Christmas At The Shop

            I hope everyone can join us at Royal Gorge Anglers on December 17th for an awesome Christmas Bash, there will be a little something for everyone. From 1pm to 4pm we will have fly tying demos by some of the best tiers in the industry, great presentations, awesome food and so much more... Landon Mayer will be the special guest, so come pick up your copy of his new book Colorado's Best Fly Fishing and have it signed by the man himself.
            It is the perfect time to finish some Christmas shopping for all the fly fishing addicts on your list, eat some killer chow and meet some of the leaders in the industry..... Hope to see you all there!

Midnight Rendevous

  Pure evidence of why Fall is my favorite season to be scouring the country with a fly rod in my hand.. I had an epic evening with some of my closest friends, a few of my favorite beers and to top it off, I had the pleasure of meeting this beautiful 32" 13 lb. hen.. Fishing was incredible for all, and fish were measured in pounds rather than inches. I want to thank Taylor, Joe and Shea for help on the net, their photography skills and the good company as always..

The San Juan Sled

  Well It's done, just finished my self-built, self-designed custom raft trailer (aka.The San Juan Sled). Built mostly from parts on hand and a few materials begged off of job sites, it is equipped with full frontal rock guards, a strap winch and a roller bar on the rear. Expect to see this rig moving at a high rate of speed towards some of the best floatable rivers for quite some time.. I already have another trailer in the works for my Irish compadre, I think I might have to turn this in to a business... Need a custom trailer?

A New Venture..

    I finally stepped up and bought myself a Aire raft with a Salida Riverboat Works frame. I have spent every spare minute navigating the low flowing Arkansas River working on my technical rowing skills, and hoping to get enough miles logged to be able to take my clients out by spring.. Fishing has been great subsurface and all of my friends have been lacing fish right and left as I row them down the river, I think it's time for my friends to learn how to row!!

P-Town Pig!

 Long time friend and fellow guide Brett Penvose shows off some color..... and the hog rainbow has great color too. Brett took this 26" fatty bow on the Arkansas River tail water below the Pueblo dam on a #16 Red Thunder on Aug 31st.
  Brett has been one of my fishing buddies for many years and I have watched him dedicate him-self to being one of the best on the Arkansas River and every other water shed he fishes. I am happy to say Brett joined up with us on the SoCo crew guiding for Royal Gorge Anglers, so if you are interested in booking a guided trip on the Pueblo tail water, South Platte or upper Arkansas, contact the fly fishing experts at  www.royalgorgeanglers.com

http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/adventure-adviser/what-are-the-best-state-parks.html

  Outside Magazine gives the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) some much deserved recognition by naming it in the top 5 state parks in the United States.
  From it's beginnings in Leadville Colorado, the Arkansas river carves it's way through the Sawatch Mountain range 150 miles, providing class II through V rapids proving why it is the most commercially rafted river in the country. Along with the rafting, kayaking and other white water sports, the AHRA State Park provides camping, hiking, rock climbing and In my opinion, some of the best fly fishing to be found anywhere.
   I encourage everyone to take full advantage of all our wonderful state park has to offer, and always leave it in better condition then when you found it.

Fall Anticipation

    With afternoon temperatures still nearing 100 degrees in many areas, it seems that fall is still a long way out; but after spending last week on the Taylor river, I found signs of fall were quite evident.
  As we drove through Taylor park at 3:30 am the headlights were shining off the frost on the trees and after raiding my gear bag for any warm clothes left over from the spring, it was off to the avalanche hole.
 Fishing was great for numbers of fish, although the big boys we were after were few and far between. The browns were stacked up thick in the deeper pools with blaze orange sides and fins eagerly packing on the protein for their upcoming ritual.
  The Gunnison river had started it's fall transformation as well, with kokanee starting their journey from Blue Mesa reservoir to the spawning grounds on the East river.
    Fall is a great time to be out on the river for dry fly fishing and you always have a chance of hooking up with a giant brown while tossing streamers..

Bragging Rights

       

      This year has been a lot of fun as a father, I have watched my son go from a little boy to a little man in what seems like over night. We spent the weekend with some great Friends fishing a small mountain creek and ponds near their cabin and fishing was epic, or at least it was for my son.. I spent most of the time as the net man for my wife and son netting nice 12-15 inch browns and rainbows, so when Drake called out "fish-on" I was expecting much of the same. I could not believe it when I saw this toad roll up out of the depths of the fast moving creek, I knew that this would be the most important fish I ever tried to net, glad I didn't screw it up. Drake has always loved fly fishing and being out on the river, but this 23 inch hook jawed rainbow took it to a whole new level, so big fish beware...The little streamer-slinger is on his way.

Carp-e-diem

    In conjunction with being a fly fishing guide, I am also an ironworker and my job tends to take me out of my traditional fly fishing haunts, but if there is water you will find me fly rod in hand searching out whatever swims below. My current job conveniently has me placed on an old flooded rock quarry that is loaded with big carp and bass.
    People that think of carp as trash-fish instead of sport-fish, apparently have never hooked one on a fly rod, although I do not want these creatures inhabiting our pristine trout waters, carp have their place and put up a hell of a fight. In early mornings and late evenings you will find these slabs schooled up cruising the shallows in search of food. This is the perfect time to brush up your salt water skills, big rods, long casts,delicate presentation and long fights make this fish as close to a salt water flats fish as you can get on our land locked states. If you live in urban areas or out in B.F.E, likely you have ponds, lakes or rivers full of these fish, so get out and put your skills to the test.

The 4-foot fly fishing guide.

     Today I had the pleasure of watching my 7 year old son Drake fish his way up a small home town creek, working pockets and seams with a Royal Wulff, seeming completely intent on catching every small brown the creek had to offer. It for me, was a moment in life that will not be forgotten, and marked the beginning of another generation of my family being consumed by fly fishing.
It doesn't seem like that long ago, I was that little boy on the very same creek fishing with my father... Time goes by way too fast.

Teva mountain games 2011

    As we speak, my fishing compadre, Taylor Edrington an I are brushing up on our distance and accuracy casting skills for the 2011 Teva Mountain Games being held June 2nd through the 5th in Vail, Colorado. Laying down a 60ft cast into a 12 inch circle in your back yard with no-one watching doesn't seem so bad..... We will just have to see how it goes when you have a couple hundred people watching, and video cameras in your face.
    Regardless of the outcome, we are planning on having a great time hanging out with our family and friends,
drinking some good beer, and watching the "best of the best" do what they do in their events.
    I would highly recommend coming out for the event, there is something for everyone, kayaking, mountain biking, climbing, music, and don't forget fly fishing..

On the edge

    We are starting to see elevated flows on the Arkansas due to recent low level moisture, luckily it is so dry that most of the water is quickly being absorbed. The clarity has varied during the past week, but has stayed fishable through-out.
    Fishing has remained good sub-surface, Fish are eagerly taking attractor nymphs, stones and caddis pupa. As for dries, I would  throw dry dropper rigs with a stimulator on top, and a #16 bead head caddis pupa below, then just be happy with the select few that come up and hit the stimmy.
    Don't let high water keep you from fishing, this can be some of the easiest fishing of the year, Just like in low water situations, fish get concentrated to "live-able Areas". In low water this means you will find the fish in deep runs with good cover, in high water, they go to the edges. The edges provide reprieve from the heavy current, better clarity, and ample food.
It is a great time to break out the big sticks, the streamer box and start pounding the edges.

Make it happen.....

       How many times have you said, "Next year I am going on that trip" ???
Well, for most people, "Next year" will always be... "Next year"...
Now is the time to pull the trigger on that dream trip you and your buddies have been talking about forever.
Whether that trip is in Alaska, chasing huge bows or kings, or in Argentina going after golden dorado, or anywhere in between, there is only one place to book your trip.
      Taylor Edrington, and Cross Current Travel is your one stop shop for trip bookings, information and the gear to make your trip a success.  Why would you want to book a trip through a travel agent that has no clue about fly fishing?? Take it from a pro, that has fished all of his own destinations!
 Click the Cross Current banner at the bottom of my page for more info..
Tight Lines...

Gear review....

    The Vibram soles that are on most of the quality wading shoes now, are great at stopping the spread of invasive aquatic spicies, but without cleats, they are not so great at gripping rocks on a slippery freestone river. All Simms boots are able to be cleated, and they provide several different styles of cleats to choose from.
    Today I installed the Simms Alumibite Star Cleats on my rivershead boots, and put them to the test on a full day of guiding on the Arkansas River.. The cleats provided a nice even feel to the foot bed of my boots, I didn't get the feel of pressure points, like I have on other smaller diameter cleats. The aluminum seemed to have a good soft grip, without the"skating" effect you get with hard carbide studs..
     All and all, I loved the cleats, But I do question the durability of the soft aluminum cleat.
The average angler will probably get long life out of the cleats, but for a guide that lives in his wading shoes???
I will let you know in a couple of weeks.
  

Czech it out...

      The cold weather over the past weekend dropped
water temps, and sent the fish to the depths of the river
during the morning hours. Fish were picked up here and
there on stone fly, caddis larva combo's under an indicator.
This morning I switched tactics... We searched for the
deepest riffle runs we could find, and rigged up a heavy
double Czech nymph rig. We used my new size #6
Konk Larva as the anchor fly on bottom, and Larry's
Metallic larva above as the "match the hatch" fly.
The first three casts produced three hook- ups.
     If the fish are hugging the bottom, your flies need
to be doing the same. Next time you set out for the
river, make sure you have brushed up on your Czech nymphing
skills, it might be the difference between a slow day,
and a great day..

Work can wait, it's time to fish..

Now is the time to get out on the Arky, we have low clear water, an abundance of blue winged olives, and a caddis hatch progressing up the river as we speak.. With the forecast of rising temperatures being a positive for the caddis hatch, it is also a negative for our recent low level snow pack. Take every chance you can over the next few weeks to wet a line. We all know high water is coming... We just don't know when?

Blizzard of Awe's

As everyone sits back patiently awaiting the "blizzard of caddis" to arrive on the Arkansas river, we are instead blessed with the "blizzard of snow". For the few anglers that truly know this river, are right now enjoying a B.W.O hatch of epic proportions. As we are casting to trout that seem to be rising on a rhythm, I feel a little sorry for everyone that is at home waiting on the caddis... But not too sorry.