Guide Interview Questionnaire

Below is a sneak peak of one of our articles in our up-coming annual newsletter, The Fly On The Wall.  Thought that this would provide you all with a little insight into the lives of our staff.

Your Name: Travis Lyons

Been in the industry for: 4 years

Been fly-fishing for:  19 years

Originally from: Denver, CO

Nicknames: Too Tall, T-Locc, T-Rav Son

Favorite Rod(s): Freshwater - Scott G2 9’ 5wt., Saltwater - Scott S4s 9’ 9wt.

Favorite Reel(s): Freshwater: Waterworks Litespeed. Saltwater: Hatch 7 Plus.

Favorite Line(s): Scientific Angler Expert Distance, Rio RioGrand.

Can’t Live Without Item(s): Patagoina Sticky Rubber Boots, Seaguar FX tippet.

Favorite Fly(s): Big meaty flies whether it’s stoneflies, streamers, or caddis.

Wading or Floating?: Wade fishing. I like to take the time to read and work a run when I go out and fish.

Favorite Valley River: The Lower Roaring Fork and the Lower Colorado Rivers.

Favorite Outside of Valley Destination(s): Freshwater: North Park Tributaries, Saltwater: Florida Keys.

Favorite Type of Client: Any young angler, who is willing and wants to learn the sport.

Any Secrets: When in doubt, fish the Roaring Fork.

Pack or Vest?: Pack all the way.

Other hobbies/interests: Philadelphia Flyers hockey, fly-tying.

Your Name: Kirk Webb

Been in the fishing industry for: over 15 years

Originally from: Southwest Michigan

Nicknames: Kdub, Kirkdogg, The Asian

Favorite Rod: I really don’t have one single favorite rod but my most recent favorite is my 9’ 3wt G.Loomis NRX. It’s simply amazing.  Power and finesse are hard to come by but this rod has both.

Favorite Reel: For trout I love my Waterworks Force reels.

Favorite Line: Depends on the rod.  Scientific Angler Expert Distance or the Sharkskin Magnum generally.

Can’t Live Without Item: I’m a dry fly junkie so it’s gotta be Frog’s Fanny (floatant) and Seaguar FX tippet. I’d be lost without either.

Favorite Fly: Whatever the fish are feeding on.

Wading or Floating: That’s a tough call. I really enjoy both. I suppose I prefer wading since it allows me to hunt specific fish during a hatch. It’s awfully fun to just sit and watch a hatch unfold.

Favorite Valley River: When it’s on you can’t beat the Colorado River. The fish are just downright mean and you never know what you’re going to hook.

Favorite Outside of Valley Destination: Freshwater-The Henry’s Fork of the Snake, Saltwater- The southern Florida Keys

Favorite Type of Client: Those who are willing to learn. There’s more to fly-fishing than simply catching fish. A person that appreciates the beauty and splendor of all organisms that rely on our watersheds.

Any secrets: The carp fishing here can be spectacular. Shhhhh.

Pack or Vest: Definitely the pack. I’m a minimalist. Then again, I have fifty fly boxes and thirty fly cups in the back of my rig too.

Other Hobbies/Interests: Bowhunting, duck hunting, fly tying and football. I’m a huge Ohio State and Cleveland Browns fan.

Creative Fly Tying



When speaking of fly-fishing and targeting trout, Rene Harrop said it best by simply saying “to fish is to hunt.” To be a successful hunter you have to have the correct tools to gain the edge over the critter you are targeting. And just like an archer builds his own arrows and a big game hunter packs his own rounds, we as fishermen and women are able to tie our own “ammunition.”


The basic reason that all of us hunters do this is because there is a certain satisfaction that comes from getting the job done with one of our own products. For anglers it’s a fly that you tied. But not only a fly that you tied, but a fly that is the product of your own imagination, knowledge of the waters you fish, and the bugs the trout eat in those particular waters.

Creative fly tying gives you the opportunity to try and learn new things and get that “edge” over the fish. And let’s face it, sometimes the flies at the local shops may be grossly over dressed or possibly much too sparse for your taste and more importantly the trout’s taste. There is an unlimited amount of materials, colors and variations of the two to choose from and work with.

For me, the best thing about tying my own flies is being out on the water, catching fish when no one else is, and having everyone wondering, “what is that guy using?” When you really get it right, it can be one of the most amazing feelings you might every have while fishing. Whatever you did to tie that fly was right from start to finish. From the hook that you chose to tie it on, to the color of the thread you used, to the color combination you decided to go with. Days like that will make you feel like the ultimate predator and before you know it you will be spending more time behind a vice then you do in your own bed. Just don’t let your tying time interrupt your time on the water… after all, that’s what we live for right?

Written by Taylor Creek Guide and former counter-boy, Cameron Scott

Maximizing Your Performance On The Water

There’s no doubt that there is a lot of hoopla written and talked about in the way of high performance gear for fly anglers. Think of all those ads in magazines, or all the discussions on blog and internet forums. It’s overwhelming and everyone has their favorites. Every company touts having the best waders, rods, reels, fly lines and more. I’ve often found that my biggest key to performing on the water is my body’s comfort level. If I can stay comfortable in a variety of weather conditions my brain has a tendency to keep focus on the job at hand: catching fish. I’m infamous in my circle of fishing friends for being able to stay out there in the elements and fishing hard when other give up and call it quits. In cold weather, while others are complaining about frozen hands, frozen feet and going back to the truck to warm up in front of the heater, I’m still out there. Cold spring and summer rains, no problem. Baking in the heat, no worries. Extreme wind, doesn’t faze me. Am I Superman? Far from. I simply dress right.

Cold Weather

Last March I took off to Alcova, Wyoming to go fish Grey’s Reef and the Miracle Mile sections of the North Platte River for five days. We’re still young enough, and more importantly, broke enough to make our excursion a camping trip. No hotels, hot showers, or beers while watching tv in the comfort of warmth. The weather was brutal and we all knew it was going to be a long trip for all of us, but what the hell, we’re going fishing and nothing was stopping us. If any of you have ever been to this part of Wyoming you know this area is desolate. Trees are few and far between so we packed a half cord of wood in the boat trailer thinking we’d at least be warm and toasty at night. Wrong. The wind was ripping so much that our burned through our wood in only two days. Wind is a common issue here, and if it’s not blowing hard you count your blessings. Day One, two and three were God awful. Highs in the single digits to low teens, overnight lows below zero and wind gusts topping 50 mph. I’m not kidding. It was brutal. If I ever die and go to Hell, I imagine it’d be like winter in Alcova, Wyoming. Tents collapsed despite the guylines being well staked with coolers, boats and trailers used as wind blocks. It snowed every day and got old very quickly waking up in the morning to 18” inches of fresh snow, brutal winds and subzero windchills. No matter, we caught fish. Actually we landed several large fish pushing 20-24” inches daily. On our fourth day we did have comparatively nice weather where the mercury sky rocketed into the thirties with no wind. What a relief. We knew it was too good to be true and our last day ended up being identical to the first three days. Everyone got cold, except for me. How is that possible? I’m not going to go into all the ins and outs of the layering concept as this is now common knowledge in the outdoor industry. Essentially though, dressing in multiple layers allows you to add or subtract articles of clothing to maintain your comfort level and regulate your body’s temperature. You’ll notice I’m very fond of Patagonia clothing. Patagonia started the layering concept and designed the first technical pieces of fleece a long time ago and has remained at the forefront of clothing for outdoor athletes and enthusiasts ever since. I've got to give some props to my man Casey Sheahan, a dear friend and CEO of Patagonia (who happens to live locally) who brought me on board with the merits of their wonderful clothing.  Simms, a long time leader in the fly fishing industry has also become increasingly popular with winter anglers due to their big push into cold weather clothing. Their Waderwick, RiverTek, and Guide series of clothing are all very nice as well.



My list of cold weather layers and clothing is below.

Base layers – Patagonia Capilene 3 top and bottom, Simms Polypropylene Liner Socks

Mid Layers – Patagonia R1 top and bottom, Patagonia Micro Puff Vest, Patagonia Micro Puff Hooded Jacket, Patagonia Ultra Heavyweight Mountaineering Socks

Outer Layers – Patagonia Guidewater Jacket, Simms G4 Pro Stockingfoot Waders

Hands/Neck – Glacier Glove Sun Gloves under Simms Windstopper Foldover Fleece Mittens, Patagonia Fleece Balaclava, Simms Windstopper Fleece Beanie

This is an excerpt from our annual newsletter, Fly On The Wall.  Written by Kirk Webb

Guess Who's Back? Back again.

Yeah, I know, I know. Our blog hasn't been updated in seemingly forever. Don't be discouraged. We're back now. Look forward to many new and exciting articles on here again. After so many requests to bring our blog back, well, we're back. And we're going to hit it full force. Stay tuned..... Kirk Webb and the staff at Taylor Creek Fly Shop.

The Monster Bows of Memorial Day

Fresh outta college and bumming around his homewaters, Woody stuck this behemoth Frying Pan River Rainbow on 5-27-10.

The Frying Pan River and it's world famous rainbow trout that grow to epically large proportions, are being seen and hooked in solid numbers. For the past three days now at least one massive rainbow has been landed daily along the upper river near the dam at Ruedi Reservoir. This includes two, 29" inch fish and one, 28" inch fish. Your shot at landing that "fish-of-a-lifetime" is now! This never lasts long and the timing and weather are perfect. Props to Jason, Kristen, and Woody for their stellar catches. Feels like the days-of-old on the Frying Pan anymore....we're lovin' it! For the past few years now, record setting snow packs have been making this holiday weekend more challenging for anglers as water flows of 250-500 plus cfs were common.

After a normal snow pack this past winter (09'-10'), water flows are expected to remain near 110 - 150cfs nearly through the month of June. These lower flows make fish wary, especially the big boys and girls. Sight fishing is critical to being successful up here; a keen eye will definitely give you significantly more shots at fish. Light fluorocarbon tippets of 6x and 7x are always recommended. Look for fish to key in on midges early in the day, while midday offers up the best baetis fishing. Attractor patterns like mysis shrimp and eggs are also fishing well.

Hot flies: TC Hippie Mysis 16-18, TC South-of-the-Border Mysis 16-18, BTS Mysis, TC Flashtail Mini Eggs 14-18, Pandemic Baetis 20-22, TC Black Poxyback Baetis 20-22, TC S.T.D. Baetis 18-20, Barr Emerger BWO 20-22, TC Boogers 18-20, Flag Dun Black/Olive 20-22, Roy-Boy's 18-20, HOH Spent Midge 22, TC Bills Midge 20-24, P-Tails 18-22, RS-2's 20-22.

-Poke your head in the shop and we'll get you dialed in on the best flies. Remember, TC Fly Shop has more custom/local flies for the Frying Pan and the Roaring Fork Valley than all other fly shops combined. Our staff of contract fly tiers have originated many of your favorite patterns and continue to push the envelope with new, trick flies yearly. Stop by the shop and find your new and old favorite fly patterns!


When you stick that pig, remember to fully revive the fish the fish prior to releasing it. That same fish has probably been caught by anglers before you and hopefully after you.

To our troops and vets, we thank you for your service. It's because of you that we can earn a living as fly-fishers. Kirk Webb and the crew at Taylor Creek.

"I Can't See Outta My Windshield!"

Top photo courtesy of Sean Hudson, others courtesy of Kirk Webb

The annual Mothers Day Caddis hatch is here! Currently, this massive wave of bugs are being seen from Rifle all the up to El Jebel. Water visibility is superb on the Roaring Fork (even below the Crystal River) with the Colorado River having about 18" inches to 30" inches of viz just depending on the day. Even if the rivers have 6" inches of visibility the fish won't have any trouble looking up to eat your dry simply due to the huge masses of insects hatching.

The Goods-

Look for the hatch to begin around 11:30 to noon and last till 3 or 4pm. After mating, egg laying caddis return to the river in the last hour of light which provides equally exciting dry fly fishing opportunities. The best hatches will take place on the hottest days. Timing these heat waves can be a bit tough. If it's too hot for a long string of days the river (especially below the confluence of the Crystal River) has the potential to blow out and become too muddy to be fishable. When this happens the river above the Crystal can have as much as two feet or more of water visibility than the lower river. The current weather forecast looks ideal for this next week...-fyi-....cool overnight temps and warm daily highs.

The Rigs-

Tandem dry fly rigs consisting of Stimi's and Pearl&Elk Caddis fished on 4x tippets. You'll catch fish dead drifting but you'll do more damage out there by skittering or skating your flies. I prefer to call our technique more of a "bumping" or "soft-skate" technique. Bring plenty of floatant....you'll need it. We're big on double dosing our flies and treating them with Silicone Mucilin followed by a dose of Dry Shake or Frogs Fanny.

When nymphing prior to the hatch or during late afternoons look to Cat Poops or other stonefly nymphs fished as your lead/point fly trailed by various #16-18 Caddis Pupa patterns like Yuba Pupas, Deep 6 Caddis or Z-Wings. Smaller attractor patterns such as Princes, 20Inchers, and San Juan Worms are fishing well also.

Obviously dry/dropper techniques will fish well too especially during the front end of the days hatch. Soft hackle patterns like a Soft Hackle PT or a Soft Hackle Peacock are often killer dropper flies.

The Current Caddis Hot Spots-

Glenwood Springs - There's more caddis here than anywhere. That can be good and can be bad. If there's too many caddis the fishing can be a bit tough...aka the fish are just downright full and there's too many bugs. Hit up Two Rivers Park, Big Johns and the New Castle Bridge on the Colorado. On the Fork be sure to try 7th St Bridge, Veltus Park, Sunlight Bridge and 3 Mile Creek.

Bonedale'- Hit the Bury Lease, Sutank, Bonedale Boat Ramp, and Catherine's Store. Lighter numbers of caddis are up here though that can work to your advantage as we've already discussed.

Recent Pictures