Dont Flush it

Small, loud and proud....not sure where he got that from

Governor Hickenlooper,

My name is Bob Streb, my little family lives in Minturn, Colorado on the banks of the Eagle River, just one of the incredible places we enjoy in the mountains we call home. One of the other places is the Upper Colorado River. I am a fly fishing guide and I spend many days showing friends, both new and old, this very special place. The Upper Colorado River has become part of me and I often feel a deep need to be in a boat feeling her currents under me. The loss of this freedom is a very real possibility if any more of her water is diverted. I understand this situation has economic implications for everyone but, I hope you understand the spititual and emotional impact it will have also.

Four years ago my life changed forever with the birth of my son Sam. He now comes first in my life, without condition. We try and answer every question he ever asks and that can be challenging with a child who's main hobby is being curious. He is very aware of what his daddy does for a living and already knows how important water is. Sam has officially stopped flushing the toilet so he can "Help Save the Colorado". His prayers, which used to include his dog and spiderman, are now for our River. He has never asked to save Daddy's job, only the river. Sam has no perspective on the economic impact this has on everyone, only a simple love for one of nature's most incredible water sheds

We very rarely journey to Denver, we live in this state for it's natural beauty and the city just offers a view, not the feel we have grown to love. We felt a strong need to leave our mountains and come to one of the many rallies for the river on the steps of your office. I don't like cities, and I especially don't enjoy going there for a fight that seems has already been lost. Sam sat on my shoulders and screamed proudly as loud as all the adults. "Why are we yelling Dad?", "So a man up there in his office hears us and does something to help son". We painted our faces blue, like water. That was not an attempt to hide our identities. It was so we had no resemblence to the generations before us that contributed to so much destruction of nature all over the great American West. My family has no desire to be recognized as part of a generation that destroys the Colorado River. I hope you feel the same way. I hope you are not remembered as the Governor who sucked the Colorado River dry. I do not envy the position you are in and how hard it must be, but know there are choices and answers that will help. Little Sam has already figured one way out so if need be I am sure he is willing to sit with you and figure this whole mess out.

All of us who enjoy that River hope you will at least slow the process down some more, absorb all the data, explore every option and educate your fellow state officials on all the facts. Conservation of water is the way. Conservation will lead to preservation of this place. Our 4 year old already understands how to help do his part and now its your turn to lead by example. I am blown away at the realization of how many people in this state just believe that water comes from the tap. Knowledge is power and you currently sit in a seat fit to educate the growing front range on how valuable a resource water is and where it comes from. This river can not give anymore of her blood and continue to be the heart of this state's image. I know some look at the mountains when they think of this state but last I checked there isn't one named Colorado, there is a wonderful body of water with it's name though.

All things start at the top Sir, everything flows downstream or at least should.

Sincerly,
Bob Streb

Its in the mail Hick, lets go for a float this spring, I promise I wont wear the war paint.

KISS MY @#!%

In honor of St Valentines day....

Ballet dancers do it

Jmacs full of love

Big Lew isnt scared of showing his love

The "Premiere float guide" on the Colorado is no sucker.

Is Zim french?

One for the ladies

Dry fry

This one kind of freaks me out

Happy Valentines Day.That will teach all of you for posing Jimmy Houston style. 

Fork You, its Feburary

Just finished scrubbing things up for a float on the Fork tomorrow with a couple of my favorite clients, Alan and DJ. These guys only book trips in the winter.....for good reason, its crazy good. It's certainly no secret and it can be a trick to schedule if your weak when it comes to the weather, but if you take the risk, the rewards can be great on this world class fishery. No pressure, clear water, plenty of bug life and fish who love to eat the egg. Honest report to follow.

Alan with a fine Roaring Fork Bow from last February

I will never understand some fly fisherman's reluctance to fish egg patterns, it is certainly nothing that I suffer from. One day last year I was wade fishing a spot with a couple of clients and we were having quite a day. A local fishing the other side of the river finally broke down and asked what we were using, "eggs" I replied. He shook his head and said he didn't have any so I offered to walk a few over to him but he explained he never fishes them. 20 minutes later he disappeared leaving me to try and explain to my clients there wasn't any controversy or ethical boundary we had crossed. They must have been convinced because they stopped asking questions and went back to railing fish.

Small molting Golden Stones are a favorite winter snack and a good point fly for those not willing to toss Egg a Muffins.

Another bad choice.

 On a positive note our coldest months historically are past us. The most snow usually comes in March and April but the bitter cold should be about done. There are some killer deals on trips this time of year, mention this stupid blog and I will sweeten it some more.

The Magic Button

One of Davie Mcphail's emergers and a new favorite guide tie. Quick, easy and deadly. 

Remember that kid back in the day that could pick up any stick, club or ball and make it look like he'd dated it forever? Smooth, effortless motion, speed and strength screwed firmly on a clear head under pressure. When I was in grade school it was the Burke brothers of the 19th ward. Junior high was Steve Anderson and in high school it was Tittle and Kermie. While everything came naturally to these .001%ers the rest of us practiced and worked hard to be at least good enough to be on the team when something great happened. Some guys would skip the work expecting the magic button to turn it's self on and end up with a sour taste for the experience.

 The challenges of fly fishing require practice, dedication and attention. When you put the work in you are rewarded be it with fish, incredible natural beauty or a set of perfect presentations. Two dudes putting the work in right now are my friends Theo Anest and Brandon Soucy. They both make fishing and guiding seem effortless, I have been witness to both. These youngsters are that .001% of our sport but they have worked hard to stand there by spending hundreds of days a year with a rod in hand  Lately they have decided to take the show to the limited competitive fly fishing circuit and have been racking up wins for a few years. Their latest win came last weekend at the Frostbite on the Ark. To go along with the "huge" prize money ($1000, plus $250 for the big fish by Soucy) they were rewarded with a few grenades. I'm not going to be that guy to add to the drama with specifics, some other ass munch on a losing team beat me to it. The tournament is in existence to raise money for TU, not to make fly fishing legends of a bunch of Wanna Be's who simply don't have enough game. Do you need a reminder of what's really important (water & fish) and who helps protect that (TU)? The reality of it is our sport is filled with more punters and high school golfers than dudes willing to go in the corner and take a hit. If you are going to enter and compete bring your version of Tigers old game, practice hard and  shut it.

  Everything worth doing  requires work; tying flies, parenting, running a business, guiding, rowing or enjoying a great relationship takes time, patience and practice. I thought the other day as I continue to teach my boy to skate that "this is going to take a while", then I took him to the High School game and thought about how soon it will be. Unfortunately in my world  most people show up without practicing and that's fine, but like learning to skate, expect to fall. I guide in a tourist trap, not north of here, and its my reality that some people think they can shoot a few pars on their first trip. My boat has no room for the magic button, I bring the jelly beans instead and  normally only share with those who try. Thankfully the experience is worth it and most people have no expectation of catching  fish like Theo and B, hell I dont.

January??

If you can make it.....Go

We need snow real bad here in the Mountains of Colorado and not just for the ski industry that we rely on so heavily to put clothes on our ankle biters backs. Or for Denver (see above). As the early winter that wasn't continues we have made the best of it. The team has managed a failed float, 2 trips to local tailwaters and a 5 boat float on an ice free Big Mud, all in January.

The failed float turned into an incredible afternoon on the Frying Pan. The Pan is a delicacy I don't treat myself to enough and I always leave wishing I could guide there. As usual we arrive at the Dam with a boat in tow from some put in down stream that was jammed with ice. It at least draws attention away from my truck covered with stickers from that "other valley". It was crowded so we didn't get the best beats but it didn't seem to matter, we all had nice eats.

The rest of the report is  standard, typical winter fare. The Blue through Silverthorn is still my favorite place to go shopping. This fishery is very healthy and equally as popular on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Don't believe all the reports, I found plenty of fish in real fast water wedged between people fishing classic runs and pools. Take what you can get at the tailwaters. The float was your everyday January float.....except it rained cats and dogs. Nice to guide with my old buds Pete Mott, The Big Zim, Will Sands and Kyle Holt, true professionals.

Yet another shitty fly for the winter. By all means do not attempt to put traces of blue ice dub and Ostrich in your winter midge patterns

Red Quills

So why is it a guy can't find a Red Quill nymph pattern to tie or buy? Have I discovered some over sight in one of the most OCD of all hobbies? Sure, there are a good number of dry fly patterns available but most guides will tell you they will not get assaulted. They are almost always there in good numbers and you will often see the emerger take a month to dry its tall grey wing. I never see fish really key in on the Dun; this bug really must taste like shit the closer to oxygen it gets. The only fly I can actually say I have faith in during this hatch is an emerger pattern that I can only find through Orvis. Its a beautiful quill body with a long gray soft hackle collar, fish it deep or shallow, it smells right. It's suppost to imitate a Hendrickson, an Eastern fly and I am sure it was named  after that stripped quill body. Some shmuck like me got to wondering the same thing years ago and ordered what he thought was a Red Quill and the valley got lucky. There was a nymph a few years ago with a real skinny body similar to the Burton PT , that dog hunted  too. The similarities in the imitations seem to be their thin abdomen, but thats about it. So I decided to dig into old books and the magic that is the web and look for a blockbuster of a Red Quill nymph for the 2012 season.

Red Quill Emerger from Orvis

I discovered that there is essentially, no real patterns out there for this black sheep of the Mayfly world. I dug deep into some circa 1950 stuff, I went East coast, West coast and read some Latin. I waded through some incredibly bad web content and worshipped all the groovy new fly catalogs.and basically got skunked. Weird for a bug I see so often. Latin wise it seems to be in the Rithrogena gang with March Browns, but the nymph patterns are all very fat. Most of the Hendrickson patterns look a whole lot closer size and color wise but I'm afraid they are bloods and not crips. I'm not looking to get wacked here for crossing a line with the Ephemera gang. Truth is, I still have no idea what it is we are trying to imitate, I just know there is not a nymph pattern of what I'm not sure I'm seeing. Superflys (tung, soft hackle PT's) work all summer long in the right water type so maybe there isn't a better mouse trap after all.

A friend of mine was fishing size 12 PT's with an over sized bead one summer when the Quills were around and he was killing it deep. Something or other he read he said. "These bugs worked real hard at getting back under things on the bottom in fast water" he says. Real similar to the March Browns back East, but no closer. Time to call my buddy the Bug Man. Either way, all this research and thought spawned that  Bead Head Red Quill for use this summer.....probably wont work, but I've got 3 dozen of them.

JMacs Girdle

Quick and easy guide fly this week. I got fancy for the picture and put wing cases on, only because I needed to play with the new UV clear coat Kit got me for Xmas. The quick and easy going to loose them any ways version does not require as much fluff. 3 materials and some lead and you have a different spin on your Pats Rubberlegs, Bitch creeks and Girdle bugs, which we all use alot.

December 30th and its going to be a bluebird 48 degrees on the Roaring Fork, fourth in a row according to the only other guide on the river. Hatching Midges, 38 degree water, perfect clarity and no pressure on the next to last day of the year.  Convinced beyond a doubt that magic began at the end of the boat ramp, Jmac and I KNEW it was on.  I'd love to tell you that's how it went, but it didn't. Id like to tell you that guide fly worked wonders,but believe me, nothing in the box smelled right. We did tail hook one on a streamer and I might have farmed another but that was the whole story. Seven beers in the cooler and we took 4 home........ Fishing

tough to tell but that rock is still 25 ft above the water.

Last day Canyon fishing for 2011