Still Waiting for The Tricos and Dry Fly Action 6/29/2013 Eleven Mile Canyon Fly Fishing

Still waiting for the Tricos to get going in the upper portion of Eleven Mile Canyon for the highlight of summer dry fly action.  In the mean time the flows are up to a respectable level and the nymph fishing continues to be good with fish taking the usual array of small nymphs. As I have written in recent posts a size 18 bead head hares ear nymph has been productive. My friend Greg has been using a birds nest nymph with success. Both flies are impressionistic of caddis pupa and are good to use as the first fly in a two fly nymphing rig. Or at times I use the brown san juan worm as the upper fly with diminishing success as the summer progresses. . 

Small midges and mayflies of the canyon are best imitated with different versions of a size 22-24 RS2.  I use an RS2 as the second fly.  It seems that gray and black have been best. But recently my friend Steve started using a purple bodied version and it has been great. I often also try using different beads on these RS2's and experiment with different wing materials. Just try to show them something different and mix things up.

I often rig two rods with different versions of these flies and simply experiment. There are far worse things one could be doing while waiting for the big dry fly show.

Eleven Mile Canyon Fly Fishing Report 6/20/2013

The Trico Mayfly hatch seems to be late this year. Some have been seen but not in large numbers yet. Midges are abundant mixed in w/some BWO's  Some fish are starting to look up for caddis flies and chasing emerging pupa. Try a good old fashion size 18 beadhead hares ear nymph. San Juan worms are also working as always along with the usual array of small midges. Black zebra midges, black emergers, RS2's,  and orange desert storms are all working.

The best is yet to come.

Mens Fly Fishing Spiritualty Retreat 6/14

Men going to the woods to live deliberately, catching trout, communicating, talking, and sharing stories.

Women's Fly Fishing and Poetry Retreat 6/12/2013

Sharing poetry and fly fishing with friends on a river; Talking, reflecting, contemplating.

Eleven Mile Canyon Fly Fishing Report 6/5/2013

We, we did not get fishing until about 1:00pm so it was not prime time. Fishing was not spectacular but my group of 3 beginners managed to net some fish. It is always a pleasure to get a beginner into their first fish. The water is still low flowing around 50cfs.

It is almost funny how it seems that the same old flies work and don't work.  It just depends. But we took fish on the famous brown san juan worm, RS2,and a size 20 bead head pheasant tail . The pheasant tail nymph I use is a pattern that my friend Ron Jagger has used effectively over the years. It is a variation from a pattern that Stan Benton developed.  Instead of using actual pheasant tails to wrap around and form the body of the fly,  pheasant tail colored micro-tubing is used over orange thread.  A copper bead is used and a little bit of peacock icedub forms the thorax behind the bead. There is really not much to it.  I also tie a variation of  it using some bushy hares ear behind the bead (especially when caddis start coming off).

Another strange thing is that I saw some fish spawning. Maybe it was some late rainbows or confused browns or some Suckers, with the  Rainbows and Browns feeding on the eggs. It was hard to tell what was really going on and besides we left them alone. I just thought it was odd to see fish spawning in early June.

Sacred Fishing Holes: What Have We Done With the Garden That Was Entrusted To Us?

Antonio Machado, in his poem titled, “The Wind One Brilliant Day” ends the poem with this question, “Then, I said to myself, What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you”?

I ask myself this question in regard to my own favorite fishing holes. “What have I done with the sacred pools that were entrusted to me”?

In the Iron John tale a young boy is asked to preserve the integrity of a sacred spring. As he guards it he gazes into the clear deep water. He sees gold salamanders and gold fish (perhaps they are Golden Trout?).  He contemplates.

As a boy I stared into the waters of a small pond where I first learned to fly fish. As a boy I sadly realized that I could personally ‘fish out’ the pond.

As an adult and guide, I continue to contemplate as I ask myself again, “What have I done with the garden and the sacred pools of water teeming with trout that were entrusted to me”?  What have I done with the Dream Stream, Eleven Mile Canyon, Deckers, the Arkansas River, Antero, Spinney, the Taylor? What kind of a guardian have I been?

Have I merely used these sacred pools to make repeated, bragging claims of the many trout I have caught from these places?  Did I brag  of 40 fish days?  Or, of twenty plus inch fish caught? Did I brag about the “serious damage” done, or, did I speak of “slaying fish” or  “ripping lips” as though my hands were wiped clean of causing any damage to the sacred pools entrusted to me simply because I am a catch and release fly fisherman? 

What have I done with the garden that was entrusted to me?

May I rip as few lips as possible. May I cause as little damage as possible. May I never have another 40 fish day.  May I never slay another fish.