Getting A Rise: From a Fish Or the Millions of Snow flakes

Some people fly fish to get a rise. Some get a rise only by fishing a dry fly; Others, only by stalking big fish.

Skiers can get a rise from a steep slope blanketed in deep powder.  Some just like the experience of a quiet walk in the woods on snow shoes. There are many ways people can interact in nature and feel "some-thing" profound.

I try to change up my outdoor activities. During those beautiful Colorado days of bright warm sun I love to fish. I love summer days on the river when a million Mayflies are hatching all over the water and fish are going crazy. Of course, some of us know that even in winter, fly fishing can be phenomenal.

However, this past week with the frigid temperatures and persistent snow falls I am back on my skis. I had just about given up the hope that it would ever snow again along the front range and then this series of storms hit.  Skiing on new pure white snow that blankets the Earth does something for me.  I would imagine a person could get the same feeling of "some-thing" profound by partaking in any number of outdoor activities. I just prefer to ski.  And I prefer to ski close to home. I skied today in upper Crystal Park gliding on untouched snow that was 3 feet deep. That sensation gave me a rise.

What do we mean when we say, "We get a rise" out of something? This can mean many things to different people and I respect each persons unique experience. I would like to share what I think it means to me. For me to get a rise out of something means that I have a slight change or rise in consciousness. I think and feel differently and hopefully I live a little better because of that experience. If nothing else I am in a better mood and that is "some-thing".

Sometimes when in the middle of a snowstorm and I am gliding through the woods and the millions of snow flakes are falling and swirling all around me I think about what those snowflakes might be "saying."  No doubt there is some kind of energy in snowflakes and in a great storm.  I take it a step further and ask;  Do snow flakes, because they are part of God's creation have consciousness? I also wonder while fly fishing if all those millions of mayflies we sometimes see hatching on the Platte have consciousness? If they do, then what are they conscious of and what might they be thinking or saying ?

I never hear their voices. Nor can I read their minds. The good Book tells us that all of creation is praising their creator. Maybe all those snow flakes and all those bugs really are "singing" praises to their creator. When I participate by being in nature skiing, fishing or whatever it is, I get a rise and I think it is a rise of consciousness, however slight, to join with them. So, I try to join in with them. Why not?

How could millions of snow flakes or bugs in their absolute innocence be wrong?  

Dream Stream Feb.19, 2015

Big fish meandering in the South Platte River, "Dream Stream" section of South Park.

Dream Stream and the South Park Sky

I have been catching some nice fish under these vast skies. However, it is enough to just be here and look around. Under this immense sky my own inner drama does not have center stage. I, or what I think is me, can get lost here as I cast again and again waiting for a big pull on a wooly bugger. I had several strong pulls on the line as several big rainbows chased down the wooly bugger. Or, was it just a dream? I think I was really there. I think I felt "some-thing". It doesn't matter. Lost in a dream.

Dream Stream in Mid Winter

I fished the 'Dream Stream' twice this past week and did fairly well. The warm weather brought me out. The temperature was up to 58 degrees in South Park. Sure did not feel like winter.

Resident Rainbows and Browns were taking midges mainly below the surface. Best flies were small RS2's, Orange Desert Storms, and red midges. The fish seem to be feeding on and off by the so called "switch." The fish would just turn on and off through out the day.. Caught some nice fish up to 21 inches.

I think the relative good fishing is due to mainly one factor. Less pressure. Not many people are out there hammering them yet. When the bulk of the migratory fish come up from 11 mile, the crowds will arrive. Crowds are already appearing down low so try the upper section.   Given the relative  cold water conditions (41 degrees) the fish are quite responsive. Look for good size fish in the slower deeper runs. The fish seem to still be in winter mode. 

Dream Stream: Can You Hear the Ice Shifting?

Sometimes during these mild winter days I can almost "hear" the ice shifting and melting along the edges of South Park's 'Dream Stream.'  I can picture big rainbows moving up out of Eleven Mile and holding in the undercuts. Some times we, like the fish, can be fooled into thinking it is Spring. I think it is time to walk the snaking meanders and look around. Perhaps it is foolish, but this morning I am going to pretend it is the first day of Spring.

Fishing and Skiing the Edges

Snowing again. Cold on cold. While there is snow, I go. I hit the mountains to ski. Leave the fly rods home. I prefer to keep my fingers warm with my  big ski mittens. I never did like those fingerless fishing gloves.

As some of my friends tell me, my skiing is more like a walk in the woods. But, that is fine. I like my pace. I can see things better going a bit slower. Not that I usually see all that much but I can see the edges. I like the edges of things.

There are definitely similarities in fishing and skiing edges.  The main "runs" in a river and on the slopes can quickly have every square inch fished or skied. It is practically impossible, unless you get up early, to fish the main runs of our more popular rivers or to catch fresh powder on ski runs. Every square inch gets fished hard. Every square inch of powder gets skied off early.  When that is the case, the best option is to fish and ski the edges.

Sometimes I walk up to a river. I look up and I look down river. Fly fishers are all over the place and stacked in the main runs. I then have to  look for the edges in "marginal" water. I look for the "nooks and crannies" that have not been fished over. I have caught some good fish on those edges.

I skied yesterday. I caught it just right. Five inches or more of fresh powder. But, even on a week day, the powder was quickly skied off by the crowds. The snow was still good but I wanted to ski powder so I looked to the edges of the runs.  And there it was.

I could ski the edges. Sometimes my lines were only 3 to 5 feet wide but I was floating, edging, and turning in un-trampled powder. Its silly, but some times I will just stop and take a look back at the tracks I made in the smooth powder. I love those "S" turns imprinted in the snow.  Maybe we all try to leave our ephemeral "signatures",  even as we know these signatures in the snow will be skied off. 

There is "something else" about fishing and skiing on edges. Edges are what the Celts call "thin places." Sometimes while on such edges, we see, sense, hear, or feel things we normally would not. Maybe it is because it is just too crowded and noisy in the main runs to hear anything other than skiers flying by or fishermen yelling. Sometimes we have to get out of the "mainstream" and into the quiet of a "thin place".

Let me know what you find on those edges.  If you beat me to  a certain edge, and I see your tracks, I will hesitate, examine your "signature" and then synchronize my turns with yours. Maybe we will both see or hear "some-thing. "

Just Because We Can, Should We? Resting Our Favorite Tail Waters

I am convinced if we do not intentionally make efforts to reduce the amount of pressure on our favorite tail waters we will continue to see their deterioration.

I ponder the question: Just because we can fly fish tail waters all year long; Should we? Of course, we can go to Pueblo's Arkansas tail water any day in the winter and catch fish. We can most often catch fish in Eleven Mile Canyon, Chessman Canyon and the 'Dream Stream'. But, should we?

I propose a closed season on our tail waters for the winter. But, since this is not going to happen, I suggest we impose some type of restriction upon ourselves. And, yes, I am speaking to catch and release, barb-less, fly fishers.  

Earlier this Fall,  I posted a piece describing life on Perelandra (C.S Lewis). This is a fictional fantasy  about life on another planet. Perelandra is a perfect paradise before the fall. It is truly Eden.  On Perelandra, our relationship with the natural world and even ourselves is quite different than on earth. In the story, a  human from Earth visits this planet and experiences these relational differences. 

His name is Ransom and he lands on Perelandra.  He roams around this beautiful paradise. He becomes thirsty. He wanders through a forest and  sees these great globes of yellow fruit hanging from a tree. He accidentally pushes one of his fingers through the fruit. He puts the hole up to his mouth and drinks. The drink is wonderful and brought Ransom great pleasure. His natural reaction is to find another fruit and drink again. What is most interesting is Ransom's reaction to this pleasure. He is about to grab another fruit and drink again but he stops.  CS Lewis writes;

“He was about to pluck another one, when it came to his head that he was now neither hungry nor thirsty. And yet to repeat a pleasure so intense and almost so spiritual seemed an obvious thing to do… Yet something seemed opposed to this reason.”

What was this “something” that seemed opposed to his reason?  Is there "something" in us that  might oppose our reason to catch fish after fish when we freely can keep catching fish?   Can we ever just say no to catching fish when catching fish is "so intense and almost so spiritual ? Is there  "something" in us that makes us ask, why we need to catch fish all year? Is there something in us that might tell us that "enough is enough", and "I want to give these fish a break"?

On Perelandra, Ransom has an insight as he ponders the question of why he is not grabbing for another fruit. He realizes that on Earth he has spent most of his life "reiterating pleasures, not through desire, but in the teeth of desire".

There is a difference. There is a difference between being motivated by desire and being in the teeth of desire.  It is one thing to love fly fishing and the pleasure it brings us as we catch fish. It is quite another thing to repeat this pleasure out of  addiction, compulsion and being in the teeth of desire.

If for no other rationalism, we should give the rivers a break, as we  ponder the difference and consider the "something" that might be opposed to our reason, especially if the only reason is because 'we can'.