Time: 9:30AM – 2:00PM
Location: Just below rock slide area and then up to above the picnic area.
Fish Landed: 8
South Boulder Creek 04/25/2015 Photo Album
I was admittedly a bit disappointed after a slow day on the Arkansas River on Friday, so when my fishing pal Danny Ryan texted me with the idea of fishing on Saturday, I jumped on the opportunity. I did not wish to make back to back long drives, so we agreed to make a short trip to South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir. I picked Danny up at 8AM on Saturday morning, and we were on our way and arrived at the parking lot below the dam by 9AM. There were three cars in the parking lot and two young fishermen were suiting up next to us.
We quickly got our things organized and then descended the steep winding path to the creek below us. I suggested that we hike for 30 minutes to get to the lower section which I believe is less pressured than the water close to the parking lot; however, Danny spotted a nice deep pool and asked if he could sample it on our way to the more distant destination. I acquiesced, and while he fished the deep pool behind a large boulder, I walked farther downstream and found some small pockets to prospect. The flows were at 114 cfs, and this level is decent for fishing, but a bit higher than ideal which does limit fish holding locations to mostly pockets and pools behind current breaks.
I found a nice spot with a run behind some exposed boulders and decided to make this my testing ground. I elected to tie on a Charlie Boy hopper as my top fly for buoyancy and to support two beadhead nymphs; an emerald caddis pupa and an ultra zug bug. I lobbed the three flies into the nice run and almost immediately the hopper dipped, and I hooked a fish. The streaking object on the end of my line went immediately downstream into some heavy current and shed my fly. I was excited to experience action early in my fishing venture, but disappointed that I was unable to land my first hook up.
Perhaps the Largest Brown I’ve Landed from South Boulder Creek
I moved upstream a bit over some logs and positioned myself to toss the flies to a deeper area behind a large boulder. The Charlie Boy drifted slowly back toward me, and as I looked on, a large nose appeared and slurped in the hopper! It was simply supposed to be an indicator, and surprisingly the Charlie Boy produced my first fish. In addition it was a brown trout and perhaps the largest brown that I ever harvested from South Boulder Creek.
Emerald Caddis Pupa in the Mouth of This Nice Rainbow
As I photographed and release my prize, Danny reappeared, and we resumed our hike down the path along the north side of the creek. As we encountered the long attractive pool forty yards above the foot bridge, Danny suggested we give it a try, but then we realized a fisherman occupied the lower end of the pool, so we politely moved on. Eventually we split off from the Walker Loop and arrived at a point just downstream from the rock slide area. I decided to cross to the far side of the creek, so I could advance in parallel to Danny who was on the north side next to the path. Danny converted to a nymphing set up while I stayed with the dry/dropper arrangement.
The weather was also worth mentioning. It was quite chilly with overcast skies and periodic wind. Occasionally the sun broke through the thick clouds, but cool and overcast was the norm for most of the day until early afternoon when some light rain materialized.
Flows at 114 CFS
For most of the day the fishing followed the pattern of Danny working nymphs up along the north side of the stream while I advanced with the Charlie Boy hopper, emerald caddis pupa, and a variety of third flies. For much of the day I used a RS2, but I also allocated some time to the ultra zug bug and beadhead hares ear. By the time we rested for lunch, I had landed five fish including the surprising brown trout. The other four fish consumed the emerald caddis, and Danny and I did spot a few caddis fluttering above the stream.
After lunch we resumed our progress, but we encountered a pair of fishermen and leap -frogged them once which took us to the picnic area where we resumed. The afternoon fishing was slower than the morning despite the overcast skies. The weather seemed ideal for a blue winged olive hatch, but I never observed any mayflies on the water. In fact the fishing was only marginally better than my Friday experience on the Arkansas River in terms of catch rate.
Danny Works on His Line
The two hours of fishing in the afternoon yielded three additional trout with two snatching the hares ear and one rising to the Charlie Boy. By 2PM some dark clouds rolled in, and a light rain began to fall. Neither Danny nor I enjoyed any action for quite some time, so we decided to call it a day and hiked back along the path. Danny paused to fish some attractive water at the base of the steep path while I made the climb and reached the car.
South Boulder Creek
The fishing was a bit slow on Saturday, but I did manage to land eight including two on the hopper and averaged two fish per hour which tends to be my norm over long periods. It was another fun spring day of fishing, and I caught up on the latest news from Danny.