Fall = Fishing

It's been awhile since my last post.  Truthfully I haven't been fishing much with school and soccer starting, but I have found some time the past few weeks to get out.  I hit Elevenmile with my friend Anthony and the Tricos are still going strong.  The bwo's came after and there were a some PMD's about as well.  On the South Platte all three mayflies are still important whether you are nymphing or throwing dries this time of year.  I have fished the Platte a lot since I moved out here over three years ago and now I'm reaching the point where I have visited some other rivers between 5-10 times.

The Eagle, The Fryinpan, and the Roaring Fork are all incredible fisheries with miles and miles of public access.  I've had some killer days on all three and some people know how much I love staying in the town of Basalt up in the Roaring Fork Valley.  I headed up there at the end of July and I also made my way up there this weekend.  If you haven't fished the Fork and the Pan in the same day you should definitely pack up the car and try them out because the scenery alone is worth the trip.

I wanted to challenge myself yesterday even though I was tired from work/coaching so I decided to fish all three rivers in one day.  Why not, right?  I ventured out early and had some luck on the Eagle in the morning.  There were olives coming off and some Caddis bopping about too.  If you tie, tie olive dries with and without hackle and see if that makes a difference.  I took some heavy rainbows and a brown on nymphs and a few fish on dries before I drove up to Basalt.  I honestly would have been happy with one nice fish, but I was blessed with several fish in the 16-18" range.  Having "the fly" when nymphing makes it so much more fun. (Obvious, but true).  I actually had a few fish that took me into my backing, which I give them credit for.  For me, that's more of a Delaware River thing.  I was impressed by the strength of these fish, but if you have fished the Eagle you already knew that.  This rainbow was my best of the morning.

I left with a smile after netting this bruiser and headed up to my favorite Colorado mountain town (to date).

My inaugural visit to Basalt was during my first summer in Colorado.  It's a quaint little town with a few decent restaurants (The Brick Pony!) and some extremely down to earth people.  The ambiance (and great fishing) keep my coming back time and time again.  It felt like fall in the evening, but the trees have only just started to turn and the sun was still bright and hot during the day.  Also, there was no smoke, which means no fires up that way.  Thank God for that!

I drove up river to a spot I have visited a few times and saw mostly caddis on the water.  I took this brown on an Iris Caddis.  Here's the link to Tim Flagler's video for this pattern.  A friend of Tim's (Matt Grobert) swears by this pattern and this summer (and now almost fall) I am starting to become a believer.  Tie some up and try them out and you'll see why.  Iris Caddis  

Here's the brown that took this pattern right under a tree.

I also noticed what I believed to be fresh hops that were growing alongside the river.  I tried a sample and the flavor reminded me of a solid pale ale.

 

I talked to another fisherman for awhile and then called it a day.  I had an amazing dinner in town and then slept like a rock with the sound of the river as my backdrop for my much deserved slumber.

I headed out early to fish the Roaring Fork.  It is such a beautiful river and the rainbows resemble the various colored rocks that call the riverbed home.  There are plenty of public access points and the guys at Taylor Creek Fly Shop will point you in the right direction, but it doesn't hurt to buy the map they have for sale.  The Fork is divided into the upper, middle, and lower sections.  I have never floated the mid-lower section, but I would like to someday.  Instead I drove upstream a bit and hiked upstream until I was satisfied.  Midges were buzzing around and as the day went on I saw some bwo's and pmd's as well.  I didn't have "the fly", but I worked hard nymping, throwing a few dries, but also some meat.  As the days pass and the brown trout spawn begins, throwing streamers is a great option!.  This fish was only 14-15", but he hit my streamer without hesitation.  #thetugisthedrug

I enjoyed my weekend getaway and it's incredible to think I've already been in school for over a month and my team has already played 5 games.  The fall always goes by so fast, so enjoy it and remember, tight lines my friends!  I'll be heading to the San Juan River for the first time in early October so I will most definitely be writing a post in regard to that trip.