It’s the Fourth of July and here I am, looking at a lawn that could use some mowing, waiting for the Rockies game to begin and resisting the urge to follow that tantalizing aroma from someone’s backyard barbecue wafting in on the gentlest of summertime breezes.
“You must be going fishing,” a neighbor had offered before the long holiday weekend began. “You must know lots of good places.”
Well, yes. This year, perhaps more than most, it’s hard to go wrong. Rivers across the state are close to prime condition after the ups and downs of the spring runoff. Major trout lakes by and large have been fishing very well, and the high country has opened up.
It’s tempting, but it’s still the holiday. It’s equally tempting to just hang around and wait for the bombardment of illegal fireworks that usually begins soon after dark and may continue nearly up ’til dawn’s early light.
Highways will be jammed with holiday traffic, campgrounds packed, fishing waters crowded. Seems everyone along a popular stream will have heard the old line to the effect, “It’s so crowded, you have to bring your own rock to stand on,” and feel compelled to utter it yet again. And again.
Yes, it’s a holiday weekend. It may not be the ideal time for serious fishing, but it’s also not entirely hopeless. Years of gratifying a fishing addiction have shown it’s still possible to enjoy some good moments on the water, even when the entire population of the Front Range seems to have been moved to the mountains.
Timing is everything. Avoid the worst of the traffic by traveling during the middle day of the long weekend. The early rush will be largely gone by then. All those camper trailers, boats and ATVs that jammed the roads a day or two earlier will be at their destinations by then. Most will be returning on the final day of the weekend.
Though campgrounds near most popular fishing waters will be full, many in the crowd will be casual fishermen. They may be around the water during the middle of the day, but in late afternoon and early evening they will be back in camp, cooking, comparing the latest in camping gadgetry, lighting their campfires, preparing for a singalong — whatever.
More often than not, that’s the time the fishing is just getting good. The evening caddis might be coming off the river, the lake surface again will be calm and the evening cool will be a welcome respite from the heat of the day. It’s a great time to be on the water, even during the holiday.
Conversely, try the early morning. Get up before dawn and head for the water. The camping crowd will not be stirring yet and will enjoy a hearty breakfast before venturing onto the water. By then, the early morning bite will pretty much be over. Serious fishermen can head for home before the traffic has picked up and be back in time for the concert in the park.
So, here I am, pondering my next move and craving some Fourth of July barbecue. I could fire up the grill, chill some brews and bring out the brats. But there’s that creek an hour or so away that isn’t fished very much.
I think that takeout place is open today, and if I left now . . .
