I took a friend fishing for his first time fly fishing. I knew a spot that would be perfect for him because it wouldn't be too much and intimidate him. I explained the situation to him and he was up for it, so off to the Lion's Den we went.
As soon as we crossed the Poudre River, we found this on the bank.
Yeah, that's a great start for the day. It was very fresh, as in we just missed it. Could have seen us coming and left. But we ventured on and got onto the faint path. We weren't 50 feet into the tributary when I heard him behind me say, "bear." I walked back to him and 50 yards up the mountain side was a good size bear heading up hill. I myself loved it. He on the other hand had different feelings. I assured him we were fine, but if he wanted to go somewhere else we would. He said with the way it was starting out, this could be an exciting day and he wanted to continue on. I was actually impressed with his decision. But we Coloradan's welcome things like this. This is our state and we know that when we go into the wilderness, we have a good chance on seeing these things. We can't be afraid of it, but we must always be cautious and respect the animals by giving them a wide birth. And he knows this. No matter where you go on this river there is wildlife. Usually it's humming birds and squirrels, but not today.
We hiked in an hour and I set him up on a pool that holds plenty of fish, but the water level was so low and clear the fish were being spooked by our presence. But after a few drifts we saw a nice rainbow rise to the fly and gently take it in. I said to set the hook, which he did perfectly. To see the smile on his face just made my day. We ventured on deeper into the den and we were fishing pockets behind rocks. He was struggling, like anyone does for their first time, and I showed him that he was making it harder than it actually is. He started to get hits, but he was missing the fish because of the usual excitement one has for the first time.
After awhile I let him go up ahead of me and fish on his own. I passed him by a little while later and went about 75 yards ahead. I was walking through this beautiful open area with grass and a few trees at the base of the mountain just enjoying the beauty this place had to offer and thought to myself what a lovely spot to build a cabin. I found a stretch where I was pulling out trout from behind every rock and slick spot. As I was releasing a nice brown, I looked back and my friend was behind me giving me the thumbs up and smiling. He said he just walked through a grassy meadow quickly and was looking over his shoulder in case a lion was stalking him. I told him I walked through the same meadow thinking what a wonderful place for a cabin. He laughed. Ah, funny how two minds can completely think two totally different things about a certain spot.
It was a good day. He is hooked on the fly and wants to return to the river soon. He has many things to learn still, but he has the idea of how it's done. I think he was making it harder than it really is. After our day he took me to a Scottish Pub downtown Fort Collins. Yes, we have those here too, and it's owned by a really nice Scottish gent. We each had a pint and talked about the day, and he asked all kinds of questions as I tried to answer them the best I could. The most important thing was, he had fun, and he saw and appreciated the wild scenery. But he said the best part was the wildlife.
I think I found a new fishing partner.
