It's Game-On for the High Lakes

The first thaws of the high lakes occurred about a week into June. I partook in two high lake sessions during the month. The first was a day hike, the second was an overnight backpacking trip.

This is the first of two installments in Tangler.Blogspot that I will roll out within days of each other, so check back soon for the second.

~~~~

My first high country excursion had limited success. It was one of those days that I was border line ecstatic about shaking the skunk when it finally happened. However, as always with the high altitude missions, there was no shortage of exotic landscape, man-proving hiking, and sense of true, desolate adventure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Colorado's high lakes are the pinnacle of the state's fly fishing experience.

We were on the trail before the sun even broke the horizon. As we trudged up the path to the lakes we literally hiked into the clouds. We lost the trail due to snow about an 1/8 of a mile from the lakes. The fog limited visibility to roughly 50 yards at that point. All of the sudden a mirror of water abruptly stretched out in front of us... we had reached one of the lakes.

Carper shot a photo of Jason across the lake when the fog cleared a little.


The cuttys were in spawn mode (which, contrary to rainbows and browns, makes for very tough fishing) and I didn't have my nice camera, so photos are a little sparse. Here are a few of the cuttys we caught.


Jason's:

...A little smaller than we had hoped for, but fish none the less.

When Carper and I reached the second lake he spotted something about 1/4 of a mile away and about 600 ft. above us. It was a large, gray, four legged animal jogging along the mountain side. It nimbly dashed up to the top of the ridge, stopped for a pose, and then vanished down the back side. It happened very fast.

Now, before I jump to any brash conclusions let me lay out a disclaimer. It was far away and above us. We were above the 12,000 ft. mark and had just climbed up a steep slope. Our perception and judgment may have been affected by those factors.

However, It was extremely bright and clear up there and we both got a good look at the "creature" as Carper referred to it. Even though it was far away, its large frame was unmistakable. I've narrowed it down to the following possibilities: we were delusional, we saw a domestic dog very far away from home, we saw the biggest coyote in Colorado, or it was a...

Lake fishing - Callibaetis in Session

I left work Friday afternoon, grabbed my 4 duffle bags of pre-packed gear and headed into the mountains. During my drive I pulled over to snap a quick photo of a moose on the side of the road.


The moose took off running. I initially thought that I had scared it... and then a group of horses emerged from the trees that had been rushing the moose.



I approached the camp site Friday evening at 9:30 pm bouncing and maneuvering along the trail in my F-150.

The utter darkness was engulfing out there. The multiple layers of stars were remarkably clear, but cast absolutely zero illumination down to the mountains. All I could make out was Swizz's face peering out at my approaching truck - face lit up by spotty light cast from the flames of a camp fire dancing in the steady wind out of the West.

I crudely unloaded some gear and pitched my tent in the light of my headlamp. I joined Swizz and Mark for a beer before we all retired to our beds to accelerate the arrival of the following day of fishing.

The morning sun brought out the chironomids. We ate breakfast and took our time getting onto the water. As we had hoped for, the late morning brought on an onslaught of callibaetis.

Callibaetis husks:


Callibaetis Adults:



And guess who was down there dining on emergers?



I implore you to click on the following photo to view it in full quality.

Many more fish were caught on Saturday, but none quite as spectacular as the native. The unique catch put a very large smile on my face; much to the disbelief of Swizz, and the disgust of Jason.

Rain, lightning, and wind came through in the afternoon and really put the fish down for the rest of the day.

Jason stripped a streamer through the shallows that evening and hooked into a brown that ended up spitting the hook. The loss was a shame, but beers and dinner while watching the sunset eased the pain.


Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday. Midges in the morning, mayflies in the late morning, and storms in the afternoon putting down the hatches and fish.

Late morning 'bow taken on a calli:


Vaughn showed up and fished with us Sunday. He caught a 25 in. rainbow right before the storm hit. Regrettably, I was fishing far away from him and didn't get a photo of the biggest fish of the weekend. However, Vaughn sticking the hog is nothing new.

New Wader Purchase

I've been battling leaks in my waders all year. It seems that my first full season of winter fishing in 08-09 did them in. After patching 4 major holes, yet still having leaking issues, I decided it was time to purchase a new pair.

After much deliberation and consultation, today I purchased a pair of Simms G3s from Front Range Anglers. I'm still suffering dizziness and short term memory loss due to the price tag, but it's an investment in a piece of clothing that I will put quite a bit of time in.

A farewell to the Cabelas Dry Plus waders which lasted me 6 years!! Amazing!

Lake Fishing a Chironomid Hatch

Vaughn:


Vaughn caught the fish of the day; a 23'' cutbow:

Photographer - Swizz

Mark:

Photographer - Swizz

This is the only photo of this fish for obvious reasons. It is in the act of flying out of the net, off an oar, and back into the water:

Tangler:

Photographer - Swizz

Photographer - Swizz

Photographer - Swizz

And then came the Chironomids.

Husks collecting in the surface film...

Adults choking the air...


Clinging to the bushes...


...and nymphs catching the fish.

Photographer - Vaughn

That cutbow was the hardest fighting trout I've ever caught, and I've caught much bigger. When my indicator dipped below the surface I promptly reacted by raising my rod tip to set the hook. However, before I had time to create the tension, the fly line pulled through my line hand and slapped the rod. My drag had relinquished 5 feet of line by the time I had raised my rod tip. The full body, underwater headshakes were as violent as I've ever felt, and always precluded a powerful run. The fish was just a slab of muscle. Vaughn and I guessed it was around the 19'' mark in length.

Another smaller cutbow:

Photographer - Vaughn

Some birds we spotted during the day:

Grackle:

Yellow-Headed Black Bird:

Photographer - Swizz

Western Grebes with a couple American Coots behind them:


White-Faced Ibis:


Eared Grebe:


Northern Shoveler:

Spring Shots

Canon City Canyon



Spinney Reservoir:








North Park:








Front Range Warm Water: Photos: Nick Turner