Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/18/2021 Photo Album

I made a pledge to myself to return to South Boulder Creek the week that began with August 16, and today, Wednesday I fulfilled that promise. On August 13 I learned that the flows below Gross Reservoir were at manageable levels, and green drakes were making their presence known to the stream residents. Flows on August 18 remained at 102 CFS, and I took advantage.

When I arrived at the Kayak Parking Lot only one vehicle was present, and while I prepared to fish another car arrived. The temperature was already at 77 degrees, when I began my hike down the steep trail to the creek, and I once again strung my Orvis Access four weight. My smallest rod is always a good choice for small stream fishing, as it is not as taxing on my shoulder and elbow as the longer and heavier rods in my arsenal.

Stunning

I was perched along the edge of the creek at 10:45AM, and after I configured my line with a tan pool toy hopper, prince nymph, and salvation nymph; I was ready to cast at 10:50AM. The air temperature was warmer on Wednesday compared to the previous Friday, and I was curious how that might affect the timing of the green drake hatch. On August 13 my early efforts with a parachute green drake and peacock hippie stomper were not effective, thus, I chose a dry/dropper combination with a pair of heavy nymphs.

Wildness

Well, the shift to nymphing paid modest dividends, as I landed three small brown trout on the salvation, before I paused for lunch at 11:45AM. In addition to the netted fish I experienced quite a few refusals to the tan pool toy hopper. The fish seemed interested in surface food, but my hopper was not exactly to their liking. After lunch I shifted gears and removed the three fly set and opted for a peacock hippie stomper. The stomper did not generate action in a couple of prime pools, so I added a one foot leader and attached a size 14 gray stimulator for a double dry offering. The gray stimulator and hippie stomper enabled me to increase the fish count by a few fish, but once again looks and refusals outnumbered takes. I noted a couple of natural green drakes shortly after lunch, so I decided to migrate directly to my ace in the hole parachute green drake. I knotted the same fly to my line that produced twenty-two fish on Friday, and the fun began. By same fly, I mean the same type of fly and the same physical fly. After Friday’s battering the maroon thread ribbing was unraveled, but the wing post, hackle and dubbing remained in decent shape, although the abdomen closest to the thorax was down to bare olive thread.

Battered and Bruised Parachute Green Drake Lost the Hook Point!

Very Fine

The blemishes to the parachute green drake did not bother the trout in the least, and I proceeded to land another fourteen, before the hook point finally broke off ending a string of thirty-six fish landed on one fly. I suspect this may have been some sort of record for this long time angler. With my workhorse fly out of commission I dug into my green drake fly box and extracted another parachute green drake. This one had maroon ribbing and tightly wound dubbing with a dense hackle and a tall wing post. It looked ideal to me, and it worked fine for two fish, at which point the hackle climbed up the wing post, and I was forced to retire it from service. Unlike the previous Mr. Durable, green drake number two proved to be a fragile version of the pattern. I pulled out another brand new paradrake, and it generated a few fish, but the interval between landed fish extended. This circumstance was probably more attributable to the waning hatch than my fly choice, but I persisted with the solitary green drake approach and boosted the fish count to twenty-four.

Out of the Net for a Second

Green Drake Comparadun Produced

By now it was 2:30PM, and the bright sun warmed the atmosphere to the upper seventies. I was feeling rather tired, and it seemed that the fish were exhibiting the same fatigue. I did, however, witness a pair of natural green drakes, so I knew they were still active, In fact I saw one flutter on the surface nearby, and then it was promptly slurped by an aggressive eater. Perhaps my parachute version was not presenting the fuzzy profile of fluttering wings? I removed the parachute green drake and replaced it with a Harrop hair wing, which is heavily hackled similar to a stimulator. This was a great thought, but the trout showed no interest in the hair wing.

Head Macro

Should I abandon the green drakes? I was still seeing the occasional natural, so I decided to cycle through a few more of my green drake styles. First I tested a May break, which is a type of green drake cripple. This fly was difficult to track, and it never produced as much as a look, so it was quickly returned to the green drake fly box. I examined my box closely and decided to try a comparadun with a large and dark deer hair wing. The comparadun delivered success, and I stuck with it for my remaining time on the creek, and the fish count climbed from twenty-four to thirty-four. The trout did not jump on this fly in a manner similar to the noon to 2:30PM period, but the response was steady enough to keep me interested until 4:00PM. I made many more casts to each prospective holding lie, and many quality spots failed to produce, but if I persisted, I could dupe a trout here and there.

Horizontal Line on the Side

By 4:00PM I ran up against a natural breaking point, so I stripped in my flies and hooked them to the last rod guide above the grip. I was hot and weary and ready to call it a day. What a day it was! I landed thirty-four gorgeous wild trout. Three or four were rainbows, and the remainder were brown trout. I estimate that two rainbows and three brown trout stretched to the twelve to thirteen inch range, and the remainder were beneath the one foot cut off. Far and away the typical landed brown trout was in the nine to eleven inch range. All but five of the trout consumed a green drake, and two of the five non-drake eaters fell for a size 14 gray stimulator, which is a close relative to a green drake imitation. Once again moderate riffles and the tail of pockets and pools were the home to trout feeders. During the 12:00PM to 2:30PM period I could nearly bank on a trout, if I cast to one of these stream structures. I am proud to claim South Boulder Creek as my home water. If only the water managers would allow the flows to continue at the current levels.

Fish Landed: 34

Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/13/2021 Photo Album

Early August, western green drakes, and South Boulder Creek go together like pretzels and beer. Or at least that is what I thought, as I contemplated another fishing outing on August 13, 2021. The Denver Water managers seemed to have other ideas, as they sustained the flows at 180 CFS and above for all of July and early August. Imagine my excitement, when I checked the DWR graphs and learned that South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir was percolating along at 102 CFS. Game on. Were my expectations too high? Read on.

When I arrived at the kayak parking lot four other vehicles occupied spaces. The air temperature was 66 degrees, when I departed, and according to Weather Underground the high never exceeded seventy degrees, although it felt warmer with bright sunshine and very few clouds for most of my time on the water. I put together my Orvis Access four weight and began my descent of the steep trail to the South Boulder Creek canyon. As I ambled along the upper canyon, I passed five fishermen, and this accounted for all the cars. I was pleased with this circumstance, as it meant I would probably have the lower canyon area to myself. At one point another angler met up with me, since he parked at the Walker Ranch trailhead, but he cut to the stream quite a bit upstream of my chosen point of entry. Favorable weather, manageable flows and lack of competition portended a fine day of fly fishing. Would the trout and green drakes cooperate?

Nice Place to Start

I began my day at 10:00AM with a solo parachute green drake, but after prospecting four or five quality pools, I was forced to acknowledge that there was nary a sign of fish. Apparently green drakes were not present long enough to create the hoped for intuitive response to an imitation outside the emergence period. Or perhaps they were late, and I would not meet them on August 13. My confidence was a bit shaken. I added a hippie stomper as my front fly and followed it with the parachute green drake, but once again I was greeted with no response from the fish. Concern crept into my outlook.

Perhaps the trout were keying on green drake or pale morning dun nymphs? I rigged my line with a buoyant tan pool toy hopper and added a prince nymph on a four foot dropper. Finally I connected with a pair of trout, but the catch rate lagged and refusals to the hopper became a commonplace occurrence. I added a salvation nymph below the prince to gain depth, and the pale morning dun nymph began to click, as I raised the fish count to seven by the time I sat on a rock to consume my standard lunch. I was catching fish at a decent rate, but the results required constant movement, and I was passing over some prime spots with no netted fish to show for my effort.

Prince Nymph Produced

So Delicate

After lunch I exchanged the pool toy hopper for the peacock hippie stomper, and I swapped the prince for a hares ear nymph. This threesome moved the fish counter from seven to nineteen, and obviously the catch rate improved. The hippie stomper attracted a few fish, but the salvation was the main target of the trout. In many cases the hippie stomper generated a look or refusal, but persistent casting eventually fooled a trout into snatching the nymph particularly at the tail of a pocket or pool or in a riffle with over two to three feet of depth.

Ooh. Certain Trout Lair

So Dark. Ate the Stomper

By 1:30 I began seeing a few natural green drakes in the air above the creek, and the hippie stomper began to generate an increased number of refusals, and a couple of fish actually ate the attractor dry fly. I decided it was time to convert to a green drake. I knotted a size 14 parachute green drake to my line, and the fun escalated. In a testimony to how durable my fly was, I landed twenty-two trout, before I deemed it too ragged to continue presenting. I replaced it with another paradrake, but this one had brown microfibet tails instead of moose mane, and the catch rate lagged significantly. This change coincided with the end of the hatch, so perhaps it was the insect cycle and not the fly that caused the slow down; however, my observation told me that the moose mane version looked more like a natural. I plan to sort through my inventory of parachute green drakes to preferentially stock the moose mane versions.

Zoomed a Bit

Very Nice of S Boulder Creek

Between 1:30PM and 3:00PM I was supremely confident in the green drake imitation. All the prime locations produced fish, and the browns and infrequent rainbows inhaled the impostor with confidence. This was the torrid green drake fishing that I recalled from previous Augusts, and I was thrilled to be the benefactor of the sparse emergence.

Very Fine Rainbow Trout

Most of the forty-two landed trout were in the seven to eleven inch range, but I also netted a thirteen inch rainbow and a few twelve inch brown trout. The fish were all wild gems with brilliant and vivid coloration. In short, I had a blast working my way upstream and prospecting with the confidence-building green drake. Hopefully the flows will remain near the current level or slightly lower, and I plan to take advantage with another trip or two next week. I discovered that early August, western green drakes, and South Boulder Creek do, in fact, go together like beer and pretzels. While in a celebratory mood, I munched some pretzels and sipped a Red Bull on my drive home. Beer is taboo while driving.

Fish Landed: 42

Time: 10:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 11/02/2020 Photo Album

A snowstorm swept into Colorado and brought single digit temperatures on October 25 and 26. This circumstance along with cold and wind during the days that followed put my fishing season on hold and caused me to initiate my winter fly tying efforts. The temperatures gradually warmed into highs in the sixties on Saturday and Sunday, and the long range forecast for Monday, November 2 through Friday was very encouraging with highs touching the seventies. This was enough to spur this fisherman to dust off the fly rod.

Looking Up the Canyon

On Sunday night I checked the flows on the local streams and noted that South Boulder Creek was maintaining an attractive level of 83 CFS. I was very anxious to pay a visit to the small tailwater northwest of Denver, but the water managers closed the taps to a trickle of 5 CFS for several weeks in October. A nice fall day and manageable flows were all I needed to make the drive to the kayak parking lot high above the creek and near the dam. I assembled my Sage four weight and made the steep descent to the creek which enabled me to begin casting by 10:30AM.

Making Sure of the Focus

I began with a peacock hippie stomper, but other than a brief refusal, surface feeding did not appear to be prevalent. I added a size 14 prince nymph and below it a size 16 beadhead hares ear nymph, and this combination yielded three brown trout. Each fly delivered a trout to my net during this early phase of my day. Before I paused for lunch, I recorded three additional brown trout to boost the fish count to six, and the prince attracted two of the three, while another greedy eater chomped the hippie stomper.

Early Brown Trout

A Second Shot for Good Measure

After lunch I replaced the hares ear with a pheasant tail and eventually a salvation nymph, and the salvation accounted for a single fish, while the prince and hippie stomper chipped in one each. At 1:30 I somehow lost the prince nymph in a tangle that resulted from a landed fish, and I used this pause in action to reconfigure. The shadows covered most of the stream, and the low sun created a glare on the portion of the creek that remained outside the shade. In an effort to improve my tracking capability, I swapped the hippie stomper for a size 8 fat Albert. For the subsurface lineup I introduced a size 16 ultra zug bug and trailed a salvation nymph. The ultra zug bug became a hot commodity, as it registered the final four fish of the afternoon to bring the count to thirteen.

Another Nice Brown Trout

This Deep Run Produced a Brown Trout

The fishing on Monday was by no means fast action. I covered a significant amount of stream and executed an abundant quantity of casts. Numerous long distance releases and refusals were part of the equation, and the landed fish were definitely on the small side with the largest possibly extending to eleven inches. Nevertheless I was pleased with a double digit day in November. My streak of catching a fish in each month of the calendar year remained alive; however, December will certainly be a challenge for this fair weather angler. I plan to take advantage of the nice fall weather to undertake a few more fishing outings over the remainder of this first week in November.

Fish Landed: 13

Time: 10:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Between Rollinsville and East Portal

South Boulder Creek 09/24/2020 Photo Album

Thursday was another adventure on heretofore never fished water in Colorado. In fact, fishing new water has become a theme for my 2020 season, and a few interesting destinations remain on my list for the autumn season. I noticed the public section of South Boulder Creek on our several trips to and from the East Portal to hike the popular trail.

Promising Slick

The dashboard registered sixty degrees, as I prepared to fish, so I wore my Under Armour long sleeve insulated shirt and a fleece hoodie, This created comfort during the morning and early afternoon, but eventually I concluded, that I was overdressed. I slid my four piece Sage four weight together and hiked downstream along the dirt road, until I found a more gradual path for my descent. I was unfamiliar with the section, but my instincts paid off, when I entered the creek just above a no trespassing sign. When I observed the stream from high above on the road, I feared that it was quite low, but this assessment proved deceiving, as the flows were decent for late September.

Surprise Start

Hippie Stomper on Fire Early

I selected a hippie stomper from my MFC fly box and tied it to my line. The next twenty minutes were the highlight of my day, as five brown trout aggressively smacked the size 12 attractor. A couple of the browns measured eleven inches and proved to be some of the best fish of the day. I was pleased with the confidence shown by the resident trout, and my optimism soared with the hope, that I discovered yet another mountain stream destination.

Leaves, They Are A’Changing

Unfortunately the easy dry fly fishing did not endure, and I suffered through an extended dry spell. This period of inaction convinced me to convert to a dry/dropper approach, and I aligned my lineup with a tan pool toy hopper, pheasant tail nymph and hares ear nymph. The pace of action improved, but I never regained the magic of the first twenty minutes. The fish count climbed from five to ten between 11:00AM and 1:00PM, and the hares ear was responsible for most of the landed trout.

Super Nova Worked

By 1:00PM the air temperature climbed into the low seventies, and the action slowed measurably. I decided to revert to a dry fly approach and attached the hippie stomper to my line. Eventually I adopted  a double dry presentation with an olive stimulator behind the stomper. This combination accounted for a fish; but the warm air, bright sun and fruitless casting caused my confidence to wane. I decided to go deep again and replaced the hippie stomper with a Chernobyl ant trailing a super nova. The dry spell was temporarily broken, when a twelve inch rainbow snapped up the super nova, but this proved to be an aberration, and eventually I returned to a dry fly approach with a moodah poodah and a pheasant tail on a short eighteen inch dropper.

Best Fish of the Day

In one of the larger pockets I plopped the beetle (moodah poodah), and a brown trout shot across the small pool to inhale the foam terrestrial and raised the fish count to thirteen. I surmised that perhaps beetles were the answer, but another drought developed, and I decided to call it quits at 2:30PM. My confidence was low, and I was frustrated by my inability to generate interest in spite of casting to quality water with careful presentations.

Thirteen fish was acceptable, but size was lacking, and the early afternoon  was challenging. I suspect that I will never make the drive to western South Boulder Creek again, but it was fun to experience a new stretch of the stream.

Fish Landed: 13

Time: 10:45AM – 3:15PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 09/02/2020 Photo Album

After two very successful days on South Boulder Creek in early August, I yearned to return in order to take advantage of the late green drake hatch on the small front range tailwater. Unfortunately the Denver Water managers had other ideas, and they boosted the flow rate from 140 CFS to 230 CFS. As you might imagine, 230 CFS in the narrow tight South Boulder Creek canyon creates some challenging fishing conditions. I decided to bide my time and wait for the flows to drop to more favorable levels, while I sampled other high country options in Colorado. Finally I noted that the DWR graph depicted outflows from Gross Reservoir of 139 CFS, and I promptly made plans to pay the canyon tailwater a visit.

Yummy Water

Wednesday developed into a sunny day with the high temperature on South Boulder Creek approaching eighty degrees. Wet wading seemed like an attractive option, but I recalled that my feet grew numb even while wearing waders due to the cold bottom release from the dam. I slid into my waders and rigged my Orvis Access four weight and descended the steep trail from the kayak parking lot to the edge of the creek. Three cars preceded me to the parking area, and another arrived with a man and presumably a son and grandson, while I prepared to fish. Surely the small number of vehicles meant that I would have the creek mostly to myself.

Early Hippie Stomper Success

As I crossed the creek at the bottom of the steep trail, it seemed that the rushing flows were stronger than 139 CFS; however, when I checked again upon my return home, the DWR web site graph continued to depict a level line at the aforementioned velocity. As mentioned in the first paragraph, I anxiously anticipated prospecting with large green drake dry flies; and I did, in fact, do some of that, but the fish were not as cooperative, as they were on 8/11/2020 and 8/14/2020. According to plan when I arrived at my favorite starting point, I tied a parachute green drake to my line and began to prospect likely fish holding lies, but the stream residents showed no interest.

After I covered several very attractive pools with no response from the fish, I exchanged the green drake for a peacock hippie stomper. In the early going before lunch the stomper registered a pair of trout, but it also generated an abundant quantity of refusals, so I swapped it for a user friendly green drake. The user friendly fooled my only rainbow trout of the day, but then it also became a fly that the fish decided to inspect but not eat.

Worth a Few Casts

Held in the Sunshine

This description of my morning fly fishing pretty much characterized my entire day. I cycled through a lot of flies but never settled on a consistent producer, until the end of the day on my way back to the parking lot. I fished diligently and covered a significant amount of stream and managed to land fifteen trout. All were brown trout except for the rainbow that crushed the user friendly. Ten trout rested in my net between 10:45 and 2:45, and I added five in a thirty minute period, when I stopped to fish a favorite pool during my return hike. Obviously my catch rate in the first four hours was very lackluster.

Recovery

After lunch I tried a tan pool toy hopper trailing a beadhead prince and a salvation nymph, and I succeeded in attracting a batch of refusals to the hopper. The nymphs were totally ignored, so I returned to the dry fly approach and tossed a green drake comparadun for a reasonable length of time. The solitary green drake imitation duped one fish, but it was largely avoided. What could the trout be looking for? I pulled a beetle from my box, and it was one of the most popular flies of the day. After some initial success with the beetle, the action slowed down, and I spied several natural green drakes and a large pale morning dun. I switched to a size 14 light gray comparadun and induced one trout to gulp the large PMD imitation, and then I reverted to the beetle and added the green drake comparadun as the second dry fly. Of the first ten fish landed before I embarked on my return hike, three ate the hippie stomper, one chomped the light gray comparadun, one smacked the user friendly green drake, one sipped the green drake comparadun, and four nipped the Jake’s gulp beetle. The numerous fly changes were indicative of a slow catch rate and my inability to identify a consistently productive fly for the trout of South Boulder Creek.

Healthy Brown Trout

I wasted too much time casting to center runs and pockets, because most of my success was derived from the deep pockets and riffles along the bank. The higher than desired flows reduced the number of prime holding spots for trout, and this forced me to move often, and this in turn caused me to climb over numerous boulders and to battle strong currents to make headway.

End of Day Fun

At 2:45PM I reached an area where the canyon narrowed, and flows at 139 CFS hampered my ability to find decent holding water. I hooked my fly to the rod guide and began my return hike. After .75 mile I approached a nice wide pool and before wading through it to continue my return journey, I paused and observed several rises. I decided to extend my fly fishing day, and I lobbed some casts of the beetle to the vicinity of rises. The beetle attracted several looks, but the trout would not close their jaw on the foam imitation. What could the fish be eating? I swapped the beetle for a size 18 cinnamon comparadun. It was mostly ignored or refused, but through persistence I induced two trout to sip the low riding mayfly imitation.

End of Day Bonus

Four or five fish fed sporadically at the tail of the long pool area, and they became immune to my comparadun, so I exchanged it for a size 22 CDC blue winged olive. This was definitely not on the radar of the stream residents, so I removed it, and replaced it with a size 18 light gray comparadun. Voila! Three trout recognized the small comparadun as a desirable food item, and I built the fish count to fifteen. Four of the last five trout landed were browns in the twelve inch range, and I was quite pleased to end my day on a high note.

Fish Landed: 15

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/14/2020 Photo Album

I experienced a spectacular day on Tuesday, August 11 on South Boulder Creek, so I decided to replicate it on Friday, August 14. Predictably I was a vicitim of high expectations.

Traffic was uncharacteristically light on Friday morning, and this enabled me to arrive at the kayak parking lot by 8:45AM. The air temperature was in the low sixties, and it was obvious that Friday would evolve into another hot day. Based on prior experience I knew that the bottom release flows from the dam were extremely cold, and flows of 168 CFS meant that I would be standing knee deep in water most of the day. I quickly made the decision to wear my waders, and I put together my Sage four weight rod.

Dainty Wildflowers

Two vehicles preceded me to the lot, and as I ran through my preparation routine, two additional gentlemen arrived. They were not familiar with the South Boulder Creek area and access points, so they immediately began questioning me about the matter. I explained that there are essentially three access points, and they were currently at the closest to the creek, although I warned them that the short trail to the creek below the dam necessitated a very steep climb out at the end of the day. One of the men appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, so I wanted to make them aware of the stressful climb. As I departed for the trail myself, it sounded like they were inclined to take the plunge.

At Least One Trout Must Call This Spot Home

I hiked a reasonable distance from the parking lot and found myself along the edge of the creek ready to cast by 9:30AM. 168 CFS is higher than I prefer; as it reduces the number of attractive fish holding lies, prevents crossing to the opposite bank and mostly confines casting to the area between the right bank and the middle of the creek. The combination of a peacock hippie stomper and parachute green drake performed quite well in the morning on Tuesday, so I copied the strategy on Friday. I began in a gorgeous wide pool that represents one of my favorites on the entire creek, and fifteen minutes of focused casting and prospecting failed to produce one iota of interest from the resident trout. At this point I sensed that Friday was going to be a completely different experience than Tuesday.

Only Trout Taken on a Nymph

I abandoned the double dry approach and adopted a dry/dropper configuration. In previous years I enjoyed some success with a prince nymph imitating a green drake nymph, so I tested this tactic on Friday morning. I deployed a tan pool toy hopper as the top fly for visibility and buoyancy and then knotted the prince in the top nymph position and then added a salvation nymph below it. The salvation choice was an attempt to imitate pale morning dun nymphs, in case they were present as well. The dry/dropper was allocated a fair share of stream time, and it allowed me to record my first landed fish; a small brown trout that gobbled the salvation, but otherwise I judged the method to be lacking. Fish were not responding to the hopper, and they generally ignored the nymphs as well.

May Require a Left Handed Cast

My earlier than normal start and extra stream time, before the heat materialized, was largely squandered with one trout in 1.5 hours of fishing. I decided to revert to what worked on Tuesday, but to focus on green drake dries, and consequently I retired the hippie stomper. I selected a parachute green drake from my drake fly box, and I began to prospect with the solo dry fly. In short order a feisty eleven inch rainbow snatched the parachute, and my fortunes made a U-turn in a positive direction. Over the next hour I learned that most of the trout willing to eat my dry fly were tucked in slower moving water with some depth near the bank, and I concentrated my energies on these types of stream structure.

Rescued from Net Hell

The remainder of my day on South Boulder Creek followed the script. I cast a single dry fly to likely fish holding lies along the right bank, and I steadily boosted the fish count from two to fourteen, before I called it quits. Unlike Tuesday this was not fast and furious action. Instead I worked upstream very methodically, and my persistence was periodically rewarded with a hungry eater. Although the quantity of fish landed lagged August 11, the size was on average superior, although thirteen inches represented the best fish of the day. Brown trout outnumbered rainbow trout by a two to one ratio. I cycled through four styles of green drake imitations including the parachute, comparadun, user friendly and May break cripple. The introductory test of the May break was disappointing, as no trout gave it a look. The user friendly delivered a fish or two, but then it created a streak of refusals and lost its prominent position on my line.

Decent

Quite Nice Brown for SBC

The parachute green drake and comparadun were the workhorse flies on Friday, and they accounted for the bulk of the landed fish. In one promising pool I observed some rises to smaller mayflies, which I presumed to be pale morning duns, so I added an eight inch section of tippet to the bend of the green drake and attached a size 16 light gray comparadun. The smaller mayfly proved its worth, as two rainbows nabbed it from the surface. At 2:30PM I observed two natural green drakes, as they fluttered on the surface in an attempt to escape the surface tension.

So Close I Nearly Dapped the Cast, but a Fish Materialized

By 3PM I became quite weary from scrambling around branches and over slippery rocks, and the mid-afternoon sun was scorching the creek and its surroundings including me. I reeled up my slack line, hooked my fly to the rod guide and began my hike back up the canyon to the car. Along the way I stopped at three separate shelf pools to test my skills, but a subtle refusal from a small fish was all I could muster, before I ascended the steep trail to the parking lot. I stopped five times during my climb to catch my breath and test for afib. By the time I arrived at the Santa Fe, my body was fatigued, and my layers were saturated with perspiration. The two gentlemen that I advised at the outset of my day were no longer present, and I was pleased to avoid their criticism, if they endured the rigorous climb.

SBC Rainbows Are Special

Rainbow Curl

In retrospect Friday was a decent day for mid-August. The air temperature was much hotter, and I encountered many more anglers compared to my visit earlier in the week. The additional fishermen certainly stirred up the water and spooked more fish thus impacting my fish count. But all things considered, fourteen fish was reasonable, and each was a brilliant gem, while the size of the trout was above average for the South Boulder Creek fishery. If I eliminated the forty-one fish day on Tuesday from my mind and re-calibrated my expectations to a normal level, I realized that Friday was another fun experience during the summer of 2020.

Fish Landed: 14

Where to Cast First?

Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/11/2020 Photo Album

March Madness. April Insanity. Now I offer August Mayhem. I continued my 2020 pursuit of green drake hatches on Tuesday, August 11, and I was not disappointed.

A dentist appointment on Monday and doctor appointment Thursday precluded a long fishing/camping trip on the week that began on August 10, so I designated the week for Front Range stream exploration. Bear Creek, the Cache la Poudre, and the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek were the only Front Range systems, that I touched in the months following my surgery. When I reviewed the DWR stream data, I discovered that the Big Thompson continued to rush down the valley at 280 CFS. Boulder Creek flows were promising, but I was averse to dealing with the construction delays in the canyon. The Bear Creek and the Cache la Poudre graphs were depicting ridiculously low flows, and I was concerned about the safety of the fish. I guided my eleven year old friend, Lucas, on the North Fork of the St. Vrain on Friday, and the conditions were challenging. This left Clear Creek and South Boulder Creek. Fortunately Clear Creek numbers were down to 93 CFS, and my ideal range for the nearby creek west of Golden is 50 – 100 CFS. South Boulder Creek continued to rush through the canyon below Gross Reservoir at 168 CFS, which is a bit higher than I prefer. I reviewed posts on this blog for prior visits to South Boulder Creek In early August at relatively high flows, and I discovered that trout were willing risers to green drakes despite the increased volume of water. This clinched my decision, and I made the short drive to South Boulder Creek for a day of fly fishing.

The Will to Live

Two vehicles occupied the parking lot when I arrived, and I applauded that circumstance. The air temperature was around 70 degrees and the high for the day topped out just under 80 degrees. Clouds blocked the sun for much of my time in the canyon, and the cold bottom release water kept me comfortable during my five hours on the stream. I put together my Sage four weight and jumped in my waders and hiked down the steep trail to the creek and then continued for a decent distance, before I began fishing at 10:00AM.

A Starting Point

My research informed me that green drakes were present in early August, so I debated whether to start with a dry/dropper featuring a beadhead prince as a drake nymph imitation or alternatively to launch my day with a double dry incorporating a green drake dry fly. I opted for the latter and configured my line with a peacock body hippie stomper trailing a parachute green drake on an eight inch dropper. In the first fifteen minutes I landed three trout, and all confidently inhaled the parachute drake. I was off to a fast start, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for electing the double dry approach.

Stretched Out Brown Trout

The positive beginning quickly morphed into frustration, as the next two trout that I hooked sought the safety of some underwater logs. I was unable to prevent their sudden dives, and I lost both fish along with three flies. In the first instance the hippie stomper and parachute green drake broke off, and in case number two the green drake separated, while I salvaged the hippie stomper. These irritating interruptions to my positive fishing vibe were the only such occurrences during the day, but I was frustrated nonetheless.

Yikes. A Pool.

With the early loss of two green drake flies, my concern grew over whether I stocked adequate quantities, so I replaced the comparadun with a Harrop hair-wing. The hair-wing version performed reasonably well, as the fish count mounted to twelve before lunch, but much of this success was attributable to the appeal of the hippie stomper. Most of the early trout were browns, and several feisty twelve inch beauties rested in my net.

Harrop Hair-wing

Comfortable

After lunch I continued with the same approach that provided me with enjoyment in the morning. The hippie stomper remained in place as the front fly until 2:30, however, I rotated the point fly among the Harrop hair-wing, user friendly, and comparadun. During this time frame the trout preference shifted, and the stomper became more of a visual indicator, while the trailing green drake imitations emerged as the item of desire for the local stream residents.

Hippie Stomper in Use

And Another

As the fish count attained twenty, the user friendly suddenly seemed to generate refusals, so I downsized the green drake option to a size 14 comparadun, and the trout gave this change a thumbs up. By now I recognized the types of stream structure that produced fish, and I moved more quickly and skipped marginal lies. The fish count climbed through the twenties to twenty-eight, and it was at this time, that I observed four natural green drakes, as they struggled to lift off the cold flowing currents of South Boulder Creek. I anticipated some hot action, but instead noticed four refusals to the hippie stomper. The trout in the canyon were seeing the stomper first, inspecting and rejecting, and never considered the green drake alternative. I decided to abandon the hippie stomper and double dry method and knotted a solo parachute green drake to my line.

User Friendly Green Drake

Promising Section

Unique Spot Pattern

The single dry parachute green drake proved its worth, and the fish count climbed to thirty-three. Although the low riding parachute was more difficult to track and required repeated sopping and dry shake dipping, it seemed to be a solid representation of the actual mayflies. My most effective tactic was to wade above the target area and then lob an across stream cast with an extra dose of slack. I allowed the parachute to drift downstream, and quite a few aggressive trout slammed the green drake fraud near the tail of the run. It seemed that they attacked it, before it escaped over the lip of the slower water.

Cannot Get Enough of These South Boulder Creek Rainbows

Number thirty-three was released, as I reached a section of steeper gradient and faster water. At low flows I normally continue to prospect this area, but at 168 CFS wading was a challenge, so I chose to exit and began my march back to the car. As is my custom, I stopped along the return route at two of my favorite pools. The first return hike break proved to be very productive, as I landed five additional trout to raise the count to thirty-eight. Four of the five were hard fighting rainbow trout, and they all responded to the downstream presentation described earlier.

A Bit Closer

Scarlet O’Hara

At my final fishing stop I sprayed casts with the parachute drake to all corners of the slower water, but the trout were unimpressed. Meanwhile several risers caught my attention along the right bank next to a few exposed rocks. I targeted them with some expert drifts, but for some reason the parachute drake fell out of favor. In an eleventh-hour attempt to dupe the fussy feeders, I swapped the parachute style for a comparadun. Success! Three more trout inhaled the comparadun including a fine thirteen inch brown that put an exclamation point on my day of fly fishing. I released the deep olive-gold bodied brown and hooked my fly to the rod guide and returned to the Santa Fe.

Buttery Gold at the End of the Day

Large Pool Ahead

What a day! Forty-one landed trout, and all were taken on dry flies. I never tested the dry/dropper with a prince nymph. although I considered it to start my day. I utilized and caught fish on every style of green drake in my box except for the May break cripple. The higher flows forced me to wade cautiously, however, the large dry flies lured the trout up from the depths. It was rare that promising water failed to deliver on my expectations, and I revel in such fast paced action. All my green drakes proved their worth, although the parachute and compardun styles seemed to outperform the others. If the flows remain favorable, another month of green drake action should be available on South Boulder Creek. I plan to take advantage.

Fish Landed: 41

Time: 3:00PM – 4:15PM

Location: South Boulder Road to Boulder Turnpike

South Boulder Creek 06/30/2020 Photo Album

I am always game for a new area to fish, so when a reader of this blog proposed a swath of South Boulder Creek, that I never fished before, my fishing radar went on high alert. Unfortunately this bit of intelligence coincided with a significant ramp up in stream flows, so I tabled the idea for four weeks. When I checked the flows on Monday, June 29, I was pleased to learn that South Boulder Creek below Eldorado Canyon subsided to 117 CFS. As I returned from Boulder, CO and my anticoagulation appointment, I detoured a bit and made a first hand inspection of South Boulder Creek. It was flowing high and clear, and I decided to make an exploratory visit.

Unfortunately Tuesday was a medical day, and I had a 9:20AM appointment in Boulder followed by a 11:20AM at another specialist in Denver. I arrived early for my second doctor visit and then waited an extraordinary amount of time, as the doctor was running thirty minutes behind schedule. The domination of my day by medical commitments threw my planned trip to South Boulder Creek into jeopardy, but I finally convinced myself, that it was simply exploratory, and the drive was only thirty minutes.

I ate my lunch at home and then departed Denver and arrived at the shoulder pull out along South Boulder Road by 2:45PM. By the time I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and hiked to the edge of the creek and configured my line with a tan ice dub chubby Chernobyl, prince nymph and salvation nymph it was 3PM. Some large clouds in the western sky blocked the sun for much of my time on the creek, and the air temperature remained in the low eighties.

High but Clear

For the next forty-five minutes I covered the section between South Boulder Road and the Boulder Turnpike, and I questioned whether the stream contained a single fish. Well, I did manage to land a minuscule three inch brown, so there was at least one cold water inhabitant. I did not have a basis of comparison, but I assumed the creek was running higher than normal, but several inviting deep riffles and runs suggested that trout could be present. I questioned my fly choices and swapped the salvation for a bright green go2 caddis pupa.

Gorgeous Run Failed to Produce

Even though my informer told me that 1.5 miles of public access was available in this area, the powers that be erected annoying fences along the stream and perpendicular at several places. I managed to carefully straddle and climb over the one that paralleled the stream, but the ones that ran at a ninety degree angle and spanned the creek forced me to retreat to the bike path, circle around the fence and then cut back to the water. Had I had been netting copious quantities of fish, I would have accepted the inconvenience of the fencing, but that was not the case.

Some nice deep runs appeared below a concrete structure just before the Boulder Turnpike, and I probed these thoroughly but again to no avail. On the south side of the Boulder Turnpike I found that the west side fencing ended, and I was able to cross the creek and access the bike bath once again. I progressed upstream for another one hundred yards, and I managed to briefly hook a five inch brown trout, and the same deep run produced a swirl at the chubby Chernboyl. Both fish were quite diminutive. By 4:15 I grew weary of the lack of action, and another fisherman blocked my progress, so I hooked my fly in the rod guide and hiked back to the car.

As I was stowing my gear, and gentleman approached me and began talking and asking questions about my day. I was surprised to discover that the friendly person socially distanced from me was the very same reader who suggested South Boulder Creek as a nearby fishing destination. What a small world we live in! If I return to this section of South Boulder Creek, I will visit during late morning and early afternoon, since these are prime time and more likely to yield a hatch. I would also skip the section I covered and hike directly to the area south of the Boulder Turnpike. In spite of a tough 1.25 hours I have not given up.

Fish Landed: 0

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 04/06/2020 Photo Album

I experienced my best day of 2020 on South Boulder Creek on Wednesday, April 1; and with the return of gorgeous spring weather to Colorado, I was itching for a return engagement. For the notoriously variable South Boulder Creek I first checked the flows, and they remained at a very desirable 19 CFS. The weather for nearby Pinecliffe, CO suggested high temperatures in the upper fifties, and with this encouraging information I made the drive to the kayak parking lot high above the creek but downstream from Gross Reservoir.

Loving the Pools Ahead

When I arrived, only one other car populated the lot, and a father and two young sons departed for the trail, as I prepared. I wrapped my North Face light down jacket around my waist under my waders, in case the forecast erred on the low side, and I assembled my Orvis Access four weight. On my previous visit on April 1, 2020 I spent nearly my entire day on one pool and fished to a lengthy hatch. Would Monday April 6 unfold in a similar manner?

Representative Brown Trout

I hiked down the trail for a decent distance to gain separation from the parking lot, and then I approached the stream. The flows were indeed up slightly from April 1, but the clear low conditions continued to dictate a slow cautious approach. The low clear conditions suggested, that I should avoid large and heavy flies that disturbed the water excessively, so I opted for a size 12 hippie stomper with a peacock body. I began prospecting the small attractor to likely trout lies, and after ten minutes with no action, a small brown trout crushed the foam attractor near the tail of a pocket. I continued, but a couple refusals convinced me that the hippie stomper was not the winner that I was searching for, so I added a beadhead hares ear and a super nova baetis as droppers. Another small brown reacted to the hares ear to bring the fish count to two, but once again I covered some very attractive sections with no response.

I found a nice rocky beach by noon and paused to eat my lunch and collect my thoughts. Other than the one small brown trout the nymphs were mainly ignored, but the hippie stomper continued to generate refusals. Refusals frustrate me, but they are a sign that the trout are looking toward the surface for their meals, so I decided to down size to a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle, and I retained the hares ear and super nova as droppers. The beetle performed in a manner similar to the hippie stomper, as trout rose to inspect but then slowly settled back to their holding positions. One aggressive eater smacked the beetle to bring the fish count to three, and subsequently a brown trout grabbed the hares ear, as it swept along some bank side boulders.

I arrived at a fish count of four, but I was not pleased with the results in spite of the reasonable catch rate. I was convinced that I was bypassing decent fish in areas that historically produced multiple eaters. Sticking with the surface feeding assumption I began to cycle through some alternative dry flies. I tried one of the new desperate caddis, that I recently tied, but it was mostly ignored. How about an ant? I reattached the beetle and then extended some tippet from the bend and added a size 18 black parachute ant, and I fished the double dries through several very attractive pools with only a few splashy refusals to the beetle to show for my creativity. After an hour and a half of fishing through normally very productive water, I was locked on four trout, and I was beginning to dread a disappointing day in spite of the spectacular weather.

Not Sure How I Did This

Some faster pocket water was ahead, and I paused to collect my thoughts before continuing to fish the same way while expecting different results. I decided to revert to my dependable dry/dropper technique with a longer dropper and heavier nymph in the top position. For this application I selected a size 10 classic black Chernobyl ant, and then I added a size 12 prince nymph and a partridge and orange wet fly. I recently tied the partridge and orange, and I was curious to see what it looked like when wet, and whether it would attract the interest of the South Boulder Creek trout. The change proved to be a revelation, as I methodically worked my way upstream and dropped the three fly rig in all the likely locations. The Chernobyl coaxed two takes, but more importantly it did not distract the fish from the nymphs via refusals. The real star of the afternoon session, however, was the prince nymph. In the faster water at the heads of riffles or in deep runs, the prince became a highly desirable commodity. The fish count moved from four to nineteen, and all fifteen additional netted fish were attributable to the prince except for the two Chernobyl ant victims. I was in my element, as I moved quickly and soaked up the sun on a gorgeous spring day.

Chernobyl Ant Classic Worked on April 6

Productive Prince

By 3:15PM I arrived at my normal exit point, so I climbed the rocky bank and began my return trek. I was confident that I could stop at my favorite pool, the one that entertained me Apirl 1, and a brief session would yield at least one additional fish to reach twenty. When I arrived at the celebrated pool, I slowly approached from the bottom left, and I was pleased to see actively feeding trout throughout the deep hole with the center cut current. I began my effort to record number twenty with the three fly combination that served me well during the early afternoon, but the trout demonstrated a single-minded focus on something that did not resemble my offerings. I had changed out the partridge and orange earlier for a sparkle wing RS2, when I spotted a few small blue winged olives above the water.

On Display

For the next thirty minutes I cycled through an array of dry flies, as I attempted to mimic the microscopic source of food that held the attention of the trout in front of me; but, alas, I finally surrendered to the choosy eaters. The size 14 CDC BWO that duped fourteen trout on Wednesday was totally ignored, as I watched fish dimple within inches of my floating fraud. Next I tried a griffiths gnat and then a small black stonefly, but these were also not favored by the pool dwellers.

So Clear

I accepted nineteen as my cumulative total for Monday and slowly ambled back to the parking lot. Nineteen still represented my highest total for the year so far, and I was pleased to discover the effectiveness of the prince nymph. I deployed a prince during green drake time in 2019 with substantial success, but I never assigned it playing time at other times of the year. I now know that South Boulder Creek trout recognize it as a desirable food source in early April. The largest fish was perhaps twelve inches, and most ran in the seven to nine inch range. but I enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the surrounding beauty. Certainly Monday was a fine antidote to the corona virus, and hopefully I can sneak in another day of fishing before the weather inevitably returns to more wintry conditions.

Fish Landed: 19

The Only Rainbow

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 04/01/2020 Photo Album

After a productive day on Tuesday on the Arkansas River, I noted that the weather forecast for Denver for Wednesday projected highs in the upper 60’s. Could my body and arm endure back to back days of fishing early in the 2020 season? There was only one way to find out. I made a trip to the South Boulder Creek for a day of fly fishing below Gross Reservoir.

The DWR graph indicated that flows were around 16 CFS, and I knew from experience that 16 CFS is low but amenable to decent fishing. When I arrived at the kayak parking lot, six vehicles preceded me, and I concluded that other Colorado fishermen were taking advantage of a nice day while social distancing. The dashboard temperature was 51 degrees, as I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and wrapped my light down North Face coat around my waste under my waders. I was hopeful that the sun would dominate and warm the air temperature in the canyon, but my down coat was a safety net in case that scenario did not unfold.

I hiked a good distance from the trailhead and passed four anglers along the way. Assuming each car contained one angler, I accounted for four of six, but when I reached one of my favorite pools, I jumped in knowing that a huge amount of open water was above me. As expected, the flows were on the low side, but the large pool in front of me was very attractive (check the photo album link for a video of the pool). I assessed the situation and decided to begin with a single dry fly. Splashing a large foam attractor and beadhead nymph was probably not an effective strategy in the low clear flows on April 1.

Looking Ahead

Surprisingly as I scanned the surface of the pool from left to right, I spotted a pair of subtle rises along the center current line. In response to this observation I gazed at the surface of the creek and the air space above, but I was unable to determine an obvious food source. A periodic breeze rustled the trees, so I opted to tie a size 18 parachute black ant to my line. The choice was not totally off base, as two separate trout rose to inspect the terrestrial, but each turned away at the last instant. Clearly the fish were tuned into surface food, but my ant was not on their menu.

I pondered the situation and considered my next move, and concurrently the number of feeding fish increased. I was standing below the tail of the pool near the left bank, and I could observe several quite nice trout eagerly looking toward the surface for a morning snack. I suspected that the object of their desire was midges, but I was unable to spot any to evaluate the size or color, so I gambled on my tried and true size 24 CDC BWO. In similar situations in the past the minuscule dry fly served me well in a variety of tiny insect hatch scenarios.

CDC Olive in Lip

I searched in my box for the smallest version and quickly knotted it to my 5X tippet. I began tossing casts directly upstream and angled to the right and drifted the small morsel through the pool with quite a few actively feeding trout. Between 11AM and noon I managed to land four trout on the CDC olive, so my choice was somewhat verified. I say somewhat, because I probably made twenty casts for each landed fish, and the one hour period included several temporary connections and a significant quantity of refusals. I never determined what caused the random takes in the face of so many rejections.

At noon I paused once again to assess my path forward. I was pleased with four trout in one hour of fishing, but I sensed that I could be doing better. The frequency of rises escalated even more, yet my fly was being ignored by some very aggressive feeders along the center current seam. The visible trout, that were hunkered down at the tail, were totally ignoring the drifts. I decided to experiment with some alternative offerings. Before doing so, however, I stretched my mesh over the mouth of the net and seined the water for a minute. The only thing that appeared was an empty midge larva that was a bit over 1/4 inch long. I also noticed a solitary spent wing black adult midge in the surface film, so I began cycling through my supply of tiny midge adults. My first alternative fly was a size 24 griffith’s gnat, and it generated three close looks, but the fish did not close their mouths. Next I experimented with a trico spinner with poly wings and a trico with CDC wings. These flies never even attracted inspections from the greedily feeding pool residents. I found one of my FP emergers, a gray bodied midge emerger that I tied for the Frying Pan river, and it was likewise ignored. In my small fly canister I spotted a tiny parachute adams and knotted that to my line. It produced a pair of last minute refusals, but again no success was forthcoming.

Again I considered the situation. The CDC BWO, while not a sure thing, was clearly my most successful pattern in the current circumstance. I returned to the blue winged olive theme, but tried a Klinkhammer BWO. One small brown near the tail of the pool recklessly charged to the surface and inhaled the Klinkhammer, and my optimism surged. Alas my elation was short lived, as the emerger blue winged olive floated unmolested through the upper sections of the pool for the next ten minutes.

Bringing It Closer

The pool was now alive with aggressively feeding trout, and I could see many in the upper section moving several feet to grab unidentifiable morsels from the surface. If a blue winged olive hatch were in progress, I surely would have noticed adults gliding into the atmosphere above the creek or floating among the currents. Despite this lack of evidence I returned to the fly that delivered some level of success, and I knotted another CDC olive to my tippet.

Although I was building quite an appetite, the active feeding in front of me precluded a lunch break. I began sending casts of the CDC olive to the various sections of the pool, and surprisingly I enjoyed sporadic favorable results. The fish count climbed from five to thirteen, and enough trout showed interest to vindicate the CDC olive as the fly to utilize. I estimate that 60% of the landed fish were rainbows and 40% were brown trout. The size of the fish was generally in the nine to twelve inch range. The rainbows were colored in spectacular fashion with brilliant crimson stripes and vivid spots and speckles throughout the length of their bodies.

Another Perfect Rainbow

By 1PM the pace of feeding slowed, and I decided to rest on the bank, warm my feet and eat my lunch. The shrinking number of rises directed my thoughts to the rest of the creek, and after lunch and an additional fifteen minutes in the pool, I decided to alter my approach. I removed the olive and replaced it with a size 14 Jake’s gulp beetle and then extended a section of 5X tippet from the bend and attached a soft hackle emerger with no bead. The beetle with an orange indicator would be my lead fly, and a pause or dip would indicate that the soft hackle had been intercepted.

Looking Down on You

I ran the beetle dry/dropper through the mid-section and upper portion of the pool, and two fish streaked toward the small wet fly but turned away at the last instant. I suspect the ploy might have worked with a smaller emerger, but I only had size 20’s in my possession. I finally decided to abandon the gorgeous pool to sample other South Boulder Creek areas. A nice small triangular riffle area existed just above the top of the pool, and the right border of the triangle reflected off a large exposed rock. I flicked the beetle to the top right area of the triangle, and as it slowly drifted toward the V next to the rock, a large mouth appeared and engulfed the foam terrestrial. Imagine my joy, when I netted a wild thirteen inch rainbow after a spirited battle.

Speckles Right Into Tail

Perhaps prospecting with the dry/dropper would extend my streak of outstanding fly fishing on April 1, but that scenario never materialized. I began to migrate upstream, but I vowed to be very selective about my target casting areas. It was readily apparent that the trout were concentrated in the deep pools perhaps as a result of the low flows. Only recently had the flows been raised to 16 CFS after a long span of trickles in the 7 – 10 CFS range. The beetle prompted two refusals in relatively marginal runs, and then I encountered another very attractive long smooth pool, and once again evidence of surface feeding appeared in the form of several rises near the center current seams. I lobbed the dry/dropper throughout the pool, but these trout were not interested. I stripped the flies in and quickly converted to the CDC olive once again, but my earlier magic could not be resurrected. In a desperation move I replaced the CDC tuft with a parachute black ant with a pink wing post, and a cast to the shelf to the right of the center current yielded an eleven inch brown trout that confidently moved six inches and sipped.

My watch told me that it was now approaching 3PM, so I skipped a long swath of unattractive water and approached an area that provided favorable results in previous visits to South Boulder Creek. I was along the left bank, when I encountered a small but deep pocket beneath an overhanging branch. This was not the type of water that produced earlier on April Fools’ Day, but I gazed into the deepest point, and spotted a fish. Would this trout respond to my ant in this overlooked and out of the way location? It was worth a try, so I flicked the ant slightly under the overhanging branch, and after a six inch drift, the shadow darted to the surface and consumed the black ant. I raised the rod and connected, and before I could feel smug about outwitting this hidden gem, it streaked toward the bank and under the branch and managed to free itself. I was sorely disappointed over my inability to conclude the highlight presentation, but I celebrated my effort nonetheless.

Glistening

I continued upstream to some attractive deep pockets without success, and then I encountered a pair of young men with small buckets and a shovel. Were they panning for gold in South Boulder Creek? If so, this was a first. I took this as a sign that my day of fishing was complete, and I made the hike back to the parking lot and stowed my gear. When I began my return drive, I checked the temperature, and it was at a comfortable sixty degrees.

Wednesday April 1 evolved into my best day of 2020. I landed fifteen trout, and fourteen came from the pool that I began in. Anyone who follows this blog will recognize what a deviation this is for this avid angler. My fly fishing mantra is move, and I generally allocate three to five casts to likely places and then move on. To remain in one pool for 2.5 hours is a testament to the length of the hatch and the number of pool residents. I estimate that at least fifty trout were present in what may be the best pool on the stream. I never found the perfect fly, but the CDC BWO was close enough to produce thirteen trout, albeit with an enormous number of casts. Another anomaly for April 1 was the fact that all fifteen trout resulted from a dry fly; a rarity for this early in the season. Hopefully when the weather improves I will have an opportunity to return.

Fish Landed: 15