FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
“SAVE OUR WATERS”
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The Best Wading System on the planet.
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Sorry for the late report but I updated the word processing program on my computer and it is just plain hard to teach an old dog new tricks so here we go.
Before telling you about the fishing I want to compliment our guide. We met Kent Anderson for our trip at Kirk’s Fly Shop in downtown Estes Park. You never know when you hire one, as an example Peru, terrible, Costa Rica, top notch. In this case he was topnotch, one of the best guides I ever fished with. He took 2 neophytes and put them on wild trout under less than ideal conditions. And if you ever get to Estes Park stop in the store, great owner with all the stuff you might ever need.
The Boss with a rainbow.
We were fishing the Big Thompson River outside of Estes Park. It is a tributary of the Platte and was the best open water around. The river was way down in flow rate, about 15% of the level Kent likes, and clear as a bell. As you can see from the picture above it was not very far across and the fish were spooky. Filled with cool little runs and pools, it was in a pretty setting at the bottom of a canyon. Kent was patient and really did teach us how to catch wild trout in about an hour. I have taken 2 classes, and fly fished several times, but he taught me more today than I learned all those other times combined. He is a real pro.
This style of fishing is considered technical. Close roll casts to tight runs, many with less than 5 feet of promise land, it all had to be right. We were using a nymph and egg combo with a couple of spilt shot and an indicator. It was critical to get the drift just right, and many of the strikes were nothing more than a twitch of the indicator, you had to be on your toes.
Nancy with one on and Kent doing his guide thing.
One thing I will give those trout they can be tricky. It took the Boss a few misses until she invariably got the hang of it, and once she did she started catching them. I did ok, I think it was 6, and with a little more experience would have been a few more. We caught rainbows, cutbows, and browns thanks to Kent. He really stressed doing in all right and concentrating on what we were doing. I often say that in fishing it is the little things that make the difference at the end of the day. It is no truer than in fly fishing.
Of course there was an ulterior motive, putting the Boss on fish. She has been successful on both her outings and I think she is really starting to like it, of course what is not to like where wild trout are caught? And of course there is a real side benefit to me, she will come along with me. So there are definitely more trout in our future, and with a little more experience it will be off to catch a bonefish.
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The new Knockin Tail Lures are coming soon. Now I am really excited.
And finally I wanted to let you know a little more about Kent. He has been guiding for over 14 years in some great places, including northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and Bristol Bay Alaska. He also guides backcountry camping, guided hiking and horse/lama trips, and snow shoeing trips. Want to do something great in the outdoors he is your man. So if you are ever in the area stop in Kirk’s Fly Shop and they will hook you up. The area is beautiful and he will put you on some fish in one of the most beautiful places on this earth.
Often catching is the reason for the season, but in this case it was the total package. Beautiful scenery, great river, and we learned a ton. Kent told Nancy several times while she was fighting a fish to turn around and look at where she was. So true! Not sure how a day of fishing could be any better. It was nice to get out of my comfort zone and learn/do something different. And to get to share it with the Boss made it extra special. Plus I now know how lucky I was to catch that bunch of browns the first couple of days, the blind hog thing.
Sorry the links and picture size are somewhat wonky but still trying to work my way through the new word processor. A computer guru I am not by any stretch. But a little practice and all will be well soon. Next I will get up all the wildlife pictures we took in the park, we got some awesome shots if I must say so myself. Overall the timing on this trip could not have been better.
There is so much more that should be said but you get the point. Next up I plan to be on the water Wednesday and Thursday. A couple of days to recover from the long drive and I will be good to go. With the Austin Boys coming in a couple of weeks there will be a couple of days on the salt with them. And I am getting the heavier fly rod out and heading to the creek for a day of trying to catch a red or trout. Just what I need another fishing method, but hey, never wanted to be a one trick pony and as I get older I appreciate being in the outdoors so much more. The fish are just the icing on the cake. So thanks for your patience. Keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
GOOD LUCK AND TIGHT LINES
