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Cutthroat Anglers Owner Trapper Rudd with fish

Cutthroat Newsletter - 8/13/07

Is it really mid-August already? I wish winter went by this quickly! This is normally the time of year when if you do go fishing, you get up early and quit by noon because the water is warm. This year things have been different. Although warm water is an issue in a few places (namely Parshall), the big rivers have held out phenominally through the dog days of summer thanks to a good snow year and plenty of cold water coming in from tributaries.

I know I sound like a broken record with this, but float fishing is still hands down the only way to go on guided trips- there's no getting up at 5:00 am, few other anglers, and no warm water.

Fall is just around the corner so soon the water will cool, the action will heat up even more, and crowds will diminish. I noticed a few leaves starting to change already on a Catamount to Burns float the other day. If you don't have Tivo, look into it. That way you can spend your weekends taking advantage of some of the best fishing of the year without missing your favorite football team play.

No Man's Land

I might get myself into trouble for letting the cat out of the bag on this one, but I'm going to go ahead with it.

Far, far, away on the Colorado River, there is a mystical place between Catamount and Dotsero. Known only to guides and a few locals, it goes by the name of "No Man's Land." The water in this remote stretch of river runs dirty most of the year, so it receives little angling pressure. It usually tends to clear in late August, just in time for hopper season. At this point these unpressured wild brown trout often begin to feed recklessly. Standard fare in "No Man's Land" includes Big Foamies (guide talk for foam hoppers), beadheads, and Chew Toys (guide talk for streamers).

In addition to the great fall fishing, this area boasts some of the most unique and amazing scenery in Colorado. In the fall, the scrub oaks light up in red and orange, the cottonwoods in bright yellow, and the willows fill in the gaps with various shades of all of the above. The river meanders through red rock and sandstone cliff-lined canyons, as well as lush meadow terrain that is grashopper's paradise.

We do offer guided float trips to this area, but please be aware that special arrangements must be made at the time of booking. If you decide to give it a try, please let the guys in the shop know that you are interested in this particular area.

Fish Out of the Box

So I actually went fishing today. It had been way too long and I was really excited to rip some lip. As Chaz, Todd Brown and I headed North to Float the Upper C, the weather was hot, dry, and windy. This time of year, that equates to hoppers in our minds. Typically in this situation we would fish a hopper-dropper rig with one or two nymphs below the hopper. We decided this time to rig one of these as usual and another as a hopper/drowned hopper rig. This was something that none of us had ever tried. To our surprise, the experimental rig outfished the standard.

Soon into the float, a big afternoon boomer set in. With the heavy cloud cover, we had our fingers crossed for a heavy BWO hatch, which never quite materialized the way we wanted it to. We then went to another one of our old standbys- double streamers.

As soon as we slapped the streamers in the water, we realized that we had found the ticket. The fish were blowing up on them every few casts. Since we were in an experimental mood, Chaz decided to tie a giant red and yellow Deceiver on as his first fly. Todd thought that it was a ridiculous idea, as this fly is normally used for saltwater fish and northern pike. A five dollar bet was made, and the deceiver hit the water. Although only a few fish took the large, bright deceiver, they seemed to be much more interested in the fly behind it much more than before. An attention getter? Perhaps. Whatever it was, it was a weird idea and it worked.

As anglers and guides, we all have our confidence patterns, rigs, spots, and techniques that we have spent years developing. The lesson we learned today was that it may be a good idea to try something new and out of the box from time to time. Who cares if your fishing buddy says it's a stupid idea. Be creative, fish with confidence, and you may find something new to keep in your bag of tricks. By the way, thanks for the five bucks Todd!

Fly Fishing Style; What's Hot And What's Not

It seems that style points have always counted in the sport of fly fishing in the way of apparel, technique and equipment. Fly fishing, however, is no longer something that is just for old rich guys wearing tweed. The demographic has broadened and technology has changed tremendously in recent years. Get clued up here on current trends with our spot-on analysis of what's hot and what's not in the world of fly fishing.

What's Hot: Lanyards, Hip Packs
What's Not: Cotton Vests, Sheepskin Patches

What's Hot: Visors, Mesh Backed Ball Caps
What's Not: Tilley Hats, Longbilled Ball Caps

What's Hot: Wading Sandals, Gore-Tex
What's Not: Hip Boots, Neoprene

What's Hot: Lightweight Zipoff Pants
What's Not: Blue Jeans

What's Hot: Polarized Prescription Sunglasses
What's Not: Fitovers, Cocoons

What's Hot: SPF 60 Sunscreen
What's Not: Sun Gloves, Flats Caps

What's Hot: Cloudveil, Fishpond, Sage
What's Not: Cabelas, Orvis, Bass Pro

What's Hot: Collared Fishing Shirts
What's Not: Vest With No Shirt

What's Hot: Foamulators, Tung Teasers
What's Not: Pistol Petes, Renegades

What's Hot: High Modulus Graphite
What's Not: Bamboo

What's Hot: The Roaring Fork
What's Not: The Jones Ranch

What's Hot: Yarn Indicators
What's Not: Florescent Corkies

What's Hot: 3X
What's Not: 8X

What's Hot: Waterproof Digital Cameras, GPS
What's Not: Cell Phones, Blackberrys

Tight Lines,
Chris Hall and Trapper Rudd
Cutthroat Anglers

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