FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My CoastOutdoors
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Tucker Ponds
Unfortunately, the last 4 days I have been sick. Today (Tuesday) I got the Boss to drive me to Tucker Ponds just to get off the couch. 2 small ponds it is regularly stocked and fun to fish as they are cooperative. Combined with the ongoing bug hatch it is a great place to have fun with a dry fly.
Small but who does not like one on the first cast.
A small one on my first cast confirmed it was a dry fly kind of day, that and about a million bugs on the water getting eaten. I ended up fishing about 1 1/2 hours and caught a few.
This is way more like it. Fun on the 3wt.
Not being a fly fisherman obsessed with the names of flies one broke me off, so I tied on a bigger dry and ended up catching a couple of nice ones. One thing that was interesting that day was the water was so clear I could see the refusals. Funny how some would eat right away, others just thumb their nose at it.
The only other “good” one was a jumper.
While we were there the truck pulled up and offloaded a thousand. The Boss was talking to them, and they said that would probably be it for the rest of the year. The lake was down some, and it has been so hot the moss it starting to take it over. Just another consequence of our ongoing drought.
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Myasthenia gravis
MG is a is a rare, chronic autoimmune disorder involving your nerves and muscles. To make a long story short it messes up muscles and nerves, is incurable, and it just a real pain in the ass. But what makes mine tough is it never goes away, some days are just better than others. Exertion on my part often has a price to pay, which might be a tough day, or 5 tough days, which is what happened after a trip out of town. I was down for about 5 days and one of them was the worst yet. Today I walked a mile and a half with the Boss so hopefully no repercussions tomorrow. That is what makes this so hard, you just never know. (Note: I have now walked 4 days in a row and other than the pain later not to bad. Maybe the medication change we just made is going to help.)
My regular doc is leaving, and my case will be transferred to a new more specialized neurologist who my doc says can better handle my “Difficult” case. He said he doubted the new resident was quite ready to handle me. Ain’t that special! It just gets old after a while, but the only choice is to take it a day at a time. We did do a slight medication change so it will be a few days until any changes may happen.
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I Might Be Laid Up, but the Boss is Rocking On
The Boss has been so lucky to find the hiking club. These folks are serious and 2 groups go out a couple of days a week. One does a lot of “bushwacking” and are a little more hardcore. The group she goes with is led by our neighbor who has been doing this for 25+ years. And not only does she hike but she is a big 4-wheeler person and literally knows the area like few others. The hike they went on this day was almost 6 miles but above 12,000 feet. As you can see in the picture below that is the tree line where the high mountains take over. Trust me, for a bunch of retired folks they can sure walk the walk.
The Boss and her gang of “old folks”. Think you are in shape? Try over 12,000 feet at the tree line in the Rockies.
Moose on the loose. They scored on the wildlife.
Not only did they see this moose but on the way up they scored. They saw another moose with a calf, a mule deer with a little one and an elk with 2 calves. A paradise to raise their young, no wonder you do not see more of them at lower elevations.
Tons of wildflowers up high. Food for the critters.
She said the area was full of blooming wildflowers. No wonder the animals head that way. A couple of miles high, plenty of grub, and only the occasional visitor.
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No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Of course, we love fire and EMS folks, been there and done that. South Fork is beyond lucky as the FD here is super qualified in all areas, in fact some are out in California right now. These folks are the real deal and with the fires around we take comfort knowing they are here whether fire, rescue, or ambulance. So, when it was time for the annual fish fry to raise money folks come from around the area and they fed hundreds and hundreds. See my plate below? That is $20 worth of fish.
That would be $20 worth of catfish.
2 small pieces, you can tell these folks are not really big fish eaters or at least are not experienced fish fry folks. That is like the appetizer, but the food was good and as usual we spoke with some interesting folks. Turned out our lunch mate was on the crew in Yellowstone with folks we met there putting the wolves in. Small world.
But no big deal, it is the best $20 I have spent on the government in a long time. Last year we stood in line with one of the board members and he told us they have plenty of money, maybe this is why? All kidding aside thanks for keeping this small town safe. (And I appreciate the ambulance ride, we didn’t crash.)
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Lake City
About 70 miles from here we love to drive there occasionally, today we had a plan. (See below.) We have seen some great stuff on that drive, but it is a little different right now. The wildlife is keeping a low profile as thousands of folks descend on the mountains for what looks like will be a long crazy July 4th week. The river and creeks are way down, though still fishable with a fly rod but it is going to be a long summer this year on the water. And folks come here for the offroad ATV riding, which is giving me a case of ATV envy. But if you stay in the woods long enough the critters will appear.
The Momma Boss ewe.
While we see plenty of sheep in the winter there are still a few who come to the water on the river. But we rarely see a big ram this far down this time of year. But I love seeing them no matter the gender.
We see this bunch occasionally.
I have really gained an even greater appreciation for Bighorns and look forward to early winter when the rut is on. Love seeing them banging heads and harassing ewes.
The antlers are growing.
While not a great shot it is indicative of what the mule deer got going right now. Living in an area that is loaded with wildlife it is so interesting to observe the comings and goings. Right now, not a turkey to be had when just a few months ago we had hundreds. And while just a few weeks ago it was all does, they have disappeared, I assume to have their babies and the bucks have arrived velvet and all.
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TEXANS
Like many cool places we have visited there is always someone from somewhere that folks resent. Here it seems to be a draw between Texas and California. But folks here appreciate the business that comes with the summer Texans and visitors from the state. But things do happen that just can’t be excused, and we saw that a couple of days ago.
We headed to Lake City to see if San Cristobal had any water in it and the ramp situation, which turned out to be all good, unlike some other areas of Colorado. We then decided to make the loop around the lake and see if any moose were out and about. After passing the dock there was a metal sign flashing to keep your windows rolled up due to a real increase in bear activity. Which unfortunately with this drought will be an ongoing issue this year. But I digress, the point is there are currently 4 major fires in Colorado with 3 firefighters losing their life.
As we eased down the road a small black car with some color on the fenders (The kind the kids like.) speed up behind us and we let them pass. It had Texas plates and then the stupid POS held his arm out the window with a cigarette in his hand. You have to be a complete incompetent moron or out of touch to not know what is happening here. There are constant reports, signage, you name it extreme fire danger is the issue right now. Combined with our high winds it is flat dangerous.
Colorado is a tinder box, homes are burning, lives are being lost. Trust me we are watching our area with bated breath, including getting a jump bag ready just in case. We are stage 2 fire restrictions which even includes a ban on smoking outdoors much less any fire of any sort plus shooting any guns. So good luck to us and Colorado, this is a sad state of affairs, and it is only getting worse.
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Unfortunately, the water level on the Rio has dropped to the point where floating is over, maybe for the year. Too bad as the rafting companies and fishing guides make much of their income in a few short months and unless we get some stunning rain it is over. One of the guides I know says it will be walking/wading trips for the rest of the season but that is not quite the same thing. And with that comes the possibility of the water temp really increasing making it tough on the trout which is generally covered by a no fishing after noon. Good thing there are plenty of lake around here to keep you busy.
And on another note, there is a valley with a beautiful stretch of the Rio that looks so inviting. So, I inquired at a local tackle shop about what they knew about it. Several of the large ranches here have a day fee for fishing and I was interested in maybe giving it a go. But no go, it is owned by a rich rancher and the only way to fish the river is hire the stores guides at their daily rate and then pay the rancher $150 a head on top of the guide service fee. (Give or take a $1k by time you are done.) Since it is on the Rio way above where we live, I am sure the fishing is really good but as far as big fish no chance. The real point of this is how the rich are buying up the west and closing it off parcel by parcel.
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That will do it for the weekend. My life has improved quite a bit this last week, hopefully that trend will continue. But hey I am 72 and still upright and taking nourishment. We will be headed out of town overnight for a good meal and some adult fun. So whatever you do be safe and enjoy the 4th. Hopefully there will be some serious lake fishing next week so keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
