Colorado River

The Weekend Before “The Weekend”

May 19, 2012 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

A leisure weekend before the big Memorial Day crowds? Yes please.

This is the coolest miniature golf course I might have ever seen in my life. The entire thing was basically created from some plywood, spray paint, and spare pieces of 64 Erector Sets.

They are out in force and fish still love them. Lots of Salmonflies on the Colorado River this weekend, probably more on the downswing as the hatch was real thick last week. Colder weather definitely stalled the hatch this weekend so if you’re lucky you could hammer them tomorrow.

What is a man to do when his rod breaks stream-side? This ingenious fellow decided to nail knot the broken section back together with some fly line he cut off his reel. It worked surprisingly well but I think that was more based on how the rod broke than the actual structural support the fly line provided. Still a pretty great idea.

The Water is Warm, Come on In

August 8, 2010 by n.taylor 4 Comments

Burp...that was delicious...

In an effort to find a river that wasn’t totally blown out I ventured across the divide to the mighty Colorado. Fishing has been somewhat spotty in my usual hangouts and thus I found myself in an inferno. I’m no biologist but when the water temps are approaching 70 degrees there just isn’t a lot going on. I’m pretty sure as a kid growing up, Montana just shut the rivers down when the temps got that high and didn’t let anyone fish. Alas, being in the land of stocking Rainbows we can all relish in the fact that these fish are impervious to most natural dangers and if they somehow succumb to them, well, whatever we can just stock more. Bottom line is that its about time to fully devote myself to the capr and let the trout rest up and cool down. After all, the fall migration is within sight and I’ve been saving my brownie points for some long weekends.

I’ll be honest, I got my ass handed to me for most of the day and only had a few fish to show for my efforts. Of the fish I did get I have to give a fair share of the credit to Luna. One thing about Luna is if he is catching fish, you know its on a copper john. I don’t think anyone fishes (or ties) more copper johns.

Copper Luna

You could see the kid from a mile away with a fish on and you know that it’s either a red or chartreuse copper john in a size 16. Needless to say today when he told me he and got a couple I just went ahead and tied one on because I know the kid can’t get past them in his box without blowing a gasket. I’m still working my angles to see if I can go over to his house and have a sleepover to try his wife’s culinary skills and get some free tutelage on the vice. Why go to a class when you can be a dirtbag and mooch off your friends?

On a side note the waders and orange Simms vest were out in force today. While I was debating a nude bath to cool down these guys were able to eat lunch in 5 layer Gore-tex. Good on em’.

Its hawt in heeere

They Have Arrived

May 30, 2010 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

For me Memorial Day is booked for years in advance. Like clockwork every year on Memorial Day the annual Salmonfly hatch blows up on the Colorado. This year the water did not cooperate as it has in years past. A cool spring coupled with a well timed heat wave caused the river to swell literally overnight.

Chocolate milk

My Memorial Day fishing wasn’t memorable as it usually is but it did allow me to see those behemoths that have been dormant for years on the river bottom. Their flight patterns make you wonder if they suffer from the same brain malfunctions that NFL quarterbacks have after Ray Lewis has his way with them for the better part of a decade. Despite a lackluster fish count, Salmonflies are so prehistoric that it makes any day you have with them memorable.

If you haven’t seen one of these hatches let me tell you its worth every second. I would fly from across the country to be a part of it. While I’m fortunate enough to have both the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers in my backyard, Rock Creek in Montana and of course the Henry’s Fork in Idaho also have legendary hatches. Just bring some 3X and the biggest dries you have. Oh, and be on time.

Yummy