Monthly Archives: September 2016

South Platte River – 09/06/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 09/06/2016 Photo Album

After a rough day on Clear Creek I was anxious to test my theory that tailwaters are the answer during the doldrum period that typically lasts from the middle of August through the first week of September. My watch displayed 11AM as I dipped my wading boots in the South Platte River, and although the dashboard registered a chilly 50 degrees during my drive, the sun warmed the air nicely, as I now ventured into the cold tailwater. The afternoon was a different story, as an abundance of clouds blocked the sun and prevented the temperature from getting beyond the seventies. The gray clouds never yielded rain, but strong gusts of wind made casting a challenge between 3 and 4:30.

The other variable of concern to a fisherman was the stream flow. Prior to my trip I checked the DWR web site, and the graph depicted a horizontal line holding steady at 182 cfs. I was concerned that this was a bit high, but when I approached the river, it was obvious that the level was quite manageable. I was easily able to move around, although I remained along the bank that bordered the fisherman path for the entire day. The fish seemed to love the cold moderately high flows, as they could spread out, but they also benefited from the protection associated with additional depth. I likewise appreciated the additional volume of water, as it allowed me to approach my target areas closer than is typical for low end of summer conditions.

182 CFS Looks Great

I began my quest for fish with a Charlie boy hopper and a beadhead hares ear, and these offerings failed to interest any fish in the first couple juicy pockets. I began to fear a slow day, so I quickly adjusted and added a salvation nymph below the hares ear. In addition I exchanged the Charlie boy for a pool toy to provide the additional buoyancy necessary to support two size 16 beadhead nymphs. The move paid off, and as the dry/dropper drifted in a deep slot next to a large boulder, the hopper dipped, and I executed a swift hook set.

The hook point penetrated the lip of a hungry fish, and it immediately streaked away from me into heavier current, as I allowed line to rip from my reel. Unbeknownst to me, however, the fly line wrapped around the butt of my rod, and I observed the sickening sight of my line drifting in the current, as the escape artist dove into the main current with my salvation nymph in its mouth.

An Early Rainbow or Cutbow Trout

After some healthy grieving I hooked a second fish, but it eluded my fly as well. Finally number three was a charm, and I landed a ten inch brown to initiate my fish count for the day, and it continued to climb until I broke for lunch with thirteen fish in the netted column. The water covered in the morning session was outstanding with plenty of pockets, deep runs and narrow slots. The fish loved this structure, and I reaped the benefits. Four fish found my net from one particularly productive area, and this included two thirteen inch rainbows. These would ultimately be two of the best fish landed on Tuesday, September 6.

Ready to Release

Lunch View

After lunch I lost a second salvation nymph when I was in the process of releasing a fish that was attached to the upper fly, the hares ear nymph. Not wishing to deplete my salvation supply further, I replaced it with a copper john, and the fish did not seem to mind the change. I did observe, however, that the fish favored the hares ear more in the afternoon, than was the case in the morning session.

Beautiful Pattern

At another juncture in the afternoon I broke off the copper john, and since I spotted a sparse emergence of blue winged olives, I decided to test a soft hackle emerger in place of the copper john. It was a decent idea, but I discovered that all my catches, while the soft hackle was on my line, emanated from the pool toy or hares ear. This observation caused me to remove the soft hackle emerger, and I replaced it with a salvation nymph; but rather than risk one that I tied in a size 16, I knotted on a size 14 that I purchased at the Conejos River Angler. The trout seemed to relish the larger size.

Spots Galore

Perhaps because of the gusty wind, the pool toy hopper produced more fish in the afternoon than was the case in the morning. I estimated that the pool toy accounted for five of the forty fish landed, but I also had quite a few long distance releases on fish that chomped the top fly.

My Kind of Water

Thirsty Deer

It was another amazing day on the South Platte River. I skipped the large pools and searched for the sections that offered pockets, slots, deep runs and moderate riffles; and these areas did not let me down. I love fishing dry/dropper in this manner, when I can approach fairly close and make quick short casts to likely spots and move at a rapid pace. It seemed that nearly every location that looked promising delivered a fish, and I reveled in the fast action and the electric anticipation of responsive fish. Of the forty fish landed, 32 were browns, and the remainder were rainbows with perhaps a cutbow or two in that mix. Based on my success on September 6, I suspect another 2016 trip may be on the calendar.

Fish Landed: 40

Clear Creek – 09/01/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Between Tunnel 1 and 2.

Clear Creek 09/01/2016 Photo Album

Clear Creek continues to be an enigma to this fisherman. On Auguist 5 I visited the small stream near Idaho Springs, and I experienced a disappointing day, but I attributed it to the rafting traffic. I vowed that I would not return until the flows dropped to the 50 – 80 cfs range, as I felt that the rafting trips would no longer be viable at that level. On August 19 I revisited a section in Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden, and my persistence was rewarded with a fifteen fish day. On this delightful outing the fish responded to Jake’s gulp beetle in a big way.

The August 19 trip gave me the confidence to journey to Clear Creek once again on September 1. I fished the Colorado River on August 31, and I did not wish to undertake another extensive drive, so the 45 minute spin to Clear Creek appealed to me. When I departed my house at 10AM, the sky was overcast, but before I arrived at the pullout across route six from Clear Creek, the sun burned off the haze and clouds. In fact, the weather developed into fairly adverse conditions with the bright sun in a clear blue sky, and the temperature climbed to 85 degrees in the canyon.

Clear As Its Name

I elected to use my Loomis five weight, since I hoped to toss large foam attractors, and the slow action Loomis accommodates this form of fishing quite well. I packed my lunch and raincoat and dropped down a steep rocky embankment to the edge of the creek. From previous experience I knew the water next to me was heavily fished, so I waded along the edge to the point where the bank becomes very high and steep. I was certain that this unfavorable terrain was a deterrent to most fishermen.

I will not bore the reader with all the details of my movements. I will simply state that I fished from 11AM until 1:30PM and did not land a single fish. During this time I presented a size 10 Chernobyl ant, the same Chernobyl with a hares ear nymph dropper, a size 10 Jake’s gulp beetle with a peacock ice dub body, a size 16 gray caddis, a size 10 gray parachute hopper, and a size 10 tan Charlie boy hopper. None of these flies produced a fish; not even a tiny trout beneath the six inch minimum. There were occasional looks, but even these were few and far between. Even on my worst outings on Clear Creek I normally see a preponderance of looks, refusals, long distance releases and spooked fish, but on Thursday these engagements with trout were largely absent.

I knew from past experience that abundant fish resided in the area that I was fishing. I blamed my lack of success on the high bright sun, clear sky and warm temperatures. I concluded that the trout were hunkered down in deep oxygenated refuges, so I modified my approach. I knotted a size eight fat Albert to my line for buoyancy, and then I added a beadhead hares ear and a salvation nymph. With this alignment of flies I focused my casts on deep runs, current seams and large pockets in an effort to reach the hypothetical hangouts of the trout on a warm bright day.

Second Fish Was Bigger

It worked to some extent, as I landed a small brown on the hares ear and then another somewhat larger brown trout on the same fly. Both fish snatched the dangling nymph from deep areas along current seams. I suspected that I discovered a strategy to salvage the first day of September, but that was not the case. I endured another long slump and a few refusals to the oversized fat Albert. The fat Albert had a yellow body, so I surmised that perhaps the trout were looking for a yellow sally or small hopper with a yellow body.

Side Look

I followed up on this thought by changing my offering to a size 12 yellow stimulator. I cast this fly to many attractive spots with no response, but then I lofted it to a current seam at the edge of a nice riffle of moderate depth. In a flash an eleven inch slender brown surfaced and crushed the stimulator. Given the absence of action I was extremely careful, and I quickly played the prize fish to my net. Could the stimulator be the answer?

Zoomed in on the Last Fish of the Day

I moved farther upstream with the bushy yellow attractor on my line, but it no longer appealed to Clear Creek trout. Once again I paused to assess, and I remembered the small yellow hopper idea, so I knotted a size 10 yellow Letort hopper to my line. I applied floatant to the dubbed body and prospected some likely locations, but only a cautious look from a small trout in a narrow slot resulted. What else could I try?

I recalled that the fish did not respond to Jake’s gulp beetle until the afternoon on August 19, so I gave the foam beetle one more try. Once again I selected a version with a peacock ice dub body, but I downsized to a size 12. I plopped it in numerous likely places, but again the casting proved futile. My digital watch displayed 3 o’clock, and I was approaching the steep rocky area just before Tunnel 2, so I decided to cut my losses and called it a day.

The water was clear and the flows were 80 cfs, which I consider nearly ideal for late summer on Clear Creek. I can only attribute my slow day to the weather and the variable disposition of Clear Creek brown trout. The close proximity and abundant public access will likely lure me back to Clear Creek, but the timing will certainly be in late September, after the temperature range falls into the autumn pattern.

Fish Landed: 3