C
ColoradoTroutMan
*Disclaimer* This was my first OFFicial fly fishing trip as I had only once ever even attempted to cast so excuse me if my excitement leads to a long winded rambling post. 
So as some of you know I finally got all my gear together and decided to break it all in at Burnt Lake with a buddy of mine Saturday.
Little did I know how much of a hike it would turn out to be.
To give you a bit of an idea I am probably 40lbs overweight (60 if you go by government guideline, lol) 30+lb pack and a 12lb float tube all strapped to my back. Like this.
I thought I was going to just give up towards the end and just have my buddy get me later, lol. From my understanding it was about a 4.25mi hike with a 1400' elevation change most of which was in the last mile or so it seemed.
But I trudged on to finally be greeted by this.
After collapsing by the lake side I finally got my gear together and set out on my first fly fishing, or in this case I suppose it would be more accurately called fly dragging, excursion.
I started out with an Olive Crystal bugger and caught my first Cuttie in the process of just getting the fly out to start my drag. The fish nailed it the second it hit the water. Nice fat fish good color however I learned a valuable lesson. The 2lb 7x tippet I chose was a strong as a human hair. I went to get the fly from his mouth and he flipped in my lap snapped the line and went back in the lake with my Olive Crystal Bugger. My buddy stayed on shore with a worm and a bobber and slayed fish all day.
So after that I tied directly to my 6lb leader and continued to catch fish. Sadly I never thought about taking pictures initially but I caught several good sized Cutties and one brookie. All fish were in the 9 to 12" range.
After a bit the bite died of just enough I decided to switch to a black crystal bugger (btw, my flies are store bought ) and that did the trick. I finally thought about pictures by that time. Here are a few I caught.
I haven't quite got the technique of getting them to pose down yet but I'm working on it.
Anyway, we fished for about 4.5 hours before deciding we needed to take on that long hike back. I don't know how many fish I caught but it was enough to make me feel satisfied about the trip and I know my little 4wt rod got quite the workout. Missed a few to as I am not used to how quick hit they can be sometimes.
So on the way back I just couldn't take the weight on my back anymore and just flat out quit. My buddy took my tube the rest of the way back and I was able to limp out the rest of the way.
So I learned a few things on this trip. First and foremost that was the most difficult physical task I have ever accomplished and will NEVER try that again, lol. My shoulders, legs, knees, feet and two ankles I rolled were/are in the most pain I have ever experienced. I had to move my left arm with my right because the pain was so severe in my left shoulder. You should have seen my trying to walk when we stopped for dinner. I looked like and old horror movie zombie, LOL.
Second is I can't cast to save my life and need a LOT of work in that area.
Third I need to learn a LOT about fly fishing and the proper equipment i.e. tippet as well as everything else.
I will say this, despite the pain and the brutal hike that trip itself was well worth it and a memory I am glad I will have with me for the rest of my life.
And yes I am a Fly fisherman for life now. I can't wait to improve me skill and flog some more water.
Thanks for reading my long winded post.
So as some of you know I finally got all my gear together and decided to break it all in at Burnt Lake with a buddy of mine Saturday.
Little did I know how much of a hike it would turn out to be.
To give you a bit of an idea I am probably 40lbs overweight (60 if you go by government guideline, lol) 30+lb pack and a 12lb float tube all strapped to my back. Like this.
I thought I was going to just give up towards the end and just have my buddy get me later, lol. From my understanding it was about a 4.25mi hike with a 1400' elevation change most of which was in the last mile or so it seemed.
But I trudged on to finally be greeted by this.
After collapsing by the lake side I finally got my gear together and set out on my first fly fishing, or in this case I suppose it would be more accurately called fly dragging, excursion.
I started out with an Olive Crystal bugger and caught my first Cuttie in the process of just getting the fly out to start my drag. The fish nailed it the second it hit the water. Nice fat fish good color however I learned a valuable lesson. The 2lb 7x tippet I chose was a strong as a human hair. I went to get the fly from his mouth and he flipped in my lap snapped the line and went back in the lake with my Olive Crystal Bugger. My buddy stayed on shore with a worm and a bobber and slayed fish all day.
So after that I tied directly to my 6lb leader and continued to catch fish. Sadly I never thought about taking pictures initially but I caught several good sized Cutties and one brookie. All fish were in the 9 to 12" range.
After a bit the bite died of just enough I decided to switch to a black crystal bugger (btw, my flies are store bought
) and that did the trick. I finally thought about pictures by that time. Here are a few I caught.I haven't quite got the technique of getting them to pose down yet but I'm working on it.
Anyway, we fished for about 4.5 hours before deciding we needed to take on that long hike back. I don't know how many fish I caught but it was enough to make me feel satisfied about the trip and I know my little 4wt rod got quite the workout. Missed a few to as I am not used to how quick hit they can be sometimes.
So on the way back I just couldn't take the weight on my back anymore and just flat out quit. My buddy took my tube the rest of the way back and I was able to limp out the rest of the way.
So I learned a few things on this trip. First and foremost that was the most difficult physical task I have ever accomplished and will NEVER try that again, lol. My shoulders, legs, knees, feet and two ankles I rolled were/are in the most pain I have ever experienced. I had to move my left arm with my right because the pain was so severe in my left shoulder. You should have seen my trying to walk when we stopped for dinner. I looked like and old horror movie zombie, LOL.
Second is I can't cast to save my life and need a LOT of work in that area.
Third I need to learn a LOT about fly fishing and the proper equipment i.e. tippet as well as everything else.
I will say this, despite the pain and the brutal hike that trip itself was well worth it and a memory I am glad I will have with me for the rest of my life.
And yes I am a Fly fisherman for life now. I can't wait to improve me skill and flog some more water.
Thanks for reading my long winded post.
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