Fun at the Frying Pan

Yesterday, Cody and I thought it would be a good idea to fish some water where we might be able to get into a real toad.  So due to him living up north we opted to head for the Pan.  The drive was kinda brutal once we got to the other side of Eisenhower Tunnel as the snow was coming down and the roads were slick.  But once we got to the river, the sun was in and out all day and we both caught a lot of fish.  While we did not ever find that one monster fish, we were able to nymph up a lot of great browns and bows with eggs and midges. Cody being a streamer phanatic was able to get a solid brown to eat a big Sex Dungeon.  Crowds were pretty mild and not as heavy as I would have expected for Presidents Day.  In the coming weeks I am trying to get down to the Taylor for a couple days and then out to Pyramid Lake at the end of March.  Looking forward to those trips. 

Tour de Front Range

Well today my college buddy Austin and I decided to do some fishing.  We drove all the way down to Pueblo to fish the Arkansas River this morning and started out pretty good.  We walked to the river, found a good run and caught a few fish.  After landing a few 'bows we began to walk upstream only to find that every single run had a person fishing it.  So after an hour of walking around simply looking for water, we decided to head back up to Denver and just waste a few hours fishing the Platte in town.  We came to the first spot that usually holds some fish and right away got into a few solid trout before moving downstream in search of some Rocky Mtn Bonefish.  I found some and was able to get one to eat a San Juan.  Following landing the fish, we moved to another spot further downstream and I decided to strip some streamers just to see what I could move.  Again, a big carp inhaled my fly and took me for a 50 yd run downstream.  So while we did a lot more driving than fishing, we had a fun day out on the water and look forward to the next trip.

Afternoon Metro Action on Valentine's Day

Well first and foremost happy valentine's day! I am very excited to spend the night with my wonderful girlfriend.  While tonight will be great spending it with Lauren, after I got done substitute teaching, I met up with friend and fellow guide Fred Gray.  We spent a few hours this afternoon fishing the South Platte right here in Denver.   While numbers were not high, we caught some real beautiful trout.  There was an awesome midge hatch happening while we were out there and even saw a couple fish rise.  The water is really low through the stretch below Chatfield so fish the structure and deep runs and look for better water to be more fishable when the water comes up a little bit. 

Snow Day Fishing

Well with snow once again hitting the front range, we decided to head down and fish the Arkansas river below Pueblo Resevior.  While the fish were a little more finicky today than I have ever seen them down there, we were able to get into quite a few of real quality fish.  Leeches and smaller mayfly patterns seemed to be the best producers, while worms and midges also got into their fair share of fish.  If you haven't been down to the Ark in Pueblo, give it a try.  The coloration on the fish are pretty amazing and the size of the average fish continues to get bigger year to year.  This tailwater is quickly becoming (if not already) a first class fishery. 

Good Stuff on the Colorado River

I was able to get up to the Colorado River around Parshall with my buddy Cody for a little bit and it was another beautiful day.  While it was windy, the sun was out and the fish were eating pretty well.  There was a small amount of ice flow still in the water so we fished the deep, slow moving runs and found the fish.  Egg and big stonefly patterns produced the best.  In fact, thats all the fish ate, as they completely ignored our small midge patterns.   The fish averaged between 14-16 inches and were stacked in each run and if we found one, there were usually many more to follow.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend and is going to enjoy the NHL and NFL allstar games.  I personally will be enjoying the NHL Allstar game in Ottawa.  Looking forward to watching the most talented players from the world's greatest game.

Winter Fishing on the Dream Stream

Well today I finally was able to make it back out onto my favorite river in the whole world: the Dream Stream.  I was fishing with Colorado Trout Hunters owner and head Guide Tad Howard and another of our guides Fred Gray.  The day was awesome to say the least. The weather could not have been better for the end of January and the fishing was pretty good too.  While we did not get into any monsters, we caught a ton of fish and some unbelievably colored up Cutthroats.  Egg midge combos were the way to go today.  All in all another great day on the water.  

Filling Up the Fly Box

While it is enjoyable and obviously more preferable to be on the water during the winter, sometimes some actual work must me done and this week I decided to refill my box and get some extra bugs tied up for the upcoming season.  There are over 600 individual flies in my nymph box here and many more have been put into my own makeshift fly shop.  Below is a little peek into both sides of my nymph box.  It is complete with larger nymphs such as my leech patterns all the way down to my small midges.  Hope to be getting up tomorrow or this weekend and fooling some fish.