April 27, 2013
Flow: 98
Water Temp: 52-60
It was a difficult day for Steel City Anglers today folks. Not the fishing but the morning.
We strive to give the best possible experience to our clients and  the biggest part of that is preparation. By 7:00 last night I had everything
rigged, tied, cleaned and ready for the mornings guided outing. I decided to load the truck the night before to save a few minutes in the morning.
What I found as I stepped out my front door and greeted the dawn devastated me. My truck had been broken into and my guide pack was gone. Thousands of dollars’ worth of flies, tools, leaders, jackets and all the gear neatly organized over years were swept away in an instant.
It will take a little while to replace the gear and I’m a little irascible at the moment but I’ll recover rapidly. I won’t allow a single miscreant to deter my belief that people are good. The actions of the one misguided person makes a stain on the rest. I refuse to let the few bad elements change my belief. I’m humbled by the support and outpouring from all our friend out there and I’ll be forever grateful.
Today’s fishing was slow until I started stripping an olive woolly bugger. After that it was crush, crush, and crush. A bent rod will change your prospective instantly. The spawn is over and trout are looking for protein. Rainbows are moving into fast shallow runs and sight fishing opportunities abound.
I Have a lot of new gear to buy and our bills are paid I will give the next five guests that book a trip or gift certificate paid in advance a 30% discount on their trip.
Tight lines,
Ben

April 21, 2013

Flow: 81

Water temp: 48-56

It’s been a long spawn but it’s finally over.  Trout are starting to get back to feeding and getting bigger. We’ve had a busy week with great guests, the business and lifestyle expo and giving back to the Nature and Raptor Center on their earth day celebration. I just got word that the trip we donated went for a lot of money. Fishing has been a little slow with no fault to the trout. I managed to loose every good fish I hooked today. We had a nice flushing flow early in the week but the water is clear again and trout are feeding in shallow water making great sight fishing opportunities and wary trout. Fly selection didn’t seem to matter near as much as depth and presentation.

The expo was a blast and we met a lot of soon to be converts. I managed the Trigger Promotions booth while Lou held down the fort at Steel City Anglers. Somehow we were placed at opposite ends of the expo so I put the Shanks’s Ponies to work. We had a great time and met some great people. 

We anticipate fishing to improve dramatically in the next few weeks as water temperatures rise and caddis start hatching in earnest. Book your summer trips now to ensure your date.

Tight lines,

Ben

April 17, 2013

Flow: 121

Water temp: 46

What a great week folks. Saturday we saw more bass in our top secret weir and Sunday brought flushing flows that called for a change in tactics. The small j hooks including the one in my namesake produced big hungry trout. The spawn is finally ending with some rough looking fish and a little mortality from anglers fishing the reds. After surveying a lot of the fisherman targeting spawning trout I found for the most part they’re doing it out of ignorance. We have a lot of freshman anglers out there to my delight and that is just a part of it. Leave the spawning trout be and karma will reward you.

We’re getting ready to announce a summer carp tourney July 20^th to raise money for the Nature and Raptor Center. Mark your calendar as it will be a great time. Prospecting for the tourney Lou hit the riverwalk with a red san juan worm.

Join us tomorrow at the 2013 Business and Lifestyle Expo at the Pueblo Convention center. We’ll have a mound of fish porn and be having a great time opening our corporate market.

Tight lines,

Ben

April 9, 2013
Flow: 70
Water Temp: 54
An old friend made back to the Steel City over the weekend so we decided to play hooky and show off river improvements. We’ve been so busy with trips and helping the Southern Colorado Greenback Chapter ...of Trout Unlimited the chance to fish with an accomplished angler was a welcome change. Monday’s weather was fantastic showing no sigh of what was coming.
Trout are at the end of their spawning cycle and those still on beds are tired and weak from a long spawn. We observed the first redds in early February. As you move downstream you’ll see less beds and heartier trout. Please let them be as the mortality rate can be much higher now.
Not wanting to bother the spawners we took up the challenge of Arkansas River Bass. One of the few spots we keep under our hat was prime and waiting for us. Norm ended up with a grand slam with rainbows, largemouth, smallmouth, white suckers and walleye. I landed a personal best river smallie at 18”. For details on river bass tactics call your friendly Steel City Angler guides or book your trip online.
Tight lines,
Ben

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Flow: 74
Water Temp: 50-57
Pueblo can take pride today in our river, our community and in a hard days work. The Southern Colorado Greenback chapter of Trout Unlimited (Pueblo) and the Cheyenne Mountain TU chapter partnered with Pete Gallagher of Fin-Up Habitat Consultants and Doug Krieger from CPW to restore the river to a natural state. It’s an inspiring thing to see how hard folks work when they’re doing something they believe in. We had 48 volunteers today and each and every one of them bust their tail digging, planting and removing any marking that a massive restoration project just happened. I am so proud and amazed of the contribution you all made. At the same time everyone had fun and the Cheyenne Mountain chapter provided us with a spectacular feast. I am honored to be president of this organization giving back to this river that has given us so much.

 We saw the first caddis of the season forbearing the end of the spawn. The trout that are still on their beds are tired and weak. Give them leave as they’ve had a long spawn. Fish a tapered rig as in previous posts and cover lots of water.

Thank you Pueblo from the bottom of our hearts,

Ben and the trout.