First Grass Carp!

Today I was blessed to get to fish to some large grass carp with dry flies! It's so intense to watch these fish come up and inspect your fly --in this case a large black beetle, and then finally decide to eat! Here's the pics...

Learn to Fly-Fish Day at Anglers Covey 6-1-13

It's that time of year again! At A.C. from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. we will be having our big show. Vendors will be there showing off this year's new gear, learning stations will be set up and taught by our guides, and drawings for free swag and gear will be happening every hour. There is usually a large line waiting at the entrance before the show starts so if you want to take advantage of the sales we will have going on it helps to get there early. Follow this link for more details including info on parking!

Carp Fishing Bald Eagle Double!

Mixing it up. That's what happened during a recent carp trip I took while our toddler Bree napped. We have been on a carp quest ever since I noticed things starting to heat up at our local spot, and today I finally got my first stinky fish to the net for 2013! Thankfully Jim Browning decided he would join me to watch, so there are photos making today's adventure more than just another fish story.

Jim got to be a part of the full gamut of experiences that can happen during a carp hunt. From feeling the excitement of sight fishing to 20-40 lb fish, the crazy people that live in our fair city, and all the zany nuttiness that is carp fishing. The defeats, then finally the victory. And the arm swelling from playing tug of war with a Volkswagen Beetle with fins for 20 minutes. 

What made this trip so insanely cool --other than the reward from a lot of hard work-- is that I had a bald eagle double. You read that right! A french'n bald eagle swooped down and snagged a fish out of the water half way (about 10 minutes) into the fight! I've never been a big fan of using the word epic for experiences because I think it gets over used --especially in fishing circles, but... It was EPIC! On a stinky pond right in the middle of Colorado Springs a bald eagle nabbed a fish while there was a 20 pound carp on my line. 

Before that during the fight there was a guy walking down the street who was screaming loud angry rock music to himself. Jim at this point is probably thinking "what have I got myself into?!" Right after I land the fish there was a photographer who was taking photos of the bald eagle who walked up and saw the fish and went "holy crap! I mean holy CARP!". 

For a second time in a week we would like to thank Jim for the amazing photos, and for being a nice person. That might sound a little silly, but that's important with all the bad things happening in the world. All of the photos were taken by Jim with his iPhone so if you would like to see what he can do with an actual camera follow this link. Be sure you check out the carp porn before you go!

Look just above my head and you can see the bald eagle!

Cool sepia shot.

Dear Lord God please let this fight end! 20 minutes into the battle...

The stinky smell of victory!

Sore arm and big smile.

11 Mile Canyon Fishing Report 5-24-13

Jim Browning, Kristen and I went to 11 Mile Canyon and had a great time. Flows are around 50 c.f.s. but fish were still in the shallow runs and riffles. From sunrise to about 11:00 a.m. fishing was consistent. A steady mix of cutthroats, browns, and rainbows came to the net on Top Secret Midges, JuJu Bee Midges, and Brassies. We started above the first bend above the culverts and worked our way up towards the dam. The weather was drop dead gorgeous and the company wasn't to shabby either... Thanks Jim for a mellow and seriously fun time on the water! Here are a few photos we took during today's trip!

Sunrise In The Canyon - Photo by Kristen 

Lit up rainbow - Photo by Kristen

Battle Scarred and Spotted

Jim releasing a fish - Photo by Kristen

Kristen going to work!

Donate For Disaster Relief - Tornado Outbreak

Follow this link to donate and help out the victims.

Current Flows For South Platte and Arkansas River 5-19-2013

We have recently seen a huge increase in flows on the Arkansas. At Wellsville we are looking at 820 c.f.s. and 1080 c.f.s. below Pueblo. Be cautious about wading because we are likely to have fluctuating flows for a while now with even larger increases.

The South Platte however is a different story...

Cheesman Canyon/Deckers - 51 c.f.s.
11 Mile Canyon - 53 c.f.s.
Dream Stream - 36 c.f.s.

Soo............ Anybody up for some carp fishing?

The 2013 Celebrity Fishing Derby

Ever wanted to fish in a bass tournament with your fly-rod? It's a rare occurrence that fly-fishers have that kind of opportunity without any restrictions on things such as rod length, and we wanted to let you know that your chance is coming soon! The Celebrity Fishing Derby will be happening June 15th at Stem Beach just south of Pueblo. Cost per adult to enter is only $125. All fishing is done from shore or from a belly boat, and prize money is given away for longest fish of each species found in the lakes. Catching a tagged fish earns you an extra $100. The first angler to catch a largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, wiper, stripped bass, and white bass wins a brand new boat!

Bree collecting daddy's prize money for biggest common carp and biggest black crappie.

We can tell you from our experience last year that the fishing on these two otherwise private lakes is amazing, and the people both competing in and running the event are very friendly. It's really cool to get to fish with anglers of all creeds, and not feel like an outsider because I was using a fly-rod. In fact, the people running the event --Sangre De Cristo Hospice-- want flyfishers to participate so much that there is an extra 25 percent bonus on top of the original payouts for fish landed with a fly rod. Read about last year's event by following this link. 

Learn more and register on the socohospice website click by clicking  here!