Freshies In Summit 28Dec13

I finally got to Summit for some skiing over the holidays. Only fair snow overall but Sunday was good. I headed to Keystone Outback and hiked & skied North & South Bowls in the new stuff. It was fun... Keystone gives good tree. Kala came and we caught up with Matt and Ortons for at least some nice dinners at Tuscato and Hearthstone. He skied WP and Breck with his friends so hopefully got a good shot of gravity before needing to head back to paradise.

Christmas Tree Fishing 26Dec13

The crowds on the PT were significant. Here's a shot of nine guys over 1/4 mile. The weather was gorgeous (not even a coat) and some midges were coming off but the big ones were deep and the holes were mostly occupied. I caught some fish on the Electric Blue Freak Show but smaller 14 inchers; the guy doing best was the distant orange-coated bait-slinger who was killing his catch; he landed three decent ones from a deep run that I saw. I came home early to fish on our Christmas tree and had better luck and better vibe.

Merry Christmas - Electric Blue Freak Show 25Dec13

With respect for the Blue and Arkansas tailwaters in winter I crafted the Electric Blue Freak Show midge last year. It works in Silverthorne and Pueblo. This is a flashy blue-green emerger midge in #22 and #24. This year's variant incorporates quick descent metal dubbing in a mix of teal + purple rather than the previously used superfine. I "always" dub the thorax about the same size as the bead. The rest is the same: black glass bead head on #2488 hook, black thread, blue-green mirrored mylar, xs copper wire overwrap, small sparse antron emerger wing (1/3 of strand). I hope to use it this week again for winter whoppers. I'm gettin' a little better with the macro lens setup too. Merry Christmas fishermen.

Days of Beer & Fishes 16Dec13

As we imbibed in copious bombers, ate well on kale & tuna, shared secrets from Gierach & Engle, viewed fisherman hauling in lifetime bests, we regaled the fine season with great friends and and contemplated plans for 2014.

Sliding Into Winter 14Dec13

The fishing was noticeably slower but still good on the Arki tailwater in the warmer weather respite after the bitter cold snap. Tactics changed to mostly midges and with that I broke out the electric blue freak show emerger which produced some nice fish. I like blue and purple in the winter - seems to match the season nicely. There were quite a few fishermen on the river, including some spin dudes and bait slingers, so I did not get to fish some of the prime lies out of Valco Ponds. The bigger ones are deeper again in the holes and deep runs and the structure is less productive. No BWO hatch for me but I used an attractor BWO  emerger anyway and caught a couple there too. Here I'm releasing a nice one and trying a new picture technique to catch more color - not quite there yet. Also, scored a waterproof camera after sensing the phone cam just wasn't quite cutting it.

Of Bikes and Segments Berkeley 07Dec13

A trip to San Francisco allowed me to visit my cousins and their families for a great time of spirited debates, fine food, good coffee and life affirming decisions. It also afforded a trip to Wrench Science, the bike shop with an effective web presence including correct component weights and a strong staff, who built the ultimate SuperBike. They had a cool space in south Berkeley with good signage and branding accompanied by Patrick my sales guy. Despite being a thousand miles away they knew me on arrival... pretty cool and a surprise to my cousins. While I described having moved my KS dropper remote lever for better access, my cousin Ken chimed in that his iced tea cup holder did still splash and wondered if anything could be done.

A word on Strava segment analysis... whether the key differentiator from MapMyRide or not, it's very cool. Being completely automatic as to recognition and comparative analytics, it's easy to like. Especially when initial rides on the SuperBike after two months of stasis quickly identified multiple PRs at Ute both on climbs and on descents. The bike, Patrick and segments are all game changers.

F3... Fly Fishin' with Friends on the Arki TailH2O 01Dec13

The long and short of it is that I got to fish the PT @ Valco with some great friends again this gorgeous day. Windy AM for sure - which disassembled my casting often but didn't stop me completely from presenting a BWO emerger (black ice, RS2, silver surfer) at the right time of day. I caught some fish. Jim's gettin' there as casts land about in the right place now... I do hope for his fake bugs to be in the water for a greater percentage of the day... attitude and persistence are standouts in the face of tough conditions. Daryle nabbed a nice one up-top during the BWO hatch... bully for goin' dry. These weren't the largest we've seen in Pueblo, nor the best conditions, and I landed an unusual number of fish ~6 inches long among the others. We'll be back but conditions have changed and so must we. We got to race a Mtn Shadows guide home; who knew there was a driver from COS on the PT reading my handbook. No pics but these ducks as they were cool and the others are somehow not right to show.