Warmwater Action!

The warm water fly fishing is getting going again! If you haven't been bitten by the bug yet...don't be squeamish, give it a try! There are few better ways to work off the winter kinks than to pop down to the nearest pond or city park and have a go at the inhabitants (no...not the kids and afternoon dog-walkers). I always have a rod in the truck now that we have a few hours of daylight left after work. The last trip out was great! I landed several catfish and a nice two-pound bass in a lake behind one of our local high schools! There were a couple kids taking pot shots at me with a home made potato gun...but I proved to be a hard target...and they were slow to reload. Amateurs...

The Best Fly To Use For Carp (Zimmerman's Backstabber)

The evolution of carp flies has been a slow process. We have seen a couple carp specific patterns launched into the commercial market several years ago...and they have remained there, filling the one or two designated "carp" bins of local fly shops. This has usually been enough to appease the majority of fishermen. But now, with the rapid gain in popularity, there has been a serious scramble for reliable and super productive carp flies. I have seen (and fished) many great flies tied by local carpers that would fit the bill...and some of these patterns are FINALLY becoming available commercially. My not-so-humble contribution to this new insurgence of carp flies is the Backstabber. I take a couple hundred fish every year on the leech version alone. I tie mine on a #6 Gamakatsu SL45 with 1/8 inch black Dazl-Eyes tied onto the top of the hook shank to counterbalance the fly...this forces it to ride hook up. I use SLF Hellgramite dubbing on the body, two tufts of black marabou as the wing and dark olive (or brown) soft hackle tied in at the front.
I use this carp fly almost exclusively...with much success! The Backstabber is commercially available in four different flavors: Black Leech, Rust, Wine and Grey Minnow. I prefer to use the darker colors (black and wine) when the water is high and muddy. Most of the carp fishing we do on still water is sight fishing. Not only do you have to see the fish in the water, but you need to see the fly! Later in the summer, once the water levels begin to drop in our local reservoirs, the carp will often act more like temperate bass (wiper, striper) and corral small shad in back coves. This is when a Grey Minnow Backstabber can be deadly! The Rust version is a great crayfish imitation and I use it when the water clears up slightly, or in creeks and rivers.

Fly Fishing for Catfish

Catfish are the forgotten game fish amongst us die-hard fly fishers. I have fond childhood memories of my dad taking me down to the boat basin back in Huron, Ohio to catch bullhead and channel cats...my job was to have plenty of worms dug from the garden before he got home from work.
I still catch a few every year. Often accidentally while I am carp or bass fishing. The flies that work the best for me have usually been a #6 Leech Backstabber or a black or natural Mini-Sculpin.

Watch Fly Fishing for Catfish video:

A Fishing Story...

I would like to think of myself as the Anthony Bourdain of fly fishing...but that hasn't worked out the way it was supposed to. Guess I wound up being more the Walter Mitty of the industry (go ahead and google that Jon). So, I preface this story about an odd encounter with a gerbil while fishing in the hopes it won't brand me as the "Richard Gere of Fly Fishing". How is that for a hook!

So...on my day off I swung by the fly shop to see what the guys were up to. Russell Miller was hanging out (should have been working) and said he had a rod in the truck and an hour to kill. Long winded intro, but we wound up driving back to the lake near the shop. Russ took a small bass right off on one of my Backstabber flies, then we decided to walk the trail to the back side of the lake in search of a carp. And it was on the trail when what appeared to be an albino field mouse came scampering down the trail toward us. I remember thinking, "yup, about to get my ass bitten!" but just had to try to catch it! Snatched it up by the scruff of the neck and to my surprise it didn't try to maul me... Turned out to be a tame gerbil! I kept the little rodent in my shirt pocket for the rest of the fishing trip.


I tried unsuccessfully to gift the little guy to some kids in the park, but the attending nannies wanted nothing to do with me or the gerbil. Then I remembered three young friends of mine who would absolutely love to provide a new home for a wayward, whiskered vagabond! (Abby, Tess and Jim Leuchten)

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/

New potential state record!

The current Colorado record channel catfish is 33 1/2 pounds...but that may soon be topped! Check out this monster taken on a fly from a local pond. It may be just a tad short of the record, but maybe next year!

Casting Streamers During Runoff

Fished Boulder Creek the other day. Water was high and a tad off color, but I had a few new streamers Rob Kolanda had tied for me. They are small, super sexy and VERY heavy...just what I needed for fast, deep water! I landed over two dozen good Boulder Creek brown trout in no time! Stop in to the shop and have him show you how to tie this fly...he calls it the "Belly Ache Minnow".

Buy these flies online

Flyfishing for Texas Redfish on the Cheap

Scratching the saltwater itch can be more expensive than a gambling addiction, especially when you live in Colorado. For many landlocked flyfisherman, the $3000 price tag of a guided week of flats fishing might as well be a million. However, determined to get our saltwater fix, fellow Front Range Anglers Guide, Tyler Bowman and I set our sights on the redfish along Texas' Gulf Coast. With a budget not allowing for the conveniences of a boat, guide, or rental car, we strategically located ourselves in Aransas Pass, Texas. Fueled by peanut butter sandwiches and armed with 8 weights, we found expansive flats within walking distance of our $50 per night motel. We quickly discovered also that a thumb and a smile can easily get you a few miles down the road from a friendly local on their way to work. Every new flat provided shots at tailing and cruising redfish, along with an occasional speckled sea trout hookup.

Tyler Bowman with a beautiful Texas Red

If you go: The beauty of salt water flats fishing is that the gear is pretty simple. A good fast action rod in the 7-8 weight range, a pair of wading boots or old sneakers, a few leaders, and a handful of flies is all you need. Here is a short list of effective gear:

Rods: A 9' 8 weight with a fast action will is an ideal rod for smaller reds.

Reels: Any reel with a half decent drag system and at least a 125 yards of 20 pound backing will do.

Flies: The Texas coast is filled with abundant populations of crabs and shrimp. Any fly that imitates these creatures will produce fish if carefully presented. Also, red fish feed heavily on mullet, and in several instances we found reds cruising with groups of these fish, so smaller bait fish imitations are good to have on hand. On the sand flats shrimp patterns without weed guards worked well. However, we quickly learned that many of the grass flats in Texas require a weedless fly. Simply put, sometimes a double weed guard was not enough to keep our flies free of grass. The more weedless your fly, the better. We threw all of our flies on 9-10' leaders tapered down to 0-2x fluorocarbon tippet.

Every minute on a flat is educational. For every hookup, we had to put quite a few miles on the old chevro -legs. Wind, spooked fish, and bad casts are more the rule than the exception.
Hiring a local professional guide is always worth every penny, but if you're low on pennies, your next experinece on a pristine saltwater flat may only require a plane ticket, a cheap hotel, and a short swim...

Tight Lines,
Patrick Knackendoffel and Tyler Bowman

Adams & Leech

Yeah, sure...sounds like a law firm advertising on daytime television. "Were you in an automobile accident over a decade ago and are now experiencing slight lower back pain? Call us!"

But seriously. Try this rig on for size...an Adams dry fly with a small, sparse leech pattern dropped off the back end. Use about 12 to 14 inches of 5x tippet tied to the bend of your dry. This allows you to double your Time On Target (to use a military term) during each drift. Cast quartering up stream and let the rig drift past you the same way you would with any dry/dropper. Only with this one keep the flies in the water once they reach the end of their natural drift. When the dry fly starts to drag against the current the leech will come to life! Be sure to use a leech pattern with little to no weight. This prevents the sinking of a small dry fly. If you feel you want the leech to sink a bit quicker, try applying Henery's Sinket, or some other type of fly wetting agent. The leech patterns I tie for this application are about as simple as a fly can get...just use one small tuft of black marabou. Tie it in at the rear of the hook shank to form the tail, leaving an extra long marabou butt section, which you wrap up the hook shank and tie off behind the eye of the hook. Fast and easy!

Fly Fishing in Cedaredge, Colorado

Larry Jurgens, Dick Orr and myself were graciously invited down to Cedaredge, Colorado to stay and fish for a few days on Fred Ferganchick's ranch. Fred owns and operates several ranches in the area...a beautiful spread right at the base of the Grand Mesa National Forest. He does turkey hunts, elk hunts as well as fly fishing. We had a great time down there and if you watch the movie I made for him and think it looks like a fun time...give him a call, or check out his website.
Hecoma Game Ranch, ph# 970-856-3693 web: http://www.hecomaonline.com/index.html
Watch a video and learn more about the ranch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i-P4bnZ-2g

Have You Seen The Light?

Fly fishing for carp is rapidly gaining popularity...across the country. Sight casting to large, wary fish on the flats...without leaving your home town! Carp are the hardest fighting and by far the most intelligent freshwater fish. If you think you are a master fly angler...a god on the spring creeks....a wizard on the tailwaters...carp will put you in your place. Don't be a sally! Put your ego to the test. Give it a try. We have some top notch carp flies for sale...if you think you're ready!

Fly Fishing off the Rocks

All the local Front Range reservoirs are really beginning to warm up. Once their water temperatures get into the low to mid 60's (They are right about 62-63 degrees as of two days ago) the crappie and smallmouth bass (as well as some young carp!) will begin to get active and take flies aggressively. You often find them in large numbers, pushing and corralling minnows and other young baitfish up against the rocks and rip-rap of man-made dams.

I have never understood why more fly fishermen don't take advantage of this great local fishing resource. I usually only have conventional gear/spin fishers as company when I go.

This has with a ton of local warm water lakes and resevoirs. Take a 6 weight (but a 5 will work) and a handfull of Bellyache Minnow streamers!

Norhern Pike on the Fly (Rocky Mt. Arsenal)

As the spring wears on the local pike fishing will remain good...but it becomes more and more important that you get up early. The best fishing will almost always be in the first couple hours of daylight. The pike will be in very close to shore, in shallow water in coves and along thick walls of cattails. I will carefully push through the thick cattails until I have just enough access to the water to make a short cast, then flip the fly out right in front of me and give it a couple quick jerks. Often there is a pike right there and there is a good chance of a strike that would have been spoiled if I had rushed out into the open. Only once I have tested the water right in front of me will I move out of the cattails. The next two casts will be longer ones down each bank. Then I will begin fan casting in all directions. In the lower elevation pike lakes the water temps can start to raise quickly after the sun is up for a few hours...this will often push the larger pike out to deeper water. Also, with a lake that receives a lot of fishing pressure the pike will begin retreating to the depths after a few clumsy fishermen slosh by. So, again, get there early!

Rocky Mt. Arsenal web site:

http://www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/fishing/fishing.htm

Watch a video fly fishing for pike at the Arsenal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD2tREe4bfk&NR=1

Big Thompson River Directory

Big Thompson River, Colorado Click Here! The Big Thompson River is one of the more popular small rivers on the northern Colorado Front Range...and it is a very healthy fishery thanks to the catch and release regulations and decent flows for the last...



Petticoats & Two-Bit Hookers (Big Thompson River…and the long last week of March) Click Here! I woke up the other morning with a crazy notion. I had a weekday off and the fishing had been good and the reports filtering though the fly shop were getting more and more upbeat. People were getting out and getting fish..
 
 

Windblown Wanderings on the Big Thompson Click Here! It is Spring. Although the two inch fresh blanket whose thickness is still being added to as I write, would moonlight you no hint. But yes, it is spring -- and is my least favorite season...
 
 
 
   

Fishing the Big Water Thompson Click Here! We all got spoiled with the excellent and dependable fishing on the Big Thompson River. The flows were just about flat-lined at 120 cfs for well over a month. And the Blue Winged Olive mayflies were pouring off in droves. I heard about and saw more great fishing days and large trout than any year to date...
 
 
 
 
Past Fishing Reports
(To Help You Predict The Future!)

 

Big Thompson Fishing Report (June 26, 2010)  Below the dam at Estes Park is flowing at 130 cfs and, more importantly, it has been flowing at that steady rate for almost two weeks now. I have always contended..

Big Thompson Fishing Report (November 8, 2010) Flowing at a steady 50 cubic feet per second and has been now for a solid week. It had jumped up kind of unseasonably high there for a few days. But it is all good, now. And the fishing has been good...



Gear Reviews

Loon UV Wader Repair This is a gear review for the Loon UV wader repair. It was going to be another story about leaky waders and their never-ending inevitability…but ended up sounding like a late-night infomercial. So, I scraped the story and just went ahead and wrote the damn gear review. 

Umpqua UPG Fly Boxes  No. Get your head out of the bag of ‘shrooms. You ain’t in school anymore…or passed out on a dock in the Bahamas. You are a respectable individual with a family and maybe a bed-wetting junior-you in the back room. This is a gear review…serious stuff, so sit down, put the beers and inflatable pig away and pay attention. Umpqua Feather Merchants has a new line of UPG fly boxes. My favorite is the “Day Tripper”—a 4.25 by 6 by 1.5 inch, do-it-all box...

Lamson Reels The first time the Waterworks/Lamson reel company made me look like a jack ass was last spring. I was in Steamboat Springs fishing private water with some guide friends of mine.










Flex Spex (One Small Great Idea Amongst a Herd of Idiocy) …let me tell you about one man (and his daughter) making a simple, but very cool new gadget for us fishermen. Flex Spex he calls them. Sure, there are a ton of different magnifying lenses available already...


Also, Moffit Fishing Systems, Vibram Wading Soles, Monic Fly Lines and Gateway Hooks are reviewed here.

Flyfishing for Smallmouth Bass (Bellyache Minnow)

Smallmouth bass off the rocks! April is a great time to find these hard fighting fish in close to shore at most of our larger reservoirs. Rob Kolanda likes to throw one of his infamous Bellyache Minnows on a long leader. These flies are tied with a large tungsten belly weight, giving them a real minnow shape, but more importantly they will sink quickly to get down over any drop-offs just off the edge of rocks and rip rap...deadly for bass and walleye! I went out with him the other day and he had two good smallmouth in hand before I could finish my first cast and retrieve! All I could do was give him the finger from down the bank and then try to butter him up in order to get a fly from him...jerk.

Walk softly...and carry a 6 weight

Once we have a few warm, sunny days in a row we will begin seeing all warm water fish start moving into the shallower water. Look for bass holding tight to cover, sometimes they will be buried into some real thick stuff along the banks. Move slowly, wade only if you have to and use weighted, sub-surface flies.

Big carp on the fly!

Checked out all the local lakes looking for carp on the move the other day. Saw a few in the afternoon, but was having a lot of blank looks. As a last resort I stumbled down to the St. Vrain and looked around. Found one pool with a few active fish, but the water was low, cold and the carp were spooky. I gingerly cast to several fish only to spook them as soon as I moved my rod to cast. So I backed off, got low in the brush and waited. Just before dusk I saw the shadow of a big fish (over 20 pounds!) moving up in the pool and I let the current take my black leech Backstabber carp fly out to her....
She ate it as soon as it got to her! Then I had to stand up and crank down hard with my 6 weight to keep her out of the log jam on the other side of the pool. The commotion spooked all the other carp in the pool, but it was only light enough to snap a couple photos and usher her back into deeper water.

Nice save at the end of the day!

Fly Fishing For Bass (Directory)

Read The Story Private School Bass (Versus Public) Behaviorally speaking, there are two distinctly different types of largemouth bass: private water bass and public water bass. The private water fishing is as incredibly fun and as insanely easy as anywhere in the country I have ever fished. The public water bass, though...

 Read The Story Damsel in Distress So, I switch to a damsel dry fly. A small bass zips up to it in shallow water…eyeballs my fly for a second…then darts away. What the fuck? Fourth fly I tie on is a tiny (by bass fishing standards) light olive damsel nymph. I make a long cast out onto the pond and see three separate wakes making a b-line for the end of my fly line. But no strike. Screw it. I strip the fly once, fast…BANG! Fish on!....

 Read The Story Warmer Water Brings Better Bass We finally got more than three days in a row of nice, sunny weather. This is what we have been waiting for…whatever it takes to get the local lakes up into the mid 50’s. I took water temps at some of my favorite carp and bass lakes yesterday and most were hovering nicely around 55-56 degrees. These are the water temps I usually am waiting for in the early season. They signify the onset of potentially good warm water fishing...

 Read The Story Night Fishing For Largemouth Bass The biggest hurdles to overcome with any night fishing are the casting and line management. All your casts will have to be done by feel. There is no turning your head to watch how your back cast is doing...

 Read The Story Dog Day Bass Bass feed quite heavily in August when the water is the warmest of the year. Bass consume the majority of their food during this time, this is when they grow the most and have to keep up with their heightened metabolism...

Read The Story Micro-Streamers for Early Season Bass Sure can't wait for Spring and bass fishing!" How many times do you hear your fishing buddies say that as it is dumping snow in the first week of March? "About a month away" they will tell you. Bullshit. Largemouth bass will feed under the ice...they just move slower...

Read The Story Rise of the Urban Angler I have heard that the rise of the urban angler has to do with the recent decline in our economy. We can not afford to chase “real” sport fish, so we are forced to catch bass out water hazards and carp out of irrigation ditches. We are poor, awful wretches scrabbling for fish scraps in what amounts to an open sewer. Whatever...

Read The Story Deep & Slow (for bass) March is such a tease. The weather is so nice and the clothing so scant (college town) it has you convinced it is almost summer already. You start having silly notions about taking your shirt off outside (impromptu gun show) and digging to the bottom of your pack for that top-water frog you tied last year, but haven't seen in six months. Then you put you hand in the water and come crashing back to reality...

Read The Story Farm Ponds, Horse Shit & Other Memories of the Midwest "Kind of reminds ya of home, doesn't it..." he said, casting me a smile over his shoulder as he turned back to his line. It tightened with the tell of a bite. His smile grew bigger. Smell that...and he held out the taddle-tale line's catch. I took a drag of the farm pond water infused bass. Turns out, that humid color of green algae is my hallucinogen for home. Lids closed, I devolved 15 years. Briefly taking my eyes off rod and line, I hoped my fishing partner wasn't looking my way...

Read The Story Topwater Frogs for Colorado Bass Water temperatures will continue to warm up throughout the summer. Early mornings and late evenings can be fantastic opportunities to find largemouth bass eager to crush frog poppers in your local bass water. If watching aggressive fish swallow an amphibian imitation on the end of your leader does not sound fun to you, then I recommend you seek help immediately...

Read The Story Sometimes Ya Just Gotta Swim... How many times can you remember standing along the bank of a river or shore of a lake looking longingly to a run, eddy or far shore wishing you could get a cast that far, or be standing there instead of where you happened to be at the moment? You have just the spot picked out that you believe would be the best place to cast from, too. But, for whatever reason, you can’t get there…

Boulder Creek Directory

Read The Story October on Boulder Creek (A Fall Fishing Report)

Read The Story April Fools On South Boulder Creek We were not the first ones to the gravel pull off, Erin and I. A late start, a stop for coffee and one wrong turn up a dirt road. Oh well. The two guys ahead of us looked decent enough—two fellow fly fishers—not a couple of turds who would likely camp out on fish or high hole us. I’ll get back to this. They were already wadered up and about to hit the trail down to the South Boulder Creek tailwater. I was going to give a good luck wave and see ya down there...


Read The Story Spring on Boulder Creek In mid March when the water temperature reaches 40 degrees the trout will move out of their winter holding lies, spread out in the creek and begin feeding more actively. From this point on the water temperature will continue to rise. Once the temperature reaches the mid 40’s and the flows are still low (25-35 cfs) the “spring window” officially opens…

Read The Story Boulder Creek Bugs I have always seen a good diversity of bug life on both Middle and South Boulder Creeks, but this year I am seeing way more. And I don't know what it is...maybe just an accumulation of more than a few great water years in a row. Whatever it is, I'll take it! Last time I was fishing South Boulder Creek I got distracted by the masses of cases caddis...

Read The Story Best Times To Fish Boulder Creek As a result of many years of fishing Boulder Creek and extensive record keeping, I have come up with what I believe to be three "windows of opportunity". These are the best times to be fishing...

Read The Story Shifting Gears Russell Miller and I somehow convinced each other that taking a morning to drive up to Gross Reservoir in search of a big tiger musky was not just a wanton effort in futility. We traded semi-motivational pep talks the night before just to ensure that we would both be willing to wake up early...

Read The Story Best 5 Flies for Boulder Creek In my opinion! These are the only flies I feel that I need. I have spent many countless hours and days on my home water and have been very discerning about the flies I carry and use. Confidence and productivity. And these are the five flies I would have no problem restricting myself to on Boulder Creek...