CRR was held again this year at Chair Mountain Ranch in Marble CO on the Crystal River.


 We planned it a week later than previous years (july 16-1 , hoping to schedule after run-off subsided.  That almost worked out.  You can visit Coloradorodmakers.org for the program.   Here are the rod racks early in the day, before they are fully loaded.  Where else can you go and have the opportunity to cast 100 rods, AND quiz the makers on the tapers and techniques used?


 Highlights for me were the thursday tasting of CO wines, accompanied by FR chicken, venison and buffalo appetizers, and most especially, the selection of original Dickerson rods Gerry Stein brought for us to look at and to handle.

Probably $100,000 of rods laying on that table, everything from BIG salmon rods (at left) to 6-1/2 ft 4 weights.  - virtually every classic Dickerson taper was represented, 9016, 8615, 8014, 8013, 8012, 7613, 7612, 7012, 7011...  solid and hollow-built...  really a unique grouping of rods from one of the best makers ever (JMHO)

Below, my friend Alan Kube demonstrates how he draws Nickel-Silver tubing of different sizes, for use in making your own ferrules.



After the meet, I had the opportunity to fish a couple days, and run-off was indeed down, and the fishing was pretty darned good.  Fished the Frying Pan several times.  This is the bottom of the flats under the dam, right where the river takes that first left turn, towards evening.  You can nymph there all day, but we fished uniquely that last 1-1/2 hours of light, with size 20 dries.

You enter the river from the left, through the willows, and if you aren't careful, you can almost step on big fish in the shallow water - you surely will spook them.  With lots of bugs coming off, it wasn't always easy to hook fish, and when you did, it wasn't easy to land them.  I had more than one hook straightened by big fish.  Towards dark, you just hear them and set on the sound - if it's big, you will likely never see it, maybe just feel the power as it shakes its head and unkinks your hook for you.

Later we drove over the mountain to Paonia, Jeff Hatton's home water, and fished the Gunnison.  My first time on that river, and it's an odd landscape - big cold river running through rocky desert.

That light green in the water is moss on the rocks, and the fish tend to hang in holes in the moss.

We fished hopper-dropper combos, and the first day, the fish would come up and look, but usually turn away.  Saw some darned big fish though!  The next day, they were more willing.  here's Rick with a nice brown:

A rainbow for me:

That's my 8013 tri-hex beside the net - a good rod for those waters.

On the way back east, I stopped and fished one evening on the Yampa near Steamboat Springs.  I don't think I've ever seem more acrobatic fish - the jumping-est fish I've seen.  And very pretty colors to boot. 

Overall, one of the best CRRs, and some of the best fishing I've had out there.  oh, yeah, forgot to mention the PMDs and Green Drakes that were emerging  on the Fork and Pan- can't beat fishinjg big dries to hungry fish!

Lee

There are no comments to this entry.