St. Vrain Angler News
& Muse December 28, 2004
Greetings!
How's everyone
this morning? I hope this finds you well, aglow in life and joy.
When someone asks
me how things are going I usually answer
that
some things are good and some bad. After all, we deal with circumstances
that are out of our control lots of the time and we don't always like the
hands that are dealt us.
When someone
asks, "How's life?" I always answer, "Life is great!" because it is. Where
there is life, there is hope. Hope is a good thing.
I hope you are
well.
One of the
circumstances that several of us have had to face full on today is the
cancellation of our trip to Christmas Island. The government of Kiribati
decided to change planes at the last minute and we were bumped from the
flight from Honolulu to Christmas Island. Even though everyone has visions
of speeding bonefish dancing in their heads, the trip for this group is off.
A few of the
folks going have such deep commitments before and after in Hawaii that they
are going ahead. At least three of
us
are going to change out and go to Ascension Bay in Mexico along the Yucatan
Peninsula, which should be great fishing and fun. Two of the guys going are
trying to decide what they'll be doing. If they can make changes in Hawaii,
which sounds like tough duty, they'll probably join us in Mexico.
This is
disappointing to all of us, but as one of the fellows said, there are
thousands of people along the Indian Ocean rim that would happily change
places with our inconvenience.
That puts
perspective that is meaningful.
I just hope -
from a selfish point of view - that we'll be able to fish together on the
flats at some point. We had the best group going.
If there is
anyone out there who is a spur of the moment decision maker - I'm pretty
sure all of those words should be hyphenated, but this is among friends,
right? - let me know because we could take one or two more folks with us.
We'll leave very early in the morning of the 3rd and return the evening of
the 10th. Want to go fly fishing in Mexico? Let me know at
angler@peakpeak.com
Our Free Monday,
held yesterday at the shop, was fun, entertaining and probably gave lots of
people bad gas. I made a big pot of chili and all of it was gone by the end
of the day. Jay said he liked it very much, but had to step out to buy some
antacids before he could eat a second bowl.
We tied flies,
talked about casting and had lots of folks in the
shop
using gift certificates. Everyone had smiles and a fine time. One of the
questions that came up - and this is the question - was, "Where can
we go fishing now?"
Ah. Music to our
ears. Fishing.
Locally, we have
the Big Thompson and the St. Vrain, which have some open water this time of
year. The T below the dam at Estes stays open all winter, and sometimes,
depending on temps, parts of the river in the canyon are open as well. Open
water means feeding fish, so go. Below Button Rock the St. Vrain stays open
a bit, as well, and where there are fish and bugs the twain meet for lunch.
If you have two hours, try one of those spots.
The next drive is
less than two hours, and includes Cheesman Canyon and the area above Deckers
on the South Platte. The fishing here is either fair or awful this time of
year. Fish will feed for part of the day and if you are there during that
time the chance of hooking a few exists.
The other
less-than-two-hour-drive is the Blue below Dillon near Silverthorne. This
actually fishes well in winter, although the weather and temperatures can be
brutal. There are nice fish here, although there can also be lots of
pressure. The Blue is a good spot to hit if you have skiers and anglers.
At about a
three-hour drive are the Dream Stream - the South Platte between Spinney and
11-Mile - and 11-Mile Canyon. The Canyon stretch is one of the most
dependable winter fisheries we know in the area. The Dream Stream can be
very good; it can also seem devoid of trout. (Isn't it interesting how fish
just disappear?)
In addition, the
Colorado near the William's Fork can be good in Winter. The Frying Pan,
which is a two-day trip for me - can be very good, but again brutal on the
weather/temp front, and the Roaring Fork will fish well.
We have shop
riff-raff who will go to the Miracle Mile in Wyoming on the North Platte or
Gray Reef for a one day trip. That's a lot of driving, but the fishing can
be very good. Larry and Chuck were on Gray Reef a week or so before
Christmas and they caught some very nice fish, including Larry's 29" brown!
(What a fish - the picture has not yet been developed; stay tuned.) We've
had good reports on the Mile, too.
If you had three
days, a trip to the San Juan in New Mexico, or the Green in Utah, or the
Bighorn in Montana would all be worthwhile. There are good fish in them-thar
waters, and often there is little pressure due to travel, weather and
temperatures.
Bugs
The emergence dujour
(how do you spell that word, anyway?) will be midges. Think small. See the
Midge Family for tying and fishing tips at The Midge
Family.
In addition to
midges, however, be sure to carry scuds, golden stonefly nymphs, copper
johns and a few prince nymphs. During winter, other immature bugs are in the
water and when they are available, fish will eat them.
Remember that
trout are opportunistic - that means they'll take advantage of what's
available - and that they want to get fat - that means they'll eat as much
as they can hold, plus ten bites of food. Just think of how many bits of
midges it would take to equal one bite of golden stonefly nymph (below, at
right). I wonder how many that would be? Lots, for sure.
Certain streams
have lots of scuds. We have them in the shop, or tie a few yourself. A size
16 is a good place to start, but smaller or larger will work. Never forget
the opportunistic side.
Rig with 9'
leaders that taper to about 5X. If you fish nymphs, tie on a 2' section of
either 5- or 6X tippet and add split shot to the leader above the tippet
knot. The knot keeps the split shot from slipping, which would make it
slipping shot instead. Get it? Put the fly on the tippet.
When fishing
deeper spots - I call them plunge pools - use larger flies such as scuds and
golden stones and get the fly down. Add more weight. I like to fish the
seams of these areas, beginning at the
down-stream
end of the spot and moving up into it, fishing each area thoroughly. Be sure
the fly gets down!
The water is
going to be cold! Since trout are cold-blooded and the water is cold, the
fish's metabolism will be very slow. They aren't going to move very far to
intercept a bite to eat, so the fly has to get right to where they want it
to be.
Sometimes, when
fishing, the angler has to think like a trout. In winter, that might be,
"I'm cold. I'm hungry. I think I'll get something to eat."
For the fish, it
is cold bugs.
For the angler,
it is a hot bowl of soup and a cup of tea. Be sure to figure out the closest
cafe before fishing. There's nothing quite like hot soup after
standing knee deep is very cold water, casting flies to picky trout.
Maybe my chili?
Hmm.
We do have
another weekend shop trip scheduled for later in January. Please call Mark
to save your spot: 303-651-6061. We'll be going to 11-Mile Canyon once
again, staying in Lake George. Hope to see you then.
To prepare for
winter fishing, I've written a
Solutions Booklet called - you guessed - Winter Fly Fishing. This is pretty
good if I don't say so myself. Full of tips about rigging, the bugs, how
trout eat, how to present the fly and fly tying tips and instruction, you'll
enjoy just reading through the book, then using it as a reference in the
future. Only $7.95 per copy. Want one? Please fill out the form below and
let us know; we'll set one aside for you. If we should mail it, let us know
and add $1.00 for the Post Office.
Sure Dale,
send me a copy of Winter Fly Fishing Solutions.
Thanks!
