[photo: an awesome brook trout caught by my friend Andy (photo from Andy's iPhone)]
I've been fishing since age five. It wasn't until August, though, that I had experienced a successful fly fishing trip. Now I'm hooked.
At the beginning of August, I went to Estes Park, CO. My friend Andy booked a fly fishing guide through The Estes Angler. The fishing trip was one component of a multi-part mountain man vacation, which otherwise included but was not limited to hiking, whitewater rafting, eating elk meat, and driving a rented Hummer through the forest.
The morning of the fishing trip, we showed up bright and early at the The Estes Angler wherein we met our guide, Mike Oatley. Mike outfitted us with R.L. Winston gear and gave a thirty minute casting class outside of the store. Then we set off for Rocky Mountain National Park for several hours of fly fishing action.
The first thing I can tell you about fly fishing in Colorado is that even if you suck at fly casting and/or have no luck catching fish, you are still in the mountains of Colorado and that beats just about any day at the office. Our trip involved hiking through a wooded area, and then following a narrow, snowmelt fed river until likely fish occupied water was found. By river, I mean a fifteen foot wide channel which would easily fit inside of Barton Creek. But, this river was surrounded by high cliffs, forests, and mountain peak vistas.
The second thing about fly fishing in Colorado is that the process of fly fishing is fun, active, and quite engaging. You are constantly casting, mending your line, and letting your fly float down as you work the water for signs of fish. If you see a flash of light reflecting off a trout's scales, then you work that area as you present your fly to the fish until it finally gives into to its need for a tasty snack. While fishing, I didn't think about business or law at all; just working the line and catching a trout. It was pretty awesome.
And, finally, catching a brook trout is cool. They put up a good fight for a relatively small fish. I caught two, and as mentioned above, became hooked on fly fishing.
If you are going to be in Boulder, Fort Collins, or Estes Park and you're interested in some good fly fishing, then I recommend Mike Oatley. You can reach him through The Estes Angler. Mike's initial casting instructions were very good, and he worked with all of us throughout the trip, giving more instruction and advice to improve casting, line handling, water reading, fly presentation, and so forth. Thanks to Mike, I quickly went from having a crappy fly cast to being pretty decent. Mike also gave a lot of good general fishing advice, which I've employed on subsequent trips.
