As Bob Dylan Once Said...

... these times they are a' changin'. Summer's been long gone, and fall is quickly winding down. We won't have to wait too long to ski now, Winter Park opens November 16th.



I haven't been fishing too much lately, but the last trip I took was stellar!

This pic is actually taken on the Blue. I caught one nice fish, but he wiggled out of my hands before I could snap a pic. These deer scared the hell out of me though. They came crashing through the brush right behind me and scurried on across the river. I thought I had heard something behind me, but dismissed it as an auditory illusion. Obviously it wasn't...


On to the fish. I headed to the CO in Parshall a couple of weeks ago, and to my surprise I was the only one on the water. This spot gets hammered, the fish are smart, and I have never caught anything of size. This was to change...

The caddis have quit hatching and have been replaced by small grey-bodied mayflies. PMD's or BWO's would be my guess. I can't be sure which one, but a grey RS2 paid off in spades.

The bugs were coming off in swarms and there were twenty-plus inch fish heaving themselves clear out of the water to pick them off. I caught a small brown dead drifting an unweighted RS2 in the surface film, then switched over to nymphing on the bottom. It wasn't too long that I nailed this guy. To date, the best fish I've caught at the Parshall hole. There was one person around to see it, and I made sure he heard my whoop as I landed him.


This is a pic of one of the bugs that were coming off. Anybody know what it is?


I feel like an idiot for not taking more pictures of the fall foliage, it's all but gone now. Anyways, this is a pic of the Parshall hole. I've taken this same pic in every season I've been out here and it's cool to see how it's changed!


I didn't have any more luck where I was fishing and moved upstream. I came upon a guy trying to teach his girlfriend how to fly-fish. They were standing just downstream of the run I was wanting to fish. I asked if I could scoot in just upstream of them, and they obliged. I felt kind of bad watching them flog water while I nailed this nice brown on my second drift. The first drift resulted in a bite where the fish came unglued as he streaked across the swift current.


I got a few more strikes from what I'm sure were big fish, based on how they manhandled me. Then I got a bite and the hook set firmly in this fish's jaw. A beautiful rainbow. Again, right in front of this guy and his lady. I could tell the guy was getting a little perturbed. He slogged upstream and with a dejected look asked me what I was using. I told him and they packed up and left. I didn't have anymore action for the afternoon. I couldn't complain though, I had my best day yet at the Parshall hole.


Another view of the fall foliage.


The ranch is changing over seasons also. Pretty much all the summer staff has departed, and we're getting into lonely season. There's one person in particular that I miss, but time heals all wounds I guess. I only have to make it another month and a half... Come on snow!

Life's pretty good, just in a state of limbo right now. Stay tuned!

Hay 'n Hawgs

Hay and hawgs, that's been the story of my life for the past week or so.

Hay season has been in full swing for over a month now, and it's coming down to crunch time. Days are getting shorter and it's starting to rain more. Rain equals no work in the hay fields. I'll have to say I've really enjoyed the time I've spent haying. I'm farmer Smith and it's strange because were haying the Smith ranch! We have everything mowed but there is lots more to do. There's a lot more to haying than I thought there would be.

This is a view from one of my offices. It's a big John Deere. It's much tougher to stack hay in this tractor than the skid steer. I've mangled a few bales...



This is the "Staging Area." This is where we eat lunch, work on equipment, meet up, and BS. It's centrally located in the middle of about 20 fields were haying on this property.


Mary Jane whipping up a fine lunch. Grilled chicken, carrots, potatoes, artichokes, bread, a Sprite, and dessert. Nothing out of the ordinary. We eat pretty well out there!


We may be farmin', but we're far from roughin' it! The view during lunch isn't half bad either!


A view from another office I occupy. Haying requires scouting, mowing, raking, bailing, stacking, and transporting. Everything is dependent on the weather. I'm raking in this picture. The point being to throw the hay onto dry ground while turning it over to let the wet hay on the bottom dry. We've had to do a whole bunch of raking, it's been raining a good bit here lately.


But enough about hay, what about the fish?

BOOM! I fished hard this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I caught two small fish on Tuesday on the CO, and nailed this brute on Wednesday on the Blue. I was fishing a stretch known as "Jurassic Park." Why you ask? BIG FISH. This public stretch of water is rather tough to catch fish on, but the fish caught here are tremendous.

I had the days off because of inclement weather. Inclement for haying at least. Perfect for fishing. Cloudy, rainy, and cool. I was throwing meat...

This was the only fish I caught, but well worth the time I put into it. I could have really used an extra pair of hands for the photograph, I would have loved a hero shot with this guy. The picture just doesn't do him justice.


Fatty nailed this guy. I had many other strikes, all of which I could easily see. The fishing was very exciting. Conditions were perfect for streamers, the fish just didn't quite connect. Oh well, that's fishing...


The fight Fatty put up was epic! I was throwing 0x flouro with two No. 0 split shot to get it down. Heavy rig. He bit right downstream of the log you can see in the river. I was standing just down from the log on a little sandbar with very swift water on each side of me. He ate my streamer about 12 feet from me and immediately turned into the fast water and smoked line off my reel. I had nowhere to go and no way to chase him down. I palmed the hell out of the reel and tried my best to turn him back into more slack water. Luckily this tactic worked. He darted in and out of the fast water, and I finally saw how big he was when he jumped. My heart froze. I worked him back up to me, and when time came to land him I didn't think my net would be big enough. He fit, but barely.


This evening I broke down and took a bite of the forbidden fruit. I hit up a stretch of water that is "off-limits." But they gave me the combo to the gate! I couldn't help it, it's just sitting there untouched! I'll never say where...

I fished for an hour and a half after work. I caught three fish. This guy ate a San Juan worm and put up a pretty good fight.


I moved upstream as the sun was going down. I got a bite at the head of a good looking run. Didn't connect. Undeterred, I kept on fishing. Shortly after, I got another bite and felt the weight of this guy. I never saw him until he broke the water in a magnificent jump. I landed him and snapped a few pics before returning him to the water healthily. Damn, I love brown trout!


I dig it...


Fall is coming on, the aspens are starting to turn and we've had heavy frost in the mornings. Browns will be spawning soon, and skiing comes after that!

My life is just plain fun!

Peace

Geez!!!

Good God! Where to begin? The past three days have been off the charts!

I said I would be making a return trip to the Haynach Lakes, and I have kept my word. Tuesday I ventured into the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park. Seven miles in, on the hunt for my first cutthroat trout.

I got a late start and was on the trail at nine on the dot. The morning was cool and damp, and the hiking was great.


This is Big Meadow. I've posted a picture of this before, but now it's really summertime.



This is Tonahutu Meadow. I really need a wide-angle lens to capture the grandiosity of the landscape!


Upper Haynach Lake. I kept a breakneck pace the whole hike until I hit the spur trail to the lake. The last 1.2 miles were killer! Almost vertical. I could have sworn I'd hiked three miles and was wondering where the hell this lake was. Just as I was losing hope, I came across a sign that said 'No Camping, No Fires.' I thought this was a strange place to place a random sign. Just as I was thinking this, I turned the corner and was smacked down by the unbelievable beauty of the place I was in.


The whole hike I kept thinking about how big of a bust it would be to find no fish in this lake. I sat down on the bank to eat a peanut butter bagel, and within seconds I was staring at a 16 inch cutthroat! I couldn't scarf down that dry ass bagel quick enough. Not only had I been watching cutthroats cruising, but they were rising to midges right in front of my face. And the water? You could see for eternity!

It seemed like rigging up took forever. But when I finally was rigged and ready, it took about three casts to nail my first cutthroat. Sweet Success! He wasn't very big, but I could have cared less. On a sour note, I made a bonehead decision to leave the net in the car. This made photographing my catch rather difficult. Oh well...


There were trout in the lake as far as the eye could see. Between wind gusts fish were rising everywhere. Fish of all sizes, EVERYWHERE! I even saw a rather large fish eat a pine cone. He eventually spit it out, but he was making a pretty good effort at eating it!


I only caught three fish, this being the best of the day. I had shots at four or five much larger fish. I just couldn't quit yanking the fly out of their mouths. Think it's easy to have restraint when you see a 20'' cuttie coming up to eat your fly from 20 feet underwater? I know not. Anyways, the size of the fish didn't matter one bit. Just fishing there was enough.


I hiked 14 miles roundtrip. I walked through the woods for six hours, and only fished for three. Crazy? Maybe. Awesome? Hell yeah!


SO, yesterday started with a quick shuttle to Denver on what was supposed to be my day off. Things turned out pretty good though.

When I returned to the ranch I grabbed some food and waders and bolted! With just a short window of time to fish, I headed to a public stretch of the Colorado just down the road. I fished this area before run-off hit and I had caught some fish. I had high hopes. I fished for a little bit and watched some caddis pop off sporadically. I nailed this guy after an hour and then another about the same size, shortly thereafter. This is pretty typical of the size I've always caught here.


I moved on up to a deep pool. Again, I had caught small fish here before. I fished the hole for a bit with no success. I made another cast and got a bite right at the tail end of my drift. At first I just felt a small head shake, then the fish turned it's side into the current and I felt his weight. After three magnificent jumps, I landed the best brown trout I've caught on public water. Sweet!



I broke and headed to the ranch for some dinner. With the fishing mojo in full swing, I couldn't let the evening go to waste without trying to catch some rising stockers. When I got to the creek the fish were rising right on cue!


I made one cast with an elk hair caddis, and watched this brute inhale my fly. He put up a pretty good fight and was released healthily. Not a bad way to round out the day!


Why has today been so sweet? I just got hooked up with a sick new pair of Salomon skis! Bring the snow (but wait for just a little longer, the fishing's heating up)!

Life is good in MuddlerLand

PEACE

Hard Work & Private Browns

This past week has been crazy! Dial for Men held their second Camp Dirt here on the ranch this past weekend. We started building the events last Monday, and worked like dogs all week. We built a paintball course, a mudslide, an ATV race course, mud football field, life-size game of Battleship, and a skid-steer drag strip. Whew!

The work was all worth it when the contestants arrived. They seemed to have a blast while competing for ten thousand dollars. Two good ol' boys from Florida took home the check. They were cool dudes, I'm glad they won.

The free beer all weekend wasn't too shabby either!

With all this work came no time for fishing or reporting on my last trip on the Fraser River.

Sunday before last I got the chance to fish a private stretch of the Fraser River. The price of admission was a twelver of Fat Tire. I'd pay this anyday! The fishing was stellar and so was the weather. Overcast, threatening conditions always seem to get the big browns active. Sunday was no different. We hit the water a bit after two and fished for about two hours. Green Caddis larvae was the ticket all day.

No more than 15 minutes into fishing, I nailed this guy in a deep run. He fought like a champ and was absolutely gorgeous! Just a short while later I nailed a nice bow, but he jumped me off. Feces Occurs...


I got to fish with a guy I work with on the ranch. Rusty's a super nice guy and I'm glad we finally got to fish together. He had been telling me he had access to this stretch of water all winter, and we finally hit it.

This is looking in an easterly direction at the divide. The weather looked like this all day, SWEET!


This is by far the biggest brookie I've ever caught. But after catching these big browns out here, these guys aren't really doing it for me. However, you will never hear me complain about catching a fish!


Rusty had been fishing the run upstream when I nailed that brookie. He didn't have any luck and moved on upstream. His spot looked way too fishy to pass up. I made a few drifts and nailed this guy. One of the better fish I've caught out here. Rusty was obliging enough to snap a hero shot of me and I turned him loose. Got to love that private water...


We fished on up without much success, keeping our eyes on the skies the whole time. We came up to a nice looking pool that was fed by a deeply undercut bank. The spot definitely held a fish. With Rusty experiencing a very nasty tangle, I took the opportunity to nail a nice brown right against the bank. Green Caddis larvae were under every rock and the fish were killing them! I dig this picture.


Man he was a stubby little dude! He fought like hell and stirred up the whole bank and pool. No more fish came to play.


With eminent torrential downpours, we retreated to the car. We stopped just in time to crack one of our cans of admission with the landowner. We chatted for a minute, and were insured a return trip. But only if we brought another twelve.

What a sweet little window of fishing! Can't wait to make it back.

As for tomorrow, I'm heading back up to the Haynach Lakes in search of my first cutthroat trout. It's about a six mile hike into the first lake. There is a stream that connects the two, and they are supposedly full of cutties. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

PEACE

KILLIN' IT

HALLELUJAH, It's time to fish people!

For the past few weeks the fishing has been slowly picking up, and in the last week it has EXPLODED! Hatches are coming off almost like clockwork and fish are feeding, such a great sight to see!

I've mostly been fishing Willow Creek here lately. This is the stream that runs through the ranch. The fish I thought weren't there are showing up, and the fishing is actually pretty good. Most the fish are stocked rainbows, but there are a few wild browns in mix. I caught this guy about 2 weeks ago and although a stocker, quite pretty!


This is Willow Creek at the mouth of Willow Creek Reservoir. This stretch of water is full of little rainbow trout, plus a few stockers that have been washed downstream. Catching 30 fish in an hour or two is not uncommon...


Mom came to visit me this past week, she stayed 5 days and we had a blast! I was also hooked up with some sweet new gear.


The hatches have been crazy around these parts. Stoneflies, mayfies, caddis, you name it, and its been hatching!

These guys were hatching on the Yampa this past Saturday. I came away fish-less, but I can't say I was fishing in the best conditions. Regardless, it was fun fishing some new water. I definitely plan on fishing up that way in the fall.

Quiz: Who knows what this is?



This was a caddis hatch on the Colorado a couple nights ago.


Fatty stocker taken from Willow Creek. These fish eat two flies, a hares ear and an elk hair caddis. Like clockwork...


This is a wild rainbow taken from the Colorado a couple evenings ago. As I've said before, catching a rainbow on the CO is a pretty rare thing. The rainbows were decimated by whirling disease. In the CO there are around 5,000 browns per mile, compared to around 200 rainbows per mile. Before the whirling disease these numbers were reversed.


Not only was this a nice wild rainbow, but it was also tagged. Pretty cool I think...


An Evening on The Colorado


Brown Town


Ripple


The ranch has a private mile and a half lease on the North Fork of the Colorado. It's such a sweet looking stretch of water. But, I was strictly forbidden to fish it unless I was with a guest. Does that make any sense to you? Shouldn't a guide know the water he's fishing? I think so. I've felt like an idiot the few times I've been there with people.

This had to change. I formulated an argument and presented it to the big wigs. My argument was stellar and I gained permission to take the afternoon and fish the water. HOLY SHIT!!! The fishing was epic, even in the middle of the afternoon! I caught alot of fish. I landed four or five fish of this caliber. I had even more fish of this size come unglued, and one broke me off. That hasn't happened in a long time!


These browns blend in so perfectly with the bottom of the CO.


Gazing upon Rocky Mountain National Park from the N Fork of the CO.


OINK, OINK


Life is sweet!

The fishing should do nothing but continue to get better as the fall comes on. Cooler temps are starting to move in, and the aspens are starting to look a little brittle. I'm cool with it.

Next week will be alot of work, but alot of fun. Dial soap company is invading the ranch to film a commercial called Camp Dirt. Pretty much were going to be building mudslides, operating machinery, and blowing things up. I can't wait.

Keep it real people,
Muddler