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Before and after..... #12852792 08/04/18 12:21 AM
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didja getny Offline OP
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After seeing posts from BoPro catching giant pike, Meadowlark catching huge salmon and Capt. Mac galavanting the world of salt catching tarpon, bonefish and whatnot, I feel like the guy that went fishing and "all I got was this t-shirt". Well, all I can do is post what I've got. And what I've got is trout. I'd rather have pike, salmon, tarpon, bonefish......or GT!!......but I got trout. So here it is. It's kinda a before and after thing.........

Before:


And, after.......


Ok, this was in between...



So, that's the best I can do. At least it's pretty!

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12852889 08/04/18 01:38 AM
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Looks like you at least had fun!!

Nice pictures.


Duane


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Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12852982 08/04/18 02:21 AM
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Jesse10 Offline
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Beautiful fish! Can you elaborate on your trip? Where? When? Flies? Thanks in advance. I really appreciate trip reports, home water etc. I dont get to fish much in the summer, so these reports are really enjoyable when Im living through you guys.

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12853119 08/04/18 04:07 AM
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Capt. Mac Offline
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Well, for a guy that only has a t-shirt, you got a heck of a nice trout sir. And, if thats all you got, you got it pretty good! Like Jesse10 said, i'd like to hear more about that trip...


[Linked Image]
Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12854424 08/05/18 07:29 PM
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didja getny Offline OP
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While Im serious that I would rather be on an exotic trip somewhere, I assume you all understand I was being ironic in my post as I truly enjoy trout fishing.

The place is an alpine lake in Pitkin county Colorado near Aspen. Im hesitant to be more specific in the open forum but I would be glad to share location and access via pm. Getting to this lake requires a roughly 3-mile hike (one way) and includes a 2,000 foot gain in altitude with the trailhead at 10,000 feet and the lake at 12,000. The trail is well defined and moderate, but the altitude can make for a real lung-buster.

Ive previously posted pictures from this lake but decided to make this post because I really liked the photo of the fish in the water. Typically, there is wind at altitude that puts a ripple on the water making seeing the fish challenging. On this day, with the water like glass, seeing the fish was as easy as it gets and I took advantage of the conditions and took the photo. I also videoed the fish and, if someone will tell me how to post the video (and if anybody has an interest), I will post the video as well.

On this particular day, which was this past Thursday, I had been fishing the lake for a couple of hours and had caught several fish when I decided to sit down and eat a sandwich. As I sat and ate, I saw the pictured fish swim past. It continued 30 or so yards, turned and came back. It did this twice as I ate my sandwich. And because of the incredible visibility I was able to maintain view of it as it swam back and forth. I finished eating, packed up my trash then grabbed my rod and waited for it to come back into casting range. The rest is history.

Regarding flies: I dont think the fly itself makes much difference, but I do think size is key. Often, theyll eat big and small. But sometimes small is a necessity. My two go-to flies are a size 12 Adams and a size 18 parachute Adams. Assuming the fish are willing to surface feed, its rare that I cant get them to eat one of those two flies. Generally, I think theyll eat any fly that is the size they are looking for.

Tippet: these fish are extremely tippet-shy. I use 6x fluoro. Even using 6x, expect to get a lot of last second refusals.

I prefer to sight-fish these fish and do so 100% of the time. I like to walk the bank looking for fish as opposed to fishing a spot. The fish are moving and I am moving which increases our chances of intersecting. The only drawback to walking the bank is much of it is scree down to the waters edge. Its very easy to slip or trip in the scree.

Ive fished this lake with other TFFers and friends. Heres a couple of Casey, 2fish4




Heres a few of Justin, 5wtflyfisher. In the first one hes enjoying the hike up.




And here are a few pics from other lakes I've fished in the last few weeks







I enjoy both lake fishing and river fishing and usually alternate fishing days between the two. So, I spend about half my time fishing the Roaring Fork and the other half hiking to, and fishing, my favorite lakes. It's a wonderful way to beat the Texas heat back home!

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12854431 08/05/18 07:39 PM
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Patrnflyr Offline
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Nice Brookie. Is one of those a golden? I know theres been a few stocked in the mountain lakes of Colorado but have never seen one half that size. I guess that fresh water and lack of competition with stockers makes them beautiful

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12854670 08/06/18 12:36 AM
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Jesse10 Offline
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Solid trip! Im not one to ask for someones good water, just really like to hear about fishing places that Ive never witnessed. Glad we pulled this out of you. Ive never fished an alpine lake. This is just awesome! I bet you ate your lunch quickly! Thanks for a change of pace!

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12855326 08/06/18 06:36 PM
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Glitchmo Offline
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Great photos! Those are huge fish for 12,000 feet -- I'm used to the little stunted brookie routine.

@patrnflyr: I don't see any goldens there. Just cutties and one brook trout.

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12855957 08/07/18 03:16 AM
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didja getny Offline OP
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Fly Fishing Scout, yes I had fun! Its silly fun, but a great way to spend an afternoon!

Jesse10, like you, I love seeing photos of what others are doing. The posts I referenced in my initial post, those by BoPro, Meadowlark and Capt. Mac, are often my favorites. Thanks guys! And thank you Jesse10, I appreciate your posts as well.

Capt. Mac, I very much enjoy your posts and am glad I could reciprocate. I look forward to more of your videos.

Patrnflyr, not a golden. I think what we are seeing here is simply the variation in the gene pool. The last two photos are from a lake that has long and skinny fish. Its funny as all the fish seem to be..well, long and skinny. But theyre great fighters!

Glitchmo, Im very happy to report that many of the alpine lakes have good size fish. Let me know if youre headed up and Ill do my best to steer you to where you can find some of the bigger ones.

Again, I enjoy seeing the photos posted by all TFFers. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed mine.

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12855965 08/07/18 03:25 AM
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didja getny Offline OP
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Now, before I officially put this thread to bed (as its probably getting a bit long in the tooth), I hope you will enjoy seeing photos of the lakes from which I pulled the pictured fish. One of the lakes is sub-alpine, at 11,500 feet, but the others are all 12,000 to 12,600 feet in elevation. All require a 3 to 4 mile hike (one way) and elevation gain of roughly 2,000 feet. All are worthy of the trek! Each offers magnificent vistas.

Enough already! Here they are..












Here is the grin you get on your face when you are catching fish and your friends, standing right next to you, arent.

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12856062 08/07/18 10:47 AM
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Wow those are awesome pictures!!

I have a new activity to put on my bucket list now.


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Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12858468 08/09/18 05:40 AM
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Pics are great and for the record, I was simply looking down to see if my shoe was untied. smile

Re: Before and after..... [Re: didja getny] #12858610 08/09/18 01:03 PM
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coolphotos


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