The last cast of the day...

Yesterday I spent a couple hours on a local stream.   I hooked a few trout, but it was one of those days when the trout got away before they got to the net, which in the long run really not a bad thing since the less you handle the trout, the better off they are.   But, I still like to take in the beauty of the trout in my net, and it was not happening.    I did hook several aspen leaves, and I managed to land each of them!

I really enjoyed myself since the weather was very nice for late fall, but the time came to head back into town.   As I walked back to the car, I decided to hit a favorite hole for a couple "last casts" of the day.   I walked down the bank, adjusted the indicator, and made a few casts into the deep pocket.   It took a couple casts to get the perfect drift in the tricky currents, but it paid off.   The indicator disappeared, and a rainbow flew out of the water after taking the zebra midge.   He was full of fight, and I had to work my way down stream as he jumped, headed behind rocks, and zigzagged through heavy currents in an effort to defeat me.   I won this particular battle, and brought him to my net.   I snapped a couple of photos, and released him back into the cold fall water.   I'm glad that I decided to make a last cast of the day in that deep pocket.

 

50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish

The cold and crisp days of late fall are upon us in Northern Colorado, and there is nothing better than a great book to read by the fire.  Stonefly Press just released a new book written by Terry and Wendy Gunn called 50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish.   Some of the best days of fly fishing that I have ever had have taken place on storied tailwaters across the county.  The Gunn's have written a book that focuses on many of these rivers.  It looks like a great read, and I will give you a detailed review in the future.  I can't wait to read about some of my favorite waters on a late fall day when the wind is howling and I just don't feel like heading out.


Tom Rosenbauer, Marketing Director at the Orvis, and author of The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide, said, "Not many people realize that today most of the best trout fisheries in the lower 48 states are tailwaters, or influenced by dam release.  They all have some common elements, but just knowing how to fish one doesn't guarantee success on another.   Wendy and Terry Gunn have identified the best tailwaters in North America and distilled each fishery into a succinct and helpful guide with no fluff-just good solid info.  The maps of each river are alone worth the price of admission.  If you don't know much about tailwaters and you like to catch trout you must have this book.  If you think you're an experienced tailwater angler you'll be sorry if you don't get a copy."

Check it out at http://stoneflypress.com

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Fall on the Poudre River

Fall and early winter are my favorite times of the year.   The cool days, bright leaves, and best dry fly fishing of the year combine for great times in the Colorado mountains.   A couple weeks ago I took the time to head up the Poudre Canyon for a couple of hours of flyfishing.   This was my first trip up the canyon since the devastating flood in September.   The Poudre River, which usually runs around 150 CFS, was well over 10,000 CFS.   The Poudre Canyon is more rustic, and less built up then the Big Thompson Canyon to our south, and thus received less damage to the roadway, and residences.   After a few repairs, the road up the canyon was opened, and I was anxious to see what the status of my favorite river was.   This river has taken a lot from Mother Nature in the past couple of years...a major fire which left soot and debris in the river, and now the flood.  

I was amazed at what I found when I made the drive up the familar road.   The river level was down, and appeared close to normal for this time of year.  The water was crystal clear, and it seemed as though the massive flood water had scrubbed the riverbed clean.   The piles of soot which formerly lined the banks was gone, and the river seemed like it had been reborn. 

The fall color seemed to be in it's peak, and I greatly enjoyed the drive.   I decided to stop at a new spot in the river that I had not fished before, geared up, and entered the cold, clear water.   I caught a couple of bright fall browns, and marveled at their survival from the recent tempest.   Although the floods caused a terrible loss of property and life, at the end of the day, nature rebuilds itself.   We had prepared ourselves for several years of poor fishing in the lower canyon due to the constant wash of soot and ash...but now it seems even more pristine then before the fire. 

Make sure you get out and experience fall where you live...and take a moment to enjoy the splendor.

 

Gear Review-Patagonia Stormfront Hip Pack

In my search for the perfect fly fishing pack, I recently picked up the Patagonia Storm Front hip pack.   I've always liked the hip pack idea, but I've never had much luck with them since I like to wade in fairly deep water, which causes most hip packs to get water inside.  That is not something that is acceptable to me.  For the past several years, I have used several sling style packs in order to try and solve this problem.  However, with any sling pack, it is more weight around your neck.  Most are not waterproof either, so when wading, I would often get the bottom of the pack wet, which could get the contents soaked as well.

When the Patagonia Storm Front arrived, I was immediately impressed with the solid, YKK zipper.   It is evident that this zipper is designed to be waterproof and tough.  The pack is a simple design, with no external pockets, and one large interior compartment that could comfortably carry up to four normal sized fly boxes (I usually roll with three boxes, which leaves plenty of room for other items).  There are several mesh style pockets attached to the inside compartment which were perfect for leaders, indicators, license, and other smaller items.  I was initially concerned about the lack of more compartments since I am used to bags that have tons of organizational features, but after field testing this pack, I realized that while nice, I really didn't need them.

I've had other fly fishing packs that looked nice, but didn't hold up well under actual fishing conditions.  I put the Patagonia pack to work as the only pack I wore through several days of fishing from dawn to dark on our recent trip to Gunnison.

The pack is truly WATERPROOF.   It is not "water resistant", it is actually water proof.  During the week of fishing, it was submerged numerous times while I was wading, or fighting a fish.   I never found a drop of water inside the pack, and everything in the pack was nice and dry at the end of the fishing day.  During the week I was crawling through rocks and brush, and the buckle stayed secure and the exterior of the pack survived unscathed.  The only issue that I had was that I lost one of the external rod tube straps while hiking through a rough area of underbrush in pursuit of a rising trout.  Fortunately, NocoNympher happened to find it by sheer luck, but I ended up removing both of those straps and keeping them in my gear bag as they are not something that I will likely use.

I wish that the pack had pocket for a water bottle on the outside...but I attached a nylon/velcro water bottle holder on the waist belt strap which worked quite well. 

The pack is very simple and straightforward.   If you want a pack that has tons of organizational pockets, this is not for you.  Most of my odds and ends (nippers, dry fly floatant, tippet, etc) are kept on my Goetzen Lanyard, so I really didn't miss the exterior pockets as much as I thought that I would.  The hip belt is basic and comfortable, and the buckle seems quite well made.   

I'm very impressed with this pack.   Although I haven't had it very long, I've put it through some hard use, and it seems to be well built.  I will keep you posted on how is continues to perform in the long haul.


BDF uses a three tiered gear rating system for gear reviews.

Dry Fly =       Great Product
Emerger=       Good product with potential
Nymph=         Could use improvement  

The Patagonia Storm Front Hip Pack earns Dry Fly status.