Observations from the Ark, September 2nd

  I had a couple of friends come into town to fish today and I found the river to be a little tough and the river was very crowded. The flows dropped from 140cfs on Wednesday to 78cfs today and it seemed to move the fish into the entire river with no real order. When the river was a little higher, I was able to focus on the riffle runs. We did not get to the river til about 10:30a.m. and the sun was already beating down on us. Clarity was excellent so I had to move back to 5 and 6x fluoro. I started in some rock clusters but could only see a few fish resting and not really moving around feeding. I next moved into some shallow, quick riffles and found a few feeding fish but every hookup seemed to spook the other fish in the area. I last tried a few of the intermediate depth runs with good oxygenation and found a good first cast would produce takes. I thought over the last month that some of the soft jaw problems were going away but had a lot of hookups and quick battles followed by the “dink”, and a few choice noises of disgust. Most of my fish were hooked after moving into an area and making a good first cast.  I did see one angler in behind a weir that had good depth and good oxygen levels and he seemed to be hooking up in the same area for a while.

  My tips for the week if the water levels stay the same are to take your time and spot the fish, get into a good casting spot and make your first cast count. Fluorocarbon in 5 and 6x are a must because of the clarity. Best flies were still the blood midge, Ninja, RS2’s and your favorite PMD pattern; I was using a FOD that I tie in PMD colors.

  Now for the adventurists out there night fishing has produced some excellent fish over the last month. Dan and Josh, who I teased several months back in a separate blog, made themselves, The Drift and our river very proud this evening. I have not heard the exact measurements yet but this Brown was landed by Dan and is one of the two biggest I have ever seen landed here in Pueblo. Congrats Dan and Josh!!!!!!

 Now I also want to point out that Dan and Josh stopped into The Drift this afternoon and Cat helped them pick out flies for this evening. I can't guarantee these types of results for everyone that listens to Cat but she is not there just for her good looks....I'm just saying.....

Home Again........

  It is always interesting going back to where I grew up in Omaha, last week was no exception. I had not really kept in touch any high school friends over the years and we decided to go back for my 30 year reunion, nothing quite like showing off my 29 year old totally hot wife. Springsteen sang about “Glory Days” but to me the reunion kind of reminded me of a farm with us guys walking around like roosters having our chests sticking out and our colorful feathers primped out telling stories of women, money and success. The ladies so much like hens flocking together for protection but also trying to be loud enough to be noticed again. How so many things have changed in thirty years. Us good looking people (hehe) no longer have hair, the skinny were much larger and our tight skin had been exchanged for leather. As Cat and I were driving back to Colorado she took my hand and asked me if Omaha still feels like home.  I had to think about it for a second then gave her the “wonderful husband” answer of “home is where ever I am with you”. (fifty points)

  It took me a couple of days to get caught up but was able to head to the river this evening. I pulled out my 4 weight Winston B11-MX and tied on a Blood midge, followed by my two favorites, an FOD and a size 22 Black Ninja, I began getting goose bumps from anticipation. As we were walking to the river, the sound of the trees from the breeze and the smell of the Arkansas made my mouth start watering. We went straight for my favorite riffle and no anglers were in sight.  We stepped into the river and got a slight jolt from the initial chill and then started searching for feeding fish. It didn’t take long and I spotted two fish munching on midges. Placed my first cast about three feet above and it drifted by with nothing. Second cast and, Money! A quick battle, with the fish and Winston wanting a piece of the action, and a beautiful 18 incher landed. I released the fish and took a breath, I looked around, Winston was standing next to me and Cat had a huge grin on her face and then it hit me..Now I am Home……

  Fishing was incredible this evening, from the time we got on the water right up until dark, the Rainbows were munching on Ninjas and blood midges. Landed a 21,19, and an18 incher and numerous fish in the 12 to 16 inch range. Cat started a little slow but caught fire the last hour and a half before dark. If you look close at one of the up close pics you can see Cat landing a nice one in the background. As always, thanks for reading and get out and fish. Connell

 

Before I Wake

  All of those that know me will be very tempted to call BS on this blog post. Not because of the huge numbers, or even the huge size of the fish but because my alarm went off at 5:45 A.M. and I got out of bed and went fishing. Yep, everyone knows not to call Connell before 10:00A.M. because Connell is not a morning person. Don’t really know why I decided to try fishing this early but I am glad I did.  I got on the river at a little after 6:00 and after about a step and a half into the water the cold shock reminded me that the water is a little cooler that early in the morning. Second cast hooked and landed a beautiful and feisty 14 inch bow, next cast a 12 incher. There were no visible hatches going on and I really saw no bug activity at all but the fish were munching all the same.

  The first half an hour was very peaceful, the birds singing, the fish rising and the wonderful sound of a running river was all I heard. I caught something out of the corner of my eye and I watched a big doe cross the river about fifty yards above me and shortly after one of her fawns followed. After about an hour or so I started seeing people showing up. Some type of small may fly hatch started coming off and I switched to an Adams and a dropper rig. Picked up several on the dry and finally I had worn out my welcome.  I switched back to my Nymph rig of a FOD, RS2 and a black Ninja and started working my way down river. Every stop would hook up a fish or two and then it would be time to move down. I got into the Peek-a-Boo run and could see it was full of feeding fish. Caught several there and moved down and saw the biggest fish of the day feeding. I fished to them for about a half an hour and could not get them to take anything. I moved down and caught a few more and moved back in to try the big fish again. I got rid of the indicator and ran just the weighted nymphs through and they hammered it, only problem was, it was a 17 incher and not any of the piggies. Another cast and this time it was a 16 incher. I am not whining, just wanted to hook one of the pigs. After landing the two, I could see that the big fish had spooked out and so I started fishing my way back to the car. It was a great day in all, landed probably 20 or so and lost another ten or so, makes me wonder why I waste my mornings sleeping, jkjkjk.

  Some observations from this morning. The grey FOD in a size 20 was the best fly of the day; a size 22 Ninja was a close second. I tried different blood midges but was not able to take anything on red today. I noticed that the larger fish were a little indicator shy so try fishing without one. 5x Fluorocarbon did not seem to spook the fish but with these low flows 6x may be better. And last, the Froggs Fanny and Loon Dust really seem to be making a difference. If you are fishing a nymph rig and put the powder on you last couple of flies it brings them up right into the feeding zone. Experimenting today I found I was getting twice the strikes when I had fresh powder on the fly. As always, thanks for reading and I hope your days on the river are memorable, Connell

Ptarmigan and the X-Terra....

  I still remember the first time I ever saw an X-Terra commercial, the song being cranked was  “I want to get away” from Lenny Kravitz. The song and the commercial started a secret love affair that took nearly twenty years before finally being realized last Memorial day. Cat and I started thinking about replacing “The Van” shortly after both the boys left home a few years ago, the problem was that it was just so practical. Fishing trips were easy, tons of room and great gas mileage and lots of great memories, but just not very tough. This was the weekend that Cat and I decided to finally put the 4-wheels to use. We went up the back way to Ptarmigan, turning the first corner we saw lots of rocks and ruts. Thirty grand kept bouncing around in my head but I kept reminding myself that this is why we bought this car. The X-Terra made it up like a true champion with the only problem being some “in a hurry atv’rs”  that  scraped the back of our vehicle. We got to the top at about 6:30P.M. and the rain started shortly there after. We sat in the car for about an hour and a half playing games before the rain finally ended and then set up the tent. We set out for the lake at about 7:30 A.M. and found it only took about twenty minutes from that side. The weather was exactly what was expected, about 40 over night and about 6o when we got to the lake. So nice after spending the last month in the sauna known as Pueblo. We caught 15 or 20 fish with the largest being about a 15inch fatty that Cat landed. The fish seemed to be feeding off and on all day long, five casts in a row with takes then ten without. The trip back down the hill was a little more scary, lots of blind spots. I have a whole new respect for you true 4-wheel drivers. All in all I would have to say our first true 4-wheel drive adventure was a success, we are home and alive.              

  On another note, I saw the river dropped here again in town and temps at Moffat Street hit 77 degrees. Fishing can still be good here early in the day but please be cognizant about fighting the fish quickly and getting the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. The warmer water depletes the oxygen level in the water that when combined with over exertion can be fatal to the fish. Thank you as always for reading and remember, this may be the only river we ever get….Connell

Summertime Blues???????????????????

  One of the greatest parts of being a guide and being affiliated with the Drift Fly Shop is getting the privilege of answering questions as an “expert” and “knower of all things in the river”. One of the toughest parts of being a guide and affiliated with the Drift Fly shop is having people ask questions of me and always being expected to give “expert” advice because I should be the “knower of all things about the river”.   Both in the shop and while guiding we get so many questions as to what is going on at the moment and when things are going to change. We try to give all the correct answers but in reality we are only guessing since we have never seen conditions like what we have experienced this summer.                                                                          

   I am writing this blog trying to talk about some of the changes I have observed over the last week or so. My favorite time to be on the water is when the BWO’s are hatching and I can watch fish move into feeding lanes and go to town. Watching the whites of the mouths as they open and shut rates at about an eight on the turn on meter, and yes, Cat still rates at a ten. May, June and even the first week of July all seemed to be awesome BWO days. I have been stuck working days as of late so my time on the water has been after 4:00 and the last few times out I have seen less and less BWO’s. Last night while fishing, the Who's "aint no cure for the summertime blues" kept running through my head. It was the first time since February that I was not worn out from hooking and fighting fish. I was out for about three hours and only saw one small trico that landed on me just as I was heading out, I saw a spattering of caddis but nothing to really get the fish excited. Hooked several but only landed two smaller fish. I talked to Alex, Cody and Scooter and they have told me that they are still seeing hatches early in the day but not at the same rate they were at just a few weeks ago.

  So the question is, is it still worth it to go fishing? Absolutely!!!! But it may just be time to change up some of the tactics. Midges are a year around food source so try to make your last fly very small. If you have been out as of late you probably have noticed all of the tiny baitfish schooling up on the sides of the river. This would be a great time to have Alex or Cody teach you the finer side of streamer fishing. Over the weekend they hooked several fish over 20 inches on streamers. If you can make it out early in the day, make sure you have a plethora of trico patterns, the fish do seem to key in on certain things during trico hatches(does not ever seem to be the same thing) hence the variety. Try some of the Froggs Fanny or the Doc’s dry dust powder to bring the emergers into the correct feeding zone and give it the extra pizzazz for the picky fish. And lastly, remember that we are addicted to this sport because it is fun, try to keep it that way, even if you are not hooking up on every cast, you could be stuck at work…..The Who was wrong, there is a cure for the summertime blues, get out and enjoy As always, I thank you for reading and hope you find this blog to be useful and if not hopefully at least amusing..Connell

The Drift Fly Shop 719-543-3900

thedriftflyshop.com

 

The Arkansas Tailwater July 5th through July 9th

  I quite often get asked the questions as to rather or not I really like guiding, or if I ever want to just grab the rod out of my clients hand and catch the fish myself? I usually answer by telling the story of a time awhile back when I was fishing in the Reservoir Drive area. I was walking up the bank and I looked across the river and saw a guy that looked as if he had just been released from prison. Tattoos, long hair and a white muscle shirt (built like he could break me in two), the type of person that if you saw walking up your side of the street, you would probably cross and high tail it out of there. I went up about fifty yards and had landed several fish when I heard the guy shriek with joy, sounding almost like a three year old at 5:00A.M. on Christmas morning.” I got one, I got one” he started screaming and then a large expletive followed by laughing when the fish came off half way in. I listened to him giggle for a few minutes and when someone walked by on the trail up above he started “with utter joy” to tell the stranger that he had hooked a monster but it came off half way in. He wasn’t even fly fishing but just listening to someone hook a fish and hearing the joy that it brought this rather rough man reminded me of why I started fly fishing myself.

   Being the big fish snob that I have become, I sometimes forget the joys of catching all sizes of fish but guiding usually seems to remind me of the joy fishing is supposed to bring, even if the clients aren’t as perfect as I expect them to be.hehe. One of the guide trips over the weekend had a client battle a 16 inch tank of a rainbow for several minutes and after landing it he turned to me and, a little shakily said “thank you Connell that is the first time I have ever had to fight a fish”. Several of my clients this weekend landed their first ever fish on a fly rod and almost every client was giddy with a new love for fly fishing. Finishing up those kinds of weekends reminds me of why I find guiding so satisfying, oh and the enormous tips are pretty awesome also.

  Cat and I made it out tonight for a few hours and as typical had a lot of fun. Fishing right now is good but I would not put it in the easy category. With the lower flows, the fish are getting a lot of time to examine both your flies and your drifts and any extra line on the water or dragging of the flies and the fish will be laughing at you. Cat had the largest and the most landed tonight with her prize fish being an 18inch fatty. The water was brought up to 250 today and was just slightly off colored, just enough to switch to 4x fluoro. Lots of hooked fish and  most coming unbuttoned on the way in seems to back up my idea that the fish mouths are still very soft right now. Don’t get frustrated but just enjoy the fish you are actually hooking. The pictures are of a few of the clients over the weekend and Cats 18incher at the bottom. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy the water……Connell

Tamed by the Taylor

  The Bengal Tiger in the wild is one of the most ferocious, and majestic, head of the food chain animals alive. It prowls and feeds on anything and everything and walks around with its chest sticking out as if to say “yep, I am the king of the world”. When you see them at the zoo or even hanging out with Jake Jabbs on the AFW commercials they just don’t look the same, as if some of their majesty has been stolen from them. Trying not to sound to cocky but it is kind of the way I feel going from the Ark and going to the Taylor.  Fishing the Arkansas here in P-town has become almost second nature, I know most drifts, rocks, eddies, shelf’s, riffles and when fishing it my chest sticks out a little and , well you know….

  The Taylor on the other hand makes me at times feel like that zoo Tiger at the back of the cage that after losing its will to be the king of the world, it sleeps while the zoo is open and the only thing you ever get to see is the one paw sticking up in the air behind a rock at the back of the cage. Yeah, Cat and I are still usually head of the food chain while fishing the Taylor but we often feel like we are getting whipped not by the trainer but by the fish themselves. Every time we fish there we feel like we get trained a little more and hopefully some day we can fish it like it is our own jungle.

  This year the Taylor fish didn’t ever seem to fall into any feeding patterns. You could see a great Mayfly hatch come off and the fish would ignore it and not move into feeding lanes and just continue to lay on the bottom. Then, out of the blue they would move over and grab a few bugs then back to nothing. Cat and I finally started just walking up and down the bank and waited to see fish feed and cast. Sometimes bingo and others times squat. Frustrated one sec and I’m the man next. The FOD was the best fly of the week followed by the RS2 with the glass bead.  This year’s trip includes Cat and myself, Winston, my youngest son Brandon and my brother in law from Omaha, Jim. We fished the Taylor four days and went down and fished the Roaring Judy area one day. Brandon and I had a blast on the East, I had not thrown dries in a while and had forgotten how fun it was to watch the browns shoot off the bottom and destroy your fly. I still think this is my favorite trip of the year just because of the great company, beautiful scenery and awesome cool weather. When I see those AFW commercials I always worry that someday we will  hear about how Jakes prize Tiger had decided to return to its majestic and ferocious self, I hope someday on the Taylor I will do the same………

   The video is part of our constant pursuit of perfection for our Fly Fishing videos, Cat is getting very good at editing and hopefully we will continue to improve in bringing our readers quality material. Now if I can learn to write a little better. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy the video…