A New Year. A New Quest

Hello. And welcome to the Republican River Experience. My name is John from Wray, Colorado. If you were one of the few who kept up with my blog last year "A Year As A DIY Sportsman", you already know that I am from a very small town in Northeastern Colorado. Last year I started a quest to fly fish the North Fork of the republican river which is the small stream that runs through my little town. I wanted to fish the river from its headwater all the way to the colorado Nebraska State line and to catch one of the elusive wild brown trout rumored to inhabit that river.
As it all turned out, I failed in my mission in more ways than one. I was only successful in fishing about 3/4 of the river before the end of 2013, and I never caught a trout. I did hook into a small one, and managed to lose the fight in a matter of seconds. That was my one and only encounter with a brown all year. But I did catch fish. Quite a few fish, in fact. Bass, bluegills, sunfish, channel cats, and chubs. Most of these fish were small, and scrappy, and truely a treat to catch on a light fly rod.
This year my goal is going to be an extension of that first quest. I will again try to fish the whole river (roughly 25 miles) and again try to catch a wild brown, but I also plan to document the entire experience.
Today is Febuary 2nd, 2014. Super Bowl Sunday. There is over a foot of thick white snow on the ground, and I have a cold, so I won't be fishing today. But so far this year I have fished the river 3 times already. Winter months are a great time to find High Plains Brookies. (That's what I like to call the creek chubs.) These goofly little fish are very common on my stream. They are usually quite small 6-7 inches long, though I have caught several that are in the 10-12 inch range. If these were eastern stream brook trout they would be considered a trophy, but they are only chubs so most anglers don't give them a second glance. We love them, though (we being my 9 year old son and I). They are catchable year round, they eat a fly like a fish should, and they fight like a bull - a very small bull, but a bull just the same. The best part about the creek chubs is that they are often podded together in slow moving deeper pools, which makes them great to sight fish. I don't know where the bass and panfish go in the winter, but it's almost like they disappear until the spring. The catfish must find a deep hole and sleep away the winter as well. But the chubs are everywhere.
My son is very new to fly fishing which makes catching the chubs that more exciting. They might as well be a tarpon for all he cares. Dead drifting beaded nymphs and soft hackels through the pools is the best way to catch them. We have seen a few trout already this year as well. Of course, seeing is not the same as catching. I'm not going to waste a bunch of effort writing about seeing fish.
I will make a note about the carp, however. A report from a trusted angling friend made its way to me that he found some carp in his family's stretch of the river. I have yet to see them for myself, but if it's true I plan to make a serious attempt at hooking into one of these bruts this year.