Summit Stuff with Brantleys 28Aug15-30Aug15

Kala & I took to the lake and hills of Summit Co with Scott Brantley and Peggy. We started early on Thursday with too much enjoyment of mules and wines which delayed our biking start time on Friday but soon enough hit the rec path for a 30 mile spin to Breck and back. Back in Silverthorne we enjoyed a remarkable meal of swordfish tostadas and a visit to the spa. Saturday we hiked east out of Loveland Pass and reached a point where I could see 4 different ski resorts: A-Basin, Keystone, Breck and Loveland. Strangely none of these CO residents had been to or hiked from Loveland Pass so climbing up from 12Kft elevation was special - particularly with our great parking spot. Back down the hill we sailed Dillon and listened to that evening's concert at the bandshell from the lake... the Queen tribute band sang the right stuff just not in the right way really. Still super fun despite just moderate winds. The evening then served up a weird "supermoon" - the orange was from western state burns but the "super" occurs just sometimes during a full moon when the path is closest to earth and appears 16% bigger and 30% brighter as a results. We again enjoyed a 5 star meal that night too - of thai pork tenderloin salad. Today we hiked Mayflower Gulch and Gold Hill. Oh yeah... I had time to receive, build and use our new NextDesk Terra desks and our WaterRower... Frank Underwood's got nothin' on us.

Day of Cuts & Tricos 26Aug15

I hit 11 Mile early and fished the entire lifecycle of the trico mayfly starting at 7:45am with emergers. I then switched to dry/dropper and ultimately spinner when the fall came at 10am. The whole thing was frustrating as always - its just darn hard to see black #24 dries. I did catch fish but they are smallerish in summer it seems; or I don't know where the bigger ones are. The weirdness of note on this excursion was the preponderance of cutthroats in my bounty. Half my catch of ~1.25/hr were cuts. Further, I don't know if I can call it a quad really but I did catch cutthroat, rainbow, brown and a cutbow. I think hybrids probably don't count as a separate species. Again, the browns and rainbows were all smaller than even these so no pics. Here is the cutbow and a cut. These are Snake River strain and not Colorado cuts; FYI. I don't get very good depth of field with this hand holding method... heads are out of focus lest I bend the fish correctly.

Sailing for Barrel Thief on the Adirondacks 23Aug15

Another great day in Summit as Kala and I took advantage of early winds to sail Mon Ami around Lake Dillon. Then we researched the Adirondack chairs we liked and used in the Keystone River Run commons during yesterday's concert (see Facebook). Then we ate good food in downtown Breck at the Blue River Bistro. Then we stopped at the Broken Compass, a new and excellent micro-brewery in north Breckenridge (love the scouting poster). Then we bought the chairs from John & Allison at Breck Bears and hoisted them over the back deck railing (John was a really big dude). Then we celebrated appropriately with Odell Barrel Thief on our newly furnished deck. Colorado is so cool.

Hitin' A Triple On Gore Ck 21Aug15

While the bounty was of browns on Gore Ck today, I landed decent fish of brown, brook and rainbow varieties! A triple is pretty rare for me so it was cool. I started at the mouth of Gore where it meets with the Eagle River near Minturn. Most of my 1st pass began at 10:30am and was eventless but I landed one nice brown on an RS2 - I was fishing all nymphs as while I saw hoppers I saw little else that might get the fish to look up and hook up. A bit frustrated I broke for lunch at 12:45pm at Magusto's in Minturn for pizza & beer. Decent pizza but weak draft list had me order a $5 longneck Avery... sheesh. While I didn't consult them I did have a great view of Minturn Anglers at lunch. I decided to head upstream to West Vail and parked at the dog park along the frontage road there (west of the West Vail exit in the south side of I70). I switched to dries bound and determined to get some rises but still had mayfly nymph droppers like WD40s. I was using caddis-like stimis and caddis as some were returning to lay eggs by mid-afternoon. Mostly it was a decent bobber but I did catch my one rainbow and a brown on it. I did not even know brookies were in Gore Ck but it is pretty cold. I was surprised and pleased to land the decent sized super-dark-eyed brook trout after a stream dance of my own (check the "fish-on" with stream and bridge background) taking me downstream 10 yards to land him. The 'bow was taken with an audience on the bridge. The PM saved the day and yielded a triple - each decent ~14". Cause d' celeb suggested I prepare NuvoCanes (I named it this 'since it numbs you to pleasures... but that's OK 'cause you have it all) for Kala and me upon return to Silverthorne, and I did... my unique variation of the New Orleans Hurricane.

Short Stop for Short Fish @ 11 Mile 11Aug15

The Crusher was in the shop for front axle stuff so I took the 4Runner to 11 Mile, forgetting my pass and wallet were in the other car. I sweet talked the "guard" into a day pass on the strength of my argument and situation. She was conflicted on it but was very nice and let me go. Fishing was weak however... smaller fish rising to smaller flies. There was plenty of mayfly (especially tricos) action though I caught most underneath on RS2s. Here's the basic rainbow but my first one was a bit nicer Snake River cutthroat, which I dropped on the photo shot; no browns. I only spent 2-3 hours there because the pace was insufficient and then it started to rain. I find rain and 11 Mile don't mix well.

Macey Lakes With Nick 01Aug15

Early Saturday Nick and I hiked up to Macey Lakes from the Horn Lks trail head for some fishing and an over-nighter. Saturday we set up camp at the lower lake and hiked up to the upper lake on the west side. We found plenty of nice cuts but as seems like standard this year on high mnt lakes I could only coax one to take one of my flies. He ended up getting off before getting into a pic unfortunately. It appeared they were busy spawning, and there were plenty of smaller fish indicating they have been successful. The rains came in about 3pm and we were in for the rest of the evening. Sunday we climbed up to the eastern upper lake. This lake contained only a few older fish. Doesn't appear this one has been stocked in many years and no sign of successful spawning. After taking some pictures we headed down to the lower lake and had a lot of fun catching 10in cuts, bows and cutbows. Georgeous area with killer camping and worth a hike back again.

Spun 34 On Magic Carpet with Kala & DIPA 07Aug15

Kala and I spun out 34 miles on the mtn bikes this morning under cloudy skies in Summit. We avoided rain but not even the Magic Carpet Ride could avoid the Ragnar racers on the rec path. We went from Dillon to Breck and back but stopped for "refreshments" at BackCountry brewery... not my Summit fav but a special BC DIPA was available and good; it complimented our southwestern (chix, beans & corn smothered in chipolte) egg rolls.

Again Into the Breach For CutBows 06Aug15

I headed again below the breach in the Green Mtn Rez dam to Jurassic Park. What a spot. After finishing I met an older fisherman there from Aurora (formerly Aspen, Larry F...) who's basically exclusively fished there for the past 12 years... 50 times per year! Why?.. beauty, remoteness & fewer crowds, great fish and a long green drake hatch. I threw green drakes again today myself and moved some great football-shaped cutbows to rise. One fish took me deep into the backing before breaking off my entire rig (I dropped gold ribbed hare's ears but only caught one there) - I only saw him briefly at the take and then never again.

Race Views From Mon Ami 02Aug15

Prior to and during a storm which rolled in from Keystone (always creating the weirdest winds on Lk Dillon) I captained Mon Ami around for views of the J Boat, and other, races today. It was a blast but cut short by the storm... they even called off the race which rarely occurs. I was in dock before most of the thunder and rain. My headsail is still a ghetto rigged loaner and not powerful but today it was plenty - I now know what I want.

Jurassic Park On Blue River 01Aug15

Despite somewhat still highish flows of ~480cfs, they'd be manageable and I dropped into Jurassic Park below Green Mtn Rez. The reservoir was a madhouse of activity and camping and even the tailwater trailhead parking was full... time to make decisions on fishing locations like skiing locations - go where it's good but go there when there won't be crowds. This was a PM outing and the most productive holes were occupied. I did find myself some spots and caught some fish including a nice ~18" rainbow - I couldn't even get him all in the frame. I caught most of the fish on my lead fly, a darker #14 gold ribbed hare's ear - chosen to mimic stoneflies and green drake (big) flies on this water. I didn't go dry due to timing and water on which I was relegated but I did see all manner and sizes of mayflies and caddis. Gotta go again during the week. This water should be excellent through Oct or Nov.