Hello
all and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. It’s
times like these when I remember how much I truly adore fly fishing. As most of
you know, I had back surgery just over three weeks ago and have been limited to
very slow and deliberate movements. If you have ever seen me play basketball,
than you may think that I have always followed that rule. Anyway, other than
the short time spent casting the new Sage-X last week on the South Platte, my fishing
fix has come from listening to fishing stories in the shop. Yesterday, while at
the shop, we noticed that the river had dropped to around 550cfs and even
though the clarity was far from perfect, I needed my fix.
Cat,
Winston and I got to the water at just after six and I jumped into one of my
go-to runs. Cat took a few moments to get set up right across from me and I
think she hooked a fish on her first cast. She hooked three in the first run and
got one to the net. We began working our way down river and Cat hooked a few
more. Finally after about an hour I landed my first fish, he was a GIANT 11
incher. I very carefully made my way to the other side and finally hooked a
serious toad. The fish had my hands fumbling like a total newb and I got smoked.
A few casts later and I hooked another beast. My hands worked much better and
my fight was valiant, however once the fish got below me, I wasn’t willing to
take the fight to him for risk of twisting my back. I finally landed my fish of
the summer, he was right around 15inches and I could not have been happier.
This is where things got interesting; I looked just up river and saw something
coming straight at me and I realized it was a man-eating beaver. I could hear
Winston growling from across the river. Quickly, all the statistics of the
hundreds and thousands of people a year that get mauled by beaver rambled
through my brain. And yes I know that I am a complete wimp, but when he got to
about ten feet from me and then dove, I started doing what looked like the
happy dance. I just wanted to make sure that he knew these were my legs and not
tree trunks.
Well I
made it out with my back just a little tight and all my lower limbs attached
and we called it a very successful evening. While walking back to the car, Cat and I had a
slight bittersweet moment. We absolutely love fishing our One’s but after
fishing the Sage-X last week, the anticipation began to seep in a little. The
feeling reminded me a little of my youth B-days, I always got what I needed but
very quickly I would daydream about what I would get for Christmas.
I
checked this morning and the flows are still sitting at right around 550cfs. If
you feeling the need get out to the river, early and late in the day are the
best times. Fish were taking PMD emergers last night. Alex’s Whiskey nymph and
the soft hackle will be great producers for the next few months. If you are the
adventurist type, reports from the high lakes have been phenomenal. Get by the
shop and we can get you in the right direction. As always, Connell, Cat,
Winston, Angry Beaver, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…..
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