Be it Hell or High-Water, Sacred Waters got you covered… 8/27/2019 CARE & Fishing Reports

8/28/2019

Howdy All,

From one of the worst droughts in recorded history to one of the higher water years in a long time we always got you covered. Not only the best fishing & professional anglers in the area but with the SWCO operating plan we can protect the waters & fishes at the worst of times and still provide you excellent guided fly-fishing trips daily. With 100’s of miles of Private and Public waters at our disposal there is always somewhere fishing well, healthy and ethical to fish. There’s always somewhere to fish, we live here for a reason….

Sorry for the delay in updates. At Sacred Waters CO we been extremely busy and have a few big things in the works that I was hoping to update you on when I had time between guide trips. Some things have been a long process to complete or still in the process of completion but since I finally have a day to write, figured better now than never. But, as always, you can check out what’s going on around here on our Facebook and Instagram pages that are updated almost daily with daily fishing photos, reports, weather forecasts, water conditions, and local need to know news.
Please give us a Like and Follow for the most up to date daily info by clicking our social media page link above. There are plenty of examples of fishing success in photos enclosed here.

SWCO Updates & Changes:

You will notice here on our website and Facebook page as well as our affiliates' websites hopefully real soon a totally new booking platform through our new booking agent FareHarbor. Those of you that are Donor Members will notice a change in our calendar too. With this new partnership with FareHarbor we will also have a couple affiliate booking agents too around town like Wilderness Journeys/Pagosa Rafting Outfitters. Since most all of us are on the water and out of phone service guiding or personally fishing daily this will help with quicker, easier, better communication and ease of booking of you trips. With much more exposure through FareHarbor and our partners we should be able to book more Bronze level trips not only helping get out the SWCO Mission to more people but raise more funds towards completing more and more Mission Goals. Another awesome advantage of this new system is our credit cards processing fees have lowered to a 1/3 of what we were paying which in turn will only help us build a bigger budget for future charity projects, events, and Mission goals achievements.

New Professional Anglers and Board members have been added this year and you can get a quick introduction to them our websites’ About Us pages. We’re super excited to have some new blood in the organizations with much more diverse backgrounds and experience bringing new ideas to the mix. We’ll be adding more photos and bios to the pages as time allows.

We have been working on acquiring some more new private and public waters and permits most all still in process will update accordingly. Did have a current landowner partner purchase another ranch that we’ll be adding to the Conservation Ranches/Waters just haven’t had time to check it out just yet.

Concerns & Observations:

Some waters are getting low and warm with this recent hot/dry weather lately. Being that we are on a good water year and the area looks much different than you may be used to seeing this time of year does not mean you should stop using your thermometer before and during fishing. We are seeing some waters getting warm mainly the usual suspects spill over tailwaters, waters with heavy irrigation pull-offs and the lower reaches & elevation of our larger rivers. Please use your thermometer and please discontinue fishing if water temperatures exceed 68F.

Much of this has been explained in prior newsletters and blog post over the years but covered in way more detail during the drought of 2018. If interested in learning more on thermal issues as for trout fishing please reference most of 2018 Blog Posts.

We update our Social media pages with the most up to date daily information almost everyday. For most up to date info

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Donate Today and help us protect our local fisheries and provide the healing benefits of outdoor therapy to as many people as possible. We can't really predict or control/change the weather, but we can provide the best fishing at the best times and protect our waters and fishes at the worst times. We can only accomplish this with your generous donations.

Thank You, Tight Lines;

Joseph Eichelberger

Founder, President of Sacred Waters Co
Professional Angler, Custom Fly Tyer/Designer
Freelance Outdoors Writer, Photographer, & Fisheries Consultant.

We want to hear from you.
Email us at admin@sacredwaters.co
or
give us a call (970)444-2187 or (970)731-1443and we’ll be in touch!

Thank you for your interests & support of SWCO.

(* Sacred Waters CO, Inc. 501(c)7 and Sacred Waters CO Foundation 501(c)3 Tax-Exempt Non-Profit Organizations are Equal Opportunity Employers and Service Providers working through Special Use Permits from USDA San Juan National Forest Pagosa District and the State of Colorado. Licensed/Permitted, Bonded & Insured Outfitter in Colorado #OUT.0003217 *)

Fishing, Hatches, Weather, & Water Report:

What a Fantastic year so far! As you may have noticed we have had well above average waterflows this year. Many people believe it to be too high or too murky to fish, but not all is lost. I have said time and again I’d much rather have too much water than no water. Fish live in water, water is life, water is sacred. We have had an excellent season so far and as stated earlier there’s always somewhere to successfully fish around here.

With the higher, murkier water conditions most of the season we had a great float trip season. As water receded to safer more manageable flows for wade trips, we have had awesome Big Fish fishing. Mainly nymphing and streamer fishing till just about two weeks ago. Our Donor Members not only got to learn techniques, we have had lots of trophy sized trout out and about feeding less cautiously due to the conditions.

As the Monsoons slowed down our local waters have fallen and cleared. The last two weeks dry fly fishing has been off the hook. With nice full flows of cold, clear water we are having a better mix of quantity and quality of fishes mostly on dry flies. I can’t really ask for much more.

Also, this year our insect hatches have been some of the best we’ve seen in almost a decade. With not only denser hatches but extending out much longer through the season due to the colder water temperatures this year. Depending on the fishery or location along a fishery we have plenty of Caddis hatching, PMDs/PEDs, Green Drakes, Golden stoneflies, yellow sallies, and now getting to even better terrestrial fishing with a much better grasshopper year than I originally thought. Some of our lower elevation waters are kind of winding down on major aquatic insect hatches but getting up a little higher in elevation and cooler waters we still have some good aquatic insect activity. What to look forward to now and into the near future lower elevation streams some PMD/PED activity (but petering out), Golden drier, windier weather, hoppers are everywhere. Seeing some flying ants and ants in general with lower flows and clearer water. The fish are seeing and keying in on the terrestrial insects more every day. Also, as time passes, we’ll start seeing some Tricos and Baetis hatching till the cool down of the frosty nights of Fall.

As titled Hell or High Water, our above average snowpack and heavy Monsoon Season kept our local water well above average, full and cool. As Monsoonal Storms stopped about two weeks ago, we are experiencing much hotter and drier weather and quickly falling waters. We are still right around average which is better than we’ve seen in the last decade, so no need to worry. In addition, we should see a return of the Monsoons here soon enough, and just in time to keep the water from getting too warm and low.

Click Weather Forecast/Outlook Links below:

https://www.nws.noaa.gov/wtf/MapClick.php?CityName=Pagosa+Springs&state=CO&site=GJT&textField1=37.24&textField2=-107.03&e=0&lg=ep

https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/

Upcoming Events:

Dark Horse Disabled Combat Marine Group Event has unfortunately had to be cancelled at this time due to main organizer having a terminally ill family member. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Just around the corner we so excited. Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Group of Fort Hood, TX. 6 Veterans Scheduled for Sept. 18th -23rd, 2019. (PHWFF is a national nonprofit group we have worked with for 5-6 yrs.). Prior to and after starting SWCO we hosted chapters from Dallas, Ft. Hood, & Colorado Springs over the years. *(Of course, any volunteers and/or donations are welcome and appreciated. Housing is already booked, but monetary, fishing gear, and/or food/cooks always welcome and helpful.) *

Patriot Anglers of N. TX & S. OK. 6-8 Disabled Combat Veterans scheduled for Oct. 21st -25th, 2019. This group is a nonprofit of disabled combat veterans from all around Northern Texas and Southern Oklahoma. We had worked with this group since their start as a PHWFF Chapter before branching out on their own. We hosted them on trips here at SWCO in 2017, 2018, as well as joining them in Texas, Oklahoma, other locals in Colorado for events, fundraisers and such. *(Of course, any volunteers and/or donations are welcome and appreciated, housing booking fell through because original housing recently sold to a new owner (Anyone able to help with Housing please contact us.), cooks & food already taken care of but monetary, or fishing gear always welcome and helpful.) *

*Anyone interested in volunteering &/or donating for any of our Charity Events please feel free to contact us anytime via telephone, email, or contact forms on our 2 websites. Those of you who may have a group interested in what SWCO can offer, feel free to contact us too. *

New or Renewing Donor Fishing Memberships:

For New/1st Time 2019 Donors/Members their rate will be set for 3 years at discounted rates listed by clicking Link below. It is to your benefit to renew annually if we ever must raise the rates in the future.

Thank You past & present Donors & Donor Fishing Members for making this all possible for the last 3 years…

Discounted Rates for 2019:

Click Link:
Learn More on how to become a Donor Member or to book a guided fly fishing trip.

We publish these newsletters as frequently as possible with all the need to know information about Sacred Waters CO, Inc. and Charity Foundation. C.A.R.E. Mission Goal accomplishments. Ongoing, upcoming projects & events. Weather & Water conditions forecasts. Fishing Reports & much much more...