HeavyC

Hi Everyone! I guess I should do my part and chime in for a little confirmation of everyone's thinking. I have lived in Colorado since I was [1] and I am now ALMOST [43]. Colorado fishing as whole declined steadily & drastically from about ~1975-1990! Since the late 80s I had practically stopped fishing in Colorado unless it was for catfish, carp or stocker trout with some young uns! ...and unlike Trav, I hate fresh farmed trout! (LOL!) Though I will take a few home to family members once and while to quite them up! My philosophy is that they are "put & take", and basically the populations are entended for sustaining the populations of other game species like Lake Trout, Tiger Muskies, Bass, Pike, Walleye, etc... It must have been around the early 90s when you started seeing much more controls on creel limits and then came along the slot limits. I will be the first to attest, IT HAS WORKED! Slowly but surely, the size & numbers have started to come back. I will tell you one of the biggest culprits was whirling desease. For many years it decimated the rainbow populations in many areas of the state. Due to all of this; for the better part of the last 20 years I was fishing for trout and primarily in Wyoming! I cannot say enough good things about Wyoming trout fishing, and would have still had several trips there this year had it not been for the crazy out of control gas prices this summer! I will be heading up to one of my better spots later this fall, the Wind River running in The Wind River Canyon, and when all the monster hook jawed Brownies start their upstream treks! The place is an absolute paradise for trout fishing and is NOT heavily pressured since it is on the Wind River Indian reservation and not a lot of folks know that you are allowed to fish there. It is more expensive, ($20 a day!) but def worth every penny! A 5-12# brown is a frequent event there too, ...Trav? You can clip all the fins you want and I will see if 'I' can catch them again, let me know if you ever come this way, I can point anyone in the right direction. I actually think some of these areas need a little more pressure than they currently receive! (Sorry to get off on that little tangent, I am OK now and back on track after getting a little exited thinking about it!) In Colorado; I do wish the rangers would enforce things more than they do currently since I too see many abusers and frequently let them have piece of mind about their little rule breaking events! Overall, I personally see and firmly believe that many rivers are well on their way back to their haydays, and others are on track to be there very soon which I am so exited about! Now, the "high country" that "LostMyWife" mentioned, continues to be the absolute Mecca of trout fishing! Definately aided by the elevation and lack of pressure. You WILL earn your stripes if you choose to accept that mission, but the rewards are the memories of a lifetime!! The fish are exceptional and the most beautiful trout you would ever imagine put on this here earth! Here is a link to a post from today on the forum I most frequent. Not real sure where the place was, but a decent representation of the color some of the cutthroats have in the higher lakes!!! http://www.fishexplorer.com/fx/fxrforum.as...t&pid=19220 We literally have thousands of these type of high country lakes in Colorado that are open to the public if someone so choose to put in a day hike to get there! Most are absolutely packed with huge populations of these trout and can also use more pressure IMO than they currently see. There is no better place for seclusion and scenery, Alaska included on the scenary, but once in a while you might find a mountaineer up there with you! Might be comprable in Alaska for the scenary, but impossible to be better! To finish this off; I would like to mention the fact that I will be traveling to Mizz in just two weeks to partake in your fine offerings on Taney and TR! Of course I could only make it surrounding Labor Day, so I hope all you regulars stay out of this crazy tourist's way!! (LOL! I am too funny sometimes!) Seriously though, I have been frequenting OA forum for quite awhile now and eating up all you fine folks' knowledge and hope to apply it in [15] days!!! YES! Definately plan to spend ample amounts of my time on both Taney & TR, and put to practice all the tips that are offered on this site so freely. THANKS so very much for all of it, everyone! I also heeded many of your advice and will be spending day on Table Rock with Don House and I am more exited about fishing w/ Capt. Don than anything since I was a teenager and figured out what I could do with...........Oops, can't tell that story here! Definately looking forward to my trip to the Ozarks, heck I am a half 'ozark' boy anyway, my momma was from outside Conway, Ar. and I will be visiting a aunt in Conway while we are there. (Workmans & Carters, mainly from the North Little Rock, Conway, Harrison areas if any of you might be kin!) p.s... Colorado has also made even better progress on the warm water species front by incorporating the same type of strict creel, possession and slot limits. Bass & walleye fishing in Colorado when I was young was practically non-existent and now it thrives! Heck, our state record for the eyes is bigger than either Minn or Wisconsin!

Awesome! I just watched a girl catch one!!! WAY Coooool!!!

Brownie & a bow, very nice! Jealous for sure. HC Out!

This is some awesome stuff guys! Thanks for sharing it!

"yesseree, dats wat ya gotta did!"

LOL!!!! Instant classic!

S&M, LOL! Too funny!

Good topic! Ugly Sticks of all sizes for the rough stuff, you can break one and not break your pocket book. Heavy though and after a long day packin one around and wingin it around .... the arm just doesn't go up as easily! St Croix on the easy boat days. SOOOO light, sooo sensitive and strong as heck! Can cast all day! Reels now are a completely different story! I am personally dedicated to a couple Abu/Garcia Cardinal C3s. I just swore by the ol' Garcia/Mitchell ones they are a 'retro' copy of and simply love the rear drag systems. These reels are a couple of years old, but you can now find them on clearance. They are also super light and super strong. I also have a couple of rear drag Shimano's that are fairly nice as well, just not as sturdy and smooth as the AG. Then like Trav above, I have one or two of every other kind of rod & reel! LOL!

I got a rock! A big fat WORK rock! Yours however is oh so sweet!

4fishys, I am taking EVERYONE's advice and hiring a guide in the first couple of days while I am there. That would be my only suggestion b/c I haven't fished it either,..... YET!

Nice location for a cabin!!! We are in the same boat here in Colorado. I have lived here for 40+ years and I only recall 2-3 years with weather like this throughout the whole year. Looks like it was the same for the folks up in tana. Give the rivers a couple of weeks and it will prolly really get cookin!! Enjoy and carry the bear spray! I have a few around at all times when I head abck in the hills. I am so jealous! HC Out!

WOW, I had no idea that Mizz did not really have bear, I am pretty suprised as they are thick as ever here in Colorado. We are actually pretty darn dry in most parts of the state, and there is not a lot of forests in those areas, but there is still seems to be bear there. They can be a big nuisence if they are allowed to feed on ANYTHING! Pet food is one of the biggest culprits and some areas require feeding to be really tightly controlled and no 'indoor' pets can be fed outside, for livestock as well in some places. They do also require bear proof trash containers in quite a few of the 'upper' end neighborhoods near the foothills. Otherwise most of the mountain folks just never really think about them much, they are so used to them. I have lived in Colorado since I was one year old (now 43) and have ran into ~100 bear over my lifetime. Heck, l almost had to wrestle one out of the infield one morning cause we needed to start our softball game and there were two on the field! The one 'tough guy' boar trying to stare me down finally thought wiser of it and high tailed it into the golf course next door. We watched a couple hours later when the DOW captured him, they never did find the other one! Two summer ago one was tearing up my campsite and could care less I kept poundin him with bog ol rocks! I think he finally thought 'I' was the nuisence and looked right at me with a stupid look on his face and pushed my coolers down the hill and I sware just to piss me off! Did not even bother to eat anything he finally broke open, just ruined a bunch of my food! Little boogger! Last May though I had my first close encounter with a grizz up near Jackson Lake under the Grand Tetons. (WHILE FISHING OF COURSE! )That was pretty cool, but only managed a couple of APS pictures that I have not scanned to digital yet! Digital was packed in the bag and he was coming directly at me ~40 yards away, so I snapped two pics and then decided I felt the Ford Ranger was better cover than standing right in the open Now I only have to run into a wolf in the wild and I am good, seen everything else 'north american' except a musk ox & maybe a different type of mountain sheep or two, there are so many and I have seen several different types! Colorado Division of Wildlife doesn't really care for the bears too much either, I think they are just such a pain for them to deal with. ...and IMHO they really are not a key piece of the food chain since they are basically not a carnivore. Nothing threatens them and they threaten nothing else! EXCEPT MAN! HC Out!

No one is kiddin here! I haven't studied this much since high school! (ok allright, I lied, I was a slacker in high school, maybe junior high then:)) I have been readin & readin & readin & readin & readin & reeadin & reaaddin & readiiin & rreadinn & reading, for several months now and I just cannot get enough! These folks are super that is no doubt! I am so appreciative of all the feedback. I have been poking through archives from around the time of year I will be visiting (around Labor Day) and there is surely some great stuff out there! Let alone all the real time updates these guys put up everyday! I am addicted no doubt! At least these fine gents help curb my other addiction.......... buying tackle! Thanks again everyone! HC Out!

I love the Slim Beauty! VERY easy and my buddy did thousands of personal tests and this knot out performed ALL other types. Hope this link works for tying instructions. Makes it real easy! HC Out! p.s... love the site folks!