Photo of the Month: Red Adipose
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Colorado Presentation Tonight in Knoxville
Tonight I will be giving a presentation on fly fishing in Colorado for the Great Smoky Mountains TU chapter. Ever visited Colorado or maybe you have been thinking of a trip but do not know where to start? I will be covering a few favorite fisheries including the best season to hit them and some other information that will have you ready for a road trip. For more information on the meeting time and location, check out this post on the Little River Outfitters message board from the chapter president. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Silver Ribbons and Red Stripes
Reaching the parking lot and seeing only two other cars, I quickly rigged up with a small caddis pupa and a Zebra Midge. A small pinch-on indicator above seemed appropriate and then we hit the trail down. As the stream came into view, I was amazed out how much ice had melted since my trip last Wednesday. Of course, the first section you see gets a lot of sun exposure so that explained the lack of ice.
Staying high above the creek, we turned downstream. I was heading for a section of nice pools that should hold plenty of fish in the winter. Looking back upstream, I paused to take in the beauty. The stream looked like silver ribbons running down over the rocks as the afternoon sun through light across the bottom of the canyon.
Eager to fish, I quickly continued downstream. The pool where I had caught several fish last week already had another angler in it, but the pool just below didn't. After several drifts with only one small rainbow striking and missing the hook, I decided to continue downstream.
The next pool was another favorite. Last fall I spotted a 16 inch brown spawning in the back of it so I suspected that there were good fish somewhere nearby. The fish were holding tight to structure and under the fastest water in the deep holes so my luck was not the best...yet. As I fished, my girlfriend had fun with her camera. I'm fishing somewhere here...
I really like how this stream shot came out that she took. Notice that in this more shaded section the ice was still holding on along the edges.
As I fished up around the bend, a nice slow pool looked like the perfect hiding spot for a trout in the winter. I tossed the flies and indicator in and then crouched behind a boulder to keep from spooking the fish. The indicator swirled around a couple of times before being pulled under. I set the hook and was happy to discover that I had finally hooked a fish! The rainbows here are incredibly beautiful. They all have these magnificent red stripes down their sides, even the little guys. It can be hard to believe that some of the stocked specimens I have caught in my life are even in the same family as these wild rainbows.
With that first fish out of the way, I now wanted to catch one or two more before calling it a day. The next pool upstream seemed like just the place to do that. As I fished, I had lost track of where my girlfriend had gone with her camera. It turns out she was getting some more cool shots that I can't get on my own.
After a couple of pictures, I released my new personal best rainbow from SBC. Even on a day when the flows are low, a few fish can be caught and a good time had.
This fish was the perfect way to end my last fishing excursion here in Colorado for this trip. I was thankful for the two fish that had graced the end of my line.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
High Country Cutthroat
A bit closer, the Indian Peaks Wilderness also offers many choices and that is where I decided to go. The particular area actually had a few lakes somewhat close to each other allowing me to hit more than one if the fishing turned out to be poor in my first choice.
At the lake, caddis where periodically landing on the surface and then skittering around for anywhere from a couple of seconds to maybe half a minute before disappearing in large boils. Some of the takes were downright violent and with building excitement I rigged up with a #14 Elk Hair Caddis in black.
Maneuvering carefully around the lake while avoiding the low wet spots, I was finally in position. On the second cast, a small cutthroat of perhaps 11 inches torpedoed out of the stained water to hammer the fly. I promptly ripped it out of its mouth. Bummer.
The next several minutes quickly showed me that the fish were spooky. The rises soon ended, and I wondered if I had just blown my only shot at a fish. The scenery was great though, so nice in fact that I started looking around to take it all in.
I'm sure you all can guess what happens next. I have a theory that fish have sentinels designated to spy on fishermen and whenever our attention is distracted the fish will spread the word that it is time to feed. I heard the take rather than saw it. After getting too excited on the first fish that was probably a good thing. I reared back on the fly rod. The full-flex 4 weight (say that 10 times fast) bent to a heavy cutthroat and the battle was on.
Using every trick it knew, the fish took more and more line until I was seriously contemplating whether I would be able to land it. Thankfully, the fly rod's soft tip protected the 5x tippet just fine, and slowly I regained control. The fish made several powerful runs, something I'm not really used to seeing from cutthroat. More often they just roll over and give up. Finally, I got it close enough to see it clearly the next time it rolled, and I got excited. It was really colorful, looking almost like a giant goldfish swimming around out in the lake.
Not wanting to beach such a magnificent fish on a dry bank, I jumped in (I was wearing sandals) to land the trout. A quick picture was captured before it gave a mighty thrash. The look on my face in the second picture says it all. It snapped the line on its way down and was gone. I hated leaving a fly in the fishes mouth. Next time I'm carrying my big net, even if it is a long hike.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Frying Pan
After the spectacle that was the Taylor River, the rest of the trip somehow seemed anticlimactic. Yet, with each new place we found something to match or even surpass the quality fishing we had found on the Taylor. Between the Pan and the Taylor, there were some small streams visited but those are better left for another time. I'm a small stream addict and telling about them could become a lengthy endeavor which I don't feel up to right now.
Monday, August 20, 2007
First Stop, Taylor River
If someone were asked to design the perfect trophy trout river, it probably would be the Taylor we were fortunate enough to fish. When Colorado was added to the trip itinerary, I got quite excited. Having spent my whole summer in the Gunnison/Montrose vicinity last year, I was already very familiar with the wide range of quality fishing options that existed in that area. The Taylor was one of those streams that I left knowing that I would return, probably as often as possible. There just aren't that many rivers where you can walk up and see 40 brown trout laying on the bottom of one small part of one hole, all of which are in the 4-6 pound and larger range. Of course, catching these fish is another story.
We got into the Gunnison area fairly late Friday evening due to the previous troubles with the coyote. Thankfully, at this point the car seemed to be doing fine and gave little indication of the troubles we would encounter much further down the road. Considering that late hour, I was visibly nervous about our prospects of finding a camp site. As we travelled up Taylor Canyon, my fears seemed well warranted. Every campground was either full or the extra sites had "Reserved" cards on them. Finally, we found what had to have been the last available site in the entire canyon and after a very quick setup, we were soon in our tents sleeping soundly.
The next morning, I awoke refreshed and excited to be embarking on the first leg of this grand adventure I now fondly recall as West Trip 2007. The canyon was cool and surprisingly humid with condensation showing up on my rain fly. This did little to dampen my spirits however as I saw my first view in the daylight of the magnificent Taylor Canyon since last summer. The early morning sun was lighting up the canyon walls with an explosion of colors and the bright blue sky providing the perfect backdrop with the white clouds floating through it
After a nice easy breakfast, we eventually headed up the canyon towards the short public stretch known as the Trophy section. Upon arrival we were greeted with a ton of other fisherman. I always know I can expect this on the Taylor but it is always a bit of a surprise each time I go there. Despite the crowds, we were soon rigged up and began our quest for some trophy fish.
After a short while, a good spot opened up and we quickly moved over and began sight casting over some very nice fish. About this time, a few bugs started popping off the water and I was pleased to see what appeared to be PMDs. I quickly reached for the nearest match I had at the moment which was a sulphur sparkle dun left over from some of my South Holston trips. The fly was lighter than the naturals but I didn't care. After a few casts, I noticed a fish rising steadily just upstream and carefully cast my fly in its direction. First cast, just a bit short and off its right shoulder, strip, strip, pick up line, cast again, perfect. The fish rose confidently as I tensed then gently lifted my rod tip and the battle was joined. The fish quickly ran downstream into the big pool just below and started the bulldogging that we became so familiar with. I hadn't seen a fish that could rip line for quite awhile so this moment was one to be savored. Of course, the 6X I had on slowed down the process but eventually, a nice brown came to the net. After a quick pose with my first fish of the trip, he darted back off into the river in search of more trouble.
First fish of the trip
It was somewhat ironic that I caught my first fish on a dry. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing dries and fish them whenever opportunity beckons, its just that between me and my buddy fishing with me, I was the nymph guy and he was the dry fly guy. It got crazier soon after my first fish when he hooked a very nice fish and after another solid fight, I netted it for him. When he began to remove the hook, I asked what he caught it on. "A nymph" was his reply. So both of us got our first fish doing the exact opposite of what we usually do.
The Release
After this revelation, I quickly changed to a nymph rig. My buddy Trevor had brought to my attention the fact that there were some fairly large stonefly shucks hanging around on the banks. This brought out my favorite Tennessee fly (most of you should be able to figure this one out easily) which was soon employed in hauling in large Taylor river fish. I was in heaven. Sight casting to large trout with a double nymph rig was just about as good as watching a fish rise to the dry and I soon was catching enough to let me know that the nymph was no fluke. Shortly after, the Green Drakes started hatching but I stuck with what was working and the fish rewarded me. I caught fish on several different flies that first day on the Taylor and none of them was smaller than a #14. Sometimes, the fish just want to see something different. Almost everyone else there was fishing small stuff except for those that had figured out the hatch that was in progress.
Brilliantly colored Taylor Brown
As time moved on, I was enjoying myself but realized that I hadn't caught any rainbows. This is not that surprising as the browns are dominant in the Taylor but I still wanted my 'bow. After spending a bit of time sight casting over a few smallish rainbows, I found a better one feeding just behind the lip where a nice run fed into a large pool. It was feeding in 4-5 feet of water and was quite active so I knew I had a very good shot at hooking this fish. A quick check of all my knots reassured me that everything was in good shape and I began casting and trying to ascertain the proper drift to get my flies into the strike zone. After a few drifts that were off, I finally found the proper line for my flies and was soon drifting them reasonably close to the fish every cast. I knew that eventually my flies would either interest the fish or chase it off. Fortunately, the former happened and I soon had several pounds of rainbow ripping line off my reel. "This is one fish you don't want to lose," I breathed softly to myself. After several hard runs and what seemed like an eternity, the fish began tiring slightly. However, every time I got it anywhere near shallow water, it made another hard bulldogging run back into the current. Finally the fish seemed ready and I guided it in to Trevor who was waiting with the net. Once again, a quick shot of the fish and it swam strongly away leaving me with a memory of thick shoulders and brilliant sides.
Nice Taylor Rainbow
Finally, we began to get a bit tired and hungry and decided to leave the fish in peace for the rest of the day. We made our way up above Taylor Reservoir to find some smaller fish in the upper Taylor. It just wasn't the same though, we had been spoiled on our first day of the trip. This would ultimately bring us to spend some extra time at the Taylor when we discovered that the Gunnison in the Black Canyon was blown out (read excessively muddy) due to the recent rain.
Collegiate Peaks as viewed from Taylor Park
Our return to the Taylor proved just as much fun although the fish were slightly more picky the second time around. I actually had to use the small stuff I had so carefully avoided our first time through and caught fish on various midges in addition to the dries that imitated the currently hatching PMDs and Green Drakes.
Taylor Brown on a dry
Once again, I left the Taylor with a desire to return. Some rivers just have a gravitational pull, or perhaps its as simple as good fishing. Regardless, the Taylor is one river I will be back to again over the upcoming years.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Tour de Rockies
This year will bring a new experience for me on this stream. Supposedly the terrestrial fishing is excellent in August and the way things are looking, the flows shouldn't be too bad this year as compared to last year where I was chucking heavy nymphs along the banks. Even with last years high water I still caught around 20 fish in probably 3 hours with lots in the 14-16 inch range and one big brown pushing 18 or 19 inches.
Hopefully I'll be able to hit some small streams for Cutthroat in Colorado also. If I'm really lucky I'll get my first shot at the Greenback Cutts in Rocky Mountain National Park. The chance to add another strain of Cutthroat to the list is one that will be hard to pass up. Of course, when one covers as much ground as I will be, interesting ideas start to develop. For instance, how many different types of Cutthroat could one catch on such a trip? I can think of several and maybe it will happen. Time will only tell...
I could go on and on about how tough life is when you have to fish as much as I do, and I could mention a few more of the streams I hope to fish where the average trout is around 5 pounds, but probably it isn't my place to make everyone jealous. Did I mention I'll be on the South Holston in a week or two? This should be a fun fishing trip since I've never fished it in the summer... In the meantime, I absolutely must start cranking out some flies.
Current Fishing Report:
Not all fishing is in the distant future. Today I hit the Caney Fork for an hour or two and did okay catching several fish. Once again I saw some bruisers but as usual they were excessively spooky. I even dropped down to 7x for awhile and it didn't seem to make a difference. However, persistence is key and one of these times I'll catch one. Today I got chased off the river by lightning so maybe I just need to put in more hours. Back to the river on Sunday so check back for a more enthralling report...