Crazy Stories of 2010

The Rocky Mountain National Park Version of The Loch Ness Monster

This Summer is gonna be awesome! I can feel it. Lots of water days, sunny days, and hungry fish. The Creeks will be lower, just right for some crazy takes. Sweet! The crazy flies always seem to do the best in the Summer, no matter where. Last Summer I saw lots of aggressive fish, but there were three in particular that stuck out at me. Here are the (belated) craziest takes of 2010. Sorry it took me so long!

Number Three: 
I caught a fish in Clear Creek on a 3 1/2 inch Zonker, just casting into the water to get some line out so I could tie on a new fly.
Number 2:
The fish on Boulder Creek were everywhere. They were even attacking sticks that fell into the water. My friend made a joke that they would probably even take a bass popper. Lightbulb! Five minutes later, big pretty brown trout sitting on the bank with a popper in his mouth.
Number 1:
I was fishing the park on an average day last June. I was on a thin looking stretch, and my flies had just popped off. Time to tie on new ones. I tied on some flies, but realized my only dry left was a size 4 King Kong. It would still work as an indicator, right? So I put a cast up onto a rock wall. Fives second later, the water exploded. As I set the hook, my friend and I laughed. I brought the fish in, and had my grandpa come over to take a look. He put down his hand and I took a picture, then let the fish go. The picture is right above. Upon further measurement, my grandpa's hand was just above 9 inches

Crazy People Live Among Us

Well right now I'm standing in Rocky Mountain Anglers, or rather sitting in it. I'm just sitting on the couch, watching everyone and trying to remember the name of the little gadget I need. Hmmm..... Nope, still drawing a blank. So as I watch everyone walk by, I start to listen to all the conversations. I help people out when they need it, but today is kind of slow. As I'm listening to all the people, I notice a trend. Everyone is completely insane today. And I mean completely. The first people to walk in after me are two guys, and they just walked in, asked if "we only sold fly fishin' stuff", and walked out. The last thing they uttered as they walked out the door was a simultaneous "that blows." After a few more regulars and old-timers, a woman walked in. That's usually good for me, because if I raise the tone in my voice and give them puppy dog-eyes, they melt in my hands. No offense to women, and I'm not saying this always happens. It just seems to be the usual trend. Maybe it's just a coincidence, I don't know. Anyway, I put on my cute face and asked the lady if she needed help finding anything. She looked at me like I was crazy, replied "no," and walked away. Randy finished up talking to his last customer and walked over to the lady. "Hey there, need any help," he asked. "I need some hooks," she said. "Got any single hooks?" "All we've got is those packages." "Okay, I don't mind buying those," she responded. "But where are the treble hooks?" "Um, we don't have treble hooks here," Randy answered. "No treble hooks?!" The lady looked at us like aliens. "I would try McGuckin's, it's right dow the street." The lady kept asking us questions, but no answer seemed right for her. She finally left us in peace, on to the next poor clerk who would deal with her incessant nagging for an hour. For us, well let's just say it was good to have her gone. Come on in to the shop and entertain us for awhile!

Rocky Mountain Anglers
1904 Arapahoe Avenue 
Tel: 303-447-2400
www.rockymtanglers.com

Crazy Lookin' Flies And a Little Farewell

I spent my afternoon today at my vise next to my TV. My background noise of choice? America's Next Top Model. This probably was the cause of my creations of the day. They weren't bad, they were just a little on the wild side. Green streamers (above), gold/red stoneflies, and some scary damsel emerger. The streamer looked awful, the stonefly looked amazing, and the damsel looked good. The stonefly was my favorite by far, because it was familiar. It started out as a carp fly on a curved shank hook, but it changed color and grew some legs. Next thing you know, it's a golden stonefly that looks good enough to eat. Well, if you're a fish (I am). I'm going to try tying some more of these and see how they work, and I'll tell you what happens. Also, this will be my last blog for this week, I am going on a class trip into the mountains and can't bring my computer. Lucky for me, they have a trout pond on the property, so I'll take some gear and bring back some stories.