October 24, 2015

Flow: 559

Water Temp: 61-65

Paradise Lost…

It is with a heavy heart that I watched my last sunset in front of my little stone house above the river. In the name of progress GOAL Academy and the Nature and Raptor Center have made a deal that will turn my home into offices and classrooms and I have been asked to vacate. In my short tenure as caretaker I’ve got an inkling of its wonder. I met a number of characters and lost souls when the chore of checking the grounds came due every evening. I witnessed incredible winter landscapes on this bluff only to be followed by an incredible spring as two ospreys built a nest and raised two younglings right in front of me. I had the pleasure of seeing the chicks take flight for the first time. All the while I’ve been able to walk to the river and had many weekends where I never started my truck. The stars and the sound of the coyotes have been the only thing that has kept me sane as I took over Trigger Ink and became a business owner again.

In every adversity there is the seed of a greater benefit. After living my life as a rolling stone for twenty five years I’ve bought my first home. A little spit and polish and I have my own fly fisher’s man cave.

Now before I begin this next segment I may need to remind you; my loyal readers, that I wear a lot of hats. I’m an Owner-guide of Steel City Anglers, Owner of Trigger Ink and president of the Southern Colorado Greenback Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Each of these organizations has their own mission and it has been hard over the years trying to keep the media straight on who’s who. Trigger is a screen-print / embroidery / promotional product shop where I work to keep nine employees in paychecks and control the insanity from the fact that most folks think I fart tee shirts and that’s all the work it takes. Steel City Anglers was born from a pro guide (Lou) and a trout whisperer that came from something completely outside the box of the guide schools and wanted an outfit that set their own quality standards, Life guiding and the guests we’ve had has been good. Some have gone on to be guides themselves.

The Mantle of running a Trout Unlimited chapter was something I didn’t aspire for. If I didn’t step up the chapter would have folded. We had a great run of board members that helped get us to where we are now. The chapter is solvent and we’re even sending money to other chapters and even the state level. The Frostbite Fish-Off has become a Colorado institution and I regret to have to put a hiatus on the tourney for a year but we all have to relearn the river after a 7500 cfs summer. The river has changed quite a bit and there isn’t enough time to qualify enough beats to make it as equal opportunity as we strive for. The FFO will be back and bigger than ever. In the meantime we’ll concentrate on our December banquet and annual meeting featuring Landon Mayer. We have openings for a number of leadership roles and I encourage the community to step up.  Most roles take just a few hours a week.

I know, I know… What about the fishing? Flows are still fluctuating and moving trout day to day. Midge hatches in the morning and caddis in the evening have offere some good dry action while the noon hour seems to be the slowest. It is a good time to carry two rods for nymphing/dry/streamer action as it comes up. Cover lots of water and where you find one trout you’ll find many. Fishing the lumberyard the other day produced zip in most structure then eight in one little boulder cluster. Dries were spent bwo and Griffiths gnat and nymphs are zebras or most black midges and scuds.

As we head to winter water storage (Nov 15^th) we’ll be exploring a different river and looking for the winter trophies.

P.S. Lou is one hell of a painter.

Tight lines,

Ben

September 21, 2015

Flow: 410

Water Temp: 64-71

Well that was fun while it lasted. Over the weekend we enjoyed flows around 150 cfs for the first time since March. This was our opportunity to explore and see what the winter holds in store for us. The lower sections below Valco Bridge have been impacted by the 6000 cfs summer and the major weirs have lost sixty percent of their depth from fist sized rock and gravel.  The good news is; unequivocally the trout are still there. The morning bite has been the most productive in the lower section and we will continue to explore the newly changed riverbed.

The upper section is fishing very well and I can report one of the easiest 20+ day since the salad days when no one knew about the Ark tailwater. Trout took a plethora of patterns but the fly that seemed to elicit the come to jebus suicide strike was the rubber leg copper copper.

Tight lines,

Ben

September 13, 2015

Flow: 548

Water Temp: 65-73

 An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I have met that force and it has taken too much of my time lately. The new business (Trigger Ink) is getting its wheels on the ground and I hope to get more time on the river soon. The time I have had to explore has revealed a number of weirs in the lower stretches of the park filled in with sediment. After a historic year of runoff plunge pools that were ten feet deep can be walked across. The next few weeks as the flows drop and water clears will tell the whole story. Stay tuned for that and other news.

Meanwhile the fishing has been a mixed bag. As usual for this time of year the trophy class trout are elusive but the river shows promise of a great winter, Rainbows. Browns and the occasional bass are healthy and fighting hard. Gold rib hares ears above olive midges work well in the morning and the ubiquitous san juan got attention at dusk. The kickoff for the sixth installment of the Frostbite Fish-Off will be October first. All of the previous competitors that have been such a big part of making this such a fun event will get the first invite. You guys and gals are that constant positive force that makes the FFO such a success.

Thank you,

August 12, 2015
Flow: 733
Water Temp: 66-72       
Flows continue to tick down with water clarity following suit. We floated from the dam to my home on Sunday enjoying an empty river and good fishing. Sundays flow was 930 cfs and the edges were noticeably clearer than the last few weeks in the 1100’s. I am pleased to see that the fish have been feeding well and with the stained water trout are suspended. Knowing the feeding lanes when you can’t sight fish is a big advantage. A three fly nymph rig; attractor, Barrs pattern and epoxy chironomids at two to three feet enticed the bigger trout. The fishing is better in the mornings when the water is cooler.
It won’t be long now. Our winter fishery is coming into fine shape and I am excited about the coming season. Just in time as my other endeavor, Trigger Ink is getting up to full speed. So for my shameless plug section of the report come see us at Trigger for all your scrubs, uniforms, custom screen-print, embroidery and promotional gear.
Tight lines,
Ben
P.S., If you find a ghost net with a GoPro attached between the hatchery and Lumberyard it’s mine.

Rainbow Falls Mountain Trout:
Flow 18CFS
Water Temp 50
Rainbow Falls Mountain Trout is a premier fly fishing destination north of Woodland Park.  The seven lakes and Trout Creek are stocked with 12 to 30 inch rainbows, browns, Snake River cuts and cutthroat trout. 

I met Richard and Mike at the Holiday Inn Express and proceeded to Woodland Park, picked up lunch and arrived at Rainbow Falls a little after 9 AM.  The fishing was slow due to cold water and chocolate colored water. There was a light BWO hatch and some midges.  However, they succeeded in landing some nice bows.  The bug of the day was a black bead chronomid size 16.  The fish at Rainbow Falls love that bug!  

Richard and Mike both remarked how beautiful Rainbow Falls is and I cannot agree more.  The Ark is slowly coming down from historic flows and will soon be producing those gorgeous bows and browns we are used to.  We will soon be booking trips on one of the top 10 tail water fisheries in the nation.  In the meantime, book a trip to Rainbow Falls you will not be disappointed I assure you.  The lakes are the best still water fishing anywhere and all this in a beautiful valley on the South Platte drainage.           
Tight Lines,
Lou

April 12, 2015

Flow: 301

Water Temp: 44-52

After a great morning casting with the kids at the Tom Sawyer Fishing Derby -Cattail Crossing pond in P-West (thanks Jenean for putting on such a wonderful event and thanks Mark, Mike Tracy, and Norm for coming out to help) we got the news that the river had dropped from 460 to 301 cfs. Still running gin clear we knew we had to get some of that action. After burgers and sloppers at the Coyote Grille we headed upstream to find an empty river and trout feeding in every column. Nothing massive was landed but any day you can land trout on dries, streamers and nymphs is a good day. Suckers are starting to take over the trout redds and the rainbows are below their own beds feeding on sucker eggs. Zebra midges and olive hares’ ears did the trick for nymphs, swinging thin mints and woolly buggers is a kick in the head and the ubiquitous griffiths gnat sold the risers. Please continue to avoid the redds and explore every inch of structure, trout are everywhere the weather is beautiful and everybody’s home watching the masters.

Tight lines,

Ben

April 5, 2015
Flow: 310
Water Temp: 42-52
The tailwater is fishing incredible right now and while the flows stay below 600-650 trout are everywhere. BWO hatches are getting larger as the days warm. Those patterns along with black midges and eggs are getting the bite. I started using the corQ strike indicators and the natural cork is helping substantially. Life at trout bum paradise is awesome and I’m looking forward to a great summer. Book your trip now before the flows limit the fishable water.  I’ll leave you with the long awaited report Team Chuck and Duck, Trout Unlimited’s 2015 Frostbite Fish-Off Champions.
Have the merriest of Easters
Ben

Well its been a good stint since the weekend of the 2015 FFO and I think it's all finally sunk in. All in all it was just a fantastic day of family, friends, fun, fish, and unexpected twists of epic proportion!
This year was the third year Ben and I have fished the tournament as Team Chuck and Duck. For those of you that might not be familiar with the name, we named our team after my casting style. Especially when hucking slabs of mojo mud and rabbit.
Before I start reminiscing, I just want to thank everyone who is involved with putting on this awesome tournament. I don't know of too many events that are this much fun AND support such a good cause. Everyone at the tournament from the beat controllers to the meal volunteers did a fantastic job and they were all a pleasure to spend time with. Ben Wurster and Lou McCullough did an awesome job as our fearless leaders again this year. Always good catching up with those two. I've learned a lot from them over the past three years about fishing this river. Any time you can help someone catch and release a true gem of nature, you have done the world some good and I am indebted to you both!
I also want to thank all of the sponsors who stepped up. Every year there are a ton of cool prizes for the grab bags, raffle, biggest fish, and top teams. I can't remember how much Ben Wurster said the total amount of sponsor donations came out to this year but the amount of goodies up for grabs this year was incredible. Ben and I had no idea what we were in store for. On to tournament day!

Read the rest at: http://jamiesfishingjournal.blogspot.com/2015/02/2015-frostbite-fish-off.html

March 22, 2015

Flow: 676

Water Temp: 40-48

It’s pizza, beer, tequila and tales at truot bum paradise this evening. In my last post I reported taking over the business I’ve worked for the last five years and with that the work days have been long. I may not have to answer to anyone above me but making sure the team that makes everything come together gets their paycheck is no small measure of concern. My time fishing has to be effective so in the few hours each day I have, I need to educate (myself) and inform and get to the office.

Lou, on the other hand has the time and experience to keep a watchful eye on the river and the fluctuating flows. Keeping a close watch will be a regular quick post on our Facebook page as the rising flows can be dangerous to traverse. Keep an eye on the flows on our webpage during our irrigation season or if you have a question give us a call.

The fishing over the weekend has been great for big, healthy (fat) rainbows. San Juans, RS2’s and BH Zebra  Midges have been the most productive. Rainbows are in all stages of spawn so stay off the redds and net trout above and below the redds quickly. Book your trip now while we can hit the hot spots and enjoy remarkable spring days.

Tight lines,

Ben

March 15, 2015

Flow: 317

Water Temp: 40-48

Luck is a physical law as much as gravity is. Luck; or “good fortune” is a set of circumstances that favor to bold in life that do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. The law of inertia is well more known; an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Put the two together as a modus operandi and you equal success.

I had the opportunity this month (with my colleague and graphic artist) to buy out the business I’ve worked for the last five years. Steel City Anglers has been easy to manage from a business standpoint , no employees, rent and little inventory. We sell ourselves, give all our knowledge to our guests and give back to the river through TU and it all come back to us tenfold. I just dove in head first with nine employees and a massive book of business shipping worldwide. Thank you Luke and Jamie for the great deal on Trigger and the opportunity to keep this empire growing.

Fishing the Ark tailwater has been the same formula. Do the right thing and keep positive inertia the rewards will come. Fishing has been technical to say the least, but perseverance pays off! With the flows going up trout are moving around and sight fishing is abundant. The increased flows are churning up some sediment with clearer patches upstream.

Saturday Lou pulled on of the ballsiest moves I’ve ever seen in guiding. He took two rookies off the tailwater to the HARP river walk flowing at two cfs. Ten carp and three rainbows later I have to say he called it right. I joined the troupe around 2:00 after a Project Healing Waters orientation at Peterson AFB. I gave a hand and after the trip was done I waded in and pulled out a carp, smallmouth and bluegill. After my rainbow from just out of the Nature Center deck I only needed one more species for a grand slam but I hung it up as dusk brought a cold breeze. Fish your confidence patterns all day like it was your first cast.

Maybe I’m jaded by the “luck” we’ve had but I’m astonished by the negative blogs by some southern Colorado guides complaining about the crowds, improper handling of trout, fist fights slashed tires (looks like force majeure to me) and arguments on the river. Rather than give people a sour look all day we will continue to be cordial but diligent in educating those new to the sport where and where not to fish.

Book your adventure now before the river blows out. The river at spring flows has a lot to offer.

Tight lines,

Ben

March 1, 2015

Flow: 174

Water Temp: 34-39

Q: Can an angler catch carp on an early march on a twenty degree day?

A: Apparently it is. The Higher flows certainly are making trout explore and the fight and colors are great. San Juans and grey RS2’s are working well. But carp were calling so I made my way to meet Lou at one of the local guides’ spots for golden bones. The flow there is almost nonexistent. The few trout in the riverwalk probably won’t survive the drop. The same holds true for the urban section of river and the reconstruction of the levy. This is one of those fights we wouldn’t be able to win. Without the work downtown Pueblo could be in jeopardy and businesses would be subjugated to flood insurance. We have assurances that the structure downtown will be put back as it was found and, in the end, the lower tailwater will bounce back. Everything in my back yard however is fishing great. As the weather warms up the fishing will continue to be fantastic.

Tight lines,

Ben