This morning was a slow and lazy one. As Tim and I drank our morning coffee we talked about where we would go to look for a good fishing hole. As I have practiced casting a fly rod at home, in the back yard, using a piece of yarn as a fly I have never cast a fly rod on water before. Finally around lunchtime we took off to hopefully get a fishing line wet.
First we went towards Dolores. Following the river south we landed at a some stocked man made fishing ponds … Twin Spruce Ponds. As we strolled around three or four of them Tim decided the wind would not be good to learn to cast a fly rod. It was wide open with no shade. And I thought it felt like cheating even though it would be an easy start as the surrounding shorelines were fairly clear of obstructions like trees, bushes, rocks and people.
The next stop was Bear Creek Trail Head parking lot back towards basecamp. There was a foot bridge and great river access with some open low flat rock beds. Perfect for a beginner! But we got caught up talking to a fellow Airstream’r. Then it began to rain. Tim and I thought we would wait it out in the truck, when the HAIL began. Just pea size. We watched it slowly slide down the windshield and then we looked back at our truck bed cover … it was covered in hail. Onward …we decided to travel back upstream once the rain stopped. At this point more people were waiting in the parking lot to fish. I surely did not want to become the armature fly fisherwoman that would be watched for entertainment.
Now driving even farther north back past basecamp we stopped at a roadside BLM off grid kinda place right on the river. We found a handful of nice places here to fish but also knew there was an old road bridge there, off to the side, that we could walk across the river into the woods on a hiking trail. After making our way over the bridge we walked probably a mile down an old logging road that followed the river. The views of the river, mountains and fields that we came across were stunning with a few river entry points. Best part was that there was not a soul out there. Since we had no idea what we would come across or how far we could go we did not bring the fishing rods with us that were in the truck.
The day was now getting late and the decision was made to come back to hit these last two stops tomorrow. We would go back to basecamp to finish our final rigging and get a fresh start in the morning. We now had better knowledge of the area and where to go.
Once back at basecamp I realized not many other people were at camp and that I felt comfortable trying to learn how to cast a fly rod right behind the Airstream. So that’s what we did! It all made so much more sense after having read that book, speaking to other people and listening to Tim. Everything clicked, came together and I was casting fairly well in no time. Even had a strike! I was getting the hang of fishing with a fly rod on moving water.
Early bird gets the worm (fish) tomorrow! Maybe fish will be what’s for dinner!!
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