Tuesday, April 22, 2014
MAN DAY 2014, Part 1
My son Kevin lives here in Colorado with me and goes to school here. In the summer he travels to South East Florida every year to visit his mom. This is good and bad. Its good cause I love having him here for school, bad because he misses out on all the summer fishing. So to counter balance the fishing he misses out on every summer we take a day (MAN DAY) each spring (so long as his grades in school are kept up) and we play hooky from school and work to spend a whole day fishing. Last year Kevin caught a tank of a Largemouth bass (9+lbs). But this year is different. 1) We are taking a very large family vacation this year and I will be using up most of my time off from work. 2) Our fishing partner and Co Pilot in all things MANLY and AWESOME Justin Peterson was not going to be able to go when we planned. So we improvised. Instead of not going at all we decided to do Two man days this year. One in the spring on a Saturday, and another in August when Kevin comes home that Justin will be able to go on. WIN, WIN! So we set off last weekend to go on an adventure. We choose the Hale Ponds on the South Fork of the Republican River. 40 miles south of us. The ponds are part of the South Republican State Wildlife Area. Public water that holds bass, crappie, bluegills, carp, and some stocked trout. Our goal was bass and carp mostly but when its man day you don't really care what you catch. We saw some bass, missed a couple shots a some carp, caught a couple trout, and some bluegills. Plus we ate some lunch by the ponds, shared a root beer, and had a pretty damn good father son time. The ponds were very healthy and well maintained thanks to hard work from our state wildlife offices and money from the Habitat Stamp program. So thank you goes to them. There was quite a few anglers around enjoying the ponds as well. The highlight of the day came when we were on our way home. We stopped at a bridge that crossed over the Republican river. I like to stop and look over the sides of bridges (call me weird). Now we had been after carp all day and only seen a couple. So you can imagine my surprise when I peeked over the rails of the bridge and spotted 2 big bronze pigs swimming right under the bridge. I ran to the other side only to see 8 more carp swimming the other direction. There were carp everywhere. The land on both sides of the bridge are public fishing land under a wildlife easement. So we grabbed our rods and tried to get in a few shots. Needless to say we were rejected. It was early afternoon, and hot. The fish were in a cruising mode and not feeding. But they were all around us. So even though we didn't have an epic day at the ponds we did discover a new and plentiful carp fishery in the process. You can bet I will be back on the creek this summer, fly rod in hand. Chasing those brutes. Until then though, get out and go fishing. The water is warming up quickly, the bass will be in pre spawn very soon. And take a kid or two with you. It doesn't have to be man day to enjoy some quality time with young anglers.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
NO BS ALLOWED!
Fly Fishing on the Republican is as tricky as it is simple. I understand that sounds very contradictory but its true. This is not a large stream. As I've said its maybe 30ft accross at its widest. And sometimes only 5 to 7 feet during the hot summer months when local crop irrigation drops the water levels. Some streches are very windy with meandering curves every 50 feet or so and have heavy tree growth. And other parts are long, open and run through open pasture range with no trees for miles. Its because of these diverce conditons that picking ones gear carefully is so important. Don't get me wrong we aren't talking about Steelheading here. For the most part any ol inexpensive 4-6 wt fly rod will work, but one should put some thinking into it before they just grab a rod and start walking. Here is some of the criteria that I have based my tackle on.
1) Rods. I actually have a few different rods for the job (not at the same time). Each one has a bit of a specific purpose. I have a Pflueger Medalist 8ft 7wt matched with a Scientific Angler Medium Arbor reel. This is the rod I keep handy incase the day comes that I do find some carp. Its a rod I've had forever and its always been so good to me that I just can't bear to not use it for something. My newest rod is a Eagle Claw Featherlight Fiberglass 7ft 5/6wt matched with a small Okuma Sierra 4/5wt reel. I've only had it a few months and I'm totally in love. And last but certainly not least is my Custom made Japaneese bamboo rod. Its a 8ft 6wt matched with a beautieful old Pflueger GEM reel. I've had this reel since I started fly fishing roughly 22 years ago. Like I said before any old rod will work but I have choosen these three rods for a few reasons. First aside from the bamboo the other two rods are fairly inexpensive. So if something were ever to happen and one were to break I'm not going to have a heartattack. More importantly is the size of the river itself. I've tried a 9ft trout rod out here and it was awful. There is often a lot of overgrowth and tight corner to cast around. Shorter rods take advantage of that. On the other hand its the fish that steer me away from tiny ultralight gear. I've taken a 3lb bucketmouth bass out of this creek, I've pulled some mean little channel cats out. And I've seen pictures of 24 inch browns caught here. I don't want to mess around with any of those on a iddy biddy 2wt. This isn't just pocketwater with brookies. There is always the chance of running into a decent size fish.
2) Line. All my fly lines for this creek are Weight Forward Floating. I try and use the best quality line I can afford. But lets be truthful. This isn't the place to be wasting your money on expensive line. Good quality yes, High Priced no.
3) Flies. As I said in an earlier post the fly selection needed here isn't real big. My fly box contains a few Adams in size 12, and a handful of Elk Hair Caddis in size 12, but dry flies are not the rule here. Soft hackles and very simple nymph patterns are my favorites. When the panfish are on the prowl I really enjoy using a micro popper. Closed cell foam poppers in size 8. Bright yellow, and black are the two colors that really seem to work best. And lets not forget the good ol Mico Bugger. A wooly bugger tied on a size 8-10, in white and black. Carp flies can be as simple as a San Juan worm, to something more along the lines of a bonefish fly.
4) Everything else. I try not to carry a whole ton of gear when I fish no matter where I am. But I do like to carry a few essentials. A small container of split shot, some fly floatant, Clippers, Forecepts, pocket knife. A small fly box and a camera. I do have a small landing net and whenever I carry it I hate it cause its always getting snagged on weeds. And everytime I wish I had it I'm not carring it. There no winning with that one.
I prefer a small back pack personally. I've tried a few hip packs over the years and just never really liked them. Vests have never been my thing. But the small back pack or better yet a small sling pack works great. My pack has some insolation in it for keeping a couple bottles of water (or beer) cold. I prefer flats wading style pants and wading shoes to actual waders. In the cold months there just isn't a good reason to need to cross the water and in the summer its just to stinkin hot. And polarized glasses. Like most fishing situations good polarized sunglasses are almost as important as your rod.
Thats really about it. I always practice catch and release so I have never had use for a stringer or basket. Its really all about just having a rod and reel, a few essentials and a sence of adventure. This style of fishing is in my opinion the anti pretentious fly fishing that seems to go along with a lot of bigger colorado rivers. There are no fly shops out here on the plains. No Orvis sponsered guides with big fancy trucks and driftboats full of hi tech gear. This is Huck Finn approved fishing. All are welcome but leave your bullshit at the door type fishing. That's why I like it. .
1) Rods. I actually have a few different rods for the job (not at the same time). Each one has a bit of a specific purpose. I have a Pflueger Medalist 8ft 7wt matched with a Scientific Angler Medium Arbor reel. This is the rod I keep handy incase the day comes that I do find some carp. Its a rod I've had forever and its always been so good to me that I just can't bear to not use it for something. My newest rod is a Eagle Claw Featherlight Fiberglass 7ft 5/6wt matched with a small Okuma Sierra 4/5wt reel. I've only had it a few months and I'm totally in love. And last but certainly not least is my Custom made Japaneese bamboo rod. Its a 8ft 6wt matched with a beautieful old Pflueger GEM reel. I've had this reel since I started fly fishing roughly 22 years ago. Like I said before any old rod will work but I have choosen these three rods for a few reasons. First aside from the bamboo the other two rods are fairly inexpensive. So if something were ever to happen and one were to break I'm not going to have a heartattack. More importantly is the size of the river itself. I've tried a 9ft trout rod out here and it was awful. There is often a lot of overgrowth and tight corner to cast around. Shorter rods take advantage of that. On the other hand its the fish that steer me away from tiny ultralight gear. I've taken a 3lb bucketmouth bass out of this creek, I've pulled some mean little channel cats out. And I've seen pictures of 24 inch browns caught here. I don't want to mess around with any of those on a iddy biddy 2wt. This isn't just pocketwater with brookies. There is always the chance of running into a decent size fish.
2) Line. All my fly lines for this creek are Weight Forward Floating. I try and use the best quality line I can afford. But lets be truthful. This isn't the place to be wasting your money on expensive line. Good quality yes, High Priced no.
3) Flies. As I said in an earlier post the fly selection needed here isn't real big. My fly box contains a few Adams in size 12, and a handful of Elk Hair Caddis in size 12, but dry flies are not the rule here. Soft hackles and very simple nymph patterns are my favorites. When the panfish are on the prowl I really enjoy using a micro popper. Closed cell foam poppers in size 8. Bright yellow, and black are the two colors that really seem to work best. And lets not forget the good ol Mico Bugger. A wooly bugger tied on a size 8-10, in white and black. Carp flies can be as simple as a San Juan worm, to something more along the lines of a bonefish fly.
4) Everything else. I try not to carry a whole ton of gear when I fish no matter where I am. But I do like to carry a few essentials. A small container of split shot, some fly floatant, Clippers, Forecepts, pocket knife. A small fly box and a camera. I do have a small landing net and whenever I carry it I hate it cause its always getting snagged on weeds. And everytime I wish I had it I'm not carring it. There no winning with that one.
I prefer a small back pack personally. I've tried a few hip packs over the years and just never really liked them. Vests have never been my thing. But the small back pack or better yet a small sling pack works great. My pack has some insolation in it for keeping a couple bottles of water (or beer) cold. I prefer flats wading style pants and wading shoes to actual waders. In the cold months there just isn't a good reason to need to cross the water and in the summer its just to stinkin hot. And polarized glasses. Like most fishing situations good polarized sunglasses are almost as important as your rod.
Thats really about it. I always practice catch and release so I have never had use for a stringer or basket. Its really all about just having a rod and reel, a few essentials and a sence of adventure. This style of fishing is in my opinion the anti pretentious fly fishing that seems to go along with a lot of bigger colorado rivers. There are no fly shops out here on the plains. No Orvis sponsered guides with big fancy trucks and driftboats full of hi tech gear. This is Huck Finn approved fishing. All are welcome but leave your bullshit at the door type fishing. That's why I like it. .
Its still snowing
So its spring now. But as I write this the snow has been falling since the middle of the night and everything outside is cold and wet. But its not sticking and that a good sign. We've had some really warm days lately and as per usual spring we have had a lot of wind to go with it. But I have snuck in a few days of fishing. I got off work yesterday and had about an hour to kill before dinner so I grabbed the two older of my three children and we headed to the lake. Our lake is not actually part of the Republican river. But it is in the Republican River Valley and it feeds into the Republican within half a mile of the spillway. And since this is my blog, I can write about whatever I want.....
So I took the two older kids and we headed to the lake to find some bluegills. Natty my 5 year old is still a bit young to be flinging a fly rod around, so we tie a little bead head nymph to her "princess" fishing pole and put a small bobber about 8 inches above the fly. The gills can't resist it, and she landed 4 nice fish within about 20 min's. Kevin armed with his 5wt also managed to land a couple nice fish with a little rubber legged nymph. His casting has improved dramatically over the past few months and now that he is catching fish he's hooked on fly fishing. I spent most of that hour pulling hooks out of bluegill mouths, but I did get to catch a few (20+) on the EC Featherlight. Still loving that rod. And catching gills on it is a blast. Its going to be my #1 weapon of choice in the 2014 Bluegill Blitz coming up the first of May. The Blitz is a "Warm Water Fly Fishing" page contest on Facebook that I started this year. Page members are allowed to submit one picture to the page of the biggest bluegill/sunfish they can catch. Its "Bragging Rights" contest only, designed to bring out the best in spring fly fisherman. Noble Shit talk and virtual chest pounding and fun for all who are enrolled. I'm really looking forward to it. Last but not least here in Colorado its time to go buy your 2014-2015 Hunting and Fishing License. Then go find a small creek, or stream throw a line in and see what you can catch. And take a kid along. Remember they are the future of our water and fishing heritage. (by the way both pictures of these flies come from google images and are not my actual flies but both are very similar to the ones used in this outing)
So I took the two older kids and we headed to the lake to find some bluegills. Natty my 5 year old is still a bit young to be flinging a fly rod around, so we tie a little bead head nymph to her "princess" fishing pole and put a small bobber about 8 inches above the fly. The gills can't resist it, and she landed 4 nice fish within about 20 min's. Kevin armed with his 5wt also managed to land a couple nice fish with a little rubber legged nymph. His casting has improved dramatically over the past few months and now that he is catching fish he's hooked on fly fishing. I spent most of that hour pulling hooks out of bluegill mouths, but I did get to catch a few (20+) on the EC Featherlight. Still loving that rod. And catching gills on it is a blast. Its going to be my #1 weapon of choice in the 2014 Bluegill Blitz coming up the first of May. The Blitz is a "Warm Water Fly Fishing" page contest on Facebook that I started this year. Page members are allowed to submit one picture to the page of the biggest bluegill/sunfish they can catch. Its "Bragging Rights" contest only, designed to bring out the best in spring fly fisherman. Noble Shit talk and virtual chest pounding and fun for all who are enrolled. I'm really looking forward to it. Last but not least here in Colorado its time to go buy your 2014-2015 Hunting and Fishing License. Then go find a small creek, or stream throw a line in and see what you can catch. And take a kid along. Remember they are the future of our water and fishing heritage. (by the way both pictures of these flies come from google images and are not my actual flies but both are very similar to the ones used in this outing)
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