Redd Raider

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

It’s dark outside, really dark, probably two hours after sunset. The wind is seemingly blowing from every direction as you try to attach an egg pattern to 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 burnt orange meanders back and forth in the current (a big, spawning brown). You shut the headlamp off. Then you strip off just enough line to land the egg above the fish’s viewing lane. The headlamp clicks back on and you relocate the fish, you cast above the spot and watch as the egg drifts into the fish’s face. Wham! Who knows if the big trout 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 yourself in this situation. At some point as fly fisherman the desire to raid a redd is all too tempting, and I can’t think of too many anglers (including yours truly) who has not taken a fish off a redd. I mean, come on…who’s going to know? What’s the big deal with sticking a nice fish and taking a few pictures? The big deal is, that beautiful fish is sitting in 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, instead of taking advantage of her?


Author: Tyler Bowman
Guide, Bucking Rainbow Outfitters
Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The Browns are Angry!

Fall is almost here and the brown trout are already getting angry!The fish are getting ready for the fall spawn and in the coming months anglers will find brightly colored brown trout sitting in shallow riffles. One of the best ways to take advantage of this glorious situation is to strip streamers or dead drift leeches. One of our favorite ways to catch brown trout in the Yampa Valley is to throw the meat and potatoes set up: an attractor fly such as a brightly colored egg or san juan work trailed by a black or purple leech. Stop by the shop and pick up a few patterns for success this fall. If you tie flies the shop is stocked full of marabou and special dubbing materials for creating leeches. In particular, Shane Stalcup's sparkle leech dubbing makes a leech that is both flashy and produces good movement in the water.

Fishing Steamboat Springs During Runoff

If you find yourself in Steamboat, Colorado in the month of June...be prepared for heavy runoff! But, all is not lost. There are many great opportunities for the fly angler, just not the Yampa River in town (the main source of income for fly fishing guides in the area). I was in town this week and the flows were over 3000 cfs!
There is a nice tailwater stretch below Stagecoach reservoir with big rainbows and the headwaters of the Yampa (commonly referred to as the "Bear"). We also fished Stillwater Res for cutthroat and 'bows as well as Pearl and Crosho Lakes for Colorado Cutts and good-sized Arctic Grayling!
Call Bucking Rainbow fly shop in downtown Steamboat for up-to-date reports as well as their top notch guide service: 1-888-810-8747 or check out their web site:

http://www.buckingrainbow.com/