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Artwork by Hook Flyfishing - Denver

Aurora Reservior - Fall Fishing

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Aurora Reservoir - Rainbow Trout Fishing

Aurora Reservoir. Aurora, Colorado.
(8am - 12pm) Hazy sky from the CA wildfires, Light/Gusty Wind,
Water Temperature = 67 - 69 degrees

6-weight fly rod/Full-Sinking line/ Black #8 Pistol Pete

(5) Rainbow Trout = 12 - 16 inches in length(1 - 3 pounds)

Smallmouth Fishing at Sunset

(1/2 pound Smallmouth Bass)

Bear Creek Lake Park, Lakewood, Colorado.
(6pm - 8pm) Sunny, Light Wind, Water Temp. = 69 - 71 degrees
-6 weight fly rod/Sinking line/ Olive #8 Pistol Pete-

(2) Rainbow Trout = Stocker-size (10 - 12 inches in length)
(5) Smallmouth Bass = in the .5 - 1 pound size

Bear Creek Lake Colorado

(Top Row - 45 + pound Grass Carp. Bottom Row - 10 Inch Rainbow Trout,
view from Bear Creek Lake, 1/2 pound Smallmouth Bass)

Bear Creek Lake Park, Lakewood, Colorado.
(7am - 11am) Sunny, Light Wind, Water Temp. = 69 degrees

(3) Rainbow Trout = Stocker-size (10 - 12 inches in length)
(4) Smallmouth Bass = in the .5 - 1 pound size
(1) 45 + pound Grass Carp on my 6 weight fly rod.
I own a 35 pound Bogagrip scale and this girl was maxing-it-out...I am estimating she weighed 45 to 50 pounds. I hooked another Carp that was around 35 pounds and she broke my 3x leader. I spotted one Carp that was 80 - 100 pounds .... no lie ...the size of a Thule cartop carrier!

Kayak Fishing in Florida

Bottom Fishing aboard the Destin Princess

Quincy Reservoir - Aurora, Colorado

Conditions: Windy and Cool
Fish Total*: (2) Largemouth Bass and (3) Rainbow Trout.
*Caught & Released

2009 Aurora Reservoir Trout Tournament

(top to bottom - left to right) Jason standing in the rain rigging his fly rod, tying by red light, our spot in line 4:30am, normally there would be 50 boats on the water

The Annual Aurora Reservoir Trout Tournament has turned into "THE" amateur fishing tournament in the Denver area. With a Grand Prize of $10,000 for the largest rainbow trout, this tournament attracts everyone and their mother because more lines in the water calculates into more chances of catching the biggest trout. The park gate opens at 5:30am, but at least a hundred people camp outside the gate in their cars, trucks and campers the night before. Our evening started with rain, rain, rain, rain and wind, wind, wind. Tournament day started and ended extremely windy (15 - 25 mph with stronger gusts). Normally, I would not have gone fishing, but $10,000 is worth risking your life.....I suppose. To sum things up. Jason and I didn't catch a damn thing. The winning trout only weighed like 4 pounds. I can catch a 4 pound trout on any given day at Aurora Reservoir (but never on tournament day). I'd say at least 30 boats were blown onto the dam and the Park Rangers were kept busy all day. I drove home feeling sunburned, I took a shower and passed out for the evening.
There is always next year!

Fishing for Largemouth Bass in the Everglades

(top to bottom - left to right) One of thousands of canals in the Everglades, Jack with a Largemouth Bass, Average-size bass for that day, Bass on the fly, Marco with one of many bass he caught that day, an ideal bass environment aka Bass Heaven.

On April 25, 2009, my dear friend and childhood corhort, Jack Dunmyer, his friend Marco and I ventured out to Everglades Holiday Park for some "Everglades fishing." I call it "Everglades" fishing because you never know what you're going to catch! Peacock Bass, Snook, Gar, Oscar, Baby Tarpon, heck ... BIG Tarpon. Just about anything that swims in brackish water you'll have a chance to catch. The day started off fast and remained active with approximately 10 - 20 Largemouth Bass in the .5 to 1.5 pound size being caught and released. I was catching them on my 8 weight fly rod as well as a 7 foot light action spinning rod. The fly rod was rigged with my trusty #8 black pistol pete fly and we found that rigging the spinning rods with a wacky worm or jerk bait was the preferred pattern that day. I caught at least 15 Largemouth in the 1 to 2 pound range using the wacky worm method and 3 - 5 in the 3 to 4 pound range. Jack landed a 6, maybe 7 pound Largemouth using a live shiner and I landed a similar fish using a Rapala deep diver.At one point, I hooked, landed and broke off a 6 - 7 pound Mudfish probably the biggest fish of the day.
Although, Jack will argue otherwise. LOL.
P.S. In the Everglades, retrieving a rig caught in the lilly pads or brush is a whole new experience when there is a chance an alligator will bite your hand off!

Bonefishing in Cozumel

My very first Bonefish ever ! Laguna Xlapak

My second Bonefish ever ! We put the camera away after this one.
Finally tally = 5 on the fly rod and 2 on the spinning rod.
At one point, there were so many fish in the water that the guide was calling
9 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 1 o'clock ... 4 o'clock .... cast ... cast ... just cast !

(top to bottom - left to right) View from the marina, view of my cruise ship from the skiff, shipwreck at Punta Norte, skinny water full of Tarpon, a Mayan ruin in the middle of Laguna Xlapak, the guides, Enrique and ?.

This might be the most fun I've ever had fishing.
When I originally booked my Carnival Cruise back in February 09 (a working vacation), I had no idea there was bonefishing on the island of Cozumel. It wasn't until they day before I left for Miami that I even considered fishing during my 6 hour stay on the island. A quick internet search revealed Carlos Vega and AquariusFlatsFishing.com. One quick call and I was all set. "Bring $300 cash and meet me downtown at ........." I admit it, I was a little nervous. I had $400 in cash, $1800 worth of fishing equipment and a taxi cab driver that spoke no English .... what am I doing? I'm fishing .... that's what I'm doing. Long story short, I was picked-up by Carlos at his downtown office and driven to the marina where his guides, Enrique and ? whisked me away to a bonefish paradise. I speak very little Spanish and Enrique speaks very little English, but when you're fishing .... it just happens. This was my first time bonefishing and I had no idea if I could spot fish let alone cast into the wind to them. I held my own apparently and Enrique was always quick with a "good cast." The wind was a steady 8 - 10 mph out of the north and thankfully most of my casts were downwind or sidewind. When things got to heavy, I changed over to my spinning rod.
My gear that day: 8 weight reel on a 10 weight rod (windy conditions) and a 7 foot 8-12 pound test spinning rod. (keep that drag super, super loose ... I lost more fish than I landed). I used a Gotcha fly on the fly rod and a yellow Bucktail Jig with a small piece of squid attached on the spinning rod.
Let the guide tie your flies on!

Aquarius Travel Sport Fishing Rep's
Carlos E. Vega - Owner & Operator
www.aquariusflatsfishing.com
1-800-371-2924

Fish On - Ladyfish & Tarpon Fishing in Florida

Choctawhatchee Bay & Okaloosa Island, Florida.
Ladyfish on the Fly and a 150+ pound Tarpon by kayak!

Green Mountain Reservoir, Colorado

images by Jason Hayes

Green Mountain Reservoir, Colorado.
Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat Trout on the Fly!

Bonita on the Fly in Ft. Lauderdale

images by Jack Dunmyer

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Fly fishing for Bonita and Kingfish.

Pier, Bottom & Bass Fishing in Florida

images by Ozzy Osborn

Okaloosa Island Pier, Destin, and Bass Lake, Florida.
Jack Crevelle, Amberjack, Brown Shark, Largemouth Bass

Bonita fishing in Destin's East Pass - 01/09

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Kayak fishing on Okaloosa Island, Florida

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Welcome to Don Cudney's Fishing Weblog

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