Nymphing the Riffle- Facts & Fiction About Flies, Lies and Fishin'

If fishing is a religion, fly fishing is high church.
Tom Brokaw 

I fish, therefore I lie.

Upper Big Thompson - RMNP

True or False?
Diane Smitherman fished this beautiful hole in Rocky Mountain National Park for 30 minutes.  It was filled to the brim with cutthroat trout.  She floated flies over trout ... beside trout ... in front of trout and behind trout ... and didn't catch a fish.


TRUE Honestly I was hoping she would hook a fish.  This was my first attempt at teaching somebody how to fly fish and I wanted her to succeed.  It would be a direct reflection of how awesome of a fly fisher(wo)man I truly have become.  She will be back for more ... because she's "hooked"  ;)  Next time she will have a nice fly rod of her own, a dozen of the hottest new flies and she will land a trout. 

True or False?
Dina Hamad owns her very own wading boots for fly fishing.

TRUE Dina walked into Kirk's Fly Shop in Estes Park and went on a shopping spree.  She bought boots, neoprene Simm's socks, and excitedly picked out a dozen of her very own flashy flies.  Of all my students, she improved the most and I believe she too will back for more fishing.

 Upper Big Thompson - RMNP
Fish #1

True or False?

On my first day as a professional guide in RMNP I took a few minutes to do some fishing on my own.  I left my customers and I stormed up the Upper Big Thompson determined to catch a trout.  This gorgeous cutthroat struck a top hopper and it took several minutes to wrestle this monster in.  I snapped a picture and took off back down stream to my customers (who praised me for my great skills ... but forgot to tip me at the end of our trip).

TRUE (sort of) I did catch this fish myself.  However, I'm not a professional guide and I don't get paid for sharing my secrets ... and Dina & Diane aren't technically "customers" ... they are my friends.  Although I should mention, they did insist on buying me a lot of snacks and treats that day.

 Cutthroat Trout - RMNP
Fish #2

True or False?

Fish #2.  I caught this fish immediately after the fish above.  Same fly ... same hole.

FALSE - This is the same fish as Fish #1.  However, I could have told you it was #2 ... you would have believed it.

 Upper Big Thompson - RMNP

Glacial Cirque - RMNP
The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad. –A.K. Best

 Rainbow Hole

There is a honey hole right above this bridge here FULL of rainbow trout.  I insisted on stopping and hitting this gold pot one glorious Sunday morning.  I caught five fish on a itty-bitty rainbow midge ... one, two, three, four, five.  I told my family and friends a very elaborate version of that story.  In a way I really believed it myself.  Now, this is technically a lie.  I did have five fish hit my fly.  I brought one all the way into my hands.  One.  I wrestled another bow for a few minutes - yelling for Deb to look ... HEY I CAUGHT ONE ... waiting for her to see ... (Sage rod doubled over ... other fishermen gaping ... jealous of me) ... I could have brought it all the way in - several times.  However, it got off the hook before I landed it - but I did count it.  I was waiting for her to see it.  You don't think I should have counted it... but theoretically it's entirely up to the discretion of the liar fisher(wo)man to count it or not.  Fish #2 should have counted ... for sure.  Then the other three fish that I "caught" just shook the hell out of my fly real good and spit it out.  I didn't even come close to landing those.  I counted 'em though.

In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory.  So I say it is good to lose fish.  If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone. –Ray Bergman

 South Platte River

The fish and I were both stunned and disbelieving to find ourselves connected by a line. –William Humphrey

 South Platte River

 Real or Fake?

REAL

I was breaking through the weeds along the side of the river and I shoved my face right into this wooly bugger.  I thought, WOW - what a freaking gorgeous fly somebody has unfortunately lost ($2.50)!  Then, WOW, oh my goodness ... this fly is crawling - it's ALIVE.  It was so amazingly perfect ... so beautiful.

 South Platte River

 Elevenmile Canyon

Hotdogging & S'moring

One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one’s fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one’s fishing companions. –John Ashley-Cooper

 Moonshine

 Tying one on :)

Taylor River - Almont

Stop bitchin and start fishin.

I fished the Taylor River just outside of Crested Butte this summer.  That river is FAmous among fly fishers.  I just KNEW I was going to hook a certified Taylor hog!  However, I only caught one little brook trout and I fished my ass off!  

Then we drove to Telluride and we fished the San Miguel... another famous stream.  We didn't catch a fish - not even a little one.  The only good thing was the debut of my new fishing duds that Deb bought me for Christmas.  I LOOKED good while I practiced my casting.  That's something.

There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. –Steven Wright

Eldo Brewery - Crested Butte

True or False?

Eldo Brewery is a Sunny place for Shady People.

TRUE ... or maybe False  - Hell, I don't know.  I can't remember if it's a Sunny Place for Shady People or A Shady Place for Sunny People.  All I know is I have had some good-ass times here with Deb, Christin and Dawn ... all on separate occasions.  It's an awesome place to celebrate a killer day of fishing or mountain biking.  I BET it's a good place to celebrate a day of powder skiing too.  I plan on looking into that this winter.  It's the only place I drink cheap vodka.  It just feels like the right thing to do.

Clear Creek Canyon

Cutthroat Trout - RMNP

Fly or trout?

Trout.  I caught this baby cutthroat trout up in RMNP.  I slung him around in the air quite a few times before I even realized he was on there.  It doesn't have to be a shark-trout to bring a wide grin to my face.  He was (by far) one of my highlights this season and a good conversation piece with other fishing folk.

Deb's a better fly fisher(wo)man than myself.

A riffle is

A. A strip of frilled or closely pleated fabric used for trimming or decoration

B. A potatoe, vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, and/or canola oil), salt.

C. A short, relatively shallow and coarse-bedded length of stream over which the stream flows at higher velocity and higher turbulence than it normally does in comparison to a pool.

The correct answer is:
C. A short, relatively shallow and coarse-bedded length of stream over which the stream flows at higher velocity and higher turbulence than it normally does in comparison to a pool.


Fish LOVE riffles (and I love ruffles and pringles and lays).  A riffle is like a big conveyor belt that brings food for the trout.  Intresting fact, trout eat 80% of their diet BELOW the surface of the water.  So, dry/dropper set ups are awesome ... but if you are lucky enough to see that fish rise up and take the dry fly ... well you're lucky enough!

Upper South Toe River - NC

True or False

My dad took a bad spill on the Upper South Toe River.  When he hit the rock, he broke his reel completely off the rod.  I thought we were done for the day.  However, he tied his reel back on with fishing line and proceeded to catch 3 beautiful rainbow trout.

TRUE - My dad is a PHENOMenal trout fisher.  

Clifford Cable passed away on September 13, 2012.  The family put together a video to celebrate his life.  I didn't really realize his passion for fishing and his appreciation for the beauty in nature.  There were so many pictures of him ... as a strong, handsome, young man ... holding up strings lined with gigantic fish.  It never really crossed my mind to think of him as a young man - he was always just my Papaw.  I saw picture after picture of him surrounded by his children - teaching them and playing with them.  He passed his love of the outdoors on to his son ... and that man passed it on to me.  For that, I am thankful.  

SO TRUE

The season is ended.  There was not enough of it; there never is. –Nick Lyons