I am a Fly Fishing Addict

Well here goes nothing.....my first post!!!!

My name is Cutthroat and I have been addicted to fly fishing for about a year now.  I am not ashamed to say it...I have a terrible problem.  It grabbed hold of me quickly, and soon became the thing that I desire the most, almost like a drug.  There is just nothing so peaceful and relaxing as standing in a beautiful mountain stream, taking in all that mother nature has provided.

My first time fly fishing was a magical moment for me.  My buddy and I loaded up our packs and headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a weekend backpacking trip.  We stopped at Kirk's Fly Shop in Estes Park, and just remember staring at the bins and bins of flies, not having the faintest clue as to what I was looking at.  My buddy, who has been fly fishing his whole life, stocked up on the hottest flies.  Names I had never heard in my life.  Elk Hair Caddis and Adams flies were going to be our weapons of choice.

We pulled into the Wild Basin Trailhead, ready for our 8 mile trek deep into the park.  Our destination was Thunder Lake, one of the most picturesque lakes in the entire park.  We passed Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls before the trail started to steepen for the final three miles to the lake.  I remember finally seeing Thunder Lake, with the patrol cabin in the front, and the rugged Rocky Mountains in the back, and thinking how lucky we are to live in such an amazing state.

Amazing view of patrol cabin at Thunder Lake- RMNP

My buddy rigged up the fly rod and handed it over to me.  I started to cast, very clumsily at first, but after some practice, I was finally able to send the line 30 or so feet out into the lake, directly over the head of colorful Greenback Cuttroats.  Between the two of us, we probably caught around 15 of these amazing native trout.  This was the moment that I realized how incredible a sport fly fishing was.

My buddy with a beautiful native Greenback Cutthroat

I returned to Denver and started my spending spree.  Pure and irrational impulse buying ensued.  Fly rod, fly reel, and fly line was my first purchase. I started to find myself in the local park a few times a week learning the basics of casting.  More money was thrown into the sport, because of course I needed an expensive set of Simms Waders and wading boots.  Fly boxes, leaders, tippets, strike indicators, split shot, mojo mud, things I had almost no knowledge of, became necessities.  A brand new Fishpond pack is on Craigslist for half of its original cost....of course I need that!!  I started buying flies by the dozen.  I would walk into various fly shops around Denver, and buy whatever I thought looked cool.  I had no idea if they would catch a fish, but they sure caught me.  I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to fly fishing, and the book quickly became my bible.  I probably read the book four times within a month.  Initially, my fly fishing experience consisted more of shopping, than actual fishing.

Then the single most important, and influential   It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and there was fly tying demo at Bass Pro Shop, and me and a buddy decided to go check it out to kill time.  We walked around the store, bullshitting with all the tiers, and finally came to the tie-your-own-fly stand.  The table was obviously set up for little kids, but that did not stop me and my buddy sitting down, and learning how to tie our first San Juan Worm.  After that, we learned how to tie a Wooly Bugger.  Fly tying was something so completely new to me, but something about watching the fly come together just intrigued me.  I stood up from the table, and promply walked over and bought my first fly tying kit.

I have been tying flies nonstop ever since.  Ignoring everything at night except my fly tying bench.  I started with the basic pheasant tails, Hare's Ear nymphs, and various Wooly Buggers.  I have moved on to tie all kinds of patterns, but my favorite ties are small Midge patterns.  There is just something fun in changing just one material in the pattern, and it creates a completely new pattern.  There is something so satisfying in filling up my fly boxes.  I love being on the water, pulling out a fly pattern that I tied myself, and feeling the strike of a trout on the other end.

So there it is.  I have started this blog to chronicle my adventures in fly tying and fly fishing.  Fishing new rivers, tying new bugs, and enjoying the sport with my closest friends is what it is all about.  So join me in my adventures.  I will do my best to keep it interesting.  Thanks for reading.

Working on filling up my Wheatley Swing Leaf.