Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

Locals and wannabe locals affectionately call it ‘The Fork’.  Simply, The Fork.  As if any other fork were of no significance.  Its headwaters are trickles atop the con­tinen­tal divide.  They collect in a shal­low lake whose out­flow is but a small creek.  A few miles down­stream, though, the creek receives 185 cfs of con­stant 52° spring water every hour, of every day, all year long.  The creek is now a full-fledged river, one of tremendous spring-fed fertility.  It passes through an irri­ga­tion res­ervoir, squeezes down a short steep canyon, and then slows to a crawl as it meanders in an open plat­eau be­neath the majestic Centennial Moun­tains.  The area’s first explorers came in search of beaver, but to­day’s explorers seek far greater riches – large wild trout. Read More

Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

When you daydream about trout fishing, , what flies are your dreams made of?  Hoppers?  Ants?  Snappy attractors?  The first choice of many veteran anglers is beetles.  Trout are always receptive to a wayward beetle, and plump imitations cast along grassy banks can coax an observant trout out of hiding.  But did you know that beetles are often more abundant under the water than on top of it?, Or that beetles are available to trout even in the middle of winter?  Many species of beetles live most or all of their lives in the river.  If you’ve examined the bottom rubble of a trout stream, you’ve undoubtedly seen aquatic beetle larvae, but you prob­ably mistook them for caddisflies or stoneflies.  The three taxonomic groups are easily confused, but trout care little about taxonomy and a lot about food. Read More