Parshall, CO. Williams Fork River. January 22, 2013.
Remember the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Slow down, you move too fast. You’ve got to make the moment last…”? This was the mantra for the day with my guide Freddy and me – whether you’re walking up to the river, casting your flies or pulling in a fish. Perhaps that’s why fly-fishing fits so perfectly with me right now; I definitely want a change of pace.
Separately, I splurged at the Sportsmen Expo on a pair of rose-colored Haber sunglasses so I could better spot fish in the rivers and of course today we didn’t do any sight fishing! Today was a day for blind casting into holes where you would suspect a fish to be held up.
We attached the normal winter fare to our lines… midges, midges, midges… and in spite of 15 degree weather, we had takers in all the places we stopped. I think part of the reason for that is this river does not see as much action as those closer to larger cities or with easy roadside access.
We probably walked about 3 miles today and felt fortunate that a trail had already been blazed – at least enough so we weren’t sinking in the snow with every step. It was a brisk 15 degrees, but with the sun out, it actually felt comfortable. We saw one other person all day and one horseshoe hare, some magpies, a beautiful bald eagle and some American dippers, who dove into the water at will.
