Fly Shop & Guide Service in Creede, Colorado
Learn about Rio Grande Angler & South Fork Anglers Guide Service
Located in the beautiful mountain towns of Creede and South Fork, the Rio Grande Angler and South Fork Anglers Guide Service are committed to equipping fly-fishermen with high quality merchandise, which is crucial for success on the great Rio Grande River and its tributaries! Our pleasant and well-informed staff can help anyone find superior fly-fishing gear, fly-tying materials, and all other helpful tools. We also strive to motivate and encourage our clients by providing fly-fishing lessons; so you’ll have all the information you’ll need to be a success whether you’re experimenting with streams, lakes, or the mighty Rio Grande!
The Rio Grande River is designated “Gold Medal Water” by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and where we fish is the LONGEST stretch in the state, nearly 20 miles! Of Colorado’s 9000 miles of trout streams and rivers, only 168 total miles have this designation. These designations are given out sparingly and represent the highest quality aquatic habitat in Colorado – your best chance to catch a trophy trout.
The History of Fly Fishing
Research suggests that the original hooks were made from bone about 3000 years ago in southern Europe. They were fashioned in an easy pattern and are not unlike today’s hooks.
In the beginning flies were created after man learned that concealing the hook with feathers caused the fish to believe what was really a portion of razor-sharp bone was a juicy fly. It is believed that fishing with flies derived in England during the 13th century and the fly was portrayed simply as a hook tied with feathers and was used for catching trout.
Early fishing-lines were merely strips of horsehair and it wasn’t until the arrival of the first reels that people recognized that the threads could taper off. This breakthrough led to lines of various tapers being constructed which made them easy to handle as well as more precise.
Some say fly-fishing is much more than a tranquil activity; it takes strength, skill, attentiveness, and plenty of patience. It’s unique from other styles of fishing in that the angler uses fly’s which he himself can tie or they can be bought from local fly shops.
Contemporary fly-fishing is generally said to have began on the rapid and rocky rivers of Scotland and Northern England. From the earliest ways of snaring fish with horse hair and bone hooks with feathers up to today’s approach, construction and knowledge has been enormous and existing materials are now better than ever..
There is definitely an expanding community of anglers whose goal is to discover as many different kinds of fish as possible, but some would argue that fly-fishing is purely for the joy and excitement of testing your intellect against the fish (who can easily come out on top).
“Unless one can enjoy himself fishing with the fly, even when his efforts are unrewarded, he loses much real pleasure. More than half the intense enjoyment of fly-fishing is derived from the beautiful surroundings, the satisfaction felt from being in the open air, the new lease of life secured thereby, and the many, many pleasant recollections of all one has seen, heard and done.”
~by Charles F. Orvis, 1886~
