Friday, September 25, 2015

Top Stillwater Fall Lake Fishing


Annual Fall Stillwater Trip

It's about that time to head out with my buddies for our annual Fall fly fishing trip. This trip was started early by me and 5 friends in a large RV were to meet up in a few days for some fun lake fishing.




I got warmed up a few days early to figure out the day/nighttime bite before the guys arrived. It wasn't long before the experts arrived to help me figure out these local lakes.

We had an absolute blast getting into a few trout the first day and also getting takes as soon as the lights went out. Brian managed to hook up a few times before we all could get our feet wet.



Boca Dawg loved every minute of her time spent here and was begging for me to take her. There is no way I was leaving her behind. She is my trout spotter and is pretty valuable when it comes to cruising trout. She was pretty sad when we left for home, can't wait to get her back again for some swimming and trout chasing.



Nothing like a little relaxing when the bite slowed down. Time for a siesta when nothing else is going on. Hey time for a beer and some time to chill out.




Nothing like the 6am bite while lingering outside my tent. Time to get going and catch up with the fellows. Fish On!!!





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Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Fall Fishing on Colorado Rivers..Looking For Big Trout & Top Flies



Fly Fishing In The Fall

Fall and winter are great times to practice your fly fishing skills here in Colorado. As the weather cools, so do the crowds! The weather and scenery during the late season provide for some of the most pleasant and aesthetic days on the water and the fishing can be a little more challenging; the water is generally low and a little colder than normal. However, you have a few things going in your favor. The brown trout are spawning, adding a lot of food into the river in the form of protein rich eggs. Also, you have fewer insects to decipher, in the fall you can generally expect to catch most of your fish on small mayflies such as blue winged olives, midges, eggs, and forage items such as minnows and leeches.

The key to successful fall and winter fly fishing on our Colorado waters, lies in your ability to read the water. The beginning of fall, September and October, finds fish holding in their usual summer spots. As the water begins to cool, look for brown trout holding in shallow riffles, staging, getting ready to lay their eggs. Be sure and watch out for redds, or spawning beds. These areas can be easily identified by shallow depressions in the riffle that are light in color. Avoid fishing to fish on their spawning beds, as doing so can be very harmful for future populations of trout.

During the fall I would start out fishing a nymph rig. The lower and clearer water generally means longer casts, longer leaders, smaller more realistic flies, and finer tippets. Together these principles will help you approach trout and present flies in a more natural and effective manner. Stealth is going to be your overall key to success, use the clear water to sight fish. Once you have located a fish, approach him with care from behind. Take your time and make sure you do not line the fish with brightly colored fly line, instead make sure only the leader and indicator go over the fish’s feeding lane.Colorado fall fly fishing caught rainbow trout

A favorite fall nymph rig of mine that can be effective on most Colorado waters is the egg/pheasant tail combo. The egg makes a great point fly and overall attractor, then trail a realistic mayfly pattern behind it like a pheasant tail, pandemic mayfly, or Barr’s Emerger. Also midges will start to become more and more active so be sure and pack some midges in small sizes (20-22) and various colors, black, grey, olive, and blue. The midge will work well behind the egg, but my favorite set up is a three fly nymph rig consisting of the egg, mayfly, and midge. As always with nymph rigs, find the bottom and fish up. Your flies are always drifting shallower than you think, so when in doubt add more weight. As annoying as it is, if you are not occasionally snagging bottom with your nymphs, your flies are not getting deep enough.

Blue Winged Olive mayflies are the most prolific hatch on most Colorado trout streams during the fall months. These bugs are generally smaller, ranging from size 16 all the way to 24, but most of the time a fly tied on a size 18-20 hook will fool its fair share of fish. For the best dry fly fishing wait until you see fish actively rising, then tie on a good dry such as a Parachute Adams and get ready! For more hook ups suspend a dropper, like a Barr’s Emerger (size 18) off the bend of your hook. Let your flies swing at the end of your drift, the act of swinging will force your dropper to the surface, imitating emerging insects and producing more strikes!

Link to FlyFisher for Guide Service


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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Grand Teton Fly Fishing Guide Service


Jack Dennis Fishing Trips becomes Grand Teton Fly Fishing

I was fortunate enough to have worked and fished with Scott Smith some 20+ years ago when we both were TW services employees in Yellowstone. Both of us Georgia boys looking for trout and not missing those small Southern trout, Wyoming was calling. Scott made the most of it and stayed, I however went back for a few years before settling in Colorado.

In 2009 famed fisherman Jack Dennis left Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop and started his own fly shop to become the new home for his veteran guide service – Jack Dennis Fishing Trips. Since then, Jack sold the service to his trusted senior guides he’d worked with through the years. Grand Teton Fly Fishing (formerly Jack Dennis Fishing Trips) is now excited to carry on the tradition of experience, service and expertise for our guests.

Rediscover the guide service you have trusted for over 40 years. Grand Teton National Park access allows us to guide in some of the most exclusive waters in the country. Their service driven and will work hard to give you the ultimate fishing experience.

Grand Teton Fly Fishing continues the proud tradition of Wyoming Fly Fishing that Jack Dennis Fishing Trips began 40 years ago.

They have a new location inside the Dave Hansen Whitewater building at 225 W. Broadway (2 blocks west of the town square on Broadway). Whether you want to go for some whitewater excitement or the fishing trip of a lifetime. Come see us.

BOOK NOW for a fishing trip of a lifetime.




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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Denver Post Quits on the Outdoors..Scott Willoughby Let Go



Sign of the times, you might say. Newspapers are shrinking. The outdoors beat isn't an ad magnet, so it's a logical section to cut.

But the The Denver Post? Seriously? Denver has always stood apart for its rich embrace of the outdoors ideal. When you count the number of people (millions) in this region, and match that with the sheer magnitude of world-class hunting and fishing opportunities to be had within driving distance, this might be the outdoor sports capital of the world. That’s why I live here. And that’s why the Post has been the standard when it comes to daily newspapers covering the outdoors.

So when Scott Willoughby, outdoors editor for the Post, called me to say that his position was being phased out, I felt sick. I felt sick for Scott. I felt sick for what that signals to the outdoor market. And I felt sick for what this all would have meant to Charlie Meyers.

Charlie Meyers was the previous fishing/hunting columnist of the Post, and he was my professional mentor. I loved him like an uncle, and he taught me things I still use in my work every day. The man could tell a story like nobody else, and he kept the policy makers accountable as well. There’s a State Wildlife Area in Colorado named after him now. I don’t know many newspaper writers, from Denver or otherwise, who have monuments like that dedicated to their memories.

Great Article by Kirk Deeter on an amazing Writer parting ways


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