The Frenzy

Things had already begun to happen the day before I joined up with the group of frenzied fisherman (and one just crazy). The day previous, it was the Poudre and drinks. I spent the day at work wondering the outcome of the days events and putting myself in those waders. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I didn’t have to meet my archnemesis in front of other fisherman. Sanders and the group did well and probably had fun doing it. Despite the jokes Sanders and I have about his guiding skills, he is a trustworthy asset to have on his home water. The night of the first day of the frenzy was topped off with drinks while I was still at work.

I rolled into Rocky Mountain Anglers before anyone had arrived, knowing that I had to tie up a few flies before hitting the water. After the second fly was tied, an unfamiliar person invited me inside. Jay. When he said, “I know who you are” I automatically knew. There aren’t many people vicariously involved in my blog, but he is one of them. We talked for a few and as much as I tried not to talk about fishing, it still happened. People from the frenzy began to trickle in and I began to meet people. This was the group.

Let us take note to exactly out of place I was. Every guy there was wearing a hat. Not me. (Thanks for helping me to blend in Larry!) I am the only person in the group wearing jeans (for good reason too). My personal space is also very large and if you are into psychology feel free to point out what you see.  Lastly, please note the facial expression. I didn’t do it on purpose, but it seems to be the picture everyone has used so far.  

I teamed up with Sanders and Jen to fish boulder creek. Yeah, we caught a few fish, blah blah blah yadda yadda. Onward to the Big Thompson, Caught some more fish… blah blah blah. In reality, Sanders and I were having a blast picking up and finding (and also missing) a lot of fish. I didn’t do much of meeting a lot of people. Then again, I was the black sheep of the group. How dare I forget the hat! To be completely honest here, I think this is where the party ended. I guess these other people have lives or something. When Sanders left, I was alone with the Big T. Truly a winning hand. The best 30 minutes of fishing for the day, doubling the amount of fish that I caught during the day.

This is the part where I wanted to jump into Day 2, but my day and my little slice of the frenzy pie didn’t end there. Nope, I had a hotel room in Estes Park during “ELKFEST”. I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza from Cheesy Lee’s and watched the moving picture on the television screen. What? I don’t have cable at my place (by choice). I laid there bored and remembered my roomie John had Sunday off. My room was 2 beds so the invite was sent out. When he arrived, the plan was to go to a dive bar with live music and have a beer. This is not what happened. Let me tell you, Estes Park knows how to party! 

We were supposed to meet Stephanie and Dustin on day 3 at 8:00 am at the visitors center. This is when I realized it was 7:50 and I was just waking up as I rushed to meet them. Day 3 was Emily, Sanders, Dustin and Stephanie, Jen, and John. I brought crullers and I know sanders brought more. My day would be just fine. I don’t really remember the details of the day, where we were or what exactly went down. I remember a wedgie conversation though. Strangely enough, not one that I started. I also remember getting frustrated catching an 8″ fish every 45 minutes, when I could go ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE PARK and catch these fish every couple minutes. I wanted to stick with the group and leave at the same time. Then I caught a cutthroat and I remember hearing that it was just a hybrid fish and probably not a cut at all.

Looks like a cut to me...

Note the "roller" in lip.

A chain of events would force us (John and I) to leave the group. This chain was: Looking for Sanders and Jen-Not finding them-going back to the car-seeing everyone drive down the road. John and I decided to hit the Big T. I had great luck the night before. When we made our way out of traffic, we found the group gathered and fishing. I decided to stay in my spot for the rest of the evening and it paid off. John and I caught enough fish to not remember exactly how many and even doubled up once. The fish in the small section that we were fishing were in the thousands and flying out of the water. it was a sight to behold. The day ended well with a good conversation with Stephanie, Dustin, and Emily. and we parted ways. Maybe until next year, maybe not. I did have a lot of fun though and I hope everyone else did too.Mentioning all of the great people involved in this is a task that I am not ready to tackle on my day off. I have fish to catch here and it’s getting late! However, Snaders, Jay, and Jen have good lists up.