I arrived at the hotel and began my preparing for my presentation of Red Gold that evening. This was a last-minute gig, but was pleasantly surprised with about 20 people filled the room to watch the film and ask questions. Pat and Carol Oglesby gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to the crowd. After the movie, the attendees were very impressed with Felt Soul’s work and had so many questions (most of which I could luckily answer).

As my buddy Geoff from Ross Reels and I woke from a night of gorilla marketing, I found even more people pulling me aside to ask questions about the proposed pebble mine in SW Alaska. The genuine interest and concern was absolutely great!

The Western Colorado Fly-Fishing Expo is in it’s 12th year. This year focused primarily on introducing kids to the sport of angling and hosted fly-tiers from all over. It was awesome to see the turnout and just how many kids were interested in learning how to cast and tie flies. The next generation of our sport, right in front of my eyes.

While the show went great, Geoff and I decided to depart mid-afternoon and head for Glenwood Springs to prepare for a day on the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork rivers. We grabbed a small room, and then headed for a local showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour hosted by Nick Clement of Reel Escape Films. The showing was not as large or rowdy as the Denver one, but it was great to meet Nick and other local anglers (not to mention watching some more fish-porn).

Geoff and I woke the next morning, grabbed some coffee and headed up the canyon to fish the Pan. The ‘Toilet-Bowl’, as they call it, was full of feeding bows, but they didn’t like my flies. Geoff landed a few, but it was tough going and disappointing because of all the fish we could see. Nevertheless, we headed down river, found a little spot with no anglers and just started absolutely killing the river on tiny zebra midges. Every other cast had one hooked, and we landed most. Small fish, but plenty of them!

Our last stop of the day was the Fork outside of Basalt. The flows had jumped from early morning when we passed, but we threw on some stones and went for some bigger fish. I only landed one more, but it was a nice brown holding just below a run in slow water. Geoff landed a nice whitefish in the fast water, but by that time we were beat and called it a day. Parting to opposite sides of the state, we drove off from the rivers and back to the working life that awaited.

Brought to you by Reel Escape Films on Colorado water.

In the Land of the Cutthroats – Trailer

Each film has a distinctive flavor and message, and while all of them showcase incredible footage, each has their own blend of comedy, storytelling, and some of the most impressive fish ever caught on film. “We love that our tour has become the ideal venue for fans to get together and celebrate their common passions”, says The Drake magazine editor Tom Bie. “Watching fans cheer, swap stories and get generally stoked for the sport we love is an awesome experience.”

The tour’s party-like atmosphere and global reach are only one half the motivation of the mission. They also recognize the importance of supporting local fly shops and conversation groups.

As the tour swings out to California Tuesday, January 26th, it returns here to Colorado for a showing in Ft. Collins on January 28th, then a double billing in Denver on Saturday, January 30th. I will be joining the Drake team for the next Colorado shows in support of the festival and the movement to stop the Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska. Please join me, and if you have any questions about the proposed mine in Alaska, look for me in the black “No Pebble Mine” hat and say hello.

Hope to see all of you there!