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…

 

 

 

 

"I'M BACK" !!!! the Ark.....

  For all those sports history buffs out there, it was spring of 1995 when the rumors began to surface that Michael Jordan had been practicing and contemplating a return. Not that the NBA had shut down for the 17 months he had retired but it just didn’t seem to matter. I don’t remember what I was watching but whatever it was cut away to an “extremely important” news event about the return of MJ to the NBA. The news conference went straight to MJ and with his billion dollar smile he just said “ I’M BACK!!!”. All was good again and life seemed to be pumped back in to the NBA after a 17month hangover.

  I have been watching the flows come down the last few weeks and had decided that if the Ark got below 500 I was going to get out there this weekend. I saw on Friday the flows had dropped to 416 and I was ready to go. I picked up a guide trip for Saturday morning and fished for myself this morning. As with Michael, the talk for so many of the local anglers has been about the return of the fishable flows and since the river does not have any true voice, I would like to make a statement for Her…

 I’M BACK!!!Signed the Ark

  Yep, all is well for the anglers of the Ark. On Saturday it took only a short time to figure out where the fish were feeding and the diet was pretty much just the same as before the flows were at runoff stage. True Blood, RS2, Ninja and the J-bomb were the flies over the last two days. Saturday’s client, Dan is a saltwater guy from Florida and wanted to see what the excitement was with the bows of the Rockies. Dan left with a smile and a few good proof pics of the amazing time the Ark gave him. Dan hooked a few small ones early and when we found where the toads were feeding it was permagrin time. We were seeing the same soft mouth issue that we were dealing with last June where Dan hooked 20 or more but only got six or eight to the net. Dan caught his first ever brown(and then a couple more)and then landed his largest rainbow ever that measured 19 inches. I hooked at least twenty this morning and got about half to the net, with one brown and the biggest at about 17 inches. Yep, I’m such a great guide that I let my clients land bigger fish than myself….

  During the short layoff from the run off, Cat and I had been discussing strategies for fishing when the river was fishable again. Being that Cat is a biologist, it seems to her that everything that happens on the river happens for a reason. One of the strategies that Cat thinks I do well at is being able to think like a fish. As I was on the river today I tried to stop and think about what the fish were thinking at this time and this is what I came up with.

Trout

 I’m hungry, I feel very safe behind these rocks, oh..look at the pretty Golden Retriever, now I’ really hungry, wow..there is a big juicy bug right there , owwww my mouth, run away, run away, run away!! Or something like that.

   Okay , maybe they were just feeling sorry for me and took my stuff but with the higher flows there are a few things you want to think about. The fish are very much like us and want the most for the littlest amount of work. The entire river right now is a giant feeding lane so the fish seem to be looking for safety, rest and protection.  Next, when walking the bank be careful, from the flows just coming down the banks are really muddy and you need to really watch your step. And last, with summer temps on us, try to hit the water early and late leave the fish alone during the mid day heat. The bugs are more abundant early and late anyway. Winston was sure happy to get back to the water, it has been a month since he has been fishing and he was getting a little tired of watching reruns of our videos. As always, thanks for reading and hope you have a great summer, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop…….

 

Ping Pong and Private Water!!!!

  Cat and I got the chance to fish some private water today and it started me thinking of my younger days playing ping pong. Growing up our local community center had a ping pong table and so I was able to play quite a bit and I thought I was pretty good. My brother and I bought a pretty nice table in 1995 and we started playing all the time. I was telling a golfing buddy, Jim Doidge, about my table and he said he played a little as well. I invited Jim over and He absolutely smoked me on my own table. If you have ever read any of my blogs and picked up on my competitive nature, then you probably know what came next.  Almost every night, a couple hard core hours of sweating, diving, and running into walls, and the best I could ever do was to get to about 15 or 16 points. Sometimes I would be up 5 or 6 points and Jim would get that little grin, compliment my play and run off the next ten. His favorite demoralizing shot was a mid chest slam that always left a mark. Brandon would watch and cheer hopelessly for his pops and chase down all the out of play balls. When Jim would head home, Brandon would say “can I play now daddy”. When Brandon got tall enough to look over the top of the table I started playing with him. Here is what reminds me of fishing private water. Brandon would serve with a big lob and then I would lob it back to him, very quickly Brandon got to where he could get it back into the vicinity of my end of the table. What would happen next, I am not real proud of to this day.  Three or four lob returns and then a hard overhand smash. I don’t remember ever hitting him with the ball but I am sure he heard it whistling by him. Yep, the points would have been mine but it just wasn’t quite the same as earning a winning a hard earned point off Jim.

  This was the third or fourth time we had fished this lake and we have come to find out that fish are smarter than you might think. The first time we fished it, several years ago; it was like those smash shots against my 7 year old Brandon, as we were tossing Ginormous dry’s to big hungry fish. The last few times including today it was more like playing Brandon after he had been practicing the last 10 years. 

  We got to the lake and set out a plan with me throwing a dry dropper and Cat tossing a Thinmint. Cat has been riding the streamer train ever since her night hookups at the Delaney’s. First cast and I heard the all too familiar “ciggle” as Cat battled an 18 inch tub to the net. I caught the next few and the Cat went on a tear. As Cat was catching all the fish on that side of the lake I walked over to the other and caught several right away. Cat moved over next to me and started hooking up on every cast. After about the fifth fish I said “okay, give me one of those streamers” (not my proudest moment) but I started hooking up quite frequently. After Cat caught all the fish on this side of the lake I went ahead and switched back to a dry dropper to end the day. Cat caught the most and Kevin caught the biggest but I still had a great day just soaking all of God’s country .

  One of my favorite parts of spending time in the mountains are the moments when I just look around and marvel at the masterpiece the God has put together for us to enjoy. From the Elk calls to the Coyote calls, to the beauty of the Callibaetis to the color of the damsels and even listening to the wind rustling through the trees gives me goosebumps and always reminds me of how small I really am.  Last night driving home we ended up within a few miles of the Spanish Peaks fire and our hearts just sunk as we could see the red glow of trees on fire. The image burned in my brain is surreal as it looked a little like a volcano that had just erupted and was spewing its burning red lava all over the mountain. I know the wild fires have been really bad the last few years but this was the first time I actually saw flames and my heart cried for all the victims of the fires over the last few years. Our prayers are with the victims and we hope that through tragedy, God’s beauty will eventually paint the landscape again. As always thanks for reading, Connell, Cat, Winston, and The Drift Fly Shop…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A quick update on our home water.  As of 10:00a.m. this morning the flows have dropped into the fishable range on the Ark, 646cfs. A few things to keep in mind before you make your trip to the water. If you have learned to fish over the last few years and you have gotten used to fishing this river at 60cfs…BE CAREFUL!!! Before casting, map out a plan where you want to fight a fish and do your best to stick to it. Second, rely on your memory as to what type of water the fish are feeding in at what time of day because even though the individual spots have changed, the fish feeding tactics have not. Thirdly, pay attention to the bugs around you, some of them have changed since spring and lastly, ENJOY your summer, you only get one shot at the summer of 2013!!!!!!1