Going Fishing

My yearly total of fishing trips currently sits at an abysmal 2 trips.  Both were a success however so I cannot complain too much.  In addition, it looks like I will manage at least a little time on the water either today or Sunday (or dare I hope for both?!?).  Watch out Boulder Creek trout! I'm coming to fish...

The poll on fishing days for 2013 recently closed.  I am impressed by the goals most of you have set, especially whoever is planning on 200+ days on the water?  Guiding? Fishing for yourself?  Whatever the case it is pretty cool and something most of us can only dream of.  Most of you are in the 30-60 days fishing category.  I'll hope that means most of you are targeting closer to 60 days rather than 30.

My personal target is around 70 days on the water.  I'm busy enough these days that the goal may be overly optimistic but one can always hope.  At times I long for the ability to fish every day or at least spend time on the water.  I'm sure all the guides out there would tell me that guiding isn't that great and just as much of a hassle as any other job, but there are definitely days that it sounds appealing.  Helping someone else fish is better than not being on the water at all!

Killer Soft Hackle

Its not often that I feel this generous, so enjoy it while it lasts.  This is a fly that I don't show off a lot and often go out of my way to avoid showing people.  However, it seriously should be in everyone's box if you fish for trout!  I've caught trout on this pattern in freestones and tailwaters.  It works best as a dropper under a dry fly although you can fish it in a single or double nymph rig as well.  The fly is the Ultra Wire Soft Hackle.  Yeah, I haven't come up with a cool name for it and perhaps someone else ties it and already has a name for it.  While it is similar to other patterns (copper and partridge anyone?), I haven't seen too many people tying and fishing this pattern.

I can tell you that under the right circumstances, this is as good a dropper as you will find anywhere.  Naturally it works best only at certain times.  It is not a miracle fly but excels during both caddis hatches and also when mayfly emergers are on the water.

Tie some up and fish them this spring and see what you think.

Hook: TMC 2487 #14
Thread: Tan 8/0
Body: Copper Ultra Wire (or other color to match the prevalent hatch)
Head: SMALL amount of Hare's Mask dubbing or other buggy dubbing
Hackle: 2 turns of partridge or favorite soft hackle feather.


You can tie these things in a HURRY and, did I say, they flat out fish!!!?!!!

Still Need Snow

The snow situation here in Colorado is still far from being encouraging.  Wyoming is faring a bit better which at least suggests that a Yellowstone trip is still a definite possibility.  However, here in our local area, the snow is still severely lacking.  Here is a picture I took last Saturday.  The lower valleys in Rocky Mountain National Park do not even have any snow.  The peaks have some but nowhere near enough.

While the snow might be meager, the howling wind and blowing snow is keeping the highest elevations locked in winter's embrace.  The following pictures were also taken this past Saturday.  Snow was blowing along and off of the mountain tops by strong northwesterly winds.

A storm is at least possible this upcoming weekend.  We need a lot of moisture this spring to avoid another bad fire season here in Colorado.  While I am ready for warmer weather and lots of open water fishing opportunities, I will be glad to wait for more snow before the warmup starts.

Help Me Out Please

So, I know there are some good sources out there for cheap tungsten beads and was wondering what the best deal (quality + price) is out there?  Anyone have a good source for tungsten beads that you would be willing to share?  I'm not looking to buy in quantities of more than a hundred at a time at most.  Thanks!

Poll Extended!!!

The poll on how much fishing you hope to do this year has been extended.  I know there are lots more readers who have NOT voted yet so please take just a moment to give me some feedback.  Just a couple of mouse clicks is all it takes.  Find the poll over to the right near the top of the page.  You only have a couple more days so do it now!

Moraine Park: After the Fire

For the first time since the Fern Lake Fire burned through Moraine Park, I returned to see what damage occurred.  Not sure what I would find, I was probably more apprehensive than anything else.  The first glimpse went a long ways towards encouraging me.

The meadow is changed, that much is for sure.  The vast majority of the tall grass burned while the fast moving fire rolled through.  A wet spring will help a lot though and the meadow is ready for a lot of new growth.

The fire obviously did not burn hot for very long as it made the run down the valley.  Islands of unburned grasses were to be seen throughout the meadow.  Stream-side willows and other vegetation were a bit charred towards the ground but not dead, at least not in the small area I saw.

Here are a couple of pictures I took.  You can tell that the meadow was burned but it should recover nicely once the growing season returns assuming we have some moisture...

Just Four More Months!!!

Here's hoping for a good hatch this year!!!

Fishermen's Excuses Go Big Time

We all know that fishermen are creative story tellers, not to mention that they come up with some of the most creative excuses.  From the classic "It must have been the moon phase" to more unusual excuses such as "there weren't enough cows standing," fishermen have an excuse.  Occasionally we even take responsibility along the lines of, "I just wasn't on top of my game and couldn't figure the fish out."

Now, in a sure sign that our beloved sport is on the verge of going mainstream in pop culture, the Federal Reserve is borrowing from a classic fisherman's excuse.  In a statement released today, the Federal Reserve says that "Growth in economic activity paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions..."

My question for you is this:  Is the weather now an acceptable excuse for a poor fishing day since the excuse has gone mainstream or is it okay to call your fishing buddies out when they attempt to claim that a trip was lame due to weather?