It's that time again...

We are starting to see an increase in the number of Baetis on the rivers nowadays.  Not a thick hatch yet, but it will come!  In preparation, tie a few of these up, they won't let you down!

The Swimming Baetis...

Al Ritt is a widely known individual amongst the fly fishing/fly tying community.  He ties beautiful flies, and effectively imitates many different insects with his patterns.  Here, Al is tying his "swimming baetis", a pattern that I have come to love so far this spring.  A simple tie, I encourage all of you to give it a shot!

Al's Swimming Baetis from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Praise the Shot Glass!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for not posting in awhile....the computer was in the shop getting repaired, and school computers don't allow access to blogger (though I am protesting).  

Other than that,  school has been the center of my focus lately, with little time to get out and fish.  So, whenever free time arises, I have been tying, mainly filling up my midge, and mayfly boxes with some cool new patterns.  One of the patterns that is earning a spot in my box is Shea Gunkel's new series of flies known as the shot glass series.  Shea is a hell of a guy with fly designing skills all his own.

The new series of flies feature a bead in the thorax, which in my opinion adds a lot more realism to the fly, as well as helping the fly ride better in the water (when tied with tungsten beads).  The below pictures are of a couple different colors of Shea's new flies, and might I add that the grey is deadly.  So, check it out, and let me know what you think!  Also check out Shea's blog here!

Black Background

White Background

Oh, and if you're reading this Shea, your beads will be there soon!

Snow Flakes, Call of Duty, and Fly Fishing

Glancing out the window of my friend's basement, I couldn't help but notice the fresh layer of white powder that lay frozen on the ground.  Accompanying the powder were delicately falling snowflakes, and dark, dreary skies.  But the decision was made to make the best of it, no matter the conditions.  Besides, it was the weekend, and it would be an unbearable five school days until we would get to do this again, so why not?

The mission of the day was to teach my friend Trevor the basics of fly fishing, and hopefully get him into a few fish at one of my favorite spots.  So, we arose from the mess of left over pizza, blankets, and video game controllers from the previous night, and bundled up in our warmest clothing.  As we downed our cinnamon rolls at the kitchen table, I couldn't help but think about the day, and the events that it would bring.  Trout have a way of indirectly forcing you to pursue them, no matter what the conditions; something Trevor was having a hard time understanding.

As we geared up and jumped in the truck, the thermometer read 17 degrees Fahrenheit.  Hopeful that the sun would soon show its face after a long night of hide (and seek), I stepped away from the car, and grabbed the rods from the back.  Two minuscule thread midges were selected from the warm, homely rows of my fly box, and a few feet of 6x fluorocarbon were peeled off of the spool.  My fingers shook violently as I clumsily tightened the clinch knots on the chosen meal course of the day.  After repeating the process with the second rod, both Trevor and I were ready to go, and trudged through the light, fluffy snow to the river's edge.

We watched as fish leisurely moved about a particular riffle, slowly munching on the tiny snacks adrift in the current.  With carefully placed presentations, and a lot of luck, we managed to trick a few small rainbows.

As the temperatures continued to drop, I removed the last midge on my rig from the hook keeper that sat firmly fastened to my rod.  The wind howled, and I placed one last cast into a low, clear moving run.  Intently, I watched as a glint of white showed up in the water, and I set to the feeling of a long, slow tug at the end of my line.  As trevor sat shivering on the bank, I netted the fish, and set him free  to his home in the frigid waters.

The picture doesn't demonstrate how cld it really was...

We reeled in the rods, and returned to the truck, frozen to the bone.  As the digital temperature gauge glowed with life, the temperature read 13 degrees fahrenheit, even lower than when we started.

After removing our frozen waders and boots, we returned to the basement of his house, and munched on left over pizza as we played a few rounds of Call of Duty.  About the time my Dad arrived to pick me up, the feeling had returned to my toes.  Upon entering the car, I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I glanced over at the thermometer.

13 Degrees.

First Time at Deckers - Trip Report 5/15/11

I was finally able to get away from the vise this weekend, and got to go fishing for the day. I decided to call up a friend, and see if he might be able to show me some of the water down in his neck of the woods.  Turns out that he lives not too far from the world renowned Cheeseman Canyon/Deckers section of the South Platte. I was instantly intrigued; the only problem was finding a ride.  After harsh negotiations (including my allowance being given away towards gas money), I was finally able to convince my uncle to make the drive down there.  The plan was set, and I was jumping with joy.

 For those of you who haven't heard of this section of the South Platte, these fish have a masters degree in identifying artificial flies.  They could probably tell you what materials you used to tie the fly for that matter.  However, these guys can get big. Stories of 20 inch fish weighing in at nearly 5 pounds were what attracted me so much to this fishery. They feed primarily on midges from what I hear, which made me wonder if camping out up there for a week or so might be a possibility, seeing as I love to catch big fish on small patterns and tippet as thin as a strand of hair.  As I began to doze off to sleep the night before, I was dreaming of catching one of these beasts, and before I knew it, early the next morning we were on our way to pick up my friend, and then to the river.

After the painstakingly long drive, we finally got to our destination, and made a quick stop at "Flies and Lies" fly shop for some tips and tricks to catching these technical trout.  I needed as much advice as possible because this was an entirely new thing for me.  I could tell from the instant we saw the river that this was going to be much different then the Poudre.  The guys working were very kind, and after a couple of tips, they wished us luck and told us to stop back in at the end of the day to tell them how things went. We went to the car, suited up, and hit the river as my uncle went off to study.

Psyched!

After an hour or two with only a few hits, I was cursing at myself for letting my allowance slip out of my hands for this. Then, just like most fish stories go, my friend hollers from down river "try that seam right there!"  As you probably know, I love to sight fish, so as second nature, my eyes began to scan the water. Suddenly, a movement.  It was a brown that was feeding aggressively on mayfly nymphs (as later determined by stomach samples). He took on the first drift, but after one head-shake, my poor little top secret midge was bent to oblivion.  I replaced the fly, and resumed looking for fish in the seam. One of the easiest ways to find a feeding trout is by the white glint of its mouth, so I began searching the water, and as clear as day came a white flash right in front of me.  I knew that this was my one chance at success.  I put the fly in front of him with confidence a few times, and I watched with joy as he opened his giant jaw to inhale my nymph on the fourth drift.  After a long, crazy fight (including him going straight through my legs), the beautiful male rainbow came to net, and we quickly pumped his stomach, and released him with pride.

Not a bad fish...I love Sight Fishing


A piece of advice that I can offer is to go out and buy yourself a buff. A buff is breathable for summer days on the water, but insulative for cold days on the water. I love mine, and it most definitely helped on this day as you can tell by the picture. Get a darker color seeing as they absorb available light better, reducing glare on the surface of the water. This makes sight fishing even easier.

Close-up

With the pressure off, it was now about seeing if I could trick another fish.  We fished for about another hour until I connected again, this time with a decent little brown that took a big juicy stonefly imitation.  After a quick set of pictures and a release, we checked the time.  We had agreed to be picked up at one o'clock to be taken to another spot, so we packed up, and moved on.

This Fish Slammed a Golden Stone Imitation

We later arrived at a spot that had clearly been hit hard already, as most of the fish were down.  The water was gin clear in this section (adding an entire new level of trickiness to the equation), whereas it was muddier in the first spot we had fished.  After several hours and no fish, we called it quits and walked over to the fly shop, and hung out there for a bit. I always like to examine other people's fly boxes as best I can to see what flies I should add to my own box.  When given the opportunity to look inside a trout fishing guide's fly box for this section of river, I do not say no.  So after swapping a few flies, and telling a few lies, it was time for us to go, and we began the long drive home again.

As you can see, this water was insanely clear

Overall, it was a great day on the water.  Even though I only landed two fish, I feel a sense of accomplishment seeing as I had never fished this rather technical section of the Platte, or even the Platte for that matter.  Flies for the day were a big golden stonefly (doesn't really matter which one you choose), a tungsten soft hackle, and a variety of midges. This is definitely a recommended section of river if you are O.K with crowds, and I also recommend stopping into "Flies and Lies" no matter what your skill level. I apologize for not posting this earlier, but we had some technical issues with getting the pictures to me. Enjoy, and look forward to a tying tutorial soon.