Dream Stream- 3/13/16

Got the green light from the wife to head up to the mountains last Sunday, so we pointed the Explorer west up 285 to the South Platte below Spinney Mountain Reservoir to see if any of those monster lake run Rainbows had found their way up the river from Eleven Mile.  It was a perfect day to get back on the water, with clear blue skies and very little wind to speak of.  The flows were a little bit low for the big migration of fish that gives this river its name, but we found the resident fish more than willing to take a fly, and a few of the really big trout that have started to move up into the river in anticipation of their annual spawn.

The fish were taking small annelid and black midge patterns with abandon, as we brought tons of fish to the net.  It was the best day of fishing that I've ever been a part of on the Dream Stream, as any good drift would draw a strike.  My pops took top honors yet again (becoming too regular), hooking an awesome Spinney Rainbow on a San Juan Worm in a nice run below the bridge.  He wrestled the fish out of the deep hole where he was hiding, and got the fish into the net.  It truly was an impressive fish, measuring out at a very thick bodied 25".  Felt great to be back out in the water again my Dad, especially with the amount of time we spent with our rods bent.  First day on the water this year, and hopefully it is an omen of good times ahead on the rivers.

Williams Fork- 10/3/15

Enjoyed a nice fall day up in the hills yesterday, meeting some buddies in Middle Park to fish the Willy's Fork of the Colorado River.  Left the house early, so it wasn't until after I turned north on Highway 9 before the sun started to come up over the foggy hills above the Blue River.  Headed north past Green Mountain Reservoir, and made my way down into Kremmling before turning back east towards Parshall, and the Williams Fork River.

While not a big river by any means, the Williams Fork was absolutely stunning, with golden Aspen leaves lining the entire river from the dam all the way down to the Confluence with the Colorado River.  The fishing was not on fire, but we were able to keep our rods consistently bent, catching many of the rivers wild trout.  The Willy truly is one of the states best brown trout fisheries.  It's a shame that I never was able to fish the river before Whirling Disease devastated the population of Rainbow Trout, but I am glad that the Rainbows left in the river are big!

I did hook into a few of the big fish, but my rust from a summer of not many fishing outings left with the fish coming unbuttoned.  Biggest rush of the day was getting my pheasant tail whacked in the riffle above the confluence to the Raddy, watching the big bow go airborne before screaming all the way across the river.  Felt awesome to feel a big fish pulling on the other end of my new Blue Halo, and had the fish under control before the hook worked itself loose and the fish was gone.  It's true that the fish that got away are the reason that you come back.

Was able to help a fellow angler out landing, and snapping a few pics of beautiful 22" bow that took a maroon San Juan Worm.  I was stoked to be a part of another fly fisherman's biggest fish of the year, and feel the camaraderie amongst anglers that we share in this beautiful state of ours.  Everyone on the water, enjoying a perfect fall Colorado day on the Williams Fork, trying to fool some fish.

Blue River Gold Medal- 9/19/15

Everything you read these days about the Blue River is that it is no longer in the elite class of the other Colorado Gold Medal waters, and while I tend to agree with this, I still really enjoy fishing this river.  It's a very unique fishery as it flows through the Silverthorne Outlet Mall, and there are people everywhere watching you fish.  Definitely does not give you the solitude that can be found on other water around the state, but even though the stream may not be in the Gold Medal class, there are still plenty of educated fish that test the skills of any fly fisherman.

Felt really good to get back into the waders, and enjoy the quickly changing Colorado seasons.  Life has been moving at the speed of light since Brody was born, and it felt good to get out and focus on fly fishing for a few hours.  The morning started out great, hooking a little Brown on my very first drift.  While the Blue might not be sustaining the trout life like it once did, it still is producing some wild fish, as I was able to hook into a number of small Browns throughout the day.  Hopefully the river is healthy enough that these little guys will be able to hold on and grow into the giant Mysis eating fish that the Blue is known for.

Best part of the day was being able to use my new Blue Halo fiberglass rod.  So fun hooking into fish with these glass rods.  The fish feel so much bigger than they are, yet they still have the backbone when you do hook a larger fish and need to lean into it to turn their heads.  So excited to add this rod to the quiver, and jump on the glass train.

Baby Steps

There are some very important milestones that a young boy will have in his first year; first giggle, first tooth, first word, and first steps.  I also think we reached an equally important milestone this past weekend.  I'll let the picture do the explaining.

Colorado River- 5/31/15

Added a couple new experiences this past weekend to the old belt; fly fishing from a raft on one of the most famous stretches of river in the world and trying to catch the mystical Colorado River salmonfly hatch.

One of my buddies just pulled the trigger on a sweet raft outfitted with a fishing frame, giving us the capability to start exploring different waters than we are used to, starting with the Colorado River from State Bridge to Catamount.  I have traditionally been a wade angler, carrying my large pack full of flies around my shoulder, and exploring our local waters on foot.  While I will always love this style of fishing, it will be a complete new experience learning how to catch fish from a boat.  Even though I was a little apprehensive, I had the opportunity to get on the sticks for a few hours and start learning how to maneuver a boat down a river.  It really is a team environment from the raft, because if the rower doesn't get the raft into the correct run, the anglers just float down the river missing all of the fishy water.  

We had heard the Salmonflies had hatched on the Upper Colorado, and we were stoked to be heading up with the chance of catching this short lived hatch.  While we saw lots of the bugs flying around the river, and lots in the water, the river was just too high and dirty for the fishing to turn onto that epic level.  With a float that typically takes 7 hours, we flew down the river and got to the takeout 14 miles later at Catamount in just under 5.  Pretty crazy seeing and hearing these massive insects fly around the river, and can only imagine how crazy awesome it would be to see the all of the fish in the river take notice and start gorging themselves on them.  Now with this boat, there will be more chances to do this kind of thing in the future, and really use it to see some beautiful areas of the state and chase some pretty fish.

Still Here and Still Got It

Woke up bright and early this morning, and spent an absolutely perfect Colorado morning on the pond, re-learning how to cast and feeling that sweet bend of the rod.  Felt great to be out in the water, and felt even better to feel some nice Pike smack your fly.  Looking forward to more time on the water in the coming months, and really anticipating when the little guy can start coming with me on the water.  Perfect way to spend a nice Saturday morning off from work!

Lazy Sunday Morning

Spent the morning lazily looking through my fly boxes, swapping flies from one to another, and making a list of flies I need to tie to get them back up to my expectations.  If the fishing is going to be hard to come by in the near future, at least I can be ready for when I do start getting back on the water.

Brody Thomas Vibber

Sorry for the lack of blog activity over the last couple months, as the fishing part of my life has taken a backseat as my wife and I got ready to welcome the newest fisherman to the family, Brody Thomas.  Born 2/27/15, this little guy has turned our world upside down.  I'm counting down the days until I can get a fly rod into his little hands.

Deckers- 1/10/15

Ahhh....that's better!  Finally found a free day from work to hit up the local ditch with my Pops, making our way up to see how the South Platte was running on an absolutely perfect Colorado winter day.  Spent the morning shaking off the rust while searching for fish in the holes around Bridge Crossing, and looking through my deplenished pack for the perfect midge.  Felt great to get back into the waders, and feel that tug at the end of the line.  With my life about to change in a big way here in about 7 weeks, not sure how much time I'm going to have a fly rod in my hand this year, so I need to enjoy every minute that I am able to sneak away.

The river looked great as usual, with many nice, healthy fish spotted.  Even with the Fly Fishing Show going strong down in Denver, the river was packed full of anglers, looking to get out and enjoy a perfect January day.  Although the fishing wasn't on fire, we managed to bring some fish to the net and enjoy the area around Deckers for the morning before heading back to Denver.

Holidays and Withdrawals

After starting out the year with a bang, the end of 2014 has been a big dud on the fly fishing front.  This is the longest that I've gone without having the rod in my hand since I first picked up fly fishing 5 years ago.  With my very challenging (aka stressful, terrible, worst ever, etc.) construction project just about to come to an end, I know that brighter days are ahead, filled with leaping rainbows and monster browns ( I can hope, right?).  I spend my days dreaming of the water, and reflecting on some of the amazing experiences that I had this year, spending time with my fishing buddies and catching some pretty amazing fish.  I have never had withdrawals like this in my entire life, and I need something to make this feeling go away.

With the end of the year fast approaching, I would like to extend a very Happy Holidays to all my fellow fly fishermen.  May Santa bring you all new Scott Radians and Fishpond packs this Christmas.  I would like to close out this year with a few of my favorite photos from the year.  It are moments like these that come to mind, and make me excited for when life slows down a little bit, and allows for more time on the water.