Easter Weekend

Well...here it is!  The very first post on my first blog.  I feel so tech savvy (sarcasm).  This will be a lengthy post.  Most of my posts will not be this massive ;)

This report is about a week late due to me trying to learn the mysteries of the interweb, but over the Easter weekend I found some time to wet my line.


Thursday

Right after work I jetted over to a nearby tailwater.  Pa-Co-Chu-Puk is the name given to this state park on the Uncompahgre River here in western Colorado.  The river here is artificial fly and lure only as well as catch and release only.  Not to worry though there are also some ponds with stockers for the kiddos.

I found fish quickly.  With the flows being so low, the fish were stacked up in deeper holes. Browns, Cutts, and Bows; oh my.

The rainbows all had some funk happening on their gill plates, but they fought for twice their size.  Most took several runs...making my drag scream the entire time.

I threw my jig into a log jam.  It was the perfect toss and I was greeted with that ever so welcoming "THUD".  At first my mind thought snag, then moss, and then I felt the head shake.  Fish on!  I didn't get a good picture from the brute.  It escaped my grasp before it could be fully examined.  Beauty though.

Friday

With the larger brown from yesterday as my motivation, I once again pointed myself towards Pa-Co-Chu-Puk.  I knew full well my chances of catching another 20+ inch fish would probably be small, but I had a little hope.

The first couple holes yielded no bites.  I was carefully combing the river, looking in every nook and cranny for a hidden trout.  I worked up to a hole that at one time was very large, but with the low flows had dwindled. My jig was placed perfectly.  I gave a couple shakes to it and my rod bent over.  Line squealed from my reel.  The water was very clear and I saw the fish making its run downriver.  Behemoth...my jaw dropped and I started chasing it downstream.  I played the fish carefully.  It took me three holes downriver.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, victory was mine.

One of my biggest browns to date.  I could not fit my hand around it for a normal picture.  It was one of those fish that make you whoop and holler.  It was barely hooked in the top of the mouth and swam off with vigor and force.  It did however, have a funky mouth.  Perhaps a wound from battle past.

The fishing continued to be superb.  I caught many more average browns and bows, but won't include their pics.  I did however find this gorgeous gem.

Quite the rarity for me at Paco. 

Purty.  

Towards the end of my trip I came across an interesting find.  I caught a fairly good size brown, but its body felt so empty.  There was a sucker sticking out of its mouth.  It looked to me like the sucker was stuck in the brown's throat.  

You can clearly see my jig in the top of its mouth with the sucker falling out the bottom.

It was like holding a semi-deflated balloon.  The fish felt like it hadn't eaten in a while.  With a little bit of wiggling, the sucker came free.  I think Mr. Brown bit off a little more than he could chew.

The fish recovered well and swam off.  I wrestled with whether to take the sucker out or not.  I hope I decided correctly.  It turned out to be an awesome afternoon in a beautiful place.

Gotta love Paco.

Saturday

I have to admit I was tempted to go back to Paco, but chose instead to go to the ever popular Gunnison river.  This river really is world class and holds some amazing fish.

Today I went to the Pleasure Park area on the lower Gunnison.  It was beautiful for sure.

I walked, and walked, and walked some more.  Searching for deeper waters.  I hadn't ever fished here before.  I observed a lot of rising trout.  I was kicking myself for not bringing the fly rod.  They paid no attention to my jigs, lures, or jerk baits.   It looked like dry fly heaven.  I pressed on spotting some fairly large fish in the crystal clear water.  All of which wouldn't give me the time of day.

I did finally manage to wrangle a couple of the smaller browns.

I was impressed with the landscape though. A desert oasis.

I need to put in more time on this section of the river.  I know there are some massive fish here.  There will surely be more reports coming from the mighty Gunny.

Well that does it for this week's adventure.

Remember life is short, so live it well