Illinois Trout Opener

 The Illinois trout opener is usually a yearly tradition for my son and I. We awake in the wee hours of the morning, load the truck with our gear, and head to Pickasaw Creek in Chemung,IL. This year was a little different. Typically we would arrive stream side by 4:30 A.M. to get our spot on the grassy banks. Fishing opens at 5, and by then it is shoulder to shoulder combat fishing.

  The Illinois trout program is somewhat of a joke in my mind. The fish are stocked in various ponds and small creeks throughout the state. The ponds and streams are typically places that the stocked rainbows have no chance of survival in long term. The trout get fished out usually by opening day, and there may be a handful left for the day after. In the past, the IL DNR used to stock Brown Trout which has a better chance of survival rather than the rainbows that are stocked now. In Pickasaw creek I have heard of a few Brown Trout being caught that where fairly large. I have never personally seen or talked to anyone that has caught one, it has all been fish stories heard from others that gather on the banks for opening day.

  This year was different as mentioned before. Due to me being in Colorado, I had to work till noon opening day. As soon as I was off work I raced home to pick-up my son and his friend to head to the creek in hopes that there were some trout left to be caught by these young anglers. As we pulled up to the creek there where only 6 cars there which seemed odd to me. Typically there would be 30-40 still there on opening day. The thought of already being fished out by 2p.m. kind of made me sick. Either way we unloaded our rods and walked down to the stream and talked to an older couple that said it was slow fishing for them, but had seen a couple still cruising through the main deep pool that everyone fishes. I saw a few of the people that were already there leave with there stringer of 5 fish, and there where some fairly large fish on those stringers. I saw one that had to be 4 lbs and 18" long. I was surprised by the size of the fish walking out, as they are usually small 9-12" fish.

 The boys and I set up and started fishing, and instantly started catching the thousands of creek chubs and suckers that seemed to be left. Finally around 4:30 I was able to hook into a trout. It was about 8" long, and what seemed to be the smallest trout I had seen all day.

 I am not one to eat farm raised pellet fed trout, so I offered it to a friend of mine that met us at the stream. He didn't catch anything besides chubs and suckers as well. I joked around when we packed up to leave telling him to enjoy his snack later. Farm raised trout have a horrible taste to them, that I personally do not enjoy. The thought of releasing the trout crossed my mind, but for what I asked myself. It will just suffer during the warm months when the water starts to boil. Instead I gave it to a friend who I know will consume it rather than the raccoons when the fish comes a float. I question if I was wrong in doing this. As I am typically a catch and release guy except for panfishing through the ice, or when I hook a fish and it's chances for survival seem slim. I would love nothing more than to see a sustainable trout fisherie in Illinois, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Either way it was just good to get the kids out fishing after being cooped up inside all winter. They had a great time even catching creek chubs which is a success in my book.

Colorado Day 4 The Epic Finale

    After the struggles I had on day 3 I came into day 4 with a ton of rest and ready to catch a lot of fish. It was that feeling you get sometimes while heading to water just knowing in the back of your mind that it was going to be a good day.

  I had thought about my week the night before while laying in bed, wondering what I was doing wrong this whole time. I compared my rig to Scott's rig as I laid there. They where almost exact to the "T". Except for one thing, split shot. We had been fishing deep holes all week, and I don't think I was getting down to where the fish actually where. It hit my like a ton of bricks, and made me feel like the newbie fisherman I once was. On the drive out to the river on day 4 we stopped at a little bait and tackle shop in the town of Gradby. We had stopped there earlier in the week so I could grab a fishing license. I purchased some fly weights and a couple flies known as "The 20 Incher". The 20 incher is a stonefly pattern. The temps where predicted to be warm on day 4 which meant melt off ,which also meant more stonefly activity.

  We arrived to the Parshall hole right around 8:30a.m. I rigged my rod up at the truck tying on the 20 incher followed by a red zebra midge, and a black zebra midge. I thought this rig would be perfect and I had the winning ticket tied on to catch a lot of fish. Also I added a number 4 shot about a foot and a half in front of my first fly. I walked down to the hole and slowly waded out working my rig closer and closer to where the fish had been hanging out all week. BAM! Fish on! I shouted to Scott with a grin on my face. I hooked the first fish of the day.

 A nice healthy brown! I told myself I had it, and today was going to be my best day yet. We fished on through the morning, and all I had after the first fish was one hook up that had gotten off before getting to my net. Scott was still empty handed as well. The thought of a killer day became a pipe dream really quick it had seemed. I was frustrated to say the least, along with my fishing buddy Scott. By 11 a.m. I mentioned to Scott that we needed a change of scenery, and I thought the hole was beat from the weeks worth of anglers that had fished it. He agreed, and it was time to move on.

 We made the long trek back to the new honey hole again, which is probably what we should have done in the beginning of the day. While walking threw the slushy snow I had started to think about the local gentleman that had caught numerous fish the day before right in front of me. I told myself I needed to get into the same spot he was and repeat his actions.

  In the pics above you can see we where standing on top of a submerged boulder. Casting into the seam as there was some fast water to the right and a really deep slow moving pool to the left in front of the rock that sticks out of the water. There where a bunch of large boulders in this deep hole where the fish would sit and watch the food trickle by in the faster water.

  I eased in the water to this spot hoping the day was going to get better. To my surprise it did indeed get better. No more than 4 drifts along this seam I hooked into a nice Brown.

 This guy was full of color and had some defined spots from head to tail. I was getting that fishy feeling again. Three more casts and BAM!

 You can imagine the grin that was on my face now. My good friend was starting to feel like he was doing something wrong now, as he watched me catch fish after fish. At one point an older gentleman walked up by us with his granddaughter and asked if we where doing any good. I responded by catching three fish before he moved on. He asked what flies where hot, and I gave him the inside scoop. The stonefly pattterns caught half our fish, and the zebra midges caught the other half no matter the color. I continued fishing and catching.

 We fished on throughout the early evening leaving by 5:30p.m. It was an amazing day for me to say the least. I caught and landed 14 fish to my friend Scott's 7. I also had quite a few hook ups that landed short of my net. It was an incredible day and week on the water with a good friend. Fish totals for the week Scott-20  Brian- 23 .

  On the drive back to the cabin we where staying in we reflected on the spectacular week of fishing, scenery, and times shared. It was an amazing trip, and plans have already been made for next year. I can't wait to make it back to the wonderful fisheries that Colorado has to offer.

 
                                The drive back every day after fishing almost leaves you speechless.

  If you are ever interested in staying in the Winter Park area I highly recommend renting out the place we stayed. It is referred to as Snow Dream. Nestled away in the pines with all the luxuries you could ask for while on vacation.

 It has a ton of wildlife running around as well. In the above picture the resident fox named trixie can be seen. I did see trixie a few times while at Snow Dream. There is also Moose and Deer in the area as well. For more info on Snow Dream follow this link http://www.vrbo.com/221902  .  You will be blown away by this place which is available for renting year round. It sits in the town of Fraser which is right next to Winter Park. The Fraser River is just down the street and is loaded with trout as well. During the winter most of the Fraser is iced up though. The Colorado River is a short drive away, and the Blue River is about an hour away in Dillon and Silverthorne. All gold metal waters for fishing big trout.

 I hope you all enjoyed the journey I had out west as much as I did!

Colorado Day 3

 Day 3 started out in a slight blur to me. I think maybe it was the gin and tonics, and the rum and cokes possibly. Either way we got up a little earlier than the day before due to the fact it seemed the fish where biting early in the day and later in the afternoon which would be typical for warmer weather. If it meant catching more fish, than I was all about it.

  First stop of the day was the tried and true Parshall hole. We started tossing the normal size 20 midges as they had been the best producers thus far. I started off the day with a nice healthy first fish taking my red bead headed midge.

 Notice I used the rod I built, and I must say it performed extremely well and received a ton of use. Shortly after Scott had landed a decent fish in which I didn't get a pic of due to the squirmyness of the fish. The Parshall hole seemed slow compared to the previous few days.

  After about an hour or so of fishing, a local showed up that we had talked to the day before in the parking lot. We chatted and pretty much fished together most of the day. He only ended up catching a small brown in the hole as well before moving on. Note that we made the mistake of telling this gentleman where we slammed the big fish the day before when we met in the parking lot.

 Shortly after the local moved up stream, Scott and myself decided to go back to the big fish hole from the day before, as that was our game plan from our morning drive conversation. So we started the trek back across the snow covered meadow.

 The spot was pretty much straight back where the uncovered hilltop sits in the picture above. It was a dreadful hike in the melting snow, but well worth it in our minds to get to the bigger and hungrier fish. Shortly after we arrived at the hole, we realized we made a mistake sharing a little info the day before with the local guy, as he was standing right in our spot fishing the very hole we came to fish. He noticed us coming through the trees and greeted us with a "hello again". He invited us in to the water to share the hole that we directed him to. He mentioned he had already caught one 15" Brown before our arrival. We thanked him for letting us squeeze in and started fishing. I think the situation might have come out a lot different if it happened here in the Midwest, but I can defiantly say Colorado folk are more than nice than your average Midwest Joe.

  For some reason, today just wasn't my day. I struggled to get a good cast and drift, and just became all out frustrated with myself. Hence the statement above about the drinks consumed the night before. I had miss casts, caught up in rocks, tangled in trees on back casts, and even hooked myself on a poor back cast right in the cheek. Laugh it up at my expense feel free because shortly after I did it I laughed as well. Some how in all the chaos I did however manage to hook another fish before the end of the day.

  In the midst off all my chaos Scott proceeded to land 3 fish, and with my frustrations and reties I did not get pictures of his fish. At the same time the local was putting on a clinic in front of us, catching a fish every other cast as he made it seem. He was catching a majority of his fish on an olive RS-2. He caught a few really nice rainbows with one stretching over the 20" mark for sure. I watched this gentleman fish for a bit, and took some mental notes. These mental notes will play a crucial role in my last day of fishing on day 4. 

 Fish count is now Scott-13 Brian-9 . Stayed tuned for day 4 because the fish count numbers are going to sky rocket. Also the morale of the story is to take it easy on the drinks the night before an outing.