Salomone: Double dipping
Michael Salomone/Courtesy photo
I stood in front of the ice cream case gawking at the vast selection. There were choices of all kinds, mixed and matched with bright colors and swirls. Two flavors stood out. Both were favorites. Undecided between the two, I chose to double dip.
But double dipping isn’t just for ice cream.
Another double dip: the spring treat wherein a true modern-day outdoorsman hits the ski runs for fresh tracks in the morning and casts flies to trout in the afternoon.
This approach to spring keeps anglers and skiers bouncing between both activities. Easing into the fly-fishing season is a path some like to take. Then there are the locals who place their ski boots next to their wading boots until the end of ski season. They like to jump right in.
Skiing in Vail is as good as it gets. Colorado sits atop the Rockies, with all the other ski states looking up to us — whether anyone wants to admit it or not. The same goes for Colorado fly fishing. It, too, is as good as it gets.
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Pairing up a day of snow skiing on Vail Mountain and fly fishing in Gore Creek makes for a day all of your friends will envy. Blue skies, sunburnt goggle tans and big smiles are all they will see when you share your photos. Chair lift selfies and cradled trout poses — both from the same day — make for memories not easily duplicated. Want to set your ski vacation apart? Take a guided afternoon fly-fishing trip on Gore Creek.
When you stand in Gore Creek admiring the snow-caked banks, turn to look over your shoulder to see the terrain you conquered on skis in the morning. The runs look slightly more intimidating when viewed from hip deep in the water.
Contact Vail Valley Anglers to discuss a guided half day on Gore Creek in Vail or farther down valley on the Eagle River. All the gear is provided, from waders and boots to terminal supplies and flies. Rods and reels set up for early spring conditions help to ensure a successful trip. All that is required from the fly fisher is an easy to purchase one-day fishing license from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Double dipping applies to the flies too. Early spring presents specific conditions before the run off and muddy water arrive. Insects are small but gaining in activity with the warmth of the sunshine and the loss of the ice shelf. Fly fishers are better off fishing two nymphs for what is called a tandem rig.
To address the present conditions, here are some effective tandem rigs to try for right now.
As long as the water remains clear, fly fishers are smart to choose nymphs on the smaller scale. Size 18 nymphs mimic the small scale the insects possess after a long winter in the cold. There are a lot of insects in the larva stage in the water. A red bead head Zebra midge and a flashy bead head Rainbow Warrior will catch the eye of winter thin trout in cold clear water.
As the day warms and bugs start to move, a Top Secret paired with a Rojo midge imitates the activity found in the creek. Bugs are beginning to transition through the stages and show signs of emerging insects. Anglers will still want to keep their nymphs small.
Fly anglers will want to increase the size of the flies they use and rely on movement to help seal the deal when milky water inundates the river. A squirmy wormy in bright pink or red paired with an egg imitation of equally bright colors bounces along the river bottom enticingly. In the slightly off-colored water, the bright flies attract feeding attention.
More mud or sediment requires big, dark and heavy flies. Pat’s rubber legs are big stonefly nymph imitations that cast a large silhouette even in turbid water. Linked up with a perdigon in black or olive and the tandem rig now has weight to combat the deeper currents. Slightly murky water requires a dark shape and depth.
The snow is piled deep on the mountain. Ski turns are guaranteed. Fly fishing is the component most do not expect, anticipate or think even exists in the spring. Fresh tracks and fly fishing make for a double dip adventure that will truly set your ski vacation memories above all others.
Michael Salomone moved to the Eagle River valley in 1992. He began guiding fly-fishing professionally in 2002. His freelance writing has been published in magazines and websites including, Southwest Fly Fishing, Fly Rod & Reel, Eastern Fly Fishing, On the Fly, FlyLords, the Pointing Dog Journal, Upland Almanac, the Echo website, Vail Valley Anglers and more. He lives on the bank of the Eagle River with his wife, Lori; two daughters, Emily and Ella; and a brace of yellow Labrador retrievers.
