I just got back from my annual pilgrimage to Colorado for skiing with the family. This year I talked Chris (mtnguru) into tagging along with me as far as Albequerque, where I dropped him off to fly home for Christmas. With unbridled optimism and high hopes, we set off eastward from San Diego for points semi-unknown. Chris and I have had some major scheduling difficulties lately, with his seasonal firefighting position completely overlapping my summers off from teaching, so this was the first time we got to take a trip together in quite awhile.
We made it to Nevada the first night and stopped at Lake Mead to check out the scene. I have fond memories of feeding gulping carp and striped bass popcorn with my grandpa as a kid, and wouldn't you know it they were still there. This is for all you carp-chasing nutjobs out there.
Salivate over this, my obsessive friends...
We checked out Hoover Dam and watched some seriously badass high-wire construction guys attach a piece of bridge truss with the highwire crane. Too cool.
Next stop: Zion National Park. We were thinking about the Angel's Landing hike, but a recent snowstorm limited our options. Realizing that we had a trunk full of waders and thermal gear, we opted for the Virgin River Narrows hike. I'd done this hike before in the summer, but it was a completely different experience in the snow and ice. No trout here, but an astoundingly beautiful slot canyon! (Side note: I did see some sucker-looking fish here a few summers ago...)
That night we jammed for Lee's Ferry and made it with about 15 minutes of light left. We ran down to check out the river, and Chris and I teamed up to tie an egg/sj worm rig and throw a few casts as the light left us. We were muttering how hopeless the idea was the whole time, but wouldn't you know, great success!
I think this is the exact same fish I caught year, as he was in the same spot and took the same fly. Feeling like kings of the fishing world, and barely able to contain our excitement for the upcoming boat rental, we downed cheeseburgers and beer and played weirdo hunting/fishing trivia at the lodge (sample questions: How can you tell the difference between a buck and doe whitetail deer based on tracks in the snow? What is the optimal choke setting for a standard over/under 12 gauge? How do you arrange items in a backpack?). We crashed out under the stars and stayed reasonably warm, despite freezing temps.
The morning dawned cold and grey, with me and Chris literally jumping up and down (for warmth and due to excitement). We rolled over to the fly shop, attached the 1600 lb. boat to the new tow hitch on my Honda, and off we went!
Serious baller!
After a relatively smooth ride and launch, we were off!
We froze our nuts off during the ride, but it was totally worth it. The night before as we had been rigging up, Chris picked up a perfectly beaver-chewed willow branch and showed it to me. I stared off across the vast Colorado and thought to myself, "*, that's an ambitious little beaver." That thought returned to me as we rounded the bend and stared up at Glen Canyon Dam from the river. Say what you will, but Floyd Dominy and company were nothing if not ambitious! And, they created an amazing cold tailwater rainbow fishery...
Here we are discussing some, um, tactics. I'm Hayduke, and Chris is Seldom Seen Smith. Substitute our little aluminum boat for a houseboat, put us above the dam and not below, go re-read "The Monkey Wrench Gang," and you'll catch my drift...
The fishing was great! Most fish on glo-eggs and San Juan Worms beneath an indicator, and I tagged a nice rainbow at the foot of the dam on a red zebra midge.
Most fish were in the 12"-14" range.
Notice that all the fish are in MY hands: Chris, despite several grabs and interested fish, was skunked for the day. This would be instantly forgotten (crafty foreshadowing) as soon as we hit the San Juan the next day....
Oh, and a funny thing happened at Dam Island. In the hour or so that we fished and ate lunch, the water dropped a good two feet and left our heavy-ass boat stranded on the beach!
Luckily we were able to lift up the front and pivot the boat on the engine mount (thank you, jet motor with no prop and a nice safe square base to jam in the sand!) and free our humble craft.
That night we drove to the thriving metropolis of Farmington, NM. We crashed out and awoke to about 6" of new snow. It was still snowing heavily as we slid our way out to the Navajo Dam tailwaters (TMI??
). We had to put on the chains, and almost decided to can it. Chris' persistence (getting skunked the day before was a huge motivator) and my ninja snow-driving skills soon led us to the San Juan in a full-on blizzard.
We tromped down through the snow to the river, which, amazingly, we had to ourselves. I told Chris that one of us was going to catch a 20" fish. They were rising to tiny black midges, and Chris wasted no time killing the skunk on....dinks.
We worked our way upstream, and spooked several big fish. I tried a whole bunch of different dry flies and midge emergers, with no success. Chris yelled to me that he found a fish and it was big. "How big?" I asked. "Sixteen or seventeen, " he replied. Chris continued to work the fish. Later, he told me that the trout wouldn't look at any midge or nymph, so he thought to himself "When in Rome...." and tied on a San Juan Worm. Smart guy, that mtnguru. The next few minutes are a little hazy due to frantic activity and adrenaline. I was absently watching Chris cast when all of a sudden he yells out "Holy *$#^!" I look over and see what looks like a giant carp flop over on its side in about 5 inches of water. Drag screaming, fish bolting, Chris and I freaking out! I toss my rod and gloves onto shore and try to help. This fish was a FREAKING MONSTER!
It ran up and down, I got the net and tried to stay out of the way. Four or five minutes in I remember thinking "Man, if I * this up and break the leader or something, Chris is literally going to punch me in the face. Or cry..." Ten minutes of frantic activity later, she was in the net. Taped out at an honest 24". Biggest fish either one of us has ever caught on the fly, except for a half-dead lethargic salmon in Alaska I once caught that I don't count as sport...
Look at this bad boy!
This is my favorite pic of Chris ever. The face says it all!
After the shock wore off, we both went on to hook and land several nice fish.
Truly epic, that we were able to persevere and catch some big, difficult fish in a full-on snowstorm. I'll never forget that day...
I dropped off Chris and headed north. I got in 8 days of skiing and several different fishing sessions. Here are a few pics from the Blue River right below Green Valley Resevoir. The guy at the fly shop told me to go with a stonefly nymph and zebra midge dropper, which I did with great diligence, but alas no fish. Beautiful water....
I did find a perfectly heart shaped piece of ice by the side of the river. Perhaps this will be my December photo. Or maybe I could frame this and give it to my lovely fiance....
After the Blue, it was on to Steamboat. I managed to get in a couple mornings of skiing with Jon (Papasequoia) and Dave (Watching the Water). Great to see you guys! Dave has been a patroller at Steamboat and was gracious enough to take us on a mountain tour. I say gracious because he was kind enough to stop once in awhile and let us catch our breath. Ever had your butt kicked on skis by a 50 year old man?
I managed to fish two evenings on the Yampa behind my hotel. Last year, and for the first afternoon this year, I used tiny glo-eggs and zebra midges to no avail. Still, beautiful water...here's my friend Derek on the water.
Wow. All I can say here....
The last evening I decided to change tactics. The water looked too good, and I was sure there was a fish in the spot I was fishing. I figured all I had to do was * him off enough to hit my fly, and a tiny egg pattern over and over just wasn't gonna cut it. With Shane's streamer-obsessed voice whispering in my ear, I took the big old conehead wooly bigger I had stolen from him during the full-moon, full-drunk attempt to catch a nighttime brown at the 9-man rendevous awhile back and tied it on. See, Shane, I TOLD YOU I would put your fly to good use.....
Strip strip strip....BANG! Taped this fish at 20"! On the 5wt, not the 0, but this still made my day!
Ill-fated tape-camera attempt.
Okay, I admit it: catching, landing, photographing and releasing a 20" fish at dusk in 20 degree weather isn't easy, and I'm sure this violates every safe fish-handling tactic I've ever learned, but I love this dorky pic. And, you'll be happy to know, this fish swam off in a very healthy, * manner.
Overall, a truly fabulous adventure. Thanks to Midger and Dave for their info and advice. To Jon and his sons, who will soon be kicking all our asses at both fishing and snowboarding. And thanks to Chris, my fishing partner, for accompanying me and for schooling me in "local" knowledge and big fish handling. Happy New Year to all, and thanks for reading. Please forgive my excessive use of ellipses and exclamation points....
Joe
