In need of some help

As most of you know, I am a high school student in Fort Collins. Ever since my freshman year, I have been fortunate enough to be involved with the Fly Fishing Club at the school. Through the club I have formed valuable friendships with students and teachers alike.

So, as of yesterday, the school district informed me that it has cancelled the fly fishing club, and has prohibited any meetings from commencing due to the "Inherent danger associated with the sport". Now, I don't know about you guys, but that is a load of crap. We can have football but not a fly fishing club? 

That is where you guys come in. It would be amazing if at least one of you was able to find the time to write a short essay regarding the benefits of the sport of fly fishing, reasons behind keeping the club, etc. In short, just try to write a paper that would help build my case as to why the Fly Fishing Club should not be shut down.

I know how much he sport means to me, as well as how much it means to all of you. Having a school prohibit its students from having a club that many student's love is absolutely ludicrous. Please feel free to eMail me at jake_ruthven@hotmail.com for more information.

Thank you, your help is much appreciated!

The Reaper

This week's pattern comes from the creative mind of Mike Schmidt over at Angler's Choice Flies. The pattern presents a large profile in the water, and draws highly aggressive grabs from big fish. Dig out some hooks and get tying!

The Mufasa

As most have probably noticed, streamers are pretty common on this site. This week highlights the Mufasa, a pattern created by none other than Mike Schmidt. This is an excellent pattern for slightly deeper water, and it has tremendous movement in the current. I'll be tying lots of streamers at each of the fly fishing shows this year, so keep an eye open for any upcoming demos and shows!

It's been awhile

It's interesting how things can consume one's life. For myself, school has been the consumer of my life as of late. As those that actually pay attention to my site have probably noticed, my posting activity has been minimal since August. Oddly enough, August marks the first month of school. At any rate, I have just enough time to post a few pictures from the last few months of fishing before my next class starts. 

I managed to do some guiding this summer too, the above pictures are of a particularly special trip. It was my first ever trip out with paying clients... One could say it was a good day.

Forrest, a good friend and mentor of mine, asked me to help him out with getting his first carp. So... we did exactly that. Forrest, I can't thank you enough for putting up with my annoying questions, and teaching me all that you know about both fishing, and hunting.

Of course, I had to catch a few myself...

Grayling got checked off of my to-do list finally...

Most beautiful fish of the summer

My good friend Quinn with an eager mouse/gigantic caddis eating brown.

High country hiking and fishing were a must...

And of course what would pictures be without a fish of the summer. This beast of a common wins the award for big fish of the summer by far.

So, to those that enjoy reading/viewing my site, I apologize for the lack of activity, just know that if school wasn't consuming my life, I would be posting every single day. "Like" Fins on the Fly on Facebook, and keep reading!

Fly Fishing the Ozarks

The Voodoo Squatch

Guiding Friends

Most high school kids these days thrive on being the most popular that they can possibly be.  The jocks, the rich kids, etc.  As one of only a few fly fishermen at my school, I seem to stand out as "the different one", but in a good way.  Lately, many friends of mine have asked me to take them fly fishing, and most times, I am happy to oblige.

So, when my good friend Claire brought up the idea of going fishing, I jumped on the opportunity, and off we went.

It was quite funny watching her fight the big largemouth pictured below, but she landed it, and that's all that counts. We started off small, catching innocent bluegill, and eventually worked our way up to a respectable largemouth.  Long story short, it was a good day to be outside, and it was awesome to see one of my friends having fun on the water.

Claire's big largemouth!

Whiskey Fish

Fly Times productions is an awesome media group that I am so happy to be a part of.  Check out more of their videos by clicking here!

Awesome Day Guiding!

The other day, I was fortunate enough to guide two clients along with my buddy Forrest, the head guide.  I was nervous going into the day, but by the end of the trip, my client had landed more than 20 fish, and to say the least, he was happy.  Below are some pictures from the day.

Forrest and his client with a nice chromer...

Forrest and his cients' fish of the day!

Happy Client with an awesome 'Bow

My client and his fish of the day!

The Meal Ticket

A carpin' surprise

"There's a tail, 12:00, about 25 feet out... you got one shot, don't mess it up."  My brother sat on the bank teasing me as I did my best to convince the large "carp" to eat.  I stared into the water for a few minutes following his every movement in hopes of determining his pattern.

Every few seconds, bluegill would come leaping out of the water hurriedly, and disappear back into the depths.  One presentation after another ended up being stolen by a pesky panfish, and it was starting to annoy me.  Trying my best to avoid the panfish, I waited until the tail came closer to shore, and only then would I present my offering.

What seemed like hours passing turned out to be only a few minutes as I waited for my shot at the fish.  As the large, looming tail approached the bank, I dropped the fly on his nose, and watched as the tail accelerated quickly, and then came to an abrupt stop.  I waited, "one mississippi, two mississippi, set!"  I gave the line a tough strip set, and before my eyes, line began peeling away from my reel.  Game on.

With nothing but a mud bottom, the fish didn't have much to do but run, and with 2X tippet, he only lasted a short time before succumbing to the constant pressure of my line.  As I slid him on shore, I realized hat this was no carp.  With whole bluegill tails hanging from his throat, I couldn't believe my eyes as I hoisted the largemouth from the water.  While I was hoping for a carp, I was equally as happy with a fish of this caliber.

Excited? Yeah, you could say that!

I revived the fish carefully, and watched as he swam slowly back to his feeding grounds.  It puzzles me as to why he was tailing like a carp, but I guess I'll never know!

Double Deceiver

The Ice Pick

Check it Out!

With school coming to an end for the year, textbooks become my new friends, and time is limited.  Instead of writing, I figured I would just post up a few pictures from the last month's fishing adventures. Enjoy!

Tim Mack with a Beautiful Brown!

Dad with a beautiful snake river cuttie!

My biggest brown to date!

For those of you that have yet to land a carp on the fly, I encourage you to go give it a whirl.  It is one of the most entertaining things do do, and each fish has the potential to take you into your backing!  The above fish was caught during my 45 minute lunch break between classes!

The hat must be good luck...

The above fish is a special one.  My brother is eleven years old, and landed this fish on a fly without any help whatsoever.  I am really glad to see the increase in interest amongst younger kids these days.