Colorado Fly Fishing by The Flyfisher Group

Oh No! Take My Eye but Not My Net!

As a fly fishing guide my net is my livelihood.  My net is truly my best friend on the river, a place to put fly boxes while I set up a nymph rig, a stick to lean on, a teaching cursor to point out fish to my clients, and of course the final tool to get a big trout ready for a great picture.  It doesn’t count if the fish isn’t in the net, so a good net literally pays my rent and keeps my clients smiling.  I like a net that is built to last with a wide bow, deep basket, and long comfortable handle, and of course good aesthetics are always nice.

 

Unfortunately, this season I have had a little trouble in the net department.  At the beginning of the season, I reluctantly lent my net to a little girl because she wanted to play with it.  I knew I had problems when I asked her where my net was and she starting looking towards the streambed.  The last I saw of my net was when it flowed away from me, at least a quarter mile downstream into fast white water, never to be seen again.  Then I purchased a new net, a long handled Brodin, much to my surprise it snapped when I came into contact with a tree.  I was shocked at how easily the net broke, it snapped at very little contact with the tree.  I was very disappointed to have destroyed my new net, but then I realized that Brodin nets are made and manufactured in Costa Rica, so it should come as no surprise that a wooden net manufactured so far south would experience great changes in strength and warping when sent to a cold state like Colorado. 

 

So on the search for the perfect net I went.  After visiting fly shops all over the Denver area I have settled on nets made by Fisknat.  Fisknat manufactures a very sturdy wooden net.  The handle is not quite as long as I would like but the construction and size of the bow makes for a sturdy net that can handle big trout in excess of 10 pounds.  The net cuts water very well, allowing me to make aggressive moves in order to pull fish out of the water.  The rubber bag is easy on the fish and prevents your hooks from getting caught up and tangled.  The net has seen a lot of use in the past few weeks and so far I am very impressed.  If you are in the market for a new net be sure and take a look at the offerings from Fisknat.  For more information log onto their website at http://fisknat.com/.

 

Tight Lines,

 

Tyler Bowman

The Flyfisher Group

tyler@theflyfisher.com

 

 

Leave the fish alone!

The hardest thing usually to leave behind can loosely be called the conscience

– Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

    Its dark outside, really dark, probably two hours after sunset and the wind is seemingly blowing from every direction as you try to attach an egg pattern to relatively light tippet.  Your headlamp is not quite bright enough to see what you are doing but somehow the egg fly and tippet come together and you cinch the knot.  Now you direct your headlamp’s attention to the shallow riffle in front of you, two feet of bright orange meanders back and forth, and you shut the headlamp off.   You strip off just enough line to land the egg above the fish’s viewing lane, viewing lane is the correct term because the fish in not actively feeding while sitting on the spawning redd.  The headlamp goes back on and you relocate the two feet of orange, you cast above the spot and watch as the egg drifts into the fish’s face.  Wham!  Who knows if the two feet of orange actually ate your egg or if it more or less smacked it in the mouth?  Either way you’ve got yourself a true trophy and a great grip and grin photo opportunity.  After horsing the unsuspecting fish around in the current, you put a big bend in the rod and drag the specimen to the bank.  Out will come the camera and the fish’s eggs for that matter…

    
If you have ever spent much time fly-fishing in the spring or fall, you have no doubt found yourself in this situation, or at least contemplated finding yourself in this situation.  At some point as fly fisherman the desire to raid the redd is all too tempting, and personally I can’t think of too many anglers, including yours truly, who at one point have not ripped a fish off a redd.  I mean come on who’s going to know?  What’s the big deal with just sticking a nice fish and taking a few pictures?  The big deal is that beautiful fish is sitting on that shallow riffle in order to create tomorrow’s trophies.  So the next time you wander by a redd, why not just put the fly rod down and stop and marvel at the beauty of Mother Nature sitting right in front of you?

 

Tight Lines,

Tyler Bowman

The Flyfisher Group

tyler@theflyfisher.com

Cast and Blast!

September is my favorite time of year in Colorado for a multitude of reasons.  Nothing says fall has arrived like the cool nights and the changing of the Aspen tree leaves.   The fall fishing is always fantastic with big brown trout on the move and large hatches of Blue Winged Olive Mayflies make for some outstanding dry fly fishing.  September also marks the beginning of hunting season!  The hunting opener finds me chasing big bull elk, hunting evening mourning doves, and running bird dogs in pursuit of upland game and waterfowl. 

But perhaps my favorite part of September is combining my two favorite outdoor passions, fly fishing and bird hunting, or the cast and blast!  Colorado is the perfect state to pull off the cast and blast, along the Front Range outdoorsman can hunt blue grouse in the morning and then fish the many Front Range watersheds in the afternoon, taking advantage of the great bug life found along the South Platte River drainage.  Then shortly after blue grouse season opens, the sportsman can head to the high country (11,000 feet and beyond) in pursuit of White Tailed Ptarmigan and catch the end of the high country fishing season, fooling gullible native cutthroats and brook trout on big dry flies.  The fun then extends to the late fall and winter months, chasing Gambles Quail and Pheasant along the western slope, while hitting great winter fishing hotspots like the East Portal of the Gunnison, or maybe taking a road trip to the Taylor river in order to sight cast to some of the largest rainbow trout in the state. 

I for one can’t think of a better way to enjoy the outdoors than with great friends, good bird dogs, and fine fly rods and shot guns.  The season is upon us, so I hope to see you on the water and in the field!

Tight Lines,

Tyler Bowman

The Fly Fisher Group

tyler@theflyfisher.com