You can contact Dennis at: DSmith7136@msn.com

 

    This past week brought us one of those crazy Colorado fall snow storms - the kind that dumps a foot or more of heavy wet snow in a couple of hours, cripples small towns, closes schools, cancels events, clogs highways with multi-car pileups and then melts off the next day leaving you to wonder if it ever really happened at all.  It did, of course, and you can tell by the change in color a storm like this adds to a trout stream. I suspect it dramatically lowers the water temperature too and puts the fish in an early winter funk.

     No matter, the die-hards will be out there casting autumn olives and midges and deep drifting tiny nymphs. They’ll catch fish too. Maybe not as many as they would have a week or two ago, but certainly enough to keep them coming back for more until shelf ice and bitter winds make it more trouble than it’s worth. Then they’ll hit the tailwaters, where they can at least count on open water, reasonable flows and lots of fish. Some guys are deeply addicted to fly-fishing and weather is no obstacle where trout are concerned. I’ll stay at home, read books and tie flies, thank you very much.

     I’ve collected a few good fly fishing/fly tying books in recent months that I suspect will keep me occupied until spring arrives: Wet Flies by Ken Sawada, Trout Hunter by Rene Harrop, and Tying Catskill-style Dry Flies by Mike Valla. I bought Wet Flies and Trout Hunter at Bob’s. Julie called earlier this year to tell me about Swada’s book, describing it as one of the most beautifully photographed books ever published on the subject of wet flies. She wasn’t kidding. When I went down to pick up my copy, I saw Trout Hunter and couldn’t put it down. Consequently, I brought that one home with me too. Julie’s always got a neat selection of unusual fly-fishing volumes on the rack.

      A Catskill Mountain transplant, I’m a sucker for anything written about trouting in those old waters, so when I heard about Valla’s book I ordered it through Amazon.com. I’ve breezed through all of three books already, but I’ll pour over them in earnest now that the snows have started to fly. It may not be quite as exciting as finessing a 15-incher to take a size 22 midge on 6X tippet in a snow storm, but it’s certainly a lot more comfortable. And at my age, comfort is a high priority.

      

Dennis Smith is an Outdoor Writer and Photographer. His articles and photos have appeared in numerous outdoor publications, catalogs and newspapers. Dennis can be reached at (970) 669-6074. Want to know more about Dennis?

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