large enough tippet and the right rod control and reel settings to land the fish without killing it.

I think most anglers are using two flies and enough weight above the top fly to get the entire thing to the bottom with the proper drift. The top fly might have a bead to help keep the flies down and the bottom fly is probably the one folks think the fish will take.

Fishing two flies is good for the drift as one or the other mitigates some of the drag, presenting one of the flies with a dead drift. When nymph fishing for the first few times of the season, be sure to know where the flies are in the current by adding small spots of BioStrike to the tippet and leader. This creates a string of Christmas Tree Lights and they are visible. (That's Mark and his brother, Wayne, on the reef during fall fishing. Quite a pair. The brothers. The fish are nice, too, huh?) Allow your eyes to follow down the string to the lowest one and see if you can find the fly in the water! When you do, you'll begin to see fish take the fly that at first you didn't even see at all. The right polarized sunglass, the most important gear we have, are required, along with being in the proper position to see into the water. Keep trying, and have fun.

Locally, the Big Thompson is mostly free of ice and should be fishing well. I think I'll try to get up later in the week, and will have a full report for you on that. Reports say the Poudre is also open and fishing well. Scott fished the Blue last week, and said it was tough and there were lots of folks near the top, above the I-70 bridge at Silverthorne. Still, that's a good spot and worth the drive. I mentioned to Scott that years ago a friend and I used to head up there this time of year and fish well below the dam. I liked fishing riffles with a caddis larva and usually hooked a few thin, healthy brown trout. I'll bet the Pan is pretty good right now, too.

Our friend Frank headed to Vail to get the stitches out of his leg last Wednesday. After more than a year of rehabbing and so on he finally got the plate and screws out of his ankle and had to have the stitches removed from that operation. He had a smile on his face, though, as he was going to fish after the visit. And you can see why from the pictures. Here's a guy who has just undergone another surgery and is going snowshoeing - which he said he'd never done before - the same day he's getting the stitches out. Oh well. Trout nuts, anyone? As you can see, they made it to the stream and hooked a few fish. Frank said that next time he'll use larger snowshoes.

When there is open water, it is time to fish!

Frank also found the friend shown here. The fly is a size #12 on a scud hook, so that gives some perspective as to the size of the golden stone nymph, which is at least a size #8. As you may recall, I've mentioned that this is a good fly to fish this time of year because the bugs are there, the fish know it, and the fish will eat them.

The fly is Frank's Christmas Flash Bead Head Pheasant Tail Flashy Fly - or something like that. See all the colors? Follow the link for tying instructions. Frank's Flashy BH Fly

Frank hooked the brown above - a very fine fish, if you'll note from the size of the net - on this pattern. Interesting, huh?

Eleven-Mile is dependable and open. Our friend Ron, who I saw at the West Denver TU Tying clinic on Saturday, said he was down in the canyon on Friday and caught fish on midges. He made the comment that it seemed there were fewer fish than normal. I wonder about that. This section has been hit hard since the problems near Deckers have occurred. I guess as that spot returns to health - there are good reports from the DOW on fish growth and the presence of bugs, by the way, 11-Mile will have less pressure.

On this front, if you can catch lots of fish use some common sense and don't. Thanks. Change flies frequently; look at bugs; watch the birds - aren't the Oozles something to see? - and so on. I'll be honest when I say I'm a little worn out with hearing about ripped lips. Does anyone really like to hook a fish and find missing mandibles? I know I don't. Remove the barbs from all the hooks used - especially the small flies - and handle the fish gently, if at all. Mark and I both like to use the Ketchum Release Tool when we fish so we don't even have to touch the fish.

There I go again. Oh well. Hey, it's me folks! Thanks for reading. I hope you are doing well. Stay with me for more good stuff. Here we go!

The year 2005 is the year to get back on the water. We're going to have great water conditions and lots of great places to fish.

For many, the past few years have seen more than just a drought concerning water conditions; it has also been dry for folks to get out and go fishing. At St. Vrain Angler and Estes Angler we're going to change that this year, by doing more and more to help you get out and enjoy the time you have to fish. Fair enough?

In addition to classes listed below, we're going to host several very special events. The first one is designed to help get your gear ready. Here it is:

Next weekend, February 25-26 - that's Friday and Saturday - we'll clean your reel and fly line, check the fly line to backing knot, tie on a new leader with our special splice knot and supply you with two new spools of fresh tippet material - 5- and 6X - so you're ready to get out for Spring Fishing! The price is $15.95 and includes the cleaning, checking, a 7-1/2' Rio 5X tapered leader, tying and two spools of Rio PowerFlex tippet. That's a good deal.

In addition, you'll receive a $5.00 coupon that can be applied to any future purchase, including a new fly line if we deem that is necessary. Now, it's a better deal!

On both days, from 11:30 until 1:30 we'll have free hot dogs and chips ready for you to eat.

Sign up now. Space is limited to the first 50 people who register for this special event. This is a good deal, and a good way to be certain your reel, fly line, leader and tippet material is ready for Spring Fishing!

Sign me UP!!

For the St. Vrain/Estes Angler Spring Rendezvous!

We are excited about this one, friends. On Sunday, April 3, 2005 we'll host our First Annual Spring Rendezvous at the Estes Angler in Estes Park, Colorado. We're going to charge $50.00 per person, with family discounts available. What will you get for $50.00?

Well, first you will get access to a phenomenal day of fly fishing instruction. We'll call it a Spring Tune-up. After we get your reel and line ready, we're going to work on casting, tying, knots, bugs and feeding you some good chow.

Beginning at 8:00AM we'll have hourly sessions on

There will also be door prizes! And, lots of fun.

St. Vrain Angler Swaps have become popular, and rightly so. Not only are they fun, they offer tremendous value to our angling friends. Right now we're focusing on fly tying. Tonight, our first Hook Swap, which is full, is going to take place. The second Hook Swap is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at 5:30PM. The Hook Swap is limited to the first 10 folks who sign up, so sign up soon!

We charge $110.00. You get a hook box and 10 styles and sizes of hooks in lots of 100 of each. That's 1,000 hooks! That's a great deal!

We also have two Hackle Swaps scheduled at this time. The first will be on Thursday, February 21, 2005 at 6:30PM. We'll have a variety of great saddle hackles ready to pull, sort and count and each person will receive tremendous value and tying pleasure from these delightful feathers.

The second Hackle Swap will be held on Thursday, March 18, 2005 at 6:30.

Everyone who's taken advantage of our Swaps will tell you they are great fun and a great deal. It's your turn! Drop us a line at angler@peakpeak.com, give us a call at the shop at 303-651-6061 or fill in the form below. We'll get you set and ready to go!

Classes

Class Schedules

Introduction to Fly Tying Classes are held at the shop and start each evening at 7:00PM. We're usually done about 9:30PM and lots of fun is had by all. Two scheduled sessions remain. They'll begin on

March 15, 2005

April 19, 2005

Please call at 303-651-6061 to reserve your time. Tuition is $70.00 per person and includes our Intro To Fly Tying Solutions booklet and all the materials we use during class time. Sign Me Up!

See the Class Schedules for the next sessions available.

A new session of our Intermediate Fly Tying Class begins tonight. We're going to have a fine time. Tonight we'll tie the Caddis Family, and it will be fun! We plan to tie mayfly patterns, work on wing and hackle techniques and much more. This is the last Intermediate session we have scheduled. However, if it fills and there is still interest we'll do another one. Tuition is $75.00 per person. If you would like to join me - Please call 303-651-6061 to reserve your time. Sign Me Up!

We've added an Entomology Class. Interested? Please let us know. The first session went great. I created a Power Point presentation which we showed on the big screen. We stayed on the point - bugs - and did not get too high falutin' about it. In other words, we spoke English and explained how bugs live and feed trout.

Two sessions remain. Please sign up soon! We'll meet at 7:00PM and finish by about 9:30 or so. Tuition is only $30.00 per person. Sign Me Up!

Shop Trip

After we do a shop trip there is a neat level of electricity running around the shop. Folks say they wish they could have joined us, folks who joined us say it was great and they'd like to go again, and so on. Mark always has a certain aura about him after fishing trips that invites others to join the fun. Dallas and his wife liked the picture last week, so I'll post it again! Ah, fame.

Shop Hours

Our days of having Monday off to fish are over. Either Mark, Jay or I will be in the shop. Here are shop hours for the rest of the Winter, Spring and Fall. Please stop by, have a cup of coffee and get some goodies to tie your next fly or to prepare for a fishing outing.

Monday: 9:30-6:00 (Specialty Classes start at 6:30PM)

Tuesday 9:30-6:00 (Tying Classes start at either 6:30 or 7:00PM)

Wednesday: 9:30-6:00

Thursday: 9:30-6:00 (TU Board meetings are 1st Thursday of month at 6:30; TU Meeting at VFW on 3rd Thursday at 6:30; specialty Classes on the other Thursday evenings!)

Friday: 9:30-6:00

Saturday: 9:00-4:00 (Free Clinics from 10-Noon)

ESTES ANGLER will open in March. I'll keep you posted on our progress in getting it up and running!

TU News

Thursday evening, February 17, 2005 beginning at 6:30PM ST. VRAIN ANGLERS chapter of Trout Unlimited will host its monthly meeting. On tap is a program on fishing British Columbia. I'll be tying steelhead flies, and Jay will tie Pacific Salmon flies beginning at 6:30. There will be a short business meeting at about 7:15 and the program will begin at 7:30. The club is really gaining momentum and this would be a great evening for you to attend. Bring a friend and enjoy the evening together with other angling nuts.

We meet at the VFW on South Main in Longmont. From the south, get to 287 and go north from Ken Pratt Blvd. From the north, go south of 287 - which is Main Street in Longmont. The VFW is just south of the St. Vrain River and is on the east side of the road. Pull in the lot and park behind the building. We meet downstairs.

That went fast! At least the writing. And this letter was lots of fun for me. I hope that's the case for you, too. I sure enjoy writing, and always hope that the words communicate fly fishing fun, that life is good, and how much we enjoy helping you with and encouraging you to go fly fishing.

I guess that's all I've got for today. Actually, my heart and mind are full of much more, including a description of how fly lines actually work, but I'll wait for next week.

Mark, Jay and I hope to see you at the clinic on Saturday, and during this week. I hope to hear from lots of you concerning classes, the Solution Booklets and our Special Lines, Leaders and Tippet program next weekend. We're all very excited about the Rendezvous in April, too.

Please stay in touch. Remember to write; I'll always answer - as long as I get the email. angler@peakpeak.com.

Talk with you again next week! Thanks for reading.