Two and a half minutes later we were in the car headed up to Rainbow Falls. We made a rolling stop so Laurie and Marty could throw their gear through the window and jump in and we were off. Eight minutes later and we were on the water.
We figured it would be pretty crowded on Memorial Day weekend but it wasn't crowded at all when we arrived. There were people fishing in our first choice of water but we kept driving down Trout Creek and our second pick was wide open. I asked Alicia if she remembered everything I showed her last fall, tossed her a rod, and wished her good luck over my shoulder as I headed for one of my favorite runs.
Ok I'm not that big of an A-hole. I wanted to start her off with a nymph rig before we attempted some chuck and duck with the big hooks. We went over the rig and she picked right up where we left off last fall. The big difference is that the fish in Pueblo wait till the fly hits the water before taking it. I think the quick action caught Alicia by surprise a little. She soon picked it up though and hooked a really nice rainbow that came completely out of the water several times. She's hooked now for sure! Yes! Unfortunately the fish took a quick turn and charged hard for the far bank and broke the line. Good learning experience! Alicia hooked a few more but was still dialing in on the fight. We decided to head to some new water.
Alicia had knocked the rust off at this point and was hooking up regularly. She got a good hook set on the bow pictured above and did everything right on the fight. Head up into the net and a great pic. Notice the arm extension? That's called good coaching.
The action kept up and Alicia hooked up to a nice bow. This one was going to push 20". Another great fight and we had her in the net. 19" bow. Very nice fish but you'll have to take my word for it because I was a touch late on snapping the pic. I know I'm going to catch hell for this but It's an instant classic. My girl looks like some sort of fly fishing quarterback getting ready to drop back and deliver a game winning hail Mary trout pass...... or something like that. It sucked not getting a pick of that fish. It was a good 24-26".
We kept at it and Alicia had it down. I decided to do a little fishing myself and Alicia went upstream on her own and hooked 3 fish to include this nice cutty. I landed a nice 21" bow on a streamer but didn't take a pic. So so sad that a 21" bow doesn't make the pic cut.... I regret it now but I was having fun seeing Alicia catch fish.
I really enjoyed spending time on the water with my best friend. I think I've mellowed out enough to be a patient teacher. Something special about teaching someone you care about how to share in something that has given you so much enjoyment. The hook is in deep now! I saw her eying my Sage One though... Hmmmm
LOL, gonna have to keep an eye on your gear bud. Never know, come home, wife gone, rod gone, vest gone, and a note, "Hey, you guys order a pizza, I'll be home sometime after dark." LOL
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