07-27-2003, 03:26 PM
Dowdy Lake in northwest Colorado proved to be the serene, awe-inspiring, peaceful setting that I thought it to be, with exceptions. It was so quiet that I could hear bees buzzing, and I'm hard of hearing, a breeze slight enough to just make the tall grass wave back and forth slowly and fish jumping around the small islands. At 8,100 ft, the sun felt hotter but the 75 degree weather more than made up for it. While there were many pan-size Rainbows being caught, the Ospreys showed us just how to do it (where did that large trout come from?).
Now the exceptions. It was crowded for a non-holiday weekend, but still quiet. I really didn't want to hear a husband and wife arguing about sleeping in a double sleeping bag, but I did. People across the lake talking normally sounded like they were right next to me, it was that quiet. Then the clouds rolled in and the bottom opened up, flooding the area in short order. Some of the dirt roads were slick as snot on a greasy door knob. Then there were the bears, black bears, hungry bears, not-afraid-of-humans bears. The night before, a rancher lost a cow to a bear. Saturday morning a camper had his tent ripped by a bear searching for food. During the day, a hiker was chased by a hungry(?) bear. Then the area was closed as Rangers hunted for the bear, it's aggressive behavior was just too much for them. I being armed only with a .22, decided it was best to vacate the area for a while, and drove to higher elevations, about 10,000. Wrong direction. Two campers were hit by lightening, both will recover. How was I to know that a storm system had snuck in the back door from Arizona and decided to dump some water?
All considered, I made a bad decision for a fishing trip on this particular weekend. I should have stayed home and watched the NASCAR Busche race on TV. Wimmer won at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Ever have those days when it goes to hell in a handbasket? Lucky for me, I had my GOOH Free cards (get out of hell). I always carry a few with me, they help when I really need them. Where did I get them? Go to thisistrue.com, a fantastic website.
Anyway, I'm thinking of heading for Grandby Lake next and try for those humongous Browns, Lake Trout and Kokonee. I hear they are giving fits to fishermen in small boats, the boat is too small to handle the big fish.
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Now the exceptions. It was crowded for a non-holiday weekend, but still quiet. I really didn't want to hear a husband and wife arguing about sleeping in a double sleeping bag, but I did. People across the lake talking normally sounded like they were right next to me, it was that quiet. Then the clouds rolled in and the bottom opened up, flooding the area in short order. Some of the dirt roads were slick as snot on a greasy door knob. Then there were the bears, black bears, hungry bears, not-afraid-of-humans bears. The night before, a rancher lost a cow to a bear. Saturday morning a camper had his tent ripped by a bear searching for food. During the day, a hiker was chased by a hungry(?) bear. Then the area was closed as Rangers hunted for the bear, it's aggressive behavior was just too much for them. I being armed only with a .22, decided it was best to vacate the area for a while, and drove to higher elevations, about 10,000. Wrong direction. Two campers were hit by lightening, both will recover. How was I to know that a storm system had snuck in the back door from Arizona and decided to dump some water?
All considered, I made a bad decision for a fishing trip on this particular weekend. I should have stayed home and watched the NASCAR Busche race on TV. Wimmer won at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Ever have those days when it goes to hell in a handbasket? Lucky for me, I had my GOOH Free cards (get out of hell). I always carry a few with me, they help when I really need them. Where did I get them? Go to thisistrue.com, a fantastic website.
Anyway, I'm thinking of heading for Grandby Lake next and try for those humongous Browns, Lake Trout and Kokonee. I hear they are giving fits to fishermen in small boats, the boat is too small to handle the big fish.
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