Fishing Big Meadows Lake

WOW, is all I can say. My step mother's grandchildren showed up this week and wanted to go fishing. So, I rounded up enough fishing poles for three kids and Paula and I and we headed to Big Meadows. It was a rainy kind of day but we braved the intermittent showers and walked around the edge of the lake to a spot away from the crowds near the parking lot.

Walking past the people right by the boat ramp, I could see many stringers full of rainbow trout and I stopped and visited with some of them to inquire about what they were using.  

The standard power bait type configuration was working the best for them and so we had several poles baited with that and Paula used the bubble and fly she is famous for. One person tried various lures including a Needlefish from the bank.  Both the fly and bubble and the Needlefish yielded a few fish over about two hours. I believe for maximum impact the lure needs to be trolled to give it the proper action and also to be exposed to the greater number of fish. I saw a man and a woman in a small boat land 4 fish in a distance of not more than 200 yards trolling past us.  

We sat there for quite some time without much action but when it opened up, it was fast and furious especially on the rod with the power bait. Sometimes there were fish on 3 poles at once and getting them off the hook and on the stringer and back in the water was hilarious to watch.  

The kids had a blast as they had not fished ever before and so success was paramount to a good day for them. If you are taking a younger person fishing, find a honey hole where they are assured of catching fish so they have a positive experience the first time out. That helps them to enjoy it and maybe continue to want to go fishing.  

I can name dozens of people who were taken fishing either once or over and over as a child and either didn't get to fish or didn't catch anything and it soured them on the experience. While catching fish is not the only reason we go fishing, it does add to the time afield and makes us ready to go again.  

We cleaned the fish and each of the kids wanted to attempt that. With a lot of squealing and saying "yuk" and "gross" multiple times, they finally did get the heads off but the rest of the process just was too much for them, even in rubber gloves.  

But they are now wanting to go all the time and I think I created 3 more fishermen to support the future of our sport. Remember, license fees, taxes on equipment and user fees in campgrounds all help our Division of Wildlife fund programs that maintain and expand our parks, forests, waterways and wildlife populations.  

Don't delay your fishing trip if you want some tasty trout for the pan. Its great out there in all area lakes.

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Kristen and Jarrod with our limits.

Fishing with The Boys

My cousin's two boys are here in South Fork visiting their grandmother and of course, they have enough energy for several of us put together. Mom and grandma wore out yesterday and so I took the boys and we went up on Park Creek to try a little fly fishing.

Its so hard for those two women to take the boys up on the streams to fish and they worry too much about them and wont let them experience the frustrations and solve their own problems with lost flies, leaders stuck in trees and all the things you have to master on your own. They are 12 years old and its time they learn those skills if they are to master the sport.  

We parked and after a coin toss to determine choice, one of them went down stream and one started at the truck. I drove on up the creek to a better access point for me an told them to fish up to me and see how we were doing at that point.  

I stepped down next to the stream and immediately was onto a nice 10 inch brown. We had rigged up with basically the same flies before starting. A #16 Royal Coachman or #16 Elk Hair Caddis on top and #14 Bead Head Prince Nymph on the bottom. After I caught and released about 8 fish, I got a knot in my leader that I just could not work out and so cut my line and tied on just the caddis dry fly as that was what was drawing the most attention. Many times, in the smaller streams, two flies are just too much to handle and its just more productive and easier to fish with one fly at that juncture.

I continued up the small stream and ended up with 14 fish all but one being 10 to 12 inches. Not huge but typical of these area streams and great sport on a light rod and line. The boys finally caught up with me and had each caught fish so it was a successful outing. They had their problems with tangles and lost flies but such is dry fly fishing in small streams with overhanging trees set to snag every cast.  

We only fished about two hours and its so nice to live close enough to the streams to be able to do that and get home for other commitments later in the day. I believe that the middle part of the day is best in those small streams as the longer we fished, the less bites and attacks on the flies.  The warm sun on the middle part of the day signals small insect hatches and I am sure that triggers the bite.  

Today long slow rainy morning and so I have not had a chance to get out much. Chores and writing duties keeping me busy and chatting with kids and friends on facebook keeping me updated on their lives. What a wondrous tool the internet has become.  

These intermountain showers will continue through mid August and so one has to just be patient for those stellar days that frequent the area. Grab a rod and get out there on your first opportunity and get a few fish for me.  

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Fishing South Fork and Creede Colorado.

We have seen another excellent week of fishing here in the Rio Grande basin both from the shore, by boat and also wade fishing the streams. Power baits are all producing limits of nice rainbows in the area lakes. The newer styles of that bait made by Gulp which look like a small rubber pea are really easy to use and stay on the hook so much better than the standard power bait type formula. I recommend three of the pearl sized beads on a number 6 hook and about 3 small split shot to get it out and on the bottom of the lake. These baits last a long long time and if you use some good needle nose pliers, you will be able to recover your hook, bait and all from the fish you catch.

A good fly and bubble combo is also producing limits on days with overcast skies and a slight ripple on the water. My girlfriend Paula loves to fish like this and has done quite well lately fishing in the evening with this rig.  

Spinners, Rapala's, Needlefish and gold castmaster spoons also working well trolled or from the bank. A slow retrieve will bring nice fish to the net and make for a great meal if you so choose.  

Fly fishing is slow on most days as the rivers are low. The water is hotter than normal and the fish become sluggish in moving to dry flies. A good dry fly on top and dropper with a Prince Nymph still seems to be producing fish if a slow approach is used.  

For more or specific information, please feel free to fill out the contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible. My goal is to make it easy for everyone to catch fish and have a great time.  

Nine pound Rainbow Trout caught on a Number 5 Rapala. Now this is a nice fish and very rare these days.

Fishing the South Fork of the Rio Grande

Yesterday broke smokey and hazy due to the forest fires in the area and it just hung around all day. We were invited to a house party at my dear friend Susan's house. The picture below shows the view off her back deck and the evening turned out perfect. Everyone showed up with their favorite drink and snack and we had great fellowship around the tables out back.

My friend Phillip picked up one of Susan's rods and started fishing and I watched him for awhile but he had no luck. There was a 2.5 inch rainbow trout color rapala on the pole and I did see some fish follow the lure. When he put the rod down I could not help myself and immediately got the rod and started casting.

The water is extremely low for this time of year and I could see the fish chase the lure in the calmer waters but they would not hit it. Pulling out a trick used in the past, I began a rapid retrieve with a pause then a hard jerk to make it seem like the minnow was escaping. This brought about jolting strikes and often if not hooked the first time they hit, the fish would come and hit it again on the same retrieve. This shows the importance of changing your tactics if you are not connecting on fish on a certain day. I walked up the bank along her property and in about a half block length of river, I caught 14 brown and 1 rainbow trout. The biggest was 16 inches and the smallest 10 inches. It only took me about 30 minutes to catch and release these fish so they were really biting. I think the low numbers of fisherman here at the present time has helped the fishing as there is leas pressure on the fish now.

The water is warm and so care must be taken when releasing fish to get them back in the water as fast as you can.

Some buddies also reported fishing one of the lakes here this week and 10 guys got their limit in about one hour. NOW THAT is some fishing fun. These are stockers for the most part and put in those lakes for that purpose.

Don't let a little smoke get in your way of fishing this summer. There are some great deals on cabins and motels and other activities here now and still 1.81 million acres of forest to enjoy. And that's just in the Rio Grande National Forest. This was an excellent place to fish as I could stand on the grassy bank and not have any uneven surfaces to navigate. I always keep that in mind when I want to fish and its a great example of access for anyone. The rains have begun and I think that will only help the fishing with a little color added to the streams and rivers and lakes. Come on out and let the fun begin.

South Fork of the Rio Grande, South Fork, Colorado.