Roaring Fork Rainbows & Independence Pass IPA 30Sep17

Decent morning on the Roaring Fk River. I put in 10 miles east of Basalt at Wilson Jaffe Pk and fished upstream from the Upper Woody Ck bridge. I rigged as recommended with prince nymph and pheasant tails, but caught the most on black WD40 (river "felt" like the Gore so I trailed it) and mercury RS2. Caught about 4 like these and lost about 5, including the only brown I know I had on line. The fish were fat and strong and ran hard and smart to break off on rocks and logs and one even used my waders, sheesh. All were ~16-17" I'd say - super fun but a bit frustrating. River bottom was slippery and despite the level <1 ft most wading spots, I used a staff a lot - this section of river seemed excellent with plenty of hiding spots for these good fish. The 2 miles of river I fished was near the airport and the number of personal jet flyovers was amazing... so much wealth in Aspen - but I do get the attraction of the Roaring Fk Valley - very pretty, great town and associated assets like BellyUp, great natural resources. I fished so little of this spectacular river I can imagine many days spent to learn it. Rain about 2pm made it cold and uncomfortable so I went in to Aspen for lunch and to try the only brewery in Pitkin County, Aspen Brewing Company. Decent IPA called Independence Pass but not a very creative brew list - it was packed inside due to the rain - I was definitely the oldest guy (again, as the concert was this way too). 

Rockin' Roaring Fork Valley 30Sep17

Not entirely my style but the concert tonight was excellent. I met a band I really liked, Flor, backing the main attraction Atlas Genius. Starting was Half The Animal. All were good and the BellyUp Aspen venue was as expected, great. $25 tix for GA and I had a great seat among <200 people. Flor's lead was excellent as a guitarist and singer. So cool. I arrived in Aspen early and enjoyed a great bun (noodle bowl) nearby at a good Vietnamese place called the Bamboo Bear.

Half The Animal

Flor

Atlas Genius

On a side note, but not really, I came upon an LA punk band called the Regrettes. Sure I love this power punk pop style but these guys are good. Just click on the image.

Crusher's New Taggin' 28Sep17

I've never had personalized plates or ever thought I would, but give a retired fisherman some time and he'll find a day when the weather's too hot, or the flows are too high, or all the rods have been broken... and then the wicked shit happens. He'll listen to Miley Cyrus, and he'll figure out how to navigate the CO systems and score these sweet plates for the Crusher.

Electric Candy Midge & Magnymphico 26Sep17

As it's time again for small flies and midges on the rivers, I tied up a new one to try. I heard of the Zipp New Moon using two wires for the PT. I'm trying a base of black holographic mylar and 2 wires of silver and red over that with a black nickel tungsten bead and coated in cyanoacrylate. Looks like candy. We'll see - my other "best" midges are more subtile than this larva.

They worked! While I caught nothing too big on them I did catch a few 13"ers on the PT like this one.

I really like the two bit hooker version of a pheasant tail I tied last year and used up. It hid the beads, stayed pretty slim and was decently heavy - however, it was very crowded and hard to tie and really only could get down to #20. I have quasimodos I like but the beads show and even stand out. A search led me to pictures of, but never recipes or typing instructions for, the magnymphico. I liked it and tied up some of my variant - the right uses simi peacock dub and the left uses ice peacock dub. I was able to tie the 8 pheasant tail fibers in just once and complete the tail, the body, the wing casing and the legs all in one instance - even on the #22s shown here. Cool and fast. I think these seem really buggy and will do well but the simi dubbing is a little light and would make a better PMD (with red thread instead) while the ice is darker like a fall BWO.

A Little Therapy On The PT 24Sep17

Greg, Jim and I fished the PT for the first time in months. While it rained a lot of last night the forecast was better and it was. Flows are still a smidge high at 480cfs or so and color was a bit off and the water was warm. We started at the Nature Center and did very little - fishing was slow - I caught a big sucker and we all caught some tiny rainbows. After lunch and some bomber IPAs including the yummy Therapist Triple IPA scored as a gift from Scott Brantley, we went upstream to the Valco Ponds section and fared much better in the afternoon. Best bugs were rainbow warrior and mercury midge for me and top secret for Greg. I even caught a very nice fat ~20" (forgot to measure) rainbow but needed to land her with the tail wrapped so kindof difficult.

French Burgundy Delivered 22Sep17

Six cartons of French Burgundy were delivered to my door today by Cote de' Or Shipping via FedEx on the final leg. No runs, no drips, no errors. We bought it all during our June venture to France with our friends but delivery was planned for cooler fall weather. Scott & Peggy bought the most (duh) with Steve & Anne and Dave & Kala tied for last. Heh heh. We repackaged it all today into deliveries for each destination. Ours is the non-packaged booty - you can't even touch this stuff from US distribution... all Burgundies, mostly the excellent 2015 vintage that'll last another ~10 years.

Just So You Know There's More Cyrus 21Sep17

In prep for more listening around RMAF and otherwise, I recognized Miley Cyrus just released new audio and video from her backyard studio Rainbowland. There are a number of good good pieces but I like the cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (a classic by any measure the 1st time heard) and See You Again. I am looking forward to arrival of my pre-purchased "Younger Now" album from Miley - always now great arrangements and production and featuring her mad vocal skills.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

See You Again

So yeah - listen to the other tracks on this "backyard studio" set. Not as great as other full production offers but keen.

Rocky Mtn Natl Pk 17Sep17-21Sep17

We just returned from a camping trip to Rocky Mtn Natl Pk, RMNP. Kala and I made an aggressive move to hike up Flattop Mtn on our first full day. This is a 5 mile and 3Kft vert hike one way but we were up for it. When we reached treeline about halfway though the wind we'd faced turned to bitter cold 30mph winds. We put on more clothes and pushed to the top with a few other hearty souls. Ultimately we stood above Glacier Gorge above the Tyndall Glacier with a spectacular view all the way back to Bear Lk and Estes Pk; it was worth the push. Along the way we tree peeped some color splashes of the aspen turning with the Autumnal Equinox nigh.

Our campsite in Moraine Pk CG was one of the best we've ever had. We were within walking distance of the Big Thompson River for fishing and Moraine Pk for elk viewing; plus we had a nice direct view of Long's Peak. All camper systems worked great but we had to dash out one morning for LP and ice and retie the awning when the high winds dislodged it one early morning. Of course we enjoyed Dave's 6 chilies fajitas while there. 

Fishing was fine for small browns like these using terrestrials, in a gorgeous spot. We didn't hike for lake fish this time though the bank gave way at one point and I went swimming in waders in 5 feet of water.

The elk were nearly ever-present. This time of year and this spot are the best for checking out the elk rut. We heard numerous bugling males challenging others and gathering their harems. We saw and heard a number of elk fights though I didn't catch one on camera. The big boy 12 pointer shown in a single pretty close side shot was the main story for several days. He roamed around a field of pretty ladies and cut out his favorites down to a manageable number - most often about a dozen. There were other decent males in the area but they rarely ventured close to the big guy. Here I show a poser male 10 pointer not even considering going to challenge. So cool.

Our good friends Tom & Leslie came to camp to visit and hike and enjoy our company ;). We had peach ice cream from Leslie's own hand and hiked out to Mills Lk from Glacier Gorge TH. Our route again showed off keen aspen color splashes. The destination is a cool spot (literally again this day with the cold wind continuing) beneath some mighty cirques and mountains, including Long's.

On Wednesday night we splurged and headed to Estes Pk for an full Italian meal at the Dunraven Inn - worth it. Now were back at home finally unpacked and cleaned. 

Christening, Breakage & Hopper Juan 13Sep17

I christened the new vest today on our gorgeous home waters at the upper end of 11 Mile Canyon. All was going fine in the AM - I was especially effective with dries and dry-dropper during the trico spinner fall. I was mimicking the trico spinners on top and drowned trico spinners underneath. The So Platte here is low @ <100cfs and choked with weeds but still fishing well despite some wariness from the fish. I didn't take many pics but here are a couple of fish - others were about the same as the bigger one - all rainbows oddly. After lunch I tied on a baetis nymphing rig and had immediate success - unfortunately my Winston 4 wt broke while landing a fish; the 3rd segment just snapped as I dipped to net the fish - she got away with my Cheeseman Emerger. Strangely Hopper Juan Martinez was walking up to me and back to his car (a Subbie parked next to my Crusher) when it happened. We introduced each other in field and lamented my breakage. I'd met him at tying events before - for those who don't know Martinez is a local guide, fly tier and sports personality. He was there alone - it says something he chose 11 Mile to fish himself.

Kala Hammering The Spheroid 12Sep17

We took time from our rigorous schedule to hit the links. Here's Kala hammering the the spheroid over Pike Peak on a gorgeous day in The Springs this fall.

Of course we enjoyed a variety of new IPAs and food items at Cerberus to celebrate my first decent nine of the season - sure it's only my 5th round but still, a 42 is worthy. What a blast.