For fly fisherman close to Denver, the Blue river offers the angler a quick escape from city life and a chance at trophy sized brown & rainbow trout.
Most anglers have a love hate relationship with the Blue, due to the technical skill needed to sight fish gin clear water. But the rewards can be great!
Tight Lines,
The Flyfisher Group
So after traveling to the Bahamas, all that we can think about is sight casting to tailing fish!
Back in Colorado, bonefish are not too prolific, but what we do have are an abundance of warm water ponds, lakes and rivers filled with carp or the rocky mountain bonefish.
Hopefully you will enjoy this video shot by Joey Macomber of Lateral Line Media featuring one of our latest excursions on Denver’s dirty South Platte.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
It has been about a week since I chased redfish on the flats of New Orleans, Louisiana and I can’t stop thinking about the day! Fly fishing for redfish is just pure fun and for a guy that likes to hunt and fish there is just no better combination than scanning salt water flats for your prey with a fly rod in hand.
The season for big redfish in and NOW is the time to go! Trust me if a trip for you is at all possible right now you want to get yourself down to the Bayou! You won’t regret it!
I cannot say enough about my guide, Rocky Thickstun he put me on lots of fish and has a ton of personality to boot.
Don’t miss out this winter, why be bored when you can catch salt water fish in excess of 20 pounds?
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
Louisiana is home to perhaps the best sight fishing for Redfish in the world.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to take to the flats of New Orleans with Captain Rocky Thickstun. The adventure began before dark when Rocky picked me up at our hotel on Bourbon Street. After saying our hellos, I told Rocky that I was a trout guide back in Colorado…
“Are you a good angler?”
Rocky inquired just hoping that he had a halfway decent stick in the skiff today. It was a less than perfect day for fishing; intermittent cloud cover and high winds were set to plague the flats.
“I can see fish, I’m certainly no great fisherman, but I’m persistent.” I replied hoping that I wouldn’t make too much of a fool of myself today.
“Don’t trout set these Redfish!” he said. “I fish a lot of trout guides and most of them blow their day by doing a trout set and pulling the fly away from the Redfish.”
“I’ve salt water fly fished before.” I quickly replied trying to convince Rocky that I wasn’t a complete hack at this game.
“I’ve seen that trout set shit go on all day!” Rocky snapped back at me. “If you trout set you won’t just miss some of the fish, you will miss ALL of the fish!”
So off we went on a cruise through the flats, flying through the marshes of Southern Louisiana.
The dolphins and waterfowl add to the mystique and beauty of this utterly unique environment. I knew it was going to be a day to remember when we saw a Red Tail Hawk grab a duck from the water for a little morning snack.
“It’s a hunter’s day.” Rocky whispered before he shut the motor off.
I climbed to the bow with a nine weight and fly in hand as Rocky polled the flats and we scanned the water for our prey.
There is a reason they call this fish the Redfish, a big fish looks like a giant red log swimming across the flat. My first cast was in the money…
“Strip, strip, strip, strip!” Rocky yelled from his platform as I trout set the fish, pulling the fly from his mouth and watching the fish vanish forever. Rocky then proceeded to curse me for not listening and reminding me that if I did not strip set these fish I would go home empty handed…
The next opportunity came and my cast was terrible, well behind the fish. I made another cast and missed. And then another, third times a charm and the Redfish inhaled the fly and the fight was on!
There might not be a better made fish for fly fishing than the Redfish.
These salt water creatures were simply crafted for the sport, cruising in shallow water and eating flies with reckless abandonment.
And so we polled on, through the clouds and the winds making for one tough, challenging but rewarding day of flats fishing. A hunter’s day indeed…
For more information on sight fishing for Redfish with Louisiana’s best, Captain Rocky Thickstun please call or email me.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
720.253.2494
No visit to Colorado would be complete without a trip to the Taylor.
Below Taylor Reservoir might be some of the biggest trout in the state. The Colorado Division of Wildlife introduced Mysis shrimp to Taylor Reservoir as a food source for Kokanee Salmon and inadvertently the shrimp washed down and have become a preferred food source of the Taylor river trout. The Mysis are rich in protein content and trout grow big and large chowing down on the shrimp. This section of water known as the “Catch and Release” area or “Hog Trough” is extremely slow and technical. Sight fishing is the name of the game and anglers can expect to see some of the biggest trout of their lives. Hooking them is another matter. These fish require small 5x to 7x tippet and are famous for sipping tiny (#20-28) midge and mayfly patterns. Below the famous “Hog Trough” the Taylor is a fast a furious river filled with pocket water and a good mix of brown and rainbow trout. The lower Taylor is world famous for prolific summer hatches of Green Drakes. The Taylor is classic Western trout fishing at its very best.
Our Colorado Fly Fishing Reports are updated in real time by Colorado Trout Fisher, Denver and Boulders Premiere Fly Fishing Outfitter. For the latest fly fishing conditions on the Taylor check out our lates Taylor River Fly Fishing Report.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
OK, so the St. Vrain may not be as famous as Colorado’s South Platte but there must be good reason that noted fly fishing author chose to situate his home on the banks of the St. Vrain River near Lyons,
Colorado. On one of our favorite Front Range tail waters, the St. Vrain below Button Rock Reservoir allows anglers to catch a mixed bag of brown and rainbow trout and the occasional brook trout and
cut throat, allowing the fly angler to catch a grand slam close to home. The fish may not grow to epic proportions like some of Colorado’s tail waters but there are still plenty of trout and the
Vrain is a great place to learn how to fly fish. All that one needs to be successful in the creek is a three weight fly rod, a box of dry flies and a variety of bead head nymphs.
The St. Vrain may be some of the best places to learn the art and science of fly fishing. This
local creek is close to home (just a short drive from Denver or Boulder) and full of brown and rainbow trout that are opportunistic and willing to eat a wide variety of flies. Dry dropper fishing with attractor dry flies like Stimulators and Elk Hair Caddis and bead head droppers like a bead head pheasant tail is effective almost year round. In the spring and fall, the creek sees good hatches of blue winged olives and midges making for some fun and challenging dry fly fishing.
Smaller weight fly rods are the most fun for these smaller sized creeks. You can learn most anything about trout fishing from our Front Range streams and we are most fortunate to have such an incredible resource close to home.
Good public access can be found around Lyons. The dirt pull offs on National Forest land are unmistakable and there is even some good fly fishing through town.
For a recent Colorado Fly Fishing Report on our Williams Ranch, located on the St. Vrain just outside of Lyons, Colorado, please click here: Williams Ranch - St.Vrain Fly Fishing Report.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
Below Stagecoach Reservoir, the Yampa may be the finest tail water in Colorado. Fish populations are amazing and the average sized rainbow trout is between 14” and 20” as well as many larger fish. The fish feed predominately on a variety of small midges and mayflies and conventional tail water nymph fishing tactics will hook the majority of fish. Sight fishing is the key to success, crowds can be dense on the Stagecoach Tail water but there are more than enough fish to go around.
This little stretch is reminiscent of fly fishing in Alaska with ample populations of colorful and healthy rainbow trout and the occasional big brown trout. The trout in this tail water tend to feed more readily than other pressured tail waters in Colorado. The Yampa can be fished year round but the Colorado Division of Wildlife closes the road after the first of year, so the only access is by cross country skis, snowshoes or snowmobile. But the trek is most definitely worth it…nothing beats a sunny day in February when you have one of Colorado’s most amazing fisheries all to yourself!
For the latest news on the Yampa and fly fishing in Colorado this winter stay tuned in to our updated dailey and real time Colorado Fly Fishing Reports.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
As the name suggests, Colorado’s Dream Stream or Spinney Mountain Ranch just outside of Fairplay, Colorado gives Denver anglers the opportunity to hook and land true trophy trout. Some of the biggest and most beautiful browns, rainbows and cuts show up in this famed stretch…my college GPA would have probably been a lot better during the spring and fall had this not been the case. In the spring and fall, huge migrations of lake run rainbows, browns, and cut bows enter the stream to spawn and lay their eggs. Sight fishing and quality polarized lenses are the name of the game for hooking these monstrous trout. However, the legendary lake runs are no secret and crowds can be heavy if not shoulder to shoulder during the fish migration. Nymph and streamer fishing is
a guide favorite for hooking the lake run fish. However, the dream stream is certainly not for the faint of heart as cold temperatures and high winds are the standard on this section of gold metal
water.
In addition to large lake run fish, anglers can expect to find Kokanee Salmon entering the river during the fall months. These fish range anywhere from one to five pounds and are a ton of fun on fly tackle! The Dream Stream supports a healthy population of resident browns, rainbows and cut throats. Long slick runs and riffles make for some challenging fly fishing.
The Dream Stream sees prolific hatches of midges, tricos, pale morning duns, blue winged olives and a wide variety of caddis and smaller stoneflies. Be ready to battle the wind and cold on this historically desolate area but the rewards are worth it!
Winter has always been one of the best times to fish Spinney Mountain Ranch, the crowds decrease significantly and on warm and sunny days, fishing in the valley can be quite pleasant. Lots of winter insect life in the form of small midges and mayflies, makes for one of our most productive and sought after winter tail water fisheries.
For current stream flows, fly fishing conditions, fly fishing tips and useful fly patterns on the Dream Stream check out our updated daily Colorado Fly Fishing Reports.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
It is winter time in Colorado, but that is no excuse to put the fly rod and waders away!
We are fortunate to have a wide array of tail water fisheries that remain open and productive throughout the winter months. Over the course of this winter we at The Flyfisher plan to keep you up to date and informed on our favorite winter tail waters. For daily updated fly fishing reports, water conditions, helpful tips and recommended fly patterns be sure and book mark Colorado Fly Fishing Reports. Our reports come from our Flyfisher Pro Staff Guides (Colorado fishing bums) and are updated on a daily basis. When planning your next trip be sure and stop by for the most up to date fly fishing conditions in Colorado.
This week we will start off featuring one of our favorite tail waters, Colorado’s famed Cheesman Canyon. Perhaps one of the most famous and iconic rivers of the west, Colorado’s South Platte will educate, challenge and humble both new and experienced anglers alike. As the saying goes, “If you can catch trout in Colorado’s Cheesman Canyon, you can catch them anywhere in the world.” Heavy fishing pressure, gin clear water and diverse bug life makes the South Platte one of the most technical fisheries in the world.
Cheesman Canyon is the most sought after and routinely visited section of Colorado’s South Platte.
This is one of the most technical tail water fisheries in the state, demanding that anglers sight fish with small tail water flies and fine tippet. The Canyon is accessed from the Gil Trail, requiring a short hike to get on the water.
Fish are seldom seen rising in Cheesman but good dry fly fishing can
still be had, especially during hopper season where the canyon’s rainbows and browns just can’t resist a foam hopper bounced off a canyon wall.
Plus hatches of small stoneflies and caddis make for some great summer surface action but as a general rule of thumb a good nymph fisherman will catch most of the fish. Ideal flows for Cheesman are when the water is up, around 200-400 CFS. When the flows are high the fish in Cheesman go crazy for worms and scuds and nymph fishing with a variety of San Juan Worms and scud patterns makes for some outstanding fly fishing. Winter is one of our favorite times to hike into the canyon as the crowds are light and winter time hatches of midges and blue winged olives make for some exciting days on the water. Catching a fish in Cheesman is always a reward no matter what your level of skill!
For the most recent information on fly fishing Cheesman Canyon, http://www.coloradoflyfishingreports.com/reports/?reportid=2356
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
Winter is here and many of our Colorado streams and still water lakes have frozen over for the season.
Fortunately, we still have many winter fly fishing opportunities on our winter fly fishing preserves. On warm and sunny days our fly fishing guides are reporting good insect hatches, primarily midges and
blue winged olives making for some great late season dry fly fishing.
Even if you are new to the sport, winter is a great time to give fly fishing a try. Let one of our
professional fly fishing guides help you learn the basics of casting and presentation. Or, if the weather is too cold for you, winter is a great time to learn new skills like fly tying or rod building through Angling University or take one of our online classes about fly casting or insect
identification.
One of the many beauties of fly fishing is the ability to stay connected with the sport year round.
However you decide to spend your angling time this winter season, let us help facilitate your entire fly fishing needs.
Tight Lines,
The Flyfisher Group
We are nearing the end of our 2012 Colorado Fly Fishing Season on our home waters of South Boulder Creek. Winter is just around the corner, but right now we are being blessed with warm weather and sunshine in Denver and Boulder and the end of the year fly fishing is better than ever! Lots of the local public waters have received a season of heavy pressure and the fly fishing is very difficult. Right now our private fly fishing preserves offer the angler the opportunity to pursue both trophy browns and rainbows close to Denver without the crowds. Treat yourself to an end of the season adventure with one of our professional fly fishing guides; the experience is one you won’t soon forget…
Tight Lines,
The Flyfisher Guide Service
Today was a beautiful day in downtown Denver! Fellow Flyfisher Guide Service guides, Ethan Emery and Randy Pruitt and I joined up with Lateral Line Media in an attempt to find some tailing carp. The water was a little higher and more off color than we expected but sure enough right out of the gates we saw some nice fish moving across the sand flats of Denver’s South Platte.
I have done quite a bit of carp fishing in lakes and ponds, looking for tailing and mudding fish but I am new to carp fishing rivers. In the past I have always done well with smaller leech imitations and flies that mimic classic Bonefish patterns tied in drab colors. However, the carp we encountered on the Platte were behaving more like trout, grouping up into large pods of fish and feeding in the middle of the bigger runs and longer riffles. So at the suggestion of Ethan and Randy we rigged up some nymph rigs consisting of leeches, mayflies and of course San Juan Worms and after targeting where the fish were sitting we started getting some nice hook ups! Joey of Lateral Line Media was on hand to document the day, so be sure and stay tuned for some awesome Colorado carp fly fishing footage!
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
It is that time of year and as I write it seems that winter is just getting closer.
As a Colorado Fly Fishing Guide winter is a time of year that I look forward to and is a most necessary time to prepare for the summer angling season. At this point in the year my fly boxes are bare and a lot of my gear is in dire need of repair. On the list for winter projects this year is to finish building a bamboo 4 weight, a rod that I started years ago, but have yet to find time to finish. My friends, bamboo rod aficionados and Denver anglers, Shawn Bratt and Mark Shamburg helped me flame and split the cane, build a custom grip and fit the ferrules, but life got in the way and I have yet to finish wrapping the rod! However, this winter it is going to be a different story…I’ll be posting pictures of my bamboo masterpiece come spring…
Fishing bamboo really is a lot of fun and learning to cast these more precise fly rods will help any fly caster better their skills. Bamboo rod builders are in a league of craftsmanship all their own and their rods are true works of art. Lately, I have heard a lot of anglers claim that bamboo fly rods are just too slow action to make the accurate casts that are needed for modern day fly fishing.
However, this is simply not true! Modern day builders like Mark Shamburg of The Confluence Rod Company are using more modern and progressive rod tapers to create bamboo sticks that generate higher line speeds and tighter loops. These rods cast with the efficiency and tight loops of modern graphite and boron rods, but still maintain the classic touch and feel of bamboo.
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
The Flyfisher Group
I thought it would be fun to share my personal top 10 favorite rivers and creeks in Colorado.
Of course this is my own opinion so I do not mean to offend you if I don’t mention your favorite fishing spot…
I have compiled what I believe to be the most dynamic and interesting streams, and of course there is a lot of stuff I have yet to fish and places I have yet to be, so if you think you might know of a better stream feel free to chime in…
The Boulder Creek Watershed – OK so this one may come to a shock to many but the entire
Boulder Creek watershed is one of my very favorite places to fish in Colorado and I’ll be happy to tell you why. Middle Boulder Canyon is just plain fun to fish with aggressive little brown trout seemingly hiding behind every rock! The North Fork of the Creek running through Dream Canyon makes me feel like I am in the Black Canyon, with colorful Brook trout rising to my hopper creations! And South Boulder Creek fishes awesome for the occasional 16” plus brown in the meandering meadow sections around Boulder. Then the bug life on the creek both below and above Gross makes for some awesome dry fly fishing!
The Roaring Fork – I love float fishing the Roaring Fork. This river is a streamer junkie’s best
friend. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than floating the Fork with good friends and a cooler full of ice cold drinks…
Black Canyon and Gunnison Gorge – Does it get any better than hiking down into the steepest, deepest and most narrow canyon in North America to find Salmon Flies crawling all over the river? I don’t think so.
Taylor River – No I’m not talking about fishing the “Hog Trough” but I simply love the lower sections of the Taylor. This river gets one hell of a Green Drake hatch in the summer and wade fishing the Taylor with its fast current and slippery rocks always makes for an
adventure. Camping along this river and its main tributary Spring Creek is a great way to experience the wilds of Gunnison.
Tributaries of the North Platte in Walden – The various feeder streams of the North
Platte are some of my favorite excursions for Brown Trout. Fish of all sizes live in these streams and the fishing can be challenging, technical and overall difficult but the rewards
can be amazing.
Frying Pan – You can learn a lot about trout and fly fishing for them on this infamous stream. Sight Fishing is almost always possible and a plethora of insect hatches will keep even the most
seasoned of anglers guessing.
Cheesman Canyon – Ok so Cheesman is definitely not my very favorite stream but anytime I land a trout in the Canyon I feel grateful…for it certainly never happens too often! The canyon is a technical fishery and it simply takes hard work and persistence and thorough understanding
of Nymph fishing to fool these trout.
Eagle –I haven’t explored this river as much as I would like but my limited experience on the Eagle has been good. Lots of fish, bugs and interesting water makes for a dynamic and year round fishery.
Rocky Mountain National Park – A lifetime of fishing is available within the lines of the park and most of it remains untouched. Native Greenback Cutt Throat call these streams their home and they are easily fooled with small fly rods and dry flies. Fishing in the park is just plain fun and after all isn’t that what it’s all about?
So there is my Top 10.
What’s yours?
Tight Lines,
Tyler Bowman
There are always a few fly patterns that trouble fly tyers around the globe, and for as simple as they seem, glo bugs/eggs are one of those patterns.
I remember my first introduction to tying egg patterns; I was a guide on the Green River in Utah, below the Flaming Gorge Dam. It was early spring and the dry fly fishing had not heated up yet which left us all throwing deep nymph rigs to fish on the bottom of the river. I was about half-way through a rough day on the water, when in an act of desperation I decided to throw on an egg to get some fis h in the net. Not surprising, the hours that followed were very productive. After breaking off a few rigs though, I was running low on glo bugs. That night I sat down at the vice to replenish my supply for the next day thinking "How hard can it be? It's just fuzz on a hook!" Much to my despair, I ended up buying some eggs the next day because mine were less than desirable.
Not long after, I was introduced to a few tips that saved me lots of time and money, and allowed me to tie picture perfect eggs in 30 seconds flat! The following is a list of tips and techniques to help you do the same.
Experiment with these tips and plan on making a few mistakes, but don't let them get you down. Practice, practice, practice...you will be pumping out more eggs than a spawning sockeye in no time!
Ethan Emery
Angling University President
Any angler worth their salt knows that many a big fish gets caught this time of year, especially big browns, and especially on streamers. Sure, globugs can be a very effective pattern in the fall as well, as millions of eggs become available food sources, but there is something special about streamer fishing
that gets the fish moving and angler hearts pounding.
For me, the excitement of streamer fishing comes in the the aggressive strikes that they elicit. Big fish are territorial, and by nature they can't help but try and kill the alien invader that we call the streamer. Flashes, crashes, and rod pounding strikes are evidence that fish want to utterly destroy our fly, the question is; can your fly stand up to the pounding?
Over the years I have found a few tying techniques that result in durable flies that can stand up to the rod bending strikes of streamer fishing. Here are some of my favorites:
What are your favorite techniques? Feel free to add some thoughts of your own and by all means, never stop trying to make things better.
Ethan Emery
Director, Angling University
As a guide the last thing you want to do at the end of a hard day on the water is come home and sit down at the vice for an hour or two. Especially if you are a guide/instructor like myself out of Denver who has to drive about an hour to get home when the fishing is all done. I have a few options when it comes to replacing the flies that I need: 1 - buy flies, 2 - go back in time and tie flies all winter like I knew I should, or 3 - tie flies that last longer and don't need to be replaced as often.
Over the years I have been horrible about tying flies during the winter, and I do sometimes resort to option #1, but option #3 is by far my favorite. Here are some things I have found that really help a fly last longer in a day of fishing...
1. Super Glue fragile materials - I lay down a splash of ZAP-A-GAP on the hook shank when tying pheasant tails. As I wrap the PT fibers into it they become bound together and are far more durable than a standard PT. This was also a good fix for foam bodied flies too, as long as the glue doesn't change the color of your foam.
2. Tie with bigger thread - Not only does this make tying easier, but it is less likely to get cut at the finish knot and begin falling apart.
3. Use a "braided dubbing loop" technique to beef up peacock herl - This is one of my favorites...When you tie the peacock in, create a dubbing loop with the thread. Then twist the peacock hurl and the dubbing loop together to form a braid, then wrap it on the fly. This makes for almost bulletproof peacock flies...even prince nymph bodies!
4. Substitute wire when possible - French tinsel breaks easily, small ultra wire doesn't! I will even get colored wires and use them in combo to create a more durable pheasant tail, hares ear, or black beauties.
5. Fold back your biot - There was a summer when I couldn't tie enough prince nymphs, the fish were hammering them and they all fell apart easily. One problem was the biot "wings" kepts coming out. I found that if I fold the bottom end back over, tie it down, and then clip it flush they are locked in and can't come out.
6. Reverse wrap wire or thread through palmered hackle. Stimi's, Buggers, and other flies have palmered bodies. Be sure to wrap the wire (or extra strand of thread on small flies) in the opposite direction to maxamize the number of times it crosses the hackle stem.
The list goes on and on, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully this is enough to get you started though and will add some much needed durability to your flies and in the long run help keep more flies in your box.
Have some ideas of your own? Please share...
Ethan Emery
Director, Angling University
