Tailwater Tribe

After scratching off two rivers on my "Rivers I have to fish this summer" and catching a ton of fish on both, I have to admit I was feeling a little cocky.  After all, these western trout aren't as hard to catch as I thought...Think again.  Today's mission on day 4 of the Tailwater Tribe Fly Fishing Tour" was Casper, Wyoming and the famous North Platte River.  After several close calls with jackrabbits and mule deer the day before coming out of Flaming Gorge after fishing the Green River in Utah, I almost added another casualty to my list...A Pronghorn Antelope, the only true native deer relative to the US.  The rest of our deer and their kin supposedly migrated from Eurasia across the Bering Bridge from Russia.  This bridge, of course, does not exist anymore and what's left above the Pacific Ocean is the Bering Straights.  The antelope sprinted to the side of the road and almost ran into my truck.  I applied the brakes, which prompted some other tailgating v

You know what a music lover I am.  One of my favorite songs by Steely Dan is "My Rival" from the album "Gaucho," which starts with the lyrics: "The wind was driving in my face, the "smell of prickly pear."  I can really relate to that now, but more on that later.  You can listen to the song while you read the rest of my post. Now that I've scratched off the Frying Pan on my "Rivers I have to fish this Summer" list, I was on a new quest.  Cameron at Frying Pan Anglers strongly recommended the Green and I could not resist!  The next morning I got back in the F-150 and drove through 220 miles of grueling Colorado and Utah badlands country.  Just like Colorado, Utah is simply breathtaking.  It was all I could do to go more than 15 minutes without stopping to take a pic.  Entered Flaming Gorge National Forest and finally wound up in the town of Dutch John, Utah where I found the Green River Fly Shop.  These guys were really fascinated that

Arose with the chickens on Sunday and called Frying Pan Anglers in Basalt, Colorado, to find out where they were.  These guys are awesome, first-class all the way.  They hooked me up with a Colorado license, flies, a neat cap and threw in a bumper sticker to boot.  With the aid of a map, I was soon driving down Frying Pan Road looking for a place to start.  While I was rigging up the Scott G2, a guide from Frying Pan Anglers, Cameron Cipponeri, found me and agreed to show me the lay of the land.  Right off the bat we found a pod of tipping risers voraciously feeding on a midge hatch.  They were stacked up in a deep seam like cord wood.  I lost count of how many we caught, but I will say that my day was very rewarding.  Cam even took me to a little spring creek (Taylor Creek) and we caught a few large bows on lime trudes.  Kept waiting for the PMDs to explode but they never did.  Cameron, you're the greatest.  Props to Frying Pan Anglers!!  I've added you to my favorite fly shop

After a grueling trip on I-70 from Wichita to Denver, I veered through another hundred miles of breathtaking Colorado countryside and finally ended up in Basalt, CO.  I booked a room for a couple nights at the Days Inn in Carbondale.  Tomorrow I'm on a mission to find Frying Pan Anglers and get those guys to show me how, when, where and what to do about catching some fish.  I'm looking for bugs and hopefully I'll find some tomorrow.  Here is a view of the Aspen Mountain range from the parking lot of my hotel...

One of my favorite Shawn Colvin songs is "Wichita Skyline."  Little did I realize that the song would ring true with me one day.  I left Gulfport, Mississippi at 7 a.m.  Friday, June 18.  I finally parked my carcass in a Comfort Inn in Wichita, Kansas at 1:00 a.m, Saturday, June 19.  Needless to say the first leg of my Tailwater Tribe Fly Fishing Tour was a long one.  After traveling through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and part of Kansas I was really glad to see the Wichita Skyline.  Another long leg of my journey will take me to Basalt, CO where I will fish the Frying Pan River.  This is the first river on my "Rivers I must fish this summer," list.   I'll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, here is Shawn singing one of my favorites...