Mesa Brook Trout

I had a hankering for the high country.  Naturally I succumb to the Grand Mesa yet again.  I took a good hike with my tube on my back and soon enough I arrived to a placid lake full of eager little fish.

Most fish were all about that same size.  I wanted a little more thickness to them, but they were fun nonetheless. 

I caught a bunch of fish and a couple that were a little larger than average.  However, a good majority of them were camera shy and liked to throw a fit right as the shutter was snapping....resulting in pictures like this.

I must be really bad at holding fish still.  It was a super enjoyable trip until I heard thunder in the distance.  I got to shore just as the rain arrived.

The storm came and it just got worse.  I found my way to shore and tried to find a place to hunker down to wait it out.  Lightning in the high country is a dangerous, but awesome thing.  Please be smart this time of year with the chance of afternoon thunderstorms being very high.

After an hour and a half of waiting, I finally felt comfortable with making the long hike back to my car.  I was drenched and done.

Life is short, be sure to live it well.

Bass in the Lowlands

Western Colorado is in full summer mode.  Warm mornings that are usually accompanied by monsoonal afternoon thunderstorms.  I love the variety of weather and the cooler evenings, but it can ruin fishing plans fairly quickly.

I have been able to get out a few times over the last month.  My first float was to a little pond in our community that holds some decent warm water species.  I don’t consider myself much of a bass fisherman.  My only experience with them is from my college days in Texas.  However, these largies seemed to enjoy the jigs.

There were a couple perchlets and sunfish that came to play as well.

As the sun was disappearing over the horizon I hooked into something hefty that took me for a ride.  This fish had some shoulders and was soon pulling me around in the tube.  She peeled my 4lb test line from the reel many times before finally coming to the net.  This is definitely my biggest Colorado largemouth to date.

There are some great fishing opportunities right in our backyards.  I do have a writeup on the high country in the works, but until then...live life well.