River Conditions and Weather River is running gentle and clear. Temps in the 60 and 70s. Hatches of Midges, Baetis and Micro Caddis have Boxwood trout still looking to the surface for the afternoon feast. In the gin clear water, sight fishing to special Bows and Browns seems to be what most Boxwood anglers cherish as the end of the dry fly season draws near. ( Special Bows and Browns are the ones that tip the scales at 3 lbs. plus.) Anglers who come to the ranch for the 20 to 30 fish days, are nymphing a variety of patterns from Stoneflies, Zugbugs, Hares ears, Soft hackle emergers, and Pheasant tails, in sizes from # 8 to #18. One thing all recent anglers have in common, is the switch to STREAMERS as the light comes off of the water. BONE JARRING STRIKES! Patterns vary from Spruce Streamers, Zonkers, Buggers and Leeches. This IS the time of year to offer BIG flies to BIG trout on both the Boxwood and Long Meadow sections. Many trout to 8 lbs. have been photographed with a flash. If you come to Boxwood, plan on fishing late. Notable Catches The past month has seen a plethora of anglers and tactics. Let me share a few who come to mind. Sept. 27th was a day of stream improvement- Renee Valdez, a veteran Boxwood angler, brought along her friend Sandi Zachau from Loveland Colorado. Sandi had heard tales of trophy trout and total privacy and how Boxwood was the only way to learn the aquatic ballet of fly fishing. Sandi's first impressions of the trout at Boxwood was, " ARE THEY ALL THIS BIG!" Her first hookup was a 5lb. Bow that jumped 4 times and then tried to drag her into the famed Convention Center hole. Sandi quickly regrouped and began to put on a beginners clinic, landing trout after trout as if she had been doing it for years. Later in the day, she discovered that not all Boxwood trout are 5 lbs. as she sent this one sailing through the air with the greatest of ease. Sandi has booked the 10th of November for herself and a couple friends, and has volunteered to cook breakfast in the Deer Camp. I look forward with great anticipation. While Sandi was hooking, reeling and giggling, Renee parked her rod in one of her favorite holes and began to quietly run up the numbers. Having fished Boxwood regularly for the past 2 years, Renee is becoming a little spoiled and regards 18" rainbows as another small one. One particularly large Brown made the mistake of being seen under a willow and became the target of Renee's angling prowess. Lunch was short as these two mermaids were determined not to let my net bag dry out. As evening approached, Renee's tenacity paid off and the BIG BROWN came calling for dinner. The trout which can only be estimated at 28", never came off of the bottom of the river and after a 10 minute battle sent Renee to the clubhouse with a broken leader, broken heart, and knowing the true meaning of " The Agony of Defeat." I'm sure I will see Renee in November, and I know where her first cast will be. October 8th- Howard Hargrove of Evergreen Colorado's first fish on the Long Meadow section was a gorgeous female rainbow that took a streamer with what only can be described as a polite strike. New to Boxwood streamer tactics, Howard covered most of the Long Meadow section taking trout inaccessible to most anglers including a fine Snake River Cutthroat under a wooden bridge while his two companions supplied the audience. October 19th- Bill Roen of Los Angeles stopped by to show us his design for the new Boxwood Gulch / River Ranch Outfitter guide vest. Oh yeah, Bill said he was looking for a place to break in his new Hardy Smuggler rod too. Consider that rod broke in. October 23rd- Jim Morgan, a Boxwood angler for over 6 years and good friend for over a decade. I gave Jim a 7 fish headstart and handicapped myself to dry flies only. I won't give him a headstart next time. Morg landed several 4 and 5 lb. bows on the way to a 27 fish total. I got the rises I was looking for and ended up with 15 for the day. I think a rematch is mandatory. NOBODY out fishes the Riverkeeper! What say Morg? With a wide open November calendar and plenty of unfished water, I think it's time to put down the net and camera and pick out a rod that needs fished. Barry Conyers River Keeper

Update from 06/30/2010 June....the month of higher water. It scares some anglers because they never learned how to catch fish in off colored high water....We only had about 3 days of really dirty water. Many of our guides love dirty water and consider it the time to land the really big fish...and it is but we only had a few days of run-off conditions Some big fish landed in June...28 inch Brown, 30 inch Rainbow, 8 lb Cutbow, 8 lb Brown, 19 inch Brookie. Quite a few 22 inch + fish were landed on nearly every trip. The fish were either eating real big stuff like streamers, or size 18-20 emerger patterns. We did land some fish on Parachute Adams and Beetles. If you want to land big fish book your next trip in June. Our guides will share their secret tricks with you for catching and landing big Trout in higher than normal off colored water.

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