Tag Archives: Trout

Fishing

Callibaetis = Filet Mignon for a Colorado Rainbow Trout

English: Rainbow trout
English: Rainbow trout (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Callibaetis mayflies, among the largest in the Baetidae family, reside only in slow or still water. The most important species is Callibaetis ferrugineus, which is found across the country but produces its best hatches in the West.

On July 28th, I found out first hand and up close what a callibaetis hatch means to a Colorado rainbow trout – bon appétit.

After a prolonged hike through mosquito infested marsh land, my buddies and I arrived at a section of Spinney Mountain Reservoir that I had never fished.  The early morning cloud cover had burned off, and the temperature rose to an uncomfortable 85 degrees.   The air was still (rare for Spinney) so the water was like glass.  As we waded to the weed-line, backs of large rainbow trout began to emerge from the depths of the lake.  My heart was racing as we fanned out in order to cover the most water.  Waiting for any movement within casting distance, I began to strip fly line in anticipation of additional trout slurping.   My impatience forced me to cast my #12 grey flashback hare’s ear toward the middle of the lake.  Two slight twitches, then BANG, a 20 inch bow hit the fly and took instant air.  Three jumps later he sped laterally, stripping my fly line down to the backing.  The fight continued for about 10 minutes, ending in the netting of the fantastic fish.

The callibaetis hatch lasted over 2 hours, and the trout disappeared as fast as they arrived.  Between the three of us, we landed over 20 fish, all between 18 and 22 inches long.  What an amazing day in Colorado.

http://youtu.be/2b1UogBOZF0

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Fishing

Fishing Grey Reef – Spring 2010

During the first week of April 2010, I was fortunate to spend 4 days fishing the North Platte River for big rainbow trout. For the most part, the weather for the 4 days was overcast, cold (20 to 40 degrees) and windy. The conditions made it imperative to own and utilize the right equipment. I had purchased a lot of new fishing products over the last year, but I was particularly interested to see how my new Smith Optics Mogul Sunglasses performed. These shades are equipped with polarchromic lenses (definition below).

Smith Optics Polarchromic lens technology combines the benefits of glare obliterating polarization with the advantage of photochromic light sensitivity. Available in either Carbonic or Techlite glass, Smith Optics Polarchromic lenses automatically self-adjust their tint in response to ambient UV light conditions creating a tint level which is perfect at all hours of the day. These lenses retain their photochromic properties indefinitely, certainly outliving the life of the frame itself. Spanning a range of approximately 10%-35% VLT (Visible Light Transmission) Polarchromic lenses need only 10-25 seconds to fully transform from light to dark depending on UV light intensity. The result is a lens tint which is perfect at every moment of the day from dawn to dusk particularly at hours when the benefits of polarized are vital but the lens tint has to be light enough to see.


While I understand the basics of the technology used with these sunglasses, I was not clear on what it would do for me on the river?

I must say that the Mogul’s performed beyond expectations.

• First: The thick arms of the frame prohibited any light from penetrating the glasses. I never had to cup my hands around my eyes in order to see my targets in the water.

• Second: The lenses are amazing. The gloomy weather (limited sun) provided us a constant struggle to locate fish. I saw a lot fish that others could not see.

• Third: My eyes were always relaxed. We fished from 7 am (20 degrees) to 7 pm (40 degrees), and the light conditions frequently changed. The lenses smoothly adjusted to the conditions of the day without distraction.

My only advice to Smith Optics; offer spring hinges in the future. My melon is large, and spring hinges would be more accommodating.

If you are going to invest in fishing sunglasses, I highly recommend the Smith Optics Mogul with polarchromic lenses.

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