Monday, January 31, 2011

2010 Trout Season Review


The 2010 trout fishing season went unbelievably well this year. Guide trips were not hard to come by and referrals made for a nice boost in business.

I try and help my customers understand that I have a referral network of friends that are without a doubt the top guides in the Roaring Fork Valley. I jump at the chance to help my customers have the best possible day if a referral is necessary.

Among some of the more fun things I like to do, fishing for giant brown trout in the Fall with my buddy Mike Thomas is one that I look forward to.

Here is a video of our 2010 Brown Trout mission




Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Brown Trout

This video of epic brown trout fishing video is filled with many massive fish.

Fly fishing in Colorado is always an incredible experience!

Colorado has many great, public fishing opportunities like this one on the South Platte. For those interested in a guided fly fishing trip to Colorado, consider staying and fishing in the Roaring Fork Valley, near Aspen, Colorado.

Three great rivers to fish, the Frying Pan, the Roaring Fork and the Colorado. For information on how to book, contact Capt. Matt Thomas on-line at:

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tarpon Fishing Will Be Great In 2010...

I have been holding onto this footage taken in the 2009 Spring season.  This past week I took the time to review it and publish the most exciting tarpon fishing video possible.  I am looking forward to the next tarpon migration in the Keys.  My 2010 customers will be in the middle of every fish I can find.

This particular video features the best three cast, retrieve, hook-set and initial jump sequences I have been able to capture on film.  Black and purple flies are what these fish seemed to want most when this footage was captured last April.

Though my 2010 Spring season is well booked, I still have some availability March, April, May, June.

 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Friday, November 20, 2009

Fly Fishing The Frying Pan In November

Fishing is my angle every day.  I wake up and either go, or figure out how to go fishing more often.  Perhaps it goes without saying, I would fish every day if I could, and I am getting close. 

The other day, I got up early in the morning and put my warmest clothes on.  Before daylight I scraped the ice from my windows and found a warm cup of coffee for my drive.   The temperature outside was in the single digits.  I knew the day was going to be sunny and by the time I got to where I was going, there was enough daylight to put a smile on my face when I recognized that I was the first one to arrive and claim the spot this morning.

When I fish on the Frying Pan at the base of Reudi Reservoir, I rarely wear my waders.  This spot is known as the "Toilet Bowl" to everyone that has fished it.  The water released from depth of the reservoir is super charged as it passes through turbines and eventually out of a concrete box where my cast meets the water and my hook set crowns the day.



A congregation of hundreds if not thousands of trout push almost into the concrete structure trying to be the first to feed in an endless stream of mysis shrimp.  At the surface the most ambitious trout can be seen darting to eat, sometimes jumping clear out of the water.  I know what lives here and I am ready to catch a big trout.

Though I arrived alone to the toilet bowl this morning, I invited my 83 year old fishing buddy, Dick Stahura.  Dick lives in Basalt and has been a mentor of sort to me for most of my life.  He and I fish together as often as we can.  I made arrangements to meet Dick at 9 or 10 AM when the sun hit the water.  Until then, it was my time to fish, right here in the fishiest spot I know, all to myself.

"Did I ever tell you I love this...?"
 


 

I believe that the way you rig for this spot, is important for catching a fish with every cast.  The water pouring out of the box is turbid and deep.  A jet of current rams the bank at your feet and creates a deep seam that holds many actively feeding fish.  I have learned to use what I call a "bell sinker rig".  With the bell sinker rig and two or three mysis shrimp flies tied to 3X tippet, I can pretty much catch every fish in the hole.  Short casts, held high, with a quick hook set on feel of a strike.  Sometimes I keep my cast shallow, sometimes I send it deep.  

The sun broke over the hill and shined on my grateful face at around 9:30 and I noticed many of the fish that were visible sank out of sight to continue feeding on shrimp.  I noticed the flats down stream with many anglers walking around looking for their own big fish to cast at.  I had already caught mine.  Each hook set, one after the other and I would look over my shoulder hoping to see Dick walking down the path.  The fast pace of catching fish in this part of the Frying Pan is impressive, and though I could not see as many fish as I could before, the sun hit the water and the fishing was just as good.

It seemed perfect when I set the hook on a hot little rainbow and looked behind me to see dick walking my way.  I landed the fish and handed him the rod.  For the next five hours Dick and I set the hook on fish after fish.  We caught many big browns and rainbows, hook set after hook set, doubles frequently.  I set my rod down and netted every fish for Dick.  It was a fun time and we caught many, many fish together. 




Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tarpon Are My Favorite

At the beginning of each year I prepare for my move to the Keys and the exciting start of my guiding season.  I gather fly tying materials and order hooks.  I load up on flouro and get new boat cusions.  The whole time I grin, because I know I will get to see a tarpon jump again...


My passion for fishing in the ocean is really my passion for catching tarpon.  My eyes scan miles of water looking for any chance I to give my anglers a cast at the next tarpon.  I can't get over watching them eat the fly and feeling the boat lurch under my feet as an excited customer sets the hook.  Big tarpon are are my favorite fish to catch.  They are difficult, adrenalizing, and incredibly rewarding to catch.

The best time of the season to catch migrating tarpon is April, May and June. Though tarpon can be found in the Keys at any time, the migration is the best time to encounter the most and the biggest.  Fishing both day and night is fair game when the pigs are in town.



Monday, November 16, 2009

Have You Ever Fished For Kokanee Salmon?



This past October I had the great pleasure of fishing with my friend Mike Thomas on the South Platte River.  Though we intended to catch brown trout moving up the river to spawn, we also caught Salmon.  Kokanee Salmon are a smaller, land locked, fresh water fish that behaves similar to the salmon like Sockeye or Pink that you would find in Alaska.

These fish are an exciting bonus for anglers each Fall and can be easily caught wherever they run.  Whenever I have caught Kokanee, my intent was usually for the other, sometimes bigger, trout taking advantage of the food source spawning salmon provide.  By nature, my rig is tipped with egg patterns and the Kokanee seem to eat these just fine.

There are many rivers and streams in Colorado that feature a Kokanee run each fall and I expect to encounter these bright red fish as early as September, lasting into the month of November.  I have caught salmon big and small during the spawn.  I have handled them as small as 10-12 inches and as large as 18-22 inches.

The pictures here are of my most recent Kokanee hook sets and feature some of the largest land locked salmon I have caught.  Check out this great close-up video of a colorful spawning pair of Kokanee Salmon...