Cold Blue Nights - Redux

In two previous outings, I have demonstrated an inability to get out-of-towners visiting Denver for the Fly Fishing Show onto fish. I was starting to feel a great deal of shame. Like Cameron, AJ Gottschalk was in town for the show. The original plan was for two of us to hit the Dream Stream on the Monday following the show. AJ was set to fly out on Tuesday morning.

But, mother nature and my two-wheel drive Honda Accord had different ideas. A huge dump of snow in Denver (and the mountains) over the weekend and the distinct lack of four-wheel drive in the Accord combined for less than ideal driving conditions. So, our plan for Monday was scrapped, in favor of some in-town carping.

It wasn't AJ's preference by any means. Leading up to his visit, he was excited about the prospect of catching five weight sized trouts on five weight fly rods. But, we carped nonetheless. With the exception of a Paul Bunyan-sized carper, we saw no sign of the golden ghost.

We returned to my apartment and AJ was tasked with figuring out his travel plans, as the polar vortex had wreaked havoc on the east coast. With a bit of luck, AJ's flight had been delayed until Wednesday morning. Tuesday was looking fishy. In-town temperatures were forecasted to be snow melting levels. Snow and ice melted and our chances of trouting were growing as Tuesday progressed.

I got off of work and it was readily apparent that we would have a window to fish the Blue at night. Our drive up into the mountains was clear, but there were some flakes falling. After filling our stomachs with Silverthorne's finest dining, we rigged up with midges and attractors.

AJ drifts as the snow falls in Silverthorne.

From the bridge, we spotted a sizable Blue River trout. It was up to AJ to get the right drift. He did. A five-weight fish bent his five-weight rod.

Earned it.

The snow continued to fall and I made the executive decision to head back to Denver. Can't risk it in the Accord. With some dicey road conditions around Loveland Pass, we had gotten off the water just in time. But, not after we nailed a baker's dozen between the two of us. Two and a half hours well spent.