With the ladies enjoying their time poking around off-season Vail and Beaver Creek, this father-son duo snuck down to the Eagle River to test their West Coast trout skills on a wonderful Central Rockies stream. Though tighter casting than they were used to, these Oregon natives managed to trick a fair amount of our Colorado trout. Usually Summertime dry fly fishermen, these guys quickly got acquainted to our local nymphing techniques and were picking up trout on the lightest of eats. Small mayflies and Mother's Day Caddis were on the menu though a few bold fish went for the big meal - worms and stoneflies. Moving around was key today as the spots with the easiest access proved these fish were a little wiser than the spots a little further off the beaten path.
It was really cool to discuss the differences between fly fishing in Oregon and Colorado and see our clients delight at the different colors of our rainbow trout versus theirs and the abundance of brown trout in the Eagle River. It's always an easier day when you have experienced fishermen on the water with you and it was really fun dissecting the water and solving the bug puzzle with these two happy gentlemen. It was also really nice to quickly release most fish and keep them in the water with minimal photos needed. They were just happy to take in the area, spend some time together and fish a new river in Colorado together.