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I just finished the second volume of "Bug the Bug", an eBook of 12 cries for help about Fly Fishing posed to some aquatic insects. Here's the thing. These insects have been around for 350,000,000 years. They know what's going on below the water. On the other hand, our species has only been flailing the water for a couple thousand. They know more than we do.

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Here's a sample:

March 

A fragile midge helps a humiliated angler, out-fished by his buddies.

From Rafael in Pueblo   - So I'm fishing below the Pueblo Reservoir in the fly fishing only section and the guys I'm with are hooking and landing really nice fish. They've lent me flies; they've tied them on. They've changed my tippet. They've had me stand right where they've each landed fish but for me ? nada. Should I try snow boarding ? 

Dear No se puedo in Pueblo -  No, no Rafael. Special regulation areas do not permit clubbing trout with a snow board. Special reg areas also don't mean it's especially easy to catch fish. In fact, along with Gold Medal waters like the Dream Stream, the fish are actually harder to catch for at least two reasons. One, they see a lot of fly fishers and a lot of flies, and they learn from each hookup. Two, these streams are quite fertile with aquatic invertebrates allowing the fish to be more selective on what and how they eat. So don't give up. Perfect your techniques on unregulated areas and nightmare streams, where few people fish and the fish are small, under fed and dumb. Try behind the sewage treatment plants in Salida and Vail or under the I-70 and 119 bridges on Clear Creek. Nobody fishes there. Clear Creek has 2,000 fish per mile (that's one every three feet for those math challenged), while below Deckers thanks to the Hayman fire it's only 900. Check out the Division of Wildlife's fish survey here.

Fishing only the iconic streams with buddies who fish them all the time is a recipe for humble pie.