things, that have happened and, otherwise

well, i have been guiding a lot. the fishing has gotten tougher, fish pickier, water lower and clearer. but we're still catching fish. our big hatches have been gone for a while, the only dry flies that fish will come up to with some sort of consistency are hopper patterns. which is fun. the fish are slowly transitioning to eating midges (very small flies). these are a pain to tie on, and easily tangled by beginners. seen quite a few rookies lately which can be frustrating, but also pretty sweet when you can net a nice fish for them.
a while back, i had some guests. this was fun. my top bunk was occupied by a familiar (and bearded) roommate's face. that was nice. Liz and Ben came down from denver and Matty G cruised through on his own american road trip. we hiked, we fished, we swam, we laughed, we did.

i saw a bull moose:
i had the idea to take pictures of holes in each of our 15 stations on goose creek. here is a real sweet hole on station 14. that rock wall goes up probably 30 feet. i think the deepest part of this pool is 5 or 6 feet. sizely (is that a word?) wild rainbows hang out in this pool:
here is a sweet run on 13. the creek splits about 300 yards above this and then comes back together to make this run. mostly browns in this stretch, but there are a few bows in there too. two weeks ago i had a client hook two browns on one cast in this hole:
i gave Boone another good NJ on the Rio:
i went to a wedding!
Mr. and Mrs. Mueller:
there were a few Batesies there:
and a little dancing:
it occurred to me that i haven't put up many/any pictures of the ranch compound itself. my humble abode, Creekside:
my private porch, window and entrance:
things otherwise include deciding where to go and what to do when the 4UR closes down for the season on october 5th. other things otherwise include going to work now.

i hope everyone is well!

The Mighty Lake Carp

The excitement an angler can get when approaching a foreign water is great. A foreign species, the same. Guide's day off is still Saturday and three of us headed into uncharted territory for all of us: sight fishing for lake carp. Our head guide had put the fire in our heads, so we burned rubber east from the ranch, our destination the San Luis Lakes.

We approached the lakes like children on Christmas morn. The information we carried with us was this: go to the north side of the lake, use stoneflies or woolly buggers, find the carp, put it in front of their heads and slowly strip, then when the line goes tight, hold on. Fair enough, here we go...
When we reached the lakes, we continued along a dirt road that looked like it went to the north. It did and we reached a locked gate where we assumed was the best place to get to the north shore. The environs around us were, in a word, weird. We crossed several hundred yards of what I'd describe as desert, to find a 200-plus acre lake that was three feet deep all the way across. The water was a light tan color and when we started wading, we quickly lost sight of our own feet. We then knew that sight fishing would be tough. Across the lake loomed a fourteen thousand foot mountain. Abutting that range are sand dunes! We were seemingly on a different planet.
We laughed hysterically as none of us had any idea what to do. It was as foreign I have possibly ever felt in a body of water. One guy went this way, the other that way and I in between the two. nearly an hour passed before yells came from Drew. I ran down the shoreline to investigate and sure enough he was hooked up. He excitedly detailed to me what had happened. He had spotted three carp and put a fly in front of one and it took. And then he ran. Far away. Into the backing he went.
Fifteen minutes later I netted the beast.
So we were on the board. Confidence soared as Drew and I stalked together. Then I spotted my first carp. They were tough to see in the murky waters, but they were certainly there. I think I spooked/botched my first attempts but continued on, roughly forty feet from the shore. Sure enough I spotted another one. Two casts later I was tight. Into the backing he went. Twice. A good NJ later and I picked up my first carp. What an odd looking thing!
As the day went on, sunlight was sporadic, and we were all at a loss at how to continue. Drew and I had both landed two at this point, but it had been a while before anyone's line was tight. Boone was yet to pick up a rubber lip. We discussed tactics and were seemingly at a disagreement as how to continue. So I started casting. And caught another! Blind fishing it would be. Shortly after, Boone was tight.
And then hoisted up the ugly thing.
So we ended the day with seven in the net. I have more than once discussed the thrills one can find when entering new waters with little information and then having success. I believe there are many things a guide can teach an angler that they might not learn by themselves. Any decent guide knows their water well. Ask Wilkie to talk about the Magalloway or the Dead. Ask the Captain to talk about Cape bass or Canyons yellowfin. Those two know their waters as well as anyone I've met. A good guide is priceless. But every now and then it's good for an angler to step into unknown waters and see what happens. There's carp in them waters!

Head Guide Andy Lee is a Fisherman

every day, after the morning's trip, during lunch, we guides sit around and start our discussion with what worked where, fish caught, clients good and bad, how the fishing was. head guide andy lee always catches fish. almost always catches a lot of them.

two days ago he slayed fish on: black chernobyl ant.
yesterday he slayed fish on: bwo emergers with 7 pieces of split.

what??

Email body and attachment from client:

"Hottest guys in Mineral county."

Ode To A Rainbow Trout

There, in the deep hole.
Spotted; both you, and, by me.
Let's dance in water.

seafood bouillabaisse

i have been in colorado for two months. it's nice here. the fishing's been great the past couple weeks. although i did have a very tough trip this morning. worked hard to get one in the net for mr. and mrs. we were in the run, 15 minutes after i was supposed to be driving back to the lodge. i spotted two fish, both 3 feet off the bank in about 6 inches of water. put a drake right over one, nothing. put a pink cahill over it, nothing. put an adams and a dropper over, nothing. screw you, on to the other one. same story. drake, cahill, adams, dropper, bwo, nothing. screw you. change rigs, put on two nymphs and an indicator. first cast into the main flow and a fish eats the indicator. ha! switch back to a dry, nothing. cast again, nothing. lordy. put on a dropper again, two casts later, bang. fish in the net, high fives, sighs of relief, call it a morning. whew!

i'm very curious to see how the fishing changes over the next two and a half months. Boone and i were discussing the fishery and the ranch and whether we'd like to return next year. one analogy i used was when i waited tables. i did it for one summer and enjoyed it. i liked the scene, the people i worked for, the restaurant, liked talking with people, liked the fast pace. i was pretty good at it. i did it for one summer only. i thought about doing it again, but got other jobs, moved on, etc. but, if i were to do it again, i would've been even better at it. i think the same would be true here. save for one trip, i have netted fish for every client i have taken out. i'm a personable guy, i can get along with most people i think. plus, everyone on the is on vacation - they're in great spirits. i'm doing a pretty good job at guiding i think, and so i'm told. that all said, if i do guide on this creek again, i think i'll be even better. i'll have seen the fishery change across the season and have a better idea of what to expect in different conditions, what flies to use when certain other flies don't. it's hard to complain about being paid for standing in a river all day. however, that salary i used to have sounds pretty nice when i'm doing dishes for 5 hours monday nights, getting a single digit dollar amount per hour. ha.

so we shall see.
post-ranch plans are still nil. i like that feeling, but i also like entertaining ideas about what to do next. we'll see how much money finds its way into my bank account by the time this summer's over. unfortunately i think what i do will have something to do with that, but what it is. i like to believe you can do whatever you want, but shit, you gotta feed the monkey!

dish duty tonight. two hours of dishes alone, ipod in one ear. i kill that. an hour of tag teaming minimal dish work then another hour and a half to two of a game you can't win. that's when dish depression and/or dish dementia sets in. get out and it's black as a dark steer's tuckus outside. but, i do get to eat off the menu. monday's special: seafood bouillabaisse. that almost makes it worth it.

dirty plates, here i come!

Clientele

the fishing's been pretty good lately...





even the guide gets given the stick every blue moon...