Laughing Grizzly Guided Trips to Rocky Mountain National Park and other Western waters

Date/Reporter	Place	Comments
6/26/12 Dick Shinton	Boulder Creek	Josh Rickard and I decided to explore Boulder Creek. I had only ever fished it in Boulder and the mouth of the canyon, so this was an adventure for me. Josh is working on a DVD project and needed to get some video, so I went along to serve as his victim. We fished several locations along the river above Boulder Falls, and finished the day fishing the creek right through Nederland. Brookies, rainbows, browns and cutbows all succumbed to our fishing prowess. Best part of the day was seeing not a single other fisherman all day!
6/19/12 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Mitchell Lake	Joe has been wanting to drag me to Mitchell Lake for several years, and we finally got around to it. It was a beautiful day, but with 40-50 mph winds at the lake. We fooled around at Little Mitchell Lake for awhile, but only one fish came to net (mine, haha). We decided to try the inlet streams. The first we came upon was very small, but it yielded some fine brookies from its lower stretches. We segued over to the larger stream and worked our way about a half-mile or more upstream catching surprisingly large brookies and a single greenback. Back to the lake for more wind induced casting torture, and we capped off the day by fishing the outlet stream with few results. All in all a great day.
5/31/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I took Deniese Lipscombe to the Park to introduce her to small stream fishing. She is relatively new to fly fishing, but she is a quick learner. The morning was slow, but things picked up in the afternoon, with browns, brookies and a few rainbows brought to the net. The weather cooperated with a beautiful day on Glacier Creek.
5/24/12 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Big T	Joe and I and his friend Cole went to the Big T along with a couple of Silver Creek teachers (john Majerus and Dan Kloster) who are setting up a fly fishing club at the school. Fishing was kinda slow, but for the boys, it was a nice break from their past nine months' routine.
5/21/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP and Big T	Charlie Jones and I wanted to fish Moraine Park, whigh we did- for a few hours with poor results. We headed down the canyon (this is getting to be a familiar refrain) and parked at the Sleepy Hollow area. We fished both above and below the bridge and did pretty well after a slow start.
5/14/12 Dick Shinton	Fryingpan	John Veno had never fished the Fryingpan, but we only had the day, so we raced over for one of those "If you fish more than the time it takes to drive there and back, you're ahead of the game." kind of days. The water was up to a reasonable 100 cfs or so. The upper river at the flats was too low to waste time on, so we concentrated on a few of my favorite areas lower down. It was a great day with lotsa nice fish as evidence.
5/10/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP and Big T	Terry Miller and I went to Moraine Park looking for a little action: there wasn't much. We caught a few fish there, then headed down the caanyon on the Big T. The usually reliable spots weren't very reliable, but we caught a few here and there. All in all, we only managed about one fish per hour each for the full day- pretty disappointing in my book. The Deep0 Blue Poison Tung worked reasonably well for us.
5/9/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP	My friend John Crosson was in from Chicago so we had a few hours to head to the Park. We did pretty well, though not anything to write home about. All nymphing action.
5/7/12 Dick Shinton	Big T	I went with my friend John Mees this day. We decided to fish a stretch neither of us was very familiar with. We headed down the canyon and found some spots that yielded some pretty nice fish. Nothing on dry flies, just the usual subsurface patterns, especially the Deep Blue Poison Tung.
4/30/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP	One of the best, at least most interesting, days ever on the upper Big T. I caught about 30 fish in a full day of fishing. I decided to try an unusual setup: a Tabou Caddis Emerger followed by a pink SJW. I caught about equal numbers of browns, brookies and greenbacks (most I have ever caught in this section in one day). All but one brown took the Tabou, and all but one brookie and all but one greenback took the SJW. Weird but wonderful.
4/16-18/12 Dick Shinton	Fryingpan/Roaring Fork	We fished the Pan on Mon and Tues. Monday was excellent; Tues a little tougher. The flow is down to 42 cfs, making fishing very tough on the flats; it's a 3" deep riffle with mud flats. While there were copious numbers of BWOs hatching and fish rising, we couldn't find the magic to attract strikes on the usually effective dry fly patterns on the Pan. Weds am we fished the Fork and landed some very nice fish on BWO emergers, pink SJWs and a variety of other nymphs.
4/12/12 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Fished a small side stream and caught quite a few fish on the pink worm and a few other patterns. Low water made the fish pretty spooky, but 7x fluoro tippet and 20' casts made the difference between catching and not catching.
4/10/12 Dick Shinton Matt Sanderson	Dream Stream/ Spinney Mtn Res	We spent the morning on the river with some success- Matt caught a rainbow about 25". We spent the afternoon fishing Spinney Mtn Res and caught quite a few on a variety of stuff.
4/5/12 Dick Shinton	11 Mile Canyon	My friend and I had great dry fly action on BWOs and BWO emergers as well as the usual nymphing. In fact, this was some of the best dry fly action I've had in quite a while on sizeable fish. Love my new Sage One.
4/2/12 Dick Shinton Frank Drummond	RMNP	Just about the earliest we've ever gotten out in the spring. The fish cooperated despite being pretty skittish because of the low water. Pink SJW and various nymphs got 'em.
Feb/Mar 2012 Dick Shinton	Big T	I fished the Big T almost every week in Feb and Mar with decent results. Very little dry fly action. Best flies were RS-2s, WD-40s, BWO emergers, Prince Nymphs, Pheasant Tails and an occasional San Juan Worm (and not always pink).
1/18-19/12 Dick Shinton	Gray Reef	Went with John Veno, his son and a friend to the wind machine known as Wyoming. Gusts up to 60mph damn near knocked me into the water. I caught some (better than last year!), and John, Jim and Larry caught a bunch. My wind-casting skills need some work. They stayed for three more days, but I had to leave early to get back for the TU tying night. I'm gonna keep working on it- gotta get back up there.
1/10/12 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	S. Boulder Creek	Joe and I went with Josh Rickard. Cold, crowded, a little snow and only a few fish each, but being out with good friends in pursuit of Messrs. Salmo, Oncorhynchus and Salvelinus always makes for a good day.
1/1/12 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Big T	Joe and I started the year off right by fishing new Year"s Day. We did pretty well on scuds, sowbugs and a variety of midges. We saw a few risers, but not enough to entice us to put on a dry. Joe landed a very fat rainbow about 18" long. Nice way to start the new year.
12/21/11 Dick Shinton	Blue River	Clif Carney has wanted to fish the Blue for some time, but we hadn't been able to get our schedules together until now. The Blue always is a tough, technical fishery, and this day was no exception. We saw plenty of fish, but for the most part, they were just hangin' out not feeding. Clif did get one just before lunch, but I was blanked.
12/19/11 Dick Shinton Mike Kruise	Yampa/Stagecoach	One of my favorite fishing spots, and it paid off again. Fish took red SJWs, Chamois Leeches, orange scuds and a variety of other patterns, too. A great day with Mike and Chad.
11/24/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	11 Mile Canyon	Joe and I went with John Majerus and Dan Kloster to this nice tailwater. The weather was nice- not too much wind. Everybody caught fish, including some nice dry fly action.
10/10-12/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	My friend ted Thompson and I had talked for a long time about fishing the west side of the Park, and this was the time to do it. Trail Ridge was closed by a snowstorm, so we had to take te long way around over Berthoud Pass and up to Grand Lake. We fished portions of the Colorado River, Tonahutu Creek and North Inlet Creek. Fishing ranged from darn good to pretty poor, but we got some ideas about places we want to explore further in fvuture trips, so we felt like we achieved what we set out to do.
10/3/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Fished lower Glacier Creek with my friend Charlie Jones. It was a beautiful day, but fishing was a little slow in this pocket water stretch of the creek. Nonetheless, we caught some nice fish. Highlight of the day (for me at least) was seeing a group of four mule deer bucks grazing within 20 feet of us. seemingly unconcerned with our presence.
9/26/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I was supposed to go to Eleven Mile with a friend, but he called me at 5:00 am and cancelled because of car trouble. While I was disappointed, it was just as well, as I was coming off 10 days in a row at the shop because everybody else in Longmont (seems like) went to Alaska. I was beat! So, I went back to bed for a few hours. Around lunchtime I decided to hit the Park for a few hours. As Dizzy Dean used to say, "I shoulda stood in bed." I stumbled around in the river, couldn't see my fly most of the time, and just had a fumbly day. I caught some fish alright, but some of them were complete surprises 'cause I couldn't see my fly. I missed a lot of strikes, too. So, while it was good to get out, I probably would have been better off hangin' out at home.
9/15/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Josh Rickard and I planned our now annual trip to lower Forest Canyon above The Pool on the upper Big Thompson. The river departs from the Fern Lake Trail at The Pool, so this stretch of the river is the beginning of a true backcountry fishery. It was a rainy day, so everything- boulders, deadfall, streamside vegetation- was wet and slimy, making going a little tricky. This time I wore waders, and I was glad of it, both for the warmth on this chilly day, and for protection from scrapes and cuts. I also brought my wading staff, and was glad of it. Let's cut to the chase- the fishing. Oddly enough, neither of us caught a brookie up here; maybe they had other stuff on their minds, like spawning. We caught some nice browns down low, and nuttin' but greenbacks most of the way up. We fished dry/dropper rigs and caught most of our fish on various nymphs and emergers, but a few rising fish took our dry flies. Great day with a great friend.
9/12/11 Mike Kruise	Yampa	Friend Bryan Powell and I went to the Stagecoach section of the Yampa and hit one of those rare days when the Yampa fishes well with dry flies. We caught many big fish on tiny BWOs pretty much all day long. My best fish of the day was a five pound brown. The Yampa is one of Colorado's best fisheries- give it a try some day.
9/12/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I fished lower Glacier Creek on a beautiful early fall day in the high country- just a little nip in the air when the wind kicked up. I had a slow start- nobody was interested in my LA Ant. I switched to an Elk Hair Caddis with a Tabou dropper and started to catch fish immediately. Over the course of the afternoon I caught fish on the EHC, Tabou, Para Adams and para PMD. About five hours of fishing led to about 40 fish, all rainbows and browns; not a single brookie came to hand. Best fish of the day were a chunky 11" 'bow and a solid 14" brown. Get up there; fishing in the Park is on fire.
9/5/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Since it was Labor Day, we knew we had to go to a remote location, so we chose the lower end of Forest Canyon. I thought I had broken my little toe the day before, but maybe it's only badly sprained, as I was able to hike about 5 miles and fish all day. This morning, the toe looks like a red grape that has been attached to the side of my right foot. Anyhow, we clambered and scrambled over boulders and over and under deadfall and caught a bunch of nice fish- browns, brookies and lovely greenbacks- mostly on dries. We pulled out of Forest Canyon about 1:00 and went back down the trail and fished back up the Big T trying to get a rainbow to fill out our slams, but to no avail. Absolutely beautiful weather. I stupidly decided to wet wade- a bad decision as my feet were numb all day (probably good for the toe, though), and I am scratched and scraped from head to foot. Don't go into Forest Canyon alone. If you were to get hurt or otherwise become incapacitated, no one would hear your screams for help as you are too far from a trail to be heard.
8/15-31/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I don't usually write about guide trips, but I had a string of wonderful clients and interesting experiences the last half of August. In mid-August, two of my three clients spotted a mama bear and two cubs on the upper Big T along the Fern Lake trail. The bears hightailed it as soon as they spotted the people. Last Wednesday, we saw a bull moose along the same trail. He may be the same young bull, albeit a little larger this year, that inhabited this area last year. He stared at us from about 25 yards away, and pawed the ground in a seemingly agitated way that caused us to exit the area through the willows very quickly. Unlike elk, moose will stand their ground, so they are not to be trifled with. Last Friday, we hoofed it up to the Roaring River in pursuit of greenbacks. The water temp at 9:00 am was 34 degrees! It heated up to a blazing 38 degrees by noon. No wonder morning fishing has been relatively slow. We did pretty well, though...
8/25/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Another exploratory trip- this time to Glacier Creek again. Got caught in the rain for awhile, but caught plenty of fish on dry flies, including a brown of about 15" that sipped the fly so gently I had no idea of his size until I set the hook and the fish took off on a strong upstream run.
8/22/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I did an exploratory trip to Wild Basin to fish the N St Vrain. I fished the area through the willows above Copeland Lake for a while, then drove up to the first bridge and fished from there. Had excellent dry fly fishing on an Elk Hair Caddis and Para Adams.
8/17/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Joe and I fished a stretch of Glacier Creek on this, the last day before the start of his first year of high school. We had a great time fishing dry flies for feisty browns, brookies and rainbows. As usual, the Elk Hair Caddis, Para Adams and LA Ant did the bulk of the work.
8/8-11/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Yampa River Frying Pan River Secret Spot	We fished a day and a half on the Stagecoach tailwater of the Yampa with good fishing using primarily Hare's Ears and SJWs, with a little dry fly and streamer fishing thrown in for variety. We then went to a secret spot (sorry- no clues) I'd been wanting to share with Joe. The dry fly fishing for trout from 10"- 20" in this special stream was excellent. We finished off with a few hours on the 'Pan on Thursday, with more dry fly action for 16"+ fish eating PMDs and Green Drakes. What a week- great fishing with my favorite fishing partner.
July 11 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	RMNP	Scott and Mike, along with Steve Schweitzer, took two groups of nine anglers each on two separate three-day, two-night camping trips in the Park. The first was to Tonahutu Creek and Haynach Lake, the second to Hutcheson Lakes and the North Saint Vrain in the Wild Basin area. Both trips were a big success, both as fishing trips and as a way of meeting new friends. We will organize more of these trips in the future. Watch for announcements.
July 11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	With high water, I mostly fished Moraine Park, with occasional jaunts on parts of Glacier Creek, The upper Big T and various lakes. The Big T in Moraine Park fished well up to about 800 cfs, and just about any place you could find a patch of quiet water, you found a fish- this is true of just about any stream during high water. With our guide business being so good this summer, there wasn't a lot of time for personal fishing, so that's why we've posted so few Fishlog entries this summer.
6/28/11 Joe Johnson Dick Shinton	Moraine Park	Pretty much the same as the previous week with MUCH higher water. We walked just about the entire length of Moraine Park to find fishable water.
6/22/11 Joe Johnson Dick Shinton	Moraine Park	Pretty much the same as Monday with a little higher water.
6/20/11 Joe Johnson Dick Shinton	Moraine Park	The Big T is starting to flow over the banks in places. The fish cooperated well nonetheless, and we both caught a mess o' fish, including an 18" brown for Dick.
6/14-16/11 Joe Johnson	Taylor River	Joe went to the Taylor with Dan Kloster and Paul Storaci to fish the tailwater below Taylor Park Reservoir. Fish were caught on Mysis and other typical tailwater patterns. Nymphing was most productive, and fish were in the 16-24" range.
6/1/11 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	St Vrain River	Scott and I headed back up to the St Vrain last night to close out the day. We hiked in about a mile and started to fish; it was a great evening- not much on top but we caught a few. The true magic was a San Juan Worm and a Zebra Midge. It seemed like every pool produced fish. We fished until we couldnt see the strike and walked out in the dark.
6/1/11 Dick Shinton Josh Rickard	RMNP	This is more like it- I have fished four times in the last week. Life is good! A beautiful day today- temp in the 60s, sunshine, and, best of all, NO WIND!!! We pretty much knocked 'em dead (figuratively, of course). Water level on the Big T is still wadable with caution- just pick your spots before plunging in. Josh had a slam of sorts with browns, brookies and a greenback; rainbows are a real rarity on the stretch we fished. One guess as as to what caught most of the fish.
5/30/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson Steve Schweitzer	RMNP	We fished aone of our favorite sections of Glacier Creek this day, a day in which we experienced warm sunshine, cold, strong winds, a little rain and blinding snowstorms. Didn't matter- the fish cooperated and we caught lots of browns and brookies. We experimented with a lot of fly combos, but it was the pink thing that topped the charts.
5/30/11 Mike Kruise Frank Drummond Bryan Powell Terry Miller	St Vrain River	Frank and I had a great day on the St Vrain with our good friends Bryan and Terry on a special section of the river. Tight Lines Everyone Mike
5/27/11 Mike Kruise	St Vrain River	I had a client out on the St Vrain river for an afternoon hike through the willows. We had an excellent evening; the first ten minutes there were four moose no more than 50' away- 2 mommas and two babies- that made the day right there! Everything was nymphing, no dry activity yet. The river is high but in great shape. We fished until dark and walked out. Don't let the high water scare you away, the fishing is still great- you just have to be careful about how you wade. The magic was a Juju Baetis, BWO Emerger and the Pink Wonder. Run off is upon us. Come into the shop and we will get you in the right direction. We can teach you high water fishing tecniques. so get out and wet a line.
5/26/11 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Pella Crossing	Joe and I did our now traditional first day out of school. Joe concentrated on on bass (caught 5), while I focused on sunfish and caught a bunch- some of them pushing 8". I'm ready for more, but make mine trout.
5/23/11 Dick Shinton	RMNP	My friend Kevin Roche and I went to the Park for some needed (in my case, at least) fishing. I had hardly been out this year except on some guide trips. We fished the Big T above Moraine Park. It wasn't red hot, but I caught seven or eight fish in a little over three hours on the water. The ever-reliable pink SJW caught all but one of the fish, and it took a very bright green caddis larva pattern in about size 12(!). The weather held and we had a great time.
4/23/11 Mike and Scott	Roaring River	Scott and I went up on the roaring. The hike was an excellent test of early season stamina. when we arrived at the top of the trail head we found 3+ feet of snow and a wide open river. I am pretty sure I caught the first Greenback of the season on the Roaring. My Fish were caught on the Improved Bling and the infamous Pink worm. the day was Beautiful lots of snow. Scott Caught one on Top with a Stimi. it is time to get the gear out and dust off the waders and wet a line.
3/19-30/11	Rio Puelo System Chile	The Laughing Grizzly sponsored two groups at the Andes Lodge in Region X of Chile. We fished the Rio Puelo, Rio Puelo Chico, Rio Contao, Rio Poica, Rio Huenu-Huenu, Rio Petrohue, Laguna sin Nombre and Lago Tagua-Tagua. While both groups caught some very nice rainbows and browns, fishing was tough; the weather was against us, with sometimes torrential rains. The second week group did catch some salmon, and we enjoyed fresh sashimi one evening. Andes Lodge and its guides were great- they worked their tails off getting us into fish and providing a variety of fishing locations. The cultural experience was outstanding. The land is beautiful, with the soaring peaks of the Andes studded with big volcanos all around. The people are friendly and the food excellent- it was a wonderful experience all around. We've already started planning for next year's trip!
2/28/11 Dick Shinton Mike Kruise	St Vrain System Big T	Mike and I set out on an exploratory trip to check the fishability of local waters. The St Vrain is open all through Lyons and Meadow Park. We saw a small fish rising to BWOs (!), and Mike made a valiant effort to catch him, but couldn't quite make it happen. We continued up the S St Vrain- it's mostly open up to Mile 28. Next, we jogged over to the Jamestown area to check the Ceran St Vrain. It's frozen bank to bank and will be that way for a while. We paid a visit to Wild Basin to look in on the N St Vrain. There was one long, fishable patch near Copeland Lake. Given some continuing warm weather, this could be in good shape in a couple of weeks. Next stop was Moraine Park in RMNP, which is still in the grip of winter with no open water. Give this one two or three weeks. After lunch we headed down the Big T. There was even more open water this week than last (see below). It is very fishable all the way through the canyon, especially where sun hits the river most of the day. We stopped to fish a couple of spots and did very well; the fish are hungry. BWOs were hatching up there as well, though the fish weren't paying much attention to them. Best patterns for us were midge larvae with some flash (Improved Bling Midge and Bulletproof Midge), and the always reliable pink SJW.
2/21/11 Dick Shinton	Big T	Josh Rickard, Joe and I started below the dam on a very cold, very windy day. I walked down to the go-cart hole to get a little protection from the wind. I caught five there before returning to the car for a little coffee. Just as I was about to get out of the car to hit it again, Joe and Josh came back to the car. We decided at that point to try some stretches downstream. We found open water several miles down the canyon and did very well on both browns and rainbows on primarily red stuff- red SJWs, red Copper Johns and red midge larvae. We each caught 10-12 fish in about 2-1/2 hours of actual fishing.
12/29/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Big T	Joe and I fished in the usual crowd below the dam. On the way up, Joe announced his intention to try for a big rainbow he had spied in the hole below the pedestrian bridge on an earlier trip. I wandered up and down the river fishing my favorite spots, and arrived back at the upper end just after Joe had released his quarry, a 26" rainbow. I saw the pictures as proof, including one with a closeup of the measuring tape. Other than that big fish, fishing was pretty slow.
11/23/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Eleven Mile Canyon	Joe and I returned to one of our favorite spots. We fished the half mile below the dam on a clear and not-too-cold day, though the wind gradually picked up throughout the day so that by the time we left it was a lot more than just a breeze. Midges started hatching about 11:00 and were still going strong when we left about 4:00. We caught more fish on dry flies (#22-28) than nymphs using a variety of midge adult and stuck in the shuck patterns. A wonderful day.
10/23/10 Joe Johnson	Dream Stream	The Dream Stream lived up to its name for Joe, with an abundance of fish in the 16-20" range, topped off by a 24" brown. Most fish were caught on streamers and egg patterns. Regular nymph patterns took some fish as well. It was a Kokanee Grand Slam day, with browns, 'bows, cutts and one koke brought to the net.
10/23/10 Dick Shinton for Josh Rickard	S St Vrain	In his quest for investigating the bug life of local waters, Josh went to the S St Vrain west of Lyons yesterday and dropped into the shop to show us the 1-1/2" to 2" golden stonefly nymphs he collected there. He also found a single, smallish Pteronarcys californica, the so-called salmon fly found in abundance on some western rivers. If you're not fishing stonefly nymphs on the St Vrain sytem, you're missing out. Josh will be doing another of his entomology programs in the spring to show us these and other bugs, and some patterns he is tying to match them.
10/23/10 Dick Shinton for Matt Sanderson	St Vrain	We don't usually report on guide trips, but I wanted to point out that you shouldn't over look the St Vrain, especially if you have only a few hours to fish. It has been fishing well in town (fish up to 20" or more-no lie) and up at Buttonrock. The Hofer-cross rainbows DOW planted last summer and this spring are thriving and growing, and providing great sport.
10/13/10 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Fished the Big T above the Cub Lake TH for a few hours in preparation for a guide trip the next day. I caught fish on a variety of small dries, including the Parachute Cupboard Ant, a variation Steve Schweitzer showed me. The pink SJW added a few fish to the count during periods when the fish didn't want my dries.
10/4-7/10 Dick Shinton	Jones Hole Creek Yampa River Frying Pan River	Friend Ted Thompson and I originally intended to fish Jones Hole and then head up to the headwaters of the Green near Pinedale, WY, but the weather in WY was pretty poor, so we stayed south of the border. Jones Hole Creek is a spring creek tributary to the Green near Vernal, UT (or Utah! as their license tags proclaim.). Lotsa nice fish to 18" feeding on stonefly nymphs. We had great success on small Para Adams, big hoppers and, mostly, Prince Nymphs. An added attraction along the creek in this beautiful red sandstone canyon are Indian petroglyphs in remarkably good shape after 5000 or more years. I won't say much about the Yampa and Frying Pan other than to say they ran pretty much true to form, meaning some nice fish in beautiful surroundings.
9/27/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Fryingpan River	Joe used his fall pass from school to go to the Pan with me, and we met friend Dan Kloster in Basalt on Monday morning for a day of fishing on a brilliant fall day. Morning was devoted to nymphing around mm 8.5, then up to mm 12 for some fabulous dry fly fishing throughout the afternoon. There were multiple hatches all day, including midges, PMDs, BWOs and caddis, with a few Green Drakes thrown in for good measure. While there were not as many surface-feeding fish as one might expect, they were eager to take a fly off the top. Great sport, and a wonderful day on one of our favorite rivers.
9/20/10 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	Uganik River Kodiak Island Alaska	Scott and Mike and their group floated the Uganik River to its mouth in the salt in their pursuit of King and Sockeye salmon, and Rainbow and Dolly Varden Trout. They had a great trip on this river, which is lined with more bears per linear foot than you can imagine- all of them hungry, and all of them looking to anglers as their personal source of food since they always seem to have a fish on the fly- kind of an ursine cafeteria line. Mike's major learning on this trip: "If a bear wants your fish, let him have it (the fish that is.)"
9/13/10 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Josh Rickard and I had been trying to get out one last time before his and Heather's newest family member comes along in a few weeks. We fished the upper Big T well above the Fern Lake trailhead, so far up that we found ourselves at The Pool by about 1:00. It didn't take Josh long to convince me that we should keep going and fish the lower end of Forest Canyon- I think it was his secret plan from the start, though! I had always wanted to fish up there, but hadn't ever gotten around to it- I think I was a little intimidated by descriptions of the approach. The trail to the river is daunting and involves a scramble down a very steep hillside at the end. It was worth it; we caught brookies and greenbacks up to about 12" on dry flies. On the way back, we fished almost all the way back to The Pool before clambering out. Fishing here involves wading up the riverbed, scrambling over boulders, ducking under and climbing over deadfall, a little hand-over-hand climbing over rocks and pushing through brush along the creek. DO NOT FISH THIS AREA ALONE. If you were to get hurt, there would be no way to attract attention. You're down in a canyon, and I doubt even a radio would be of any use.
9/7/10 Scott Bley Mike Kruise	RMNP	Steve Schweitzer asked Mike and Scott along on a hike to Mirror Lake on the north side of the Park. It is a strenuous six mile hike, but the reward at the end is fishing for big brookies. On the way up, the threesome encountered a bear along the trail who would have preferred that they not be in his territory, but after a staredown with Mike, he vamoosed. After a few hours of fishing, they hit the trail and returned home, completing a tough twelve mile day at high altitude.
9/6/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Joe and I returned to the secret venue mentioned below, only to find the water high and dirty from high country rains. Despite that, we both caught fish. The weather was cold and windy, so it didn't make for the best outing. We ran into friends Will and Gary at the trailhead, so we fished with them. Later, the four of us went to Joe Wright Creek inlet to Joe Wright Reservoir. Fishing was pretty poor there- only two fish caught, but our friend Will managed to bag a small grayling.
8/25/10 Dick Shinton	Yampa River	John Veno and I did the long drive over and back to Stagecoach on a spectacular day- not a cloud in a prototypical Colorado blue sky- so blue it just about breaks your heart to fish under it. I forgot my cap and paid for it with a bad facial sunburn and a very well-done scalp. But, on to the fishing: when we walked down the path to the river, we saw incredible numbers of rising BIG fish. We tried a variety of patterns, but a small Para Adams or PMD trailing a mercury bead head sparkle wing RS-2 (say that 10 times) did the trick. I hooked about eight fish during the hour and a half or so the fish were feeding on top. After that we nymphed our way up the river. John caught most of his fish on a Hare's Ear, while I stuck to the trusty Tabou Caddis and pink SJW, and we both had successful and satisfying days on the water. If you haven't fished this water, set aside a day (better yet, several days) and just do it.
8/23/10 Dick Shinton Mike Kruise	RMNP	Mike and I fished a secret stream off a little-used trail in a remote location. Let's just say it was only one notch below wonderful. We caught loads of brookies and various strains of cutts, some pushing 12", but most on the 6-8" range. Every fish took either a dry fly or the Tabou caddis emerger. Great sport, and nice to have some excellent dry fly fishing for a change.
8/18/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Squaretop Lakes	We didn't get home from the Pan until after 9:00 pm the night before, so we delayed our departure 'til 6:00 am. After breakfast at the Cutthroat Cafe in Bailey, we arrived at the trailhead at the top of Guanella Pass at 11,669 ft at about 9:00 am. After a tough hike, we arrived at the upper lake at over 12,100 ft about 11:30. The weather was raw with gusts to about 40 mph, but at least there was no rain. The attraction at these lakes is 20"+ greenbacks. They are predictably hard to catch, but Joe landed a 14 incher and broke off another bigger fish. I only fished about an hour (I'm not much for lakes, even with big fish) and took lots of wildflower pictures. We were back at the car about 5:00 after the cruelest part of the hike- the last 1/4 mile is a steep uphill back to the parking lot. An interesting day...
8/17/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Frying Pan	A cold, dreary day with lots of hard rain, very few of the advertised green drakes, and more than a little frustration. This was the toughest day either of us has experienced on the Pan. I caught 7, and Joe about 10, mostly on nymphs and SJWs, but a few on dries. At the end of the day on the flats below the dam, a few nice fish started rising, but they were put down by a rainstorm hard enough to make us seek refuge in the car with the heater on full blast. Worst part of the day was breaking my favorite rod on the first cast of the day.
8/9/10 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Fished an upper stretch of Glacier that I love because it doesn't get much pressure. I didn't get up there 'til about 3:00 and fished for about three hours, caught plenty of fish on dry flies only, and went home happy.
8/3/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	We decided to fish a stretch of Glacier that is rarely fished- a stretch that takes about 15 minutes to hike down to. As we came close, my ears told me the river sounded awfully loud. My eyes confirmed what my ears were telling me- the river looked like a whitewater kayak course. We fooled around for a little while searching for little quiet patches, but finally gave it up and hiked out. We then went over to the Alluvial Fan to check it out- I'd heard that the high runoff this spring had changed the character of the stream (it did). We fished our way down to the confluence with Fall River. Then the rain started. The river rose about 10" and turned a lovely shade of tan in about 10 minutes. Sooo.... we decided to try the Moraine. On the way over we saw a badger, a first for both of us. We started catching some fish, including some pretty nice browns. Before long, down the river came an hour long shot of very brown water, followed by a half-hour of clear water, followed by another slug of nasty brown stuff... time to go home.
7/26/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	We fished the upper Big T and Glacier with the usual great results. We both had the first grand slam of the season. We took friend Russell Leadingham to show him a little RMNP action- he usually fishes the Reef and the Mile in WY, so he had to learn how to make short little casts into litle bitty spots for smallish fish. Another great day in a local paradise.
7/19-20/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Yampa/Stagecoach	Joe and I fished this beautiful stretch of river for two days. We caught many large fish, mostly rainbows, mostly 18-24". The best fly was the Tabou Caddis Emerger, but we also caught plenty of fish on the pink SJW, Hare's Ear, Barr Emerger, Zebra Midge and a few other patterns. We love going back to this wonderful water because it is not only physically beautiful, the fish are the brawniest, hardest fighting fish in Colorado.
7/15/10	RMNP	Ted Thompson and I were jonesing badly for some time on the upper Big T. We hiked a ways up from the trailhead, and soon were into some wild fish. We worked a stretch of nearly a mile, some of it more than once. It's still a little too high to just get in and wade up, so we had to go in and out on short stretches of trail to fish our favorite places. I was struck by how far down the river the greenbacks have moved in the past few years. I caught 5 or 6 of them on this stretch; in the past I would have been amazed to have caught even one. It's still dominated by browns and brookies, but adding greenbacks to the mix is a great sign that the cutts are healthy and competing well against their introduced (though wild) cousins. Fish took a wide mix of hoppers, beetles, ants, PMD and Red Quill patterns. Quite a few took the inevitable and ubiquitous pink SJW, as well as a few on the Tarheel. Mosquitos are out big time- be sure to apply some repellent (try the new sponge applicator Ultrathon- keeps the stuff off your fingers and, therefore, off your line).
7/13/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Pella Crossing	As if we hadn't had enough on Glacier, we went to Pella late in the afternoon to try some warmwater fishing. I was mostly interested in catching panfish, and Mr. Johnson wanted to pursue big bass and catfish. We both got our wishes, though no cats joined the party. I caught a bunch of sassy, fat sunfish, and Joe caught bass up to 18".
7/13/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Joe and I went with Steve Schweitzer to get some pix for Steve's upcoming book. We were rewarded with some nice fish on various places on Glacier Creek, including rainbows, brookies and browns. The fish are fat, healthy and hungry. The flow is still kinda high, so be careful wading. Lots of fish took terrestrials, pink SJWs and mayfly and caddis dry patterns. Mosquitos and deer flies are horrible this year. Use repellent.
7/6/10	RMNP (mostly)	Wildflowers are out in profusion this year. I get almost as much pleasure from these little gems as I do the fish. Here's what I've seen so far this season: - Wild Iris - Wild Rose - Elephant Head - Pasque Flower - Columbine - Calypso Orchid (aka Fairyslipper) - Pink Pyrola - Pearly Everlasting - Pussytoes - Harebell - Chiming Bells - Shooting Star - Wallflower - Blue Violet - Blue Flax - Geyer Onion - Blue-Eyed Grass - False Asphodel - American Bistort - Sulphurflower - Yellow Stonecrop - Chickweed - Morning Glory - Marsh Marigold - Globeflower - Wild Strawberry - Shrubby Cinquefoil - Wild Geranium - Serviceberry - Sweet Vetch - Lupine - Tall One-sided Penstemon - Fireweed - Scarlet Gilia - Indian Paintbrush - Yellow Paintbrush - Gaillardia (Blanketflower) - Heartleaf Arnica - Monkshood Probably forgot some.
7/6/10	RMNP	I went to the Park specifically to check out the fishability of Glacier Creek. I fished five or six locations, and, while the water is still fairly high, it's very fishable. I purposely tried a variety of flies to see what was working. I caught fish on or had strikes on an LA Ant, Cupboard Ant, pink SJW, PMD, Elk Hair Caddis, a foam beetle and a few others I've forgotten. I also took a detour and fished Mills Creek in the Hallowell Park area- great fun fishing for little brookies (and a few browns) in tight quarters. I finished the day with a short stint on the Big T in Moraine Park. I saw few bugs- mostly PMDs and midges. I've heard reports of good caddis hatches and some Green Drakes here and there, but the major hatches are still to come.
7/6/10 Mike Kruise	My Thirty River Journey	I am half way there to My Thirty River/Lake Journey. I am hoping to get to the western slope a little more in the next few weeks. Rivers to come are the Roaring Fork, Crystal, and the Pan. Tight Lines, Mike
7/2-4/10 Mike Kruise Scott Bley Chad Goodson	San Juan River	We fished two days on the Juan. It proved to be stellar. We definitely got our big fish fix and the Chamois Leech was the king, as well as a WD40. The weather was great with the exception of a large thunder storm that dumped on us for an hour or so. We floated the first day and waded the second. If you are going to make the trip, I would recommend wading and possibly a half day guided trip. It will make the rest of your stay more enjoyable. Come by the shop and I will hook you up on what to use and where to go. Tight lines everyone, Mike
6/28/10 Mike Kruise Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	St Vrain River	Joe, Dick and I did the St Vrain today. We decided to make a day of this high country river. The first half of the day was on the upper north at Wild Basin. The three of us leap frogged each other up the river. I stepped off a couple of times to fish the beaver ponds- it gave me an opportunity to switch over to the rising fish. Rusty Spinner was all I needed on the still water, while Dick and Joe stuck some fish on the river. The second half of the day was on the Ceran St Vrain which also proved to be worthy. The magic for the day was, yes, you guessed it, the Pink San Juan Worm trailed behind a Stimi or a Gold Ribbed BH Hare's ear. I also caught several on a Rusty Spinner. The caddis, PMDs and mosquitos were out in force although not too many rising fish. As the dust settled the day was great, three friends enjoying the day. We saw some animals and caught some fish- it just doesn't get any better than this. Don't let the summer pass you by, get out and go. Tight Lines everyone Mike
6/25/10 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	Wild Basin	The flows are coing down; the water is gin clear and the fishing was on! This is the second time I have been up this week to the Basin. Please be careful wading- some places are swift but for the most part OK. we are guiding the Wild Basin as well, and now would be the perfect time to go. I was using Red Copper John, and a Victorias Secrect or Barney's Little Sister (pink San Juan)- sorry bad humor- also a Mosquito and a Rusty Spinner. The evening was excellent- fish are on the feed. If you need a doctor's note, or want us to call your spouse and tell them your stress is too high and you need a break, we would be happy to help out. Come by the shop and we will get you headed in the right direction. Tight Lines everyone, Mike
6/21/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Pretty much a ditto of the last Wednesday's trip. It was a beautiful day with plenty of fish and good companionship from my best buddy.
6/16/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	We fished the Moraine Park area in the morning, and a section of Glacier Creek in the afternoon with great results. I caught a 16" brown in the Big T, while Joe pulled out about a 14" brown later in the day. Fishing is hot- we caught most of our fish on the pink SJW, but we also caught some on various attractor dries.
6/14/10 Dick Shinton	Beaver Run Trout Ranch	I did my annual volunteer counselor stint at the Colorado Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp last week. We had seventeen Colorado kids and one from Maine this year. Sam Goldstein of Longmont attended; he was sponsored by the St Vrain Anglers chapter of Trout Unlimited. Campers had the opportunity to fish stocked ponds on the Beaver Run property and Cap K Ranch along the Frying Pan. Stream fishing was hard to come by, but we fished the inlet to Reudi Res and Reudi Creek, a small stream flowing into the east side of Reudi Res. The Camp is designed for kids 14-18, and in addition to fishing, provides campers with information on stream ecology, hydrology, entomology, fly tying and much more. If you know a child of this age, have them talk to me about attending next year- it's an activity they'll never forget.
6/2/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Eleven Mile Canyon	Joe and I had only ever fished Eleven Mile Canyon in the winter, so we decided to run down and give it a try in what turned out to be shirtsleeve weather. We both caught some very nice fish in a lovely stretch of water a little below the dam. It was pretty windy, but we could tell BWOs were hatching as they showed up in Joe's seine, and the fish were occasionally sipping emergers just under the surface. The adults were probably being blown away as soon as they hatched, as we saw nary a one. Joe did entice one fish to take a small para Adams, but that was about it for dry fly action. Otherwise, we caught fish (mostly 'bows with a few cutts and browns in the mix) on PTs, Barr Emergers and olive or red midge patterns.
5/29-30/10 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	Yampa below Stagecoach	Mike and Scott returned to one of their favorite haunts with great success. Fishing success was found right off the bat with five or six fish caught in the first half hour on Chamois Leeches. There was excellent dry fly action (#22 Adams) during a BWO hatch in the afternoon. Fish were also caught on black midge larvae and the Frank's Flashy. It was a little crowded, but everybody had space to fish. DOW has blocked off a stretch of the river to protect spawning beds, so an already short river is even shorter. Plan on getting there early if you go.
5/24 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Another scouting trip for a guide party the next day. I started on the N St Vrain in the Wild Basin area. After fishing for about an hour, the wind came up and nearly knocked me over. I decided to go to Moraine Park, where I found total whiteout conditions with the wind blowing about 60 mph- snow going sideways. I drove down Hwy 34 to try the Big T. The wind had died somewhat, but fishing was still tough. I fished for a few hours and caught a few, but called it a day by 2:00 pm. I took my clients next day in lovely 60 degree weather back to Wild Basin and had a great day of fishing on a variety of nymphs trailing the inevitable pink SJW.
5/18/10 Dick Shinton	RMNP	This was a scouting trip for a guide trip the next day. I fished for a few minutes on Glacier Creek, but the water was high enough to make the fishing tough for a beginner, so I went back to Moraine Park. I fished the main stem of the Big T as well as the branch known as Cub Creek on the south side. Fishing was very good with the Flashy and the pink SJW. The day ended with a thunderstorm and just about the most intense hail storm I've ever been in. My client did well the next day.
5/3/10 Dick Shinton Mike Kruise Joe Johnson	Williams Fork	Mike, Joe and I decided to try the Williams Fork. It was the first time for Joe and me. Joe and Mike did pretty well with about a dozen fish each, predominantly rainbows. There was a little topwater action here and there during the day. I hooked and lost three or four fish, but took an 18" 'bow just up from the confluence of the WF with the Colorado. The water was a little low- I'd like to give this river a try at about 80 cfs or so instead of the 50 cfs we encountered.
4/29/10 Dick Shinton	St Vrain- Buttonrock	I took a friend from Chicago who only had a few hours to fish to our local St Vrain waters. We found a hole where we each each landed about 14-15 Hofer 'bows, missed a bunch of strikes and lost 6 or 8 more before landing them. Some of the Hofers are getting to be about 7-8" long already. They are strong fighters and very aggressive in taking a fly- dry or subsurface. The fishing up there has been good enough that we have taken three or four guide trips to the Vrain this spring. Judging by their success in the 'Pan, the St Vrain is going to be an awesome rainbow fishery in a year or so. There should be some 10-12" fish in the river by this fall. Thanks, DOW! BTW, Princes, Hotwire Princes and pink SJWs are a terrific combo right now.
4/26/10 Dick Shinton	Big T- Moraine Park	I fished the south side along the South Lateral Moraine, primarily a brookie stream, and caught plenty of them, as well as a number of browns. The ever-reliable pink SJW did the primary work, and a Frank's Flashy chimed in with a respectable number of fish as well. Saw the first Western Bluebirds of the season, a true sign of spring.
4/23-25/10 Mike Kruise Scott Bley	Bighorn	On Friday, fishing was good to great. The weather was rainy and windy, but it didn't seem to make a difference. On Saturday it was 70 degrees- a blue bird day, and the fishing was off the charts. The midge hatch had the fish boiling from 5:00pm til dark; the magic was a Skinny Nelson and a cream midg e. The weekend was excellent.
4/19/10 Dick Shinton	Big T-Moraine Park	My first time in the Park this spring. Water level was great, about 20 cfs, and I caught a bunch of browns on my favorite springtime combo: a Frank's Flashy and a pink SJW. A couple of bows and a little brookie rounded out my catch.
4/13-14/10 Dick Shinton	Frying Pan	I can't stay away! Clif Carney and I went to the Pan. I had a guide trip on Tues morning, so I didn't arrive until 5:00pm. Clif was nice enough to have a cup of chicken soup and a piece of fried chicken waiting for me, which I consumed on the drive up to mile 8 to start fishing. We fished about two hours and did well. Wednesday we fished the mile 12 area as well as the flats below the dam after lunch. The fishing wasn't as spectacular as my previous trip, but it was good by anybody's standards. We both caught several 'bows and browns in the 18" range on the flats on BWO emergers: the Yoosta-B, my version of the Jujube- it used be a Jujube.
4/1/10 Dick Shinton	Frying Pan	Day 3: April Fool's Day brought serious snow- no foolin'. We got on the river about 9:00. At about 10:30, the snow had accumulated over an inch on the road, and visibility had dropped considerably. I could hardly see my indicator on the water from 20' away because it was snowing so hard. We decided to call it a day knowing that the trip home could be tricky. It was- by the time we got to Vail, the pass was closed, so we backtracked to Minturn and came home over Tennessee Pass through Leadville, which took about six hours. And the fishing? I landed an even dozen and lost another four or five in the hour and a half we fished. It would have been another good day, but leaving early was the prudent thing to do, even though we didn't really want to.
3/31/10 Dick Shinton	Fryingpan	Day 2: The weather was unsettled with showers in the forecast. They came, but only for a short while around lunchtime- otherwise it was dry, if a bit chilly and breezy. We did see some sun about 3:00 that restored some warmth to our old guy bones. I saved the best part for last. I had an honest Abe 60+ fish day. Ted had an outstanding day as well. The Pan is on fire. I fished a three-fly rig of a pink SJW, Frank's Flashy and red Takahashi midge nearly all day, with time out for an hour or so for some dry fly action- this time with an appropriately sized midge emerger trailing a mercury bead RS-2. All of the aforementioned sub-surface patterns caught fish in about equal quantities. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...
3/30/10 Dick Shinton	Frying Pan	Day 1: Ted Thompson and I fished the Pan with limited success. Each of us caught about a dozen fish, mostly on nymphs. There was a big time midge hatch midday, with fish rising everywhere. Ted capitalized pretty well, while I struggled- I concluded that I was using too small a fly- size 28. I had lots of takes but hooking them was a problem. As usual, the pink SJW, Frank's Flashy and various midges in red, black or cream were the most reliable producers.
3/24/10 Dick Shinton	Big T	Fished the canyon in the upper stretches and caught fish on a Prince, a golden stone nymph and the pink SJW. An absolutely beautiful day with the new-fallen snow framing the view up the river. No visible bugs, and no rising fish, so nymphing was the order of the day.
3/23/10 Dick Shinton	St Vrain	I fished the stretch below Buttonrock Dam, starting right by the parking area, where I caught four fish in quick succession, one of which was a hefty 12" sucker. The sucker fought at least as well as the trout. I'll agree they're ugly critters, but I remind myself that they are one of our native species, and they demand respect if for that fact alone. Put 'em back. I continued fishing my way up and caught some nice browns in the 10-12" range, and a little Hofer-cross cutbow. I took a nasty fall and got pretty wet- with the beginnings of the big Tuesday evening snow dump already under way, I decided to call it a day. BTW, most of the fish took that little pink thingy.
3/15/10 Dick Shinton Mike Kruise	Big T	Mike and I fished open water patches in the upper part of the canyon, and did well on orange eggs, pink SJWs, and small midge and BWO dries during a midday hatch. Nice to get out after this looooooooong winter.
2/15/10 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	11 Mile Canyon	Good Grief, it was cold! Joe and I ventured down to 11 Mile to see if we could bend the nice rainbows and cutts in this stretch of the South Platte to our will. We were pretty successful. I (Dick) sight nymphed most of the day and caught some very nice fish, including a 16-17" 'bow. A nice midge hatch commenced about 1:00; I tried my hand at dry fly fishing but to no avail: my eyes just can't pick up those fish, and their rises were just little surface dimples. Joe, on the other hand, with his younger eyes and reflexes, had no trouble seeing the fish and their evanescent riseforms, and he cleaned up to the tune of at least a dozen dry fly-caught fish. The cutts seemed to be the predominant risers, and Joe caught quite a few. This was a particularly good day for me as I haven't had much success at 11 Mile.
2/15/10 Mike Kruise Bryan Powell	Gray Reef	Even though the Reef is partially closed at the favorite Out House hole, it didn't seem to matter. The day started slow with a fish here and there, but right after lunch the light switch was flipped and several times Bryan and I had doubles on; the fish are big and strong. It was a good day on the water. The magic was a scud. I was using orange, Bryan was using a new version, the AP Scud, built by his son, Alex, and it worked very well. Bryan wouldn't share, but I did get a picture of it. Those of us not privy to Alex's work will just have to use an orange scud until we can masterfully duplicate Alex's Fly. Thanks, Alex. Those were a couple of big fish your Dad caught on your fly.... we'll take 10 dozen- can you have them by the weekend? TIGHT LINES EVERYONE now go fish!
1/18/10 Dick Shinton	Blue River	Redemption! No more blues on the Blue. We went to the Blue a few weeks ago, and I had broken my fishing glasses. I couldn't see fish, and it was only with Joe as my spotter that I was able to hook a couple. On top of that, back spasms led me to spend the afternoon sleeping in the car instead of fishing. Monday was a different story. Joe, Josh Rickard and Freddy and Alan Sease and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and give this Gold Medal water another shot. The water is skinny, and the fish are spooky. You need to wade stealthily and make precise casts to individual fish. Indicators are of little use- you've got to watch for the fish to move for your fly and open its mouth and turn before setting the hook. Long story short- we all caught fish and had a great day of cameraderie. Alan Sease is a nice 12-year old that we met in the Park last summer with his non-fishing dad, Freddy. Alan is becoming a pretty good fisherman. While he didn't land a fish on Monday, he hooked one, and that's a big deal.
12/21/09 Mike Kruise	Gray Reef	Mike went with Bryan Powell and Bryan's father-in-law Terry Miller to the Reef. Haven't heard all the details other than Bryan caught a rainbow in the 10 lb class, and lots of other fish were caught as well.
12/21/09 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Blue River	Joe, Ted Thompson, Mark Rayman and I fished the Blue on a near-perfect winter day- temps in the 40s and no wind. I caught a 4" rainbow, hooked and lost a couple others (some days there is no explanation other than that you suck), but everybody else had a heyday, especially Mark and Joe. They both had great dry fly results during the afternoon, in addition to lots of fish on nymphs.
12/1/09	Wolford Mtn Reservoir	John Veno and I went to Wolford Reservoir (6 mi west of Kremmling) for a day of Kokanee Salmon fishing. We fished the gravelly shore of the lake itself, not the stream above the lake where you would expect. The fish seemed more interested in each other (go figure!) than in our flies, but we both caught some nice males and females in their vivid orangey-red colors. We used small jig head flies dropped about 5 feet under a Thingamabobber. These fish were in an active spawning mode, chasing each other around, but it didn't appear that they had completed, or even started, their egg laying and fertilization ritual. It was a perfect Colorado day- about 45 degrees, blue skies and not a breath of wind.
11/23-24/09 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	Frying Pan	What a great trip! Monday was cold, windy and... did I say cold? We fished the middle part of the river for the most part, moving up higher later in the day. I had an all-thumbs period in the middle of the day, but I redeemed myself after I recovered my dexterity (I have an excuse: my left glove actually froze to my ring and little fingers- that's cold). Tuesday was even better. We each caught 40+ fish, including a 22" brown for Joe at the Bend Pool and a modest cutt for Dick on a dry fly at the gauging station. It wasn't the number of fish that made it such a special trip, though. It's the companionship and the beautiful surroundings and those lovely fish that live there. It's catching a fish on a fly you tied yourself and knowing that releasing it allows it to live on to be caught again, and to make more little fish along the way. Are we lucky or what?
11/2/09 Dick Shinton	Big T	Fished only a few hours and caught some very typical Big T rainbows and browns up to about 14". I used a Frank's Flashy as my point fly and a variety of midges or a SJW trailed behind it.
10/27/09 Dick Shinton	Big T	I fished several spots in the catch and release water in the upper end of the canyon. My day couldn't have been different than Mike's noted below. Despite a day-long overcast, I saw about five BWOs, though midges were hatching all day. I saw not a single rising fish, so I stuck to nymphing. I used various combinations of bead head attractors such as Princes, Pheasant Tails and Frank's Flashies, with other stuff trailing behind, including a Rainbow Warrior and a pink SJW. I think I caught at least one fish on every pattern I fished. While I didn't catch a lot of fish (15-16 in ~five hrs, and every one a rainbow), several of them were in the 13-14" range, very colorful, sleek and fat. The T grows very many, very healthy fish.
10/25/09 Mike Kruise	Big T	I went to the Olympus Dam; the day was cold and snowing off and on all morning. I started out nymphing, Pink San Juan and a Zebra Midge. I did really well on both flies. I hooked up a few. After lunch the river began to boil. The hatch was a midge- very small. I used a Colorado RS2; it was like magic. It was the fly. The fish boiled the surface for 2 + hours. I caught several more fish. Any time you can catch them looking up, take advantage of it. So go to the Big T and bring two rods if you can for that quick switch over. Tight Lines Mike Oh yeah- Stanley's Ice Off is a must.....
10/19-21/09 Dick Shinton	Frying Pan	Ted Thompson and I had three glorious days on the FP this week. The weather held, including mostly overcast days, so the BWO/PMD hatches were prolific. We got in 2-3 hours of dry fly action each day, catching fish to 18" on size 22 dries and emergers. The remainder of the days were spent nymphing- mostly trailing a small midge larva behind an attractor nymph. Best combo was a Frank's Flashy (#14-16) trailing a red or Black Mercury Zebra Midge, or a Rainbow Warrior. San Juan Worms were effective, though we did not fish them much other than a few slow periods. Best dries were #20-22 Parachute BWO, #22-24 BWO Sparkle Dun, and some nondescript BWO emerger (we didn't get the name, but we will- it was killer and we need to learn to tie it). This was probably the best fishing I've ever experienced on the Pan.
10/5/09 Dick Shinton	St Vrain-Button Rock	I fished from Longmont Res up the river. The day started with a 14" brown in the Res on a size 22 Griffith's Gnat- it's a pretty sure pattern when the fish are rising to bugs you can't actually see. The morning was slow, but BWOs started hatching around noon, and I caught a bunch of fish on a BWO/RS-II combo- both patterns were effective. Like I said below, it's nice having a quality fishery close to home.
10/3/09 Joe Johnson 9/26/09 Dick Shinton/Mike Kruise	St Vrain-Button Rock	Joe fished this stretch yesterday for a few hours and did well, including catching a few Hofer stockers. Last Sunday afternoon, Mike and Dick fished the same stretch with good results. Mike concentrated on Longmont Res and caught some nice browns, while Dick fished the river above the Res and caught Hofers, browns and brookies. The St Vrain is a nice fishery conveniently close to home.
9/21/09 Dick Shinton	RMNP	SNOW! Clif Carney and I braved the snow and fished the upper Big T. There were no hatches in view, but Clif fished a dry/dropper rig with a variety of patterns and caught fish on an Elk Hair Caddis and a hopper, but mostly on a Pheasant Tail. I nymphed most of the day and caught fish on a Tarheel Caddis and San Juan Worm. I did fish a dry/dropper combo for a short while but had no strikes on the Flying Flip Flop Ant. We didn't catch many fish- probably about a dozen apiece- but it was a beautiful day. The abrupt change in the weather with the cold front coming through probably had more to do with the slow fishing than the snow and lower temperature. Elk bugling within a few hundred feet, even up along the river, was a bonus that added to the day's magic.
9/18/09 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Another great day of mostly dry fly fishing leading to a Grand Slam. During the course of the day I used a Para Adams, Griffiths Gnat, Stuck in the Shuck Midge, PMD, LA Ant, Flying Flip Flop Ant, Tabou Caddis Emerger and the pink SJW. There was a prolific PMD hatch around 3:00pm, but the fish preferred the Flying Flip Flop to anything else. On top of my fishing success, it was one of those beautiful Colorado fall days that we all love so much.
9/15/09 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I took a friend from Chicago, John Crosson, up to the Park late in the afternoon. John had done a guide trip with me earlier this year that we had to end a little early because of darkness. I promised I'd take him out next time he was in town to make up for the short trip. When we got to the river about 4:00, it was very discolored-zero visibility into the water, and it was about 6-8" higher than the day before. There appeared to have been a massive downpour in the headwaters. I took one look at the water and said to myself "No fish today, Myrtle." I had never seen the water in the Big T look so nasty. But, I put on my optimistic guide face and a hopper/dropper rig with a pink San Juan Worm on John's line, and he caught a nice brown in the first hole we fished. As the water cleared and started to drop, the fishing became terrific. We each caught a couple of dozen fish, including some very nice browns up to about 13." John also landed a very pretty 9-10" greenback, and the brookies cooperated, too. We fished until there was just enough light to find our way back on the trail to the car. Great fishing.
9/14/09 Dick Shinton	RMNP	Ted Thompson and I fished the Big T with great dry fly action. PMDs, BWOs and Caddis were hatching off and on all day. My best producer was a size 18 biot body PMD that I've been tying and using this summer. Most fish caught were brookies (mostly males in their showy spawning colors), some browns and a few greenbacks. Great fishing with a great friend.
9/12/09 Joe Johnson	East River	The East River joins the Taylor River near Almont to form the Gunnison. Joe convinced his mother to drive him over there Friday night for a Saturday of fishing capped by the long drive back on Saturday evening. It apparently was worth it as he landed approximately 50 kokanee salmon, and hooked and lost about 50 more. I (Dick) got a call at 9:30 Saturday night from Joe explaining that he wouldn't be in to work on Sunday because "those fish kicked my butt." Poor kid. We all feel sorry for him, don't we?
9/8-9/11/09 Dick Shinton	RMNP	I had three guide trips this week, and I took all my clients to the upper Big T as described below. Everybody, from total beginners to more experienced anglers, caught plenty of fish on a variety of patterns- primarily dry flies. As a guide, I love to see that spark of excitement in new anglers when they catch that first fish. It makes the work that goes into preparing for a guide trip worth it.
9/7/09 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	RMNP	Joe and I fished with Dan Kloster on the upper Big T. Lots of great dry fly action for brookies, greenbacks and a couple of rainbows. The weather was spectacular and the fish very cooperative. Dan used a CDC wing RS-II most of the day, while Dick fished a dry/dropper combination most of the day; Joe mixed it up as is his style, and we all caught lots of beatiful fish. The male brookies are in full spawing regalia and are little jewels.
9/5/09 Mike Kruise Mike DeMott	BIG T	We went to the Big Thompson. The fishing was good; we caught several 10-13 inchers. As soon as the weather started to move in the hatches came out. I was using a drowned Trico spinner and a Cupboard Ant, a test pattern in the store. It proved to fish very well. As I was fishing my Trico with my little 3wt I hooked into the biggest rainbow ever on the Thompson for me- at least 3 pounds, around 20". And me without my net. I managed to get the fish to my side but could not close the deal- a little disapointed at my "almost" fish. I went back to catching my 10 to 13 inchers, but my very next cast, wham, another big fish, again 18 to 20 inches on a Drowned Trico Spinner and WITHOUT MY NET. I actually touched this one before he got away! The evening was great- we caught several fish 8 to 13 inches and almost a twenty inch fat football. The moral of my story: you never know what you will catch- don't leave your net behind. I will be going back to the Thompson SOON- I want redemption! Tight Lines Every one, Mike
9/1-4/09	Snowmass Lake	This was primarily a backpacking trip with a non-fishing friend, but I did have an opportunity to fish a little each day. Caught one 14" cutt and several brookies up to about 12". We kept and ate several fish for dinner one evening- first time I've done that in many years. Have to admit they were tasty cooked over the open coals of a campfire on a chilly evening!
8/22/09 Joe Johnson	Loch Vale	Joe fished the Loch with great results between Noon and about 3:30. Best flies were terrestrial patterns like beetles for cutthroats up to 14" or so. The Loch is a great fishery and only about an hour and a half hike from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.
8/19/09 Dick Shinton Joe Johnson	S Fork of the Poudre	Today was Joe's last day of summer vacation, and we wanted to try something new. We consulted Todd Hosman's Fly Fishing Colorado's Front Range and chose the S Fork of the Cache la Poudre. Our choice was bolstered by a glowing recommendation from our mutual friend Howard just the week before at Mark and Barbara's wedding reception.