Another reason to be particularly happy, is that right now it is July, the river has dropped and is running clear, and the dry fly fishing is off the charts. Gone are the cold winds of spring, the layers of goretex and fleece, nymph rigs and rock dodging at 250 cfs. Right now, and hopefully for the next several weeks, is as close to fly fishing nirvana as you could hope to see around here. Lots of fish, all hungry, sitting tight to the banks, and looking up.

And there is plenty around for the fish to be feeding on. Caddis, stoneflies, mayflies and hoppers. On a recent trips down the river, it hasn’t mattered what fly was presented, as long as it floated on the surface, close to the bank, with a natural drift and the odd twitch being thrown in for good measure.

It is amazing how quickly summer is flying by. Memo to the Creator, whoever he or she may be – why can’t summer pass by as slowly as winter seems to? These conditions, with good hatches, warm weather and stable water flows will hopefully continue for the next several weeks. If you are only going to fish a few times a year, now is the time to get out there. If you are contemplating taking up the sport of angling, now is the time to call up your local guide service and book a trip. And if your spouse or significant other is bitten with the fishing bug, now is the time to loosen the leash and let them get out there for a bit. After all, soon it will be winter again, and then you’ll be looking for any excuse to get them out of the house.

So it is fun to be able to step outside of your comfort zone every now and then, leave the crowd and the truck behind, and experience the call of a place that at least has the impression of being wild and remote. Encountering fresh bear poop on the trail serves as a reminder that we are not always top of the food chain. The sight if a fox, scampering through the sage brush, the cry of a red tail hawk as it surfs the thermals, remind an interloper such as myself that I am a guest only in someone else’s domain. This is the time of the year the wild flowers are starting to bloom, the meadows cloaked in a veritable rainbow of different hues.

Of all the different types of trout I fish for, the ones that inhabit these high alpine streams, lakes and beaver ponds are the ones I admire the most. A short growing season, limited food source and long, harsh winters are testament to their resilience. Their ability to conceal themselves from predation never ceases to amaze me, materializing from the rocky stream bed or under cut bank to quickly snatch a passing morsel and dissolving, phantom like, back into their surroundings. Their very presence is witness to the universal push of all living things to survive and procreate.

Late spring and early summer, with the larger rivers swollen and high, is the perfect time to escape to the high country for a little solitude, and with it the opportunity to gain a wider appreciation of the world we live in, and the creatures we share it with.

By the end of the month, we should be back into some great dry fly action, but for a poor sap like me who has been too busy to take a trip up into the mountains, a look back at a great day of spring fishing will have to suffice. Certainly, it is hard to imagine we are looking at the same river, but I guess a ten fold increase in volume will change the complexion of most rivers.

On this particular day, I had the pleasure of floating the river with a couple of gents from back east. While this is normally my cue to hide my wallet and car keys, and lock away the silverware, on this occasion I knew I would be in good, civilized company. One of the great things about guiding, in fact probably the only thing that keeps you going, is the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. Having fished with Cliff before, I had a feeling whoever he brought along with him was going to be fun, and so it proved to be. Hopefully, this ill be the first of many trips out this way for Joe also. Any man who ties on his own flies, and brings cold Modelo, is welcome on my boat anytime.

We had a great day on the river, not the heavy dry fly action we had been hoping for, but a terrific day with the fish hitting bead heads throughout. Once the river clears up, hopefully right after FIBark, we should start to see some great stone fly action. Already I have noticed both golden and yellow sallie adults around on the bushes near the river, and with the pmd’s getting ready to hatch also, we are on the cusp of what for me is the best time of the year to be a fisherman living in the Arkansas Valley.

And did I mention that it has been windy? The last few weeks have been some of the windiest I can recall in twenty years of spring time floating. Some days you come off the water feeling like your shoulders have been stretched out of their sockets from standing on the oars trying to slow the boat down and avoid high siding on rocks in a tail wind, or else pushing grimly into the teeth of a gale like you are using a bench press machine for seven hours straight. The trick for the fisherman has been to get the flies to where the fish are, that is along the banks in the slower water where they always hang out.

And when you can get them there, the fishing has been great. Fish have been feeding consistently on baetis and caddis patterns, until recently mainly below the surface, taking pheasant tails, hare’s ears, hot wire princes, RS2’s throughout the day. Now they are looking up consistently, taking caddis dries, royal stimulators, wulffs and blue wings. This particular day on the video, floating from Trading Post to Texas Creek,the afternoon in particular was spectacular, with the fish feeding off the surface, actively chasing anything that came their way. And it looks like we might get another week or so of great conditions before run off begins in earnest, so take advantage of it while you can.

Those fishermen turning up with the expectation of balmy spring days and casting dry flies to eager, brainless fish have been offered a reminder that in fishing, as in life, things don’t always go according to plan. Bhuddism teaches us that attachment is the source of unhappiness, and consequently expectation the mother of disappointment. On the other hand, being grateful for what is, is the first step to appreciation of how much you really have.

In his highly readable and perceptive book, Pavlov’s Trout, author, psychologist and fisherman Paul Quinnett posits the theory that when ranking the reasons why men and women go fishing, actually catching a fish figures way down the list. They call steelhead “the fish of a thousand casts” on account of their elusiveness, and Quinnett, a North West steelhead fisherman, sat down one day to do some rough mental calculations. No doubt at the suggestion of his wife, he began to figure out the amount of time, money and resources he spent chasing steelhead relevant to the amount of time he spent with one actually on the line.

It rapidly became obvious to Quinnet that economically speaking at least, for a pastime he would be better off taking up bowling and tossing twenty dollar bills out of his car window as he drove around town. The same could be said for fisherman of any persuasion, be they Bubba with his bass boat, Bahamas bone fishermen, or the humble Arkansas River fly fisherman. If fishing is ever reduced to it’s economic components, it ceases to make sense. If catching a fish is the be all and end all of the endeavor, then ultimately the fisherman will be left empty handed, both literally and spiritually.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am no saint. If I didn’t catch a few every now and then, I would probably give it up pretty quickly, but sometimes, you need to go looking for the real point of the day. If you get too wound up in equating success with numbers, you often fail to realize that that vaguely irritating feeling in your nether regions was actually a good time biting you in the butt. You were just a little too wound up in the process to notice. As a guide, my heart sinks a little when I encounter the competitive fisherman, the fish counter and the “why aren’t they biting?” worrier.

Just being able, physically, geographically and materially, to spend time on the river for pure recreation puts you ahead of the vast majority of the world’s inhabitants. Sure, we all want to catch a bunch of fish, but making that the measure of success or failure is only setting yourself up for disappointment more often than not. Fortunately, on this trip, I was with kindred spirits. Spinning yarns and having a laugh were the order of the day, especially as the fish didn’t keep us, particularly me, very busy. We caught a few fish, and at least on my part, managed to botch a fair few opportunities, while some great drifts went unnoticed and unappreciated by the fish. But how bad could it be? A lovely spring afternoon, a couple of brewskis, friends and a river to float.

Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center will be close at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 27th for water line work. This closure will only effect public swim from 3 to 7 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please check our website for aquatic center schedules www.salidapool.com.

Looking for some fun activities to enjoy this summer?  The Summer Guide for the City of Salida Recreation Department is set to come out Tuesday, May 4.  There are many new programs to enjoy as well as some returning favorites!  Salida Recreation invites you to try something new  and enjoy a new adventure in one of the summer programs! Enjoy an art class, a llama trek, climbing adventure, tennis lesson, basketball camp and much more!   Feel free to browse the website www.salidarec.com or call Ashley at 539.5703 to find information on events.

Ashley
Recreation Coordinator

Salida Mountain Trails (SMT) requests volunteer assistance for the trail workday & lunch on Saturday, April 10th, 2010. Meet at 9:00AM at the Kiosk near the Spiral Drive gate.

Trail work will consist of trail construction and maintenance around “S” Mountain. After the trail work is completed, the trail crew will regroup at about 2:00pm behind Absolute Bikes and The Salida Cafe to enjoy food, drink, and conversation.

Please come equipped with heavy work or hiking shoes – preferably high tops, work gloves, water, snacks, and sunscreen.

We’re in the midst of our 2010 membership drive. Bringing $25 for your SMT 2010 Membership would be much appreciated.

SMT is involved in creating the Arkansas Hills Trail System for the enjoyment of residents and visitors in the community of Salida.

Check out the SMT website for more information: http://www.salidamountaintrails.org/.

Once you know what to look for, a redd is easily identifiable. The clean rock bottom will often stand out from the surrounding riverbed vividly, whiter patches distinct from their surroundings. This time of the year I like to make sure I am not casting anywhere near a redd, to ensure that any fish I catch are not actively involved in the love game. After all, how would you feel if someone kept throwing things at you while you were between the sheets so to speak? Hardly sporting.

For this float, we chose to throw single dries, with small caddis and humpies being the best producers. From tha boat, casting to the shallower edges and away from the redds ensured the fish we caught had their mind on feeding, not romance. The wind made things a little tricky at times, but most times you got a good drift in the slow, shallow edges, there was some kind of action. Getting a fish to take is one thing, hooking him is sometimes another, as witnessed in the video. But I have always maintained that if you were to hook them all, it would get pretty boring pretty quick. And let’s face it, who among us is averse to a good spanking every now and then, right?

Right now, the flows are low and clear, and will probably remain so throughout the winter. I would expect the fishing to stay strong throughout October, and even into November provided the weather stays mild. So my advice is to get out there,enjoy the fall colors and the last vestiges of summer before winter lock us in its grip. But once again, I have to pinch myself, for then its away with the fly rod and hello to Monarch and the snowboard.

Phil: How many fish did you catch this weekend on your dry fly Jim?

Jim: Peasant, when will you ever learn? Fishing isn’t about numbers. It’s about asthetics, that fleeting moment of beauty as the fish leaves its watery realm, crossing the divide that separates mankind from his piscatorial brethren and snaffles a size 10 pmx.

Phil: Not many, huh?

Personally, I’ll throw whatever I need to in order to catch a fish, except for maybe an egg pattern. OK, I’ve thrown a few of those before too. But if I had a preference, it would be a dry fly. Watching the fish leave it’s watery lair, rising to the surface to take the fly adds to the experience, and makes for some memorable takes and misses. Many a time in New Zealand my heart has been in my mouth watching a big brown rise slowly to the surface, push it’s snout out of the water and nudge the fly gently with its nose, open it’s mouth around it and then refusing to take, sliding silently and effortlessly back to the depths. It’s difficult to get that kind of adrenaline rush when the action is taking place unseen below the surface.

But what to do if the fish aren’t taking dries? Some dry fly fishermen will continue to fish with a dry only, not deigning to go sub surface. In this they are paying homage to the origins of fly fishing, when before our knowledge of entomology grew, coupled with a lack of polarized sunglasses, the the only time trout were observed was when they ate off the surface. Nowadays, we know that close to eighty percent of a fishes’ diet consists of eating nymphs below the surface. Consequently, most of us will now add a nymph to our dry fly rig and fish with a dry and dropper. “Ah hah,” says the nympher, “you’re nymphing now.” “Yeah right, ” says the dry fly guy, “It’s only nymphing if you have an indicator and weight.” “No way man, you’re nymphing.” And so the argument begins, which I take as a good sign because if this is all we fisherman have to occupy our minds with, then life must be pretty damn good.

And I take my hat off to Phil. Coming all the way down here from Sodom and Gemorrah, thrown before a hostile crowd of dry fly types, he steadfastly refused to fish a nymph, even though way more fish would have been caught. When in Rome, do some Roman, as the saying goes. And of course, he would no doubt put on a real clinic for Jim and I were we to go to one of his favorite haunts and show us the dark arts – definitely welcome on my boat anytime.

As the days cool and shorten, the window of opportunity to fish will naturally diminish, and the fish will take more and more of their sustenance from below the surface. That said, all is not lost for we dry fly folks can still expect some great days of casting to rising fish throughout October. This should happen both on cooler, cloudy days when the blue wings will hopefully be hatching, and warmer days when the caddis and hoppers will still be active.

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This year, I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days on the river with Mark Cooper. Mark played for the Broncos and Tampa Bay from 1983 through 1989, starting in Super Bowl XXI. Now, being a Kiwi lad raised on rugby and hence relatively ignorant of American sporting traditions, it never occurred to me that Mark might have been in his playing days one of those huge guys who stands in front of his quarter back and pushes other huge guys the size of Mack trucks out of the way for a living. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue but with the river running at around 250 cfs, you can be in for a long day when your fisherman’s weight exceeds the river flow.

Fortunately Mark turned out to be such fun, in addition to a skilled fisherman and low maintenance kind of guy, that the time just flew by. Also on the boat the day this video was taken was my friend and Salida native Lee Graf. Lee has generously donated two Broncos tickets to a Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas fundraiser to be held later this year, so as way of saying Thanks, I rowed them down the river the day before the Double Haul. How Lee and Mark first became friends I have no idea, but I suspect college bars and seedy frat houses played a part.

To be sure, we had a great day. The beer was cold, and the fish were active. For some reason, there seems to be a lot of rainbowsbeing caught at the moment. On this day, we actually landed more bows than browns, which is the first time I have seen that happen. I know the Division of Wildlife have been stocking the river with a strain of rainbow resistant to whirling disease, and when these guys get a little bigger, they will be a handful on a fly rod.

And so the planning begins anew for next years Double Haul. To all those , famous, anonymous, and infamous, who helped to make this year’s event a big success, Thank You. Roll on 2010.

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