Return to Shaw Lake

Yesterday, I went back up to Shaw Lake where the forest fires had the road closed until this past weekend.  Just on the other side of the mountains to the north of Big Meadows, the fires had raged through the area as they skipped past Big Meadows sparing it from the same likely scenes -- burnt trees all the way down to the water's edge and soot and ash all along the shores.  Amazing that the fish were still living in the lake at all.

The fishing was really much better than before the fires and I had seen evidence of that on Monday when one of the campers here brought back a 17-inch Cutthroat with a stringer full of others.  I went back there with renewed hope of catching something similar to the big one I had seen.  As I wound my way up the road and around the first couple bends, the evidence of the fire was everywhere and yet among the devastation one scene on the road really caught my eye (and many more peoples too).  Where one of the streams crossed under the road and a trail led into the blackened woods along the stream, all these beautiful purple wildflowers were blooming everywhere along the ground.  Amazing how quickly mother nature can bounce back.

I had forgotten to put my camera in the car yesterday so, I returned today to get a picture of the area mentioned above -- and try some more fishing too.  Yesterday, I caught and released 8 fish and one of them was a Brookie and the others were Cutthroats.  Within the first dozen casts I had caught and released two fish -- on consecutive casts.  Ultimately, I kept one nice Brook trout and one of the Cutthroats.

Today, I caught and released 4 fish, lost a few and decided to keep one more of those Brook trout -- had cooked the one yesterday on the grille and so liked the taste -- almost like Salmon.  Real, pinkish red meat.  Yum!

Leonard August Burch Arrives

My first grandson arrived late yesterday afternoon (don't know the exact time but, the text message of his arrival came just before sunset here in the mountains of Colorado).  My daughter-in-law (Kathryn) had apparently been in labor since sometime Wednesday afternoon -- the text message came around 4:30 in the afternoon that day.  More than two days of labor had my attention and my prayers going out but, finally the good news came.  Now I am hoping for a picture and that Kathryn and the baby boy both get to 100% -- she lost more blood than expected and he was having a hard time breathing.  Both were in intensive care so prayers will continue for them all.

The Elusive Kokanee Salmon

Yesterday, before the first afternoon showers arrived, I headed up to Beaver Creek Reservoir to try again to catch one of those Kokanee Salmon like the ones we caught there last year.  The day before it had rained off and on all day long so I stayed in and tested some martini recipes in the afternoon.  When I made the turn to Beaver Creek, I stopped first at the bridge there and checked the South Fork of the Rio Grande to see if it was still running black -- and it was still not looking good at all.

Since the construction at the reservoir has the access to the dam blocked, I headed to the area I had caught my first Kokanee last year (the first minor pullout after the dam) and climbed down the steep embankment to the sandy shore at the water's edge.  I took the telescoping net with me just in case I ended up on the boulders and rocks farther to my left -- which I did.  I tried for about an hour using a rainbow colored Panther Martin and had no strikes so, I switched to the reliable brass spinner with the black body and yellow spots.  By then, I was climbing the boulders below the cliffs and after about 5 minutes I caught one of those small but, pretty Rainbow trout and released him (or her).  Then, I caught and released another shortly after that and then I hooked a nice fish -- one of those Kokanee Salmon and he gave me a nice fight and made several runs away from the boulders and the net I was trying to get him in.  Finally, I succeeded to get the fish landed and gave my thanks for the fish staying on the hook.  Just under seventeen inches and a beauty.  Thank goodness I had that net too.


I grilled the fish with a couple burgers and four hot dogs -- only ate half of the fish last night and really enjoyed it (Tiger enjoyed some too).

South Fork fishing report

Well, one week has passed since I arrived back in South Fork and the fishing has not been as good as in Gunnison -- though I have caught and released a number of pretty little Rainbows at Beaver Creek reservoir.  I also managed to catch one keeper Cutthroat in the South Fork of the Rio Grande just above Riverbend RV Resort (where I stayed a couple springs ago).  That stretch had some beautiful and sizeable trout swimming around when I had been here previously -- I could see them then when the water was much clearer (now it is considerably blackened by the runoff from the fires).  It also smells like a campfire that has been doused with water the night before.  It is a beautiful stretch of stream and there are numerous rhubarb plants in one part of the canyon there.

I took one of my fellow campers (Harry) to that stretch yesterday morning to show him where the rhubarb patch is -- he had been begging to know and he is leaving today to head back to Phoenix.  We had a birthday party for him on Friday evening (though today is his birthday).

I am hoping that the rains will come from the northeast and head up the approaches of Wolf Creek Pass and rinse the stream clean of some of the nasty blackened waters and sediment so that the fish can see my lures -- and maybe I can again see them.

I did catch another keeper size Rainbow in that section of the South Fork a couple days after catching the Cutthroat and cooked them both Friday afternoon -- also released a number of small Brown trout.  That was early this past week.

I also have fished Big Meadows and Beaver Creek reservoir during the past week but, haven't kept anything I have caught there since I still have five fish in the freezer from Gunnison.  Most of the Texans seem to ignore the 8 trout possession limit and continue to bag their daily limits and fill their freezers to take the fish back with them -- only wish I could see a FWS person come through the camp and check them and their freezers (would be funny to see that).

May head for Beaver Creek this afternoon and wade the stream to the other side and see if I can catch something big there -- maybe after Harry leaves.