Those Were The Days...Of Fishing On The Fryingpan River

There was a time when the now world famous Fryingpan River near Basalt, Colorado, was known mostly by a more local group of fisherman. I was lucky enough to be one of those, and we had things pretty much to ourselves, back in the day.

Anyone who has fished there more recently may find that hard to believe, but it is true.

Here are a couple of images on black and white film, circa 1982, of some more normal looking trout that proceed the introduction of mysis shrimp to Reudi Reservoir and the appearance of the monster, football-shaped trout that soon followed.

But then, that’s another story…

Photographs by Michael Patrick McCarty

Active Member Outdoor Writers Association of America

Photograph of a rainbow trout next to a flyrod, taken on the banks of the Fryingpan River ear Basalt,, colorado in the early 1980's. Photograph by Michael Patrick McCarty

A Close-up Photograph of a Rainbow Trout with a Wooley Bugger Fly in it's Mouth, Taken on the Banks of the Fryingpan River Near Basalt,, Colorado in the Early 1980's. Photograph by Michael Patrick McCarty