A light rain sparkled upon the sun’s rays slanting between pillow clouds, a reflecting from a hundred other mornings spent strolling along some long- ago shore.
This place, on May 16, was Chatfield Reservoir. But for Dean Curry, it might have been any of a dozen other waters along Colorado’s Front Range.
For Curry, the ritual always is the same — a rough vest loosely stuffed with a few boxes of jigs or lures; a single, medium-action rod; a couple of spools of line, 6-pound test and 8; and the determination to catch walleye lurking close to shore.
Curry, who lives in southeast Denver, is a rarity in a time of runaway technology. He is, by choice, a shore fisherman who eschews fancy boats for the simple pleasure of casting from water’s edge. He believes this strategy brings him more success, as his record of having caught five walleye longer than 30 inches among nine master angler awards attests.
“I believe in keeping things simple,” he said, nodding to a long line of boats awaiting the aquatic nuisance species inspection, an affliction that has been delivered to us by, ah yes, boats. “Even before the inspections, I could have my line in the water long before they could.”
Curry also counts on the advantage of quiet, the lack of noise caused by boats that typically park right on top of the places where fish often come to feed.
“Then there’s the solitude, the enjoyment you get from being away from powerboats and jetboats, of getting away from the pressure,” he said.
As he talked, a solitary bird trilled a four-piece note that might have been the inspiration for the beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
The time is not long after daybreak, a favorite for Curry and most other enthusiasts who pursue walleye in the shallows. His first choice is the flip side of the day.
“I like to start about sunset,” Curry said of targets that include Cherry Creek Reservoir, near his home, and his favorite for big walleye, Carter Lake, near Berthoud. He typically fishes until 10:30 p.m., but will stay until midnight, if the bite persists.
A Colorado native and a lifelong fisherman, Curry, 44, didn’t connect with walleye until four years ago, when he discovered the Colorado Walleye Association.
“They’ve been a very valuable resource. I got lots of information from them,” he said.
What Curry didn’t mention is that most CWA members fish from boats. He doesn’t hold it against them.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
