Grey Reef- 5/18/13

Even though the float trip part of our trip to the Reef was an epic fail, not all was lost on my first Grey Reef trip.  We fished a full day on Saturday, exploring a few different spots on the river, and all hooking into some very nice fish.  We fished the morning right out back of the camper, with lots of access to some very nice riffles and seams.  The North Platte is a lot bigger than any other river I've fished, but we still managed to find some nice fish in the seams along the edges.  Started off the morning strong, landing some nice fish on some small annedlid patterns.  Continued exploring close to the camp spot until lunch, with the highlight being a very strong baetis hatch that kept the trout rising for hours.  I was able to fool a few trout on small BWO dry flies, but I wasn't able to get any to the net. Still was real cool watching these trout rise to imitation bug.  Enjoyed some brats for lunch, before we packed up our rods and headed up river to fish some of the public water closer to the dam.  We fished a section called the Redds, which they close at certain times of the year to allow for more productive spawning.  The size of the fish in this section were much bigger than downstream, and they willingly were taking midge and baetis patterns.  Landed my nicest fish of the trip up here, a very feisty and beautiful Cuttbow that made many acrobatic jumps out of the water before surrendering.  We headed back to the campground to fish some streamers while dinner was getting made.  Stripping a small, black  Bunny Leach slowly netted a few more fish.

All in all, I would call this trip a success.  Even though I continue to be very bummed about missing out on the float trip, I am thrilled to have fished another amazing river.  The float trip will be planned for another time, and the lessons of what not to do will continue with us on our next adventure to the Reef. At least this makes for one hell of a story!!

Photo Courtesy of Nick Haws

Photo Courtesy of Nick Haws

Photo Courtesy of Nick Haws

Photo Courtesy of Nick Haws

0-2 at Grey Reef

Had a crazy weekend up on the North Platte this weekend.  We camped at a campground 4.5 miles off the road at a campground called Buffaloberry.  The spot was amazing!! On a bluff right on the river with some great fishing right out the back door of the trailer.  Had a killer day on Saturday, hitting up a few spots, and still had the best day of the trip lined up for Sunday.  A full day float trip with Krayfish of Wyoming Fly Fishing.  That's when the weekend went south!!  It poured rain Saturday night, making the roads back to highway 220 literally impassable.  By the time we found out the roads were that bad, it was to late to turn around.  Got three 4x4's stuck, and had no hope of meeting our guides at Gov. Bridge.  The younger guys had to be at work today, so we grabbed our packs and wearing waders and full rain gear, started the trek out to the road.  We met a shefiff about halfway back to the bridge that was nice enough to get us to the Gov. Bridge parking lot.  A friend from Casper picked us up, drove us to the Natrona County Airport to pick up a rental car, and we drove the 4+ hours back to Denver, leaving our cars back up at Grey Reef.

It's starting to feel like this float trip is cursed!  We were supposed to do it in March, but the Front Range got hammered with snow, and I-25 North was shut down.  It still was really fun weekend, fishing a new river but I am super bummed out the guide trip didn't happen!  Hopefully, the third times the charm, and we can finally float this legendary section water and try to fool some of those monster trout.

**The "fishing" report of this trip will be done when I finally get my car (and camera) back from Alcova.

Trouts Fly Shop- Deadly Streamer Class

I joined Trouts Fly Shop for a night of tying some some big, nasty streamers last night.  I have tied some articulated streamers in the past, but I really wanted to learn from someone much better than myself.  David Luna fit the bill perfectly, showing us the ins and outs of tying articulated streamers, and taught us how to spin deer hair.  We tied both a Sex Dungeon and a Peanut Envy, two very large streamers that I can't wait to throw up on the Reef next weekend.  I look forward to using these skills to pack my streamer full of nasty streamers.

My modest attempt at a Sex Dungeon

Blue River- 4/29/13

Had the day off from work on Monday, so I took advantage and headed up to Silverthorne to fish the Blue for a while.  I slept in, make breakfast for my wife before she went to work, and then had a leisurely drive up the hill, just enjoying the Rockies after being in Houston for a while.  I started fishing right at the top boundary fence near the dam, and made it all the way under Highway 9, fishing each pool down close to the police station.  Even though the river had a lot of angling traffic (crazy how hard this river gets pounded), I was able to pick up a few nice fish.  The trout seemed to be on midge patterns, as I hooked most on small Juju's or WD-40's.  Highlight of the trip was hooking a 25" beast underneath the pedestrian bridge near the outlets.  The fish took me underneath the bridge twice before I was able to wrestle him into my net, all while a nice crown cheered on from the bridge.  I asked a nice man to take a picture for me with the fish, but he accidentally took a video instead, so I only have the memory of the fish in my brain.  Most of my fishing buddies are not very fond of the Blue, be it for the amount of pressure, the difficult fish, or the spotty hatches, but I have always enjoyed fishing though Silverthorne, and have found it to be one of my more productive rivers.  I know that this relationship with the river can change without any notice, but I will continue to enjoy my time spent on this Colorado Gold Medal Water.

Can only dream of monsters above this fence... 

View upstream from the pedestrian bridge

Downstream below Highway 9

Roaring Fork/Gianinetti Spring Creeks- 4/28/13

I have a buddy that works for Rocky Mountain Angling Club that can get us on private waters from time to time.  Although our state has miles and miles of quality public fishing, there is just something pretty awesome about being the only anglers on a stretch of water, not having to fight anyone for holes, and free to move around as you please.  This past weekend, we headed to the Roaring Fork Valley to explore one of RMAC's best properties: Gianinetti Spring Creeks.  Gianinetti's is billed as one of RMAC's top properties.  With 2 miles of very small, very productive spring creeks, and 3/4 mile of the Roaring Fork River, all in the shadow of Snowmass mountain, this property makes for an absolutely spectactular place to fly fish.

I fished this property exactly two years ago, when I was a very novice angler.  The spring creeks were a little past my skill level, as I did not have the casting skill that is required that is necessary to successfully fish them.  I did hook and land my first brown trout in the Roaring Fork, so I was looking forward to getting back out there to see if I would catch more fish this time around.  My Dad and I fished the Roaring Fork in the morning, seemingly starting to hook fish from the very beginning.  The fish were very active, taking both stonefly and baetis patterns.  Rainbows and browns were both caught, and I even landed a couple Mountain Whitefish as well.  I had never caught any of them before, but they fought hard and were fun to catch nonetheless.  My Dad had his best day on any Colorado river, landing and releasing lots of healthy fish.

Me and my buddy fished the Spring Creeks in the afternoon, slowly leapfrogging each other up the two miles of the North Fork of the Spring Creek.  Heavily weighted patterns and lots of split shot were required to get down fast enough to have a chance at catching fish, but once you got it dialed it, seemingly every pool yielded at least a couple fish.  We fished all the way to property line, where you are greeted by arguably the best view on the entire property.  Fishing this amazing place makes me so grateful to be back in Colorado, doing what I love with the people that I love in such beautiful places.

Property line at Gianinetti Spring Creeks

First Mountain Whitefish

Nice face, Better fish! 

Houston Zoo- Carp Heaven?

Every pond at the Houston Zoo was completely full of carp and koi.  Had a dream last night that heaven was the zoo, and I was the only one there, armed with a fly rod and box full of flies.  Ideas of fruitless stealth missions continue to go through my head this morning.  I would love to hook into a koi sometime!!

Pond in the Tiger exhibit at the Houston Zoo

Turtle on a Fly!?

Went to a local Houston pond after work to try to hook into some bass or bluegill, but the only thing I managed to catch was a turtle.  I was fishing a little, white Wooly Bugger slowly along the bottom, and I felt a tug on the line.  Reeled in and the turtle had tried to eat the fly.  Kind of adding to the weirdness of the fly fishing down here in Texas.  Never a dull moment down here with a fly rod in your hand.

Salt Life- Espiritu Santo Bay, Texas- 4/7/13

Had the chance to go fishing with a co-worker this past weekend in the salt water, chasing Redfish and Speckled Trout around.  Very different to what I'm used to, but I can see why so many anglers out there become addicted to the salt.  Even though the water was very dirty, and the wind was unrelenting, I will call my first salt experience a success.  The thoughts of large bull Redfish will have to get me through until the next time I get a chance to get out in the salt water.

I drove the 3 hrs south from Houston to Port O'Connor to fish the marshes around Espiritu Santo Bay with a co worker.  He had a little john boat that would be our vessel out into the ocean.  I was treated to a giant seafood feast when I first got down there, full of red drum, trout, and fresh oysters.  Nothing like fresh oysters that were caught in the bay that day.  Absolutely stuffed myself on them, both raw and grilled.  Ventured to the boat ramp at night to try to fish bait fish flies to the fish that get drawn into the lights.  Hooked into some very cool Speckled Trout that put up a decent fight.  Only fished for a few hours, but managed to catch a few keepers (I didn't keep them, but my co worker feels obligated to try catch his limit every time he fishes.  To each their own).

Headed out the next morning at sunrise to the marshes.  An experience I am soon not to forget is the peaceful boat ride across Espiritu Santo, nothing but water, marshes and sun in my eyes.  One of the highlights of my young fly fishing career thus far.  The day started promising, with a nice Speckled Trout being landed in the first handful of casts.  Hoping for more, we continued to explore the various ins and outs of the marsh system all day.  Pringle Lake, Contee Lake, and South Pass Lake just to name a few.  What's fun about the salt fishing is the sheer amount of water that is available, making you feel very small in this big world of ours.  Sure you see boats cruising around from time to time, but mostly it was just us and the fish.  As the day wore on, the wind continued to punish us, making casting difficult.  I consider myself a decent caster, but if I fished salt more often, it is a skill that I would have to work on tremendously.  Finally, my co-worker finally hooked a little Red, but not the giant Red that we were looking for.

Finally, we decided that the day was a wash, heading back to the boat ramp to lick our wounds.  I will definitely be planning a salt water trip soon, but I will be doing my research to find a guide that will put me on some Redfish.  I can only imagine how fun it would to find a group of feeding Redfish, put a fly in front of their face, watch it turn and inhale the fly, and then hold on.  It is definitely something that is on my fly fishing  to-do list.  It was an awesome trip and another great experience that fly fishing allowed me.

Seafood feast

First Speckled Trout caught on the fly

 

Beautiful Texas sunrise

Very cool Redfish fly

Mile High Trout

One thing that I am very passionate about is the love that I have for our home state, Colorado.  I do not believe a more beautiful place to live exists.  The snow capped mountains in the winter, the roar of Mile High Stadium in the fall, the popping of tree buds in the spring, and the gorgeous blue skies of summer make our state what it is.  The amount of fly fishing in our state is beyond belief.  Large Mysis fed trout on the Frying Pan and Blue, gorgeous mountain canyons like Cheesman Canyon and Elevenmile Canyon, wild trout on the Yampa, Greenback Cutthroat in Rocky Mountain National Park, Green Drake hatch on the Roaring Fork, monster brown trout on the Dream Stream, caddis hatch on the Arkansas, and summer evening dry-droppers on Bear Creek are just a small sample of what makes Colorado fishing so special to me.

There have been a lot of local companies popping up, selling Colorado logo gear with a fly fishing twist.  I enjoy seeing the different logos that people come up, and have bought my fair share of hats and shirts myself.  I think one of the cooler logos out there belongs to Mile High Trout.  They sell very cool apparel for the Colorado fly fisherman, and I want to send a huge shoutout to Mile High Trout for hooking me up with some cool gear.  I very much look forward to wearing this gear in my adventures.

 

Mile High Trout 

Bray's Bayou, Houston- 3/17/13

I was given an assignment in Houston for work the next couple months, and although very far away from spring in the Rockies, I decided to try to make the best of it and do a little fishing while down here.  I decided to buy an 8wt to bring down with me and hopefully hook into come nice carp in the Bayou City.  Really having no idea as to what I was doing down here, I searched all over the internet for information on chasing fish around town on the fly.  Not a lot to go with, so I visited IFLY- The Anglers Edge- Fly Shop in the Galleria for some locals knowledge.  People do fly fish around Houston, but mostly in local neighborhood ponds for bass.  I told the guy at the fly shop that I was more interested in chasing some Golden Bones around.  He kinda laughed at me, but he did point me in the direction of some great spots to find them.

After being down here for a few days, and working some really long hours, I finally had a little time to start some reconnaissance missions around town, and scope out some spots to try when I really had some time to wet a line.  The first place I looked was in Bray's Bayou, in the southwest part of Houston.  Now the bayous of Houston are completely different than any other place I've fished.  They make the DSP look like a beautiful mountain river, which is very hard to imagine!  They are basically concrete canals to help control flooding in the event of a hurricane.  The water is shallow and slow moving, and there is no structure to be heard of.  But there are fish!!  Lots and lots of them, and very big.  I couldn't believe all the fish that I saw swimming around.  Bigmouth, smallmouth, catfish, and carp.  Lots of carp.  My stoke factor significantly went up.  I was ready to do a little urban fly fishing right in the heart of Houston!!

Beautiful Bray's Bayou!

Had some time this afternoon to finally do some fishing in this city.  The first place I went was a little pond in southwest Houston off the 610 that supposedly held some nice bass.  The little ponds were located in Meyer Park.  I was only able to get about 15 casts in before I swarmed by some curious little guys, wondering what the hell I was doing waving a stick around.  I spent about an hour teaching them how to cast and fish, hoping that one of them would hook into a fish.  It didn't happen, but I had a blast watching them take turns trying to cast my fly rod.  It really is funny the people that you meet because of this sport.  Little guys with a complete different background than me!

My new fishing buddies

I broke away from the my new buddies at Meyer Park and headed back to the spot in Bray's Bayou that I had scoped out earlier this week.  Again, there were carp everywhere.  I used damn near every fly in my Fly-Carpin swap box, but could not seem to get the carp to take any of them.  They were not real spooky, but they did not seem to be feeding too hard.  I did manage to fool one on Mr. Reynolds carp fly, but the hook up was short lived, and I had lost him before I knew it.

I traveled farther down the bayou to a spot closer to the Houston Medical Center.  I parked in a church parking lot, and started walking the concrete lined bayou.  I started seeing fish, but I had no idea what they were.  They weren't moving or feeding, kinda just hunkered down on the bottom of the river, but there were probably over a hundred in this little pod.  I started fishing to them, and they kinda seemed to chase the fly, but in an hour of fishing, I couldn't get one to take the fly.  Finally I got one to eat, I brought this ugly beast to hand.  No idea what it was, and I didn't really know if I should touch it or not.  I took some quick pictures, and gently nudged it back into the water with my foot.  After doing some research, it looks like the fish is Pleco catfish, which is a fish that people keep in their aquarium.  No idea how these tropical fish made their way in the bayous of Houston, but it sure is a first for me.  Even though it sucks being away from my beautiful wife and my Colorado home, at least there is some interesting fishing deep in the bayous of Houston.