Hello all and thanks for checking in at The O’Grady Fly
Fishing Adventures blog. It feels like years since the last time I sat down at
my keyboard and so even though this post may not have anything really interesting
to say, I just had to get something written down. As some of you know, I have
been having knee, shoulder and nerve problems the last few years. February I
had the shoulder fixed and couldn’t be happier. Next up was the back. Surgery
was set for the June 16th, normally I would have been out everyday
fishing ahead of time but I had to take it easy trying to shake this
everlasting cold. The surgery was complicated a little when a bone shard was found
lodged against my spine, but immediately after coming to, I knew it was
successful.
I had
been feeling better daily and on Sunday, Cat and I made our way up to Deckers
to sit in with the Sage team on their “on the water tour”. We had known that
Sage was soon going to be bringing out their newest rod and on Sunday we got
the chance to play with it. Very gingerly I made my way into the river and got
to try out my flip casting and due to the high brush behind us we also got to
work on our roll casting. My back only allowed for a short period of time in
the river, and unfortunately we didn’t get to fight any fish, but we did learn
a few things about the new Sage X. First of all, physically it is light, and
even more importantly, it feels light in the hand. Secondly the rod felt vey
snappy, they claim the ultimate in recovery time, I can tell you there was very
little wiggle. And thirdly, either we have somehow miraculously become
incredible roll casters, or more likely, the rod casts itself. Roll out for the
new Sage X will be early August and I can’t wait to get my hands on my own.
As for
fishing right now, as we know, P-town will be on the mend for at least a while
longer still. After spending some time with Pat Dorsey on Sunday, he believes
that the next few weeks the South Platte should be in absolute perfect
condition. As soon as Spinney fills, the Platte in the Cheeseman area will jump
from the current 400ish up to well over 700cfs. The water isn't sparkly clear but sure gives you the mountain feel. The upper Ark is just now
coming into that perfect dry fly heaven conditions. Every fish in the river is
within 12 inches of the bank and if you can keep yourself from falling into the
river, you ought to be able to have a blast. And lastly, the high lakes are
mostly open now. I’m not a huge fan of hiking but those times when I have made
my way to 10,000 feet, it can be a little difficult to focus on fishing with
God’s country filling your every sense. If a person could bottle the alpine
sense, they could be billionaires.
My
follow up appointment with my neurologist will be on Thursday and I will have a
little better time frame on my recovery. As for now, I have no idea what I will
be doing on the Fourth. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t celebrate
freedom by educating fish on the Taylor. Hope to be telling more fishing
stories soon and until then I want to wish you all a wonderful summer. As
always, Connell, Cat, Winston, DR’s. Davis & Nelson and the Drift Fly Shop
want to thank you for reading….
