In The Shadows

     Act Thrice

   My own personal Teddy Roosevelt will be the next in this series. Studying the history of this president made it easy to pick out my own personal Teddy, not necessarily because I learned so much about fly fishing from him but because they are both so confused, politically speaking, as to what they believe. My friend is always telling me about getting so flustered at work because of political arguments he gets into. What is so funny is that when he talks about what he believes in, it is the exact opposite of what his political affiliation believes in, just like Teddy. Teddy was considered to be a great conservative and yet started the whole National park system. Teddy worked hard to push for the completion of the Panama Canal and even started his own political party when the conservative part distanced themselves from him. On the domestic front, he was the instigator of the “square deal “program and spent his entire adult life in politics.

   The first time I met Scott or better known as Scooter was in the shop several years ago. It was a short introduction as he was heading out but Cat had told me that we had a lot in common. A couple weeks later I was getting out of my vehicle at Monarch ski area and he was right in front of me. I said hello Scooter and he looked at me and had no idea who I was. I told him I was Cat’s husband and he lit up like a Christmas tree and invited me to join him on the slopes. We had an absolute blast that day as I got to ski with him and his two friends. Skiing, like fly fishing is best enjoyed when doing it with others that have similar abilities. Spending a whole day untangling your friend’s lines or waiting at the bottom of the hill for your friend to get through the bumps is not very fun. Scott, Tom and Leroy were not that way at all, they could get it done!!! We hit it off immediately and began skiing and fishing together regularly.

   Before I get into what I have learned from Scooter, I want to tell you a little about my idea of fly fishing up to this point.  I first learned to fly fish on the upper Arkansas and some of the smaller streams that drain into the Ark. It did not matter if it was a 4inch brookie or a 13inch brown, I was completely hooked. Now, if you know anything about me, I am very competitive and could only measure the success of the day by the numbers I had caught. I remember one time, Cat and I were fishing Grape and we were both pushing 150 fish. I though the best way to measure the success was to see how full of **** people thought I was. I would try some of the catch and release areas but did not have the patience because we were not hooking fish on every cast and then we would almost always end up back at easy waters.

   After fishing with Scooter a few times I remember asking him how many fish he had caught that afternoon, that way I could tell him I had caught one more, just kidding. He looked over and said “you are not one of those counters, are you?” As quick as a whip I came back with you are not one of those picture takers, are you? I can tell you this, over the next several years, I have been blessed with the ability to fish with Scooter on a regular basis. Watching Scott fish is like looking at a beautiful mountain sunset oil painting. At first you are like that’s cool, and then as you stair, you lose yourself in the way the colors have been blended into a totally mesmerizing masterpiece. Scott is quiet, smooth, and observant and almost seems to melt into his surroundings. Scott can catch a 13 inch bow and he sees how the belly is swollen or the light markings on its jaws, and with browns, like a finger print, he points out the masterpiece marking on its sides. Scott takes the time to collect bugs and study them for future tying and he seems to notice everything around him. One of my best secrets in tying came from an observation Scott had made.

   I would like to say that I am a little more at peace with my surrounding because of my friendship with Scott. I know I have become much more observant of what is going on around me. I think I am a little less competitive and trying to enjoy everything about fishing, Cat may disagree on that one. It has been years since anyone has out fished me so I can’t know for sure (hehe). The greatest thing I have learned from Scott is to try to enjoy everything about fishing. Picking up rocks and seeing the bugs, watching for birds, seeing all the perfection that God has set out for us to enjoy. So even though Scooter is a little confused politically, I would have to say, I am glad I have had the opportunity to call him a friend.

  We here at The Drift Fly shop are passionate about fly fishing and everything that goes with it. The next several weeks should be the best of the year for fishing the tailwater. Thursday will be the end of the winter storage at the reservoir so we will be experiencing some fluctuations in the flows. The water will go up and down till runoff and fishing will be exceptional on the right days. If you are not getting the results you would like than I would suggest that you make an investment in your future fishing fun and book a trip now. We love to teach and watch clients hook into that first monster, makes me smile just thinking about it. Thanks for reading, Connell

The Drift Fly Shop 719-543-3900

Sunday March 11^th Fishing Report

   And Trivia question for the day.

 The Trivia question for the day is ; How do you know exactly where your friends have been fishing when they have only given you general information? Answer will be at the end of this blog.

  Cat and I went into the Reservoir drive area this morning. We were excited when we got up and saw it was sprinkling and overcast. Unfortunately, shortly after we got to the river the sun came out.  Fishing was good most of the day but I would not say great.You can tell when some of the best pctures are of Winston. I Landed somewhere between 12 and 15 with the largest one being a 20 inch male. Perfect timing because Alex and his kids were skating by at the time and were able to take picturess. Cat landed several with the largest being 15 inches.  Did not see a lot of midges but between 2:00 and 3:00, we did get to see our first blue wing hatch of the year. I think the fish were as surprised as I was when the may flies started hatching, so they did not start keying on them. Saw a lot of “large spawners” through the corridor. Beautiful fish but please leave them alone and let them get their groove on.

   Seeing the blue wings coming off tells me that fishing should just explode over the next few weeks or so. If you are not getting the results you are looking for or just wanting to get better at tailwater fishing, this would be a great time to book a trip. The learning curve at this time of the year is steep and you can become an expert in no time. Thanks, Connell

  The Drift Fly Shop 719-543-3900

  Now, before we get to the trivia answer, I have to explain a few things. I have been tying and fishing my own unique patterns over the last several years.  Most of them are not that secretive but very affective. We also carry some of my patterns in the shop. I have showed friends over the years how to tie several of them. Danny has become exceptional at tying several of them and has gone on and taught his brother in law Josh how to tie them. Josh has been posting pictures of his improved FOD and I have to admit, tying them with biots, he makes them look awfully good.

  Answer to the trivia… Check the trees…

   I was fishing across from a tree today and snagged a branch on the other side. I knew the water was not real deep so I headed over and found a smorgasbord of what I thought were my flies. Four different setups with three flies each, yep do the math twelve flies!  I thought about it and realized they were not mine because I had not fished that spot in several weeks. They had to be from Dan and Josh so I wondered was this there way of decorating a Christmas tree? It wasn’t even a fir. Were they thinking Dr Seuss was for real when he wrote Three Fish In a Tree?  Don’t know exactly but I appreciate the donation and it was great to think that your friends were fishing this exact spot just yesterday. The picture is of what I pulled out of the tree, minus an RS2 I fished as a finders fee.Hehe

Fishing Report 03/08/2112

    Arkansas Tailwater in Pueblo

  Cat and I snuck out to the river this afternoon and had an exceptional day. We got on the water about 1:30 and started catching fish almost immediately. Fish seemed to be feeding in tail outs of runs and were eating Ninjas, Winston Caddis, blood worms and grey midges. Fish were feeding heavily from the time we got to the water till about 4:00 and then they really slowed down. We landed about twenty between us with most in the 13 to 15 inch range. The biggest was a 20.5 inch buck rainbow. It is a great time to get out and observe fish in their natural spawning beds , we saw beds everywhere with lots of Bows actively getting their groove on. Please, don’t fish to fish on beds, they have other things on their minds.

   Fishing seems very easy to Cat and I right now and we tend to forget what it is like to struggle. Cat ran into a pair of anglers today and they told her they were having a very slow day. We have been hearing a lot of this lately in the shop, four groups will be in the shop saddened by their disappointing day and the next group will come in glowing from the gobs of big fish they have caught. If you have ever wanted to learn more about catching tail water fish, this is a great time to learn. The guides at The Drift Fly Shop will work very hard to give you a great learning experience. If you just want to catch the pigs, we know where they are as well, but you better bring you’re a-game. Thanks, Connell and Cat

  The Drift Fly shop 719-543-3900

The video is from today, enjoy!

Most Amazing Picture Ever

  Alex informed me that he would be e-mailing me an Amazing picture from yesterday. Anxiously, my mind was running fast; did he snap a picture of a Yeti? Did he have a run in with an alien? With Easter around the corner, did he see the Easter Bunny? Oh my gosh, the most AMAZING  and ELUSIVE picture ever!!!!!!!!Proof in the way of a pic of his twenty one inch hen….Okay, well I think if you can’t laugh at yourself or friends than you will be missing the greatest joke of your generation. Thanks, Connell                                                        

 Just having fun Alex, what a beautiful Fish!!!!!!                                                                    

Project Healing Waters

  Alex and I got the chance to host The Denver Project Healing waters group today on the Arkansas. Project Healing waters is a national group of Veterans that have the common interest of fly fishing. We guided the group in the morning and fished with them in the afternoon. Fishing on the Ark is definitely starting to pick up with several fish landed in the morning and the largest fish being a 22.5 inch bow. This was Gary’s second day ever with a fly rod and he will be hooked for life, must have had a GREAT guide. We had the afternoon lull from about 11:30 to 1:00, but fishing picked up after that. We got to fish with the group and I landed about ten, with the largest being 20 inch bow. I had to take off and get to my real job about 2:00, but Alex stayed and finished the day landing a 21 inch hen. Sorry, I do not have pics for proof, but this time I will believe him.

   Fishing is really starting to pick up again here in Pueblo. If you are not getting the results you are looking for, book a trip and we can make you time on the water more enjoyable. We here at The Drift Fly Shop spend a ton of time fishing, scouting and studying the habits of these fish. Thanks for reading, Connell.  The Drift Fly Shop 719-543-3900

In The Shadows

    Part Deux

   Going back to my earlier blog series on my own personal fly fishing Mount Rushmore, the next most popular president seemed to be the next logical step. Abraham Lincoln was known mostly for two things; the emancipation of the slaves and his honesty. With all the stories I have heard over the years from anglers it would be very difficult to make that “honest” connection, and slavery, that will be a stretch as well, but I think although extremely corny, I can do it.

   The first year Cat worked in the shop she would come home almost every day telling me stories about what one or another fisherman was doing to catch fish.  Going to the water she would try so many things that her head would nearly explode. Some ideas turned out okay but as time went by and seeing many of the story tellers on the water, we have become very skeptical of the “only right way “to catch the fish.

  One of the greatest storytellers over the years has been Tony, better known as Antz, to his friends. Tony is one of the few people than has me completely captivated when telling stories. His voice inflections, his arm waving, his facial contortions and most of all his sound effects, are like no other. If you were to close your eyes, you would think you were on the river hearing the hook set, his reel scream, and the water splashing, his movement on the water and last his net landing the monster. When he finishes telling his fishing stories, he goes on to wrestling, friendships, golf and whichever direction his story  goes he has you just as entranced as the story before. When strangers come in the shop they would stop listen and fall into the Tony trance until he was done, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, always entertaining. Naturally, I was not one hundred percent convinced he wasn’t full of ****.

  Before talking about fishing with Antz, I need to let you know that prior to fishing with him, my idea of sight fishing was going to the crystal clear Taylor and tossing my junk at every pod of fish. The first time I had the privilege of fishing with Antz was on the “Dream Stream”. It was an accidental meeting when Cat and I were walking up the river and just as we saw a small pod of fish, in crystal clear water, Antz and his son walked up. He looked in and told me to go ahead, nervously because of Toney’s stature, two casts in and I landed my first fish of the day, a 17 inch cutty.  Unfortunately she spilled a few eggs while I was getting a pic, but nonetheless, I stood up with my chest sticking out a little farther (yep I’m the man!). We walked up the river across from each other with Antz slowly surveying the water all the way. The water dirtied and riffled more as we walked up. Every now and again, he would stop turn his head a little, take another look and cast. He was seeing so many fish that naturally I thought he was full of it, but he kept hooking fish left and right. I figured it was just the side of the river he was on so I switched, but it was just the same, I was seeing squat and he was hooking fish. We walked up the river about a mile and then back down, I could not believe the vision that Antz possessed. We got back down into one of the lower bends and he started showing me a pod of fish, I had no idea what he was looking at but went along with him anyway. He told me to stay put because they were moving up. He hurried up past them and started slapping the water, when he told me they were almost on me I casted. The indicator only moved a short distance and Bang. The wake headed straight down stream about forty yards. I was able to chase down and land a beautiful 22 inch bow. I was not The Man, He was!

  So how do I make the connection with Antz and Mr. Lincoln, after watching him in action, He just may get the Honest Abe award for the stories, and heck if his fishing stories are true, maybe the rest are as well. I choose to believe! Next comparison will be as hokey and corny as you can get and please …I do not mean to offend anyone. If you ever have spent time on the Dream Stream than you know how your dreams can turn to nightmares in a hurry, as you drive the two and a half hours the thoughts in your head are of 30 inch fish and lots of them, and when you leave you are stunned to have only caught a few in the 12 inch range. At times you feel you like you are a complete “slave” to these Dream Stream monsters, did you catch it, the subtlety. Maybe if you are lucky, as I have been, you can be “freed” from the nightmares of the dream stream. What a blessing it has been over the year to get to know and fish with Antz, the tips and techniques I learned from him have made me a much better fisherman and my time on the water is so much more enjoyable.

   Writing these blogs has really been a lot of fun for Cat and I. They get us thinking about all the blessings that our friends have been to us. If you have not been to The Drift Fly Shop in Pueblo and you are in town, I hope you stop by and say hello. You just may catch an Oscar performance by Tony. We are passionate about fly fishing here and loving meeting others that are just like us.

   Since Tony has no idea that I am writing this blog on Him, I was not able to get his permission to put up any of the pics that his best friends have given to me. So legally, I am saying that these pics may, or may not be of Ant’z, if they are not than they look just like him. Also, the goober in the blue coat was me with the fish he practically put on my line. The other pics are Jeff and his son.

   The next subject in this series, Teddy Roosevelt, has already been spoken for. I am still contemplating my Andrew Jackson; I have some ideas but if you would like to volunteer or know someone that fits that description, feel free to let me know or leave a comment. Thanks for reading, Connell

Seeing the Stripe

  Tuesday Cat and I got to fish for the first time in a week. The sky was bright Blue Bird and the wind was howling. The section we went into saw the Bow’s laying in frog water and barely moving. We fished for four hours and only landed two. We hooked several but the size 24 midges were pulling out way too often (my excuse). I knew I had a guide trip going out the next morning with the perfect kind of client, someone that has struggled catching tail water fish and desperately wanted to learn how. Checking the weather report I saw that Wednesday called for Blue Bird skies, only 10 mph wind and 60 degrees. The warmth told me that the river would be packed and the clear skies told me that the fish would be super spooky with only a short window for active feeding.

   I was surprised to see only a few cars when we arrived and was excited after meeting my client and seeing his true humility with wanting to learn. The wind was blowing much harder than forecasted so I was hoping he could cast. We headed up the path and I asked him a few questions about what he knew and I realized by his answers that he knew a lot more about fly fishing than he thought. The first spot we stopped was the perfect place to begin learning. We were able to stand above a riffle that came at us, deepened and then turned against the bank. We were able to see the shadows of the fish and see what type of water they were holding in and the direction they were facing. We then walked down and my client started casting, we worked on line management the first half an hour, drifting though the riffle where the fish were holding. I was a little surprised that we didn’t pick anything up but he picked up the line management very quick. We walked up to the next run and at the tail end we spotted several fish chasing midges on the bottom. On his first cast, the indicator landed just behind the fish and he stripped perfectly until the bow grabbed it and starting running. First fish of the day was a healthy 14inch bow. The next was a 17inch female followed by a 16inch male that had teeth like a small shark. We fished that hole for another half hour or so hooking and catching several more fish. We started seeing fish rising all around and decided to move to the riffle just up above. Scouting it out, we could see several shadows feeding like crazy. He hooked 15 or so and probably landed ten before taking a break to jot down some notes and thoughts before moving back into the lower hole. We fished that for a while with a couple hookups before we decided to check out the riffle one more time before calling it a day. And then we saw it, glowing like neon on the Vegas strip, conservatively 21 to 23 inches,  a solid deep red stripe, about fifteen feet out from us . The wind had picked back up and after putting my client at ease, by telling him he had to make the perfect cast or blow the chance, he started casting. The first two casts were blown below the fish and luckily did not spook him. Then he laid it out perfectly, five feet in front, perfect upstream mend, tighten the line and  BANG, out of the water about a 22 inch male pig of a rainbow. The first run was fifteen feet across, then straight up river then across and down. We started chasing him and made our way to the other side, my client was able to work him into the slower pool where the Rainbow’s face finally surfaced and teetered a few times as if he were saying “I quit and I have been had, congratulations”. I was so proud of my client and what seemed to be a near flawless battle with this beauty. A deep breath of relief and triumph was half way out and then it was over, a quick head shake and he was gone with all three flies. We stood for a second with jaws barely above the water and after what seemed to be an eternity, we both just smiled. The day was complete…

  What joy sight fishing can be, but with the understanding that chasing shadows all day can make it difficult to sleep at night. The images of the fish and the sounds of the splashing water never seem to stop echoing in your head. Sometime the fish are just laying flat on the bottom, sometimes you see the white of their mouths as they are feeding, sometimes you can just see the shadows moving around, but nothing much compares to when that shadow turns into the giant red stripe.  Slab, pig, toad and troutzilla are some of the common names; I just call them my personal gift from God.

   What a joy and thrill it is to fish and teach how to sight fish to these beauties. With the water low and clear for the next few weeks, this is the perfect time to learn sight fishing and to recognize different trout behavior. We at The Drift Fly Shop are passionate about fly fishing and teaching the different techniques. We would love to hear from you if want to learn new techniques or just unfamiliar with the area and want to have a great day on the river. We have several slots open over the next two weeks. To book a trip call The Drift at 719-543-3900. Thanks for reading, Connell