Video from my Colorado Fly Fishing trip

Here's a short video with some highlights.  We were in some astoundingly beautiful country.  Didn't catch a lot of fish, but we had a great time.  I hope you enjoy the video.

Colorado Fly Fishing - Day 3

Well, today was a great day.  We went with a guide up to Big Blue Creek, North of Lake City.  The day started with some instruction and stream ecology education.  Our guide, Doug, was very thorough.  The bite just wasn't on for the first couple of hours.  It had been cloudy and a little rainy all week prior to our fishing today.  But there was not a cloud in the sky today, and the trout were very, very spooked.  Eventually the bite turned on and we started getting strikes.  Zac, Drew and I managed to put about a dozen fish on the line.  They were all brook trout.  Wild brookies tend to be very small in this stream, so the real thrill is making a presentation with a fly that won't spook them, that looks natural, and that doesn't end up in a tree behind you.  Watching the fish hit at your fly is such a thrill, especially when you are working so hard at presenting that fly just right.  Here are a couple of photos I took with my iphone.  Our guide took more, and I'll post those as soon as he emails us.

[caption id="attachment_256" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Brook Trout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_257" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Drew working with Doug, our guide"][/caption]

Colorado Fly Fishing Day 2

The boys and I hit it today.  We went to a high country creek near some small lakes. We thrashed the water for hours.  A little rain, then sunshine, then again, rain. Zac was the only one who connected with a fish all day.  Tomorrow we're going to go to Big Blue Creek.  It's a small stream at an altitude of approx. 10,500 feet.  We did see some interesting wildlife.  Here are some pics.  Hopefully my next post will feature a lot more fish.

Zac with a Brook Trout

This is where we fished today

Bull Moose Eating Some Weeds in the Water

A Young Mule Deer

Zac and Drew

Colorado Fly Fishing

Today I left Dallas with my oldest son and drove straight through to Lake City, Colorado.  Today was just about driving.  The closest we did to fishing was to stop along the way and purchase our 5 day fishing licenses.  It was a great drive, and really great to se my youngest when we got there.  He's been staying in Colorado all summer.  Here are a couple of pictures from our drive.  I'll post more each day for the next three days.

From a Scenic Overlook in the Middle of Ratton Pass

[caption id="attachment_233" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The Rio Grande River, About Twenty Miles From It's Headwaters"][/caption]

Getting Ready for Colorado

My trip to Southern Colorado is just around the corner.  I'll leave Dallas August 10 with my oldest son and we'll drive straight through to Lake City.  Then we'll fish and hang out for a few days.  Here are some flies I've been tying.  One is a Parachute Adams (size 12) and the other is a parachute Royal Wulff (also size 12)

New Ponds and Fishing with my Son

The other day I tried a new pond close to my house. Not much was biting, but it was a really beautiful evening, and I managed to photograph this awesome sunset.

This evening I went fishing (abandoned the fly rod and broke out the conventional tackle) with my son at the youth camp where he works. We were fishing with Shrimp, which I don't remember doing since I did it with my own father more than twenty years ago. I was really surprised at what we caught. Zac caught a couple of catfish (yellow cats). Nothing too big, though. He has been catching 6-8 pounders with his boss out here at the camp. Then he caught a largemouth Bass on a piece of shrimp. I have never sen that before! It was about a 1 - 1.5 lb. fish. Later, I also caught a few small yellow cats, and then I caught a nice Crappie on shrimp as well. Again, this was a first for me. We had a good time, and I think we're going to hit it again in the morning.

Fishing at the Youth Camp

I went out to a friend's ranch-turned-youth camp early yesterday morning to cook breakfast for about 100 campers.  My son son and wife both work at the ranch and it's fun to volunteer when I can.

After cooking the eggs, I made my way down to the pond to see if I could hook up with a few fish.  I was about to catch a couple on a briminator (actually, it was briminator-ish, not the true pattern).  Stopped by Bass Pro Shop on the way home to pick up a leader, then went fishing again in the evening on another pond.  Hadn't been fishing in several days.  It felt good to get back out.