Oh What a Night!!!!!

  Well it wasn’t late December or back in 63 but “Oh what a Night.”  It has been a few weeks since we have been on our river and after getting a few good reports Cat and I were chomping at the bit to get out and give the river a once over. Winston was also a little frustrated since the last three of the four times we loaded the car with rods he got left at home. The three of us and Brandon got to the Nature Center at about 4:30 and jumped right in. I was testing out a new Airflow line so it took me a few extra minutes to get set up and before I even got my last fly tied on I looked down river and Cat was fighting and landing her nicest fish of the evening, about a 17incher. We don’t really compete but with that being said, I knew I needed to catch up(no pun intended) and I did quickly and boy it was good.  After having several fish hooked and landed I moved up river to the next hole.  Every fishy spot seemed to produce two fish and then it was time to move on. While looking up river and I saw a very nice fish feeding on the surface so I moved in and started casting where he had been. Several casts in and I hooked my fish of the night. I fought him for a while and finally landed this beautiful Male Brown. It was another one of those fish that when I got him in the net and saw his jaw I expected him to be a little bigger than he was, but at 21 inches, wow!!  What a 21 incher. Most of the fish this evening were between 13 an 16 inches and they sure had some tug to them.

 Water clarity is far from perfect with maybe 12 inches or so of visibility but the fish were definitely willing eaters. We saw lots of different Mayflies hatching from the time we got to the water til about 6:15pm. We were catching fish on everything we were throwing, so it didn’t seem that the fish were keying in on anything particular. We did a little better when we had a True Blood on the front end, I think this was due to lack of visibility. The new Airflow line was very nice and fished very well, it seemed a little stiffer than what I am used to. The selling point for the Airflow line is that they do not stretch, from what I could tell that was accurate and it floated very well.

 The river is far from perfect right now but definitely worth fishing. Winston was thrilled to get back on the water and the rest of us enjoyed it as well.   The sky gave us an incredible rainbow and Cat said she got the perfect picture to prove I am a pot of Gold.   As always Connell, Cat, Brandon, Winston and The Drift Fly shop want to thank you for reading….

The Colors of Fall........

  Hello all, Cat and I had the opportunity to fish a little private water yesterday and boy was it fun. We have fished this small pond before and have found the fish have been getting smarter every year. The first time we fished it it seemed that anything you threw would catch fish but now you have to fish it like anywhere else. It sure is nice to have a place to yourself though. And if you get a chance, take a trip into the high country this week; the colors were amazing even though the camera couldn’t show the true colors.

  A quickie for the Ark here in P-town; visibility has improved to a foot or more and the fish seem to be ready to eat. Anglers this week have found very good fishing throughout P-town. PMD’s, blood midges and a few late caddis are the menu as of now. If you have been patiently waiting and collecting brownie points on the home front during the rough summer and early fall fishing season than it may be time to cash the points in and fish……As always, thanks for reading Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop….

A Cold Day In Heaven

  Hello all and thanks again for tuning in to the O’Grady fly fishing adventures blog. I have written a little in the past about the difficulties Cat and I have about trying to get out of town for any extended period of time. I am not complaining, we get plenty of time to fish, it’s just not always on our time. Some friends of ours were heading to the Taylor this weekend and asked if we could join them. Looking at Cat’s and my schedules we didn’t think there would be any way we could take the time off work but started asking around anyway. Either the stars were perfectly aligned or Alex was really sick of us because somehow we were able to get the weekend off (thank you Cody and Alex).

  We left Pueblo just after lunch on Friday and we kept having to pinch ourselves to make certain we weren’t dreaming. The drive was going very well until we began making our way up Cottonwood pass. The snow started at the bottom and was sticking to the road half way up, the color contrasts of the green firs, the yellow cottonwoods, aspens, and the white snowy backdrop was breathtaking. By the time we got to the top there was already 5 inches of snow on the ground and with the snow slush and mud, the drive down was a white knuckled and totally gut wrenching. I have always felt like those are the longest 13 mile on the face of the earth and they are even longer in the snow.  We got to the C&R at just after 4:00 and we were so excited that I think we dressed and were in the water by 4:03.

  We have never been to the Taylor so late in the year and weren’t really sure what to expect. The snow must have brought out the best of the fish because they were willing and ready to eat. The first evening we hooked maybe a dozen or so but only a few made it all the way to the net. We usually camp when we fish The Taylor but luckily our friends had encouraged us to get a cabin at Harmel’s.  Saturday morning we made it up to the C&R about 9:00 a.m. with our game faces on and primed to show the Taylor fish how we play P-style. As we began walking up the river we noticed that the fish had returned to their Zombie state from the summer and the first 2 hours were very slow. At about 11:30 or so one of the greatest Baetis hatches I have ever seen began to hatch. Three different size PMD’s and giant Blue Wings began to explode and the Zombie fish returned to life. I stuck with a double FOD and a midge rig and Cat switched to a double dry. I wish we had more video but it is hard to stop and film when the fishing was that good. My landing rate was not very high but I don’t think I have ever had so much fun getting my tail kicked by fish. I think I hooked 30 or so that day with a dozen or so to the net. The three hog’s that I hooked are all still swimming around laughing at me.

  Saturday evening we all met back at Harmel’s and had a feast made for a Pueblo king (sloppers) followed by some of the best story telling around. I have written in the past about Ants being such a great storyteller but I think Jeff gives him a run for his money.  Jason Hocheavor was there and had a hard time removing the grin off his face from the 23 inch brown he had caught that day. Sunday we were thinking about heading down to the Gunnie to look for salmon but a little excess of alcohol and a little shortness of sleep squashed that idea. Cat and I were not in a huge hurry to get to the river Sunday morning and I think we made it at about 10:00. We ran into Pat and Brett and I was thinking maybe Pueblo should just take over the Taylor. We were expecting tough sledding and were not disappointed, nothing for a while and then I moved up to an area that I had hooked a pig the day before. I looked in and he was back, I carefully adjusted my rig and casted. First pass and he nailed it, another monster rainbow three feet out of the water and the line snapping back at me as he splashed down. Since it was before the hatch it felt like a bonus fish so I didn’t even mind losing him. It was about noon when the bugs started hatching and just like the day before, it was on. I know for a fact these were the two most impressive boils I had ever seen on the Taylor and maybe the best anywhere. I looked over and saw Jason battling a monster and Jeff helped him land an absolutely beautiful 20 inch fatty rainbow. Cat switched back to her double dry and I went back to my double FOD rig. I was just blown away by how many very large fish we hooked this weekend. The ciggle (Cat giggle)echoed through the canyon most of the day. Sunday was the day for spotting the pigs, hooking them and having them sail out of the water only to eventually have them pop off. We saw Brett out there and I told him that they were a new long distance release skill I had been working on (he doesn’t think I am very funny).

  Anyway it was a great weekend of friends, family, and fish making that place like heaven on earth. We put together a short video and as you can see by the number of clips the Taylor was particularly good to me this weekend.  The music was contributed to the video by some of the most amazing musicians whom we are lucky to have as friends, Lefthead.   As always, thanks for reading, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop….

 

 

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!