Way Way West End...

[Baby Tran Cat]

Went out a little further west than I normally do...Vail Valley Colorado. Have the wife and kids out here for a week of hiking around and fun. Found a little pond, bought a small rig in Wal-Mart, some tackle, and got a line wet. Had a ball catching what I think are rainbow trout and one brown trout. Not a lot of size but had a blast throwing little spinners. Caught maybe twenty trout.

Had a couple of hikers come by and stopped to chat a bit. After a few minutes they walked on another fifty yards through the brush. Maybe forty five seconds later they came walking back by me with some purpose. Family of black bears was in the brush. I couldn't grab my camera in time while at the same time I decided that walking up on a momma black bear and her cubs for a photo may not be the smartest choice I could make!

Though the fish were small they are stunningly beautiful as well as the scenery. Well worth the time and money to spend a week out here. Will be back in West Bay water next week...

[dcalbert]

Very nice!! Have a safe trip and thanks for posting.

[Ibtsoom]

Cool!! Stuff those things full of lemon, onions and bacon and throw em on the grill!!

[lurefisher]

Sounds like a good trip you are having.

[FlatoutFishin]

Cool, will be in Breckinridge/ Fairplay-Southpark area end of the month myself and hoping for some of that action on fly.

[bjinks]

Great times up there. Take your kids up to Piney Lake. It's about an hour drive north of I70 from Vail on a dirt road with a bunch of switchbacks and beautiful views. Once you get up there, there are hiking trails and a restaurant. Tons of people camping. You can rent canoes from them and take the kids out into the lake to fish. Took my 4 and 7 year olds up there a few weeks ago and they had a blast! We caught a lot of fish with the same Wal-Mart spinning gear. The restaurant and bar had just opened and the food was great (I guess any food cooked outside in the mountains is good).