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It’s time for fifth season

Kirk Webb
On the Fly

Over the past decade, our fifth fishing season, which takes place from mid-February through the end of March, has rapidly become a time favored by not just local fishing bums but also those traveling from out of town. My fifth season officially kicks off when I notice a particular pair of Canada geese that take guard along Two Rivers Road in Basalt on the Roaring Fork River. Since I drive this stretch of road daily, I suppose that I notice small things like this. In a way, it makes me feel more in tune with nature when I can say things like, “Welp, the geese are on the roadway now, so I guess that the rivers are waking up from their winter slumber.” Sure enough, my geese made their annual appearance Thursday where my daughter and I celebrated with a big high-five on our way to school that morning.

It seems to me that each and every year, I get sick of ice fishing and duck hunting sooner and faster than I did the previous. If there is one particular time of year that I truly look forward to more than others, it is during fifth season. After a long winter of dodging icebergs and plinking ice out of my guides, there is nothing that rejuvenates this fly-fisher’s soul like the sight of a rising fish. I have been known to go on many a “ghost hunt,” as my friends call them, for weeks on end down on the Colorado River. I search and scan the river looking for rising fish during the evenings, often with no success. I’ve blanked for weeks in a row, shivering in the cold, wondering what the hell is wrong with me; no person in their right mind would ever subject themselves to this misery on purpose.

Then it happens. Just as I’m about to throw away my fly rods and take up skiing, I see a nose break through the surface film and I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl going to her first prom. I’ve had the same damn midge tied to the end of my tippet for weeks now without a single cast being made. Finally, it’s time for my little soldier to get his feet wet and see if he can fool this silly trout. Fifth season has arrived!



“On the Fly” is provided weekly by the staff at Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt.