STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – The first year Pat Stefanek spent in Steamboat Springs (1991), he had three jobs, just trying to make ends meet. One thing he knew for sure. He'd do whatever it took to live his version of a Rocky Mountain high.

"I was lucky because I made my passion my living," said Stefanek, master fishing guide and river keeper for three miles of upscale private trout waters on Marabou Ranch, just outside of Steamboat Springs, and 40 miles of private trout waters on North Park Fishing Club in nearby Walden, Colo.

"Steamboat Springs is the world's greatest place to live," Stefanek said. "The name alone is very cool, but there's a terrific outdoor lifestyle here that's hard to match. There are great trout streams in every direction, many of them public waters. I had 110 days of skiing on the mountain last winter – lots of powder days.

"Everybody is hiking and riding mountain bikes – it's just a great, healthy lifestyle. Whatever you think you're good at, there's a 12-year-old girl in Steamboat Springs who can kick your rear."

Then there's the weather. Stefanek likes to say that summer lasts about two weeks in his hometown and those two weeks occur in August, the best month for a Texas resident to temporarily beat the heat by heading for the mountains.

Luckily, August also coincides with the peak life cycle of grasshoppers. Stefanek, who has a degree in wildlife and fisheries management, knows the food habits of trout. Ninety percent of what they eat, he said, comes from the stream bottom.

That's why trout fanatics get bug-eyed at insect hatches that have fish rising to feed on bugs drifting along the surface of streams like the Elk River, the North Platte, the Canadian or the Yampa.

The hopper bite is the zenith of trout fishing. It's like Zen and the art of fly fishing, Grasshopper. While guiding, Stefanek typically carries about 200 fly patterns in his fishing pack. This time of the year, he mostly relies on a classic hopper/dropper setup.

The hopper can be any grasshopper pattern but Stefanek tries to match the fly as closely as possible with the actual grasshoppers. At Steamboat Springs, the biggest hoppers were about 1 ½ inches long and didn't have much color.

For a dropper, Stefanek prefers a Copper John nymph, which he ties to the grasshopper fly's hook with a drop leader. The leader length depends on the depth of the water being fished and the strength of the current. The idea is to hit 'em high and hit 'em low on the same fly. The nymph works best if it bumps bottom every now and then.

The big, high-floating hopper is an easy fly to see, even as it surfs down the riffles. Fish rise to eat that grasshopper. The most dramatic strikes come from fish that let the fly get past them, then turn downstream to charge after it before it gets away.

While the hopper attracts trout looking for bugs on the surface, the Copper John draws the attention of fish feeding on the bottom. When a fish takes the nymph, the floating grasshopper acts as a strike indicator.

rsasser@dallasnews.com

• A 3-weight, 4-weight or 5-weight fly rod with floating line works well for most situations.

• The water is cool to the touch but warm enough that you can wade wet, without wearing clumsy waders.

• Match the hatch by observing what the trout eat. For novices, the local fly shop is always a good place to find information. At Steamboat Springs, the shop is Steamboat Flyfisher, accessible at www.steamboat flyfisher.com.

• Colorado Division of Wildlife has produced an excellent DVD titled Fly Fishing Colorado that's available at www.wildlife.state.co.us.

• Information on Marabou Ranch is available at www.marabouranch.com. Information on North Park Fishing Club is at www.northparkfishingclub.com.