My month was made with a quick trip to my home waters of Lake City, Colorado the other day. The town is still a tiny hamlet surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks, and hasn't changed much since I celebrated my first birthday in a tiny cabin on the Lake Fork Gunnison River. I've missed visiting Lake City only a handful of years and only one in the last twenty-one. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth to me, and one of the most sentimental as well. When I'm on the waters I can't help but think of my dad and my grandmother, who were both so influential when it comes to fishing, the mountains, the outdoors. I like to think they had something to do with the two giant trout I had on my line a couple of days ago....the two that got away. I've caught fish and lost fish before, but these were something special. For one, they were huge in terms of trout, but they were caught in the waters below Fred's Bluff (named by my family for my dad). This section of the river is usually crowded, but on this day - not a soul in sight. Perfect. Can't wait to return and land those two beautiful rainbow lunkers.
Tomorrow I head out for another camping excursion high above the Florida River, full of hungry trout!
