South Platte Pro-Am Carp = Slam

The South Platte Pro-Carp Slam has been = postponed until=20 September 8, 2007 due to extremely high/dirty water = conditions. =20 Spots for interested fisherment are still available .....call Tim = Emery at=20 303.517.9197 for more information. 

Since 1982, emergency rooms and clinics = across the=20 nation have reported all eye injuries to a U.S. Eye Injury = Registry at the=20 Birmingham-based Helen Keller Foundation. Two years ago, eye = injuries from=20 fishing surpassed eye injuries from basketball as the No. 1 = sports-related=20 eye injury.

"Within 48 hours, rangers and biologists would stand = amid the=20 tall grasses on the  banks of one of the nation's most famous = trout=20 streams (Firehole River) and watch in sadness as several hundred - = and=20 perhaps 1,000 - big and small trout were swept downstream, the = white=20 bellies of their corpses reflecting the sunlight.  It was the = largest=20 fish kill known to biologists in the 135-year history of the = park." =20 Rich Tosches, The Denver Post 

Extremely hot weather in Montana has forced the  2 p.m. to = midnight fishing closures on 29 water bodies across the state. = Fishing=20 operations are really feeling the heat as low snowpacks, early = springs,=20 scorching summers and ongoing drought put the squeeze on their = bottom=20 line.

On July 20 the National Park Service implemented 2 p.m. to 5 = a.m.=20 closures on virtually all streams below 7,000 feet in = Yellowstone. =20

The upper Yellowstone River from the northern border of = Yellowstone=20 National Park through Livingston was not closed last summer, but = it closed=20 on July 19th this year from the park all the way to Billings.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks guidelines state streams = should be=20 closed if temperatures reach 73`F for three consecutive days. A = river can=20 be reopened if temperatures drop to 70`F for three consecutive = days. =20

Colorado has had its share of problems particularily on the = Yampa River=20 which has been running one-fifth of its normal flow in July with = water=20 temperatures exceeding 70 degrees.  As a result, the Division = of=20 Wildlife has asked anglers to observe a voluntary fishing closure = on the=20 Yampa through Steamboat Springs, which has been observed by those = who=20 frequent the river. 

Thank Goodness...Another = Fly Rod=20 Company

Ross Reels has decided to get into the = business of=20 selling flyrods.  Naturally,. you've got to have have a = recognized=20 expert to make the pitch.  Mel Krieger was enlisted to fill = the role.=20 Their "Essence Series Fly Rods" will retail starting at $99 and = will=20 include a rod case and sock.   Guess what? They will = also be=20 available as a complete outfit coupled with a Ross reel.

I see quite a few anglers fish streamers = with a=20 high rod tip while retrieving the fly.  Keep the tip below = the belt=20 level so that you will be in better contact with your = fly.  Many=20 good streamer fishermen actually place the tip in the water or = within=20 inches of the surface.  A high rod tip is even more of a = problem on a=20 windy because the wind catches the line and drags the fly = continiously=20 along in an unnatural manner.

Try to keep slack out of the line.  When you = flip the=20 rod up and down the fly darts forward then falls back with too = much=20 slack.  This can result is missed hookups.

As you cast across stream follow the line with the = rod=20 tip.  Try to position the fly with your cast so that it will = swim=20 along the bank.  This gives an optimum profile to any fish = which is=20 close to the bank.

If you really want to get better at fishing = streamers buy or=20 rent Kelly Gallup's DVDs on the subject of tying and fishing = streamer=20 patterns.  His stuff is the best I've seen on the subject. =

How to spot a novice?  Failure to mend the fly line to = prevent=20 drag.  In most cases drag on the fly spells lack of interest = on the=20 part of fish.  To catch fish consistently with a fly rod, = you've got=20 to be able to control how your fly and your fly line are affected = by a=20 river's various currents. When you're fishing with a dry fly or a = nymph,=20 one of the keys to a good presentation is a =E2=80=9Cdead = drift=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 when the fly=20 drifts naturally in the current, as if it weren't attached to = anything.=20 Mending your line means you are throwing it upstream or = downstream=20 after the fly hits the water. 

Five Rules of = Mending
1. Mend as soon as the fly touches down, before the = line has=20 time to bond to the water's surface.
2. Begin the mend with = your rod=20 tip close to the surface of the water.
3. Try to mend the line = at the=20 hinging point,(where the mended line meets the unmended line) you = don't=20 want to move the fly out of position
4. Lift your rod tip high, = even=20 over your head, during the mend.
5. Mend with authority - a=20 half-hearted mend rarely moves enough = line.

Fly fishermen along Colorado's Front Range are unable to resist = the=20 allure of Wyoming's North Platte River. It's close and offers = great=20 fishing without the crowds and pressure found in so many Colorado = locales.=20 That's why so many "greenies" (Wyomingites' euphemistic term for=20 Coloradans because of the color of the Colorado license plate) = head=20 north....click=20 here 

Fly Tying &=20 Such 

 Why Tie Flies = .... you can always buy what you need =

Wrong.  Fly tying is a essential part of becoming a better = fly=20 fisherman.  Aside from obvious satisfaction, you will develop = patterns or make modifications to your standby flies that will = make a=20 difference on local waters.

If you are new to fly tying, TAKE A CLASS. You will learn all = the small=20 things needed to start tying and this will help to keep the = frustration=20 level down. This can be very frustrating at first, once you learn = the=20 basics and learn to open your mind this will become very relaxing. =

All that can stop a good fly tier is = his=20 imagination.

Get on the list for fall clases at Front Range Anglers....click=20 here

Caddis Larvae.....always on the = menu

In rivers, Caddis larvae can be divided into three basic types; = case=20 builders, net spinners and free-living roamers.

All caddis larvae are subject to periodic behavioral drift = cycles. This=20 is how populations disperse themselves. Both Free-living and net = spinning=20 caddis larvae can produce a silken strand very much like spider = web. To=20 move down stream they will hook their line to a rock and then = rappel=20 themselves down stream. They are often dangling in the current for = long=20 periods. During these periods entire populations can be exposed to = trout=20 which will key on them exclusively.

Case builders construct tubular homes from small stones or = vegetable=20 matter. Each specie has a defining way that it constructs its = cases. Some=20 will be smooth, other are rough. Some are square in cross section, = others=20 are round. When cased caddis larva of most species migrate, they = simply=20 turn loose of the river bottom and let the current sweep them down = stream.=20 The case tumbles and rolls. The larva is often extended from the = case=20 waiting to grab onto the riverbed. Usually the dark head / legs = and the=20 light thorax are highly visible to the trout. Fish "key" on these = dark and=20 light bands.

Don't Forget the Woolly Worm

Don Martinez, a fabled fly tier in the Yellowstone Park area=20 whose business was ultimately taken over by Bud Lilly,  = was=20 chiefly responsible for popularizing the Woolly Worm.  You = don't see=20 them very often but they still work wonders.  And an = tremendous=20 number of patterns have their basis in this fly including the = wooly=20 bugger.  The way Martinez tied the pattern is worth=20 understanding.  He attached the hackle at the bend of the = hook by the=20 butt and wound it forwad with the dull or concave side facing the = hook=20 eye.  He wanted the fibers to point forward and he wanted the = soft=20 portion of the hackle to undulate during the retrieve.  = According to=20 what I've read he like to fish it in slow moving water with a = slight=20 twitching of the line.  In the 1950's this fly was probably = one of=20 the most popular in the West as an imitation of giant stones, = dragon flys,=20 crane flies, etc.  In the 1960's I always carried them with = me and I=20 recently started doing it again.

 

Looking = Back

The senior citizens at the turn of the century had = many of=20 their priorities in order...click=20 here

 You've Got to be=20 Kidding!

"As soon as I (Rick = Cannon of=20 Lakeland, Florida) took the slack out of the line, this fish just nailed it. I = jammed that=20 thing home a couple of times, it took off and it cleared the line = off the=20 deck.

I stepped to = the right,=20 and about that time the fish jumped. And when I turned the = trolling motor=20 on, the momentum took me right on out. I hit the water, and my = thought=20 process was, 'I've got my hat and my sunglasses. That's good. But = my cell=20 phone isin my pockets, and that's not good. But the fish is still = on,' "=20 he said

Now = wet, Cannon=20 felt the trolling motor bump his right arm as he treaded water."=20

Read the rest = in a story,=20 "This Time the Fish Won" written by Del Milligann in the = Florida=20 Ledger.....click here =

How about a twin-hulled catamaran kayak with a large open = cockpit=20 and longitudinal 54-inch-long bench-style seat designed for = sitting,=20 kneeling, crouching, or standing while fishing or participating in = other=20 recreational activities.  The video is pretty convincing...click=20 here

=20