I have been having a great time at the sports and boat shows the past couple of weeks, but I am really excited about getting down to Rocky Ford Creek to try my luck at fly fishing for the big rainbow there. Rocky Ford flows ice-free throughout the winter months and offers fly anglers the chance to catch some of the biggest rainbow found in any stream in the western region. I talked to Darc Knobel at the Desert Fly Angler in Ephrata the other day, and he really got my attention. He said that fishing at Rocky Ford has been very good after the earlier storms this season. The stream is loaded with rainbow of 15 to 18 inches, but he said he often takes four or five fish over 20 inches in a days fishing on the Ford. What he suggests anglers try if they plan a trip is casting floating line and drifting a Scud pattern below an indicator. This probably catches more fish than any other method on Rocky Ford. Trout on Rocky Ford feed heavily on these scuds. You may have to experiment with the size of scud you offer them, and olive is mot often the best color. You will need to use fluorocarbon leader, but don’t to too light. The big fish at the Ford will snap light leaders on the hook set or in the weeds.