Any fly fisherman?

JPickett

JPickett

Long Time Member
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I personally just took it up this year. After years and years of watching trout boil in high mountain and alpine lakes I bought myself a set up. And pardon the pun, I’m hooked. Never have been much of a fisherman. Always too consumed with hunting to give it much time or resources. But man I’m loving it. Best trout so far below (middle fork boise river) Hit a lake at 8k a few weeks back and caught 70 grayling in a day! Hitting the owyhee tomorrow for some big browns hopefully.

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I had a really nice fish that being a rookie I tried to bring in like you would a typical rod and reel and he popped off right when I reached for my net. Lesson learned there
 
It’s just another freaking bad habit FP. All it takes is that first strike on a fly and you’re screwed.

One fish on a fly equals 5 on a hard lure. I love it, an I’m terrible at it.

It’s another way to live and feel the rush of the natural world. Hell I got a charge out of digging clams.......
 
I was fishing in southern Colorado a couple of weeks ago. There was a green drake hatch on and the fish went nuts. Big fish going after big flies. Caught fish after fish until a driving rain storm forced me from the river. Probably the best 3 hours of fishing I’ve ever had.
 
JPickett said:
I personally just took it up this year. After years and years of watching trout boil in high mountain and alpine lakes I bought myself a set up. And pardon the pun, I’m hooked. Never have been much of a fisherman. Always too consumed with hunting to give it much time or resources. But man I’m loving it. Best trout so far below (middle fork boise river) Hit a lake at 8k a few weeks back and caught 70 grayling in a day! Hitting the owyhee tomorrow for some big browns hopefully.

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Flyfishing is the kicks. I dabbled with it a bit in the 1960s, but got really into it when I lived in Colorado in the mid-'70s & spent many days in the high country of the Weminuche Wilderness.

Then in 1980 I met my best friend of the last 40+ years, Joe Reynolds, at a writer's conference. He is a devoute flyfisherman and only rarely would he use conventional rod/reels. Although he lives in Maryland, we fished all over the U.S. & Canada together for tarpon, bonefish and most of the trout & bass species.

A couple photos of our adventures..

Joe --white bass, Lake Pleasant AZ

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Brown trout -- Christmas Tree Lake, AZ

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Rainbow Trout, San Juan River, NM

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Brown trout, Green River, Utah

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Me- Smallmouth bass, Ontario, Canada

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Apache Trout - Christmas Tree Lake, AZ

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The dock hand with a fly-rod caught red snapper of mine, Rivers Inlet, BC

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Ummm….what’s that shirt on the dude with the red snapper? Any way, very addicted fly fisherman here. Big part of the reason I left Utah behind and moved to Montana 18 years ago. I live on the Yellowstone and almost strictly throw giant streamers for big browns.
 
Hnttillmt said:
Ummm….what’s that shirt on the dude with the red snapper? Any way, very addicted fly fisherman here. Big part of the reason I left Utah behind and moved to Montana 18 years ago. I live on the Yellowstone and almost strictly throw giant streamers for big browns.
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I've fished the Yellowstone in the Park & caught only cutts.

I don't recall the complete message on the shirt. Kid was a hard worker, tho. He was also strong. I had all to do just trying to hold up this 62-lb. salmon. When he fileted it, he tossed around like it weighed 5 pounds.

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Sad NEWS: Our oldest son went over to the "dark side" AKA fly fishing about 20 years ago. He is now in BOLIVIA fishing for golden dorado...makes me pretty sad...I did everything I knew how to do. Some just go bad...and never come back. He goes all over the world fly fishing. He retired at age 49 and is totally addicted...like a drug !
 
littlebull209338 said:
Sad NEWS: Our oldest son went over to the "dark side" AKA fly fishing about 20 years ago. He is now in BOLIVIA fishing for golden dorado...makes me pretty sad...I did everything I knew how to do. Some just go bad...and never come back. He goes all over the world fly fishing. He retired at age 49 and is totally addicted...like a drug !
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Sometimes you just don't know what'll happen to make a youngster go bad. Maybe it was something you were feeding him??? :rolleyes:

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Yes, now that I think of it....I took him on a drift trip in Wyoming and he sat in the front of the boat and kicked my....he was never the same afterword.
 
Oh, that malaise is quite common. I came down with it after floating the Green River in Utah, and once after the San Juan in NM. Neither case lasted too long, though. Maybe I had a developed somewhat of an immunity since I started in my younger years & your son didn't.

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Fly fishing may be worse than rodeo. It’s often a life long infliction.

We never know when an addiction will take hold. I can’t think of an addiction that isn’t stiflingly.

As I self reflect...... MM comes to mind right off.

Sad.
 
I live just a few miles from a beautiful catch and release tailwater. My excuse this year is that there’s no water.

I used to fly fish pretty much exclusively. After retiring I freshened up some of my gear, and started up again.

Its harder than it used to be because I can’t see or feel well enough to tie the tiny knots anymore. I can still do ok on the tieing bench. I either need to move to the ocean or fish some bigger water where I can use streamers.:(

Or troll around the lake like all the other old guys do.
 
OutdoorWriter said:
Would that be the Dolores?
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Yes. There is apparently no commercial value to a recreational fishery, so the Water Gods shut it down to 3 cfs. Supposedly.

It’s a series of pools that might be connected by a trickle if there was a t-storm in the area. Most days there’s no water running.

It will take a couple of years to recover. But it never has been the same since they put the damn otters in there. They look like a pack of wolves in the water.
 
Bluehair said:
Yes. There is apparently no commercial value to a recreational fishery, so the Water Gods shut it down to 3 cfs. Supposedly.
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Back in its heyday, I always wanted to fish there, but alas, my procrastination kept me away as it did for many of my other 'wannas' over the years. ☹️

Over the last couple weeks, we've gotten mucho rains here in AZ, including yesterday again. Not so up there?
 
OutdoorWriter said:
Back in its heyday, I always wanted to fish there, but alas, my procrastination kept me away as it did for many of my other 'wannas' over the years. ☹️

Over the last couple weeks, we've gotten mucho rains here in AZ, including yesterday again. Not so up there?
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We’ve had a pretty good monsoon this summer (it’s raining now), but the reservoirs were in bad shape because of no snowpack. My irrigation ran out in early July, first time in the 25 years I’ve lived here.

We got enough rain to keep the range in pretty good shape. Without the ponds getting a little, these hayfield bucks might have had a tougher summer without the irrig runoff.

And I didn’t have to mow the lawn.
 
Yup, the recent rain is likely from Nora that moved up from Mexico.

My backyard is a literal jungle right now, and I can't get anyone out to clean it up. :mad:

This a friend's house in Unit 27 in eastern AZ. Photo was two days ago.

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OutdoorWriter said:
Yup, the recent rain is likely from Nora that moved up from Mexico.

My backyard is a literal jungle right now, and I can't get anyone out to clean it up. :mad:

This a friend's house in Unit 27 in eastern AZ. Photo was two days ago.

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Wow, that looks good, after so many years of dry summers.

Central Utah, at least around the Richfield area is greener right now that I’ve seen in years, due to monsoon storms. Rained here again last night. No torrents, just a good steady rain for a couple hours. Our reservoirs are bone dry however. Fishing our man made lakes is pretty much over for a few years. If we don’t have a decent snow pack this coming winter, next years agri. crops could be non-existing. Time to bet or fold on the come....
 
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I've caught fish my whole life on a fly, but never on a fly rod. The whole fry rod thing just seems a little gay to me. :rolleyes:

From trout in streams, half pounders on the Eel...they're a sucker for a gray hackle with a yellow body fished with a light rod and a clear bobber. To Silver Salmon in the ocean. Troll a streamer with no weight back about 30' behind the boat, right in the prop wash and hang on!

I knew a guy who owned a fly fishing shop and he begged me to take him up on the Klamath for some steelhead fishing. I had access to a remote stretch of river. When we got there I told him he needs to fish a Renegade fly with a red tag, and fish it deep. I caught a limit and he didn't hook a fish. He couldn't get down to the fish. I offered to loan him my set up, but no. Before we left he asked if I would take a picture of him with the fish, which I did. The next time I went to his shop he had a big blown up photo of him and my fish hanging on the wall with his fly rod.

Having said that, there have been many times when a fly rod can't be beat. I just never got into it.
 
I think fly tackle is the hardest way to catch a fish with more than your hands. Killing them with a stick is easier.

Spinning gear is like using a creedmoor.

But there is something calming about the stress of having a 20”er on a 2 weight.
 
For me, when I say I’m terrible at it, I mean, I’m never sure if I have the right line or tipit. I can never figure out which fly is the right fly. I’ve tried to learn to cast well but when I try to make a long cast, 2/3 of the time it wads up and I end up having to start over. My roll cast is a mile wide and hits the water like a wet rope. As a result, my tipit get knots in it constantly. But.........
in spite of my laughable efforts, there is something that just make me happy when I feel that fish take that hook, while I’m stripping or floating a nymph under an indicator. The strick just seems to send a different jolt down the fly rod. A northern pike whacks a lure pretty hard but for some reason it’s a whole difference experience when a fish takes a fly.

I’m not crazy about eating fish, especially trout or salmon, but I sure get a charge out of catching them, anyway I can, but doing it on a fly rod is extra special.
 
eelgrass said:
I've caught fish my whole life on a fly, but never on a fly rod. The whole fry rod thing just seems a little gay to me. :rolleyes:

From trout in streams, half pounders on the Eel...they're a sucker for a gray hackle with a yellow body fished with a light rod and a clear bobber. To Silver Salmon in the ocean. Troll a streamer with no weight back about 30' behind the boat, right in the prop wash and hang on!

I knew a guy who owned a fly fishing shop and he begged me to take him up on the Klamath for some steelhead fishing. I had access to a remote stretch of river. When we got there I told him he needs to fish a Renegade fly with a red tag, and fish it deep. I caught a limit and he didn't hook a fish. He couldn't get down to the fish. I offered to loan him my set up, but no. Before we left he asked if I would take a picture of him with the fish, which I did. The next time I went to his shop he had a big blown up photo of him and my fish hanging on the wall with his fly rod.

Having said that, there have been many times when a fly rod can't be beat. I just never got into it.
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Lots of nuances to flyfishing that need attention. For example, you don't use a floating line if the idea is fishing deep. That's why they created weighted fly lines, weighted flies, weighted streamers. Most of all, it's about impossible to float a fly ON TOP of the surface with anything but flyrod gear. But then you already knew all that. :rolleyes:

The first time I visited my buddy Joe after he moved from Baltimore to Ocean City, MD, we went out aboard his Boston whaler for stripers. He used his fly fishing gear with weighted line & weighted white streamers & I used spinning gear with weighted shrimp-colored plastic jigs. Our catch rate was about equal. Most hook-ups were about 10-15' deep.

I've watched him catch about every species of trout, white bass, largemouth, smallmouth, northern pike, bonefish, tarpon, salmon, crappie & walleye. About the only thing he didn't have much success with was big lake trout on one trip because they were extremely deep. So after two days he relented & used one of my baitcasting rigs.

One year at the OWWA annual conference, one of the tackle companies had casting contests for the different set-ups. With flyfishing tackle, he threw about 70 yds. I'm lucky to do 25-30 without getting in a tangle.

I can do really good with spinning or baitcasting gear, tho. In ancient history, Eagle Rare bourbon sponsored an outdoor skills competition that included trap shooting, air gun pistol shooting, 3D archery, a timed kayak race & a timed ATV obstacle course.

There was also casting accuracy with one's choice of tackle. They set out hula hoops at various angles & distances. I can't recall how many hoops, maybe about 8-10, but I nailed everyone with a baitcasting rig.

Points were awarded as per 1-3 finishers. I did enough in each of the other disciplines to win top prize. In addition to two bottles of boubon, this filled decanter was my trophy. All the booze in it has long ago evaporated, but I think I still have one of the bottles in my booze cabinet.


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The bottles were packed in wooden boxes where the front panel slid upward...

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As has been stated previously, you have lived an full and quite an amazing life, having the kinds of experiences most of us live for ourselves. I enjoy the stories and experiences you share.

Thanks
 
Bluehair said:
I think fly tackle is the hardest way to catch a fish with more than your hands. Killing them with a stick is easier.

Spinning gear is like using a creedmoor.

But there is something calming about the stress of having a 20”er on a 2 weight.
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Even little 8-10" cutts in tiny streams are fun. This is Joe R. with one on in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I was fishing at the end of a riffle upstream from him.

Fly gear is idea for small fisheries like this one.
 
2lumpy said:
As has been stated previously, you have lived an full and quite an amazing life, having the kinds of experiences most of us live for ourselves. I enjoy the stories and experiences you share.

Thanks
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"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." -- author Madeleine L'Engle
 
Hey Tony, here’s a pic of the Dolores tailwater catch and release section taken on Sunday. Keep in mind this is just a few days after a significant rainfall event.

3 cfs my reeking buns. :mad: Yes, that is smoke from CA.
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Well, somebody at the DOW has a twisted sense of humor. I stopped and looked at the Bradfield Bridge about 4 hours ago. There is no water running. I’m starting to think these dam outflows are like Iranian nucular inspections - give us enough notice and we can show you what you want to see. ?

DURANGO, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife has lifted the voluntary afternoon fishing closures of the Dolores River and Tomichi Creek effective immediately.

The voluntary closure on the Dolores River had applied to the area below McPhee Reservoir down to Bradfield Bridge. The Dolores River is located in southwest Colorado, 16 miles north of Cortez. The closure had been in effect since June 24.

The voluntary closure on Tomichi Creek applied to the four-mile stretch through the Tomichi Creek State Wildlife Area located just east of Gunnison. That closure had been in effect since July 8.

CPW senior aquatic biologist John Alves thanked anglers for self-regulating and reducing pressure on fish in the Dolores River and Tomichi Creek during the warmest summer months.

“The water temperatures have dropped below the threshold of 71 degrees,” Alves said. “Flows are still low in both places, but the water temperatures and weather are more suitable than they were, so we are lifting the voluntary closures at this time.”

Afternoon closures of the two fisheries had been in place because of stream flows well below average and water temperatures consistently exceeding 71 degrees. In low, warm water with less oxygen available, fish struggle to recover, and fishing in those conditions can lead to increased trout mortality.

Alves reminded catch and release anglers to handle fish with care with stream flows still well below average. The Dolores River is running at only 5 cubic feet per second, while Tomichi Creek is running at 55 cfs.

“Conditions aren’t great, but since the fishing pressure is down, the fish are doing OK,” Alves said. “Flows are still well below normal, but the weather conditions are cooler as we begin to enter fall.”
 
Im headed over to the river this morning. I hear there’s a moose there. :) I’ll also try to get a nice landscape pic of a dry creek bed.
 
I got my first flyrod when I was 14 years old. Lived in Kentucky, had a paper route and one of my customers was an avid fly fisherman. He gave me a 4 piece bamboo flyrod and taught me to tie poppers. Had alot of fun catching bluegill's off the bed when they were nesting. I will now be 83 the end of this month and am fortunate to live by the Gunnison river. I moved to Colorado in 1961 and have fished most of the major rivers in the state. While a Colorado State Patrolman, I was given permission to fish the South Platte river in the early 60's, between Hartsel and 11 Mile reservoir. I think they call it the Dream Stream now. I also was rafting and fishing the Arkansas River before all the outfitters took over., Flyfishing has been good to me over the years and still am fortunate to be able to enjoy the sport, just don't get in the big rivers anymore,.
 
Aceman said:
I got my first flyrod when I was 14 years old. Lived in Kentucky, had a paper route and one of my customers was an avid fly fisherman. He gave me a 4 piece bamboo flyrod and taught me to tie poppers. Had alot of fun catching bluegill's off the bed when they were nesting. I will now be 83 the end of this month and am fortunate to live by the Gunnison river. I moved to Colorado in 1961 and have fished most of the major rivers in the state. While a Colorado State Patrolman, I was given permission to fish the South Platte river in the early 60's, between Hartsel and 11 Mile reservoir. I think they call it the Dream Stream now. I also was rafting and fishing the Arkansas River before all the outfitters took over., Flyfishing has been good to me over the years and still am fortunate to be able to enjoy the sport, just don't get in the big rivers anymore,.
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Ever catch any of those legendary browns out of the Arkansas?
 
JPickett said:
Ever catch any of those legendary browns out of the Arkansas?
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I have caught a few nice browns in the Ark… I’m blasphemous though and typically switch to a spinning rod after I’m tired of jacking around with my fly line in the willows for 8th time… nothing over 20” but a few chunky 15-17. I like the way browns fight. I have heard legends of 10+ pounders. I know a kid who catches monsters regularly but usually in the platte in wyo. Fishes at night and uses giant streamers or mouse patterns
 
I never caught any browns of any real size, 18" was a good one for me. I had my best luck in the Texas Creek area and Swissvale. Too many rafters on the river now - haven't fished the Ark in awhile since I moved to the Gunnison River area.
 

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