Fly Fishing
When we retired we decided that we would only start new hobbies that we both were interested in and could learn together. One new thing that we really wanted to try was fly fishing. We went to an ElderHostel in Red Lodge, Montana, where we studied Lewis and Clark on the Yellowstone and learned how to fly fish. After the Elderhostel we went to Hope, Idaho, and fished for a week on our own. We were "hooked" after just two weeks!
We fished for four years in Big Sky, Montana--one year on our own, one year with friends from the Twin Cities, and two years with our friends, Warren and Lee, from Las Vegas. In 2004, 2005 and 2006 we fished in Colorado with Warren and Lee. In 2007, they were unable to join us, so we spent two weeks on our own. We missed them but had a great time anyway.
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One of the joys of fly fishing is the gorgeous scenery. On the left is the Taylor Fork near Big Sky, Montana, and on the right is the "Dream Stream," actually the Middle Fork of the South Platte River. Jodie got some ideas of where to fish from an email geocaching buddy in Breckenridge. When we went to scout out the spots, we stopped at a small fly shop in the middle of nowhere. Sandy got out of the truck to visit with some guys that were sitting on the porch of the shop. Jodie thought, "We may never get out of here" and finally got out also after about 15 minutes of cooking in the hot truck. It was a fortuitous stop: one of the guys told us about a very interesting spot south of a reservoir. It was called the "Dream Stream," and it was all of that. We had such fun fishing it for two days. Unfortunately, it was after Warren and Lee had gone. We did fish it again in 2006 but it wasn't as much of a "Dream." We fished it again in 2007 and even tried some night fishing, without a whole lot of luck. However, we did have some great fishing on the Blue River in 2007 and will definitely return there.
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There is fishing . . .
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And there is catching!
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Left: Near the Tomahawk, a public access to the Middle Fork of the South Platte south of Fairplay, Colorado. It was a beautiful spot and we fished there several times. We actually did some "catching" also. Right: On the Piedra River, west of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We had some good fishing one day not too far from here.
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On the left: Resting after lunch near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in 2004 with Warren and Lee. On the right, 2006 and the Middle Fork of the South Platte River.
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We toast you and wish you well as we leave fly fishing for our next adventure!