Two On The Run - Then Gone 29Mar15

I was one heart beat with several great rainbows today... our pumps each beating furiously in sync I sense. I landed neither of the first two and both took me to the backing (25 yards+) and we fought for 10 minutes or more each! Awesome, but really disappointing not to see them in my net. Both seemed destined to break me off in their own special spots - rocks, not wood. The biggest boldly busted mid-stream in only 3 ft of water after a 100 yd downstream run with two great jumps - with me chasing from a deep pool weir. The 2nd was lost deep in the pool - I could feel him the whole time twitching my rod after I reeled him back in but could not dislodge him from the rock spot - I moved around but ultimately gave up and he wore down the line at my surgeon's knot. Flows were really fast at >500cfs and wading was hard, probably why the lot was empty, and hookups were few, though I caught some. Who knew I'd get a 3rd shot at a big fish day? I brought this 22+" beauty  to net on the Awesome Midge off 6X flouro with no indicator - with a witness who took my pic' and asked, "Wow, GR8Fish, is this catch & release?" -"It is for me." It's coming to springtime in the Rockies... Colorado is so cool.

Reds Reel (or "Best Chicken Ever") 11Mar15

With my 9wt "sharpened" and ready for a day of battle on the oyster flats of East Galveston Bay, I launched the Ford Explorer in the early morning darkness down I-45 packed with every conceivable item possibly needed (see Boy Scout motto... although hard to believe a pre-teen boy could afford 1/5 the crap you NEED to really be prepared to fish). Before I made it 3 miles down the road, I received the call... the dreaded call... from one of the most formidable fly fishing guides on the Gulf Coast. He informed me that, "radar shows that clouds are moving in" and that without sun, fly fishing would most likely be a bust. Just like bonefish on the flats of a remote Caribbean island, one needs to see redfish and must "cast to" your target. Sunlight is mandatory. He wanted to call it off before we even started.

I told him to keep the faith and that I'm intimately familiar with bolstering shitty forecasts... and that we should stick to our plan even if we had to change tactics once we were on the water. He reluctantly agreed and said that at least the winds show ~5 knots so we might be able to get into a few.

Daylight broke as I pulled up to the boat ramp, the winds were now up at 10-15 knots and my guide offered another out with some deep qualification on what success would mean. I declined the last invitation to cancel and said that I we might have another option. At this moment... from the back of the Explorer... I pulled out THE low-profile Shimano Curado 7.0:1 laced with 30 lb braided line on a 6'7" jig setup (pretty sure this is how Arthur felt and looked when he pulled Excalibur from the stone). To most humans the formula works this way, (15 knot winds) + (braided line) + (baitcaster) = backlash that would remind you of 70's porn.

However, I was not human that morning (I was a DHR employee with a day off)... after a 20 minute trip out on the skiff the braided line started bombing the flats (about 4-6" deep). Mist ripped off the reel as the blind casts reached out to 80' to cover massive amounts of water. In the first 10 minutes, I had the first redfish of the day. He offered up a great fight for about 5 minutes... and the perfect size for the grill.

We made two more "bombing runs" on the same flats with the same result and had our limit in less than 30 minutes. Each fight was epic and we had 3 keepers. The barometric pressure was rising and temperature was dropping as the winds were gusting to almost 30 knots at times. The guide painted social media on the results and jealous comments from his peers flowed in. He was happy and I was a ecstatic. We retired to the bait shop & grill (smells of class) and had a late breakfast... feeling like redfish superheroes. 

That night I cleaned up the fish into fillets and breaded them for the evening meal. If you have never had fresh redfish, you are missing out. 

The last, best part of the day was at dinner when my 5 year old boy (see "picky eater") tore through the last of the fish that night stating,"Dad this is the best chicken ever." Great day! 

Steel Is Real 14Mar15

On this most auspicious Pi Day, I declare to biker friends and doubters everywhere that steel is real. I recalled my old CroMo bikes of yore - but much lighter. So smooth - smoother now with fatter tires and being a 29er. The Summit Co Magic Carpet Ride is finished and it's maiden ride deemed awesome - just a short couple loops of Blodgett were taken with aplomb. The MCR9 is outfitted with super wide gearing allowing one crank turn just .6 revs of the tire for low and a decent 3.7 turns for high - I got the triple just for roadie dual purpose. It weighed in at 24# with pedals but no tools or tube. Here's the spec and the before and after shots.

Thin, Slow & Crowded on the PT 11Mar15

The dirt lot at the Nature Center was filled with fishermens' cars. The day was gorgeous. I moved onto the river and hopped into the first open, but lesser hole. I caught a nice lipless rainbow ~18" on #24 black KF Flasher midge after 15 minutes. He was thin and beat up and languid... presumably from winter weather and the spawn. The water too was a bit thin and could use some more flow and more food. I saw and cast to many fish all of which looked thinish and slow. I caught some but the biggest fish just ignored my offers. The spawn seems done while evidence of the redds remain and some fish were still using them - though not vigorously. I walked very carefully around all that evidence. I moved up to Valco for lunch and after another hour among many fishermen on the river I came home. All up it was a very slow and disappointing outing - not good hunting as hoped - one that all who were asked should feel right in having avoided.

Ravaged Boxes of Fall Replenished 10Mar15

The ravaged fly boxes of Fall '14 have been basically replenished to full. I have however consolidated some and added a vest box of "tiny tailwater flies" to my normal midge box, mayfly box, stonefly box and caddis fly box. Not many new inventions but for the Awesome Midge. Tomorrow will be only my 2nd day out in '15 and my first real spring hunt for fat rainbows on the PT - weather should be 60 and hunting should be good.

Fly Tying Station @ Silverthorne 07Mar15

I set up a new fly tying desk in Silverthorne. For the desk I chose a nice, but Chinese veneered, import which Kala and I carried upstairs (whew) and assembled. Instructions were hysterical... Step 1, assemble desk. Cool raw timber legs and fish hardware matching our mountain bronze vibe, I watched eBay for a while and found an ancient, rusted, crusted Dyna-King Supreme vise; it was undeclared as such by the seller but I recognized the fittings even from the crappy pic. My fav is a Dyna-King and this would be compatible with my current jaws, etc.. I won naturally and got a good vise for 50% off the normal value; it took some vinegar, grinding, paint, etc. but it's all good now. I also bought a Chinese knock-off of my articulating lighted magnifying glass - it was 25% the price of the English one but the optics are a bit odd - we'll see on that one. I cut all my necks and feathers in half and created a new kit for the Summit desk but I had to repurchase threads, wires, flash and tools - not too bad. Hooks and beads were split too but they are highly consumable anyway. My first tie there was a #26 mercury head black flashback midge (Williams Fk is teaming with the monster rainbows from the Colorado right now) - so tiny is OK. The station is smaller than my Front Range desk but fits perfectly and has the awesome view.