Fly Tying Tip

Keep that hackle in its place on all size flies with a simple, everyday drinking straw or stir stick.

Cut a small section of the drinking straw from which ever end you prefer.

Slit the straw with your scissors.

Slip the thread through the slit.
Slide the straw over the head of the fly, holding the hackle fibers backwards.
Whip it good!
Slip the straw off of the neatly finished fly.

You can use a small stir stick for coffee and achieve the same results on midges and micros. As well as reverse hackle tenkara patterns, By simply moving the straw back and pushing the hackle forward.

Swing and A Miss

I fished here on Sunday the 23rd but missed this, 24 hour, 100 cfs drop and rise in flow on the 24th at noon through noon on the 25th. "dag nabit"

There would have been some moving fish for the first time in a while. I missed an opportunity to play with some neat changes on the stream. This doesn't mean that those changes didn't take place.

If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around... does it make a sound?

Help the Upper Colorado River

Colorado depends on tourism to fund a large part of the outdoors. This makes the things that we residents adore, possible.
Western slope waters account for a large part of tourism dollars for the state. Snow In the high country for skiers, melts in the spring. whitewater rafting and kayaking rage with the river.
A few weeks later, fishing, camping, or simply soaking in the mountain atmosphere. All are economically dependent on winter snow pack. On the other hand, it also provides drinking water, irrigation, and power in some cases.
If anything were to change, At the end of a Colorado snow cycle the end results would be, domestic and commercial outfits struggling to keep the urban economy thriving along the Front Range. Snowfall in the Upper Colorado Watershed makes the majority of this water.

I recently read an article that got my attention. I talked to Gary from Silk lines and paper hulls and He wanted a little help with protecting his fish.
Here is what the article says:

"The appetite for water from providers for the Front Range continues to grow. Increasing amounts continue to be diverted from the Upper Colorado headwaters to support its growing population. At the same time, mountain communities continue to struggle just to keep enough water to provide for its citizens and tourists that are so vital to their economy, and that of the rest of the state. It's easy to understand why the conviction on each side of this debate is so intense. Both have very real problems. Stuck in the middle of this push and pull is the Colorado River and its finite resource.

After much debate, and based on the severity of the problem, finally Denver Water and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District have elected to start collaborating with one another. The two projects will have significant impact. The two organization's have devised a proposal to take the edge off. The proposal has received a big cheer from Grand County and other private river advocates as it represents a comprehensive approach to managing the resource.

More than 60% of the natural water in the Upper Colorado Watershed is currently diverted to the Front Range. Between recently proposed Northern's Windy Gap Project and Denver's Moffat Expansion, at peak usage, these two proposals could leave as little as 15% of the natural flow in the Colorado River. This could have a devastating impact on the riparian habitat, increase water temperatures and ultimately diminish the quality of the water. This would obviously have hugely negative consequences for trout and other aquatic species that call the Upper Colorado home, not to mention severely influencing the tourism use of the area which contributes so much to our state economy.

On the surface, we appear to be making progress concerning the responsible use of the watershed. However, as with many things in life, it's not what people say that matters, it's what they do that counts. History being the guide, The fish are at risk.

The next step is for concerned citizens and organizations to meet over the coming months to flesh out the details of a responsible plan to knock the ball out of the park. Our water consumption, recreational use of the Upper Colorado River, and a vibrant aquatic ecosystem depend on it. According to Trout Unlimited's Colorado Water Project, the next set of questions we need to focus on during this important project planning phase are:

What measures will there be to maintain and measure water quality?
What steps might be taken if river temperatures reach dangerous levels for fish?
Will the volumes of water mentioned in the proposal meet the needs of the stream?
How will monitoring be implemented to measure the potential impact of these new diversions?
What will be done if the fishery declines?
I'd ask that all those reading this get involved with your local Trout Unlimited Chapter. Volunteer your time and make sure to attend public hearings concerning the use of natural water resources. If you care about the Upper Colorado and the seriousness of its current plight, contact Trout Unlimited Nationally and lend a hand. If you don't, like many river systems that suffer at the hands of public commerce, the Colorado River could become another statistic. Who knows, your home water could be next."

I would like to credit Silk Lines and Paper Hulls blog, Colorado Trout Unlimited, and Northwest Counsel of Governments for many of the facts and storyline included within the content of this post.

Everybody Does It a Little Different

Found this video on the side bar of Antlers and Gills A new colrado Blog that I have a feeling is going to get really fishy here pretty soon.

Honey I shrunk the Tenkara

Bigerrfish goes Tenkara....? Every time I've never fished the Tenkara setup these little bugs produced more fish than the bigger ones.



Ok, I was going to turn this post in to some kind of wow factor of me yanking the reel off my rod but I'm bad a pretending... I got a little tenkara with the midges is all.
I have yet to try the Tenkara way but I will admit to fishing a creek with a nymph on a piece of line with a spinning rod without a reel as a kid. Just ran it through the eyelets tied it around the handle and called er good. That gave me a place to grab the line when I hooked one. It worked great.

The Tenkara crowd sure gets a kick out of the hackle being backwards.. Boy did I throw away a lot of nymphs back when I didn't get the concept of how you could manipulate the curve of a feather.

Well you can do the same thing with ostrich and peacock.. while using one piece.

All but the top flies, are tied on size 20 hooks with a reverse ostrich collar.

Real simple to tie just thread body something shiny for a rib and 3 or 4 wraps of ostrich.

better keep em simple, because... well... the "no reel" thing could bring an extra lost fly or two perhaps.

The very top fly is a little more complicated with a vinyl or d-rib body a reverse peacock necklace and a reverse ostrich.....um.... head or 2nd collar. On a size 22 hook.

Warning I may have butchered the true way of a tenkara fly. Tenkara...? tenkara...? Help me out Troutrageous I'm new at this.
At any rate, this is a way to get the same effect on a small hook without the use of hackle.

I think its fair to adjust the size of the fly but the long rod appears to be what the whole thing is about.

Trout Hat and Kype Magazine

Yesterday I received a Trout fly fishing hat that I won over at Fly Fish Addiction blog. Pretty neat, I just commented on a picture, made the guy laugh and he sent me a hat. It's sure to appear in a shot of a Colorado trout.
I am a big hat freak and love new fishing ones.. hint...

Also I was contacted by Kype magazine Interested in doing a little link switcheroo. There is now a free addition of the online magazine running on the right side of my sidebar. Give it a looksy it's got some pretty fishy stuff inside.

Looking forward to working with them on other stuff.

Big Winter Rainbow

I hate winter, well certain parts of it. I hate being cold. I hate the snow in the valley. I love the snow in the mountains because it's what makes the fishing what it is. Colorado has it's winter perks for sure. At times, there is nowhere I would rather be than in the snow.

This Is the fish laying next to a 9 foot 4wt rod, The reel is over sized to a 3 but the rod calls for a 2. The tail of this fish is the size of an Evo 3.

January 18th 2011, 12:45p.m. (date and time for my own future reference)

I had about an hour to fling a bug. Knowing that It was going to be tough I had my patient cap on. Lately there has been more flingin than bringin.
Footing it to my favorite shallow flat, I stand back gazing at the stream bed in hopes of the silhouette of a trout catching the eye. OK that's a joke, the Eagle that live here would drop down and eat a fish hanging out there in a New York second.
I did look it over good but found myself running the flies deep in the shade where the fish are safe from predators. Yea right...
30 minutes in to the hunt- Things weren't going great, I forgot my lanyard in the truck which holds my tippet. My rod was rigged up with good bugs already so a ran off with out my tippet.
After loosing my tailing fly I dug around and found a chunk of tippet in a pocket that was good enough to use. I added a lazy boy to it but quickly lost it in the submerged sticks.

Down to my lead fly, frustrated already and ready to leave, I made one final cast over home plate. Loaded with weight and my fly line resting in slower water, a mend was unnecessary. I just quickly dropped my tip sending a wave of line in to relieve the indicator. Much the same as when the garden hose gets stuck on something and you give it that wave that runs all the way down.
I thought I hooked the sticks again but it wasn't a place to take chances. I set the hook and I meant it, weather it be a fish or a stick. The line came tight so fast, a mist of water made a beautiful S, that seamed to stand for Smoking Hott! I'm ready to stay now!
My rod takes on a curl and begins the pulse of a large trout, (thuuub thuuuuub)
A winter battle with a fish that I'm sure to remember for quite some time.
I don't remember catching a fish that would compare to this one in length, ever from my local stream. It measured out just shy of 26 inches.


Here is the Release shot.

Can Fish Count

A question I'm always asking myself. Can fish count and how well? Can they count legs? Can a fish sneak up on a fly, count 6 legs, two wings, two or three tail fibers, and two antennas? Then make a decision based on that, along with size, proportions and color. All of that in a matter of seconds while an insect drifts in water... Pretty cool thought if you ask me.


So while tying some Baetis nymphs based on the "mighty might" I tied some with 6 and some with 4 legs.. Personally I like the stance of the the ones with 4 and I figure this... If fish can count, and they get to four while counting legs, it a go!

I've said it before and I'll say it again "legs = alive" that's usually enough while fishing to a fish looking for leggy stuffins.

Hook- TMC 24something, in a size 20 up to god knows what.
Thread- It doesn't matter much.
Bead- Copper- copper and baetis get along real fine.
Lead- Optional but I dig strapping a piece to each side of the shank, keeping a skinny profile.
Tail- pheasant tail fibers or hackle fibers, black or brown.
Abdomen- Brown vinyl rib
Wing Case- Thin skin. I like to fold it once mid way in the wing case for more contrast, in case the fish are planning on counting that too.
Thorax- Black or brown super fine dubbing.
Collar- Brown Ostrich or Peacock.
Legs- Black flash- 3 pieces, one one each side of the shank, in the center of the thorax, pinned down in the middle of the piece. This forms two legs.
The last piece of black flash gets figure eight tied, at the split in the wing case to form the front two legs.A killer little bug to fish when baetis are present.

One Hundred

Bigerrfish Blog hit 100 followers today. It was cool to see the name Fisherrman, That's right, 2 r's.. I later got a call that it was my Dad that tipped the scale. I welcome him as a follower, for I have been a follower of his for over 29 years.

Hook and Hackle Rod Building Kit

First off I would like to thank Owl over at Fly Fishing the Southern Blue Ridge
For getting with The Hook and Hackle Company
to do a rod building kit giveaway.

I believe that I should be chosen for the rod building kit because, Fishing has always consumed my life, it's what I do and it's how I talk.

I believe, the more you get your bare hands on things of the sport... The more fish you catch.

I don't have an excess of gear, however I do have plenty, all of which I Cherish as though it were another member of my family. I take good care of my rods and reels always breaking them down, keeping them clean and dry while not on the stream.

One of the main reasons I think I should be chosen, Is a simple one, the reason for the giveaway in the first place. Do draw people back to HookHack.Com To check out the awesome things they offer. Not just rod building kits either but all things fly tying and a lot of informational things as well. It's a one-stop-shop for purchasing the items needed to be successful at fly fishing, fly rod building & fly tying.

If I were chosen, I would take great pride in the project and take my time. Document the whole process with detailed photos and descriptions. Then display it for the readers of my blog.

When the project is finished and the rod ready for the water, that's what I would do with it. I will not hang it on the wall as an ornament of something that I did with my hands. I would grip it in one hand and live the sport of fly vs fish.

Those instances are sure to make it back to my blog and The Hook and Hackle Company is sure to get the thanks.

Fun With Black n White

And a fishing story that the camera wont even believe.

Tying a Mighty Mite.
Sticking at some fish

I found a 2 hour break in the cold and headed for one of my favorite little runs. I set up my video camera on a tripod and jumped it.

The instructions on the camera say that it will run for an hour in Hd video mode.

I set the camera and made my way across the river. I didn't even get so much as a look for the first 15 minutes. Then I hooked up with a decent fish, one that put on a great little show for the camera... All jumpin and skippin. It then spit the hook as to say "camera... haa.." I shrugged my shoulders at the camera and proceeded to send rolls and stacks up in there in hopes of another one.

I decided that I better go make sure that the camera was still on. It wasn't... I didn't want to stand there and watch that tiny screen to see if I got the footage I was after, so I just turned it back on and headed across.

I hooked up with two more fish and landed the both of them. One was just a sloppy old pig of a rainbow. I held it up for the camera and gave it a gentle release. The smaller one I just pinched the fly and set her free.

My time was up so I grabed my portable media junks and headed for the pickup.

I got home and watched the videos.... The camera was set to shut it's self off after 15 minutes. So I got 30 minutes of casting and mending footage that I will spare you. Unless I find a part of It for you to watch, there are a few minutes were the rolls and stacks look pretty cool.

So I hooked three fish, landed two, In the cold snowy river. I got it all on video too!

do you believe me?

My Favorite Place Obn writing prompt

Besides home, this is my favorite place to go. The Missouri River in big Montana. There, I get to stand along side my father and watch things happen between man and fish.
This Picture reminds me of two horses tied up outside of a saloon in the old west... Where are the cowboys?... nunya... none ya business. There busy.
Below is a slide show that I made last year sometime of fish dad and I caught up in Montana.

Blog-roll Updated

I have updated the section labeled "People Who CATCH Trout" I have been lazy in this area and I'm sorry for that.

If you don't see you blog over there rolling or you do see it and you don't catch trout then drop a comment in the nearest comment box and I'll get it taken care of right away.

Thanks for following Bigerrfish around in the blogger stream.

I Think I Was Jinxed

Some of you may remember a while back a post somebody wrote about "first cast fish" and the way that you can be jinxed by this.. I remember making a comment on that being a sign of whats to come.. Not one to be all that superstitious but sompin happen.

Well I got put in my place on that on The big gunny.
I got my brother in law set up in a run and watched him for about 10 minutes. I then headed up a few yards and peeled off a little line. Made a good cast on the edge of a seem. Stacked up once, stacked up once more.... Disappearing thingamabobbit trick! Yielded one healthy 16 inch brown trout.
This is beside the point but it was right were I got the fish photo that I use for my blogger profile. I mean in the same drift.
500 casts each after that fish..... Nothin.
It was cold, it was icy, it was tiring, it was fun, it sucked.

What is the Best Rod?

A question we will spend the rest of our lives, either searching for, or grasping in our dominate hand.


FlyRodReview.Best5weightflyrod.

Here are some guys who tested the heck out of them, for certain things. I read almost every word of this review and still can't figure out why they would rate a 5wt or any rod for that matter in the "best nymphing" There are far to may variables to encounter while on the stream, especially when it comes to the word nymphing. So to say that this rod is "best all around" best at a certain distance" or "best for nymphing" seems inaccurate to me. They need a test which rod breaks with the smallest tippet when bent too far. They do a great job of weighing them.


I was always curious as to how they stacked up against each other. They chart the price and the warranty information to com pair brands, Making it nice for the consumer. You have to hand it to these guys for running the course, if they did the work they say they did then they were busy for some time.

(HERE IS ANOTHER LINK) for the full review.

Get set Go 2011

Kicking off the year right! There is nobody I would rather do it with but my son Dylan.

Not much to tell about the day other than It was warm here in town but the river frozen, so we headed for the high country where the air is even colder but the water much warmer. Pulled out the boys rod to find it rigged up with old tippet old bugs and old knots. They held great and the bugs did there part.

Sorry about the shivering.

Enjoy the video.

See Ya

That about covers it for this morning

Whats In A Name

OBN writing prompt-

I'll start by saying that I have been asked a number of times how my blog got its name and why I call myself Bigerrfish.
Let's begin with the spelling shall we, Biggerfish was taken, duh... Most folks at a glance don't even notice that's its spelled funky until they try to type it and the fingers just wont do it.
Next, Ill explain where the name came from...
I caught a few decent fish in front of a couple friends. Pretty simple right? They began to call me things like Hog catcher and Trout slayer and a few other flattering but rather bland names. I didn't want or need a nick name at the time and truly preferred to be called "Obsessed".

Then along came our lovely Friend the Internet and I had to "log in to continue" I didn't have a screen name or an email, so I began to think of the nicknames that I had been given that I didn't like. Thought about how I got them, I then said to myself... Self, is all you did is catch a bigger fish... Ah Ha! bigger fish. Like a stated that was taken so I took a g and added an r. That stuck, and now I'm glad its not Bigger-fish .
I also wanted a name that would stick in the heads of the people that I come across. I mean how often do you guys say the words "Bigger Fish" heck I hear it on TV on the web and heard it a few times at the fly shop while I was in there.. It has become quite fun.
The reason for the name Bigerrfish has since then evolved from me catching bigger than a friend. to me catching a fish bigger than the last. Always expecting the bigger fish to take the fly set up for a small fight. I get a rush from this, I attract these things to my life. Plus I think I wore out my friends. I have since then found friends in the stream who hardly ever leave me hangin.
So in short- For the record My fish never was bigger than any ones! I am actively searching for bigger fish, But remember...Fish don't shrink... They only get Bigerr.

How A Twelve Inch Brown Ruined The Day

Lower Gunny in the summer of 2009
A warm morning that could bring the hopper to life early. Dry flies are on the agenda. Fishing is hot as it can get on the top for this time of year and if your in to large numbers of wild fish, then this is the place to be and dry flies is how. Don't take me for a dry-fly nut but there's someone in the front of the boat today and we got stuff to do.

Mid-day
20 fish have hit the net so far and all of them but one, were dinks. Although pure and wild, full of color and strong. The dinks are the ones hogging the top.
That will fall true more often than not around here. The top water action will be on fire but its like.... The better fish know better and let the kids do there playing high in the column while they prowl around eating there little brothers and sisters.

Fishing with a Friend who would rather take the numbers over a donkey, I sit in the row seat and fish through my partner.
Fish are rising ahead of the boat and each fish working its own run to the fullest. I would spot a riser, get in position and instruct a cast. 75% of the time the rising fish would still be there and take the fly.

The dinks flowed just like the stream.

We roll up on some shallow, dancing surface water, only about 6 inches deep. The dinks were rising at the head of it as if someone had thrown a hand full of pea gravel in the air. Just below this popping feeding frenzy there are two maybe three nice fish feeding. I make two strokes of the oars to get in place for a drift to one of them. Then I stand up for a better look. Standing up scares one of the fish but the other one stands right up and takes a natural right in front of me. Hands glued to the oars and making every stroke count, I pivot just right for an 8 foot drag free drift to hit this biggie in the nose.

Two false casts to dry the fly and a smooth lay down. It feels like its gonna be a month before the fly drifts down to the fish... We wait... Two smooth strokes.

24 inches left before we hook em or witness the refusal... Down to 12 inches of drift and the fish is becoming more buoyant and lifting towards the surface... Will it take the fly?

My partner has no idea what I'm doing or what I am seeing. All he knows is, things like this happen sometimes and the best thing to do is keep that damn trigger finger on the cork and hang the hell on.
As the fish moves up for a look at the fly my heart begins to do that thing. I watch in slow motion, the mouth of the fish opening as it takes a new breath. The anticipation of one of those breaths being in the film and sucking the bug down builds rapidly.
It's time, The fly is there and the mouth is open, the brown wants to eat. The top lips break the surface and the fly slides up.
Out of nowhere comes a twelve inch dink who acted like this was its last meal, comes up to the fly, takes the fly, jumps all the way over the big fish, scares the hell out of it, the big one runs and now we have a tiny fish on, flipping all over the place. My heart is pounding and I'm just irritated.
I whip the boat to the bank and jump out with my streamer rod. I hadn't casted for three hours but I hit that run like I had been fishing to that fish all day. The two of us fished the lower part of that run for the next two hours. Making us miss the window of glare for sight fishing the last few runs.
Sad music of defeat played in my head all the way to the take out.
That's how a Twelve inch brown trout ruined the day.

Really, I was tired of answering comments about greased leaders from my last post and wanted to sweep it under the rug. I wish I could have given you a recent fishing report but those have been absent from my schedule due to bitter BS cold weather. Instead I decided to relive the story of one fish from two summers ago.
Is your head full of stories like this? Mine is.