This past June, Joseph (@joseph_berney) and I embarked on a mission across Colorado for the 9th annual “Mile High 25 On The Fly.” For those unfamiliar with the 25 On The Fly Tournament, here’s the breakdown:
Years ago, fly shop employees from Anglers All, based in Littleton, CO, started discussing angling opportunities during happy hour over a few cold ones. As the conversation evolved, they dreamed of hosting a multi-species fly fishing tournament during the runoff season to highlight some of Colorado’s underrated fish, like bass, carp, grayling, pike, and lesser-known trout species. In 2016, Anglers All hosted the first species-focused fly fishing tournament, and every year, the event has grown in reach and popularity. Funds raised from entry fees and sponsors support organizations that work to improve and protect the waters we love. This year, 25 On The Fly raised over $5k for Denver Trout Unlimited, helping to fund water quality testing, improvements on local water, and access to public water.
For those who have competed, you know how important strategy is going into the event. For some, 25 On The Fly weekend is like Christmas—a Super Bowl of freshwater fly fishing tournaments—and an awesome way to fish for new species with a buddy.
The competition is based on a points system, where points outweigh the number of species caught. This is where Joseph and I brainstormed on the species and team challenges we knew were feasible. Without giving away all our secrets, this is where we started.
Last year, my teammate Zane Jeka and I got smoked by our competitors. This year, we managed to catch some of the species we aimed for last year, but still fell short in the competition, with fish and points recorded from the team challenges. Before the event, we asked ourselves, “How can we work together as a team to gain additional points through the team challenges if fishing is slow, and what’s our plan B?”
Before the gun fired at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, each team received swag bags full of gear and fun products from the sponsors of 25 On The Fly. Whether it was koozies, hats, stickers, or flies, Team Flylords participated in a few of these team challenges. Among the items in the swag bag provided by Fulling Mill were two flies, a nymph and a streamer, for the “Fulling Mill 2 Fly Challenge.” The team with the most Fulling Mill 2 Fly catches had a chance to win a pair of loaded Fulling Mill fly boxes, and the first team to submit a video with a fish caught on the nymph or streamer got an additional 15 points added to their overall score.
Another meaningful challenge for us was the “Costa Sunglasses – Kick Plastic Challenge.” With 25 different species on the list, we were constantly in and out of the truck, fishing warm and cold waters all over the state. The goal of this challenge was to pick up trash along the waters we fished. Whether it was a tire found in the river, a Snickers wrapper, or a Big Gulp someone missed throwing into the trash, the team with the most participation in this challenge had a chance to win Costa Sunglasses’ new King Tide’s and some awesome Costa Kick Plastic gear.
Setting aside the team challenges, Joseph and I built a strategy that changed daily as we planned our weekend. Unlike last year, where Zane and I started in Colorado’s high country, we shifted gears, did some urban camping with our Head of Studio Production, Jackson Smith, in the brand new Orvis X Four Wheel Camper, and decided to stay as close as possible to the Front Range. Knowing some teams had been very successful with this strategy, our goal was to catch a few species we struggled with last year, focusing less on winning and more on having a good time and finding species we don’t typically catch in our home waters.
We started by chasing toothy critters early on Saturday morning. Our goal was to catch a pike first thing, so we hit the road early, coffee in hand, and skipped breakfast before hitting the water. We threw on our waders and chatted with a couple of other teams that had pulled up next to us before getting our lines wet. In the back of my mind, I thought, “I’ll be excited if we can catch a pike and carp on the first day of competition.” However, I knew Joseph and I needed to stick together and put in the work to fool these fish—pike aren’t always easy.
Joseph and I both found the water where we wanted to blind cast for pike and started early. We had Rocky Talkies to communicate with each other and share our progress. I fished deep water with the Orvis Helios D 9’ 7 weight with a full sink setup. Luckily, I had spent some quality time this spring pike fishing with a few others from Team Flylords, so I felt a bit more confident.
I opted out of fishing the Fulling Mill streamer and went for a jigged crayfish pattern that had fooled pike in the past. After working the cattails for about 2-3 minutes, I got a strange tug. I pulled in my line, my heart racing, only to find a crawdad on the end. Somehow, these little buggers loved my tan and blue crayfish pattern, but I kept at it. A few minutes later, Jackson was right by my side when my fly got hammered again. This time, it felt bigger than the first tug. I was waist-deep in water, unable to see my fly get eaten but feeling it instead, so I made sure to set the hook properly. I radioed Joseph, telling him I was on a pike. But as I got the net out and the pike performed its acrobatics, it managed to spit the hook right before it reached the net.
I was a bit heartbroken at this stage. Pike fishing in Colorado is not easy, and I give props to anyone who does it. I decided to work my way around the cattails but struggled to get a good cast where I wanted it.
I adjusted my positioning, caught a few more crawdads, and refined my stripping pattern with fast retrieves and long pauses. Then, my fly got taken again. My heart rate climbed as I realized this fish was even bigger than the last pike that came off. I checked my watch and realized we’d only been fishing for half an hour—I could hardly believe it. I fought the fish as it jumped like a tarpon, and finally got it into the net. The line I mentioned earlier—“I’ll be excited if we can catch a pike and carp on the first day of the competition”—was halfway done. Joseph was excited, I was thrilled, and the energy going into the day was high. We walked away with 250 points after catching the pike. We even watched the team “Under the Fishluence” catch a pike as we walked back to the truck.
After catching a few other species, we hopped into the car, grabbed a quick Chick-fil-A breakfast, and dedicated the majority of our time to carp. Whether you call them mud guzzlers or swamp donkeys, we were on a mission to bring a carp to the net.
Fishing can be hard, and catching doesn’t always go as planned. Joseph and I spent many sleepless nights brainstorming: “Where do we go if we don’t catch species A, B, and C?” This question lingered in the back of our minds, but we had a plan B queued up if we found ourselves in that situation—which we did, when it came time to try feeding a carp a fly.
We started with some intel from friends about local lakes and ponds in Denver but had no luck. We saw carp cruising, but none of them wanted to take a fly. With temperatures rising in the Denver metro area, we readjusted, cleared our minds with a good lunch, and visited a new body of water where we ran into the “Rush n’ Scuds.” As a trout angler, watching these schools of carp work was incredible. It wasn’t like trout holding in a back eddy below a big boulder—it reminded me of bonefish cruising flats. I had never caught a carp before, and I thought it was finally going to be my time. Schools of common carp were working this small pond, and Joseph and I turned up the intensity, focusing on our “Drag and Drop” technique.
With strong winds and challenging casts, Joseph suddenly radioed in, shouting, “I’m on!” I reeled in my line and ran over with the net. I was thrilled, and I knew Joseph was stoked with a big smile on his face. These carp will make a run for your money, and I couldn’t afford to mess up the net job. Thankfully, the Chipotle lunch paid off, gave us that extra energy boost, and we added a common carp to our list—earning Team Flylords another 250 points on the first day of competition.
On day one, we learned a lot along the way and completed our goal of catching a pike and a carp. At that point, for Team Flylords, Saturday was a success. Overall, we landed pike, bluegill, carp, and bass, and attempted to catch other warm water species before deciding to trek into the high country, get some quality rest, and focus on trout species and grayling on Sunday.
After a long haul into the high country, we took it easy, grabbed dinner, and had a few cold ones to celebrate a successful day. Some other teams caught 10+ species on the first day, but for us, we valued the experience of chasing fish we typically don’t have shots at in the Roaring Fork Valley.
On day two, we woke up a little late in the Four Wheel Camper (it was too comfy to get up) and decided to try catching a brown and a rainbow trout before heading near timberline for grayling. Fortunately, the fish were eating early, and I managed to land a brown on a squirmy wormy, while Joseph followed up with a nice rainbow trout on a stonefly. We were pleasantly surprised by the resilience of this fishery, especially after the devastation caused by the Cameron Peak fire a few years ago. The fire had burned almost the entire canyon and even jumped the river due to strong winds.
After some successful wade fishing, we took off our waders, got back into the truck, and drove into the high alpine to chase grayling.
Grayling are beautiful fish and, in my opinion, one of the most enjoyable species to catch in the tournament. Not only do they have gorgeous sail-like dorsal fins, but they also live in some incredible places. Going from 95-degree weather in Denver to 60-degree weather at higher elevations, we put our waders back on and rigged up some stillwater candy to fool a grayling.
The water was crystal clear, and the wind was minimal. We ran into a couple of our good friends, Rick Mikesell and AJ McGuire, who gave us some intel on grayling fishing. For those familiar with grayling, they aren’t hard to catch, but finding them that day was a bit challenging. Rick and AJ wrapped up their fishing and caught their grayling, so we stepped in to see if we could trick one too. We used Orvis Helios F & D 9’ 5 and 6 weight rods. We initially rigged a nymph rod with a small Mayer’s Leech and a chironomid off the back but didn’t have much luck. I then adjusted and decided to fish just the leech, playing with the retrieve. Eventually, I succeeded with long, slow strips, giving the bead time to reach the feeding column. Having never caught a grayling in the lower 48, it was quite spectacular to learn how these fish fed in such cold water.
After catching countless grayling and even getting our photographer, Jackson, on a few fish, the competition felt worthwhile. We caught a few brookies right after and applying the lessons learned from year one, adjusting our tactics, and focusing on the species we wanted to catch made the experience incredible.
The day ended with an after-party at Odell Brewing at Sloan’s Lake in Denver, where the determination of all the anglers and teams was evident. Despite the heat in Denver and the countless miles traveled, everyone was tired but eager to see the results. With Orvis Fly rods, Riversmith River Quivers, NRS Fishing Gear, Costa Sunglasses, onWater Fish, and some epic trophies awarded, it was awesome to see the excitement shared among the community of people who competed and gave it their all over the weekend.
In total, 40 teams competed, 350+ fish were caught, scored, and released, and a five thousand dollar donation was made to Denver Trout Unlimited to keep the Denver South Platte fishy. With a total of 1,265 points awarded to Joseph and I, we got smoked again but had an epic time competing and seeing friends from the previous year.
If you’re looking to spice up your angling, check out the upcoming Carp Slam held in Denver this September, and keep an eye out for the Texas Lonestar 25 On The Fly hosted by Orvis Texas.
