NL Wilson WoolyBlogger®

To my chagrin there was nothing to be seen. While there were some great potential lies, all the rocks were barren of insect life because the stream had frozen over during the winter and there was not a fish around. We wandered alongside the stream under the bridge (US 6) for about a quarter mile until we came to some incredibly unpromising flats. About that time we decided to turn around and head back to the car. On our way back we decided to head over to Breckenridge to see how the “steps” section of the Blue River was fishing there. I thought there might be some competition for the fish, but didn’t want to take my son down past Silverthorne because everything is still very snowy, while the section in Breck has more places for him to sit and watch. We got up there and to our pleasant surprise only found one other angler on the water. That was great, but he was spin casting and standing right in front of the hole I wanted to fish. That’s fine with me that someone else is working a good hole, but don’t stand right in front of it. You should know the fish can see you, and when they can see you they aren’t going to take. Plus, spin fishing in March in Breck? That only works on water where the fish are territorial or big enough/active enough to go after baitfish. Breck at the end of winter doesn’t fit the bill. Sorry. So, the fish I wanted to cast to, that I had come prepared to cast to, we not available, and the way that guy was treating them they wouldn’t be available until the next day. So, I decided to hit the pool/run just upstream from the killer holes I hoped to fish. This was actually fortuitous because fish were rising there. Unfortunately, I didn’t fish them correctly. My first cast yielded a snagged bush about twenty feet behind me, my second attempt resulted in a caught tailing loop and my third one caught the back of my jacket. I was off to a good start. On top of that my poor kid was sitting there wondering what his dad was doing and if he would ever get the fly onto the water, let alone catch any trout. Finally I got things straightened out and began presenting the fly to the rising fish. I should have listened to by friend Brayden, who is my authority on all things fly-fishing. The last time I was on this same pool with rising fish I tried fishing BWO dries to them to no avail. He told me to use BWO emergers and that I’d have luck with them. This time I was too lazy to take the bead head pheasant tail off (I was planning to use it on the deep pocket at the end of this pool) and put the emergers on. I had no luck. I did, however, have at least two good strikes that I just didn’t react to quickly enough. I know that sounds pathetic, but for a beginner angler just knowing the fish are buying into your presentation is rewarding. All in all, we were out there for about forty-five minutes and I had a couple of good strikes/takes, saw one fish study my nymph as it floated by twice and caught a bush, my own line and myself. The important thing though is that I learned and had fun with my kid.