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.

Photos from the Field

December started off so mild. It looked as if we were in for another drought period low water conditions to follow. Then came January and the blizzard conditions followed right along with it. Fishing in Colorado can be painful at times and pure bliss at others. Weather is a primary factor in regards to level of comfort when fishing. The transition happens very quickly and the differences can be like night and day or more importantly, tropical versus arctic.

Home on the Range

 (Above: Bison being completely “spoiled” on the Colorado landscape. Wild grasses and all the hay they can eat. There is even a pond for drinking. But even with a few hundred acres I think these native beasts still feel a bit cramped.)

Always someone more hardcore

(Above: Here is a guy that makes my cold weather excursions look like field trips from the kindergarten class. The crazy part is that I usually see him only on the worst cold weather days. Maybe on the sunny days he drives a convertible. For continuing to battle the worst blizzard days on the two-wheel scene…this hardcore award is for you.)

Snowball Range

(Above: To most folks this probably looks like a golf course. On the other hand I think it would make a fine snowball range for that youngster snowball thrower really looking to set the bar for him or her. Plenty of ammo to work with and none of those darn…what do you call them? Golfers? I call them people with metal clubs that don’t like anglers trespassing to their ponds.)

Cold White on Majestic Blue

(Above: A few hundred years ago Lewis and Clark reached a spot similar to this and exclaimed, “Sonofa!!!…These &#$%^ mountains @#$% go on forever!!!” (sigh) I kinda wish the whole planet were covered with this stuff.)

So much of my fishing and outdoors adventures don’t make it into the blog posts for whatever reason. A few of these shots are amazing enough even if not ready for the prime time fishing posts. For that reason I have created this excerpt called Photos from the Field. Thank you so much for your views, comments and rates. It truly means a lot to me.

Good luck and good fishing.

‘bout time

Just something about battling these super fabulous fin slappers that makes me smile. But lately the less than average fish size has turned my shameless fish bragging into tales of “ho-hum”. Just to add a triple scoop of frustration, one of my trips had to be cancelled due to a big fat blizzard that sat down right on top of my fish planning. Instead of doing the early morning gear up I found myself angrily gnawing on a chunk of frustration.

With determination and low expectations the trout bag and one rod is tossed into the truck to play a little slip\slide on the metro scene. I am looking for any open lake or a river section that can be fished. Eventually the truck is pulled into the parking area with only one car shrouded in nearly half a foot of snow. No tracks from human or animal meant zero fishing pressure. At least I have that and a pound or two of flurries falling from the sky. Staring at the one spot of open water I cast across the pool to run the flat to instantly get a solid hit. The hit was so strong the lure stopped entirely making me think for a moment that it was merely a snag.

“Probably a dumb rock.” I say with my focus more on the surrounding winter wonderland than the water. The rod tip bends over and the pole tries to leap from my hands. “Hey…that’s a fish!!!”

Standing on less than secure footing I am a bit frantic as to how and where to land this amazing cutbow trout (hybrid of rainbow and cutthroat trout). Tossing all fear of hypothermia and frostbite aside, I step my boots into the water to land this fish as gently as possible. The area is thick with trees and the camera is set precariously on a snow-covered rock. Grab the shot and hope it turns out. Not enough room for anything more and the importance of getting this fish back into the water quickly is paramount.

Feet soaking wet I toss out a few more casts and then head back to the truck before the digits turn blue. Waders might have made a difference but the least of my concerns at this point. What matters most is that finally I land a trout that is worth bragging up on the blogilicious. Starting 2011 with a catch like this is fairly huge for me. Finally the pressure is off a little bit and folks see that I do actually catch a decent fish once in a while. On the way home all I could manage to say…” ’bout time!!!”

Where did I catch this fish? Answer: In the water. That is where I catch all of my fish. What did I catch this fish on? A lure borrowed from Don. Pure gold.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

Inside Coloradocasters: Meet the Graphics Team

One of the things I have been bragging\complaining a bit too much about lately is my graphics team. It takes a lot of work to keep good blog content flowing and a person may have to wear many hats in the process. Writing and posting the fantastic fishing content is time consuming enough but once in a blue moon the graphics team will come up with something that gives a post that extra punch. Let’s take a moment and finally meet the graphics team of my fishing blogilicious.

Will Shanker: Team Lead

Will is the team lead but spends most of his time on the phone or goofing off. Other than a few clever title headers we don’t get a lot out of him. Will also runs the fantasy football league here at work so we can’t fire him at least until the Superbowl pay out is completed.

Mr. Shanker claims to be quite handy with the ladies and a bit of a player. In truth, if he were a player his game would be called “sorry”. He passed the drug test and doesn’t come to work drunk so we made him team lead (also designated driver for the boss when he calls sometimes on Saturday around 2AM). Thanks for being a team player, Will.

Ben Slakin: Graphics Specialist\Internet Resource Lead

Ben has been here longer than anyone and the only one that knows how to set up our servers to play World Of Warcraft, Halo and that new game they just came out with…you know the one makes your head explode? This makes him nearly irreplaceable even though he sleeps most of the time. Ben is also responsible for the occasional image ripped from a web source for whatever reason. Eventually we will have to let him go for liability purposes. Don’t worry, Ben. We’ll hire you back as a contractor as soon as you fix that little problem with your credit report.

Kenny Hep-yoo: Intern\Contractor

Kenny started out as an intern before we decided to hire him on full time as a low wage contractor. Kenny likes to show up early, stay late and pretty much does everything around here including making the coffee. Vital member of the team but we will probably have to let him go due to budget cuts.

So now you know a little more about Coloradocasters and how it all comes together. I hope you have enjoyed this behind the scenes look and chance to meet the graphics team. This may also help explain why some posts have graphics and why those graphics look really lame at times. As much as I would like to think of Coloradocasters as a fishing club with a very select membership or maybe even an online magazine of sorts…in truth, it really is just one guy behind the curtain pulling the strings. Some of those strings may have snapped oh so long ago.

Good luck and Good Fishing

Third swing on the Hot Tip

Looking to make the most of the December warm spell I headed out to cover some more ground on the Hot Tip. This is that place one angler said that I might want to check out considering that I had covered the other sections. 

Get to the parking lot running late. This is starting to become a problem on some trips where that extra cup of coffee or two grabs me in a headlock and forces itself down my throat. There are already a handful of cars stacked up and the trail is showing signs of wear. Public pressure is not my friend for many reasons.

Sometimes I like to cast a few times and see what the hot flavor is before reaching a few of the better pools up ahead. Stepping off to test a couple of patterns and a few fish roll into the hand.

 (Above: Little cutbow sporting the greenish back and less dots than a genuine rainbow yet not quite enough cutthroat trout to be a pure bred cutty. Get on you crazy little hybrid. Go get big.)

A few more casts and another tug comes along. This one has a bit more gusto. Land the fin slapper and see it is another cutbow. This photo shows more of the markings near the jaw line that gives the fish its name. Cutthroat is about as respectable as a name can get for a fish.

(Above: Maybe this is the bigger brother of the other fish or maybe that other fish was just dinner for this one. Apologies for a little color strain on this one…the colors of this fish are so much more vibrant than this photo depicts.)

Instead of moving on to the one or two better spots ahead, I waste too much time dinking around the first few areas on the way upstream. Sling a few more lures here and there poking around rocks or riffles to pick up a brown trout that had a bit of fight for its size.

(Above: It is hard to capture the fight of a fish with just a photo. This one had some scrap!)

By now an hour or two has faded into the distance. A few fish have been caught and one or two of them have confessed enough details for me to formulate makings of a successful day. Now I need to reach the one or two prime spots that lie further up ahead.

Climb up and step back onto the trail and my hopes fade at the sight of three persons walking up the road ahead me. These were not dog walkers, bird watchers or otherwise sightseers…these were anglers. I would have to contend with them for whatever water was upstream. To make things completely strange, I noticed they were eyeballing me to some extent. If I picked up the pace of my walking…so would they. One time I moved off the edge of the cliff to the water in hopes of drawing them to the river but they didn’t bite. They seemed set on walking ahead of me.

“Oh I bet those bastages are going right for the sweet spot….sonofa!!!” Screams the voice inside my head while I chastise myself for those two extra cups of coffee. “Guess I’ll work what I can til they move off…dangit! That one spot is the main reason I came here. Only have myself to blame.”

Turn the bend and see the trio looking at the large pool of water that flows around several large rocks. All they have to do is walk down a few more feet and they would see the fish stacking up in the shallows and even bigger ones lying in the trough. This is the last patch of pooled water on the stretch and these three guys would lock it up for most of the day. Curses roll off my tongue as I look at the guys staring into the water and then they look up at me. One of the anglers point at me. The other angler looks at the road up ahead.

“Maybe I can get them to move off…it’s my only chance…”

Quickly I move to the other side of the road away from the water, lower my head and act like I am power walking for all I am worth. Under the tip of my eyelids I see the trio start to panic as one of the anglers is making his way down to the first big rock. If he takes one look into the water, the jig will be up. Just then the second angler taps the third angler on the shoulder and then points at me. The third angler looks at me with the panicked confusion I know too well. Then he whistles to the rest of his trio.

“Hey…I think there’s better water up ahead.” The third angler blurts out and they begin to move on.

One angler is still looking down on the water and starts to question the motives of the group. Undeterred I stay on the far side of the road and manage somehow to pick up the pace even more. This clinches the deal and the trio breaks off in a brisk walk ahead of me. As the trio slips around the next bend I turn and drop down the cliff to the sweet spot.

Looking at the pool of water is reward enough. Work a few casts to pull out a beauty splake. That’s right, a splake! Part brook trout, part lake trout. Decent sized one too for this slip of water. Setting things up for the photo op and it nearly spells disaster as the camera slips and starts to tumble towards the water. It was all I could do to release the fish and save the camera.

(Above: This would have been a much better picture had the camera not started to topple over. You can see my hand leaving the fish. Caught the camera just before it hit the water. )

Several hours were spent picking apart the pool for more splake along with the occasional brown trout. After the near camera catastrophe earlier I decided to only use the camera if I caught something of real quality. Throw a few casts into a not so fishy looking spot just ahead of the big pool and wham! At first I think it’s a beauty brown trout but once it gets within sight my jaw drops a little bit. Land the fish and see it is as close to the genuine article that I will find in this stretch of water.

(Above: Even though this is likely a cutty\rainbow hybrid, it is close enough to a genuine cutthroat in appearance that I will claim it as such. Without taking a tissue sample and sending it into a lab somewhere…I can only guess.)

Climbing back onto the trail I bask in the feeling of triumph. My third run into the Hot Tip and still catching quality fish. Being able take full advantage of the sweet spot and a few holes along the way was an absolute treat. Showing up late tends to offer lesser results but with a little extra determination you can still hit the prime time action.

Note: This is the last of my December on the Warm Trend series. The weather has now turned to cold and snow. Looks like I will be breaking out the ice gear as well as searching out tasty tailwaters for January. Its good to be finally caught up on the blogilicious (for now) and a few posts were let go to help make this happen. Some posts take longer than others to generate and hope that viewers truly enjoy the material so far.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.

1470 GS…It’s totally Plano!

No one gets crazier about plastic tackle-type containers than the good folks at Plano. I am a big fan and use a lot of their products, as they always seem to make that one thing that fits perfect in my game plan one way or the other. Now they have come up with a Waterproof Box in their Guide Series line of storage containers that just may possibly have a million and one uses. They make four different styles that vary in size accommodating almost any setup. I was sent the 1470 GS after being selected out of a hat of many other fantastic members of The Outdoor Blogger Network. How cool is that?

The main reason I wanted this unit was the fact it is waterproof. A gear review would not be complete without testing this aspect even if most of the water in my region is freezing up or already frozen over. Willing to risk it all for an OBN gear review, I put my last roll of toilet paper inside the 1470 GS, locked her up and sat there submerging the box for 30-minutes in my bathtub.

After 30-minutes I opened the box up and the inside goods were dry as a bone. Not a single drop of water made its way into the container nor did I see a single air bubble makes it’s way out. I did my best to rough the box up with a bit of manhandling and the seal still remained closed. Brackets that clamp on three sides create a seal reliable enough to put electronics in for say a kayak or canoe situation where the risk is very high that something is going to get wet.

Waterproof products have disappointed few people more than myself. The 1470 GS Waterproof Box has lived up to my initial expectations. Only time will tell how long it lasts through my tumbles, cliff dives and recreational pursuits.

The container itself has no shelving or compartments to maximize the overall storage space. The interior dimensions: 12”x7”x 4.625 didn’t really sink in until I actually got it in my hands. You can put a lot of stuff in this container that stays water tight, even in outdoor conditions. There are so many practical uses for the Plano Guide Series waterproof container but for the sake of this review (and to answer the challenge by the awesome folks over at Outdoor Blogger Network) I trimmed the list down to ten.

Mattsabasser’s Top Ten uses for the Plano Guide Series Waterproof Container:

10. Tackle or boat box. Or maybe a box for your smaller tackle boxes that you need to keep dry. This idea is pretty obvious and likely the most common application.

9. Must for camping! (Cameras, radios, I-pods…truly I think this is what the box was designed for.)

8. First Aid\Emergency Kit. I used the 1470 GS to max out the basic kit stashed in the truck. Now I am ready for an actual first aid emergency and watertight!

7. Ultimate Sewing or scrapbook box. Uh…imagine a ton of sewing stuff in the photo below.

6. Small cooler. Believe it or not you can fit (6) 12oz cans of “soda” in this thing with approximately two ice cube trays to boot!

5. Tooner Box. For the valve wrench and adapter, extra couplings, patch kit and anything I need to keep ultra dry. Maybe even add some Velcro straps! (Thanks Josh @Bigerfish\Blogspot for the idea.)

4. Dry Fart storage. Fellow co-worker Scott is looking at purchasing two of these just for this purpose. “Now I can save them for special occasions!” No picture provided, and my sincerest apologies for the behavior of some of the people I work with.

3. Lunchbox…I mean a serious lunchbox for anyone who has outgrown the regular sized lunchbox and looking to hold six or seven sandwiches underwater.

2. Backup buoy with about 10-pounds buoyancy. Not too shabby. Use it for a temporary marker or tie on some extra gear in case it goes overboard. I may use it for ice fishing so they can see where I broke through as I manage to go through the ice every year for some reason.

1. SOS Message in a box. “When the message in a bottle method just can’t be trusted.”

(Above: Had the 1470 GS been sent in July as opposed to December…I might have done a video reenactment. Instead my graphics team spent a whole 5-minutes with my own version of “cast-away”.)

More fab features of the 1470 GS and the Waterproof Box series…

Smooth but tough plastic surface with additional soft lining (small mat that can be placed bottom or top) keeps scratches to a minimum. I dare say this one of the better options for electronic storage in the outdoors. The exterior is very durable with the polycarbonate structure that is pretty tough for plastic.

Cam-action brackets!…Sounds really fast! Ok, let’s be clear that these are dense plastic latches that rotate on two separate hinges. This allows the lid to clamp down solidly and secure a watertight seal. These are not racing cams or anything like that. We raced the Guide Series against a few office chairs at work and it didn’t win a single race. Locks up tight and solid though!

The manufacturer suggests no more than one meter depth for 30-minutes. Not being able to find the breathing apparatus of my scuba suit (Did I mention this is December?) my tests were done in a bathtub. I weighted it down for over an hour and the seal held so maybe they tossed the extra disclaimer on the top to avoid unwanted liability.

Plano is sold everywhere from tackle shops to hardware stores as well as available online. My favorite source for Plano information is their home page listed below.

http://www.planomolding.com/

To view more about the Plano Guide Series check out the link below and click on the Guide Series Waterproof Case section.

http://www.planomolding.com/fishing/fishing-products/

I want to express my sincere thanks to the Outdoor Blogger Network for selecting my comment and sending me the 1470 GS to add to my collection of Plano gear. It is an honor to be selected and know that I am going to use the #$% out this!

For more amazing Outdoor Blogging information OBN is a must see.

http://www.outdoorbloggernetwork.com/

Good luck and good fishing.

Disclaimer: ColoradoCasters is not endorsed by Plano or anyone really, which is a darn shame. Mattsabasser gear and product reviews are done as honestly as possible from my point of view. Coloradocasters as well as the manufacturers of gear that I review are not responsible or liable for injury or damages related to anything I say on my blog.