FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors

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We have been doing mountain stuff.  We ended up getting a basically free trip to Estes Park to scope out some elk and see the rest of the park we did not see years ago when we were there.  How the world has changed.  You had to make a timed reservation to join a few thousand of your closet’s friends.  But that is the way it is going, we are loving are parks to death.  (So quit proposing to sell any public lands.  We need what we have and it is a legasy that would be forever lost when sold to corporations and friends of donors of the folks proposing it.)

No Better Time in the Mountains

The Aspens are a lot farther along north of here.

The Aspens are a harbinger of winter and with it comes the great colors.  It is cooler 5 hours north of here but ours will be happening soon.  And with that is the wildlife on the move.  And never forget the mule deer, on the short trip to the park we had 2 smaller mule deer bucks cross the road probably looking for love.  But up there the elk are hard at it.

Our first bunch of cows.

Right outside Estes Park proper this bunch of elk were close to the road so we stopped with a few other folks to watch.  Turned out they had a boyfriend and he was no downstream bull.

Then this boy reared his head.

Awesome to get to watch them.

Then he finally got nervous with folks watching him.  

That is what I thought at first but looking at the pictures I am not sure this is the same bull.  The first one has some mass, this guy not so much.  According to that I have read there is often a hard bull, then maybe a satellite bull, and this guy just might be it but the Boss says it was the same one..  But no matter, great to watch all of them.  Elk are one big cool animal.

My skills were never do justice to the mountains.

Going completely through the park is something.  Above the tree line to the tundra, huge canyons and lush valleys go on for miles.  There was snow way up on some mountains and there was big chill in the air.

These girls were way out there.

This bunch of cows were way out there and they were headed to the woods off to the right.  Finally a bull came out after the cows went to the right and if I was guessing it was also a satellite bull, but still a nice one.  All of a sudden, he took off running to the right away from the cows so who knows, but fun to watch all the same.

And of course he was close by.

I wanted to see the river so we took a short hike to see what it was like.

The Boss on our short hike to see the river.

The Colorado River way up in the mountains.

It was definitely the type of water I prefer to fly fish in.   Small pools and runs, easy wade and absolutely stunning views.  And best of all it was quiet.  In the area of the park there is tons of streams to fish and now I have a clue next trip the fly rod will be in play.  We just had a half day in the park this trip, but it was free.

When it comes down to it the drive itself through the Rockies is just to cool to not enjoy.  Great old mining towns, critters, and views just to spectacular to believe.  Yellowstone is next but I sure hope to get back to Estes.  Stopped at a tackle store and he was really helpful, I am a tackle store junkie.  Once he learned I like the small stuff in the woods he turned me on to an out of the way creek that produces 20 – 40 fish a day with no traffic.  Places like that still exists and it is on the list.  The trip was a success and the Boss is looking at Yellowstone lodging as I write this.  But I know one thing for sure, no one day trip there, 4 or 5 days might get it.

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Park Rules for Tourons

1.  Why the hell would you drive from California, Vermont and everywhere else and then speed through the parks?  We see more and more of this wherever we visit.
2. Animals are not just standing there waiting for you.  They can be very hard to see, and you have to look if you want to see them, much less all of the good stuff our parks have to offer.
3. See Rule number 1.

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Insane Turkeys

Turkey Fight!

Other than a couple here and there the turkeys as usual were gone for the summer.  Just last week they started to show back up.  Some toms first, then a few hens.  In a few days around 20 appeared and it took another day or two for them to spend time together.  Then all hell broke lose in the backyard..

Trying to bite his head off!

I do not profess to know anything about turkey interactions, but when we looked out the window the battle was on.  They were fighting, chasing each other and acting super aggressive.

It was mass chaos.

The boys tail feathers were looking a little rough.

Not sure what the problem was, but clearly the big boys were fighting what looked like some first year jakes but there were hens involved.  The hassle went on for almost 10 minutes in the backyard and continued as they went along the hillside.  Fall is here and there will be many more to come as they spend all winter here.  Not sure if the question of who is the big boss was settled but can’t wait to see what is coming this winter.  And by the way, there is some snow on some of the higher elevations and our turn is coming.

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Rocky Mountain High

The Boss hangs with the hiking club that goes on hikes 2 days a week.  I fish then but she is learning so much more about the area.  Where they went on this hike is not that far from an area we spend lot of time in.  One thing about the real woods, the road goes on forever and the party never ends.

Above 12,000.

An alpine lake on the Continental Divide Trail.

And lucky dog on the way up they had a big bull moose cross the road in front of them.  She always comments on animals crossing about how they are able to “disappear” when they hit the wood line.

Think you are in good shape?  Hike back down!  

The Boss:  “Just a little hike today with fellow hikers. We got up to 12200 ft after about 2 miles of incline from the trail head, some of it was the Continental Divide Trail. It was spectacular!”

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General Outdoor Stuff

My condolences to the families of the missing hunters in our area.  2 young experienced out of state hunters were missing for a week.  After a weeklong huge rescue mission their bodies were found 2miles from their car (All their stuff was in the car.) at the trailhead.  No real information except no outward injury so an autopsy will be done Monday.  It is a real mystery with a sad ending.   Until Monday just no way to figure out what could have possibly happened but the one factor that might have been an issue was that night, we had a real monster storm with tons of big lightning and thunder that shook the house.  These mountains are stunning but you can never forget where you are.

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That is it for today.  The weather here is fantastic and I continue to fish and the Boss keeps hiking.  Some moves we make are for work, money, family and a host of other reasons.  In our case it was to spend our retirement in the woods and we could not have made any better choice if we tried.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines