A Word About Summer

Most of you know that my Summer is filled with Kid's Camps. I teach them for about 7 weeks out of the Summer, 4 days a week. The other days, I'm either working in the shop or fishing myself. What most of you don't know, although I'm sure you could've ventured a guess, is that I used to be a camper myself. I have been on both ends of multiple camps around Boulder, and I can tell you without a doubt that the Rocky Mountain Anglers Kid's Camps are bar-none. You learn about bug life, the science behind the fishing, but more importantly, spend way more time on the water than with other camps. I have seen kids go from not knowing what a fly was to pulling out a rainbow trout the size of their arm in just a few days. Learning the basics is key to success further on, and that's what our beginner camps teach. For kids who have some experience with the sport, our advanced camps offer a more intense program including a fun over-nighter in Rocky Mountain National Park. Classes are filling up fast, but there are still a few spots left in each camp. Far dates, prices, and any other questions you may have, check out the Rocky Mountain Anglers website at here.

Dream Stream

Catching a lot of fish is fun. Catching a big fish is awesome. Catching a lot of big fish is amazing. Catching a lot of big fish by sight casting with flies you would usually use in Alaska? Well, that's the Dream Stream. Since I did this last time, let's try the timeline again.

2:00 am: Wake up, get dressed, hop in the car. We have enough food for two days, two rods, three reels, and lots of flies (No Buckskins. That will be important later).

5:30 am: Arrive at the Dream Stream. For the first time ever, we are the first ones there. That means it's time to start fishing.

Day One: Fourteenth cast, the indicator drops. Hook set, and we have one hell of a fish on. Within five seconds of me being unprepared, the rod tip has dropped and the fish is off. Time to keep fishing. The fishing stays quite consistent, and my third hookup brings a fish to hand. A nice 19 inch rainbow takes off the skunk early. We keep fishing, and nice fish keep coming to hand. One more cast, and my indicator has dropped again. I set the hook, and the tight drag on the reel starts to sing. A minute or so later, this bad boy came to hand:

Two casts after that pig, the indicator drops yet again. One more hook set. If I thought the reel was singing a minute ago, it's taking full on Dubstep now. And for those of you who live under a rock or listen to real music, Dubstep involves a huge bass drop that will rattle your teeth. I fight for almost five minutes, and the biggest trout I have caught in a long time finds its way into my net. Now, you were probably hoping for a picture of that monster, weren't you? Well, you can have one. Soon. We need time for the drama to build here, folks (plus my buddy hasn't emailed me the picture yet).

We fished for the rest of the day and caught some real nice fish, but I definitely wasn't playing my A-Game anymore. A big fish will do that to me.

Day Two: I'm up early again, out on the water before the Sun. I fish the same hole as yesterday, and catch a few more nice fish. After a few hours, I notice a familiar hat-jacket combo coming down the river. For those of you who don't know Big Fish Bobby D and Monster Trout Hunter Todd, they are the masters of big trout. These guys go to some of the most famous rivers in the state, walk into a crowd of people, and nail a hawg. They invite me to fish with them, and I gladly except. They are picking off some nice fish in a riffle, and I don't want to just go in and high-hole them. Instead, I fish a deep slot below them. I'm casting to a dark shadow, hoping it's a fish. My third cast is on target, and I see the shape move toward where I think my flies are. The rod goes tight, and a few minutes later a solid fish comes to the net. This seems like a good way to end my day, but I decide to tag along with Bob and Todd. We walk around on the high bank looking for fish, and quickly find some. Todd hooks up first, then I wade in. Looking closer, I think I see a long shadow. "Is that a fish?" "Where," responds Bob. "Right there," I say, as I set the hook into a 22 inch rainbow. This seems like a good way to end the trip.

Rocking Out

Another great year at the F3T! I met some great new people, hung out with friends, and watched some amazing videos. The party started at about 4:15, when the grill fired up. People started coming in, grabbing a beer (I believe we went through quite a few cases of Up Slope), and talking about fishing. The first thanks of the night goes to Randy, who hung out at the grill and put together some of the best burgers ever. Around 6:30, people started to head to the Boulder Theater for the big event. Now, if you were there, you probably heard one group making quite a bit of noise. Well, why didn't you come say hello?! Like I said, I met some great people and watched some cool videos.

The next shout outs go to Jesse, Brian, Chet, Ben, Jack, and Randy (again), for keeping the party rocking all night long. It was a sweet party guys, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do. I also hope you don't have the same headache I do this morning (though I'm sure you do). And finally, I'd like to thank the bartender for cutting off my Red Bull supply before I did any damage.

If you weren't at the party this year, I'd love to see you there next year! In the mean time, get your hands on the video "Doc of the Drakes" as fast as you can. It's a truly beautiful and inspiring experience

Outstanding Video

Fishing Food

Fishing for a few hours only requires your usual gear, and maybe some water. The load doesn't get heavy, and not much planning goes into the trip. But what about those days where you spend ten hours on the water? You have to bring food, water, and all your gear. So what do you bring to eat? Here's my top five choices:

5-  Chips. Chips work well for fishing trips because they can't go bad. Keeping a bag of chips on you also allows for snacking without getting off the water. Since chips aren't the most healthy, they take place number five on my list.

4-  Apple. No, your IPod does not make a good snack. A good old apple is small enough to carry with you, strong enough that it won't break and bruise, and filling enough to hold you over for awhile. Just make sure you wash the apple before you go. I will laugh at you if you get E-Coli from a tainted apple.

3-  Energy Bar. An energy bar does not include a Snickers Bar, dammit! Power Bars, Cliff Bars, and all the others are a good choice because they won't go bad, won't break, and are small and light enough to keep in your pocket. Most of them taste good, and at least some of them do their job of giving you energy. Like the poster said, "I Want You.... to eat an energy bar."

2-  Jerky. Turkey Jerky, Beef Jerky, Elk Jerky, and all the rest. These little snacks are easy to carry, delicious, and sometimes even provide a healthy choice. Not the kind from the gas station, but the good stuff. You can get it from a hut in Lyons.

1-  Chicken Tender Sandwich. Oh my god. I found one of these at a Safeway the other day on a way to a fishing trip. Not expecting it to be much, I bought it just for a last resort. I broke it out at lunch and took a bite. Oh my god.

Feel free to add your own!

Starting A Lifetime (My Beginnings On Fishing)

Blogger isn't letting me add pictures! Anybody else having this problem? How can I prove my Tales now? Well, you'll just have to believe me until the stupid loader works again.

      

           This is the story of how I first got into fishing. I was 5 years old, and living in Los Angeles. I had never done much outdoor stuff, and no one in my family did much either. Still, my Grandma had decided every boy needed to go fishing once. Once. Once. Once. Echo...  We arrived at the little stocked trout pond, paid our entrance fee, and started fishing. The gear setup? A bamboo stick with some corn and line and a hook. After fishing for a few minutes, my grandparents decided to go sit in the car. I continued fishing, trying to find a movement that would entice a fish. As I was slowly walking my stick up and down the bank, my rod went heavy. "I got one, I got one!" I called. But my grandparents could not hear me. I yanked the fish in, Proud and excited as could be, and looked at my prize. A beautiful 14 inch rainbow. I managed to unhook the fish, and since this was a catch and keep pond, euthanized it. To an adult, that means leave it in a bucket. To a five year old boy, that means beat it senseless with a large rock. Once that was all done, I walked over and showed my grandparents the fish. I then put the fish in the bucket and went right back to fishing. I managed to catch seven fish that day, using corn and my walking the bank technique. I made sure to fight it, unhook it, and beat it to death each time. After a couple hours of fishing, my grandma took me home and cooked the fish for me to eat. So I had the whole experience. Now remember, once, once, once......   Fast forward

     I fish hundreds of days a year, have spent countless amounts of money and effort in fishing, and will never ever stop. Once? No such thing.

Hey, the Photo Uploader works again!!!!

I'm Back In Action! (And The Fishing Was Good)

Hey everyone! I'm back! Well, the week was crazy, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The weather was beautiful the first few days, but it dumped snow on Wednesday. The food was good, and the activities were not too bad. Of course, that doesn't matter, because all of you (and I) want to talk about is... The fishing!!! I only fished a couple of days, but it was hilarious. The term on the camp sheet was "Stocked Trout Pond"   I would call it more of an overstocked trout puddle. The pond was teeny, and the fish were everywhere. I walked down with a small streamer on, saw a riser, and put my first cast in. The fly hit the water, and there was instantly a hit. I brought in the little rainbow, starting to feel the outcome of this trip would be good. I put my next cast in, another fish. And another. this happened more times than I can count. The fish were all about the same size, so it was nice when I caught a 14 inch rainbow on the third day. That was great, but not the best thing that happened. The next day, a miracle happened. See, even though this was a stocked pond, it wasn't man-made. So I figured there must be some cutthroat. Or at least there used to be, the stockers might have killed them off. So on the second day, when I tied on a small Kiwi Damsel, I didn't expect much more than usual. First cast, strike. I fought the fish and brought it in, to a huge surprise. It was a cutthroat! A pretty little Colorado Cutthroat trout, and it had completed my goal. I ended on that note, deciding there was no need to keep fishing. Now the week is over, and I'm happy. I'll post the picture as my "Picture of the Week" as soon as my teacher sends me the shots. Also, what has everyone else been doing this week?

Confessions, Worms, and Spring Fishing Blues

The weather report was predicting snow, I already felt like I had a cold, and my fly box was looking kind of skimpy. I still felt like there was a need to go fishing though. I'm a teen, so I guess I'm as crazy as all other teens. I just put my crazy into fishing. Anyway, I managed to find another crazy friend to go fishing with me. It was definitely going to be to cold for trout, and carp don't usually seem to be fond of blizzards. So that left bass. I woke up at around 5:30 and got my gear together saturday morning, and tied a few flies for the day. We got out to the water, and I got in with a mixed idea of what the day would bring. Luckily, it wasn't snowing, or quite as cold as the weatherman had said. So there I am, waist deep in water, the people walking by in coats and sweatpants, and i was in shorts and a tee shirt. Then, I see bass number one. A nice fish, probably around 4 pounds. A cast, nothing, Three more casts, nothing. The fish swims away. I must have tried casting to these fish a thousand times with a dozen flies, and they just would not touch it. I was cold, wet, and not happy with how the day had panned out. Me and my crazy friend drove back to his house, not sure what to do next. After the saying of something along the lines of "How 'bout that lake next door?" and a grilled cheese sandwich to think over, I found myself digging up worms from my friend's back yard. He was next to me, stringing up some old spinning rods and putting on bobbers. After a ten minute motor scooter ride, (which can be very sketchy with a rod in your hands) we were at the lake. It was sunny now, and the bobbers were in the water. As I watched and thought about the times I used to do this a lot, my bobber disappeared. I reeled in a nice little pond bass. We fished for awhile, until a thunderstorm rolled in and it was time to leave. It was nice to bring back some memories from my early childhood, and it turned an awful day into an okay day. Can't wait for Summer though, where I can catch bass, trout, and carp in a day on the fly!