Trouts Fly Fishing

Trip Report | Rio Grande River - South Fork, CO

About a month or so back, I got a call from the Rio Grande Club wondering if I would be interested in coming down to their property in South Fork, CO for a weekend of fishing, dining, and all around good times.  Never having heard of this club, I got online and did a little recon to learn that although primarily a golf club, they also have over 1 mile of private access on the Rio Grande.  Never one to shy away from a weekend of fishing, especially on private water, I obliged their invitation and started packing my bags.

It has been quite some time since I fished an entirely new river, so I was anxiously anticipating the trip and hoping that the river and weather conditions would play out in my favor.  Lucky for me a weather check the Thursday before departure forecast warm temperatures and sunny skies, ideal fishing conditions for late October.  A four hour drive Friday afternoon brought us to South Fork around dusk, so there was just enough time to unload the car and take a walk down to the water to check out the surroundings.  Having never seen the Rio Grande, my initial impression left me excited for the following day, as well as curious as to how I had managed to fish for this long and never made it down to this legendary stream.  It seemed to have a perfect gradient, not too fast or too small, and although the flows were low, there was still ample holding water for the fish.  Being predominantly a brown trout fishery, I knew that there wouldn’t be an abundant number of fish per mile, but those that were there would be healthy and potentially BIG.

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Scott Fly Rod Custom Shop - Utter Greatness

Scott Fly Rod’s has just launched the NEW Scott Custom Shop website!  Go check out this great new offering from one of the most innovative rod manufacturers in the fly fishing industry.

Here’s a basic jist of the program: customize any of the fine fly rods hand-made in Montrose, CO with a variety of unique accents and components.  And with over 300,000 different variations, your rod will surely be one of a kind.  But don’t take my word for it, listen to what Scott has to say about this exciting new program:If you’re looking for something different, unique, and personal, for a one of a kind fly rod built just for you, welcome to the Scott Custom Shop:

“If you’re looking for something different, unique, and personal, for a one of a kind fly rod built just for you, welcome to the Scott Custom Shop.

Whether you’re an obsessed flats angler that can’t get enough of chasing tarpon and permit, or you live for the lush cool waters of a trout stream, or you’re driven by the explosive takes by warm water predators, the Scott Custom Shop is available to help you build your Ultimate Fishing Tools-Rods that meet your precise fishing needs and tastes.

You can choose from the latest in high tech corrosion free components, to the classic beauty of nickel silver, burled hardwoods, and agate stripping guides, all built with the quality craftsmanship you’d expect from the finest cane rods. “

These rods will be available to the public by the end of October, and Trout’s Fly Fishing is pleased to be one of a few authorized Scott Custom Shop Dealers.  So be sure to come by the shop in November to check out these truly unique and one of a kind fly rods.

The Egg - you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em

Every year, there are certain indications that let us know that fall is in fact upon us.  These include: leaves changing into their beautiful fall colors, temperatures steadily dropping, snow occasionally falling, and the brown trout spawning!  Oh yes, fall is a wonderful time of year, one that is eagerly awaited by all fly anglers.  Yet this annual tradition for angler and fish is guaranteed to come with the inevitable debate regarding fly fishing with egg patterns.  To me this has always been a fascinating debate because many people theories and logic go directly against scientific fact, and some stretch scientific fact to meet the needs of their outlandish claims.

The debate:

Anti-Egg: fly fishing with egg patterns is a small step away from bait fishing, and is basically cheating.

Pro-Egg: eggs are naturally in the water during the fall and spring due to the spawning fish, and thus the fish only eat egg patterns because they are naturally in the water.

Having the privilege of standing behind the counter in a fly shop on a daily basis, I hear countless arguments on both sides of the debate.  In the interest of attempting to come to some sort of resolution regarding this matter, I thought I would open this post up to all you readers.  So go on now, don’t be shy, just sound off and lets get this discussion rolling!