Food, Fishing, and Outdoor Adventures
I believe Mel Gibson said it best in the movie We Were Soldiers when he said empathically to his troops, “Leave NO man, behind”. Well apparently this dude got left behind. He was the only one we found among all of the rainbows and cutts this past week. To my friend Chad I would like to say nice fish. I would also like to thank Tyler for a fantastic netting job, (an area that he has been diligently working to improve in).
Forgotten Fish
The time of the year is upon us yet again. While Colorado is known for its famous tailwaters the real reason for its popularity might well be the spawning conditions that these tailwaters provide. With fish running out of reservoirs and into a dead end full of fishermen it is a rare chance for most people to bag a trophy trout.
Sites of the River
Spring and fall provide everyone with a chance to catch that “fish” that they have always wanted. While I will be the first to admit that I engage in this behavior I will also say that it is a little funny to think about what you are doing, it is quite literally shooting fish in a barrel. March is the initial start of the party and as usual I try to show up before all the cool kids arrive.
Indeed being one of the first to the party gives you some special privileges. VIP parking, preferred seating, and a quiet ambiance are all part of the special treatment for the early birds. This past week we saw lots of fish, I didn’t catch many, but my other cohorts did catch their fair share (cough, I hate you Spooner). We saw and caught several Snake River Cutthroats and while not native they might be my favorite hatchery product of the great state of Colorado. They look close enough to Greenback Cutts that they make me smile every once in awhile. I think maybe the fish are enjoying this warm weather as they were out in numbers and while there might not be mutant 15lb rainbows right now, it is still worth a trip, and heck, who can say no to all of those early bird perks?
Snake River Cutthroat
First Catch
Today was a good day on the water, a lot of great things happened, but more importantly some really exciting events might have taken place. I will start with the boring stuff. The fishing was good, we caught some very nice fish, Tyler even let me hold some of them…
Most importantly however, I believe that today on the river I saw a man of great stature in the fly fishing world. If my eyes did not deceive me I think I saw Marty Bartholomew, wading staff in hand, fishing the same waters as your humble interweb blogger. Now, if you don’t know who Marty Bartholomew is, let me refresh your memory. You probably know him for being the author of 1998 classic, The Fly Fisher’s Guide to Colorado which in my opinion is one of, if not the best overview of Colorado fly fishing available. You probably don’t know him from the worst video ever produced on planet earth since 1953 entitled, Fly Fishing Colorado’s Major 6 which was released in 2004. Honestly, I have no idea how someone who made such a good book could honestly put his name on such garbage. I guess money can make you do weird things, or maybe he needs some new friends that know how to do video editing.
Who Is It?
I was only able to get a quick shot of him before he disappeared around the bend. I didn’t possess the confidence to properly introduce myself and confirm the identity of the mysterious character. I do however, have supreme confidence that it was in fact him for reasons including;
1. He had gray hair
2. He had a wading staff (He’s that type of guy)
3. He had two rods and seemed to know what he was doing
Based upon these observations I will leave you to your own opinions but most importantly I think this situation goes to show that you never know who you might see out there. Oh, and here is some fish porn from today, almost forgot.
Lil' Kype