BillsTheBassMan

That's great advice Spiel that I've never considered - thanks for sharing!

That's awesome Matt. To me, seeing different wildlife really adds to making fishing trips more exciting. People have no idea what kind of animals are out there - just minutes away from urban centres. It's great. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome report Flyguy! Thanks for sharing and thanks for all the pics! I recently caught my first SMB on my first fly rod as well and despite the fact he was just a little pond bass, he put up an amazing battle. I can't wait to hook into a 2-3lb river SMB, fighting him and the current, should be fun. Do you use traditional bass bugs when you're flying for SMB? How often do you nymph or use dries? I have some mice as well and they do seem to get a lot of interest from both big browns and SMB. Cheers, Ryan

It's all in good fun, but there are always people that will take the "moral high road" with things like this.

Great pictures - what kind of camera did you use to get those?

Beautiful Picture - just out of curiosity - how much would that camera that you took the picture with cost retail?

Always enjoy seeing your pictures Brandon . . . when it comes time to buy my first professional camera you're who I'll be messaging!

Thanks for sharing Dan - Great Pictures . . . I just started taking extensive pictures on my recent fishing trips and I'll make a photography post soon!

I'm from the land of the Mennonites and on many of my fishing trips you can smell the liquid manure. A few speck streams have gone belly-up (mostly because they run through agricultural land) and these fields of manure or literally right on two major waterways. I'm glad this article came to light as I think this issue needs to come to light. There will be more Walkertons as long as we all remain in the dark. Agent Orange isn't being manufactured in Elmira anymore, but Agent Brown is.

I must say that I agree that Ohio wasn't strict enough, but it's good they are following through with the enforcement. It's sad to think about how many times these guys have gone out and done this exact same thing . . . .I mean they brought huge freezers with them - this wasn't a first time deal. They're what 66? That sounds like at least 46 years of this Bull.

Just the article being published is good - it keeps it in the back of people's minds and $1500 is a lot of gas or tackle or rods. He also had to be embarrassed in court & his community and he had to miss a day of work. The punishment suits the crime, though I can't help but feel he'll be out there doing it again as soon as he can.

Congrats . . . break out the cigars!

Well sir, you're in luck. John Gierach has about 15 books and most of them centre around that area of Colorado. I would put myself on a steady diet of Gierach before you go and you probably won't ever look back. With no first hand Colorado experience myself, here is what I've gathered that you can expect. Lots of fishing pressure, but not so much that spots are ruined. Cutthroat Trout - higher up in the rockies Cutthroat/Rainbow Crossbreeds. Browns Average size trout are like around here - 12-16", but the bigger ones are there and you can get monsters. You'll have to check the regs as I believe there are several fly-fishing only rivers in the Rockies around those parts. Also, be sure to look up each and every national park in the area - I know they are plentiful and they should provide some good information. The fishing in them is strong from what I can make out as they stock them. It sounds like a lot of the streams/rivers in the rockies are in Gorge type settings, so you should be extra cautious while wading. Have a great trip and post a great report upon your return. Ryan

That is an EXCEPTIONAL day for Conestoga Lake and should not be viewed as the norm there at all. They actually wanted people to report Walleye catches for awhile (and still might - check the GRCA website). Regardless, the lake CAN produce fish, but it generally isn't worth going through the hassle of all the boat traffic and threat of bad fishing to go there over somewhere else. Rule weekends out completely for Conestoga Lake.

Awesome job guys! It's always good seeing kids get involved in fishing - might keep them on the straight and narrow later in life. Thanks for a job well done!

A close call for sure, good to see that everyone is ok.

Just naming the state is kind of vague. What do you want to target? What do you like fishing for? Are you near the rockies? Do you fly fish? If trout is your thing I would suggest reading a quick John Gierach novel - that'll get you the feel for Colorado pretty quickly. He fishes the rockies and basin lakes, for trout exclusively I believe. He also mentions the national parks and describes the surrounding waterways and he's always a great read for all-things-angling. Cheers

I've heard countless people complain about the shape their boats are in when they take them out of those two lakes as well . . . sludgy and gross. They are predominantly recreational lakes, but Belwood has a decent fishery. Also, you can rest assured that the gentleman who runs Belwood - Derek Strub - cares very much about the fishery as he is a professional angler. It is a lake in good hands, funded or not.

Thanks again Craig - great info - I'll do a few CR checks and send it to our mechanic for a quick check and hopefully soon I'll have my first Ranger. Cheers

Well Craig, that's a glowing endorsement and you're not the only one I've heard that from! It is a 2WD Automatic so I will buy good tires along with it for sure. How do you find the rangers drive on an everyday basis and generally what does it cost you to fill the tank and what kind of kilometres do you get out of it? Ryan

You're probably best going to Belwood but boat traffic on both is ridiculous and both are kind of filthy. Fishing is generally better on Belwood though. Watch out for donkeys who don't drive their rigs properly.

A truly great report. I'll have to show this to my Salmon buddy - he'll be salivating ahahaha. Thanks a lot for sharing. Cheers, Ryan

A great report as always Mike. Recently I've started thinking about targeting Carp for my first time and I think I'm going to break the cherry tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to it! Any suggestions for a carp noob? Ryan

I love Neil Young . . . always will. Great video too!

Thanks for the help guys . . . I have a specific Ranger I am looking to buy, so I'm not really looking into other models at the moment. Any towing I will eventually be doing will be probably around a 1800-2200lb load, so it seems perfectly suitable (and good for everyday use as well).