Tag: Fly Fishing

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Introducing the new Scott Session fly rods…

What Scott Says

“Our team designed and crafted a series of rods to help you get the most from your time on the water-the most success, and the most enjoyment. 

Session rods are high-performance hand-crafted fly rods that blend some of our most acclaimed design approaches with our latest materials and technologies.  

This combination creates rods that bring together high line speed and exceptional loop control with a light and lively feel in the hand. These traits have become known as Scott’s signature fast with feel action. 

It gives the rods a wide bandwidth of performance for fishing at a range of distances, and for using a variety of flies and techniques with the same rod. 

Most of all it means having fun on the water and enjoying the rod in your hand.” 

“Anyone who has fished Scott freshwater rods in the recent past will immediately recognize our signature ‘fast with feel’ action in Session rods. They share some of the design approaches and materials DNA with some of our most legendary rods. Incorporating some of our newest technologies give these rods their own unique feel and attributes.”

President, Jim Bartschi (friend of the shop, and all around good dude)

What We Say

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the return of a mid-price rod from Scott since the Flex was discontinued. What we got in the Session series is mid-price, but just a small step down from the Scott Centric and other high end rods from Sage and Winston. Read on for our first impressions, and look for an update to this post a little later in the year, once we’ve had some time to take this rod fishing…

“This rod has a really sweet and smooth feel, especially for an angler with a little more deliberate casting pace. The 4-weight is absolutely delightful”

Peter Hylander

In our opinion, “fast action” and “slow action” can really oversimplify a review of a fly rod’s performance. While the Session leans more toward the “fast action” category, we prefer terms like “round flexing” and “big sweet spot”, both of which describe the design and construction of this rod very accurately.  

Where does this rod fit in the lineup that we carry? Fly rods at Dragonfly Anglers start around $200 for a very basic entry level rod and range all the way up to $1200, putting the Session squarely in the middle if you’re looking at price only. We’re happy to see a new rod at this price point. There has been a big gap in our lineup, forcing us to compare a $400 rod to a $900 rod… hardly a fair comparison.  

If you’re looking at performance, the Session is much closer to high-end rods than mid-range. 

For example, the Scott Session sits almost halfway between the Sage Foundation and the Scott Centric in price. However, the Session sits much closer to the Centric in performance and feel.  

The components on the Session (especially the reel seat, filler, and grip) are only a very small step down from the Centric, but miles above a Foundation or anything else that we’ve seen at this price point. It’s nice enough that we’d put a nice reel on it (think Ross San Miguel, Abel Vaya, etc…) but would also make a sweet sub-thousand dollar package paired with a Ross Animas.

Thanks for reading, and as always, give us a call any time. We’re always happy to talk gear and fishing.

-Dragonfly Anglers

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Spring Fly Fishing in Crested Butte & Gunnison

Tucked away into the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, your next great fly-fishing adventure is waiting for you. Springtime in the Gunnison/Crested Butte valley offers an incredible time to fish for trout waking up from a long winter. Beat the crowds and brave the elements with us as the valley wakes up and the fish are feeding! Book a trip starting March 1st. We are offering a half-day float and walk wade on the mighty Gunnison river, as well as a half day walk wade on East river, and on the gold medal Taylor river. To book a trip, call the shop at (970)-349-1228.

What does the trip include?

· Knowledgeable and friendly guides

· Flies, Rods, Reels, and terminal tackle(leader, tippet, weight, etc.)

· Waders and Boots for the day.

· Hot cocoa, or hot coffee on the water.

· Bottled water.

· Snacks.

· A great day to get out on the water.

What to bring

· Bring layers! Spring weather can change in an instant.

· A smile because it is always a great day to be on the water!

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Rod’s take on a high water year…

Fishing in the west, it just doesn’t get any better, when conditions are right that is.

We that make our lives around the pursuit of trout on the fly begin our concern way back in December. We start our
weekly snowpack watch in the early winter months and begin to equate what our streams might
look like based on that snowpack. A big December eases our mind a little but by the time late
February rolls around the predictions run rampant. Every big snow storm or every 3 week winter
high pressure system can cause anxiety on what our summer flows will bring. To have that
concern every winter for the past 30 can be exhausting. Too little snow and we have a great
early start but mid summer heat takes a dangerous toll on the rivers and their inhabitants. Big
snow and big runoff brings on a need to be patient as river flows stay high and push the start of
our season back.

Although it shortens our summer season, this is the best situation for the
creatures we pursue. This is where we are in the summer of 2023. We have been patient and
the time is now. It seems that lately we only see 2 or 3 years like this out of every 10.
Snow patches up high will hang on into September, water levels will be ideal as will water
temperatures in months that we have grown to be concerned with and have commonly been
asked to shut down our fishing by mid-day. This summer shouldn’t see that. Water temperatures
should stay cool and lessen the concern of the so-called Dog days of August. We should get
safely to our shorter days in September as fall fishing has the chance to be the highlight of the
season.

As far as the fish are concerned, how nice it is to have more, cooler habitat. How nice it
is to be happy most of the time and feel like eating rather than dropping down deep and sulking.
It’s no surprise and it’s quite refreshing that in years like this you almost daily hear reports from
almost everyone on how they can’t believe how good the fishing is. It is here and now, summer 2023.

Enjoy it as it has seemed to become something other than the norm. To top all of this off,
look forward to the best September and October we have seen in a while.

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‘Ramp to Ramp’ River Clean Up Day- April 29, 2023

Unfortunately, trash happens. 

We hate to see it, and we never litter intentionally (most of us, anyway). But the fact is, we have to clean up after ourselves, and after others, from time to time. 

And in the Gunnison Valley, our waters are our life, figuratively and literally. 

 The Ramp to Ramp River Clean Up is an annual event hosted by the Gunnison River Guide Coalition. GRGC is a group of river enthusiasts and local guides founded by Patrick Duke in 2019, with a mission of advocating for the Gunnison River guide community and fishery habitat.

On Saturday, April 29, 2023, several of Dragonfly Anglers staff joined a group of eager guides and friends of the river to remove trash, debris, and pollutants from the banks of the Gunnison River from Almont to Blue Mesa Reservoir. 

Most folks filled a large black trash bag with riverside goodies, and others filled several. Occasionally, we found big-ticket items (strollers, fencing, or rogue lengths of 2×4 lumber), but the bulk of our haul was pieces of micro-trash plastics and copious amounts of empty beer cans. 

Photo Credit: Eli Wilder

All in all, this group of amazing people piled trash high on a 12 x 7 raft trailer and hauled it to the dump.

The event wrapped up with food and drinks donated by the Gunnison Angling Society TU Chapter, and a raffle to raise money for future GRGC efforts. Last year’s raffle proceeds were used to print these signs, which will be posted around the Gunnison Valley to educate anglers about the importance of paying attention to water temperature and appropriate fish handling.

Educational signs on display at the post clean up raffle. Photo Credit: Patrick Duke

The importance of picking up trash cannot be overstated. Rivers are a vital source of freshwater, providing water for millions of people, supporting diverse ecosystems, and driving economic activities such as fly fishing in Crested Butte and the Gunnison area. 

However, rivers are often subject to pollution from a variety of sources, and, unfortunately, littering of trash on the riverbanks happens too often.

By removing trash and debris from rivers, participants helped to improve water quality and protect the lives of trout. Additionally, picking up trash keeps our rivers beautiful and helps maintain one of Colorado’s best fly fishing destinations.

We are eager to continue the efforts to clean up our rivers and promise to go the extra mile to pick up trash whenever it is found. 

Team Dragonfly pledges to live by these three principles more specific to angling:

  1. Never litter. Even a banana peel, an apple core, or spent sunflower seed shells go into the trash, not on the ground or in the water. 
  2. When we snag in a tree or on a rock, we do everything reasonably possible to retrieve our tackle rather than breaking off and leaving it there. Pack out all spent leader and tippet material.
  3. Most importantly, leave it better than you found it. This is the main goal of the “Ramp to Ramp”.

Patrick says GRGC’s efforts are best represented by the ‘leave it better than you found it’ principle. “I think all of us who show up can agree that little if any of garbage we pick up is our own, but taking ownership in our public lands and giving back to the places that bring us so much is our duty as guides and land users. I hope this event resets the “Leave it better than you found it” mentally at the beginning of the summer and we stay dedicated to it all season. As guides and consistent river users we have the opportunity to be stewards as well. We set an example every day on the water. Setting a good example of proper sustainable river use is vital to building a community that respects our public lands.”

To learn more about the Gunnison River Guide Coalition and to stay updated on future events, click here.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the day.

Team Dragonfly

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Fly fishing is one of the best things to do in Crested Butte, and we are thrilled about the upcoming season. At Dragonfly Anglers, we employ only the best Colorado fly fishing guides who are devoted to taking care of their client’s needs and providing an unmatched angling experience. Click here for more fly fishing in the Gunnison Valley. Or click here for our most recent Crested Butte, Colorado Fly Fishing Report.

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