Fly Fishing Colorado Newsletter
Volume 4 • Issue 2 • Fall 2011
Welcome to the Flyfisher Group Newsletter. As the top Fly fishing Guide service in Colorado, we seek to be your information hub with all items related to fly fishing. Whether you are looking for river conditions, informative articles from the industries top associates or a fun piece of literature, this monthly mailing will have it.
A Quick Guide to Colorado Late Season Fly Fishing
Fall and winter is a great time to practice your fly fishing skills. The weather and scenery provides for some of the most pleasant and aesthetic days on the water and the fishing can be a little more challenging; the water is generally lower and a little colder than normal. The brown trout are spawning, adding a lot of food into the river in the form of protein rich eggs. Also, you have fewer insects to decipher, in the fall you can generally expect to catch most of your fish on small mayflies such as blue winged olives, midges, eggs, and forage items such as minnows and leeches.
Key Points to Fall Fly Fishing:
- The key to success lies in your ability to read the water.
- Start out fishing a nymph rig.
- Be stealthy and use the clear water to sight fish.
What Should You Fish?
- A favorite fall nymph rig is the egg/pheasant tail combo.
- Blue Winged Olive mayflies are the most prolific hatch on most Colorado trout streams during the fall months.
- For a nice change of pace, try stripping streamers off the banks.
Winter Fishing:
- The key in the winter is to find deep holding water. The water temperature has cooled down significantly and so has the trout’s metabolism. Most of the feeding takes place during the warmest part of the day, and the insect of choice is predominately midges. Once you have located the fish, a three fly nymph rig is going to be your best bet.
For the full article on Fall/Winter fly fishing with fly details, read our blog by clicking here.
Local Anglers Perspective…
Every time you are on the water there is an opportunity to learn more and grow as an angler. Whether you are fishing alone or on a guided trip you can expand your knowledge of the waters and the fish in them. In August a long time angler but a first time client of The Flyfisher Guide Service, realized that there is always something to learn. "I've been fishing with my father for years and I thought I knew how to fly fish. But after my experience with your guide, I can honestly say I didn't know much. Now I'm 10 times the fisherman I was before."
We want to hear from you! Send us anything you want to say (within reason) regarding fly fishing.
- Did you have an EPIC fishing experience you want to share?
- Feel you are a lyricist - send us your latest poem or cartoon!
- Have an amazing catch – show off and send us your picture!
Send your stories and pictures to to see them posted in the next month newsletter.
From the other side of the riverbank…
Now that I have felt the rush of the catch and the calm of the water, I want to learn the basics to fly fishing. I want to know everything about fly fishing including the history and the reasons why certain techniques and tools work the way that they do. Fly fishing is becoming a passion and a very fun hobby, but since I am a never-ever angler, obtaining this information can be a bit, well embarrassing. I do not usually play sports because I do not like to admit I do not know what I am doing or am not already a master at it (hence why I still do not golf). But I want to know the lingo, gear and tools to be the best angler I can be. Since I have a plethora of resources at my disposal, I went ahead and asked for help and guidance. Over the past month I have asked questions, listened to fish stories and sought out lessons from our Client Services Coordinator and a long time angler, Kelli Johnson.
Here is what I learned. First, it is called a rod, not a pole. You may think that is obvious but to many newbie anglers it is not so apparent. If I want to “fit in” and be an angler I need to walk the walk AND talk the talk. Second, when rigging your line it is best to loop the fly line in half so that if you drop the line it does not fall all the way back through your guides. The third lesson that Kelli taught me was about sizing in the world of fly fishing. The number associated with a material or tool does not always reflect how you would logically think it would. What I mean is that the larger the size on tippet and flies, the smaller they actually are! Kelli explained that tippet used to be made out of intestines or silkworm gut and each time it was sized smaller, it received a value. Meaning that tippet receiving no modification is 0x. One set of modification is 1x, 2 sets of modification is 2x and so on. Therefore, the higher then number, the thinner the tippet. My fourth lesson was on watching the water. Now that fall and winter weather conditions are coming into effect, the way the fish are feeding and habituating is changing. I was instructed to really watch the water and look for where the fish are active. If I see a fish but he is not moving and not interested in the hatch, he is most likely not going to be intrigued by my fly. Look for bug activity and fishing actively moving beneath the surface or coming to the top to feed. Those fish are going to bite.
These are obviously just a few basics that I have learned in my quest to cross over to being a full fledge angler, but I think they are a strong start. These little pieces of information and advice have provided me with the confidence to actually shop at a fly shop and discuss my husbands’ day on the water. Thanks to great co-workers that just happen to be the best guides out there, little by little I am learning the skills and understanding the lingo that will help me to be the most successful angler that I strive to be. And I am learning all of this from my perspective from the other side of the riverbank…
The Guide Corner
Make sure to check out Angling University for upcoming classes for you and your whole family. These are the perfect opportunities to expand your personal knowledge of fly tying and fly fishing.
Name: Learn to Catch Trout
Location: Williams Ranch
Upcoming Dates: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Course Description: Our most popular course this all inclusive (fishing
license not included), 6-hour interactive workshop for beginner fly anglers
includes actual stream time and the lab portion of the class takes place at
one of our many Blue Ribbon/Gold Medal trout streams. In this course, you
will learn about fish identification, equipment, and knots, entomology
related to fly selection, casting, fighting, landing, and safely releasing a
fish. This course combined class time with our revolutionary interactive
lecture series. Click here to register!
Name: Rod Building 101
Location: Trout's Fly Fishing
Upcoming Dates: Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Course Description: Our wildly popular Snake Eyes and Inlays workshop is formatted in a series and is designed to take you through the full rod building process. During this seminar students will learn all of the proper techniques for building custom rods. Techniques taught include selecting the right blank and components, splining blanks, attaching tip-tops, thread wrapping, cork drilling and gluing, filing guide feet, signing rods, applying finish, and attaching reel seats. Class size is limited to five builders. Click here to register!
Stop by The Flyfisher to book your next guided trip, follow the fishing reports, or stop by Angling University for information on upcoming classes!
