{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fire on the Mountain

Awesome.  I like reports that tell the whole story.  Feels like we were there with you.  So much better than "Hooked 3 in stream X".  Great report and pictures.

On Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 2:26:34 PM UTC-5, Justin Schiavone wrote:

Cheeseman Canyon, South Platte river - Colorado is one of my favorite places to fish. It's here the South Platte river cuts through a burnt stretch of the rocky mountains. The river valley is surrounded by rock formations, much like a Salvador Dali painting. Pockets of coniferous trees contrast these giant boulders and are abundantly seen as you draw closer and closer to the stream. The ecosystem here is harsh, especially outside of the river valley, and the lack of foliage offers little relief from the sun on the hike in. One would say it takes a whole pale of water just to cool you down. The only forgiving element here is the lambs ear - natures TP - that flourishes along the trail. Which offers little assistance in hydration lol. The trail itself takes you up and over the mountains at approximately 10000 feet, and overlooks the reservoir until you begin your descent into the river valley. Beyond the reservoir lies a vast landscape of rolling mountains that extend as far as the eye can see all along the bleak, desert landscape.

This past Sunday was my first trip to Cheeseman of the 2016 season. My TPFR hat brought much luck- thanks Jeremy (little ludes) for sending one out. It wasn't twenty or so minutes into the hike before we stumbled upon 7 or so Bighorn sheep grazing below the trail. These animals have eluded me up until this point, and my wife and I were really excited to come across them. (See picture).  Once we made our way to the river we hiked downstream approximately 100 yards downstream and had our lunch on top a rock formation that extended high above the river. We enjoyed our lunch and then prepared to fish. My time on the water was limited as I was showing my wife and our friend En how to fly fish. They learned quick the elements of a good roll cast and we worked a stretch of water for a good hour or so. Eventually the shade set in and the girls decided to hike out leaving me with a brief moment to fish. I was running a black midge (pictured) size 20 to a size 20 flashback hares ear with a 12 ft 6x leader.  

I hope you enjoy the photos,

Cheers,

Justin

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/405b620f-a4b7-493b-b205-e9e96b131b2c%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.