Fly Fishing on Two Wheels

I haven’t done much stillwater (lakes, ponds, etc.) fishing. Water that isn’t moving is pretty much a mystery to me.

When given the option to have a guide take me fishing on some private ponds outside of Dillon, I jumped at the chance to learn.

A day in the life of a trout is driven by three principle needs:

• Food – trout seek easy access to an abundant supply
• Cover – from predators like osprey, predatory fish, and fly fishermen
• Comfort – in the form of cool, well oxygenated water, that doesn’t require them to expend a ton of energy

In a river, interpreting these needs will often lead you to fish. Seams in the river current funnel food to fish. Cut banks, submerged boulders, and trees provide cover. Riffles offer comfortable, low-energy, access to breathable water.

At first glance, the ponds I was fishing with my guide Denny, offered no such clues to where the fish were. As we paddled across the first of three ponds we’d fish on the 16th I listened as he pointed me to underwater drop offs, holes in the weed beds, and other pointers to fish. The three basic needs remained the same, and as I clued in to the right things to look for, the fish showed up.

We opened the morning fishing with a scud pattern that imitates small shrimp like crustaceans.

I’d cast to the edge of a dark area of water (drop off) and, after waiting a few seconds for the scud to sink, would retrieve the fly in a slow 10 inch strip – pause – strip pattern.

Before too long, I caught a nice 12 inch rainbow. While I was excited, Denny just smiled knowing there were bigger things to come.

We worked our way to the north end of the lake where things heated up a bit. I landed 5-6 fish in pretty short order. None smaller than 14 inches. A couple were pushing 20. The good fishing continued throughout the morning on the big pond.

Here are some pics:

Rainbow Trout

Brown Trout

Brown Trout

The scud pattern fished so well it got retired into the hall of fame.

Hall Of Fame

I learned a trick from Denny while struggling to get a fly through the eye of a small hook. He suggested cutting the leader at an angle to create a ’sharper point’. It works. Use it.

On one of the smaller ponds, I caught a beautiful little Brook Trout.

Brookie

In the afternoon, we returned to the pond we started on. After a fish, or two, on the scud, Denny switched me to a leech pattern that looked an awful lot like a jig. The fly sported a brown leather ‘tail’ about 1.5 inches long, a red floss body wrapped in red wire, and a lead head that looked like an old school split shot. The leech was fished on a retrieve of two quick tugs followed by a slow 10 inch strip followed by a pause to let the fly sink a bit.

The fish hammered it with violent takes.

After landing several fish, my allergies kicked in. I keep some pills in my vest, but my vest wasn’t in the boat. I sat down for a rest and handed the rod to Denny asking him to show me how it’s done. On his 5th cast he hauled in a 25 inch brown.

Monster Brown

Brown Teeth

Denny pointed out that, like a shark, a trout’s teeth are designed to move food in one directions – straight to the belly. There are several rows of sharp teeth that angle inward as barbs for captured food.

My day on the ponds was good fun, and variety is the spice of life, but given the choice for one final day of fishing in my life, I’m convinced I’d go with a moving stream or river.

Back at the Brill’s, I started dinner. Chicken teriyaki. Rice. Grilled veggies. Came out pretty well. Gang seemed into it.

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