Skaguay

Skaguay Rainbow
Originally uploaded by ...olson family...

I hit the jackpot on Saturday at Skaguay Reservoir near Cripple Creak. Fresh from the wounds inflicted by the monster trout at Antero, I headed to Skaguay in search of a lake more manageable from a float tube. This lake is perfect. It doesn’t have the wind associated with South Park, and there are large numbers of smaller fish that are easier to land in a float tube. My selection paid off; within a few hours on the water I had landed six rainbow trout, and four small pike.

I fished the creek below the spillway on the way out. I put in about fifteen minutes before the weather turned bad and I got three brown trout. Overall, this was my best afternoon ever! I have had good runs in the morning and evening, but this time a landed thirteen fish in the middle of the afternoon through early evening.

I have made a few adjustments to my fly fishing. I am back on wooly bugger and leach patterns, and I have switched from homemade leaders to a knotless tapered 2X. If my streamer patterns don’t work I can always add lighter tippet on the end to go to a nymph or dry fly. I feel that my day on Skagway proves that my dedication to streamer fishing doesn’t just deliver occasional big bites; it can deliver good quantities of trout as well.

Another Monster Eludes Me

My family was away over the weekend. I attempted Lake Antero in my float tube on Friday, which turned out to be an unexpected day off. The lake is located in South Park. This makes for windy conditions and it is packed with boats, tubes, and pontoons. Within an hour I discovered why so many people were fishing this lake. I was trolling a leach pattern when my line took off. I went tight on a monster rainbow. He jumped and my heart stopped. This was the biggest trout I have ever seen -- easily ten pounds. I did the best I could with my 5 weight rod and 3X tippet. The tackle held up, but after about a ten minute fight and four jumps he spit the hook. The experience was somewhat heart breaking but exhilarating and rewarding at the same time. I later got another bite which resulted in an instant line break. After a few hours on the water a storm drove me and everyone else off the lake. I rebounded the following day. I found a place called Skaguay -- details and pictures are forthcoming.

Beyond Streamers

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Originally uploaded by ...olson family...

I have evolved over the last few years into a fly fisherman who specializes in streamers, and poppers, which are the ticket for bass. Now that I live in Colorado it’s time to expand my horizons. My go to fly, the wooly bugger, is the best fly for sheer versatility and luring big fish, to include trout. However, my home lake is really a dry fly lake. While the water is clear enough for sight fishing, the most reliable way to locate trout in Quail Lake is by following insects, swirls, and rises. Matching the hatch will take time, but so far I seem to have found luck chucking caddis flies. I am currently out of parachute adams, but that fly is next in the rotation.

More Float Tube Trout And The Other One That Got Away

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Originally uploaded by ...olson family...

Yesterday morning proved the value of being close to your fishing spot. I hit Quail Lake on my float tube at sunrise and quickly landed a “pan fryer” rainbow trout, as my cousin BJ calls them. On my next cast I noticed that I had wrapped my line around my leg while I was stripping the fish in – a small technical difficulty. After I sorted out my fly line I went tight on another fish. I set the hook and immediately gave up all my slack line to this fish. I started to apply drag as I quickly ran out of fly line. Once the fish got in my backing I went for the brakes before I got spooled. Applying minimal pressure, the loop connector between my fly line and backing snapped – a major technical difficulty. So not only did I lose another monster, I lacked a replacement fly line making my system completely inoperable. I paddled off the water, went home to pick up a new fly rod (had time to pick up milk for my two year old), and got back on the water with enough time to get another rainbow before I had to get on with the rest of my day.

Lessons of the day: fish near home, have extra fly line handy, and NEVER use a store bought loop connector when fishing for Colorado trout. Ironically, I had tied my own triple nail knot loop for my line to leader connection because I distrusted the loop connectors that came attached to this line. I had forgotten about the one attaching the fly line to the backing…Doh!