Coolhand
Resident River Rat
Hey guys, I've mentioned this idea a time or two, and have gotten some vigorous feedback, both on the board and via PM's. Two BOTL's from the left and right coasts have even contacted me about it.
So let me provide a little background, some ideas I have, and anybody that is interested, please chime in.
I own a fly fishing pro shop, The Peak Fly Shop. Lots of the brothers love to fish; I live to do it. No idea if I'm going to be able to do this my entire life, but I really do plan to die trying. The long and short of it is, I have some resources at my disposal (read: lots of gear, and lots of help) to help make this happen. Not gonna lie and say I can do it all by myself, but I don't think I'll have to ...
Anyway, as we have some brothers that might fly in, I'm wondering about the potential to do this as a two-day event.
Therefore I'm thinking of a weekend, in late June or early July. By then, we should be out of run-off, and that should give enough time to get it together.
A few of the possible fishing areas (I'm sticking to stuff close enough to home for me to move gear / people, but rest assured - these area all 5-star spots):
- The Arkansas River, if not blown out, is a truly massive river that offers lots of wild brown trout. It's a great dry-fly river (several brothers have fished it) and there's a veritable ton of water, as well as lots of picnic areas or even campsites for some banquet-style meals.
- Elevenmile Canyon is a drop-dead gorgeous area, with the South Platte flowing through it. Excellent all-around fishing for 3 species of trout, fish up to around 20", and pretty much guaranteed dry-fly fishing in the mornings, with good odds on dry-fly fishing in the afternoons / evenings. The canyon is near the town of Woodland Park, where I have a shop and there are several lodging areas / restaurants. The Canyon also has campsites, including ones that can accommodate RV's, should that be desireable. Picnic areas, too.
- Spinney Mountain Ranch, which is the South Platte River flowing between Spinney Mountain and Elevenmile Reservoirs. It's a stone's throw from the Canyon, and offers similar dry-fly opportunities at that time of year. The difference is, it's more technical fishing and there are some DAMN big fish in there.
Those are the river options. The Arkansas has some catch-and-keep areas, and non-fly anglers can fish it up too. The Canyon has a catch-and-keep area, is stocked, and very easily accessible for non-fly anglers. I don't know how you guys feel about spouses/kids, but if you wanted to bring them, this could work. Spinney is 100% fly/lure only (and lure guys tend to get no love there), and it's pretty technical.
There are other options as well:
- Spinney Mountain Reservoir or Antero Reservoir. You can fish them from shore, and at that time of year, both should be good. Boats are allowed on both and can definitely work. I will have access to several kick-boats or pontoon boats, and having some 2-3 man crafts at our disposal is a possibilty (I'm restoring a bass boat and at least three people in the shop are looking at buying rafts, which can work on the reservoirs, obviously). These lakes have lots of trout, and truly monster fish are in both.
We have one other possible (I say possible because I have to talk to the owner) option - Chico Basin Ranch.
- Chico is a private, working cattle ranch, about 45 minutes southeast of Colorado Springs. It has 6 spring-fed bass ponds on it. The advantage of Chico is that we can spread out across the ponds but still be fairly centrally located (and some of the ponds are close enough to make hopping out of one and walking to the other a piece of cake). One pond is more accurately a lake- we could get 6 or 8 anglers on it all at once with zero problem. There is plenty of space to get together for a lunch. We'd have to bring our own cooking gear and tables, but that's not a major problem.
Chico is, in a word, lousy with fish. The bass are not huge, but I've had 70-fish days out there. Lots of panfish as well. The downside to Chico is that I'm sure Duke, the owner, would require it to be a catch-and-release affair, and would not allow any bait fishing. There would also be a rod fee, but I'm sure Duke will work with us on that (the usual rod fee is $50 a day). Knowing Duke as I do, I can probably get him down to $20-25 a day, with the promise that we're a well-behaved and orderly bunch (you guys can behave, right?:bouncetau )
We have other private water access, but not any that can really support a larger group like we could have - and most of it is more money for less of a sure thing. Chico's a definite thought - and it'd be a blast - but, let's face it, guys don't come to Colorado to bass fish.:razz:
This would really have to be a weekend affair, I'm sure. Weekends on the Platte can mean crowds. My idea would be to split fishing time, over two days, a few spots.
For instance, maybe we could fish Spinney Ranch in the morning for the Trico hatch, then head over to the reservoir. Return to the Canyon to camp for the night. Anyone wanting to fish in the evening would easily be able to. The following day, we could drive about 90 minutes and hit Chico.
Just as a sample of what I'm talking about.
Here's what I can provide, 100% free of cost, to make this happen:
Rods, reels, waders, boots. I own a guide service. There's quite a bit of 'em lying around. :wink:
Boats for Chico and the reservoirs. It'd be kind of a grab-bag, but I got lots to grab at. The Platte river is not floatable. The Ark is, but we don't do that, and anyway, that could be a logistical nightmare to do a multi-boat float. But if you guys would really be into that (bearing in mind now you're paying a professional guide), I know how to make that happen too - 2 anglers per boat. I won't pursue that further unless there's a lot of interest.
Tables, chairs, and some equipment for cooking (grill, campstoves, etc.). Depending on the size of the party we're talking I may not have enough, but I got some.
Lastly, I have about 25 guides working for me. Some are pretty mercenary fellows, but several are really great guys - friends, really - that I'm sure I could convince to come out and be helping hands.
Note I'm not talking about hiring guides. They'd probably fish with, but can help out, teach if needed, etc.
Now, you didn't hear me say this, but if these guys were really helpful to you, slipping them a gratuity would not be totally out of order.
I have no problems with helping out in whatever way is needed. I fish enough that if I don't cast a line the entire time, I'd be happy. And the "slip a tip" thing definitely does not extend to me. If we need to have a little streamside fishing class, that's zero problem.
This is all theory and conjecture. If I'm too grandiose in my thinking, feel free to tell me - but with some folks talking about traveling a ways to do this, I hate to just say "hey we're gonna meet on the 15th and fish for a couple hours and have lunch."
Let me know what thoughts you guys have - I'd love to see this come together!
-brad
So let me provide a little background, some ideas I have, and anybody that is interested, please chime in.
I own a fly fishing pro shop, The Peak Fly Shop. Lots of the brothers love to fish; I live to do it. No idea if I'm going to be able to do this my entire life, but I really do plan to die trying. The long and short of it is, I have some resources at my disposal (read: lots of gear, and lots of help) to help make this happen. Not gonna lie and say I can do it all by myself, but I don't think I'll have to ...
Anyway, as we have some brothers that might fly in, I'm wondering about the potential to do this as a two-day event.
Therefore I'm thinking of a weekend, in late June or early July. By then, we should be out of run-off, and that should give enough time to get it together.
A few of the possible fishing areas (I'm sticking to stuff close enough to home for me to move gear / people, but rest assured - these area all 5-star spots):
- The Arkansas River, if not blown out, is a truly massive river that offers lots of wild brown trout. It's a great dry-fly river (several brothers have fished it) and there's a veritable ton of water, as well as lots of picnic areas or even campsites for some banquet-style meals.
- Elevenmile Canyon is a drop-dead gorgeous area, with the South Platte flowing through it. Excellent all-around fishing for 3 species of trout, fish up to around 20", and pretty much guaranteed dry-fly fishing in the mornings, with good odds on dry-fly fishing in the afternoons / evenings. The canyon is near the town of Woodland Park, where I have a shop and there are several lodging areas / restaurants. The Canyon also has campsites, including ones that can accommodate RV's, should that be desireable. Picnic areas, too.
- Spinney Mountain Ranch, which is the South Platte River flowing between Spinney Mountain and Elevenmile Reservoirs. It's a stone's throw from the Canyon, and offers similar dry-fly opportunities at that time of year. The difference is, it's more technical fishing and there are some DAMN big fish in there.
Those are the river options. The Arkansas has some catch-and-keep areas, and non-fly anglers can fish it up too. The Canyon has a catch-and-keep area, is stocked, and very easily accessible for non-fly anglers. I don't know how you guys feel about spouses/kids, but if you wanted to bring them, this could work. Spinney is 100% fly/lure only (and lure guys tend to get no love there), and it's pretty technical.
There are other options as well:
- Spinney Mountain Reservoir or Antero Reservoir. You can fish them from shore, and at that time of year, both should be good. Boats are allowed on both and can definitely work. I will have access to several kick-boats or pontoon boats, and having some 2-3 man crafts at our disposal is a possibilty (I'm restoring a bass boat and at least three people in the shop are looking at buying rafts, which can work on the reservoirs, obviously). These lakes have lots of trout, and truly monster fish are in both.
We have one other possible (I say possible because I have to talk to the owner) option - Chico Basin Ranch.
- Chico is a private, working cattle ranch, about 45 minutes southeast of Colorado Springs. It has 6 spring-fed bass ponds on it. The advantage of Chico is that we can spread out across the ponds but still be fairly centrally located (and some of the ponds are close enough to make hopping out of one and walking to the other a piece of cake). One pond is more accurately a lake- we could get 6 or 8 anglers on it all at once with zero problem. There is plenty of space to get together for a lunch. We'd have to bring our own cooking gear and tables, but that's not a major problem.
Chico is, in a word, lousy with fish. The bass are not huge, but I've had 70-fish days out there. Lots of panfish as well. The downside to Chico is that I'm sure Duke, the owner, would require it to be a catch-and-release affair, and would not allow any bait fishing. There would also be a rod fee, but I'm sure Duke will work with us on that (the usual rod fee is $50 a day). Knowing Duke as I do, I can probably get him down to $20-25 a day, with the promise that we're a well-behaved and orderly bunch (you guys can behave, right?:bouncetau )
We have other private water access, but not any that can really support a larger group like we could have - and most of it is more money for less of a sure thing. Chico's a definite thought - and it'd be a blast - but, let's face it, guys don't come to Colorado to bass fish.:razz:
This would really have to be a weekend affair, I'm sure. Weekends on the Platte can mean crowds. My idea would be to split fishing time, over two days, a few spots.
For instance, maybe we could fish Spinney Ranch in the morning for the Trico hatch, then head over to the reservoir. Return to the Canyon to camp for the night. Anyone wanting to fish in the evening would easily be able to. The following day, we could drive about 90 minutes and hit Chico.
Just as a sample of what I'm talking about.
Here's what I can provide, 100% free of cost, to make this happen:
Rods, reels, waders, boots. I own a guide service. There's quite a bit of 'em lying around. :wink:
Boats for Chico and the reservoirs. It'd be kind of a grab-bag, but I got lots to grab at. The Platte river is not floatable. The Ark is, but we don't do that, and anyway, that could be a logistical nightmare to do a multi-boat float. But if you guys would really be into that (bearing in mind now you're paying a professional guide), I know how to make that happen too - 2 anglers per boat. I won't pursue that further unless there's a lot of interest.
Tables, chairs, and some equipment for cooking (grill, campstoves, etc.). Depending on the size of the party we're talking I may not have enough, but I got some.
Lastly, I have about 25 guides working for me. Some are pretty mercenary fellows, but several are really great guys - friends, really - that I'm sure I could convince to come out and be helping hands.
Note I'm not talking about hiring guides. They'd probably fish with, but can help out, teach if needed, etc.
Now, you didn't hear me say this, but if these guys were really helpful to you, slipping them a gratuity would not be totally out of order.
I have no problems with helping out in whatever way is needed. I fish enough that if I don't cast a line the entire time, I'd be happy. And the "slip a tip" thing definitely does not extend to me. If we need to have a little streamside fishing class, that's zero problem.
This is all theory and conjecture. If I'm too grandiose in my thinking, feel free to tell me - but with some folks talking about traveling a ways to do this, I hate to just say "hey we're gonna meet on the 15th and fish for a couple hours and have lunch."
Let me know what thoughts you guys have - I'd love to see this come together!
-brad
opeyes: Between myself and a 110-pound lab there's not room to turn around half the time.