Smelling the Goal Line.....

Sometimes a person hears an old saying and after thinking about it has to really scratch his head. Being that the NFL season is in full swing, I was thinking about the old saying “He could smell the goal line”.  What a strange saying and how far did the saying go back? I know!  The early days of football maybe, when the game was played in cow pastures. Was the dung moved to the edges and hence the smelling of the goal line?  Maybe the cheerleaders were stationed in the endzones at sometime and the sweat smell of perfume started the saying. I guess if you really think about it, it sure is a really dumb saying….

  With the strange summer and now the rains of September the river has been off and on fishable for a month now. Cat and I made it to the river this afternoon and were surprised at the quality of the river. I would like to say that if fishing conditions were like a game of football, today we could smell the goal line. The river has steadily dropped over the last week and was down to 202 cfs this morning and we found the clarity to be between 15 and 20 inches. We made it to the river about 4:30 and my very first cast hooked a fish, a few more casts and another fish on. We moved down river and finally my first landed fish of the day. Not huge, so I guess it was like smelling the goal line but still having kicked a field goal. We moved down a little further and Cat caught lightning in a bottle (another head scratcher), she landed several in a row with the prize fish of the day a 21 incher. We finished out the day landing 10 or so and losing at least that many more. The river is close, fingers crossed the fishing should begin to catch fire soon. Fall is beginning to fill the air with a cool breeze and a few leaves beginning to turn color(yummy).With the stained water, the flies of the day were the True Blood, and a glass bead RS2 turning a few fish as well. If you look real close you can see what rod I was fishing with this evening, don't tell Winston....

  **Wanted to put out a little note about a true friend of flyfishing losing a 10f oot Scott A4 with a Ross reel this weekend in the Canon City area. If you find it or hear of anyone that may have found it please call the Drift and we can arrange the return of the rod. I will give a dozen FOD flies as a reward for the return of the rod. As always, Cat, Connell, Winston and The Drift Fly shop would like to thank you for reading…….

 

Turning the Corner On Summer.......

Well it has been an interesting summer to say the least.  We experienced the first true runoff we have seen in a few years followed by monsoon rains and then finished up with one of the latest heat waves I can remember. On Labor Day, Cat and I took a bike ride from Runyon up to the dam and had our hearts partially ripped out by seeing a few dead fish. I have seen pictures of major fish kills before and I am glad to say that I think our fish kill was very minute, but saddening none the less. We were glad to see so many people staying away from the water during this last heat wave as tough as that might have been.

 Cat and I hadn’t fished the river in a while but the itch was too bad and since the water had come up we got out early Sunday morning. We got to the water at just after 6:00 a.m. and found the fishing was quite good from about 7:00 to 9:00 and then the heat seemed to shut the bite off. The flies of choice on Sunday morning were Black Ninjas and Zebra midges (black was the key), and there was also a few takes on the z-wing caddis.

 As our readers know, rain may be Cat’s favorite type of weather so after seeing the forecast today we were definitely going to make a trip to the river. We got to the river about 3:30 and were licking our chops thinking about what a great day this was going to be. I made the mistake of talking a little smack on the way to the river and teased Cat that I wouldn’t be losing as many fish on the river today because I had brought my old favorite Green Stick instead of fishing the one she suggested on Sunday, which of course was to blame for the fish I lost…hehe.  Second cast and I hooked up and the talk began to flow heavier, however it was short lived when I saw it was only a sucker. I moved into the next hole and couldn’t help but turning to watch Cat, it seemed like every time I looked she was netting another fish.  After talking so much trash and having only landed a sucker fish I started feeling the pressure, but had break offs on my next two hookups. We walked up to the hatchery outlet and I took what I thought was the best spot and suggested Cat take the spot next to it.  It only took a few casts and boom Cat landed the fish of the day, just over 19. The rain began to downpour and we had lightning crack overhead so we decided to fish our way back down river.

Today I was the sucker king, it seemed that every spot I casted into would produce copious amounts of suckers. On our way back down the river I finally landed a few bows in the 16 inch range and was thrilled. In the spirit of the events of the day I told Cat that this was a great trip to not to keep track of numbers or sizes of fish and just to enjoy the time on the water. Moments after making that comment Cat’s last cast of the day landed her a second 19, but who’s counting.

  It was a glorious day on the river today and I had a lot of fun watching Cat on fire. The hot flies this afternoon were the A&W, the SOL, Z-wing caddis, and a grey RS2. The forecast shows cooler weather over the next several days so hopefully we have turned the corner on the extreme water temps and can start fishing the river again all day safely.

  A quick tip for fall fishing, on warmer days make sure you fight the fish quickly, snap a quick pic and then hold the fish in the water until it is ready to swim away. As always, Cat, Connell, Winston and The Drift Fly shop would like to thank you for reading…..

 

 

Shaking Off the Slumber

    I know some of you will laugh when I say this but I actually consider myself to be a pretty positive person. The last few weeks I found myself battling this funk that I am not entirely sure of the source. I think the onset was seeing Cat’s chance of a lifetime fall through the cracks and the two of us staring at each other in shock asking now what. The rivers and weather have not really cooperated in filling up our slack time and maybe last of all, my real job has really kept me hopping as of late. I have had three customers this week tell me that they want to own a Subway because they think it would be a lot of fun. Yep, all I do is sit around and count money……Well I was griping to Cat and we started thinking that maybe we needed to take part of a day off and get away to fish somewhere else. Spinney came up but too much work for a one day trip. Ptarmigan sounded fun but a long way away, North Lake would be fun but not for the dogs. We decided to pack the car and head west and allow the “Spirit fish” guide us when I got off work on Wednesday. I was hoping to sneak out early but internet issues kept me way later than I had planned. We got on the road and decided on the upper Ark and headed all the way to Hecla Junction in hopes of escaping the heat. We pulled in at about dark and the smile returned to my face. 

 After an "interesting" nights sleep in the tent, with two dogs and noisy neighbors, Cat and I got on the water just a little before 8:00am and were immediately blown away by the pure beauty of Browns Canyon. The boulders, the gin clear water, the really smart fish, and the contrasting colors of all the flowers made it hard to think about anything else. During the first hour I was so mesmerized by the beauty that it didn’t really seem to bother me that I was being schooled by every fish in the river or that Cat had one fish up on me.  In the second hour and a half however I started to take it personally.  I was getting pretty frustrated and finally I sat down looked around at God’s beautiful creation, scratched my head and asked myself that all important question W.W.J.D.  Which in the fishing world stands for......“What Would Jeff Do”.  If you know Jeff Ross you know why I asked myself this.  So I put on a Z-wing caddis and as if Jeff was actually looking on from South Korea, I hooked and landed my first fish of the day(thanks Jeff). The next hour was a blast, landing several and being able to look up and hear the Ciggle as Cat was playing another brown to the net. We didn’t get to stay as long as we wanted but hopefully those few precious hours of beauty will carry me through till our water turns on again.

 

 

Happy Birthday To An Incredible Man!

                Hello everyone this is Cat and I know I have been slacking and letting Connell do all of the blogging lately but this time I couldn’t resist. 

           Many of you may not know this but August 17^th is a magical day.  On this day …. a few years ago …hehe …. an amazing man was born…….one who changed my life forever.  Who was this incredible person you may ask?   I’ll give you a hint.  He is a loving husband and father, a master fly fisherman, a good friend, and biggest hint of all he loves his Winston rods.  If you guessed Connell you would be exactly right and if you didn’t guess him you should have known better.

                So on this very special day I wanted to share a few details and a story about my best friend and husband.  

First the story…………

So most of you know the story of when Connell decided to marry me… it involved a very large spider, but very few know the story of when I decided to marry him.  We had been dating for only a short time and headed to the mountains one summer day.  Ophir Creek was our destination and it didn’t disappoint.  Beautiful scenery, clear skies, and a sweet creek swept around us, but I didn’t see any of it.  I was looking at one thing, a man and his fly rod.  With his xp in hand Connell led me to the creek where I sat on a dirt road and watched him hook brookies.  The fish were about three inches in length and kept flying out of the water when they got hooked but were greedily gobbling up his dry fly …..which knowing him so well I would bet one million dollars was a royal stimulator ….. but I digress, sitting on that road I realized that I wanted to marry him.  No, it wasn’t his amazing fishing skills that drew me in (didn’t hurt though! J ) instead it was the smile and light in his eyes as he relished those tiny trout.  What I saw there was happiness, joy, and an appreciation for creatures great and small.  The feeling he was obviously having was addictive.  I could have watched him fish for years, in fact I could have watched it forever and that is when I knew.  To this day when we fish together I sometimes stop (typically when I have a big lead ….JK..) and just watch him.  His grace, his joy, and that same light still radiates from him even years later. 

                That’s the story but it doesn’t end there.  I also promised details (all things I adore about him)  The first is that he was the custodial parent to his youngest son.  He was a single father and raised a baby on his own, a great feat that he never takes credit for.  Connell is also the most responsible person I ever met.  He is never late, never careless, and never forgets what is important to those around him.  He also posses the gift of humor, a fact I get to live day in and day out (I think most of you know this fact).  The next thing many don’t know is how his care for others is unmatched.  Friends, family, and even strangers are all in his prayers and on his mind constantly.  This pairs nicely with his other great and rare trait of honesty.   Connell won’t lie or sugar coat anything and he does this to truly help those he cares about.    While so many of us avoid awkward situations and do so by not saying what we really think Connell cares too much to give into that.   If you ever want the truth and get good advice there is no man on the planet better to talk to.

        Lastly I wanted to take this moment in this public forum to thank my best friend and husband for never failing in his belief in me.  I say I wanted to finish school, costing us thousands of dollar and he said sure, I tell him I want spend the very little free time I have to write a book and he gets excited about the plot.   When something means a lot to me it means a lot to him.  There are countless things I have to thank him for and I’ll never be able to share my gratitude enough…….. So for now I’ll just say thank you for choosing me, happy birthday, and I love you very much!!

So the next time you see this incredible man on the water stop and watch.  You might just be able to see all the amazing things I do. 

-Cat 

 

No Fish Squeezing this time but here are pictures of an amazing fisherman out of the water!

 

Arkansas River Tailwater Fishing Report July 25th 2013

Hello all, I wanted to toss out a little info on what I have been seeing on the river over the last few weeks. We get so many calls in the shop as to the fishing conditions and it has been so difficult since the conditions are changing so fast. In the last 2 weeks we have seen the river go from 200cfs to 1200 cfs and then back down to 300cfs for a few days and now it has dropped to 130cfs. This weekend we began to see free drifting moss like we have never seen before, every few casts call for fly cleaning. Water temps at Moffat have climbed into the upper 70’s on the hot days. Clarity has been between 6 and 18 inches over the same time. Wednesday evening, a friend and I got to the river at about 5:30, about an hour after a P-west downpour and the clarity was somewhere between chocolate milk and a brick wall.

  Now, in spite of all the seemingly strange conditions, fishing at times has been very good. A guide trip Sunday morning saw several hookups and a personal best 18 inch bow to the net. Sunday evening Cat and I fished for a few hours and the water had cleared considerably from the morning and we hooked quite a few with half a dozen or so to the net. Wednesday’s trip to the water saw nothing for the first hour and then as the water started to clear the fished really wanted to play. Flies of choice were the Depth charge when the clarity was way off and the Winston Caddis, FOD, RS2, and the Ninjas when the water was a little clearer. With the monsoon season fully upon us I am not sure I would encourage long travel to fish the Ark right now, however if you are within an hour away, get out there and enjoy.  

  Keep in mind on the hot sunny days that noon till 5:00 or so will have rubber rafts bouncing off you and through you runs all day. Fishing really early and late and might keep your sanity intact, and besides the water temps are cooler then and are safer for the fish. On the hot days, please keep your fishing west of P-blvd where the water is a little cooler. Fight the fish as quick as possible and when releasing maybe give them an extra few secs and make sure they are ready to go. Softmouth still seems to be a little bit of an issue so don’t get down on yourself if you are losing fish in the heat of battle. As always I wanted to say thanks and hope you have a great summer on the water. Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop…..

 

                                Richards best Rainbow ever !!!!!!

 

Taylor River Trip Chapter 2013

  As Cat and I were driving the last forty miles of our 2013 Taylor trip, from Canon to P-town, we were too exhausted to do much talking and my mind began to drift about the flies I needed to begin tying in preparation for next year’s trip. I went through all my Black Beauties and way too many Ninjas and did quite a number on my FOD collection and then it hit me that the fish themselves were exciting but none were all that memorable. The fishing was okay but the reports of last week’s midge hatches turned into the ageless taunt of “you should have been here yesterday”. A friend of ours was up there last week and Brandon and his friend Charlie got up there Sunday and they were all ecstatic about the midge hatches in the mornings and the release of water and flush of Mysis in the afternoon.(that was last week)Fishing over the three days was very spotty, the first night, Cat was on fire with the ciggle erupting every few moments and me beginning to think this would be the year I get schooled. Thursday, Friday and Saturday consisted of walking up and down the bank looking for feeding fish and then trying to get all the action you could for the few moments they were eating. After looking at the fish porn from the trip it hit me that our yearly trips to the Taylor have very little to do with fishing and everything to do with family.

  It was twenty plus years ago when Jimbo began our little trips and thinking back on that time I can only really remember a couple of fish. So what memories have me coming back; I remember Brandon and Zack being up there when they were 3 and 4 years old. I remember my dad making the trip one year and landing a 16 inch bow off a salmon egg. I remember a picture of Cat holding a 9inch bow she had caught her first trip with her s*** eating grin that said she was in heaven. I remember Winston getting caught sneaking into the chicken salad and the look on his face that said “I am so sorry..but I would do it again in a heartbeat”. I remember the old rubber waders that made us look like the Michelin man. I remember my older brother Hugh laughing and making up huge numbers of the fish he had caught. I remember Cat calling me out for being scared to sleep in a tent for fear of being eaten by bears. I remember the steak dinners that Kevin and Brenda fed us, and I remember all the campfood that I have cooked. I think my fondest memories are of the evenings sitting around the campfires telling and listening to the fishing stories.

  This year’s trip was bitter sweet; our only constant over the last 20 years, Jimbo was not able to make the trip do to a family illness. The campfires were just missing a little something without the Jimbo. Due to logistics of work on the way up and the way back, Winston was also not able to make the trip. (he was not happy about it either).Like I said earlier, Brandon and his friend Charlie did make the trip. Brandon and Charlie were a little disappointed with us because the fishing slowed drastically after we arrived. I think they thought that the P-tow fish had somehow warned the Taylor fish that Cat and I would be there and that they needed to be on there A+ game . I personally think that witnesses ( Cat and I) make the fishing a little harder.hehe Jimbo, if you read this I want you to know that our prayers are with you and your family through your loss and we will keep a camp spot open for you next year. I wanted to finish this paragraph by just saying if all you want to do is catch monster fish and lots of them, head to P-town. If you want to make memories that last a life time, spend some time with your loved ones in a tent on the Taylor.

  The video is a collection of some of the action we had. In addition to the fish pics we always try to add in some of the neater parts of Gods creations. The birds looked like the last two dudes and last lady at a nightclub and you know one of them flew off angry and a little lonely. The monkey is Cat’s and Cody’s new fishing mascot. The bug was some creature from another time and even though Cat tried to be nice and get it to safety, the bug charged her and actually made her squeal even a little more than the charging tarantula. I feel a little bad for Charlie because he was suffering from the curse of the film crew. It seemed that everytime he hooked a fish and one of us started filming he would get sawed off by some bad mamba jamba fish. Brandon on the other hand only lands fish when one of us is filming….must be an O’Grady… As always, we thank you very much for reading and hope you enjoy the video, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop…

 

 

Arkansas Tailwater Fishing Report 07-09-2013

  Hello all, wanted to put out a quick fishing report for our beloved tailwater. Sunday morning the flows dropped to under 400cfs which has closed off more area for the fish to roam. Guide trips over the last few weeks with the higher water have been spotty with some great times and some difficult times. Cat had a trip out Sunday when the flows dropped, the fish spent a few hours scrambling and then turned on the feedbag that afternoon. Sunday evening it seemed that every good cast would get a strike, unfortunately it just turned out that the big fish were better than me. Landed lots of 12 to 15 inchers but the piggies all popped off and didn’t feel like I had a good hook set on them. Fish didn’t seem to be keying in on anyone fly but more about getting it in front of them. Still, the best flies were the True Blood, black Ninja, Skinny Minnie, and the all famous J-bomb…

  A few things to keep in mind if you make it to the river over the next few weeks; water temps have pushed 73 degrees at Moffat street so if you are fishing mid day try to get as near to the dam as you can get, also try to fight the fish as quick as possible and maybe give them an extra minute to revive. I did see one dead 17 or so incher float by me on Sunday. Next, keep an eye out for the rafters, as much as it kills me to say this, we do not own this river and they have as much right to it as we do. If you go to the water understanding that people will float right through your lane and then laugh and say sorry you may be able to keep your mind and tongue in check. Lastly, the deer flies are brutal this year, so make sure you get plenty of bug spray and if wet wading try to keep your legs under water. As always thanks for reading, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop…