March 2023 - 4

A COUPLE PENNIES
Back to some
old-school ways
By Robert Gagliardi, associate editor
As winter's grip slowly loosens around
Wyoming, or at least tries at times, my
excitement to hit the streams and go fishing
increases. It's a new season filled with
anticipation, questions and the hope of
spending more time on creeks big and
small in search of trout.
I recently came upon something that
was part of my
first angling
experiences as
a kid. While
many look forward
to trying
out the newest
equipment and technology each
year, I'm thinking about taking a
step back in time.
My first introduction to stream fishing
was with my dad. We fished with
spinners, but used fly rods with more of
a flipping action in terms of casting. I still
fish that way today when possible. The
first spinner my dad tied on my rod was
a Lowe's Star Colorado spinner. The blade
is part silver, part copper with a bevel in
the middle. My dad and I caught a lot
of brook, brown, cutthroat and rainbow
trout with those spinners.
One of the first things my dad told me
when he let me use one was not to lose
it. At that time, in the early 1980s, these
spinners no longer were being made and
still aren't today. No angler wants or tries
to lose their favorite fly or lure, but my
dad was adamant about not losing this
particular spinner.
There was no better example of this
than nearly 40 years ago on a decent-sized
creek near Big Piney. I was fishing a nice
hole with deep water and an undercut
bank. I knew a 5-pound rainbow or brown
was there. Little did I know there was a
rocky bottom with some sunken willows.
4 | March 2023
My spinner got snagged. Despite all my
efforts I couldn't get it loose. My dad also
tried with no luck. Then, in a frustrated
and almost angry voice he said, " I'm going
in after it. "
My dad stripped down to his tightywhities,
waded into the hole and went
underwater to retrieve the spinner. He was
down there for a while but got it. After
he dried off and warmed up, he gave me
another stern
warning about
not losing the
spinner.
I was afraid
to fish after
that. I preferred
small creeks where the water
rarely went up to my waist and I could
get the spinner from whatever I managed
to hook - other than a fish.
As time passed my dad and I found
other spinners, ones readily available in
stores and ones I wasn't as afraid to lose.
Once in a while we'd talk about using
Colorado spinners again, but never did.
Recently I went through my dad's three
tackle boxes and found several Colorado
spinners of varying sizes. There were a lot
more than I expected. One of the smaller
ones was still in its original packaging, and
the price tag said it was 50 cents. A look
online had some used Colorado spinners
going for nearly $15 apiece.
Perhaps I have some collectors' items,
but more importantly I have some
fish-catching spinners I plan to use this
spring, summer and fall. Yes, I'm still afraid
of losing one, but time's too short to worry
about things like that.
Dad would be proud, but I can hear his
stern words about not losing one. I can't
make that promise, but I can promise I
won't be stripping down to my underwear
to retrieve one if I do get hooked on
something other than a trout.
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WYOMING
WILDLIFE
VOLUME 87, NUMBER 3 * MARCH 2023
State of Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission
Governor
President
Vice President
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Kenneth Roberts, Kemmerer
Ralph Brokaw, Arlington
Pete Dube, Buffalo
Gay Lynn Byrd, Douglas
Richard Ladwig, Manville
Mark Jolovich, Torrington
Ashlee Lundvall, Powell
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Director
Deputy Director
Deputy Director
Chief of Fiscal
Chief of Wildlife
Chief of Fisheries
Chief of Services
Chief of Communications
and Education
Brian Nesvik
John Kennedy
Angela Bruce
Greg Phipps
Richard King
Alan Osterland
Eric Wiltanger
Nish Goicolea
Magazine Staff
Editor
Associate Editor
Creative Director
Mark Gordon
Tracie Binkerd
Robert Gagliardi
Patrick Owen
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March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023
