Saturday, February 26, 2011

Still Winter here but soon...

Today I headed out to the river for the first time this year. Not that I didn't want to go earlier, but family scheduling did unfortunately not allow for any river time until today. If I remember correctly, it was mid-December when I last headed out with my friend Will for some fishing in Waterton Canyon. 

The weather did only partially cooperate today; I wanted to head to the South Platte but the forecast called for gusts up to 50mph. Combine that kind of wind with your ultra light Tenkara rod and you might just as well go for a hike. I decided instead to head to Bear Creek that should have been somewhat sheltered in the canyon compared to the South Platte (gusts to 20mph instead of 50mph). 

I arrived around 9am and it was already in the 40ies. I hoped for a nice day of fishing... I decided to fish today with my new Caddis 330 and Tenkarabum's No. 3 level fc line (wind, remember?) and wanted to put my new Tamo that I received for Christmas to good use. 

Well....... it seems that I still have no clue how to fish in the Winter. I worked all the spots where I would hang out were I a trout and then some. Midges, nymphs and even dries (hey, you never know).  I guess it didn't help that some of the river was still frozen and snowed over and the water was really really really cold. I will have to either fish more in the Winter and collect experience and pay my dues or I should just go ski. I hear the skiing in Colorado should be really good. I wouldn't know since I haven't skied in Colorado since moving here in 2008. That is a story for another time though.

Anyway, I enjoyed the day out in the sun, trying to cast and catch some fish in some of the water that wasn't solid. The review on the Fountainhead Caddis 330 and the Tamo will have to wait for another day. Hopefully soon. 

Here are some pictures of today:









River Notes:
Bear Creek
Flow: 15cfs
Water Temp: cold (partly solid) 
Air Temp: 44F @ 9am, 52F @ 2.30pm
Weather: Sunny, very windy/breezy

7 comments:

  1. Yup, looks mighty chilly to me.

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
  2. yep - I think that's what the trout thought too, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You should try the Arkansas, below the dam in Pueblo. It is tail water so it doesn't freeze, and I have fished this in Feb, nymph during the earlier part of the day and actually dry flies in the afternoon. Great spot to try the Tenkara as the flows are down and you can fish from the rocks. Enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Derron, the Ark at P is on my list, but just a bit too far for a quick day of fishing. I was hoping to be able to fish some stretches of the Ark this year, not just at Pueblo but also further upstream all the way up to the headwaters. Have you fished there?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not yet as I just learned fly fishing in Sept of 2010, but go almost every weekend. I want to get a tankara rod, but just have not found the funds for it. I live in Denver as well, and it takes maybe a 1hr 20 min to the Ark. Leave here around 930 or 1000 and gives you a good 5 hrs on the river. I do a bit of hiking as well and can not wait to try out some small streams as soon as they thaw. Spring time try the Poudre, where I learned to fish, only been skunked there once.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Let me know if you want to give Tenkara a shot around Denver and tag along with me; I have a "cheap loaner" from Fountainhead. Shoot me an email through the "contact me" if you like.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, I will take you up on that for sure.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete