CTU Camp/Frying Pan with Charlie and Courtney

I am finally back from the colorado trout unlimited youth camp that I attended this past week, and though it was great fun, it sure does feel good to be home.  Giving a detailed explanation of a week long camp would take forever, so this is just a brief insight to the basics of the camp.  The camp was amazing, and provided many laughs, stories, and, of course, big fish.  I learned a lot about conservation, and thanks to a couple of casting instructors, I sharpened up my cast a bit.  We also got to go fishing in a lot of really cool places, including a private ranch up near grand mesa.  I wish that I had pictures to post, but all of them were taken on friends' cameras, so I will post them as soon as I get them.  Overall, the camp was a great experience, and if you have any questions about the camp, I would be happy to answer them.

When camp ended on friday at noon, my dad, grandpa, and brother picked me up, and we headed straight for the frying pan river to enjoy some camping, and fishing.  Earlier in the week I contacted Charlie and Courtney from the Trout Pursuit Blog, and asked if they might be able to meet my family and I at the 'pan for some fishing.  They accepted the invitation, and they pulled in to the lot by the toilet bowl early saturday morning.

Water gushing out of Ruedi at around 800 CFS

 There were people crammed into every nook and cranny on the flats, seeing as every section of water after the bend pool looked like chocolate milk.  As they were rigging up, a good friend of theirs, JP, pulled in with his dad, and right from the start I could tell that this was going to be a good day.  After brief conversations, getting the rods rigged up, and a funny encounter with "the cowboy", we set out in search of fish. It was amazing to see how Charlie and Courtney work the water, only stopping for decent looking fish.  As soon as a fish was spotted, presentations were made until the fish was either caught, or spooked off. We got into some good fish, and here are some of the pictures from my camera.  All of the other pics can be seen on their blog.

Fat Rainbow from the bowl

Not long, but heavy as can be

Healthy Release

We fished all day, and I learned a ton from both Court and Charlie.  They helped me figure out some of the tips and tricks that I was missing, and taught me a lot more in a few hours than most can teach in an entire book.  Both of them are really cool guys, and I owe a big thanks to both of them for letting me tag along!

Overall, it was a great week at camp, and fishing with Charlie, Court, JP, and of course, my family, was a great ending to a long week.