Happy New Year and Happy Fishing

First of all I want to wish everyone a happy New Year.  I am looking forward to some great things in the year to come.

The New Year always is a great time to clear the slate and build on what you have and think about the year to come. 

That can mean fishing in the next few weeks and months.  Right about this time of year I get an itch to get out on water with some warmer temperatures.  Maybe it’s that the solstice has come and the days are actually getting longer. Or it is just time to get out of the cabin.

This winter has offered some great fishing of the Blue River below Dillon Reservoir.  The flows have been up since September and this has offered lots of Mysis shrimp to the fish.  The fish have been very active on Mysis patterns and other midge and nymph patterns.  Many large fish have been caught and released in the past few months.  The time is now to get out on the Blue River!

There has also been some great fishing on the upper stretches of the Blue between Dillon Reservoir and Breckenridge.  There was a decent run of Kokanee in the river and some nice Browns as well.  This section fishes great in the winter.  If you haven’t checked it out, I would recommend it.

I usually like to escape Summit County this time of year for some warmer temperatures.

One of my favorite escapes is the Arkansas River in the Salida area.  Not only is the fishing great all winter, but also you can expect warmer temperatures and little fishing pressure.  This is always a welcome feeling on the hands while wielding a fly rod or tying a bug on.

Another favorite is the South Platte River in the Deckers area.  I love to hike up into Cheeseman canyon and spot lunkers from the trail.  The fish can be wary but if you take your time and hike a ways up into the canyon the fishing can be great.  The fish are large, you may run into a midge hatch and the scenery is breathtaking.

There are plenty of other options to get out of the cabin and feel some warm sunshine on your back and break the fly rod out of it’s case.  Look to the Roaring Fork Valley and the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork Rivers.  Or maybe you need to get out farther to the San Juan River in New Mexico. Don’t worry in just a few weeks there will be plenty more options, as the longer days warm temperatures and break more rivers from the ice and grip of winter.

If you want to get out for a day on the river please get in touch.  We are offering 15% off all winter fly fishing trips.

Also until the end of January I am going to offer 20% off all guided trips booked for the summer, from 5-1-14 to 10-31-14.  I am opening my schedule up for the summer, so if you would like a day with me.  Book me and take the discount!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Fly-Fishing-and-Skiing-News.html?soid=1102045959367&aid=81v4zmztJhI

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Fly-Fishing-and-Skiing-News.html?soid=1102045959367&aid=81v4zmztJhI

Winter Really!?

Yes, can you believe it is already skiing season!? I know I am having a little trouble thinking about it, but believe it or not it is true. 

People have been talking about Arapahoe Basin opening this weekend.  While that is a little hard to believe, you never know.  We have been having quite a bit of moisture this fall and it looks like it may run into the winter.

So that means it’s time to get the ski tuning shop in full swing.  Tunes on the Fly will be ready to tune skis and snowboards next week.  Make sure you get your rides ready to glide fast and carve hard.  Bring your gear in for 25% OFF tunes through the end of October.

Even though I am talking skiing, the fishing is really at it’s best right now. It always bums me out when no one is really taking advantage of the great conditions of fall. Right now the Colorado and Arkansas are fishing great with Blue Wing Olive hatches happening daily.  Don’t expect to fish dries every day, but on the cloudy and calm days; it’s on.  Every other day offers some great nymph fishing with small Blue Wing Olive nymph patterns.  The mornings tend to be a little slow but watch out as soon as the water temperatures warm up.  The fish are feeding actively and we are talking lots of hook ups.

We are offering 15% OFF trips through the end of October for one last fishing fix. Wade fishing trips and float trips; I’ll get you out for a good day.  

Whether you need a few more days on the water or you are ready to get out on the hill and need your gear ready to go.  Blue River Anglers and Tunes on the Fly have you covered.

Rising Fall

It’s hard to believe summer is winding down.  It seems like yesterday that the snow pack was just finishing it’s melt off. Fall is right around the corner and with fall comes cool evenings, blue sky days, vibrant autumn colors and best of all; some of the best fishing of the year.

I always look forward to this time of year.  I can actually get out of the shop and do some guiding and fishing for myself.  The busiest time of year has come and gone and the daily chores slacken. Now I can get out on the river, and let me tell you, this is my favorite times of year to be on the water. 

Daytime temperatures can still get in the eighties and evenings are cool and crisp.  This cool down kick starts some good fall hatches. Grasshoppers, Caddis, Pale Morning Duns, Blue Wing Olives and Red Quills spring into action before the cold of winter hits the river.  There seems to be sense of desperation in the fall air as a last wave of hatches hits the river and a feeding frenzy by the trout follows.

For the next two months this trend dominates Colorado fly fishing, with the Colorado, S. Platte and Arkansas sticking out as a few of my favorites. Some rivers can fish better than others in the fall season. Mostly due to water levels that are too low and fish have retreated to deeper water.  I recommend fishing larger rivers or concentrating on the deeper holes in smaller streams, and make sure to use a stealthy approach. 

Floating the Colorado River would be one of my first choices.  The temperatures are perfect and the fishing maybe better with the Colorado’s abundant aquatic insect life and healthy Brown Trout population.

This is also the time of year the Brown Trout start thinking about spawning and it’s not uncommon to see twenty plus inch Browns in the headwaters of the Colorado, South Platte and Arkansas Rivers. These Browns are very wary and do not come easy to a fly.  Walk the river with a stealthy approach and look for fish in the tail-outs, riffles and always fish the deep holes.  Be ready to hang on and make sure you keep them out of the under cut banks.

I would love to help you experience the great fishing of fall and maybe catch that lunker Brown. 

For the month of September Blue River Anglers will be offering 15% OFF all trips in September and October.  So get me, or one of my guides out of the office, by booking a float or wade trip this fall.

Time to Relax

As usual for this time of year, the past few weeks have been a blur.  It always amazes me at how slowly the fishing season takes to shape up and then all of a sudden the season is here and then almost gone.

In reality the great fishing lasts well into October and for us locals this is our favorite time of year to fish.  The problem is, the summer season and fly fishing’s glory days of bugs and more bugs, dry fly fishing, wet wading and fields of wild flowers slips by so fast.

The summer months can be hard to fit it all in.  There are barbeques, bike rides, camping, fishing and so much more.  With so much to do, it’s sometimes hard to feel a sense of relaxation. 

An afternoon or day on the river may be the best way for me to solve this problem and slow down.  It’s hard to explain where the hours go. Before you know it 5 hours has gone by, as you have been mesmerized watching water, a fly and the hope for a strike.   

I often just sit on the bank and listen to the water and feel the ionized water soften the air around me.  It can be a kind of meditation and if I’m lucky a cat knap can cap off the afternoon.  It’s in these moments that I get the most from fly fishing or being outside. Many a secret to the art and science of fly fishing I have learned in a relaxed state on the rivers edge.

You never know what you’ll see or learn by taking the time to smell the roses, realize where you are, how precious the summer moths are and how this enjoyment is what makes life so special.

The next couple of weeks can fly by so quickly.  Make sure you get out and enjoy them to the fullest.  That could even mean a lazy cat knap on a riverbank.  I’m going to try and make that happen for me.

Zeke Hersh

The Simple Truth

With the fishing so good right now, I’m going to keep this short.  This spring or as we like to call it, winter, went on forever this year.  It seems like only a short couple of weeks ago we were getting at least three days a week of snow.  Then summer hit!

The last three weeks or so have been dry and warm.  These warm temperatures peaked our snowmelt about a week and a half ago and we have been steadily filling our reservoirs. Dillon is very close to filling!

What was looking like a very scary dry year in February, turned around with all the late winter snow.  Throughout the state there are many places that still have drought conditions, but here in Summit County we are looking pretty darn good.  Bring on the monsoons though!

As for the fishing, let me tell you it has been quite good. With flows stabilizing we have been on the water fishing hard lately. I have been float fishing the Colorado over the last couple weeks and I got to say I have had some of the best days I can remember.  From using big flies, to fish being where they are supposed to be on seemingly every cast.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Another hot spot is the upper Arkansas. One of my guides told me that the fishing was so good on dries, that he didn’t even bother putting on a dropper.  Yep that’s pretty good!

Rumor has it the Blue below Silverthorne is fishing pretty hot right now as well.  From what I can tell, it was stocked with lots of Brood Fish and they have not been picky.  Just today a fella came in telling me about a twenty-three inch trout he landed on a hopper at the “Factory Stores”.  Let me tell you; that doesn’t happen very often!

I could go on with more tales of great fishing on the Upper Colorado, Williams Fork reservoir for Pike and more, but you need to come out and see it for yourself.  So what’s stopping you?  Get here!

High Water and Salmon Flies

It’s that time of year again, the first hatches of the season are happening around Colorado. 

The first Blue Wing Olive hatches started a couple of months ago on various rivers and then shortly after that the famous ‘Mother’s Day’ Caddis hatch started its migration up the Arkansas and Colorado Rivers.

Now, the mother of all insect hatches the ‘Salmon Fly’ hatch has begun on the Colorado River. Some years this can be a tough one to hit, with high and off color water.  This year however the water levels have been down. Much of our snowmelt is being held back by our reservoirs as we replenish their levels for the year to come.

What this means, is better than normal opportunities to hit this hatch.  That being said, this hatch does move fast and always seems to be a bit fickle.  If you get a chance in the next week or so, I would definitely try and get out on the Colorado for this experience.

Spring and early summer is also the time of year when many rivers are swollen to their banks and the thought of crossing a river is a ‘death wish’.  Some anglers call it quits for a couple of weeks, waiting for the flows to come down. Many think fishing is out of the question with the high flows and that fish just cannot be caught.

This idea is quite to the contrary.  If the water is up and has some visibility, there can be some very good fishing along the banks with some large nymph patterns.  The key is to fish the quite areas along the banks, in back eddies and along undercut banks.  These areas offer the slowest moving water in the river and sometimes offer the only holding water for the trout. 

Being that the holding water is limited, you may find many fish in one small area.  Using the larger and heavier stonefly and attractor nymphs patterns is key to get your flies down and visible to the fish.

You will need to use various methods of attaining a ‘dead drift’, from ‘high sticking’ to ‘stack mending’.  The important thing is to makes sure you’re snagging bottom from time to time.  This is a good indicator that your fly is heavy enough and most importantly, that you are actually getting a ‘dead drift’.

Fish these ‘pockets hard and slow and I promise you there’s a good chance you’ll land a fish in almost every pocket.

Don’t let this time of year keep you off the water longer than you already have been. Get out there and go fishing!