As wintry weather started to set in, I knew
I could manage to fish a couple more days somewhere. I decided to fish the Platte down by
Deckers. One of my fishing buddies and I headed over Nighthawk Hill and followed the river
to Deckers. That trip was a unique experience
because the water looked so fishy that sometimes I had to concentrate on my driving. We
stopped in the fly shop for information and got an earful about how the Platte has been
making a great recovery from the Hayman fire. The owner also mentioned that the river was
turning into a caddis river due to change of the bottom of the river. Well, the river
fished well, and maybe the owner of the fly shop was right. Only time will tell. Black midges about #22 and
my new streamer worked quite well.
The Arkansas River valley is cold, but a lot
of fish are taking PTs and micro mayflies. It won’t be long before the shelf ice will
start to form. Eleven Mile Canyon is experiencing BWO hatches around noon. Wow! Dry fly action in the middle of December.
As winter sets in for good, I take this time
to look in my fly boxes and discard any old fly hooks that are rusted and body materials
that are torn. Some of the old standby patterns should be discarded or maybe updated with
some of the new synthetic materials. More on
this later.
The fly fishing shows (giant garage sales)
will be in town in January. I know that I make fun, but the shows really are a lot of fun.
New materials, new slide presentations, new rods to test, and time spent picking up
pointers on some of the “old” rivers.
Saturday fly-tying demonstrations are always
fun during the winter months. Lord knows I
need all the help I can get in that area.
See you at the shows!
