The one that got away…from the perfect photo op.

Most of the time it is difficult enough for me to get the fish to bite. Last week I go through all of the trouble to land a decent fish and the darn thing jumps right out of my hands at the count of 2 and ¾’s. Should have told the fish we were going for the shot on the 3-count. The camera goes click and I’m left holding air.

A lot of the pictures I take don’t seem to make their way into the blog posts. In this case I will endure a little humility to expose how difficult it can be at times to get that perfect photo op.

Good luck and good fishing.

Photos from the field

Through my adventures photos are taken that never seem to make it into specific fish posts. So much of my fishing goes unseen or heard. Even though these pictures may not be ready for prime time fishing posts, I have found a way to fit them in an excerpt called “Photos from the field.”

March in Colorado is one of those crazy months that could have everything from a sideways running blizzard to high temperatures of 70-degrees all in the same day. Warm water action is far from prime time but slowly getting underway. I should be chasing walleye but instead find myself chasing buckets and smallies. For what it is worth I am happy to have open water.

Must Fish

(Above: Don grabbed this shot while we were fishing morning fog. One of the common requests I get is to show more background in my fish pictures. For those people, this shot is for you.)

Stampede of Fog

(Above: Late morning start but I am still rolling to the fishing spot. Out of nowhere a stampede of ground-cloud rushes across the road covering the landscape. Visibility went from several miles to nothing as soon as I dropped into the drainage basin.)

Rock Worm

(Above: A mysterious sighting for me in Colorado is these peculiar holes made through solid rock. Could there be a large worm that eats its way through granite and quartz? Maybe they move and feed only at night, which is why I have never seen the worms during my outdoor adventures. Probably just a drill hole left over from dynamiting the rock for a roadway or something like that.)

Circle of Ice

(Above: Nature amazes me on a continuous basis. Here the current has shaped a near perfect circle of ice in the river. Even though wilderness follows its own order most of the time, nature’s geometry is flawless.)

Special Sauce

(Above: My fishing addiction keeps me from exploring a lot of different circles like the crazy world of BBQ spices and silly named rub mixes for example. After reading some of the labels created by the masters of this arena…this may be a world I could do without. Ha ha )

Thank you so much for your views, comments and rates. This blog is fueled by your support. 

Good luck and good fishing.

March Bucket

(Above: Clydish looking bucket willing to cough up a mid-day bite.)

Saturday obligations had me in lockdown mode and had to switch things up to a rare Sunday water launch. Early morning wake up to a cold heavy drizzle and I go right back to bed. After an hour of extra sleep and three extra cups of coffee the rain stops, clouds part and I roll out to the water.

“My bones are still trying to lose the chill from last week…and the week before that.”

This will be the first spin on my new ODC Sport LT tooner from Creek Company, more on that hopefully in a later post. Suffice to say I struggle with the transition right off the bat and had to pull over twice to readjust the straps. Barely made it to the lake with the new tooner still on the truck. With the late start my casting doesn’t begin until noon.

The bass seem to still be a bit sluggish but willing to make moves towards shallow water. I was able to pick two smaller bass out of the coves just a few feet from shore in about a foot of water. This lake has a bit of weed matte at the bottom so my presentations were focused on slow moving weedless and swimming baits. Salamanders, grubs and even deadstick plastics are good options for me this time of year as I can run them on the bottom without too much trouble whether it is shallow or deep. When search baits fail to get bites or when I need to work deep or shallow structure slowly, a weedless plastic type lure is going to get the toss.

There are some samples shown above of just a few plastic lure types that I like to throw. I recommend the bassing beginner start out with the fantastic plastics as opposed to crankbaits with extra hooks that can spell disaster. Retrieve speeds can vary for the time of year but right now I am running things slow. Real slow.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

Desperate Plans to meet the water needs of the Front Range

Developers citing the need to deal with looming water shortages propose to build a massive reservoir in the foothills southwest of Denver.

But they don't have water to fill it.

On Tuesday, Penley Water Co. called the reservoir essential for weaning Front Range suburbs from wells, which produce less and less water as underground aquifers are depleted.

The proposed $105 million reservoir would inundate about 306 acres west of Sedalia and hold up to 22,500 acre-feet of water. That's slightly larger than Denver Water's Marston reservoir.

It would be the second major new reservoir in the Denver area for which little or no water has been acquired. Parker Water & Sanitation District is building the $230 million Rueter-Hess reservoir to store up to 72,000 acre-feet of water. Douglas County commissioners are reviewing engineering documents and a staff recommendation that they approve the project — with or without water to fill it.

"It's up to the developer if they want to take the expense of moving the earth before they have the water lined up," planning supervisor Curt Weitkunat said.

Across the Front Range, water woes are intensifying because developers in the past built subdivisions on semi-arid land and counted on wells, some drilled as deep as 2,700 feet into Denver Basin aquifers, which a Colorado Foundation for Water Education study shows are dropping by an inch a day in some areas.

About 60 percent of residents in 15 suburbs depend on groundwater wells, said Rod Kuharich, director of the South Metro Water Supply Authority. The authority, however, remained neutral on the Penley project.

"It's an engineering question," Kuharich said. "You'd have to find out if there's water to put into it."

Link to full article below:

Matt’s Rant: The situation is beyond desperate in my view and we continue to burn this candle at both ends. More people moving in, more houses being built and more water being used. Real water conservation is a tough sell to homeowners with yards that need to stay green, pools that need to be filled and hot showers that take almost an hour to complete. Irrigation needs are maxed out and even drinking supplies are getting smaller and smaller. The problem is getting worse and the population models burst around 2020.

Without some significant moisture at near record levels the Front Range will continue to feel the strain of increased population, lower moisture levels and a continued choking of our water supply. This situation is getting worse and we continue to reach for bandaid solutions such as digging holes for water we may or may not find.

These days I have my showers limited to 3 of 4 paper cups of water and eating dry instant coffee mix in the morning. It may seem crazy but I am just doing my part for water conservation. Unfortunately I feel like the only one and my efforts won’t stop the reservoirs from being drained when the water is needed. Colorado is planning on draining a few reservoirs this year while others are being planned. This will merely buy a few lawns a little more time.

Good luck and good fishing.

Check out Dropbox...it could be your free FTP

In an effort to help a few archaic and not the most tech savvy bloggers like myself out there with some news they can use, I would like to introduce a program called Dropbox. This is a free program that acts similar to a File Transfer Protocol that multiple users can access once you share the folders with them.

http://www.dropbox.com/

I set up a Dropbox folder for The MAD Fishing Show and then sent an e-mail to Don a few weeks ago and so far it has worked out great. A calendar will be added for planning and we toss web maps and other info there for review. Much easier than a file attachment and doesn’t set off my eight layer firewall on the shoebox and three wires I use for a PC. Here is a quick screen shot of what we have going so far.

If you are currently collaborating with other PC users and don’t already have an existing FTP setup, give Dropbox a look. This system is also upgradeable to meet large file demands at a reasonable price (you can share folders and earn more free space). I have used other FTP systems both fee and free but think Dropbox is easier to work with.

Not having to clean out the e-mail box of attachments is a nice bonus. Hope this helps.

Good luck and good fishing.

Two-hander bow

(Above: Big bow cow caught and released. This fish looked to have some previous scarring on the side of its face. My guess is that this fish may have used its strength to escape from another angler.)

Out on the lake and I am throwing heavy metal in long distance search cast mode. This is one of my favorite methods when faced with a lot of water both horizontal and vertical. Keeping the retrieve just fast enough for the lure to stay afloat a heavy tug hits the line. The rod doubles over as if I had hooked the back end of a runaway truck and the drag sings out that sweet melody of a fish run.

Truth be told I often lose that one big fish of the day to simple mistakes. One inch of slack or a weak hookset results in horror and dismay. Bringing the fish closer to the boat I expect tragedy at any moment. Mere inches away from my hand the fish runs back to the bottom spinning my reel spool once again. The surge of energy pulled nearly a hundred feet of line and all I could do was hang on while being patient.

Once the surge slows I cup the reel softly with my left hand and do my best to turn the fish’s head back towards me. The fish turns and then runs straight at me. The fish is fast and I can barely keep up with it. Slack starts to form in the line. The old familiar feeling of dread starts to circle me like a flock of vultures waiting for a beast to die.

“Smart fish.” I mutter through clenched teeth reeling frantically.

Lift the rod and the fish is pointed right at me less than a foot under the surface and three feet away from the boat. At this point I think I have the fish on the ropes. One good crank and tug and this fish will be landed. Wrong. All the smaller trout caught this year had lulled me into a false sense of confidence. I had completely misjudged the power of this hefty trout. It turned again and surged downward out of sight. The drag sang out another chorus and the curses rolled under my breath. Back and forth this battle went on. By this time I was convinced that the fish would spit the hook and haunt me in my sleep for years to come.

About the sixth or seventh time the fish zigged when it should have zagged and turned right into my hand. Don was there to grab some great footage. Release the fish and I had to sit there for a few moments trembling in pure jubilation. Just like sun shines on a dog’s butt every so often, this Mattsabasser does catch a big fish once in a while. I never claim to be the best or even a good source for information most of the time. Truth be told I simply love to fish and beastie fin slappers like this are one of life’s sweetest rewards…for me at least.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

A note on Fishing File Management

Sharing information on the Internet for most is a casual affair. They log on and post with a few taps of the keyboard and leave it at that. They could care less about organizing the files along the way or even using spell check at times. One of the aspects of my blog material is the endless file management. I have to process and filter a lot of pictures, research info and keep all of this manageable to some degree.

It all starts with a download from my digital camera after a trip. A folder is created with the date (yyyymmdd so they sort nicely) and all the pictures from that trip are placed there. It also helps if I do the picture editing in this folder as well but it doesn’t always happen that way and I end up doing the cleanup later. Then at the end of the year I can migrate all of that to an external hard drive for safekeeping.

A huge glob of files in one single folder would be much more difficult to analyze. This method enables me to review the material by location and date allowing me to factor in the success at certain times of year folder by folder. I still end up with a few straggling pictures to the right but you get the idea.

My blog posts are also managed but this organization is streamlined into categories rather than specific folders. This is done so that I can review the posts, articles and whatnot in a glance for a specific subject or titled post. This comes in handy when I think that a subject might have already been covered or I may wish to re-submit on another venue for some reason. When first starting out I was in complete chaos with my fishing file management. Even my current fishing forum submittals would be lost in the shuffle. Now that a little forethought and discipline has been employed it makes the whole situation easier to work with. This is probably something most are already doing in some fashion. Hopefully there are one or two bloggers out there that are possibly drowning in the file chaos and looking for the answer. With an added external file storage system and a little self-discipline you can at the very least find stuff easier.

Good luck and good fishing

March Slab

Roll out the pontooner to a small lake with more of a multispecies crowd compared to the bass pond that was tried last week. An angler has more of a chance at getting into something in Colorado around March if there are more types of fish than just bucketmouths. This particular lake has largemouth bass but also rumored to have smallmouth, a few decent crappie and stocked trout that can get fairly decent sized. These are the times when I bring both the kitchen sink and the bathtub as well. Translated this means both the trout bag that has seen a lot action in the last few months and the bass bag, which is still being dusted off from last November.

Wind was about 5 to 10mph blowing out of the west. This had forced the fish to hold up against the western edge of the lake that was sheltered from the wind forced lake current. Most experts in this situation will say to focus on the east side of the lake as the fish and forage will be pushed that direction by the wind. I have found the opposite to be true on smaller ponds or where there is water sheltered from the gusts.

Once I find the shelter point and anchor down Don says he has spotted a school of crappie. He tosses at them for a while with the gear he has and then goes back to searching for buckets. I dig into my bag and tie one up and start throwing for crappie. Just a plain white jig with a plastic grub trailer, 1/8oz weight on the jig head and 2” length on the grub. This is not a secret tactic for crappie by any means but having something in the micro-size on hand just might be the ticket. The idea is to swim the jig through the water like a lost minnow or crazy water bug. Crappie tend to like deep structure so I try to cast around areas that have something these fish could hunker around.

Throw a few casts and two crappie slabs come out from the deep structure to investigate. One of them slams the jig right in front of me and the panfish battle is on. The fish didn’t give up a huge battle mind you but did provide a sturdy panfish scrap, which is something I have not had for a while. Land the fish and take a few pictures that turned out horrible and a quick video that I stole the screen shot above from.

No big buckets yet but the season is young. Getting my hands on a March slab is just as fantastic!

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

This could change everything…CDOW\State Parks merger proposed.

(Above: The image above was for an article that was so scathing I chose not to publish it. Most of my wildlife rants sound more like armchair quarterbacking and have little real value to the reader. Somehow I managed to work it in to a completely different wildlife rant\update.)

 The state agencies that deal with parks and wildlife may soon be merged into a single division in an effort to save money, Gov. John Hickenlooper announced Tuesday.

Hickenlooper and Mike King, director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said that should their plan get legislative approval, no one will lose their jobs — but positions will be eliminated as employees retire or resign. The initial estimate is that consolidation would mean about 25 fewer state jobs.

Because of the merger, Hickenlooper's proposal to repurpose state parks that were going to be closed in the current budget crisis is on hold.

King said there is a "tremendous amount of overlap" between the Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks.

"They provide recreational opportunity. They protect our lands, our habitat, our hunting and fishing opportunities," he said, adding that consolidation "should have been done a long time ago."

The full article can be read below:

http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_17569738

Matt’s Rant: Like most proposals and mergers it will take some time to see how this all plays out. When I do the math it is clear to me that the management of Colorado State Parks was failing financially. They even went so far as to put parks up for sale in regards to mineral and gas exploration.

The DOW (technically I should be calling it CDOW-Colorado Division of Wildlife) is funded by sportsman and even though I don’t agree with some of their management plans for certain species or areas, you have to admit that the DOW manages more and does it better at least according to the books. Without subsidies the State Park system went into the red and started betraying the very purpose they were intended for.

State Parks have spent a lot of money on their facilities making it easier for the urban crowd to enjoy the outdoor setting in relative comfort. This was a great idea but the constant renovation and upgrades were unfounded. They charge more than National Parks and even pay fee State Wildlife Areas managed by the DOW...3 times as much in fact with annual passes, boating and camping fees. With record numbers of attendance at popular parks such as St. Vrain and Cherry Creek, they still failed to meet their budget needs. Now is a great time to shake things up and let someone else give it a go. Without some type of intervention this agency would have to close and sell off half (the less popular ones of course-and a few of my favorite by the way) their properties to break even at this point.

Both DOW and State Parks have tried to rely on user access fees and the DOW may have an advantage with the fish and game licenses. The burden for the DOW will be to restructure parks more in line with the user funding they receive. Removing the redundancy and overlapping layers of management may save a few places from being prostituted more than they already have been. The DOW manages wildlife issues within the State Parks already so this merger makes a lot of sense financially. Money drives habitat management making this a crucial component for the short and long term. For every wildlife project, managing area and even proposals money is the primary factor for success and failure.

Right now this is just a proposal. Hopefully the details are worked out on the table with the least amount of impact to employees. Most of all I want State Parks to become more efficient and end the financial issues that would eventually doom all State Park managed lands. 

Good luck and good fishing.

Back to Buckets…well almost

(Above: This would be a better shot if I weren’t really looking forward to blue skies and a high temp of

As soon as the ice lid comes off the metro ponds I start thinking about bass fishing. It makes no sense as the water can barely be above 45 degrees and here I am loading up the tooner to search for some largemouth bass in a state that may or may not want them sometimes.

The trip started early with a heavy fog laying down on everything like a fat lazy cat as big as half the county. Being a cold water species more accustomed to water temps above 70-degrees is not going to make the largemouth bass a prime-time bait smacker in February. This cold fog wasn’t going to help. The “thick” held back the sun’s rays allowing the night’s frost to linger. Temperatures dropped instead of rose as I chattered my teeth in a spring-like two layer garb.

A slow go bottom-bouncing jig dressed up with a black skirt and curly tail grub that got a knock on the door. Only had to soak half my tackle box before going back to the one thing I could thump on the bottom to find fish at the pace of someone driving Miss Daisy.

(Above: A bad picture of what I hope does not become a string of bad photos like last year. What is it about some of my shots that are less than well…good. Oh and also check out the overly aggressive forward hold on a 13-inch bass.)

Around 9AM the fog began to break with hints of blue in the distance. Then the blue would fade. By 10AM we had clearing skies and hints of wind. My body began to thaw out and search casting was the norm. If I weren’t slow rolling a spinnerbait up and down through the water column I was slow jigging what looked to be the hot structure spots. The bite was nil throughout the day.

(Above: A nice chunk on the quick grab. It really helps your summer fishing to go easy on these bass early in the season. By June most of these fish will be hammered!)

Probably would have been a better day for anything but bucketmouth bass. But for some reason my mind always has thoughts of fish looming in the background. Even if that is the last thing I should be throwing for.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

How to access private water…legally.

 At least once a year I read a post about golf courses or folks who are interested in accessing private water. With so much water storage kept away from the open water casts it can be absolute torture to hardcore anglers. Less scrupulous folks may hop a fence or otherwise make a private water jump on the non-kosher scene. The “Ask First” policy goes right out the window with some people and this taints the image of fishing overall. There is a much better way to go about this. Let’s take a look at a few steps I employ in an attempt to gain access private water.

Write an introduction letter

The private property owner won’t know the difference between you versus all those people they run off on a semi-regular basis. It really helps your case if you put together a polite but brief introduction letter. Express your love for fishing and the style of fishing you wish to partake in while on this person’s property. Make sure to put your full name and contact info as well.

Waiver of Liability

Liability is a major issue when it comes to accessing private property. In many cases the property owner faces litigation and can lose everything if someone with a good lawyer gets hurt. Offering a signed waiver of liability can ease the fears of a respective landowner as well as show them you have their concerns in mind.

I have uploaded a “waiver light” form that is both brief and covers the basic liability. This is the version I offer first but may have to provide more disclaimers or fill out additional forms that they provide. This is not a bulletproof waiver and many examples exist on various free legal forms websites. Download link below. (I probably could have picked a better hosting platform.)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/vlpn8i

Consider what is in it for them?

It may seem selfish to keep all of that water for irrigation or farming and not let anyone fish. But there may be several good reasons as well as previous instances that have closed the public access fishing door at many locations. Then again it may just be as simple as making it worth the while of the property owner. I have offered everything from beer, my labor services and possibly even the promise of my next unborn child. Showing genuine intent to repay the favor in some way for this immense privilege is key to making this a beneficial situation for both parties. This conversation can take place at any time but I will try to slip something into the introduction letter that will sweeten the deal for the landowner or managing agency.

Send the letter (you never know until you try-prepare yourself for rejection)

All you have to do now is send the letter off in the mail or hand-deliver if more prudent in that particular case. Use your best judgment as to what method will work best for you. Prepare yourself to be turned down, ignored or otherwise flat out rejected most of the time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but you have very little to lose and everything to gain by asking first. If you trespass it could cost you at the very least a fine. Worst case you lose your fishing privilege.

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” Berretta theme song and a darn good philosophy overall.

Good luck and good fishing.

Foothills Fish and Game Club-Your chance at a slice of solitude

(Image of the lake borrowed from their website as it exceeds the few pictures of I have taken of this beautiful lake.)

Last year I attended a cleanup outside of Longmont at Foothills Fish and Game Club. These folks manage a near 200 surface acre lake for fishing and recreation that offers solitude far beyond the public venues. They have a few openings left for new members while they are still in the rebuilding stages of their sport fishery. This may be one of the few times membership is available without having to cycle through their waiting list.


What it takes to get in may be a bit pricey for some but well worth it for the outdoor enthusiast willing to invest a little for additional privacy. A 1200 dollar setup fee is required for the first year with annual dues of 800 bucks after the first year. This membership offers year round access with fishing, hunting, camping and an outdoor opportunity limited to less than 100 people overall. 85 is the limit of members and you might see 10 or 20 of these folks during the peak summer season at one time. Compared to St. Vrain State park and others that get extremely crowded in the summer time, Foothills Fish and Game offers a greater experience in my opinion simply because of the solitude.

The fishing is in the second year of a rebuilding effort that covers both warm and coldwater species. Bass, trout, crappie, walleye, catfish and more will really start taking hold in the next year or two. Stocking occurs mostly in the spring and the action can be explosive. Hunting opportunities vary by the season and range from fair to good depending on the year. If this sounds like something you would be interested or would like more information, please visit the website link below.

http://foothillslake.org/

You can also shoot me an e-mail at coloradocasters@yahoo.com. Put “Foothills Club” in the subject line to help me sort through the tons of spam e-mails I get for no good reason. If you sign up via the website go ahead and tell them Coloradocasters sent you…maybe it will earn me some bonus points with Tim and get me a day pass once in a while. At the very least you will have a slice of solitude in the outdoor experience that is getting more and more crowded in Colorado.

Well its almost ice fishing…

What is it about ice fishing that has me clinging to smaller slips of water with pools barely open to cast? Last year’s outings were beyond dismal. Some trips were downright painful. Twice now I have loaded up the ice auger, the short rods and the sled only to ditch plans and hit anything else. I had planned to ice fish. Really. But somehow the truck veers in another direction and my usual gear manages to hop in at the last minute. Then I find myself driving to fishing destinations that are barely open in some spots and mostly frozen over in others.

On the way up I know things won’t be easy and that is open water is available at all. When I arrive there is a moment of jubilation and dread all at the same time. The water is open but only in one or two areas.

Test a few patterns and scare a few fish. Downsize and pick up a few follows. Downsize even more and I get more interest. This is where having fish in front of you can really help. I toss out one color and then another until something seems to light them up. In this case there is no “light” but one decent brown trout coming over to take part in my taste test.

“Yes!” I exclaim as if this were as big as any fish that has nipped my rookie presentations.

Doing my best to wet my hands with the snow nearby I then go for the photo op. Photo ops in February are tough to come by for me. Not for the lack of trying. There are times when a small brown trout like this appeases the annoying twitch of my casting elbow.

Working the few open water pools with the smallest gear in the bag I manage to come up with a few small cutts and a few small browns. Conditions seemed difficult but not impossible. Around 10:30 some angry wind arrived and began blasting its way through the canyon. I say this was angry wind as it tried to beat me up more than regular gusts. At times it would cease just long enough for me to position for a cast. Then it would wallop me again in all directions. Digging sand and snow from my eyes I cast the best as possible. Funny how the distance needed is only a few feet and the wind made even the short casts tough. Finally I get one cast to go into the riffle and where the fish are. Plink! Another brown trout comes to the hand.

This was not a day of hard water and big fish. Most likely larger fish would have been caught had I stuck to the original plan. It may be safe to say that I have developed a fear and loathing of ice fishing. That is the case for this season at least. A few small pockets of water will hopefully hold me through to March.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

Photos from the field

Through my adventures photos are taken that never seem to make it into specific fish posts. So much of my fishing goes unseen or heard. Even though these pictures may not be ready for prime time fishing posts, I have found a way to fit them in an excerpt called “Photos from the field.”

Painted caboose

(Above: Turn your back for one minute and your caboose may be painted up, vandalized or otherwise outright bamboozled. This one has been sitting a while and heavily tagged. Watch your caboose!)

Faux Canis

(Above: One of the experiments adopted by some crafty farmers, park managers, and even home owners are wooden silhouettes shaped like a small coyote, large black fox or even your feral domesticus dogicus. This silhouette has managed to keep away the frequenting flocks of geese that once plagued this neighborhood park. You wouldn’t think geese would be such a terror until you factor in all of the year round feces, bacteria and other ills that come along with a species that is just supposed to stop by for a few months a year. Like a bad in-law they have out stayed their welcome. Mr. Faux Canis here gives them the gentle brush off.)

Pixies in Twilight

(Above: Every second of your life can be magic but some moments are always going to be more so than others. The real trick is putting yourself in the best place possible and having eyes wide open to see those moments when they happen. I tend to stumble on these moments more than control them. Even mere snowflakes can come to life at certain times. All they need is a little flash and some twilight.)

Riffles of ice

(Above: As soon as I think nature has shown me everything she slaps my face with something else completely amazing. How the @#$% does this even happen? It is as if the riffles are caught in flight as they cascade over rock.)

Build it…they will come

(Above: Youth is forever determined and if you focus this energy towards the positive they will veer further and further from the negative. In this case some crafty individuals have carved out a freestyle bike park with nothing more than a little dirt, a few shovels and a sliver of hidden space. This is quite the little hot spot on a summer Saturday. Build it and they will come.)

February usually slows my fishing down with frequent snowstorms that cancel high country trips and warm spurts that soften the hard ice of my Front Range venues. Sorting through the gear, watching weather reports and planning my attack for spring is what helps me get through the last month of what I call “The Cold Three”. Still managing to get a few casts here and there but nothing to brag about. Thank you so much for your views, comments and rates. This blog is fueled by your support. 

Good luck and good fishing.

Fish the snow!

Friday night I am sorting through the ice fishing gear and loading up for the next morning. Morning comes and landscape is getting pounded with a heavy snowstorm. This snow would make travel difficult and my planned destination was a bit of a haul, one-hour drive time with good roads. Bad roads? It could take me two days.

“I should just stay in and drink coffee.” I muttered to myself hoping to melt the falling flakes with the frustration brewing in my mind.

Looking out the window I see that this weather pattern is not as cold as it was just a day or two ago. In fact I could see the snow melting and water building up in the gutters. The conditions were similar to a month ago. As soon as the truck started up my thoughts of ice fishing were abandoned.

“Fish the river. Fish the snow!”

Bad weather can mean better fishing in the metro area. The extra precipitation and the melting snow stir things up. This will typically create a rise in feeding activity. What I didn’t expect was the water to be open in a few spots that were frozen over just a week or two ago. One cast and I hook into a beauty cutbow. Not as large as the one I caught here last time but enough to make the detour in planning pay off. No pics on this one…just video.



Once again the solid gold pattern paid off. Maybe it is simply the location and time of year that has these fish attacking anything with a hint of gold or brass.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic

Top 10 reasons NOT to fish with Mattsabasser

There is a bit of hubbub over at OBN about the get together supposedly coming to Denver in the summer. A writing prompt has been initiated asking which fellow bloggers they would most likely meet or even hang out with. I am going to admit that my name will be overlooked, possibly even shunned from the “fishing wish list” and with good reason.

The folks that actually read my blog have come to realize that I am a bit cantankerous and possibly even antisocial towards some humans. My fishing excursions may also look a bit sadistic at times with cliff dives, long hikes and even that one porcupine that I stumbled across on the early morning trail in 2010. There are so many reasons that people choose not to fish with me but for the sake of this post I will try to narrow it down to some sort of Top 10.

1. Fishing is more than a pastime for me. It is an obsession. I don’t think fishing should be relaxing or even fun. We are there to catch fish.

2. Beer and other alcoholic beverages are not to be consumed when fishing. We are there to fish, not to get drunk. I am not entirely against getting drunk afterwards.

3. Most of my fishing places do not allow the use of live bait and all rules, regulations will be respected. I have also been known to blindfold people before the trip to ensure the fishing location cannot be found later.

4. 99% of the time we will be releasing the fish. (Yellow perch and some fish may be harvested as needed but generally as a rule the fish are going back with as minimal harm as possible.) The local grocer will have a seafood section we can hit on the way back if you absolutely need to eat fish.

5. There is a good chance that I will pollute your mentality with my conspiracy theories, conservation rants and even voodoo curses about fishing.

6. We probably won’t be going for trout. By summer my panfish addiction may be in overdrive as well as a good bass fix will be in order. With enough daylight and fuel, an angler can do both in Colorado within a single day.

7. I will bring a spin rod. (I will have a fly rod as well but will mostly use the spin gear depending on what the fish want.) This is a huge source of discontent for a lot of anglers in Colorado for some reason. “If you didn’t catch that fish with a fly rod…you cheated”.

8. I will ask you take pictures of me with my fish. It will start to wear on you after a while if I am the only one doing any of the catching. Oh and I curse a little bit too if the fish doesn’t cooperate with the photo op.

9. I don’t bring extra water or supplies. Sometimes I barely bring enough for myself. It’s a real problem for me actually. But if you carry extra supplies in I will gladly help you utilize them.

10. You will have to get up very early, stay out very late and do a lot of walking, rowing or other extraneous activity to reach the fish. I do not guarantee you will catch fish. A lot of people take one fishing trip with me and take one trip only for this reason more than the others.

For these reasons and many more it will be no stretch of the imagination that my name will rise to the top of the other list. The list of people they most likely don’t want to meet or fish with at the OBN Rendezvous or ever for that matter. This is not done to exclude me per say but does support or otherwise highlight the vast intelligence of the awesomely fantastic OBN Community.

People do occasionally ask me for fishing trips and have made the mistake of actually showing up at the appropriate time (there is a 15-minute window before the truck leaves). They assume I have a big fancy boat and the fish will just jump right in their laps. After an hour they realize this is going to be a lot of work and start remembering crucial appointments or even medical excuses.

(Above: I don’t guide for many reasons. But if I did run a fishing guide service the promotional material would look similar to this. (Sigh) My disclaimer could use some work.)

The bloggers I would like most to meet would be Joe and Rebecca. Being able to thank them for creating OBN in person would be pretty amazing. Searching and finding outdoor blogs is fairly difficult for me for some reason. After becoming a member of OBN the list of blogs I follow has doubled and my follow list has grown as well. Blogger highlights, the forum, gear reviews…the list goes on and on. Once again, Joe and Rebecca, thank you.

Lastly, there are a few bloggers and readers who have reached out to me and I hope to connect with them in some fashion for 2011. Nothing has been written in stone as of yet and I may need an e-mail reminder here and there to keep the dates on target.

With most appreciation,

Mattsabasser

Breaking Bad Mojo on Mr. T

Admittedly my superstitions that revolve around fishing may point towards some level of mental instability. Family, friends and even coworkers have pointed this out to me on more than one occasion. Not being able to fish and not catching fish are two things that can play havoc on my mentality sending my brain on paranoid tangents.

So when The MAD Fishing Show fell into a serious slump for a few weeks it not only cut into the shameless fish bragging but it started to make me more concerned with each trip. It was almost as if the magic was gone. Don and I were cursed.

(Above: Early morning jump shot. Sometimes getting there is a battle. Then there are the moments that make a person feel truly blessed…fish or no fish.)

The wind was howling like an angry banshee making the gear up a watery-eyed and cold experience. The heavy gusts reached as high as 50mph and continued to beat up on us throughout the morning. This force of nature can be relentlessly taxing to anglers causing muffed casts, red skin and frozen tears on the side of the face. Undeterred we hit the water looking for some team effort fish. If this trip didn’t pay off we would have to rename the Matt and Don excursions to something like “Guess it was good to get out at least” or “Yea, we don’t know what we are doing”.

Don steps to the water and pulls out a fish within a few casts. We were prepared to work hard for fish but coming up with a brook trout right off the bat seemed to lift the curse instantly.

(Above: Don with a beauty brook and first fish of the day. Brook trout are about as rare as a hen’s tooth on this slip of water. Way to go Don.)

The first fish builds confidence. In this case it was a huge spirit builder that seemed to swing the momentum in our favor. A great trip can begin with one fish. Regardless of the size this brook trout reminded us that we can still catch fish…even ones that people might swear don’t exist here.

Working the top of the stretch I am running through a few patterns to see what might be the flavor of the day. If the fish are in an aggressive mood they will follow and hit just about anything. After a few casts I find one or two fish willing to take a nip at a slow roll and bump presentation. Sometimes the trick here is just finding the one thing they haven’t seen in a while and running it slow.

(Above: Then the rookie lands a nice brown. Handle with care and release.)

The ground is frozen and my wet boots stick to the sand or rock as I leave the water. Casting from the shore most of the time I needed only to step in to unhook\release the fish.

Water levels are low forcing fish into the deeper pockets. This makes them easier to locate but you can almost see the nervousness in their eyes. Most of them hang low in the trough and simply ignore me after the first pass. Finally I get another brown trout to give the slow roll bump a go. This time it is a dark brute with a mean mouth and a steady fight. Most fish amaze me with their color patterns but this brown trout looks just plain angry!

(Above: Check out the teeth on this guy! Male brown trout tend to have darker colors and a more protruding lower jaw.)

The action increased with the rising of the sun. Then a hot bite showed up between 9 and 11AM. This was fairly obvious and seemed to be timed with both the warmest time of the day and a slight parting of the clouds. Fish and spots that seemed sluggish before became more active. One of the fish that I had thrown at earlier said hello on a repeat visit later in the day.

(Above: My fish pictures can really be terrible when the hot bite is on. This was completely a quick click-n-go shot.)

Don took over from there and landed a few quality brown trout as well. Typically one of us will dial in the fish on any given day. But after such a bad mojo funk it was really nice to see both of us do well. The mojo funk seemed to dissipate with every fish that made it to the hand.

(Above: I rarely muff up the pictures for Don. Sorry about this one, man. That was a beauty fish and this photo does not do it justice.)

A few seconds and almost the next cast he hooks into another one. This time I manage to stick the landing on the photo op and the fish is sent back on its way.

(Above: Here is where I slightly redeem myself. Too bad this fish was not near as impressive as the other one.)

By 1PM you are looking at a full parking lot and shoreline space is limited. Things can get a bit testy when anglers have to fish in a crowd. Some spots you have to take a number and wait your turn. The pressure seems to increase more and more. Being one of the few open water sections in the area may have something to do with that.

(Above: Frigid shot looking west at high noon. Spot number seven looks open. Get your gear from the car and RUN!!! Ha ha. Sorry, inside joke. You kinda had to be there. Should have had the video on for that one.)

One of the reasons this stretch still has a few of these beauty brown trout is due to the fact it is managed as AFLO\C&R water. Small rivers such as this are premium fisheries in Colorado that can be susceptible to over-harvesting. 

Note: This trip was taken just before the recent cold snap and subsequent snow. Conditions may have changed. Check river and road conditions before you go. I get a little disappointed with myself when a post takes too long to produce.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

At least I can still look at fish

Last Saturday I was slinging in 60-degree temperatures. Today I am sitting on my butt with a –16 (minus sixteen) degree arctic freeze. Schools are closed and the roads are super slick. Reaching some river tailwater would be a difficult task. Grabbing a spot on some hard water would be uncomfortable to say the least.

In an effort to salvage this day I decided to put together some Basspro footage from Sunday into a video montage of sorts. If I can’t fish at least I can look at fish. Looking at fish through a wall of glass is sort of like methadone for fishaholics.



The audio was added with Youtube’s AudioSwap feature. Not a big fan of the suggested playlists as I rarely find something that goes with the footage. Aalborg Fantasy Soundtracks - Deep Sea Orchestra was used for this clip. I would have been happier with a Pink Floyd track from their earlier days.

The good news is that I did manage to nail some fish on the last outing. Hopefully I will get the pictures edited and the text laid out in a manner that flows nearly as good as the trip itself.

Must Fish

The MAD Fishing Show and the bad mojo

As much as I applaud the shameless fish bragging, a far more important aspect to me is honesty. In the spirit of that honesty I have to admit that the less than infamous and completely non-sponsored MAD Fishing Show is in a serious slump. Even the trips to the most consistent fisheries are coming up zilch. One skunkfest won’t dampen our spirits or lessen our determination but 3 or 4 zeroed out excursions can open a door of paranoia and frustration in my already frazzled mind. Catching fish is never guaranteed but typically Don or myself can find a hot pattern for the day and work it with some level of success even at the worst of times. In the last handful of trips we have slung at least 50 patterns over 1,000 casts to see nary a follow.

Some people tend to blame the weather or the moon phase. Other people may blame the season. I am not above any of those excuses but in truth I can an only blame myself for not catching fish. What makes this situation really bizarre is that I am catching fish on my solo trips but the Matt and Don runs are coming up empty. For the most part I am not a superstitious person unless it comes to fishing. A crazy slump like this will allow my imagination to point towards some type of bad mojo being involved.

Panic and desperation can subtract from a positive mentality as well as fishing focus, which are two very important aspects to fishing. Before my mind gets too carried away with thoughts of doom and gloom I need to remind myself this is January and the fishing can be real hit or miss. However…I am not above resorting to voodoo, even if only to calm the paranoid voices in my head.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

An underwater short

This morning I was able to convince a rainbow\cutthroat trout hybrid to do a little underwater video work with me. Underwater footage was something that I was really excited about at first but it simply added another layer of effort to the situation. Gathering the pictures and video cuts into the time factor which makes the extra step for underwater video that much more difficult. In an effort to get 2011 back on track I decided to set up some auditions for underwater talent. The turn out was light but at least one wannabe superstar with a twinkle in its eye showed up to try and steal the show. This is not some of my best underwater work but the fish gets an A for effort.

Clearly my directing skills need some work. A point or two gets deducted for the tip of the pole falling into the water as well as the large rock being in the way. The pole wanted to ham it up a little I guess and jumped into the shot at the last minute. This was one of the few areas I could set the camera down and not have it swept down river. Losing the camera would have been a bit more embarrassing than dropping a pole tip in the water but only a little.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this underwater short. My Name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.