Saturday, April 12, 2008

Colorado River

I went on a solo mission to a stretch of the Colorado River today that J was kind enough to point me to. It was at an area near Grandby, I can't disclose any details beyond that due to a code of confidentiality.

Wow, what a beautiful place. The wild life was thriving there. Right when I stepped into the water a hawk flew over the river that was as big as an owl. I have never seen that type of hawk before. There were also animal droppings I have never seen before along with a jamboree of different footprints scampering along the shoreline in the snow. I kept scanning the mountain faces in hopes for a unique animal.
The section of water that I dropped in on had pretty much every feature in the book. There were slow, deep sections, shallow riffles, deep riffles, pools, and fanning tails all within eye sight of where I was standing. The water was a greenish opaque color which is actually a nice change from the recent winter's gin-clear because the trout are less alert to an angler's presence.

I got to use my new RIO WF5F line for the first time today. It was awesome! No sinking.

(On a side note, I went fishing twice after work at Boulder Creek with my new RIO DT4F line earlier this week and it was up to par as well. Also, my brother finally got a pair of waders and boots. He will really be able to fish now. It was just in time too because my waders sprung a leak in the left thigh so I was able to use his. My boots are going to shred to pieces any day now too. It's insane how many miles/hours I've put that gear through already.)

What a difference it makes to have line that I don't have to fight - in cohesion with the upgraded drying system my Dad hooked me up with. Them browns didn't stand a chance. I managed 4 browns before the wind kicked up so hard that I was "casting" by just letting my line fly in the air like a kite upstream, and then just resting it down to the water. That isn't very fun. Plus, the guides on my rod kept closing up with ice and I'd have to chip it out with my fingers.
Needless to say, I didn't much enjoy that combination of complications. It's all good though, I had a great time there and spent about half the time just wandering around the shore looking at the views and wildlife. I saw another mountain bluebird, about 25 robins and about 15 mule deer. Colorado sure isn't short of impressive wildlife. I can't wait for the day I run into a mountain lion... I think.

*10 CFS -- needs to be much higher. At least 100.
*Weather was sunny and very windy.

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