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The most important step in learning to fly fish is understanding how fly tackle works, and knowing how to select the right equipment is a close second. Fly fishing is a different sport than regular fishing, even though the objectives are the same. In fly fishing, it is the weight of the line, not the lure, that is cast. By whipping the line back and forth, the weight of the line carries the lure to the fish, rather than the weight of the lure carrying the line. This is why line selection is so crucial to fly fishing, and why there are hundreds of fly lines to choose from. (Our guides can assist you in this.)
The vest is what distinquishes a fly-fisher. These endless gizmos need to be in your pocket, so you can stay in the middle of the stream. And, it's wise, if you're going to fish on a regular basis, to have an extra set of most of these repair type of items, because chances are you'll borrow it out of your vest and forget to put it back! Try a few out; there's ones with velcro, and others with zippers, and even buttons. Do they sag? Are they partially netted for breathing? Do they have enough loops? It's one item that you don't want someone buying for you as a gift; it's very personalized.
Colorado Fishing ReportSpring: The notorious Colorado rivers run rapidly during the spring runoffs, which often result in "dirty water" for a few weeks. Please check with our guides to see what the condition is. Usuaully your best spot to fish in March/April is the North Fork of the Big Thompson. The best fishing in May is in Estes Lake.
In the early Summer, locals look forward to the afternoon monsoon clouds. Anglers know that rainy weather not only keeps the hot Colorado sun off your neck, but it serves to mask the fake flies and lures. Trout can hardly tell what's passing them in the normal fast waters, but with the rain, they can't squint enough to make it out, and one lucky fisher gets 'em.
Did you know trout lacked eyelids, so it makes them more inclined to look up when there's no bright sunlight. Also, those yummy mayflies hatch best in low light conditions.
In Colorado, you may experience a cold front with blue skies; fish will either suspend or lie on the bottom. To determine where the fish are, use baits that work the bottom or middle.
Catches in past years, along the Roaring Fork River, were rainbows and browns, close to l8 inches, and healthy whitefish.
Autumn/Winter: If you miss the October final (peaceful) fishing days, you'll have to wait until next spring, unless you are both a diehard and very experienced fisher and want to go up for a challenge. In winter, many areas are frozen over, and many have lower water than previous years due to the drought-like summers beginning in 2000, although there have been significant gains in water levels over the winters of 2002/3 and 2003/4.
Fishing in ponds during the winter months can be a major challenge. Experts recommend as lures small jigs, tubes, or Carolina rigged four-inch worms. Fish very slowly. And normally you won't feel the bite, the line will just feel heavy. Until you get comfortable with detecting a strike, set the hook so that you can feel any pressure. (we picked this up from Brian Coleman, professional angler)
New Rainbow Trout Strains Provide Management Options for Colorado:
Recently, rainbow trout strains have been identified that exhibit resistance to whirling disease. One strain in particular that has very strong resistance, named the “Hofer” rainbow, has been imported from Germany. Rainbow trout have been reared in fish culture facilities as food fish in that country since their original importation from the United States in the late 1800’s. Because whirling disease originated in Europe, some rainbow trout strains reared there have developed resistance to the parasite. The “Hofer” rainbow trout are being evaluated for use as a standard domestic catchable rainbow trout for put-and-take waters in Colorado. ... The first of these experiments was initiated in 2004, with very promising results. (And, an journal article was published on its findings in 2006.)
Check with your guide for updates.
It is a complicated process to breed and re-establish these greenbacks. If you want to help, contact the Alpine Anglers, a chapter of Trout Unlimited. Their primary reason for existence is to help this restoration, and they need more fresh volunteers. www.alpineanglers.org Or, send $5.00 for a attractive (medium size, square-shaped, color) sticker of the greenback cutthroat to support their work: send check to: Alpine Anglers, Chapter P.O. Box 4021, Estes Park, CO 80517
Arkansas River
More experienced fisherpersons may be interested in knowing that they can bring their boat on the Arkansas River. It is one of the nation's ten most popular recreational boating rivers. U.S. Highway 50 parallels much of the lower river, providing fishing and boating access, family picnicking, viewing opportunities, and great spots to photograph friends rafting on the river.
Vega State Park Here's a little known park to outsiders, but is appreciated by locals because the reservoir and its surrounding meadows offer late and early fishing due to short freezing periods; and ice fishing.
Navajo State Park
35-mile long Navajo Reservoir extends well into New Mexico. The park's 15,000 acres (including 3,000 acres on the Colorado side) offer a challenge to the angler and unlimited pleasure to the boater and water-skier. Navajo boasts Colorado's largest boat ramp at 80 feet wide and a quarter-mile long.
Three Dams near Delta
Morrow Point and Crystal Reservoirs and Blue Mesa are off U.S. Highway 50 near Montrose just off Colorado Highway 92. (Be sure to check a map for more detailed directions.) A vigorous hike is needed to reach either reservoir. The exercise is worth the trip for nature lovers and photographers. Fishing enthusiasts can select from rainbow, German brown, or lake (mackinaw) trout, or kokanee salmon. It offers the usual water activities. The reservoir area's natural beauty accents the variety of trout and kokanee salmon that are found at Blue Mesa.
Maintenance Tips:HOOKS: Did you know that surveys say that one of the main reasons fish get away is dull hooks? You can buy an inexpensive sharpener and get this done in minutes. Hooks should be sharp enough so the point digs slightly into a finger nail with minimal pressure. The little time it takes to sharpen your hooks is well worth it. (See our "books and gifts" page; normally $8.50 now $6.99)
RODS: There seems to be a spiraling cost for rods these days, but Bob Good at the Denver Post, has tried a few rods, and has found a good, fair priced one:
"As a flyfishing instructor for more than 30 years, one of the most common queries I receive now is how to buy a fly rod without breaking the bank. For the past three months I have been field testing an Orvis Silver Label 6 weight. Quite simply, I have fallen in lover with it. Priced at a very reasonable $260, it has performed flawlessly, doing everything I ask of it, while it exemplifies the all-around quality Orvis is famous for." Bob Good.
SHOES: Use comfortable shoes that are waterproof and draw sweat and water away from your feet--protecting you from the bane of all fishermen: cold, wet feet. If you come on one of our trips, we'll ask you your shoe size so that the rubber boots are a good fit.
WADERS: If your waders were leaking last summer, either box them up to send to the manufacturer for repair, or, if your manufacturer doesn't repair see if you and/or a friend can do it. You can check your waders for leaks by filling them with water and hanging them up in the garage or over your bathtub to see where/if water leaks out, or you can brush the outside with soap suds, insert the hose of your vacuum cleaner or a bicycle pump to fill the waders with air and see where the soap bubbles up from the air leaks. If leaks are in just small areas, you can dry the waders completely and then cover the holes with Aqua Seal or Simms Seal, on both the inside and outside of the leak. If the waders leak along the seams, it's more difficult to fix the leak with Aqua Seal, but you can try. Your local fly shop may also repair (not too likely) or may know someone who can help you repair. And if your waders have lots of leaks or are just old, it's time to think about a new pair. --by Pudge Kleinkauf "Women's Flyfishing"
Hank Roberts died in April (2002). He had his name on many flies; and even today seniors still tell tales of how they noticed how a certain fly would catch anything they wanted to catch."Today no one wants to talk to a l2 year old," said Wally Allen; but he remembers the day he met Henry Alfred Roberts in his Boulder, Colorado shop. "He knew everyone who came in the store and knew their name. He knew I was making my money from a paper route, so he would slip a few extras into the bag." Allen still has that first fly, with tiny, puffy brown, white and black fur and feathers, with a tiny barb, called The Irresistible.
While supporting a new wife selling appliances, Roberts spent his spare time typing flies. When the demand for flies got too high, he quit his job and opened his Fly Shop.
"He brought a stylishness, a reimagination of sport to Boulder that it had never known before. He was in a sense inventing Western fly-fishing out of whole cloth, and in retrospect, that's exciting," said Gordon Wickstrom, a Boulder native, and author of the book noted below. "It meant a whole new approach to the trout fly. He introduced the complicated woven body nymphs, which were invented in Montanta but developed and marketed here. It was a slightly more rugged version of fishing in wilder waters."
The odd thing was, Roberts dressed like a fine gentleman, and even sometimes fished the wild waters with his tie on. For him fishing was a social sport; he loved talking with people, and teaching newcomers, sometimes even more than catching a fish.
There's not enough space here to tell the whole story, of his family's involvement in the business, or his efforts to protect the streams of Colorado. See "Notes from an Old Fly Book" and Obituaries section "A Colorado Life", "DenverPost" 4/28/02.
Colorado Division of WildlifeGUIDE BOOK: Note, each year a new brochure is issued by the Colorado Division of Wildlife; be sure to use the correct one. In 2006, a Habitat stamp was added for state wildlife areas (see below).
LICENSE and FEES: Non resident License: Annual $40.25 non-resident, $20.25 resident; five-day $18.25; one-day $5.25; $5.00 addtl. day; and $18.25 for 5-consequetive days. Youth small game, furbearer and fishing (under 16): $1.00 Includes required Colorado Conservation Certificate. National Park Fee: $15, or $5 walk in. Private Water Rod fee: $25. We understand that you can soon get your license through the mail. (See "Habitat Stamp" below for new 2006 regulations)
GET A FREE FISHING GUIDE: Receive a 40-page fishing guide when you purchase a one-year magazine subscription to Colorado Outdoors. Published six times a year, it’s the official magazine of the Colorado Division of Wildlife and costs just $10.50. See Colorado Outdoors subscriptions or call 1-800-417-8986 to order the magazine and receive your free guide. If you would like to just order the 2003 Fishing Guide, it is available through Shop@DOW for $5. Go to the Colorado Division of Wildlife web site for more information.
FISHING ENTHUSIASTS AND NEWS MEDIA: The State regularly posts news releases regarding fishing outlooks. Find the outlook on the state’s top streams and lakes, how to safely release fish in catch and release areas, new regulations and more!
The State also is calling for recipes, tells you about special license purchases, current areas for best fishing. And free days in June. (usually around the l6 and 17, you don't need a license if you're a resident).
*HABITAT STAMPS--NEW in 2006*
One-day Anglers Need Habitat Stamp at State Wildlife Areas (May 2006): Anglers who buy a one-day fishing license in Colorado and who plan to fish at a State Wildlife Areas are reminded that they must also obtain a wildlife habitat stamp. The habitat stamp is not needed, however, if an angler fishes waters that are not located on a state wildlife area. Anglers should know where they are going to fish before buying the one-day license to determine if they will be entering a state wildlife area. A one-day license costs $9, the habitat stamp costs $5. A habitat stamp is needed by anyone 19 to 64 years old who enters a state wildlife area. The Colorado habitat stamp program is new in 2006. Income from the stamp will be used to protect and improve wildlife habitat throughout the state. The Colorado habitat stamp program is new in 2006. Income from the stamp will be used to protect and improve wildlife habitat throughout the state. Following are the types of fishing licenses available in Colorado. The prices include the $5 habitat stamp, a 25 cent search and rescue fee and a 75 cent wildlife education fee. Residents: annual license for ages 16 to 63, $31; combination fishing and small game, $46; second rod stamp, $5; annual licenses for anglers 64 or older are free, add $5 for the habitat stamp. Non-residents: annual license $61; five-day license, $26; second rod stamp $5. For more information, go to the Colorado Division of Wildlife web site at http://wildlife.state.co.us.
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Date last modified: April 12, 2008 9:00 AM