Friday, November 13, 2009

On the River: Gunnison River, Gunnison, CO

October 17, 2009

Michelle and I got out Saturday afternoon for a little memorable Fall fishing. If you are one of those people who start winding down your fishing season after high summer I cannot express to you how much good fishing can be had in the fall and late fall (not to mention winter).

It is such a great time to be on the river. Typically, the crowds are almost completely gone and the weather is superb. It's the only season where you can be cool, wearing a sweater, but still feel like a sunny, warm, summer day (if that makes any sense).

It was a typical fall day for us too. The sky was a crisp blue, the water was low and clear, and the fish were in slow, shallow water. In Colorado, where baetis can pop off any day of the year, I personally think the fish respond better to the surface in the fall because of the low, clear, slower moving water.

And so, we found ourselves fishing blacktail baetis with a micro split-shot and micro indicator; and fishing poly-wing baetis to slow sippers (a lot of times we like to rig two rods, but we still just share one, then if you're fishing the nymph rod and see a riser ... switch out rods and you're ready to roll).

The day was quite pleasant but it wasn't until the later half that we came up on a long pool with about 10 fish steadily rising as baetis passed over them. The photo of the nice brown was the first fish we took on dries and Michelle hooked him in water that was about 6" in depth. It was a beautiful thing! We ended up landing a solid 8 fish on the poly-wing baetis anywhere from 6" to 14".

These are the days I live for!

-Jeff

2 comments:

  1. Jeff! It's been a little quiet there on your end - hopefully you've been out on the water and you're busy writing it all up and getting the pics ready?

    Looks like you two had a great time...and the weather was decent - love those fall days! Seemed to have missed those this year, though....went straight from a cool summer into a winter!

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  2. Yeah, things have actually been a little hectic ... not so much quiet.

    The Allen Brothers is making a big push in marketing coming up this spring (Including the Denver Flyfishing show Jan. 7,8 and 9, and ads in Fly Rod and Reel, and Fly Fisherman). So, I've been slammed working hard, and fishing when I can, but I'm afraid blogging is the last on the list.

    I'll catch up soon though. There have been some adventures, including a steelhead day back east which resulted in a 9 lb. steely!!!!

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