Bigerrfish

New Polls are up

2012-01-24T06:39:00.001-07:00

And I'm not talking about high sticking folks!...

Just pointing out the latest set of polls running on the side bar. You can vote more than once but use yer head and don't get carried away.

The Missing 200r

2012-01-16T05:24:00.004-07:00

Has just been found!...

I heard a hook hit the floor a week or so ago and I crawled around down there with a magnet for longer than I care to admit...

I didn't find it and figured it took a bad hop to a heat vent or something. With three cats and two dogs living in the house. I'll spend a little extra time looking for a hook on the floor...

Well just about 7 days later... I felt the infamous, annoying sock string snagging my toenail... gave a tiny pull on the end of the sock and heard a "click"...

It makes a clicking sound when a razor sharp 200r comes free from being barb deep in the tip of a big toe... Just so ya know..

And it looks like this when you peel it all back...

New Fishing Polls

2012-01-15T08:00:00.001-07:00

Ohh common!!
Ya don't really think I'm talking fishing poles do you?

"Bigger fish" is to "Bigerrfish" as "Polls is to Poles"

Nope"... First of all, it's not a pole, never was and will never be. It's a rod.

Polls on the right side bar of my site have expired and are now closed. I will leave the results up for visitors to review. I will then post the results titled "Poll Results" and my twisted thoughts on them as well. A day or two later, new polls with new questions, will be up and running. I have some great ideas for this go around!

First Fish of Twenty12

2012-01-02T04:38:00.001-07:00

Family fishing day for New Years day...

We broke in the new bag and bagged a couple of fish with tiny bugs. Temps were tolerable but not comfortable. We stayed and we all played.

Repost- Check this out

2011-12-22T04:21:00.001-07:00

click the link below to view a contest.

http://chasintrout.blogspot.com/2011/12/check-this-out_20.html

Like Jagger

2011-12-20T04:32:00.003-07:00

You know those days when you feel like you got the moOOoooves!...
Saturday was a day like that when fishing conditions were tough, the weather was rough, the water was cold.

Fish were there... Easy to see, not so easy to feed. After fiddling with my rig and changing bugs a bunch, the began to come.
In Numbers!

Found a groove and caught em...

Like Jagger!

All the other kids..... ok ok enough's enough... Here is a little video to clear things up...

New Issue of Kype Magazine

2011-12-16T06:47:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest issue of Kype Magazine. You can find it on the side bar of this blog all the time for free.

A Cold 12-07-11

2011-12-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday December 7Th...
Low temp for the day was 9 degrees and the high was a balmy 21.7 degrees...

I would be fishing on this Wednesday regardless of the temperature, I have been backed-up for lack of a better term and I need to fish at least one day a week even though two doesn't feel like near enough.

The brown above was my first fish of the day which I dedicate to my friend as it was his birthday.
I worked hard to pull 6 or 7 fish in the nasty cold...

But some were perfect!

Small flies, including micro nymphs and midge larva... They ate on the leggy hares ear in a size 18 and a 24 JC pupa.

Go Make Babies

2011-12-08T17:54:00.007-07:00

As another year aproaches its end, I must reflect back on what I have learned and how I have grown in the sport.

This year had a real impact on me in such a way, it that can only be described by saying that the more appriciation of the creature one has the more they catch.

Some are small, some are big, they all make babies at some point in thier lives, they must have water to do it, a creature that we all call fish.

This is my photo submission for the GreenFish and Outdoor Blogger Network Photo Contest

Gummy Pig Stickers

2011-11-29T05:08:00.003-07:00

I've been playing in the sandbox... Goofing with thread and metal...

This is an easy tie as it's just two colors of thread and some bead stretch material that gives it a segmented look and a gummy feel.

The boys in Utah get the credit for getting this pattern started in my box and the name really says it all..

Blog roll Malfunction

2011-11-14T05:18:00.003-07:00

But its fixed... Just need you to tell me if your not on there and you feel like you should be...

Thanks to all who run my blog on their sidebar!

I Already Skinned This Cow Dad

2011-11-10T05:20:00.005-07:00

{Famous words that will stay with me forever}

We had to get out for an hour or two on Wednesday evening and find a tug.

My son Dylan Beat me dressed and had his boots good and tight...

Jumping in the river like it's where he wants to be, Rod in hand and sure feet, He un-hangs his flies from the guides, throws some fly line from the reel to the water.

He stands and stares at the riffle before him... With confidence in the flies and all of life's troubles in the review mirror.

Tiny flies are presented to a fish by a boy in hopes of catching it. Catching against its own will, with his own.

Early that morning I was sitting at the bench making up some small worm larva like flies... Dylan comes in and sits down to look at the flies scattered ac cross a magnetic pad... After fondling a few he holds one up, looks at me, pauses, then says "Dad you know what we need"... "What's that bud?" I reply. He says to me, "I think we need some bright green ones with a blue line in the thorax area...
Three of those hit the magnet!...

We fished them...

And they work!

After hooking up with 5 fish and landing three of those... The boys hands were cold and he passes the rod... I made about a dozen casts with one short hook up with a good rainbow. It took the fly near my body made a splash and that was that... Three more casts with no strikes and I tried to give back the rod... With a snicker in his voice, Dylan says,, "Nope!.. you catch a fish"... For the first time I felt pressure and wound up flustered, got a tangle or two and wasn't hooking up... With a 10 year old boy watching over my shoulder I could hardly cast or mend... After missing a strike a look back and he just gives a slow shake of his head much like I have done to him... Frustrated even more I make two more casts... Stick my flies in a tree on one and tangle the leader on the next... I look back to see if I'm getting another head shake or a shoulder shrug. But...

He's gone... He's down stream with the other rod... Bare handed even and mine are so cold they are past starting to hurt...
He hooks up with two more fish. Then tells me that we are ready to go... I walk down to him and throw my flies in the seam that he is now finished with... "what ya doin Dad?" he says... "well I have a little more weight on than you, wanna see if there is anything hiding down there" He replay's back to me with, "I ALREADY SKINNED THIS COW"

I followed him out just like I followed him in...

Who's teaching who?

It got Cold

2011-11-02T17:55:00.001-06:00

But the fish are happy and ate today!

Had a great day on the water harassing the browns and making the rainbows fly...

I felt the seasons change today in my home town and I think its time to tie some little junks... Say a poison tung or a lazy boy... perhaps the green things need beefed up... as well as some of those, that and these...

The water will remain skinny for a while and the sneaky angler will prosper.

Try to Imagine

2011-10-29T08:32:00.002-06:00

Driving in the dark, in a nasty Colorado snow storm, for four hours... Fly fishing one of the most beautiful rivers in the state, for no longer than six solid hours... Turning back the way you came from, then driving back down that four hour trail to get home... All the while...
An early, angry, Colorado winter storm sets in and Snow falls with the intention of covering the ground...

A static filled radio station, a warm cup of coffee and a truck full of fly rods was all I had, and all I needed.

The long morning started with heavy snow as I climbed the first of three passes. Slowing me to a dangerous 35 miles per hour, on a deer infested highway, I plug along until I reach the last town before my fishing destination...

I Whipped in to a Micky D's with a coupon for a Mcmuffin but an appetite for trout.
As the door shut behind me, I sensed something in the air... I slow my walk to the order line, like a dog with it's nose in the air.
With a felling of resent against winter conditions, my face wears a look of disgust. My head, full of wishes it was the middle of summer again and every part of me, not willing to welcome the pretty white stuff on the ground...

I'm gladly standing in line after sitting for more than three hours, the same time giving the McDonald's menu that silly stare, like I had been given the road as snow flakes whizzed in and out of the headlights...

As I continue to investigate that "something in the air" I realize that it's simply the people in the room giving off joy!
Joy of the seasons changing... The feeling of the first snow sitting in their own front yards. The welcoming sounds of boots being stomped and mittens being slapped together. Every face had a smile and every group was deep in winter conversation and laughter...

In one corner you have three old guys adamantly arguing about what the farmers almanac says about this year and predicting spring already... In the other corner you have three young lady's on their way to school, wearing scarfs and boots with the fur, warming up with a cup of cocoa while giggling on the web with their i somethin's. On the back wall you have some tourists that have on more clothes than I will wear fishing and all new stuff. They are planning their snowy activities and destinations reminding anyone who can overhear that they are not from around her and not used to it... Hey! that's what search and rescue is for right?

As I breath this "stuff in the air" I begin to feel the welcoming of winter upon myself. I felt this overwhelming power of befriending the cold like those around me.

I grabbed my small sack with a sandwich and a napkin inside and turned toward the door... One last breath as I opened it and walked into the storm. Head to the wind I let the snow blast me in the face as I approached the truck I took a look in the back, to view the items that will be participating in the winter activities. Climbed in the drivers seat and put focus the task at hand...

With less than an hour left to drive I had a serious attitude change at Mickey D's and really wanted to get on the water...

I jumped out of the pickup and grabbed an arm load of gear and stuffed it in to the cab, hopped back in and got geared up. My fishing partner was there soon after and we went for the fish with a one dollar bet on the first fish, which I lost...

The snow fell hard all day long and the fishing was far better than expected. We both caught more brown trout than we could count and had everything in the book happen to us from large fish leaping and shaking the hook to three dinks in three casts... They wouldn't eat just anything and didn't want everything so we had to change flies from time to time to stay productive...

I fished small flies and Nate fished larger, we worked the water well and stayed focused on fishing while the weather did its progressing from bad to worse...

Over 10 inches of snow fell that day... Fell on the shoulders of a man who wanted to catch a fish.

Then, headed back where I came from.

Can you Imagine it?

Wednesday Tuggin

2011-10-20T05:29:00.006-06:00

Wednesday is the best afternoon for My son Dylan and I to get out and giver a go...

With a little bit of miscommunication with the school bus driver, we got to the river about 3:30 and fished till sun down.

Dylan caught this juvie brown and contacted with four other fish.

One of those, believed by me to be, the same fish in his photo. It took his fly on the turnaround at the tail end of the drift, where I don't want them hooked.

I have taught my son that this is farming, it is not correct from a purest standpoint. I feel as though this is luring fish. I would like the hook set just as the flies come taught for the last time as they pass the indicator. Any amount of time spent with the flies dragging behind is treated like a foul hook... In my book.

Another contact of a fish that stood out was a brightly colored rainbow that hit him at the tail end of the drift before it went to farming... Frustration was getting the better of angler as we all know much too well... The mends just weren't working for him and a breeze would come by and puff each time the line was lifted in the air. Lines became tangled and time was lost. This is when you have to keep it cool. As I stated, frustration was clearly getting the better of the angler and just as he dropped his shoulders, looked to the sky and gave a shake of his head, a big bright rainbow rolled on the fly... Slack in the line and the loss of focus cost a fish. What is that worth to you?..

I explained that you must keep it together, especially when it gets "like this"..

As we all know, after an instance like this, a fisherman will go through a rapid period of intense evolution, where nothing but focus and concentration exist. As Dylan experienced this and made a good clean cast back to the pool... A large brown trout rolled up and munched his indicator...

I placed my hand on his shoulder and said "let that be a lesson to you".... A look of confusion from the boy as I elaborated with "you blew it on the last one, and this one blew you". Eye for and eye!

Frustration won over the kid and he just wanted to do kid stuff... Ya know, like making a jack hammer out of a piece of drift wood and then using it as a pry bar to bust off chucks of a down tree... Which, by the way, is a bit annoying when your tryin to get a fish on the line before it gets dark on a school night, when the water your fishing has been hit with the frustration wand, and when the boy's little demolition project is going on behind me, right at the end of my line on my back cast.

Frustration and distraction won't get the best of me... I worked the water until I pulled a fish..

A healthy migrant rainbow that slipped through the canyon wall.

Summary: We set out to practice quiet, agreeing to work the water thoroughly. Set out to walk not run, to whisper not yell, to learn and better ourselves as boys, to be fly fisherman, not fish catchers. Results were... Goal's met...

We were quiet when we weren't being loud. We worked the water thoroughly alright, three loud hours of it. We bettered our selves as fishermen but that came in the long conversation on the ride home, which we finished in the driveway upon our arrival. The look he gave me when our talk was over, made me forget all about the wooden jackhammer.

Fat High Mountain Trout

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

9,000 feet is the elevation of this little stream. It's a free stone river that flows from the San Juan mountains, which stretch to over 13,000. It's nearly impossible to enter this mountain range and not hear the sounds of water flowing from rock to rock.
I took advantage of the chance to fish up in the high country and managed to pull some fish that beat my record in size. Although I did not find that large September brown at 9,000 ft I did find one dink to prove that they are still there.

The rainbows were fat and full, hanging in fast water runs they are getting fatter by the minute...
The winters are very winter for these trout as there will be 8 ft of snow sitting on the river by mid winter and its not all that unlikely for it to snow a foot tonight up there.

I make a point to visit the high country at least once a year an usually in the fall season... This was my second outing up here this year and the weather says its probably the last.

The day was ended by the frustration of leaves on my lines and leaders on every drift. As the wind picked up it only got worse...

Seen an elk on the hill while walking back to the pickup...
Wondering how many saw me fishing?

Big ol September Browns

2011-09-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

Matt and I fished a 12 hour day on the boat.. The big fish were out today and we had our fill.

After floating through a nice run I whipped the boat to the bank and walked back up there... It was a tough wade but I made it all the way across and up river... I got three casts in there before the big brownie wanted to take me back down to the boat... Held the rod high and went for the ride where Matt was anxiously waiting with the big red net. It smashed the Rick Takahashi Go2 Prince in the color purple, size 16.

Each September kicks me in the behind, all right around the 20Th it's like I can barely breath. Fishing gets on my mind heavier than any other time and I drop all my problems on the floor of the garage and switch them for new ones. Load up too much stuff, add one more thing that I have no use for and row a heavy boat down the river in search of fish that don't like people..
What a problem huh?

By the end of the day we had nearly seen it all... fish flying out of the water, but missing the fly, twice. Two of us walking a flat and targeting specific rising trout, Monster browns willing to eat right on a re-cast.. ohhh "ya blew it"...
The net got wet...

We fished three rods and shared them all.. One rigged with Nymphs, fishing 6 to 8 feet deep... A dry fly rig, and the curtain climber sat in the bottom and wasn't needed.
Matt's best fish of the day was taken on one of CJ's worms

This is the third year in a row that I have seen a massive toad hatch on the sandy beaches of the river..
I threw a few of them out for a swim and watched as they didn't make it past the riffles before getting Kablooshed!

It was a perfect day for me and the photo below may show where my mind is and how I feel at the moment.

Fishing With Clyde

2011-09-28T05:08:00.002-06:00

My buddy Clyde whom I met 15 years ago, Returned from a long business trip to Alaska.. He was home for two days when I stole him from his family and put a fishing rod in his hand...

We floated on big blue and pulled a fair number of fish during a really long day... So long that I actually heard the words "bro, I'm about feeshed out" So Clyde took the oars and I took the stand.

Monster Trout Living Thier Lives

2011-09-22T05:33:00.005-06:00

This is what it looks like when were not there...

I watched these trout for longer than I care to admit. The most interesting part of it is the way that they use each other to direct food to their mouths. Like moving rocks, these fish were switching places like a flock of geese heading south and using the other ones position to gain energy and create tiny drifts of food. Pretty wild stuff.

This was during a trip to the cold spot in Colorado with a good friend and blogger ColoradoAngler
Why I was marveling at the big trout by a rock.. Ron was on the other side doing the right thing.

Last Minute Plans Kick Ass!

Fishing Photos On Canvas

2011-09-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

I got a chance to meet the guy over at EASY CANVAS PRINTS.COM... After a small group of emails and some searching through the archives of fish pics, I settled on a recent one of me. Fishing solo on my only 30Th birthday... The texture of the print is almost freaky! It looks and feels like a fish.
I landed this rainbow with my 10 ft stick and after learning that I was fresh out of 6x and only had 12 inches of 5x I built my whole leader out of 7x... I remember standing on river left and hooking this fish just up stream from me, up tight to the bank on my side... The fish made an aggressive run and headed down for a rock where it wrapped me up and stuck me good... I made quick work out of getting the line free without loosing the fish. when the fish hit the net the fly was detached from my rig with a 4 inch piece of 7x still tied to the eye... Telling me that the rock cut nearly through it but the soft tip on the nymph stick saved the show. It wasn't a monster but it did have some shoulders...

If you get a chance head on over to Easy Canvas Prints and see about getting your Photos On Canvas.

Be watching your dashboard for the next few days, I'll be throwing up pretty neat video of some truly big trout in their natural realm.

Bending In A Broken Rod

2011-09-06T05:55:00.001-06:00

After busting one of my favorites... I was generously upgraded to a better one that is really growing on me after a solo afternoon on the river.

Rainbows had color on them today!!
The toad hatch was on!
Stones were in order!

Curtain Climbers too!

Soooo... That rod Hunkers over pretty good!

I Forgot The Popcorn

2011-08-28T07:30:00.000-06:00

It's too bad too, because it was one heck of a show!
A very enjoyable time for me, watching my favorite person casting well and doing stuff.

She was in to it last night and was serious about it.

It was her idea to go out for a while, she even caught me just before a 3 0'clock nap.. We hopped in the wagon and headed for the river. Momma jumps out and bails off the side of the hill with her fly rod in one hand and the "don't mess with me" in the other... Fished just like she learned, close to far an shallow to deep... She hooked every fish in the run and only got beat up twice..

Browns and Rainbows alike.

Some neat things happened out there I'd like to share... My son Dylan was out looking for critters and finds a big golden nymph in transition who's life was obviously nearing as it wanted absolutely nothing to do with water. Had its nitro boosters strapped to its legs and could get to Dylan's hand to his neck before he could reach for it... That little fella is in the air after last night. If my assumptions are correct this species of insect is in an evolution process of getting larger on this river... This year I have seen three of the biggest golden nymphs I have ever seen. Even had to tie up a pattern named after Dylan's own words.. "The World Record" golden stone... I'll do my best to get a good photo of the natural next time I go out, as well as the pattern.

Next wild thing to happen was with a Brown Trout right around 18 inches... Summers was fishing near her feet and the rig was drifting about a foot on our side of a main feeding line where the water was pretty fast... When this big brown leaps out of the water to EYE LEVEL! Right out of the seam... We look at eachother and and the same time say... "Whoa that was a big fish"... Pretty wild to see one jump so high with no apparent top water action.

Next up on the crazy list, Her rig is on drift and looks super fishy at the time... She knows she is right dead nuts where she needs to be... Line in control and Eyes focused on the water... The flies suddenly stop and a snappy set... We both watch a monster trout Roll over... I holler "good job! you rolled him" The rod curls over and takes a pose of a lunker on the line.. Nothing happens.. The fish isn't swimming... It never did... She is snagged on a stick... and I guess, spooked a fish that was watching her flies with a snag... A few ups and down motions with the rod frees the flies and we both scratch our heads a little to this moment... The topper to this is two drifts later she hooked this Rainbow.
She did a beautiful job of handling it and Ill be darn if it wasn't on a fly that was tied with a material that she picked up for me by mistake... "In Yo Face!"

Sunday Sunday Sunday With The GO2

2011-08-22T06:13:00.010-06:00

Sunday was good to me. All I had was two hours and that included rigging up...

I fished one hole and hooked up with eleven fish. I landed 9 of those. Three of them were browns but only two to the net... and the rest were all rainbows of size.Every single fish with no exceptions took a knock off of Mr. Takahashi's Go2 prince in the color purple, a size 14 on a size 12 scud hook. The fish above, I'll be honest, had a big head and no umph... It was my first fish of the day on my second drift.
It had been so long since I went out and stomped the bank by myself, I forgot what little I need and how simple it looks loaded in the ride.
A Sunday game of point and shoot, turned to a game of calming myself down so I could actually land a few.
Above, a Gunnison rainbow that fell through a crack.
a fat mamma featured above... She was quite the yumper!
Watch your back there lil fella...
Nose to the wind... Fighting a Friend...
Suns heading down for the night... better eat another purple buggy...
Like I mentioned above, all eleven fish clobbered the purple prince...

Tis, time to tie me more a dem!!!!

Whats Up Doc

2011-08-02T06:21:00.005-06:00

Got a day on the river with a new fishin buddy.

We did the big float and we went for the fish all day long. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a short lunch. Fish were eating nymphs in the morning and dries mid day...

The Red copper john stole the show there for a while, and between not having any 4x and having some... fish came to the boat and the rest of them just "thought about it."

More Browns than bows but all mad about being hooked.

Found out all the little spots on the boat that need duct tape to stop the line from getting hung up..

At the end of the day we ran the Curtain Climber hard in search of a big tub down lower in the river... Didn't find it but damn we tried!

He Numbered Me

2011-07-28T04:49:00.003-06:00

Under some of the toughest conditions we can have. My 10 year old son numbered me two to none...

Both of us had a rod and both of us wanted fish... You know the rest!

There Dyl, I told em...

Tough conditions means, Inacurate flow chart readings, Dancing flows, Rain, People overloadedness! Oh and Dad is a dip and forgot the tippet rolls... Cut up some new leaders to get er close.

Big Trout

2011-07-22T04:59:00.003-06:00

Goes home to resume its life in the water after a battle with a land dwelling fisherman.

Now, go make some baby's would ya!

Sure I'll Watch The Kido

2011-07-20T05:00:00.002-06:00

Watch her catcha buncha fish!

They were jumpin on the hook!

We Got to take my niece out for a little bluegill hit um... All she had to do was hit em when they hit her...

They came in all available sizes and ate what they usually do... bout anything...
Her new lucky hat, she got from uncle Josh proved to be just that... A lucky new fishing hat, Now decorated with a lucky orange worm..

Float Trippin Big Blue And Lotta Work

2011-07-18T05:35:00.010-06:00

Conditions finally allow us to get on the big water. It is big, about three times bigger than I like to see it..
Tough fishing, real tough, Lotta work...
We can do "lotta work".... and Lotta work is what was done...

Grabbed a Photo before shoving off.
Ya know the water is big when its easier to launch in a near by creek. This is the north fork of the Gunni.

We did find some fish, This was the first one. It took a dead drifted streamer below a bobber in a big deep run.

Nothing of super size but satisfied we were...
Dyl Ripped a couple of bows on a yellow sally dry..
Some purdy browns made their way to the net..

This fish got all nervous about the camera and went bonkers come photo time.

This was the second of two caught right by the boat while parked for a snack break near the end of the day..

Lotta Work?... Yep!

I'm ready to go again!

Montana Trip July 2011

2011-07-12T07:10:00.000-06:00

We had an epic time. Montana has things to offer an angler... Those offerings may or may not be suitable for the anglers liking... Let's just say it was a trip of "Firsts".

Had a great time with the family and did what could be done on the water.
A family reunion that never disappoints...
Things got fishy early on...
With Monster Trout!

A firework show that took the cake.

Dry fly action on a small creek.

Dylan's first Montana fish on a dry fly.

Surprisingly large fish in a small stream.

I was lucky enough to have a local friend show me the big stuff...

A trip on the Mo by myself, put me in float mode. But not before checking out the local shops and marveling at the boats...

Waiting on me...

I've never had my drag nob tightened down as tight as it was on that river... I have never fished 13 feet, from my indicator to my first fly... with two doses of 3/o split shot... and trout that just about require a fighting butt on the back end of the rod..

I fished the 10 ft nymph stick with the long leader set up and the rod performed!... Well!...
It was hunkered over for most of the day with a short dry spell where a smaller 16 inch fish had its face littered with junk... A crawdaddy in its lip and a nymph in its bung... Prompted a crayfish pattern to dink on the bottom. where a few more fish were hooked up with...

With the river flow running right at 21.... THOUSAND! cfs it was big and nasty, and landing fish was tough... A game of chase with the boat was needed most of the time, but the boat cant go every where a big ol trout can, so some fish were dragged off the line by the water...

In all I hooked and battled 9 fish and landed 5 of them... All trophy trout and forearm buster uppers!

Rigging up at Holter...

yea shes a wild one this time!..

And Big Big...

I'm not a Rod hog, so we both fished as much as possible.

Rods were not bent but hunkerd over...
A day on the lake with the kidos...

Finished the trip off with a two day family drive through Yellowstone National Park.

The park was just an epic family time where we viewed wildlife, broke some rules and got in other peoples way... (part of the experience).

Didn't get to fish the park and that was fine, driving along the Madison was epic water to fish...

but the Yellowstone was too pissed off... even for a photo.

Who Told The Press

2011-07-01T04:32:00.003-06:00

That I would be out there without a life vest or a fishing rod?.....

Click This line to check out the e-edition of yesterdays front page of my local paper..

20 Day Burnout

2011-06-28T06:25:00.000-06:00

That's right, Ive been doing a burnout for the last 20 days... Sitting still with my throttle pinned wide open... Wheels just a spinnin.... Tires just a smokin! Going nowhere, FAST!

Been dragging this fly around in the mud till it comes apart... Fishing for some carp while the rivers have been trashed... Couldn't get any traction to save my own life...

Learned a lot about the things and gotta say "them be some smart fish" but DUUUUUMB! If I ever see them in stronger numbers where I can see them better it's on like Donkey Kong JR.

I have been fishing, but that's all its been...

I Did Manage to land the biggest bluegill quite possibly to date... Could have almost stuffed a pop can down in this gills mouth.
This shot Makes me miss the trout in a big way and I think of it as a runoff style postcard to me... From them... (low blow)

Here are some other photos I was able to take as the tire smoke would clear from time to time...

The photo above is where I stood until my shoes were under mud... The shadow of me is how I stood and stared, hiding in the cattails, concealing my shadow with a blanket of muck... My head hangs the same way for the carp as of now.

The photo below is a view of what I would get punished for looking at... For if I took my eyes away from the 10 ft deep hole in front of me, It would take a week to locate the carp again causing me to make motions that would scare them in to making another long long long lap around their lair.

I have had the chance to catch my breath a bit, Meditate... And this is the final warning.... Better Watch Out!!! Gonna get ugly!!!

Headed up north for some tea and perhaps get some dubbing wet...
Then headed to the range up front to find myself for the summer and shake some hands.

Getting new rubber today, got a clean mind, carp are in the review mirror. The pond ruined my line... Prompting me to take a big breath and cut some nail knots...

Frog On The Fly

2011-06-09T07:22:00.000-06:00

Every time I try to go fly fishing for Carp, something weird happens, Like catching frogs...

I have yet to land a carp on a fly. Ok, I've only had one take but I get a whole lot of "almost's". The carp are really big and really fast, Its not exaggerating when I say there are a whole lot of them in the 4 foot range.

Well, the rivers are nasty! However the carp are out there doing their thing at a local favorite warm water pond. They really get me going and I'm not sure why... Defeat perhaps... Perhaps its their smarts that I have always under estimated... As a kid we would catch them with worms no problem and thought of them as trash fish...

Stand on a hill and watch a big pod of them work over a bunch of swimming damsel nymphs, cast at them till your...

blue... gill in the face.. You begin to think of your own skills as trash.

I fished to a pod of 6 fish for three hours with out a take. I chased them things all over a pretty big pond. Frustration was setting in and was ready for one of these carp. They are big big ones in a big ol pond and only visible this time of year as far as I know. For the last three years I have returned here in search of a golden bone.

I have talked with a few of the carp fishermen who blog, I have good list of hints and tips.
This River Is Wild blog, has been a big help in sharing fly patterns and technique. Them boys know carp!

I tried to stay away from the bass and bluegills and focus on the carp but when this thing swam by...I had to do it.

Long story short.. I got frustrated, I gave up and hooked a frog to get the tug... That feels weird by the way.

Heads In The Right Places

2011-06-04T06:03:00.007-06:00

Things just go better when your head is in the right place. I'll admit, ours were not on this day and became the biggest obstacle to navigate.

We made a Friday, half day run to the dam to check out the water and see about sliding a fly in to the mouth of a fish.

Fish did come, but it was not easy... The weather was beautiful, the sky clear... yet a cloud was present and although it did not yield rain it possessed the things that stir the pot as an angler and the price was paid in full..

Needless to say our attitudes needed adjusted and I'm not completely sure the river is the place for that.
Fishing was tough, as the lake above is still low and is starting to change color, bits of drift wood are sneaking through dam and are a small pain in the neck... Fish are still spot-able but its getting more difficult.

First fish of the day was a smallish, pretty rare brown trout..

A few small bows made it to the net during the morning.

The day was ended in the usual time crunch with a decent cutty.

At any rate we were there, we threw line, we hooked fish and we went about our business once returning home.

I'm not making excuses but... We were fishing at 10:00 a.m. on June 3rd.. take a look at the flow chart below

Gotta Do

2011-05-31T07:37:00.006-06:00

What cha gotta do.
We got out and beat on the warm water, the local stream is blown out to say the least but the fish need to come.

Just Add Water

2011-05-25T05:18:00.002-06:00

To make things grow!

I had the pleasure of fishing with my wife and son on Saturday and I must say the two of them both grew in ways that Ill try to describe.

Dylan grew in his confidence as an angler all why waiting for his favorite spot.
While getting geared up at the truck he was in some kind of Hurry but forgot nothing.
He snatched up the first rig as it was ready and said he was heading for his spot!

As his mother and I hustled to catch up, we found him already fishing, but he wasn't in a great spot and I wasn't sure at that point just what "his spot" meant.
He quickly hooked up with a nice little cutthroat.
After releasing it he looked up at us and said "somebody beat me to my spot", I look up river and spot two guys, one rod, and one net with a long long handle. Looks like they are tied together with a 10 inch rope.

We got Summer set up on a fast water run while Dylan fished a crappy little hole for an hour and a half waiting for all that junk to get out of the water in "his spot"..
When the Siamese twins stumbled out of the water and in to the trees... Dylan was off and running and although two guys just got out of waist deep water, mid river, in the middle of the holding area... Dylan was on his knees practicing quiet... He hooked ten fish here, and netted them all...

He spent the whole first half day looking like this.

The guy even got a little cocky with this one... (I with it would have gotten off)

Everytime I turned around he had one of these...

Still making time to help others on the stream as he has been taught by his father.

I had plenty of shots to pull fish myself, not a whole lot of time to take pictures of them, well, I was watching grass grow I guess...

Summer took her share of fish in the morning but did her growing in the afternoon... The fish were playing games go we played games of our own.. She worked on her line handling skills and made motions until her arm was sore... She fished for about an hour with out a fish, made about 157 casts with out the flies passing behind her. Had no tangles and came to a milestone in the sport.. I will forever remember a 60 second period as will she, where things were so right!

Just add water and we all grow.

Gettin Dirty N Turnin Thirty

2011-05-24T07:41:00.001-06:00

I fished my 30th birthday all day long.

Hooked all the trout my elbow could handle. Took the day and gave it to myself, myself then gave all, to the stream in search of fish... (my elbow freakin hurts)

I got started plenty early and waited for the sun to warm my back. As the sun began to shine trough the trees the fish became visible to the eye and began their daily routine of breathing food and guarding their lives..

While rigging up first thing I pulled out a new leader that was supposed to be a 7.5 5x. In the package marked 7.5ft 5x was a just short of 9 4x leader.. I got it to the length I wanted by removing the loop and some of the butt section... Go to pull off some feet of 6x and a little measly 6inch piece comes leaping off the spool... Oh no! Now I'm stuck with a leader that I cut a little too short and is about 7ft and no 6x and I wasn't planning on sacrificing numbers by running a tow chain of a rig. I pulled out the 7x from Flies and Lies fly shop that I got when I fished Cheesman canyon last year. I have kept it protected from the sun and most of the time I'm using it for my droppers that are anchored to 6x. This day I would be stuck fishing both flies and my shot on 7x that was a year old. Armed with a 10 ft nymph stick and A will to concur defeat, I went for it, and went for it hard.

I spent the first morning hour just trying to get a take, I could see fish but couldn't get it together. Actually I gave up and left a spot full of Juvenal youngsters that would chase the fly in the middle of a roll cast buy ignore it when it hit them in the eye.

Walking onward the sky began to grow dark, the sounds of thunder echo in the distance. From a skinny trail just above the river I spot a fish nestled between two rocks. I drop to a knee, un hang my fies and let the breeze take them away. Three yanks of line from the reel, and a single presentation is made. The fish eats my fly and forces me to an intense battle of will. I had to move and I had to stay with it. I climbed atop this creature and built a relationship. A relationship of tension through line while struggling to get what is desired. I found a zone with this fish and had a moment, a moment of doing as I have learned a moment of expectations... Every element of a "fight" was displayed with this fish.

I walked it down river to some calmer water, I entered the stream up to my knee. Net dragging by a string, I glance up to see how far my fly line is from the end of my rod (don't you hate that moment?) Then the fish takes off up river with vengeance and goes where it came from right between those two rocks and I am wrapped up but good! But I am in the zone of expectations and I pull twice out of the reel giving the fish slack line until I can get my rod tip directly above the rocks and untie the wraps... When I get there its tied up badly, and solid, I'm sure the fish is gone and begin to appreciate what a great fish it was. I get the 7x off the rocks which must have been made of swede leather, and the fish is still on, and we do it all again...

In came the storm which gave me a chance to test out the new hat my mother got me for my Birthday, she says "your ears see too much sun, son." The storm got real bad and the lightning was going off right above my 10, felt the static pops in the rod and that was the click in my finger that drove me to my truck, where I ate lunch and drove up river.. I fished the upper section from lunch until 6o'clock.

They all eat the same size stuff. Isn't that neat!

Last good fish of the day was worn out work horse!

Then I headed home for cake and Ice cream.

Gear Review Coleman CPX 4.5

2011-05-19T05:34:00.003-06:00

I was lucky enough to win Package #1 in the Coleman/Gerber contest on OBN.

Reviewing three way cool items became quite a chore, and I'll need to run these things for about a year before I know exactly how they will perform in all conditions. "The CPX 4.5 Compatible" Means that the power sources all work with each other.

Coleman LED flashlight-

You want to talk about bright. 126 lumen's that shoots 157m, all coming out of a quarter sized lens! You don't want to look down the barrel of this flashlight, it will fry your retina! It has Life time LED bulbs. It came with batteries that last 7 hours but works with rechargeable batteries as well as the CPX 4.5 battery pack. Cased in aerospace grade aluminum housing with the roll proof design (so it stays on the picnic table.) The best part probably is that the thing is Water and Impact resistant. I've already dropped it on concrete and it bounced right back up to my hand, working fine.

Coleman Portable Electronics Charger-
Finally, a portable power source that isn't so bulky, that runs on rechargeable or 3 regular AAA batteries. It has a usb port in it and charges up your cell phone, Ipod, or any other one of the bazillion electronic gizmo's out there that charge with a usb port. This too supports the CPX 4.5 compatible criteria. Means you can charge the flashlight with it. It's perfect for those times when your in a spotty service area and your phone wants to grow legs, then goes looking for towers... Comes back all down and out, with one bar but you swear, that it last 3 days or better, on one charge at home.

Coleman 4.5 volt Rechargeable Power Cartridge- This is a battery pack that works in the flashlight and all other CPX 4.5 compatible products. Basically it is the rechargeable battery that fits in to a whole list of Colman CPX products. It comes with a 12 volt adapter for your car as well as standard 120 volt power that you find in your home.

Thanks To: OBN for hosting this contest and big thanks to Coleman for supplying them with the stuff to hook me up!

Penrose Staircase

2011-05-12T04:50:00.000-06:00

How do you see it? oh its fishing related alright

The illusion takes its name from a father and son duo of mathematicians, Lionel and Roger Penrose, who introduced the impossible object in a 1958 paper. The Staircase cannot be constructed in three dimensional reality due to its property that the steps forever carry the traveler upward in a loop. The same steps are traversed, but, impossibly, after the first time around (or second, or third…) one ends up back at the beginning, and the whole journey starts again. One can turn around on the stairs and descend, as well, with the same effect—continually treading the same ground, over and over.

I find similarity's in the staircase and fly fishing... Let me tell you why...
While impossible to build either of them in our real world, The both of them can be depicted as an illusion.
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with more of the human senses than vision alone.

The most famous example is by a Dutch artist M.C. Escher’s "Ascending and Descending" which shows numerous monks, laboriously climbing up and down the same steps over and over.
As in the life of a fly fisherman, we too, laboriously climb our way up and down the same steps.
By way of perspective in the two dimensional illustration, and by way of perspective in three dimensional life-like fishing situations, the impossibility of the Staircase is removed, as is the impossibility of a fish or a tough drift. At first sight, in both cases, it takes the viewer a little time to realize What they are seeing. The stairs may seem as a waste of time for the eyes. Senses come to play and speak fraud... After a longer look... The possibilities begin to form, the mind begins to believe.... The the stairs are real.

Not to be walked on by man, but to be laboriously explored by those unafraid.

Fly fishing and life are never ending staircases that we can not climb. Illusions of of our universe, explored through our bodies, guided by our thoughts.

This is the flow chart that pulled this morning... Sparked the whole thing..

Curtain Climer Returns with Souvenirs

2011-05-09T05:00:00.002-06:00

Camp was good says the fly.

They held me, they petted me, they talked good things about me and took some glamour shots.

They made me feel important for a day and for once I thought I was more than a fly.

The mail man messed my hairdo up pretty badly but when it was all said and done... I felt like a new minnow. I was pleasantly surprised to open a normal, little brown box. Inside, a gift, a souvenir of sorts brought on by the Curtain Climber streamer...

1st- A double sided, fully water proof, slotted foam fly box with clear lids and hell for strong latches.

Then- a super stout, mega sharp pair of nippers that look fishy!
MFC hooked me up good for entering a contest with a decorated hook.

Thanks again to MFC and OBN.

Also I won a package from OBN containing some Colman goodies... I'm running the snot out of these things and planning an honest review of the gear.

Mother's of More

2011-05-08T06:37:00.002-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to these individuals... and nobody else.
The Mothers of Fisherman, and mother's of those, to the mother's of trout and the mothers of those. Add in a Happy Mommas day to the mother below!

Tuggs

2011-05-06T05:15:00.005-06:00

Wednesday was eventful!

The lower river had taken a turn for the better midweek. The water was clear enough to fish and the weather was good.

The lower river can hold some trophy small stream trout. We went for it.

We had a slow start...

Slow enough for a 10 year old to fish for an hour with nothing, find three empty shotgun shells and throw them in the river only to chase them down with the net time and time again.

You could call it, "busy kid, Ol man gets busy too".

I worked the water as hard as I could with both of our rigs set up differently. I was rewarded three takes.. First was a decent brown, the second was a miss, and the third was a big ol rainbow...

Before we left I was sure to charge the camera battery and load it in the truck... I wasn't sure to load it in my pack and wound up hauling a dead cellphone around instead. It managed to get two quick shots of the brown but that was it.

Opted to take the huge net to practice for the mutated ones...

Man VS Fish with Video Footage

2011-05-04T06:27:00.007-06:00

At the end of a very long day of fly fishing, I hooked and battled with what may have been the largest Trout of my life.

The Battle was created by me, by means of materialistic items. Man and nature, faced off in the most intense manor imaginable.

A trout, weary of man fells a grumble in it's gut and comes to the table for nourishment. An angler weary of the unknown is also hungry for Adrenalin in the form of control. They both have a goal in mind.

Silence is the loudest thing heard by the two and both of their ears begin to ring. An hour passes as the creatures live their separate lives.

The fish, eating its dinner while watching its back, closely inspects each insect, it is a connoisseur of the stream. The water is clear and the fish sees all. The fish knows that someone is watching, but the angler knows that the fish is eating.

Like a stranger in the room whom you would like to meet, the differences remain the same and the chance to meet, may or may not come.

As they work the seam in their own way they begin to communicate with each other in ways that can not be put in to words...

The angler has a need here, as does the fish. They both have a want. Deep in the spirit the both of them share a will. A will to survive by their own definitions of the word.

Watch the video as we both get what we want.

Thanks to Ron and Eva over at Fishing the Rockies blog and ColoradoAngler for getting this on film.

Lunch Bend

2011-05-03T07:17:00.004-06:00

Not lunch break... Lunch bend.

A sandwich in one hand and a fly rod in the other. I fished my lunch break, which stretched just past an hour.

Some pretty wild things happened.

First I thought I'd chuck a streamer because the water was pretty high and off color. I fished for the first half hour with the streamer and had every trout in the river on edge. I then switched to a double nymph rig and things began to happen.... I hooked up with two decent rainbows...
All I had was my cell phone... But you can still see the ornament in the corner of the mouth.

Netted three browns in a row and then, the dessert was a pure bread, wild, stream born, cutthroat trout... About 10 years ago I was fishing right about here in the same spot, Hooked and landed a purebred wild cutt on a streamer with a silver cone and pink flash in the tail. It measured... I don't know, we weighed them back then and the little scale read, 6.82 lb... Haven't seen one since...

Finished the afternoon working in wet work boots and none other than blue jeans.

Pheasant Face Nymph

2011-05-01T06:48:00.000-06:00

We all love Pheasant tails, either as the tail of the fly its self, the body of the fly, the wing case, or any combination of the three.

Maybe its the tiny tiny hair fibers lining the shaft of a single strand, perhaps the way that the thread causes the pheasant fibers to splay as you sink the second wrap. Maybe its the way that the color changes as you get half way through the abdomen. Or is it just an easy one to tie?

Most of us will or should fish a pt frequently to fool a fish in to eating a bottom crawling critter.

I play with pheasant tails at the bench more than needed but in doing so I will often find a method or technique that will do one or more of these things... The obvious is to fool a fish with .008% of a bird.. Next, as the year goes on, our favorite places will usually see more anglers, in that the fish are going to see and eat more naturals but also see more flies. I'm a firm believer that half of the magic of any fly is, the one that looks real while in the drift, and the one that the fish hasn't seen in its memory span.

I'm calling this pattern Pheasant Face for obvious reasons.. The reason for the tie its self is even more obvious... Google has a better way of explaining it via Wikipedia so just click on... ARTHROPOD.

-Hook- Size 18 scud hook, loaded with a copper bead.
-Ribbing- Copper wire.
-Legs- Those are Ostrich legs. Yep, you read that right... those little legs are ostrich legs.
-Antennae- Pheasant tail fibers.
-Tail- Pheasant tail fibers.
-Abdomen- Pheasant tail fibers.
-Wing case- Pheasant tail fibers if your lazy and need to post a fly. other wise, my goodness, use something else like thin skin, a biot or something... The dang fly may.... fly away if its all bird.

Just add a little aqua and fish with confidence.

Spring Youth Fly-fishing Contest

2011-04-29T06:44:00.013-06:00

Brought on by Compleat Thought, A cool site with a bunch of fishy stuff happening.

This entry is for Dylan.

I'm 10 1/2 years old I have been learning the fly for the last few years.

This is the first year I can do almost everything by myself.

I like to fly fish because it makes me feel relaxed and its just fun.

When I fish, I enjoy having that feeling of a fish on the end of my line. When I hook a fish, it gets me exited and makes me want to catch more. I like to use flies because, they look like stuff that fish eat. My dad teaches me different techniques and handy ideas like, where the fish are and which flies to use. After that I know when to set and how to keep my rod bent.

Sometimes I fish for bluegill with my cousins. I enjoy seeing their faces when I have a big one. I also enjoy seeing them catching fish. It's fun to take the tackle and rod that I think Ill be able to catch a fish on and actually catch more than one.

It is fun to fish beside my mom because she gets exited when I have a fish or she has a fish on. Also because she doesn't have very much time to fish as much as we do.

When I'm on a river and I get a fish on and its big, I automatically know I need to keep my rod bent and set downstream. I also know when I have a rainbow on its easier for them to get on the top of the water as I bring them in.
The difference between a brown and a rainbow is, Browns are more tougher and are a good fight. rainbows spaz out sometimes jump and screw you up. A rainbow has a few dots and they have a purple line down the center of their body. Browns have big black dots and have a curled top lip and a big muscular body, they are yellow and light brown and sometimes have red dots.

Cutthroats are really pretty colors
When I'm fly fishing, I need to look for good drifts and places where fish could be, but sometimes I like to look for snakes and throw rocks.

I ALWAYS let them go.

Thanks for a chance to win a cool Rod and reel!

Wednesday Tuggs

2011-04-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

Wednesday went well, lots of people fishing and conditions were tough.

No fish hungry enough to chase down a nymph so everything had to be right, very minor adjustments to the rig were required in order to obtain hook ups.

Fish were not holding in there usual places and there was little activity bug wise.
Although we were able to spot feeding trout, the presentations had to be exact and lead by distance. The drift had to be flawless, in order to get a subtle take. The takes were lighter than a split shot bumping a rock. Dylan's exact words "WOW! that was crazy, I'm na really hafta watch"

After we entered this element, we earned fish.

I left Dylan to the stretch of water above and I headed up around the corner to the right. Found a deep old swirl with a few ambitious fish willing to eat their young.

From the distance I heard the "code" which was the sound effect of a crow.. A sound Dylan said we would make if we hooked a fish..

I thought to myself "right on" kids got a fish... then about three minutes later I heard it again. I figured it must be big and he needs a hand.. I come around the corner and this is what I see.

Turns out that was the second sound because it was the second fish. He had hooked up with two fish in two casts, with two fellas watching from across the river.

It wasn't 5 or 6 cast later and the kid was all bent up again.

No that's just proper... No need to touch em with your hands when you have already connected with them in that fashion.

As the sun dropped over the wall of the canyon, we made our walk back to where we came from. While crossing a bridge, we stopped to look for fish.

"Gosh darn it kid, just when were ready to go, ya have to go and spot a fish laying down in some fast stuff and sick me on it."

All admit it took way to darn many tries, but.... I did get it.

I told the kid on the way home.... Ice cream and soda for you tonight for correcting the stop on your forward cast! He said "yea I looked like a dork in that last video"... I closed it with... "your just like your dad"

After School Tuggs

2011-04-22T09:37:00.007-06:00

My son Dylan and I made a deal...

And we shook on it!

Were going to do our very best to go fishing together every Wednesday night until school gets out for the summer.
Wednesday is a good day for it because school gets out at 2 p.m. and we can get all of 4 hours on the water.

I will write of these Wednesday's and title them After School Tuggs..

This day we headed out right at 2 o'clock with fishin on the brain.

We made the quick 23 minute drive, jumped out of the seat and into our fishin britches. We began down low on the river in hopes of spotting and stalking a decent fish. last year at this time Dylan landed a 20 inch rainbow on a little bitty bug.

The lower section was dry as a bone and we made a B line for the upper stretch.

We met up with a spring time friend we like to call W that letter stands for wind but we try not to say it much. The fish were feeding like vultures and we had the meat!

The whole evening pretty much went like this...

With a little of this...

And some of these...

With a pinch of...

All mixed in with a ton of...

Fly Fishing Action!

Versatility Will Prevail

2011-04-10T08:15:00.004-06:00

If you have the time, if the patients is there, if you drink the will, and eat the want... You can do stuff outside... I fished with Andy today. He made the near 7 hour drive up here to do no more than hunt for trout with flies.

Like I've said before, Andy's attitude on the water is so pleasant and fishy, that when he got around the corner, I felt as though I needed to catch up, for fear of missing him spaz out over a good take or a rising fish.

We got to the water pretty early and were the first ones there, we had pick of the litter when it came to trout and although the sky packed with clouds and the visibility poor, there were still fish available to be taken by sight.

Like a shoe, ya just gotta try one on and pick your size. Andy has the eye and we spent the better part of the morning working subsurface. small midges would come off in waves most of the day. The fish were feeding moderately and we fished smaller than size 20 micros and emergers from 9 a.m. to noon. Fishing with light tackle, 3 and 4 wt rods and 6 and 7x tippet, we played the finesse game and took numbers. The rods stayed curved for the whole morning.

Later in the morning, we had an opportunity to learn some key points of shallow water nymphing. This came about as we walked up on some nervous riffles and began to chat about how especially in this light, the fish will take advantage of a smaller feeding zone by narrowing it down laterally. Meaning that they only need to look up 6 inches and down 6 inches when holding in 12 inches of water. The water we stand is less than a foot deep and I had a hunch that they may be stacked in there.

You see we had been fishing the deeper runs and it becomes implanted in ones brain that the fish are holding there.

Three fish in three casts proved otherwise.

Proper hook removal. As the people began to show, we were pushed up river but continued to push ourselves, to keep a good thing going. We wanted it bad, and the fish came. At noon the crowds were getting bad and neither of us like fishing for an audience. So we opted to shuttle one of our cars and make a walk trip. Deeper in the canyon where "you need to be a damn billy goat to get around" (Andy's words). We dumped the nymphing sticks and loaded up for bear! Andy with a 7wt and me with a 6, we went to the streamer in search of that big ugly brown. We had our fun spotting and stalking, sneaking little flies in to the mouths of the fish, but wired to 110 and plugged in to 220 the both of us wanted to cover the last half of the park and make something crrazy happen.. The numbers dropped off as they normally do and the long waves of of the heavy stick began to get intense. Right at first, we were getting them to look seriously at the streamers but no takers. The lookers were big and got bigger as they turned away. Our eyes were bugging out of our heads at the size of some of the fish and we knew that they were willing to play, it was just a matter of locating one of them and sticking it good. Fish story: I spotted a brown near 30 inches as it circled an olive bunny leach. It's belly was red/orange, the jaw had a huge Kype, his spots were as big as my nose. When he circled my fly, he seen me and decided not to grab it. Before maiking his slow somber turn back to the depths, That fish and I made dirrect eye contact. Makeing a breaf connection that will bring the both of us back out for another look at eachother. After getting rid of the squeeks of the nymping gates.... we prospered... The brown above was taken in shallow water at the head of a run. It smashed the fly before the last bit of tail went through the film, bent me over took me for a jog.

The brown above, Andy had been stalking for the better part of 5 minutes from the other side of the river. When he finally stuck it I was the second one to know about it and zoomed er in for a shot.

The both of us took a few nice browns on the big junks but most importantly we already had our fill on numbers and were just walkin around having a good time.

These boots were made for... Stompin...

I can honestly say that in this case, On this afternoon the fish that we encountered would have been almost impossible to take on a nymph, unless it was bigger than the ones that I fish. I say that because there was a certain smell in the air and an almost enchanted look and feel to the water.

The big browns were just having a bad day.

When a Brown trout has a bad day... Well, they eat their freakin baby's!Climbed right on in there! Hooked Andy up with some killer bugs for his trip this weekend to the Blue and sent him on his way. Good luck to him and the bwo hatch that he is expecting!

Blue on Blue on Brown

2011-04-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

Assending window coverings...

Got an hour to kill. Got my fly rods in the back. 5wt loaded with you know what streamer and a 4wt, mangled from my Deputy's. Got my blue jeans on and T to match. Got a river looking up at me. Got a little fire in my ass. Got one good fish, real quick.

Oh boy, do I mean quick. I have never seen a fish do quite what this one did.

As soon as it felt the poke of the "CC" it immediately did a tail stand and turned it to a tail walk, right at me. Full speed right up the shallow shelf I was standing on, right over the rocks. It happened so fast, I just barely drew the net from my belt as the fish skipped in to it. Slack in the line from right after the set, to the time it hit net.

A wild stream born brown trout, with serious tail slashing skills. So full of Gold stones, that it needed something to drive them home. Completely interested in making a baby a meal. Dang! I like the look of that fly in there! However, I dont like the pink water on my finger much.

That was it. Street clothes took a dip. Streamer to the lip. Sorry bout the little rip. Fish did a skip. No under water clip.

My Favorite Deputy's

2011-04-05T07:16:00.010-06:00

Full of smiles and ready for some fly fishing action! It was a great two days on the water. One, alone with my son, and the next, the three of us the day after a big spring snow. The three of us headed out early to beat the small anticipated crowds.
We found the river full of clean water and feeding trout.
My wife hooked up with the rare brown trout on her third cast and that was the only fish to take the lead nymph the rest of the day. A day to be fishing three flies, they stuck with two and the trout hammered the midges over and over and over.

In all, the three of us stayed busy, Me with the camera and net, my son with his fly rod, and between netting his moms fish along with his own, his head was a spinnin.

Then you have Mama over there getting her face fried by the sun, Fishing one hole to death! Her persistence pays when it comes to cleaning out a spot and making numbers happen. Here is a small bit of footage.

I'd like to add... Another Great Colorado fly fishing blog is up and running for your enjoyment. There you will read of a relation ship between father and son that bleeds fly fish bondage and way cool pics! check out, Two Guys Wet Waders and Flies by clicking on the blue link or find them rolling under "people who catch trout" on the right sidebar.

Tail Spin

2011-03-30T08:26:00.002-06:00

I fished the tail water today, It was full of surprises, and left me in a tail spin. The flows jumped up more than double and the water was clear enough to spot and stalk.

With an empty parking lot and the sun shining high, I began a slow walk down the river staring at each holding zone looking for the hard target. I suddenly spotted three fish holding in single file, slightly offset.

Spanning their run with my whole leader, I gently tow it in to position to pick off the third one first, the one at the end of the run. I flick a small mend in the line to line things up and my tactic works. I fool the fish. Steering it clear of the remaining two I quickly remove the fly from the lip and recast. In trying to do the same thing to the second fish, I mess up slightly and the first one takes it. That spooks number two. Off to a great start with two fish in the first two casts. With more fish potentially laying in other nearby drifts I elect to walk on to spot another innocent specimen. A pretty large brown trout apparently looking for little green things. It Drank my fly and swam to my hand. In that order and about that quick.

I dunked the camera for a release shot.

As I walk up on a huge 90 degree bend in the river, I notice that the new flows had it lookin oh so sweet. This hole is so deep and big, Its possible to fish it all day and never leave. It requires multiple adjustments to the rig and the learning of complicated currents but the spot is just full of feeding fish. I stopped in there for a look and spotted about 10 fish feeding high in the column. Really active yet rather small Juvenal's but still ripe and ready for the taking.

I felt like having a little fun and pulled my indicator, removed the shot, gave er some grease and set er in there. A vicious glare disabled my vision for the first few seconds of the drift, allowing me time to mend and gather my thoughts. In my second attempt at this I see a fish freaking out on the other side of the river, all jumping and shaking, with a line attached to it. My line! The current had my flies three weeks from where I thought they were and this fish took my fly, felt a poke and freaked the heck out.

Knowing I didn't have a clean set, I thought I would hustle it in, then try again but do things right the next time. I had that little fish about 8 feet from me when I seen the ever famous giant predator trout, come up and attack the spastic little turd, over and over until it was free from the fly... NOW, did somebody just say, CURTAIN CLIMBER?!

That's what I was thinking and my leader went right to the teeth. Oh, right about the 3x I added 30 inches of 4x, topped with a Curtain Climber. I kissed the fly on the head and threw it where the previous trout had freaked out. Let it fall to the bottom and gave it a switch, followed by a slow, slow pull. I let it turn where I seen the attack from the monster and WHAM-O...

Not the monster that I seen come and try to eat my fry, but a good fish, with attitude, willing to chase my new favorite wiggle minnow.

One more decent fish took the streamer in the big 90. I added another couple feet fine tippet and some tiny bugs and went back to spot and stock. The remainder of the afternoon was to be expected, I walked a whole lot and had to work for each fish that pulled. I ran short on time as per usual, and decided to rig back up with the brown trout minnow and stomp it out. Locating chasing chasers the whole way.. Do me a favor, say it out loud! "CURTAIN CLIMBER"

Here's a few more shots culled from the video clips.

Right click-save as-save as desktop background? Nah... who wants a sexually mature brown trout laying on the bottom of the river on the screen all the time..

Book Review Fish Like A Guide

2011-03-17T05:28:00.009-06:00

"Fish like A Guide" by Fishing Hall of Fame Author George Douglas, This is a book that all anglers should read but serious anglers should take special attention to the urgency that a guide uses to catch fish because his/her job is on the line. If the above average angler reads this book and can find ways to involve the things that George Douglas discusses in his book, the angler will catch more fish in less time.. The content of the book is a lot like the title, Fish like a guide. I didn't take it as a "how to" book, nor did I mistake it for a book that the guides are reading. This one is for a serious angler who has built his/her confidence to the point that the word "urgent" comes to mind while fishing. If you are not exited about going fishing and casting flies, but cant hold still because you want a fish on your line, then I suggest you read George Douglas's book, "Fish like A Guide" and use the information found there, to catch more fish. The book has a great break down of how to condition for this mind set. You can pick up where you leave off as well as stop at any level with this mind set and use it to your own best advantage. The Introduction: Talks about what a real guide is and what a guide does. After reading the intro you will know why you opened the book. Preparation: A subject that is covered well and will explain how to prepare your mind as well as your gear, again to catch more fish, not just go and try. Where to: This chapter tells you how to select the best spot for the day, using the flow chart, hatch charts and word of mouth or lack there of. The Approach: In this chapter you will read how to approach the water its self, how to work a run and catch everything in it. Adjusting to Conditions: This chapter talks of how to adjust to the conditions that may limit you from having a good day on the water. Covering, water flows, weather, and the chances in the mind when things aren't as expected. Rules: These rules are talking more of the etiquette of a guide and how to look good as a professional. Keeping everyone fed and safe from bears. If you copy these things as an above average angler, your sure to look and smell like a guide, which doesn't have a whole lot to do with catching yourself another fish. Gear: This chapter covers all aspects of gear that a guide carries and how important those things either are, or are about to become. Explaining which items are suited for certain weather conditions and which items are "dead weight". At the same time talking about how the fish react to your clothing, and the importance of polarized glasses. Stop Loosing Fish: This chapter can help us all. I will name this chapter, most valuable in the contents of the book. It talks of how to set a hook correctly, all the way through a fight.. This must be adapted to your own style but the tips found in the book are gold to the right readers. The End Of The Day: This is the last chapter of the book and another valuable one. It covers those that happened during the day. Remembering each significant event. Those things, need replayed in the mind and carefully thought about at the end of a days fishing, weather they are bad or good. The chapter also mentions, how to process the thoughts, mistakes, and success of each day to better the next. George Douglas is the main squeeze over at KYPE magazine.... If you would like to read the magazine I have it running on the right side of my blog. It's free and there for you. If you would like a copy of the book, hit me on my email and I'll hook you up. bigerrfish@yahoo.com

Fishing Blog Criteria

2011-03-15T08:28:00.000-06:00

Where did everybody go?..

A question I had to ask after awaking from a lazy Sunday afternoon nap. About 2 o'clock, I woke up and everyone in the house had left. A quick phone call told me that I would be batchin it for the evening.

I stumbled in to the garage and seen a lonely little 4wt with bright shiny eyes and a nice little butt. I scooped er up in my arms and gently carried her to the bed. (of the pickup) I gently pulled out the line, and began to feed it through the guides. By the time I reached the last one, I could already see the drift and selected some flies.

Rod hanging out the back window, waders on, and boots laced up tight I hit the road for a whole 4 minutes to the local stream, where I found a river stained just to my liking and an unexpected bump in flow.

Thinking I could up the size of my tippet if I wanted and even go with a larger brighter fly, I decided to leave my rig as if I was fishing a cold winter day in clear water for lazy fish. Rigged with a very small golden stone and a 22 midge taking up the rear, all I had to do is add a little shot, snap some hard rolls in there, and I'll be darned if the third drift didn't yield a fighter of a youngen on the tiny bug.

It ate it out of the swift section of the seam and tried hard to beat me up with the traditional acrobatics of a rainbow trout.

I caught two more fish with loads of spunk from that section before moving up. I'm pretty exited about how much energy the fish have today and decide to play with that.

I didn't slice the water apart, but rather a quick stomp, targeting the shallow tailing's of each holding area looking for spunky fish hanging back in the faster riffles eating at a faster pace. With this, I leave the "heart" of the hole alone and don't cast to the most likely holding position's. This is all because I know I'll be walking back down the river to my truck as the sun is going down and I want to fish again, with a different rig...

I walked about 2 miles up the river spot fishing like Grandma mops the floor. Picking up all the fish I wanted along the way but at the same time, passing up all the good stuff .

As I reached the end of my wading road, I began to add weight and make more involved adjustments to my rig, also making casts that are more risky to looking it all. You may hear me talk of the circumstances as "hail Mary".

The "hail Mary" is when an angler risks his fly line, leader, flies, shot and indicator, by making dangerous casts near unforgiving obstacle, in order to obtain on last tug before a change in direction. This act, added one more fish on the stone fly nymph, but not too long after, I lost the whole shmole...

The sun is behind the hill and I can feel the evening spring chill in the air. Still thinking of active trout, I pulled my streamer box from my pack. Then I had to actually read the writing on my rod to make sure I was about to cast streamers with a light weight 4wt rod. Ignoring the facts I rigged a 3x leader to the poor thing and tied on some bunny junks. I tightened up my belt, gave my jacket a quick pull of the zipper, and proceeded to abuse my rod.

Hardly letting my walk slow to a stop, I kept my feet moving along with the tail of the fly. Slipping every cast in against the bank and wiggling it away, I could feel the anticipation of a large brownie ambushing it and making me work.

I had all of the good slices of water untouched and free of flashes from previous fish, giving me the feeling of just getting there. As expected, not every fish was willing to give chase but in hope of that one I stayed focused.

While casting and walking my fly hooked a tree branch. I gave it a little wave and seen it come free but my line was over the branch. (ya know when you can lift it up and down because the branch is acting like a pulley)... I got it swinging back and forth and as soon as it cleared the backside of the branch, I gave it a little pop. Sending the fly about a foot ahead of the knot where my fly-line meets the leader. (insta-mend) I snapped the slack out of it and felt I was hooked on the bottom or something...

Not bottom at all! I set the hook two more times and began a crazy battle with a big brown, on a streamer, after sundown. (oh the life).

The fish spazzed out so bad with death rolls and tail stands, that it noosed itself around the head with an Indiana Jones style whip-knot. So my anchor point was on the side of its head, its was still freaking out so I had to slide it in quick to avoid leaving a permanent 3x tattoo around the things face..
"Hey fishie, you have something stuck in your tooth!"

Not every day that I get lucky enough to hook up on size 22 flies with 7x... a few on 5x with the stone, then jump to 3x and streamer up the leftovers..

I hope that meets the Fishing Blog Criteria.

Curtian Climber goes to Camp

2011-03-11T06:44:00.003-07:00

I moved some of the curtain climbers body parts around to create a more realistic brown trout minnow and make it easier for others to tie. This is one of my best streamer patterns and one that is totally original of me. It would be considered crazy to leave this pattern behind in late spring and early summer.

After revising the pattern and building a little confidence, I have decided to submit this fly to Montana Fly Company for the fly designer contest in conjunction with Outdoor blogger network. I have tied my share of flies and the truth is, I don't get to share enough of them. I have sold very few flies and have never submitted a fly at a professional level.

The idea of The Curtain Climber came about when I was a young boy.

Playing on the river bank, in soggy tennis shoes, throwing rocks and catching frogs. I learned how to locate the water most likely to hold a for a frog. I then, quickly began to learn that all those little minnows in the frog water and small tributaries were really, little baby brown trout.

I would catch them in a minnow net, which I never left home without. Then, bring them home and put them in the family fish tank. I would marvel at the colors and their beauty for the entire two days of their lives. This is when I learned that room temperature will kill a trout. (need to add ice)

In that time, I could sit for hours and hours in ah, as they dart from one end of tank to the other... A hint of purple, then red, a flash of yellow, white and gold, would light the tank with each pass.

I'd drop little pieces of night crawlers culled from the back yard in to the tank and watch the little guys come up to investigate it, then zoom around behind it and ambush it. Displaying this is the way that they are programed.

As a youngster and even now, I can't resist trying to figure out, what's the smallest movement you can make, to get a house cat to attack a string? Do you have to shake it all around? Dangle it over its head and bounce up and down? Or just a simple twitch?

Perhaps, it depends on the cat..

As a fly rod found its way in to the palm of my hand, streamer fishing became part of the game.

I began to understand that a little brown trout would eventually get brave enough to venture towards uncharted waters... The possibilities are good, of its own father waiting at the mouth of the tributary, may well ambush the little fry. Making the little son a meal.

That very situation has given me the respect that I have for the Brown Trout today.

So as a young man, a childhood friends father would call us curtain climbers as we ran in and out of the house. He later explained that was a reference to a group of wild kittens playing in a house.

I think of this fly as a wild little cat, kid or fish, that is going about its daily business as an adolescent. Then simply gets eaten by a bigerrfish.

That's how it got the name Curtain Climber.

I would like thank to OBN for getting with Montana Fly Company to make this possible.

---Visit MFC on FACEBOOK...

Click on the logo's above and travel over to Montana Fly Company and OBN for some great flies, Fly tying material and enough outdoor blogs to choke a chicken.

Curtain Climber

Pattern and Instructions...

Hook- Traditional down eye, size 6 streamer hook.

Bead- 1/4 inch brass cone

Tail- Small amount of yellow marabou along with three strands of copper midge flash, figure 8 tied to each side of the shank, at the tail.

Weight- 20 wraps of .020 led wire.

Ribbing- Red wire

Under body- Simi-seal dub in Yukon brown or Yukon olive.

Wiggle strip- Charcoal grey Zonker strip

Head- The head is a two step process, 1- palmer three wraps of cross cut, black bunny strip, on the last third of the shank, leaving a space next to the bead for step 2-, two tight wraps of brown saddle hackle flaring backwards

Whip it!

Last Call For February Browns

2011-02-28T17:48:00.013-07:00

Being that, It's the last day of February, and being that I haven't accomplished a whole lot. Being that my streamer box is overflowing along with the others, and Being that, the weather was 55 today and the water was crystal clear... I decided to do some road hunting (driving around with a fly rod) where I hop out of the pickup and stomp some river bank. I was wearing street clothes again but mostly because I had accidentally left my waders behind. Figured I would long line from land but wound up toughing it out and crossing the river three times with slick shoes and jeans on.

The browns were out and about today and smashing things up! I'm talkin SPLASH'S on the take and alligator rolls baby!

Here are some photos from the day.

On Your Marks

2011-02-22T05:04:00.004-07:00

Get set..... With your waders on..... Stop!

The crowds were a little out of control for the big big holiday. We got all geared up and looked around, felt sorry for the fish and didn't want to be rood in asking one of the other million people if we could squeeze in there and try to catch a trout with hook slices in its mouth..
Instead we dressed down hit the road and did the old hop out of the truck and run down to a hole trick.

Not catching fish was not in either one of our plans for the day.
My boy was enthusiastic about fishing this single run, as I watched him my lips stayed sealed, and the mechanics were all up and running, I had more fun watching Dylan mend in this run than I could have any where else on earth..

A few minor adjustments to the rig and it wasn't long before he hooked up with fish a whole lot bigger than was expected to be seen in this run. That fish bossed the boy to submission and we will both admit that the first 7 seconds kicked his butt but good.

The water moving pretty quickly and the presents of fish over 20 inches, Tell's me to get the kid on 3 or 4x... That's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make, nor one I am willing to teach.. I did bump his lead fly up to 5x but fished the tailing fly with 6..
Dylan's second hook up was unbelievable and made the first one look like a shiner minnow. While rushing trying to get the fish on the reel before it was truly on the line, The fish found a rock to u-turn on just as soon as the boys eyes left the fish and looked at the reel... "what did you learn son?" "I learned to get them {on} before I get them on the reel, never take my eyes off of my opponent and keep my rod tip high and bent when the fish is deep around rocks"

The next fish to take the fly, got "sock it to em" and a perfect job he did in getting an energetic trout to the net in a hurry. Winding up with a 2/4 ratio of hooked to hand. Fair enough.
lessons learned... Takes the day from good to great!

"Young marks" a term Dylan started when he was in my pack... those lighter bigger spots that the younger fish have will be called "young marks" for ever.

Pump It Up

2011-02-20T05:15:00.006-07:00

Been pumping up the streamer box with a few cone heads... I am partial to the cone for some reason, and in the color of gold. I'm pretty sure that it comes down to balance. I don't want my wiggly streamers doing headstands everywhere they fall... They are a little head heavy so they can scoop food from the bottom but a pack as much led in to the middle of these flies as I can possibly get away with. As heavely dressed as some streamer's are with material, it still slows down the sink like the parachute of a skydiver... In other words the more lead you can get in it, the more material you can tie to the fly and thus giving you more freedom to vary your retrieves..

These flies are tied with the colors that I know, the colors that they know, on size 4, size 6, and I skip over 8 and go a size 10 for the double streamer rigs.

Often times leading with a small black one (which has a purple under body) and then I tail a bigger size 4 behind it. Nothin like a little game of chase, three fish deep!

I also play the light color game in a big way and I match it. A sunny day gets a sunny fly and a dark day gets a dark one... When those afternoon thunder storms roll in and the sky turns grey with stirring clouds... the grey ones light up my life!

Please forgive me if my photo is a little out of focus, I am not a photographer but a fly fisherman who may have things like water and mud on the lense of the camera. I gave it a lick and a wipe with my dirty finger, pulled the trigger.

Curtain Climber

2011-02-14T05:46:00.003-07:00

This One of my Streamers to entice a brown to eat one of it's own.

Curtain Climber is a name that a childhood friends father would call us kids as we ran in and out of the house. That's what little brown trout do, until they get reprimanded. I'm pretty sure He was just comparing us to a litter of wild kittens.

The Curtain Climber will work wonders in water with a large brown trout population.

I suggest researching when the eggs from the brown trout hatch in your stream and plan the Curtain Climber streamer accordingly..

If you need this pattern or tying instruction... Just lightly beat it out of me.

Utah.... You better watch it! (wiggle wiggle)

What's on Your Plate

2011-02-09T17:28:00.004-07:00

I received this news flash today regarding the fishy license plates for the state of Colorado.

Dang!
Greetings!
We are disappointed to report that House Bill 11-1034 to establish the 'Protect Our Rivers' license plate was defeated in the House Agricultural Committee. There were a variety of factors in play, but the bottom line was that several of the committee members did not want to see CTU become better funded.

At this point, we are considering options to modify the bill and bring it back at a later time, but it will not be in the 2010 legislative session. We would like to thank you for supporting CTU and the license plate bill by signing the petition.

If you would like to be informed of future updates, we encourage you to sign up on the CTU email list by clicking the link below.

Sincerely,

The Colorado Trout Unlimited Team

Colorado Trout Unlimited
1536 Wynkoop St.
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 440-2937

The Only Thing

2011-02-05T05:15:00.004-07:00

The only thing stopping me now is a great big giant wall of frozen water seeping a jelly of Ice razor blades.

This spot gets so cold that the bottom of the river gets taller with ice by the minute, If I were to try to fish and I have, My leader gets as thick as the butt of the rod. while under water even. Not worth it. I'll tell you what is though. That's making the trip to the river to see it like this, and just know that the fish are beside them selves with happiness in that cold water. There is enough little stuffs in there to keep their belly's round.

I wonder how much slush a fish eats in the winter?

Fine Then

2011-02-03T06:49:00.004-07:00

I'm Just going to tie some huge streamers!

The weather has been brutal to say the least and fishing is just out of the question. Been working over the streamer box Instead. As a way to get even so to speak, I'm going with big junk to make them chase, flies that nearly kill fish rather than sticky little stuff for the insect connoisseurs.

Steps:

1: Bead the hook and load the vise.

2: Tie in some brown or black marabou at the tail and add a small piece of rabbit strip to that tail.

3: Tie in a strand of silver wire.

4: Dub the body with something that looks and smells good.

5: wrap the wire ribbing

6: Tie another strip of rabbit to the top of the shank, trying to get the length to stop with the other piece of rabbit previously tied at the tail, but leaving room to work your deer hair.

7: Tie in a clump of white marabou as the throat.

8: Deer hair heads can give you a headache but the point of it is, to keep the fly upright and not spinning. Tie in a pinch of deer hair, tightening the wraps as you go. When you get it secure with 5 or 6 the run your thread through the butt ends of the hair fibers letting them fray and spin.

Tip: Keep your thread at the breaking point!

9: Whip it, half hitch it, glue it, or tie your thread in a a bow and then, Neatly trim the butt ends of the deer hair.

(note): If the space behind the cone is too big, (mine's pushing it) just add some Ice dubbing or something of th sort... I like the look of red Ice. It may resemble gills or a bloody wound from a previous attack.

10: Slap the bank, let er fall, wake it up, Wiggle wiggle.........

Fly Tying Tip

2011-01-31T06:11:00.004-07:00

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

2011-01-28T07:13:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-26T17:37:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-23T05:00:00.001-07:00

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

2011-01-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-01-20T17:27:00.005-07:00

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

2011-01-19T07:00:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-18T07:27:00.007-07:00

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

2011-01-16T17:08:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-16T07:19:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-15T05:14:00.004-07:00

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

2011-01-12T04:46:00.004-07:00

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

2011-01-11T14:36:00.002-07:00

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

2011-01-10T04:40:00.003-07:00

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?

2011-01-09T06:12:00.003-07:00

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

2011-01-08T04:02:00.006-07:00

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

2011-01-06T07:48:00.003-07:00

That about covers it for this morning

Whats In A Name

2011-01-05T06:35:00.004-07:00

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

2011-01-03T05:22:00.003-07:00

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.

Things to Resolve In 2011

2010-12-30T08:10:00.002-07:00

My new years resolution is going to be pretty simple this year. Mistakes that I know I made last year, mistakes that costed me fish. (no like)
These will also be promises to myself.
1- Use more 7x
2- Spot more fish
3- Spot more insects
4- Pinch more barbs
5- grease the leader more often
6- keep my fly line cleaner
7- 30 days on the Gunny with Big Blue
8- Get Craig on a big ass brown trout for a 20 minute heart pounding battle on 3x on the Gunny with a streamer. During the second half of the day when the fishing is slow. After the second wind is in full swing. Hooked on river right, by THE rock, and landed on river left. End a day with a cool pic and a high five. Dude, bro, man.

Santa Fly

2010-12-24T06:48:00.007-07:00

This fly has produced fish everywhere I have ever fished it.. (nowhere)

Merry Christmas Blogger's!
Hook: Size 8 200r

Feet: Black round rubber

Ankles: White 8/0 thread

Legs: Red flex floss

Belt: Black round rubber

Belt Buckle: Gold holographic tinsel

Waste: White Ice dub

Jacket: Red flex floss

Beard: White antron

Mustache: White ostrich

Hat: Twisted white stuff colored red all but the ball on the end.

Good weather!
If you didn't read it already, then click on the word "FISH" to head for Poudre Canyon Chronicles for a neat Holiday Poem.

Here is another one, "FISH" from Flytying New and old..

Macro Doodle

2010-12-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a tiny little sketch of a fly. I was on hold with one of those long dreadful "I hope you speak my language" calls.

In the doodle below there are exactly 20 light strokes of a regular bald point pen. I set a dime next to it as well as the pen and took a close up.

You should be able to click on the photo a time or two and look closer.

This Brown

2010-12-16T07:31:00.009-07:00

Tied me up in some fallen branches... Not once, but twice! I managed to get it undone both times and land it.

Video available in 720p

My release shots are going to be a bit different from now on. As soon as I figure out how to operate a new camera.

Blood Knot Or Surgeons.....Huh?

2010-12-11T07:07:00.002-07:00

I'm pulling the poll on the right side bar tomorrow morning. If you haven't voted yet please do so before then. If you have already voted, Thanks for contributing to the line of crap I'm about to feed you. Vote again if you want but its not going to count, this is the results post.

In one year there were 46 votes. A little disappointing really.

Blood knot: 30% of the voters clicked on Blood Knot. That's 14 people.

Surgeons knot: 65% voted for the surgeons knot and that's, 30 people

Huh?: 2 people clicked the huh? that's a whole 4%
"huh" is no place to stay.

Alright so lets discuss this a bit.
There might be some different names for the knot that you tie but really there the same style of in line knots. I tie the blood knot when working on my own rig. No matter where it is on the leader. I have a few general rules that I follow when using the knot, we'll get to those in a moment.
I have done strength tests on both the knots against each other in exactly the same conditions.
The first Test that I did was a simple one- Two 24 inch pieces of Rio nylon 5x, Tied in line, Two of each knot. I made a small loop on each end and treated that double overhand knot with loon UV knot sense. All four tied in room temperature and lubed with spit while dressing them down. I took two of the four and put them in the freezer overnight. Then I hung a fish weighing scale from the hook for hanging a bicycle mounted on the ceiling of my garage. I hung the frozen tippet with the surgeons knot on the scale and added an s hook to the loop on the other end. All of the hooks and are dipped in some kind of rubber from the factory, I like that there will be some cushion on these points during the test so that the line is less likely to break there.
Since they rate the line for 5lbs that's where I started. I hung 5lbs of weight from the s hook and watched it stretch... The frozen surgeons broke in less than a minute of just hanging there. It may have been closer to thirty seconds. This is when I realized the variable I was creating with time. I added a timer to the equation. The break was right on top of knot, where the line heads into the it. I repeated the process with the unfrozen surgeons knotted section. It held the weight but as I was adding to it, a very light bump of the weight made it drop to the ground. The break below the knot.

I then repeated the same process with the Blood knotted sections, They both held up to the 5 lbs and passed the one minute mark. Starting with the frozen on I added two, 2 ounce weights and the line broke 2 inched below the blood knot. The unfrozen section held three of the 2 ounce weights plus the 5 lb and broke right between the knot and the top loop.

That's about as accurate as I felt the test needed to be and honestly as accurate as I could get it. I'm no scientist, just a curious fisherman.

Now the other elements of the knots need looked at closer.
The surgeons knot is much easier to tie and may take less time to learn. How ever there are some drawbacks to this knot. It is larger in profile, which creates a little more drag. When tying it, all four tag ends (some small exceptions) must be free of flies so you can drop/push/pull or tongue them through the loop. Then while dressing the knot down, you have to keep an eye on the way that it tries to twist or it will weaken.

The Blood Knot is Harder for some to tie and takes a bit more time to learn. How ever, just like anything, with some practice it becomes habit and takes no more time than any other adjustment. Now I'm not trying to be partial towards the blood knot, I'm simply comparing them. When I look for drawbacks to the blood knot, there are few and are already listed above.
So looking closer at the benefits: Smaller profile, (less drag), Better strength, in warm and cold conditions. Now the real benefit to the blood knot and where it really compares well with the surgeons for me is, Let's say your carrying one rod, fishing a streamer... Now you want to nymph a run.
You clip off the streamer and tie a piece of tippet to that fat stuff the streamer was on, using what ever knot suits you.
You throw on a bead head nymph and add a trailing fly. All normal so far.
You nymph the run to pieces. You know there is a big ol brown living under the bushes. You clip off your nymphs at the "fat stuff" and tie your favorite streamer back on. Right before that you had to find a place for a piece of tippet with a split shot, a bead head, another piece of tippet and the trailing fly... Or would you take it all apart? You fish the streamer for a while and move to a spot where you see a group of spooky rainbows. Your first cast with the streamer scares the snot out of half the fish and the other half are looking a little edgy. Nymph time! You bite off the streamer and pull out your rig...

To that 65 % Good luck with all that.

Blood knot your working with the tag ends. You don't have to drop your flies through a loop three or four times.
http://bigerrfish.blogspot.com/2010/01/knots.html
Above is a link to how to tie these two knots and a few others.
Thanks again to the Contributor's of the poll or should we call it a pole?
I'm still tossing around the ideas for group of polls to hit the side bar. Watch for it when the knot one gone.

The Shadow Cast...

2010-12-08T05:14:00.001-07:00

I'm not one for embedding videos to my blog but I had to show you this Advanced fly casting video. A symbol to me that advanced means what ever you want it to. When It comes to fly fishing every time you make a change, it's an advance.
If you haven't seen it already then enjoy. Take what you need and leave the rest.

Advanced Trick Casting: The Shadow Cast from Jazz and Fly Fishing´s Jazzcam on Vimeo.

Working UpStream

2010-12-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

The following is an in depth look that will explain in great detail, how I learned to work a river from the bottom, upstream. Not necessarily For the reason of standing behind a fish.

Most of us work a stream, from downstream working up. We do this for our own reasons, what ever they may be.

As I began fly fishing I Had to stick to water that I knew. Growing up outside, on the river, programed like a homing pigeon, being loud and breaking rules. It all came naturally to me and it just felt right.

After getting in to some trouble with the law as a teen, the river Was a safe place to exert energy with little trouble, as long as I had a fishing license. Experiences in school left a chip on my shoulder when it came to authority. All of that made me weary when it came to crowds and fish cops.
I was afraid of fly shops. Overwhelmed really is the way to put it. All the names of all the flies selling for 2$ a piece. that big shiny rack of spendy rods. The conversations in the background, so distracting that I forgot why I walked in. Heck, I had a news paper route at the time and could hardly buy a leader and a bug. My rods came from my Grandfather who gave them to my dad. I guarded my gear with my life, for I wouldn't be able to replace it. I still have that little fear of shops in a way and still protect my gear, but consider the gear replaceable now. Protect it just because I don't want to get screwed while I'm on the water.

Being that the Shops had guide services that worked near the dam and Because of the numbers of fish, the dam is where they would send a customer, Made for an environment that I did not feel comfortable with. I struggled to find piece in a place like this. I went in to some kind of shell and hid out, way down river, miles and miles from any dam or easy access. Where the water is warm and murky, There are less fish. I would still get zoned out, just like I do now on the fish. I'd fish all day for one fish and have a smile that lasted a week. I would fish for 15 hours for one fish and come back the next day for revenge. Then again, I would have days that bettered 20 fish and/or land a 5 pounder, back then inches didn't matter. If it went past your elbow a ways then it was a 5er.

At this point in my life, I didn't know what a tail water was but knew for some reason there was a bunch of people who liked to fish in the canyon further up river. The water was colder and cleaner. I thought there might be more insects up there but I had it in my mind that I could do just as well down below. Plus I wouldn't see a person for days, sometimes weeks.

Hatches were so sporadic that It was nearly impossible to stay with it. I would carry two rods most of the time and fished streamers on one and drys on the other, I didn't know what a nymph was to speak of at the time other than a prince. My system was simple, Throw streamers at the bank until I saw fish jumpin. I would fish double elk hair caddis and stimulaters at that time, and that's it.

I was seeing these little yellow things a lot and the yellow stimmy wouldn't do it for me every time during the month of August. Turned out to be a yellow sally. The yellow sally is an example of the problems to come, one after the other... After a long two days on the river I had seen to damn many Yellow sallys and headed for the shop to find a match. It shouldn't be hard to match the thing, there were about 30 of them in my pockets. The Shop was sold out of any thing close to what I needed and Sally's were the talk of the valley for about a week. I finally got a chance to make the hour drive to a Cabelas store where I had a list to fill and yellow sally's were on the top. I found a dozen in the right size for 6 bucks and grabbed one. I had a float trip planned for the next day, before I even got home. Were gonna try these baby's out.

I didn't see a yellow sally for the rest of the year.

Bugs that I couldn't match were going away one by one. When I did match one it was too big but worked and burned another image in to my mind. The confidence began to build.
The streamer was always there to fill any holes. The streamer would also make a tough day pass by as I could get zoned out on various retrieves.

I started seeing mayflies that were more toward brown/copperish and around a size 18. The best I could do at that stage was a brown elk hair caddis. I would molest, pinch and pull the elk hair on the fly until it stood straight up. I got some takes on it and for the first time I knew that I was fooling a trout, plain and simple. I Fooled it and made it think it was one of those brown/copperish mayflies. It wasn't just a fish looking up and hitting things. It was one that was keyed into a specific situation, I stepped in the middle and interacted with the fish's feeding and fed it a fake insect.

Realizing that I couldn't keep making elk hair caddis into duns, I stopped by the fly shop that night and humbled myself in to asking what the hell I was seeing. They sold me a few big mayfly dries and sent me away. Thinking I had the match, I was headed for the river early the next day.

I didn't see Mayflies for month. Welcome to fly fishing.

I began to dig on the stream bed to find out what lived in a river. I found some stone flies and some other stuff but was under the impression that stones moved at night and the fish keyed in to the nymphs then or in the morning, I also found some dark green critters with a bright green belly and sticky legs and tail, this turned out to be a rock worm others may know it as a caddis worm. I caught a couple of them and went home and asked google what they were. Well I'll be darn there caddis. I learned how they crawl and when they hatch and all that stuff and was quickly fishing the entire life cycle of one insect. Imitating them headed for the surface with a soft hackle and an olive scud as the nymph. The streamer took a back seat while I played with, caddis stones and prince nymphs. I fished them with an indicator and only fished deep runs. Almost always setting my indicator 8 feet from my lead fly, I would target water that suited my rig. I began to learn that you could catch more than one fish in one run if the ones in front couldn't see what was going on. Now I could go out to a rock in the river and fish it for 3 hours and catch fish as they moved in to position.

I began to follow fishing reports and ask a lot of questions. One day the report read: Fishing is hot below the dam, Fish nymphs deep mid day and watch for caddis in the morning and bwo's in the afternoon. I spent the next two days trying to figure out what a Bwo was and which colors I needed to be carrying. I got 4 of them from the local shop in a size 16 and went out there to fish them with confidence...

I didn't see a Blue Winged Olive for a month!

The fishing reports kept my interest in learning basic flies and told me where I might catch fish with the flies that I have. My system then changed from fishing one or two waters with steamers and dries to fishing where the reports said the flies that I had accumulated would possibly produce. Again pretty simple. If SanJuans and Princes were hott on little blue then that's where I was and that's what I threw.

One little tail water became my favorite little spot, but I still wasn't used to the crowds. So I would enter the park and walk way down to the bottom of the boundary and work my way up while the majority would neatly line up near the dam. I was realizing that there were fewer fish down a mile from the dam than there was right up against it. That's why every one was up there.
I had to question How many fish I needed to have a good day. Well, I was only used to a few a day that I had to work hard for. So being near the dam I was already in more populated water.

I began to feel very comfortable fishing down lower in the park where there were fewer people and plenty of fish for me.

Over the course of a year I would cross paths with quite a few fishermen and Found most of them lack more social skills than I and would prove to be ass holes when It came to fish talk stream side. Is this sport egotistical like hunting is perceived? Is it where I live? I wanted to talk to every one I saw for a while, until I realized that more often than not, they didn't want to talk back. I grew silent.

I had the opportunity to meet some pretty nice guys that fish that water a lot. Now and then they would spill the name of a fly. I would work way to hard to get that fly in my box. A size 20 pheasant tail came up way too often. I stopped by the fly shop one night looking for size 20 pt's... I found some but they looked too small, so I got some 18's and fished them hard as I could the whole next day. I Took a hit on numbers I know now, but the pt hooked a couple of fish for me. I began to think of size matching, just as much if not more than what the bug looked like. For the simple reason that you can't buy flies that look just right, but you can get the size.

I began to tie.

I love the challenge of the tail water and Like spotting fish in cleaner water but when I want to fish the lower river... It can get a bit out of control because I have put my time in there, I can almost will them on to the line.

I now believe that it's not the hatch or the fly that dictates weather or not your going to hook up, It's where your mind has been and where it is, it's what you have learned about fish, not bugs.

This whole process falls true weather you working a 15 foot run or 35 miles of river.
What goes on way down river. Some my never know if they're working upstream. I guess its where you start.

If You Cant beat Em... Join Em

2010-12-03T08:42:00.006-07:00

Here are some eggs I have been working on for that situation where I'm feeling defeated and need to get the skunk gone. Winter tail water seems to be the place for that, for a quite a few years in a row I have found myself stuck in situations that called for and egg.

I know there are a million different ways that anglers feel about eggs and to tell you the truth, I don't yet know just where I stand on the issue. I'll I can say is the egg worked before when nothing else did.

Now from a tiers point of view, they don't have enough pheasant tail fibers mixed in and beads sound like a bit of a cheat. The little bead eggs in the photo actually do take quite a bit of bench time.

First I wind some white thread where the bead is going to go and tie it off, then I stand a little bump of superglue on top of the thread, as its setting, I place the hole of the bead on the superglue bump, let it set then pretty much weld the bead to the hook with two more coats.

Feel me in... how do you feel about eggs?

Cheating as a tier? Is there really such a thing as an egg pattern? Other than the way they fall out of a fish.

Cheating as an angler?

A brilliant idea for those tough situations?

Low light photo.

Midgemans's Bug Does It Again

2010-12-02T21:20:00.003-07:00

It's not the first time and I know it won't be the last.
Today, link>Green Thing Midge made my day in a big way.

I awoke to a sliver of a moon and crystal clear skys. One inhale through my nose and I realize I'm going fishing!

First one there on a not too crowded Thursday, I walk.

First I look around to see if I can spot that bird that has been gettin fat on trout. A giant bald eagle that flies low and just loves to scream when he's right over your head; to scare the pants off ya. I didn't see him but I did spot some nice comfortable trout feeding below the bridge crossing.
This bridge is perfect for spotting trout that you cant see from the ground, then going after the ones that suit your ability. From the bridge I spot about 8 trout 7 of which are very active and 2 larger fish feeding above a pair of boulders. Right away I want to try that link>Leisenring Lift, Induced take< deal on the two in front of the rocks.
Loaded with a #20 Go2 prince as the lead fly and some Rs2 jobber trailing behind, I struggle for a minute trying to get the weight right and not spook em. I finally get them to lift up and hit the fish in the nose, almost...
They weren't having those bugs but I couldn't give up on them just yet. This fly deserves its fair, worthy, chance on the tailwater along with it's little boy duke. I target a few of the smaller fish and succeed. Peering in the mouths of two of them there appears to be some kind of shiny green flakes in there. The fish are munching on the trailing fly, but running from the prince. This becomes fact and I sit down for a change. Leading off with a 20 pt and trailing a Green Thing Midge.

Armed and dangerous I head back up after those two in front of the rock.

Looking down river, I think I should pick on the one on the left first and pull him over all kidnapper style away from the other one and maybe have a shot at both. My first lift thing didn't work out and I spooked the fish. When my fly came rocket speed up and across his face, he moved around a little bit and they may have even switched places perhaps, something weird happened right then that's all I know. I make another slide down of my bugs, let the waters tension gently take the line and push the bugs up... Right in the chin.

The commotion scared the crap out of the other one, but it's all good!

Later in the day I had to cross the bridge again, I stopped to take a look... Guess who was home?..
Mr. ChinSlap... There he was just eating away. There was also a gentleman sitting there messing with his rig. He says to me... "that's a nice fish layin there aint it?" I reply, "yep there's a couple of them laying there." He says "He's a smart one, I just cant get him off the bottom." I turn my grinning face and hit the trail.
From that point on they came from far and wide to chow on that little bug, I was amazed! I only had four of them tied and never fished them with confidence before. Two of them are in the bill of my hat with shattered beads. One went to "where the hell is my fly", and the one I had tied on at the end of the day, I gave to a guy named Larry, the rig still tandem'd up with the Pheasant tail. I wonder how Larry did with a pt and a green thing?

After all that jazz I look at my watch and I have 15 minutes to make a 30 minute drive. Yikes! Plus I have all of 10 minutes to walk to the truck. yep I'm late. I relax and walk fast, reflecting on every little drift, sink, mend, look, take and battle.

I managed to take some photos of some mule dear while walking back.

Green Thing Midge rocked my world!

Fishing With Andy and Happy Birthday Bigerrfish Blog

2010-11-27T09:05:00.001-07:00

Today is the birthday of my blog. It seams like its been longer than that, I want to thank all of the readers of my blog. THANK YOU! I also, want you all to know, that when you to visit the blog, be prepared to come along on a journey of a day of fishing. I strive to write in such a way that a fly fisher on any level can in some way, relate to. I have met a few good friends and learned one thing or another from every blog that I follow. When I first started up, I figured I could speak my mind and show off some fish. That very quickly turned to, Learning all that I can from reading fishing related posts. Because most involve recent experiences that are fresh in the writers mind, there is even more to be learned. That being said, My writing is a result of what I have learned and what I am learning... Let's get to the Fishing! A few of you might know of a site called KYNDoutdoors.com. It's Colorado based, owned and operated by a guy that has nothing to do with the "industry". His site is souly based on fun and fly fishing, with a little kayak talk to go along. Anyone can sign up for free and then post pictures and comment on photos. The site is user friendly and a great place to come and see what other people have accomplished with there fly rods. You should stop in, just to see what goes on in Utah. (localwaters). There is also a little points race that gets kinda fun. Andy and I met on his site and talked fishing for almost two years. Black Friday, he made a trip to my place and we headed for the tail water. 15 degrees at best the sun was our only hope and it shined bright all day. When we arrived at the stream, things looked pretty quiet, silent in fact. The silence was sharply broken my the scream of a Bald Eagle, flying up and down the river. The eagle was there for all the same reasons as us and had the smarter bigger fish on edge. Looking for holding areas with cover, we slowly work the water, moving upstream. Reluctant to release my flies from there holding position on the guides, Andy makes a few casts to a shallow run that shelved off to about 4 feet deep. Nothing at first but pulled a fish toward the bottom of the run. With no cooperation from the sun, fish are difficult to spot early morning. Moving upstream is a good call and I began to walk slow as Andy finishes off the run he's in. As I stand and observe the river, I decide to throw a cast straight out in front of me. Thinking there could be something tucked under the far bank. My first cast sucked but I fished it anyway. I realized that my rig was a bit too heavy for this spot and need to adjust something or walk on up. With cold hands the adjustment I made was to let my flies snag on the bottom then just pop them loose and let it happen again. I finally got one to go along the far bank and stacked a little line. The flies stuck to the bottom three times but that third time wasn't the bottom.

what a way to start the day huh? Andy got a great release shot of this trout on its way home. Working up the river, the fish became more plenty, to say the least, we were both quite busy for a while.

As the day grew long, we made the call to leave the place and head down river, to a private section that some really nice people own. I knew there was a shot for Andy to get decent brown. A goal for the both of us.

The water a bit colder and the air warmer, the fish are probably going to be deep. Trading off and working up, I managed to hook a fish that was big enough that I couldn't keep it off the far bank as it drove me in there like a truck and unbuttoned the fly. Lot's of snaggers in here were making it hard to stay stealthy but on our last hole as the sun was setting... Andy was rewarded by this healthy, wild, class A brown trout. It was just great to spend the day, in the happiest place on earth, with someone who just wanted to do what we do.

Snowed In

2010-11-18T07:03:00.001-07:00

Awaking to the sound of bugs flying around in my head. I look towards the morning sky, in hopes of stars.

A bright overcast lights the sky and the flurries begin. Temperatures are reading high 20's as the morning breeze begins to whistle. Dawn arrives, the Snow flakes grow, the wind, tamed by the snow, comes to a halt, and a beautiful blanket begins to form on the earths floor.

Today is a work day!... Unless it snows a bunch, then my brother in-law and I are both looking for something to do.

I get the call about 7 or 8 a.m. that my brother in-law has a snow day and won't be reporting for work today. I send him over for a cup of coffee and began a plan in my head, a plan of how to drag him out in the snow to fish.

As we stand and marvel at the size of the flakes, we begin to wonder how we could kill some time. I watch his eyes wonder toward the PlayStation. I quickly intercepted his mind and said, "wanna go catch a trout?" His eyebrows went up and he asks, "In this?" I said "nope, in these" and hold up my loaner pair of waders.

Rigging up like we were going to fish in the yard, we loaded up and headed for some easy access hot winter fishing.

We arrive at the river to find the snow coming down at double the pace and each flake twice the size. The temperature is do-able but the water is cold. One fly rod is enough for two guys to have a good time in here and That's is how we did it. Craig is up first and we need to get that skunk gone real quick. Fishing two flies, one that will work for sure and the other, just an experiment to see if they will take a generic bug tied well with red Ice dub.

It only took about three drifts to get rid of the skunk, and Craig was super happy to fish the 4wt Scott rod and land a fish in the snow.

It starts to come down harder and harder, so hard in facts that, I have to switch his indicator from white to orange because we cant see much past 10 feet away.The weather is perfect, the smiles are big, and the boys are happy.

We walk up a little bit and Craig gets a hold of two more trout.

Then, his cell phone rings... You know how weird that sounds at 8:30 in the morning, in the snow, in the middle of the river? I'm fine with it and figure it will only be a minute, as he tucks the rod under his arm. I instinctively snatch the rod at rest.

I remove the indicator and peel out some line. Carefully deliver it 10 feet ahead of the sweet spot. Make three snappy, mends, raise my arm and wait for the J. The J is the slightest curve in the butt section of my fly line.

The J forms, and the music starts. Craig's conversation got a little interrupted during this escapade. This fish was pretty large for the 7x tippet and honestly larger than I thought we would find in a place so local.

I begged and pleaded to the fish to be on my experimental pattern but it was not, hooked just barely in the bottom lip. The fish did not give up easily and actually I missed it with the net the first time, it took off and I had to do it all over again. Got some photo's and on we went.

Check out the dorsal fin on this trout!
A perfect mark, for a challenge to catch it again.

Moving up to a place with much different current and a depth, I adjust for it and begin to look for fish as my partner makes drifts. The river bottom is made up of half clay and half river rock. That means food for fish in the river rock , we might as well leave the flies off of that slick shell like stuff, because the fish don't like to hang out around it. If a fish swims over a piece of this clay, it sticks out like a smashed thumb.

I then spot a flash come across a vein in the clay and call out to Craig that there's a decent brown down here and it a eater. After the first attempt at this fish Its obvious that the fly isn't getting down in time, a one foot adjustment to the indicator and another chunk of shot is all that is needed to hook the fish after just two tries.

The snow didn't stop but once all day and neither did the fish.

That is how to fish on a work day.

Just A Worm, 101 and Info

2010-11-16T06:09:00.004-07:00

This is post # 101 for me and not a one of them talks of anything but fishing.

I'll leave you with a worm that came out of my vise. I most likely won't fish this fly
but could give a 100% guarantee that you might catch a fish with it.

This worm will out perform a traditional night crawler, or salmon egg's

Hook- Its a worm so just about any hook will be fine. One with some curve is better.
The Rest- Ultra Chenille and three glass beads, a dab of ice dub to cover the joint.

Easy one!
Grab up your glass beads in sizes to fit 18 and larger hooks from your Wal-mart craft section, were talking like 2 bucks for a lifetime supply.
Why your there, grab up a pack of foam sheets, be careful not to get sticky back ones. Before you leave look over the bead storage boxes and find a cool container to keep your hooks in, most of the bead boxes are designed, not to spill.