December, 1996
12/5: A GREAT BIG NOTHING on the Eagle. The trip to the county offices today was supposed to leave some time for winter fly casting. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. A major Pacific storm moving into our area barely allowed me to exit the car to look at a couple of spots along the river. 20 degree temperatures, snow falling horizontally, and six feet of breakable ice along the banks do not make for a pleasant outing.
So I passed. Supposed to make a trip to Aspen tomorrow and some fishing on the Fork, but that looks out of the question too as we are anticipating one to two feet of snow tonight. For what it's worth the local fly shops are suggesting midge nymphs and streamers on the Eagle and the same on the middle Colorado. Tune in shortly. I can't stand many more days without feeling a fish at the end of my line.
12/9: GREAT EXPECTATIONS: But only two rainbows to show for two hours of casting. It was a neat, warm day on my trip to Aspen. After databasing at the county offices, I headed to one of my favorite spots on the Fork by the Sunlight Bridge. Talking to another guide who was headed to the water, he said things had been pretty slow lately. So he headed upstream and I down. Casting a double rig of killer caddis & small OS-1, I landed two very bright & healthy bows of 10 and 12 inches, but that was it. No whiteys at all which was surprising.
Drove up I-70 to the No Name rest area and spent a useless half hour casting in the big eddy which normally is pretty productive. Water had turned murky so I tried bead heads and wooley buggers, but not a strike was to be had.
Heading further up the Eagle I stopped at a favorite place between Gypsum & Eagle and again was shut out. Don't know what the problem was today, but I definitely didn't have the right answers. Didn't really matter. It was wonderful to be out on the water.
12/18: FISHING'S IMPOSSIBLE RIGHT NOW: We've had a brutal December. For skiing it's great - for fishing, it's out of the question. I went to Eagle today to do data research and the river was almost completely frozen over. Temperatures have been well below zero. This is also the second snowiest start to winter in the 35 years Vail has existed. So I'll have to apologize for the lack of reports and will acknowledge my hunger to feel a tug at the end of my nymph, but we'll all have to be patient.
If you're interested, the following giffed fly fishing report by Fly Fishing Outfitters suggests some patterns that may be working, but in reality, until it warms up a bit, none of us are going to be out on the water.
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