The definition of a "King" is
“a person or thing regarded as the finest or most important in its sphere or group”
Those of you who are familiar with Mr. Jack Reis know that he definitely can fit that definition, especially when it comes to fishing and all out manliness. Early this fall when he made the move from Denver to Portland, ME we were sad to see him go. Personally he is one of my closest friends and taught me pretty much everything I know about fly fishing. When he made a return to the trout rich state of Colorado in mid March, we knew the best way to celebrate would be to take a trip to some of our favorite waters in the state, The Roaring Fork Valley.
On our way up to Basalt we stopped off in Silverthorne to hit the Blue River for a few hours. We caught a good amount of healthy fish before continue to head west.
The next morning we ventured down valley to a spot on the Roaring Fork. After hearing at the fly shop that dry flies would be a possibility I had my eyes peeled for rising fish and sure enough I saw a few as we stood on the bank rigging up. After trying a few different flies Jack "cracked the code" and brought a nice wild brown to the net. I also brought in two fish on dry flies, finally snapping a streak of zero or single fish days. (It felt REALLY good)
First fish of the day
Photo: Jack Reis
Photo: Jack Reis
Will's nymphing setup wasn't yielding the same results as the dry flies but Jack and I were confident that there were plenty of fish waiting in the deeper holes. So we headed down river to find some favorable water; we would not settle for any "skunks" this day.
Sure enough he plucked a nice little brown trout out of a hole further down river and the day was complete.
Trout live in pretty nice places...
The King
The next day we headed to the Frying Pan to target the smart and healthy fish of this classic tailwater.
Rigging up...everyones' favorite part of fishing
Waiting for a meal
As usual, Jack's line went tight first
Jack's signature "inverted trout"
Fishing is an inherently selfish sport. Although I'm fairly new to the sport I feel like there is a "everyman for himself" mentality among a lot of anglers. Luckily for me, the people I fish with typically don't fell under this category and have helped me immensely to catch fish from day one. This trip really cemented the power and fun of fishing as a team. We were constantly spotting fish for each other, helping to target casts and discussing our rigs. I may have netted one or two fish myself this entire trip, every other time, the second my line went tight, Jack or Will was in the water, net in hand, ready to help. Some may say this devalues the catch, and maybe it does, but I would gladly give up any sort of personal pride to experience the stoke and camaraderie that this shared experience provides. I think this clip below is a good example of how much fun team fishing can be. Pardon my language, the stoke was high.
As you can hear, my adrenaline was absolutely pumping after I netted the fish. I might even go as far as to say I was more stoked than Jack...but probably not.
The rest of the day continued to be productive for all of us. Not only did Jack bring in the most fish but the largest as well. (Which he rightly deserved after braving a long winter in Maine)
Will caught a bunch of fish also, I just somehow managed not to get any photos...sorry homie!
Till next time