Livin' The Dream 31Oct15

Greg and I took in the Rocky Mtn Fly Fishing Rendevous up in Denver on Halloween. We heard some good speakers but the guy from 5280 was a substitute for Jamie and basically described how to fish - not how to win on the So Platte. Nonetheless, he didn't suck. We saw Pat Dorsey who pitched heavily from his new book (a copy of which I already own), and Steve Schweitzer who spoke sharply on RNMP fishing (Louise and Fifth are Lks we need to visit). We also learned Arrowhead Lk is the most requested backcountry campsite in the park, because there is just one... reservations for BC sites opens on March 1st. We also witnessed some strong tying and new fly recipes in the "tying theater" including Hopper Juan and a good stone from Carl Pennington. Rick Takahashi's bench and tying was there too. We both snagged Steve's latest book on the Indian Pks Wilderness fishing and got cool signed copies from the authors. Following the event we enjoyed a superior DIPA, Eternal Hoptimist, at Living the Dream microbrewery. Good stuff... the place was abuzz, the college games were on, Pavlo's Taste of Ukraine was in the parking lot, dogs were everywhere.

Hallow's Eve on the PT with DD 30Oct15

Hallow's Eve on the PT was not epic but did verify a new fly design I built specifically for us for this outing. Plus, what's not to like about chasing Daryle onto the water (an all to scarce sighting). The flows were high at ~400cfs and the color of the water was milky green with minimal visibility... so we had that going against us. We started at the Nature Center and made our way to the first really deep hole where Daryle had a good fish on. That was the best we could muster pre-beers; I didn't even have a strike all AM. In the PM we drove upstream to Valco. Lunchtime. Some youngsters in a very cool low slung red truck showed up during lunch and put on waders... we finished and went straight to the big first weir hole upstream from parking. I walked the weir and got some strikes on Jimi's Axe (my new variant of Purple Haze, more later) but lost 'em... then I had the first of many snags and rig-losses on the tree in the hole. DD and I swapped rig-losses out on the weir walk for an hour or so - twice in the PM. Fishing got better for us mid-afternoon and I landed a couple 16+"ers and lost too many - all fish on the seemingly effective Jimi's Axe - and DD had one on again (and did a little weir dance) and landed a smallish fish elsewhere. Frankly conditions were pretty tough but it was great being out. We could recover a dozen complete rigs (probably $50 in flies) on the tree at lower flows however... grrr.

Jimi's Axe is a BWO nymph and variant of the Purple Haze dry fly... purple thread, root beer KF Flasher tail, blue + purple holographic mylar body, UV purple/black/grey blended ice dub thorax, and 2 wraps of starling soft hackle. Fall BWOs verge on purple and that's why the tie... I brought #20 & #22 versions and both worked as we saw many tiny BWOs coming off mid-afternoon.

Jacked Flows On Pueblo Tailwater 20Oct15

I saw yesterday the flows on the PT were 400 cfs, not great but OK and they'd been there for 7 days. I arrived this AM at the Nature Center and they were jacked... looking via my phone showed well over 550 cfs but the data wasn't conclusive; it looked more like 700 cfs to me. The weirs were all mostly submersed. Grrr. I went out with a regular pass and did nada; I went out with a streamer pass and did nada; I went back to the car to head upstream to Valco for lunch and contemplate what to do. I went to the deep hole and caught one fish on a midge emerger but caugh 4 rigs on the submersed log there and called it a day. So... pics are mostly of a cool flower and a falcon.... but I show the weir and fish too.

Wildcat Canyon - Platte River 18Oct15

I hiked into Wildcat Canyon of the South Platte River today from the southern access near Lake George. October continues to deliver stellar weather. Finding the trailhead was the first challenge... after sketchy turnarounds in some folks' backyards, and an overshoot toward Tarryall, I found it. Take #24 through Lake George westbound, take right onto #77 to Tarryall, take right after 2 miles onto #112 toward Happy Meadows CG (go right at T on #112 immediately to stay on it), take #112 past CG till parking for Platte River Trail #654 on the left. Roads are fine for any vehicle but trailhead parking is very small (3 cars).

Hike in is ~2.5 miles to river and another .5 mile to get deeper into canyon. I did about 3 mi/hr so took me 1 hour in (and again 1 hour out). Elevation is +/- 400 ft or so. I think the trail is basically there to skirt continuous private property from the TH parking to the end of the road... if one could take the road it'd save the hike. I saw evidence of the Hayman Fire but not a lot - I followed blue diamonds on trees marking trail. I knew I was risking it a bit given hunting season is on and I did see a family with weapons right off my trail.

River changes from runs and rocks near where trail meets the river ultimately to plunge pools and waterfalls further downstream. I toted in my Chotas leg waders and Korkers wading sneakers and used light hikers for the hike... I brought my whole vest not knowing what I'd need. The 3 weight GLoomis was perfect for this water. And yes, that apple is 2X the size of my reel - an entire meal. My Osprey winter pack is perfect for this stuff as it has a wet and dry compartment for the hike back out.

I took a couple dozen fish in several hours with 75% browns and 25% 'bows... many things worked including orange stimis up top, BH gold ribbed hare's ear, rainbow warrior and WD40s. Saw some BWO hatches. I didn't catch any big fish and I don't know if they're in there or not; it looks possible but I didn't see any either.

Tough On Gore Ck 11Oct15

Winds were swirly and a bit strong for single handling so I took out over Vail Pass to Gore Ck. I fished the Eagle mouth junction area and the "dog park" runs and rocks. Flows are way down (20cfs!) and fish are not obvious to me anyway - though I did scare some wading. Casting was a bit windy too. I caught one nice brown on a WD40 but got no rises to the stimulator and really did little else other than fix the rig and walk the stream... I was even back in time for the Broncos game so you know how it went.

Sailing & Grill Work 10Oct15

It is still spectacular weather in Summit which drove me to take Mon Ami for a spin during the J22 race today; images speak for themselves mostly... the race, Mon Ami approaching pirate head on, a shot of home/Buffalo-Gore, wing on wing downwind maneuver, and Beneteau 85 mainsail (the sail number is the serial number of the boat - most on Dillon are marked in the 20,000s or so - mine is the 85th of only 400 ever built). Great wind and a somewhat deft hand let to several great hours single handed - some tough moves and some sketchy ones in 10 knot winds but all who sailed are safe. I hit every race buoy in the lake in the process. After home I popped some Ruination 2.0 and devised DBS (Dave's Bison Sami)... grilled bison ribeye sliced thin and organic sweet mini-peppers on fresh 4" wheat roll with wasabe, mayo, lettuce and broiled hot pepper cheese. That's what I'm talking about - with pending Utah-Cal game on the tube. This all two nights after a DD-sponsored Coffin Retirement Dinner @ Flying Horse with the current NetScout team!

More Browns In BHSC 09Oct15

I went south to go north... I hit Pinnacle Rock and the 1.5 miles upstream through the threads before driving the length of CO 9 to Summit Co from the Royal Gorge. I caught gobs of brown trout mostly on the RS2, though the red CJ landed some as did the rainbow warrior weight... my sense is that all were looking for mayflies - either the red quill kind I saw or the blue wings coming on strong again in fall. It was a gorgeous day. As I emerged from Canon City driving I caught some paragliders on the ridge - the kind with fans on their backs. I fished then on the way to meet DD in Summit near Guffey on #9 an eagle flew beside me for about 1/2 mile. Once in Summit I unloaded the Crusher to help DD with a load to his new townhome (Kala calls it my locker and suggested Daryle should be honored I cleared it for him). He's scored a fabulous new vibe in Silverthorne in an area called Eagles Nest (yes I know). I enjoyed visiting their place, downing ESBs on the patio, and dining with the DeBalskis. Colorado is so cool.

Streamer Success At Last 07Oct15

Against advisement of nearly all Blue River fishermen, I set out this AM armed just with streamers. I was bound and determined to break my winless streak. I headed to Silverthorne a bit below the dam near the outlet shops and tied on my flashy slumpbuster. Finally success; it wasn't a monster 'bow but a nice fish hit my streamer early on fast retrieving an upstream cast. Woohoo. We had snow at elevation last night and the early start allowed me to catch Buffalo snow over the Blue and later show early snows at Quandary & Breck.

Ghetto Computing Update 06Oct15

I finalized my computing setup in Silverthorne. After a failed attempt to suspend the Cinema display I returned my first arm and bought a Innovative model 7500 in grey... it perfectly suspends the 25# display at eye height above my bamboo Next Desk. The more expensive HumanScale arm failed. The rest of the hardware is an Apple Magic Mouse and a DAS mechanical keyboard. I also have been very pleased with the iCloud integration of my contacts and OSX and iOS calendars' ability to sync perfectly with Google calendar. I use iCloud sync for reminders/notes. Go Innovative... Go NextDesk... Go Apple... Go Google. For docs I have totally dumped MS but can import that stuff if you need me to so do... I am Google Docs user mostly though twiddle with the Apple apps every now and then. This is all a follow up on my earlier post at http://gr8fish.blogspot.com/2015/07/goin-ghetto-with-new-computing-rig.html.

Stuckees Enjoy TommyKnockers Nuevo IPA 05Oct15

Kala and I were headed to Summit to work on the house. CO DOT was working I70 but we thought it was an accident creating a 2 hour delay at Silver Plume. So, we had lunch and a good Nuevo IPA at TommyKnocker's in Idaho Springs to await the clearing of the crash which never came. Ultimately we turned around to COS and dined with the kid and then drove up unencumbered in the rain at night.

3rd Life For My Fav G3s 01Oct15

My favorite fitting, favorite feeling, favorite stability old Simms G3 lace up guide boots were slippery in the Arkansas recently. Felt was worn out and scungy, spikes were worn to flat, laces were ratty and so on... and this on soles that I'd replaced once. Can I do it again... hell yes. Below is the sequence of steps from 1) spikes & sole removal, 2) bristle grinding off old adhesive (then rubbing with acetone for assured gluing), 3) soaking new felt (on sides intended for gluing to boots) in cement (3 coats drying in-between then final thin coat on day 2 for final assembly), 4) ready to assemble using wax paper between sole and boot to assure correct fit (once they touch it's all over)... then hammering the snot out of sole, especially on edges, to get good adhesion, 5) all done with new spikes installed with simple drive, 6) all done with new laces. So inexpensive as I even use aluminum screws at $2 for spikes rather than $30 Simms spikes (the same thing really). Now I gotta let them dry for a week before using them... good thing I have new G4s as backup. ;)