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Cutthroat Anglers Colorado Fly Fishing Shop and Guide Service

Newsletter

Cutthroat Newsletter - 8/28/06

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We're still in the transition from Summer to Fall. The temperature is definitely dropping at night, but the day time temp still warms into the 70's. Fishing is still consistent, but you have to find a stretch of river where the fish are feeding - its not like during the summer where an entire river will fish well. Now you have to move until you find where the bugs are and where the fish are feeding.

Filming for <em>Back Roads with Ron and Raven</em>
Marc Colley on a recent
guide trip to Troublesome Creek

For this reason, float trips are still my favorite method of fishing. You cover, at a minimum, 4 miles of river, and some floats are over 14 miles long. With all of this water available on a full day of floating, you are bound to find a stretch with feeding fish.

This year is one of the best season's for Hoppers in recent memory. We're seeing consistent eats on Hopper patterns on the Colorado, Arkansas, Blue, South Platte (above Spinney), and Roaring Fork Rivers. Since we're starting to move deeper into the season, you might need to be armed with a handful of different Hopper patterns because some days the fish won't hit just anything. While its great to see an explosive strike on a #6 foam pattern, you might need to scale down to a more realistic Hopper pattern in a size #10 or #12. And, as always, a bead head dropper is always a good idea.

FYI - we're losing a few of our guides this September, so we suggest you reserve guide trips as early as possible. Clint Rossell, Mitch Melichar, and Mike Joyce are all going to Alaska to guide for a few weeks for trophy Rainbows on the Iliamna Lake drainage (don't worry, they'll be back for the October bugger fishing). During their respective absences our guide staff will continue as usual; however, we will obviously have less available guides, so you need to book soon.

When it comes to fishing, the fall is tough to beat. Most days, there's hardly any crowd. The Browns become super aggressive leading up to the spawn. And, the landscapes light up in an array of colors as the leaves change. Its definitely a serene time to be on the river!

Reminder: We are still accepting submissions for our Free Sage Rod Giveaway. To be eligible, you must have an active email address signed up to receive at least one of our e-newsletters. Feel free to use the "forward" link at the end of this email to share the contest entry with your angling partners. Be sure to tell them that they must follow the "sign- up" button on the newsletter to be eligible.

Fly Fishing Retailer 2006 Review

Filming for <em>Back Roads with Ron and Raven</em>
Garrett holding a monster Bow

This past weekend, Denver played host to the 2006 Fly Fishing Retailer World Trade Expo. This show is only open to the trade, and its purpose is to allow manufacturers to display all of their new products for the 2007 season. While the primary goal of the show is business oriented, we love to use it as an excuse to catch up with old friends in the industry that we only get to see once a year.

One of the hot topics at this year's show was the unveiling of the Sage Z-Axis fly rod. This rod will replace the XP, and we already have a size run in stock at the shop (so stop in and cast one if you want to add it to your quiver).

Ross introduce a variety of new reels including new introductory level reels and a new big game reel. I think Ross will now offer reels ranging from under $50 to over $500, so they have a reel for almost any angler.

As always, FishPond added a number of new, innovative, and just plain cool items to their line. Since they already offer almost everything an angler could need while on the water, FishPond turned its efforts towards making you comfortable before and after your fishing trip. They introduced a slick thermos sleeve to keep your coffee hot during Fall mornings. They also will offer a soft shell cooler for 2007.

At the 2005 show, Cloudveil stole all of the hype by entering the world of fly fishing with a sweet new line of Gortex waders. After a season of selling of Cloudveil products we have nothing but praise for their product!! Next year, they will release a new pant style wader that is as cool as it gets. They will also tweak a few of this year's products with new colors and added features.

In summary, you can expect to see a few new fly lines, new accessories, and new fly patterns in stock at your local fly shop in 2007.

Eisenhower Tunnel Construction

Filming for <em>Back Roads with Ron and Raven</em>
Our good buddy Pablo holding up
his first ever Colorado trout

Starting on September 10th, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin work to pave both bores of the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70. This work is expected to cause major impacts to I-70 mountain travel and has been scheduled when traffic volumes are at their lightest so as to minimize the motorists’ delays. Please note the upcoming traffic restrictions necessary for this work:

September 10th, 2006 at 10 p.m. until September 15th, 2006 at 10 a.m. - The westbound (north) tunnel with be completely closed to traffic. Traffic will use the eastbound (south) tunnel and run one lane in each direction.

September 15th at 10 a.m. until September 17th at 10 p.m. - Both tunnels will be open for the weekend and there will be no lane restrictions.

September 17th at 10 p.m. until September 22nd at 10 a.m. - The westbound (north) tunnel with be completely closed to traffic. Traffic will use the eastbound (south) tunnel and run one lane in each direction.

September 22nd at 10 a.m. until September 24th at 9 p.m. - Both tunnels will be open for the weekend and there will be no lane restrictions.

September 24th at 9 p.m. until September 29th at 9 a.m. - The eastbound (south) tunnel with be completely closed to traffic. Traffic will use the westbound (north) tunnel and run one lane in each direction.

Tight Lines,
Shooter

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