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Cutthroat Anglers Colorado Fly Fishing Shop and Guide Service

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Cutthroat Newsletter - 04/09/09

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With most of the ski resorts winding down in the next week or so, even the Copper Mountain Ski Patrol is ready for spring fishing (see photo below). Things are looking quite favorable so far as we are anticipating a quick and mild runoff this year, but also plenty of cold water to help us through the dog days of summer. We're already seeing significant hatches of Blue Winged Olives on the Arkansas and Lower Colorado Rivers with caddis soon to follow!

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Now is the ideal time to book your first float or wade trip of the year as fishing is solid and traffic is low. There are also still a couple of spots left for Spring Guide School, so if you'd like to give it a go, make sure to book your spot while we still have room.


Moose On the Loose!

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As you can probably imagine, we encounter all sorts at the shop.  It's one of the things that keeps our days fun and interesting, but the other day we had a visitor who was way out of the norm.

I think I was about a third of the way through my ninth cup of coffee, which probably put us at about 10:30AM when a woman informed us that that there was a moose outside of the shop.

Allegedly the flummoxed young Swamp Donkey wandered into town and decided to do some  window shopping for some new Simms Vibram Soled Guide Boots, but got sticker shock when she realized that there were only two boots in the box and she would have to buy two sets.

Short on cash, she ended up wet wading downstream through the Blue with no boots at all, but somehow managed to keep from slipping.

She was later spotted downstream of Town Hall by Adam Barbour, who spotted her while fishing and was kind enough to share his photo.

Runoff 2009 Has Been Cancelled

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(Note: This article contains little to no scientific research and is mostly based on hunches, outlandish theories, and the urge to float fish.)

As I am writing this article it is snowing and has been snowing for the last 6 days or so.  It appears that winter has returned, but don't fear the moisture, embrace it!

Webster defines runoff as "that part of precipitation, snowmelt, or irrigation water that flows from the land to streams or other surface waters". With most reports showing Colorado's snowpack at around 100% many fly fishers will hang up the fly rods or resort to only fishing lakes this May and June. I am here to let you know that runoff has been cancelled for 2009!

Well not really.  By definition runoff will happen. I will, however, go out on a limb and say with (almost) complete confidence that the fishing this May and June will be at least good and most likely better than average. I won't bore you by going into the details of my zany theories- we can do that in the shop, but will instead provide some ideas as what to look for this May and June.

  • Look for conditions on The Arkansas River during the Mothers Day Caddis hatch to be excellent.
  • For you small stream junkies, the freestone streams of the South Park Valley should run high and clear in June with prolific hatches and eager trout.
  • We should see another incredible Giant Stone Fly hatch on the Colorado River (This is a must see for any fly fisher).
  • Giant trout in the Reservoirs of South Park and North Park will be readily available.
  • Look for excellent hatches of PMDs and Green Drakes on the large freestone rivers starting sometime in June.

Your favorite river(s) should not see periods of unfishable water due to low visibility for more than two consecutive weeks. In closing, nobody can predict the upcoming weather and events such as heavy snows, high temperatures, and rain. They can of course change everything. We also need to recognize that trout and the aquatic insects they feed on seem to love the big water.

So when your fishing buddies tell you that everything's blown out this Spring, grab the dog or take a solo mission and rest assured that you'll have a great story for them when you get back.

-Clint Rossell

Speaking of Vibram Soled Boots…

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We've been doing our best to try to be environmentally responsible at the shop.  Years ago, we decided to go completely lead free and sell tin and tungsten instead.  We make sure to recycle all of our beer cans, which I'm assuming makes a HUGE difference, and we're in the process of converting to more energy efficient lighting right now.

Along the same lines, we have made the commitment to become felt free with our wading boots going forward.  Felt soles were originally used by roofers and were adapted to wading boots.  Although felt soles have helped keep anglers safe and stable for decades, Cloudveil and Simms have partnered with Vibram and created fishing specific rubber soled wading boots.

These new soles not only grip in a wider range of conditions than felt, but also reduce the risk of spreading invasive species from river to river.  Here's what Simms has to say about it;

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ECO-CONSCIOUS DESIGN FOR RESPONSIBLE ANGLERS. Invasive species such as mud snails and didymo have become a growing threat to the health of trout populations and aquatic ecosystems throughout the world. And, unfortunately, anglers have played a part in the spread, unintentionally transporting them among different watersheds on their wading boots and other fishing gear. The problem is now well-known in the fishing community and at Simms, we've taken the matter to heart.

That's why we've introduced our new CleanStream™ design. CleanStream™ is a design philosophy that runs through our line of wading boots. It doesn't refer to any specific product or feature. Rather, it describes a combination of features we employ to assist anglers in doing their part to prevent the spread of invasive species. Products with our CleanStream™ design feature materials that are more resistant to "hitchhiking" organisms and have less exposed stitching, fewer ridges and pockets that could potentially hide stowaways. In addition to making fishing gear easier to clean, Simms encourages all anglers to inspect and clean their gear after every outing to help prevent the spread of ANS.

Tight Lines,
Chris Hall and Trapper Rudd
Cutthroat Anglers

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