Spring Break Trip: Part 1
Preparing for a multi-day fly fishing trip gets my heart pounding. In life, if an ample amount of time is spent preparing for something, the results typically yield the effort put in. This trip was no different.
Several work friends and I decided to hit the Eagle River and the famous Fryingpan during our much needed Spring Break from school. While we were there I learned a new word; glamping. Essentially it's glamour camping with all of the amenities you can imagine. In our defense, the temperatures dipped below freezing every night so sleeping in a tent would not have been near as comfortable as sleeping in a warm camper every night. Plus, we put in our time on the water each day so it was important to be properly rested each night so we could wake up, eat a hearty breakfast, and start fishing.
The Eagle is a freestone river that can rise and fall due to melting snows or heavy rain. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about either of those this trip. The water was cold and clear, but when we hit the river there was not a lot of bug activity on the surface. I read that the Blue Winged Olive hatch had begun, which also had me excited. When the Bwo's are popping you know spring has arrived.
This spot was new to us all and fishing new water can be a real treat. There's something special about fishing a stretch of water that you have never seen before. I let my imagination drift to giant rainbows ripping line downstream after a take...
I rigged up two nymphs below my indicator and spotted a deep pocket below a large rock that was up above a huge pool. The pool itself was too deep to nymph from where I was standing and this pocket just screamed "TROUT!" at me. On my 2nd drift I hooked into a monster rainbow that popped off just about as quickly as he had flashed. The good news: I was right about the spot. The bad news: That rainbow was not meant to grace my net with his presence just yet.
Spring has sprung in the Rocky Mountain West, but the fishing conditions in some areas are still winter-like. Typically when you find a fish while nymphing during winter conditions then you're likely to find more. I still had my flies so I flipped them out there again and after getting a good drift, WHAM! Another rainbow hit and this time I solidly hooked up. He took me down into the pool, but I was able to coax him my way and out of the fast water. Needless to say, it was a nice fish. The length of my net from the edge to the handle is 18 inches and this fish was that long and quite heavy.
In January of this year, I was lucky enough to tie flies with Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions at the Denver Fly Fishing Show. His videos are by far the best tying videos ever created and it was one of his patterns that fooled this rainbow. If you tie, or you're just interested, then click the link below to the Evil Olive mayfly nymph.
The Evil Olive
I caught and lost more fat rainbows from the same hole before I called it a morning. My buddy Josh did very well on nymphs as well before the rest of our crew showed up with the big rig and we took a lunch break.
After sharing a few stories and a picture or two the clouds rolled in. Bwo's seem to like clouds although I have seen them hatch in bright sunlight as well. I was hoping that a solid afternoon hatch of one of my favorite mayflies was upon us.
There were now four of us fishing so I decided to take a walk. I hadn't seen many rises downstream so I figured it was worth a hike to check out some more new water. That was a good idea. A flatter stretch of water that looked shallow from down below turned out to be just the opposite. It was a beautiful piece of river with large rocks for cover and slow areas on the far side meant for larger fish that just so happened to happily be sipping bugs from the surface when I arrived! I couldn't get my nymphs off fast enough.
The night before our trip I was looking through my Bwo's, (I have a few) and I realized that I didn't have many cripple patterns. I tie duns and emergers in all sizes, but my cripple collection was certainly lacking. Cripples are meant to represent a spent fly that is vulnerable and trout like vulnerable, especially the bigger/more selective fish.
I cranked out a half dozen and told myself that I would use them if I saw some sippers in slow water. That piece of planning turned out to be a little slice of wisdom. The fish below ate my cripple pattern on the first drift and he was just short of the 20" mark. I had waded out and climbed up on a rock to get the best possible angle and it was one of those moments I will never forget because my planning, execution, and experience were the reasons I hooked and landed this very special rainbow.
When I am having such a killer day I will sometimes stop fishing. Granted, an assortment of browns and rainbows were caught before and after this guy on my cripple pattern and a few other home tied Bwo patterns, but when the fishing is this stellar I sometimes just appreciate the day and call it good.
I have had many days where I caught one or no fish, which is another reason I marvel in such a day as this and I am thankful for the fish I have caught and released. So, as I headed downstream to check on everyone else I am happy to report that they had all caught fish on nymphs, but I had found the best dry fly water.
A guide I met in Maryland named PJ Daley explained to me that fly fisherman are like hunters. You have to scout the fish, get in position, and execute. I see a lot of fisherman arrive at a spot and just start heaving whatever is on the end of their line. Analyzing the water, turning over a few rocks, and taking a moment to look and listen typically pays off.
If you live near Maryland and are interested in going out with PJ, here is his info. I met him several years ago and I learned a great deal from him.
PJ Daley
I see dry fly fishing the way PJ described it, which is why I love it so much. Your target is there, but it's up to you to make it happen.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Spring Break Trip!
Tight lines my friends.
Several work friends and I decided to hit the Eagle River and the famous Fryingpan during our much needed Spring Break from school. While we were there I learned a new word; glamping. Essentially it's glamour camping with all of the amenities you can imagine. In our defense, the temperatures dipped below freezing every night so sleeping in a tent would not have been near as comfortable as sleeping in a warm camper every night. Plus, we put in our time on the water each day so it was important to be properly rested each night so we could wake up, eat a hearty breakfast, and start fishing.
The Eagle is a freestone river that can rise and fall due to melting snows or heavy rain. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about either of those this trip. The water was cold and clear, but when we hit the river there was not a lot of bug activity on the surface. I read that the Blue Winged Olive hatch had begun, which also had me excited. When the Bwo's are popping you know spring has arrived.
This spot was new to us all and fishing new water can be a real treat. There's something special about fishing a stretch of water that you have never seen before. I let my imagination drift to giant rainbows ripping line downstream after a take...
I rigged up two nymphs below my indicator and spotted a deep pocket below a large rock that was up above a huge pool. The pool itself was too deep to nymph from where I was standing and this pocket just screamed "TROUT!" at me. On my 2nd drift I hooked into a monster rainbow that popped off just about as quickly as he had flashed. The good news: I was right about the spot. The bad news: That rainbow was not meant to grace my net with his presence just yet.
Spring has sprung in the Rocky Mountain West, but the fishing conditions in some areas are still winter-like. Typically when you find a fish while nymphing during winter conditions then you're likely to find more. I still had my flies so I flipped them out there again and after getting a good drift, WHAM! Another rainbow hit and this time I solidly hooked up. He took me down into the pool, but I was able to coax him my way and out of the fast water. Needless to say, it was a nice fish. The length of my net from the edge to the handle is 18 inches and this fish was that long and quite heavy.
In January of this year, I was lucky enough to tie flies with Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions at the Denver Fly Fishing Show. His videos are by far the best tying videos ever created and it was one of his patterns that fooled this rainbow. If you tie, or you're just interested, then click the link below to the Evil Olive mayfly nymph.
The Evil Olive
I caught and lost more fat rainbows from the same hole before I called it a morning. My buddy Josh did very well on nymphs as well before the rest of our crew showed up with the big rig and we took a lunch break.
After sharing a few stories and a picture or two the clouds rolled in. Bwo's seem to like clouds although I have seen them hatch in bright sunlight as well. I was hoping that a solid afternoon hatch of one of my favorite mayflies was upon us.
There were now four of us fishing so I decided to take a walk. I hadn't seen many rises downstream so I figured it was worth a hike to check out some more new water. That was a good idea. A flatter stretch of water that looked shallow from down below turned out to be just the opposite. It was a beautiful piece of river with large rocks for cover and slow areas on the far side meant for larger fish that just so happened to happily be sipping bugs from the surface when I arrived! I couldn't get my nymphs off fast enough.
The night before our trip I was looking through my Bwo's, (I have a few) and I realized that I didn't have many cripple patterns. I tie duns and emergers in all sizes, but my cripple collection was certainly lacking. Cripples are meant to represent a spent fly that is vulnerable and trout like vulnerable, especially the bigger/more selective fish.
I cranked out a half dozen and told myself that I would use them if I saw some sippers in slow water. That piece of planning turned out to be a little slice of wisdom. The fish below ate my cripple pattern on the first drift and he was just short of the 20" mark. I had waded out and climbed up on a rock to get the best possible angle and it was one of those moments I will never forget because my planning, execution, and experience were the reasons I hooked and landed this very special rainbow.
When I am having such a killer day I will sometimes stop fishing. Granted, an assortment of browns and rainbows were caught before and after this guy on my cripple pattern and a few other home tied Bwo patterns, but when the fishing is this stellar I sometimes just appreciate the day and call it good.
I have had many days where I caught one or no fish, which is another reason I marvel in such a day as this and I am thankful for the fish I have caught and released. So, as I headed downstream to check on everyone else I am happy to report that they had all caught fish on nymphs, but I had found the best dry fly water.
A guide I met in Maryland named PJ Daley explained to me that fly fisherman are like hunters. You have to scout the fish, get in position, and execute. I see a lot of fisherman arrive at a spot and just start heaving whatever is on the end of their line. Analyzing the water, turning over a few rocks, and taking a moment to look and listen typically pays off.
If you live near Maryland and are interested in going out with PJ, here is his info. I met him several years ago and I learned a great deal from him.
PJ Daley
I see dry fly fishing the way PJ described it, which is why I love it so much. Your target is there, but it's up to you to make it happen.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Spring Break Trip!
Tight lines my friends.
killin' it! make it happen.
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