It’s normal. A new year brings reflection of the year past and fresh perspective of the year ahead. This year injects the added conversation of a new decade.
Or maybe not. Just when does the new decade start? This year, when the number of the new year ends in 0, or next year, when the new year ends in 1? Both cases have convincing arguments, but neither side can ever win the argument. The debate will go on forever. I’ll not try to decide one way or the other. Mostly it doesn’t matter.
But I think the new year reflection does matter. True, each and every day is a new day. But it is also true that New Year’s Day is a significant day on the calendar. Jan. 1 is the first of 365 days, so what will you do with all of those days?
This is an outdoor column, so my past reflection and future perspective turns that direction.
Let me start with where we live. Colorado is such a great place for the outdoor-minded. Such places exist in many corners of the world. Colorado is not unique in this regard. But it is where I have chosen to reside. I emphasize chosen. I chose to live here first, then find ways to sustain it financially.
So what does “outdoor-minded” mean? Certainly one can live in a large city, and to make the point, I mean a very large metro area, where engaging in the natural geographic outdoors is possible with some drive time and personal time commitment to get away. That’s in contrast to western Colorado, where we are immersed in the outdoors.
So we have the place and the opportunity. What outdoor activity do you choose?
To be fair to other equally great outdoor places, Colorado doesn’t offer it all.
Those whose passion is surfing obviously chose to live near an ocean. Varied geography creates a long list of what outdoor activities Coloradans can choose from. With significant altitude variation in a relatively short distance, we have activities suited to red rock country to river valleys to high mountains. Add to that the annual weather seasonality that the varied altitude brings, and one can choose activities suited to both summer and winter and change as the annual seasons change.
Maybe one of these Colorado activities is on your list. Mountain biking, ATVs, four-wheeling, fishing, hunting, boating, road biking, motorcycle riding, rock climbing, canyon hiking, camping, water skiing, snow skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, outdoor photography, kayaking, rafting. Certainly I missed a few. A long list, but that’s the point.
For me? Fishing is the activity of choice. There are many variations of fishing — rivers to lakes, big boats to small boats, or putting on your waders. There’s fishing summer to winter, warm-water species to cold-water species. I’ve tasted it all, but my passion is rivers and fly-fishing for trout.
Reflecting on the past year, I had some great days outdoors with a fishing rod in hand. Some occurred in a big boat or small kayak on a lake, some on a raft in a river, but mostly on foot wading a river. Some large, some small, some in the middle of a town, some in high country so remote as to question the existence of civilization.
Two memorable but contrasting examples: The Gunnison River flowing through the Gunnison Gorge is not to be missed. Rafting in the depths of the canyon, sometimes fishing, sometimes just absorbing the adventure. Then there’s the high country creek off Stoney Pass, a tributary of the Rio Grande with colorful cutthroats at every turn.
Thinking back on the past two summer fishing season, what a contrast. In 2018, drought conditions and low river flows were the norm, such that in late summer, river fishing was voluntarily restricted because of high water temperatures that are detrimental to the fish. Minimal runoff allowed mud and silt to fill in river zones. Then last winter brought big snows and extended spring runoff. Just the opposite, 2019 brought so much water that runoff extended and the river fishing season got a late start. Still, I managed to pack in a lot of days on the water, sometimes for only a few hours in combination with a family camping outing, or sometimes a dawn-to-dusk adventure.
So what do I plan for 2020? Well, I start the year with ice fishing. I’ve already been a couple of times in December. There are some of the normal, comfortable locations that I will repeat, Blue Mesa Reservoir being a favorite.
Almost always catch something there, and more than most other places there is the opportunity for big fish. But to think differently, I hope to make a day trip to some new locations around the Western Slope.
I’m not a big tournament fisherman, but there are some ice-fishing events that have appeal, especially if it is a nonprofit fundraiser.
Pre-spring runoff, March and April, is such a great river fishing season. Fish are waking up hungry, water is still low and clear but warming, and the summer tourist entourage has not yet arrived.
The choices are many. The Yampa at Steamboat Springs, the Eagle at Avon and Edwards, the lower Colorado above Wolcott, the Gunnison and Taylor at Almont, the Animas at Durango, the Blue at Silverthorne, and my favorite, the Roaring Fork from Glenwood Springs to Aspen.
Summer means long, warm days, active insect hatches, big fish looking for a big meal. Summer opens the high country and grand adventure away from roads and easy access. I think I should make a point to visit new places.
I’ve fished many decades and many places, enough to get to know a lot of good places very well.
That brings an unconscious repetitive choice to return to familiar places known to be a high likelihood of catching fish. New water is a risk. Maybe the fish population is not so good, maybe the fish are there but that edge born of familiarity is absent, maybe I’ll regret going there. Or maybe I’ll discover a great new place.
Fall in Colorado is the best for fishing and countless other reasons. Late summer and early fall have ideal weather, water conditions in lakes and rivers, fat fish and overnight stays. Always too short.
Not yet retired, the upside to the number of days I may fish in 2020 is necessarily limited, but I can make the most of the days I do get on the water. Working or retired, casual or all-out fisherman, I hope you too make the most of our 365 days. Let me know what fly is working when I meet up with you!
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January 05, 2020 at 01:30PM
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New year, new places, new fish - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
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