Monthly Archives: August 2020

Clear Creek – 08/27/2020

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: West of Idaho Springs

Clear Creek 08/28/2020 Photo Album

I was itching to return to South Boulder Creek for green drake action after our camping trip on Monday through Wednesday. After Jane and I unpacked the car from the camping venture, I immediately reloaded it with my fishing gear, and I prepared a lunch. I was all set for an early start to my drive to South Boulder Creek. I learned, however, from past experiences, that the Denver Water managers unexpectedly vary the flows from Gross Reservoir, so I made a last minute check on Thursday morning. Imagine my disappointment, when the graph revealed that the flows were ratcheted up to 230 CFS after four days at 140 CFS. I was not interested in battling the stiff currents through the narrow canyon, so I resigned myself to a day of catching up on other matters.

I began to unpack the car, when Jane asked why I did not try the stretch of Clear Creek that a pickle ball acquaintance recommended. I pondered the question and decided that Thursday, August 28, was a day to experiment with a different section of water. I restored my fishing gear to the car, stuffed my lunch in the Coors insulated bag, filled my hydration bladder, and departed for an adventure on Clear Creek. I arrived at my chosen destination at 10:30AM, and by the time I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and tugged on my waders and hiked .5 miles downstream, I was primed to fish by 11:00AM.

Let’s Begin

By late morning, Thursday developed into another hot day with temperatures in the eighties at my high elevation location. I wore my waders, because I was not familiar with the vegetation and terrain, but I soon regretted that decision. The creek was clear and cold and fairly narrow, but enough volume tumbled over the rocky stream bed to create abundant quantities of deep pools, runs and pockets. I would characterize my mood as moderately optimistic, but I was obviously excited to sample a new area.

Glassy Clear Pool

I tied a light brown-olive size 14 stimulator to my line, and in a short amount of time I experienced two refusals and two temporary connections. Clearly the bushy attractor fly caught the attention of the fish, but the takes seemed to be very tentative thus explaining the brief nature of the encounters. When refusals become the prevalent fish response, my first response is to down size, and in this case I accomplished that by exchanging the stimulator for a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive-brown body. The small low riding caddis clicked, and I began landing stunning cutthroat trout from the small stream. The trout measured between eight and twelve inches, but they were a pleasant surprise, and their colors were vivid in the dry high country environment.

All Day Long 

Many of the trout consumed the caddis, but of course this fly was quite difficult to follow in the dappled shade and sunlight. I grew weary of drying the fly constantly and decided to evaluate a more visible and buoyant option. I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my line, and almost immediately duped a cutthroat, but after the early success the trout served up a steady stream of refusals. I once again elected to downsize, and I tied a bionic ant to my line. The bionic ant is a foam ant that I tied for the first time this spring during my surgery recovery, and it showed promise, as it fooled two cutties, before I set the hook on water and hurled the fly line into a tall evergreen tree. I quickly determined that the fly was impossible to retrieve, so I yanked hard and broke off the only bionic ant in my MFC fly box. I made a mental note to restock some bionic ants.

Brilliant

I now knew that the local fish savored ants, so I knotted a size 18 parachute black ant to my line. Logic would suggest that this fly was actually more imitative of the ants in the area than the bionic version, but surprisingly it elicited looks and refusals. I considered another fly change, and I stuck with the terrestrial theme and replaced the small ant with a size 14 Jake’s gulp beetle. The foam beetle imitation duped a pair of fish, but frequent refusals suggested that it was not the favorite, that I was seeking. I returned to an earlier productive fly and added back the deer hair caddis on a six inch dropper from the bend of the beetle. Once again the caddis justified my confidence, and tentative feeders morphed into confident eaters. The fish count mounted steadily, and I enjoyed myself immensely, as I migrated upstream. I spotted quite a few of my target fish in the clear water, and it was a thrill to view the casual approach and slurp of the visible cutthroats.

Cannot Wait to Probe This Deep Run

Special Fish

When one of the cutthroats crushed the foam beetle, I struggled to remove the fly, and a damaged terrestrial was the outcome. One of the legs disappeared, and the orange indicator began to rotate to the side as a result of the loosened thread wraps. I decided to make a change, and I scanned my fly box for a replacement. Originally my eyes focused on a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle, but in the midst of these flies I noted a pair of size 12 moodah poodahs. These were also experimental flies tied during the surgery recovery and coronavirus lockdown, so I selected one and attached it to my line.

I Need More

Caddis Fan

More Gold Than Light Olive

It was at this time that I was locked on fourteen fish, and I had gone without action for a longer than usual period of time. I subscribe to quite a few fishing magazines, and on a regular basis they discuss the ploy of fishing drowned terrestrials. I decided to experiment with the sunken ant concept on Clear Creek, and I plucked a black size 16 hard body ant from my box. This was the only one in my possession, and it was tied by my friend, Jeff, many years ago.

Productive Angled Run

What a choice this combination turned out to be! The fish count surged from fourteen to twenty-three over the last hour, and most of the landed fish snatched the hard ant. A couple cutthroats succumbed to the moodah poodah, but the prevailing preference was the sunken ant. The ant seemed to be particularly effective in small deep oxygenated pockets at the top of a run. My best cutthroat of the day grabbed the black hard body in a deep tight eddy next to a large exposed boulder.

Small Perfection

What a pleasant surprise Thursday evolved into! I went from resigning myself to not fishing. to landing twenty-three high country jewels. All the trout that occupied my net were cutthroat trout, and this result was very satisfying. I will hopefully be returning again before the end of the 2020 season.

Fish Landed: 23

St. Vrain Creek – 08/25/2020

Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: National Forest

St. Vrain Creek 08/25/2020 Photo Album

Our pickle ball friend, Anne, contacted us and invited us to join her on a camping trip west of Lyons, CO. Jane and I hiked in this area once before in 2018, but we never considered camping there, because we assumed it was a very popular spot within 1.5 hours of Denver, CO. Anne, being the inveterate planner, reserved a campsite six months ago, and she was looking for someone to share in the good fortune. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity and joined her from Monday, August 24, through Wednesday, August 26.

Promising

After our initial hike in 2018 I made a subsequent trip on July 24, 2018 for a day of fly fishing. I experienced a so-so day of catching tiny brook trout, and I deemed the effort required as a result of high flows and difficult terrain not worth the reward of small brookies. This new camping opportunity provided another chance to explore the small high elevation stream in order to assess whether my initial impressions were accurate.

Even Better

On Tuesday morning I dressed in my wet wading uniform and assembled my Orvis Accsess four weight. Anne and Jane decided to hike west on the main trail along with me, so I waited, and we departed together by 9:30AM from the campground. After 2.3 miles the trail began to ascend at a rapid rate, and this circumstance meant that I was getting higher and more distant from the creek, so I split from my hiking friends and reversed direction for .2 mile to a point, where I could maneuver through the forest to the edge of the creek. The temperature was in the mid-seventies, as I began, and the day developed into another hot one even at 9,000 feet, and I was comfortable wet wading during my entire time on the stream. The creek was clear and near ideal levels in my opinion, and this eased my efforts to wade and improved the quality of the fishing compared to my trip on July 24, 2018.

Perfect Pool

I opted for the double dry approach to launch by quest for backcountry trout. The previous night at the campground I observed size 12-14 caddis with an auburn body color, and the closest I had in my fly box were size 14 light olive-brown stimulators. One of these occupied the forward position on my line, and behind it I featured a gray bodied size 16 caddis. The combination  caught the attention of brook trout in the first thirty minutes, although refusals were part of the game, and several sure-fired spots failed to produce. Three brook trout slurped the stimulator, and one gulped the caddis.

Oh Those Colors

The stimulator was difficult to follow in the alternating sunlight and shadows of the dense forest canopy, so I decided to make a radical change and adopted a peacock hippie stomper as my sole offering for probing the small creek. I reasoned that it was worth a try to provide greatly improved visibility, and if it failed, I could always revert to the stimulator. No worries! Two successive brook trout crushed the stomper in a gorgeous deep pool to raise my fish count to six, and I never looked back. The peacock stomper dominated my line for the remaining time on the water.

Brook Trout Haven

The late morning period featured several spectacular deep pools among sheer vertical rock walls, until I encountered a location, where I concluded that it was too difficult and dangerous to circumnavigate the canyon. I landed four aggressive feeders from a splendid pool that spanned the creek, and then I sat on some flat rocks and munched my small lunch, while I contemplated a strategy to extricate myself from a dead end position.

Closer View of the Trout Condo

After lunch I crossed the creek and climbed around a massive rock only to discover that the narrow canyon continued unabated in insurmountable vertical terrain. I retreated downstream, until I found a manageable exit point and then bashed my way through thick forest brush to the trail. Even this effort was no walk in the park, as I climbed  and stumbled over an abundant quantity of dead and fallen trees. I hiked along the trail in a westward direction for another .3 mile, until I recognized that I was above the impassable canyon stretch, and then I cut perpendicular through the woods to the creek.

Belly Bright

First Cutthroat

The stream during the afternoon was much more conducive to wading, and I progressed upstream and continued prospecting with the hippie stomper. The action was steady, and I incremented the fish count from ten to twenty-three. The lower gradient translated to fewer plunge pools, so I probed less obvious holding lies, but the fish were still present.

Fabulous

The highlight of the early afternoon were three stunning cutthroat trout that graced my net. One was the largest of the day, although quite skinny. Catching some natives among the prolific population of imported brookies was very satisfying. Many of the trout ambushed the hippie stomper at the tail of pools, just as the fly began to escape at the lip. I suspect the accelerated speed of the fly prompted the trout to respond before losing a big meal.

Marveling at This One

Tuesday evolved into another enjoyable day on a high country stream. The fish were small, but they more than compensated with their vibrant colors. I had mainly written off future visits to the St. Vrain, but it is back on my list of destinations for future visits. Of course, I need to be prepared to hike and wade in a difficult landscape.

Fish Landed: 23

Elk River – 08/20/2020

Time: 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Routt National Forest

Elk River 08/20/2020 Photo Album

Thursday was nearly perfect for this avid fly fisherman. Yes, the fish could have been larger, but the remote setting and the outstanding beauty of the high country jewels that found my net were unsurpassed. I fished the Elk River on 08/04/2020, and I was quite pleased with the results; however, the ongoing heat wave, drought and the expectation of a decrease in flows caused me to lower my expectations for another day on the small high country stream.

Interested Observer

I woke up early, and I pulled on my down coat to ward off the cold air temperatures prior to the sun’s ascent to a position above the hill to the east. I ate my breakfast and packed up my camping gear, and I was prepared to fish by 8:30AM. I intended to wet wade once again, so I decided to tarry at the trailhead, while the sun warmed the air to more comfortable temperatures before stepping into the icy morning flows. I killed thirty minutes while reading my Nevada Barr novel on the Kindle app on my iPad. By 9AM I was ready to begin my fly fishing adventure, so I pulled on my wading socks and wading boots and assembled my Orvis Access four weight and launched a relatively short hike to the bank of the river.

Depth and Cover Equals Cutthroat Habitat

The flows were indeed down quite a bit from my outing on 08/04/2020, but the canyon section I was about to explore retained deep plunge pools and highly oxygenated flumes and cascades, so I was confident that I could find a few fish. On the plus side, the lower volume of water made wading along the rocky shoreline much more manageable, and I was thankful for this small advantage. The silver bodied hippie stomper and gray stimulator performed admirably on Wednesday, so I initiated my quest for trout with the same pairing on Thursday.

Stunning

The Spots and Light Olive Knock Me Over

In the 2.5 hours before lunch I cycled through a series of fly combinations. The silver hippie stomper and gray stimulator notched one trout each, but the subsequent string of refusals to the hippie stomper prompted me to swap it for a size 16 olive-brown caddis, and I moved the stimulator to the forward position. These two flies elevated the action, and I began to connect with trout at an accelerating rate. I was particularly pleased to break through with some nice cutthroat trout in addition to the small browns and brookies that graced my net early on. In one attractive pool I spotted a very nice cutty, as it rose and inspected the flies repeatedly, but it was unwilling to commit, so I exchanged the caddis for a size 18 parachute black ant. Historically the small black ant has rescued me from frustration, when casting to ultra fussy fish, but on Thursday it was not the answer.

Stairstep Plunge Pools

Browns Were Smaller Than Cutthroats on This Stream

Unwilling to endure the difficult visibility of the small ant given its lack of effectiveness, I swapped it for a user friendly green drake. On August 4 a green drake fooled several fish, and I surmised that perhaps the Elk River trout possessed long memories for the large western mayflies. This hunch was also off base, but fortunately, while this game of fly exchange transpired, the leading gray size 12 stimulator continued to produce. I was advancing farther from my starting point and deeper into the canyon, and the number of cutthroat trout that attacked the stimulator increased concurrently. I suspect this had everything to do with angler pressure and ease of access.

Take Two

Better Focus

By lunch the fish count rested on twelve, and I was quite pleased with the results, although the gray stimulator continued to generate its share of refusals, and it seemed that the cutthroat eats were somewhat tentative. I decided to downsize to a size 14 olive bodied stimulator, and this fly remained in the forward position for the remainder of the afternoon. For awhile I fished it solo, and the trout responded, but in the early afternoon I spotted a couple pale morning duns, and this induced me to extend a section of tippet from the bend of the stimulator. I knotted a size 16 light gray comparadun to the the end, and the combination performed admirably, until the comparadun snapped off in the mouth of a fish.

Fireweed Colony

Prime Holding Spot

A parachute Adams is revered by the worldwide fly fishing community, so I climbed on board and attached a size 16 to my line in place of the light gray comparadun. I anxiously looked forward to the additional visibility of the white wing post of the Adams. The olive stimulator collaborated with the comparadun and Adams to increase the fish count from twelve at lunch to twenty-two by 3PM, when I hooked my flies to the guide and sought the path that returned me to the trailhead parking lot. I was quite pleased with my day on the Elk River, and I practically skipped with joy along the dusty trail on my return hike.

Must Be a Female

Of the twenty-two fish landed on August 20, eleven were cutthroats, seven were small brown trout and four displayed the orange belly of a brook trout. The cutties were the prize I was seeking, and they did not disappoint. Early in the game I realized that the cutthroat were the dominant fish in each pool. They favored long deep holes and seemed to position themselves at the bottom of the center seam or tail, as they ambushed food including my flies. My awareness of this circumstance caused me to approach the tail cautiously. The cushion in front of a submerged boulder was very popular, and quite a few nice cutthroats waited, until my fly began to accelerate around the boulder, before they moved laterally to intercept it. Once I recognized this ploy, I allowed my flies to drift deeper than normal.

Stand Out Colors, Adams in Mouth

The color scheme of the backcountry cutthroat trout was spectacular. The belly area was typically cream in color, and the background color transformed into a light olive. A dense array of speckles adorned the tail and dwindled to a few dots on the upper body behind the head. The crimson cheek was a signature characteristic along with the orange-red slashes under the jaw. Several of the wild jewels displayed bright red undersides, and a couple of the later fish sported very light pink splotches along the sides, where a rainbow trout normally exhibits a stripe. Ironically my rarest catch in Colorado is the cutthroat trout, even though it is the only trout native to the Rocky Mountains. I cherished each one and handled them with utmost care.

Fish Landed: 22

Center Cut

Middle Fork of the Elk River – 08/19/2020

Time: 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Confluence upstream

Middle Fork of the Elk River 08/19/2020 Photo Album

Wednesday presented another hot day with temperatures in the mid-eighties by the afternoon. I decided to explore the Middle Fork of the Elk River, since it was very close to the campground, and it represented a stream that I never touched previously. I love exploring new water, and the prospect of experiencing a new high country creek had me excited. As I began strolling along the road through the campground, I realized that I forgot my standard supply of chap stick and eye drops, so I quickly reversed direction and returned to the car to secure those two items. I was now prepared for an enjoyable day of fly fishing on the Middle Fork, and I hustled to the end loop and found the path that led to the confluence of the Middle Fork and North Fork. As I passed one of the last campsites in the loop, a young man, trying to be helpful, shouted out that there was a path to where the two forks met (I already knew this, but I let him think he was assisting me). He also offered, that I was likely to catch a bunch of brookies. I was hoping for cutthroats, but since I never fished the creek before, I could not dispute his projection. I arrived at the sought after confluence and began to select flies for my start, and at this point I realized that I left my MFC fly box, that contained my core supply of dry flies, in the bib pocket of my waders. I pondered the idea of continuing without my dries, but I quickly rejected this foolhardy concept. I climbed the hill on the faint trail and repeated the entire circuit back to the campsite to retrieve my essential fly box. I had the presence of mind to shed my wading staff, fly rod, front pack and backpack; and at least lightened my burden for the repeat hike.

Partial Shadows at the Start

The Middle Fork is smaller than the North Fork, but nevertheless a decent sized creek at a relatively high elevation. I began my day with a tan pool toy hopper plus a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph. The dry/dropper threesome failed to produce in the early going, until a trout in a deep slot rose and crunched the hopper. Apparently I tied a faulty knot, because all three flies disappeared along with the fish. I failed to land my first fish and lost three flies in the process, and this was not an auspicious beginning.

Depth Next to Rocks Tantalizing

The fish encounter elevated my optimism and confidence in the dry/dropper approach, so I replaced the full set of flies with no changes. My confidence was misplaced, and I suffered an extended lull, until I abandoned the nymphs and pool toy and resorted to a peacock hippie stomper. The stomper delivered positive results, and I notched three small brown trout and a brook trout by 11AM. Although catching fish was better than fruitless casting, I sensed that I was passing through trout holding locations with no action, so I repeated my newly applied summer of 2020 strategy and adopted a double dry fly configuration. I added a size 14 olive stimulator on an eight inch leader, and instantly my fortunes improved. By the time I grabbed lunch on a small gravel beach, the fish count rose to eight.The morning was not characterized by intense action, but the catch rate exceeded two per hour.

Deep Olive-Black-Blue Background Color on This Wild Specimen

Lovely Yellow Spots

The two hours after lunch developed into the best fly fishing of the day. For most of the time I tossed the peacock hippie stomper and olive stimulator, and the heavily hackled impostor did the heavy lifting. At one point a high errant backcast hooked an out of reach limb, and this resulted in a two fly break off. The peacock stomper was merely serving the role of indicator, so I deviated from tradition and replaced it with a silver bodied version, but I maintained the olive stimmy as the end fly. The silver bodied hippie stomper contributed a few fish to earn future consideration in the role of surface fly.

Stimulator Was Effective

Classic Cutthroat

The fish count rested on twenty-one when I reached the area behind the group campground. The nature of the creek altered at this point and transformed from a canyon with deep runs and pockets to a more gentle waterway with alternating pools and riffles. The changed stream structure was easier to wade, but paled in comparison to the canyon area from a fish productivity perspective. In the final hour I continued from the group camping access to the South Fork Bridge and only incremented the fish counter by two to twenty-three.

Big by Brook Trout Standards

Faint Pink Displayed

The last fish, however, was notable; as a gorgeous twelve inch cutthroat elevated to confidently inhale the stimulator. This bit of positive interaction took place in a spectacular bend pool. A short time after landing the cutthroat, I slung a long cast to a deeper run along a large bank side rock. The two flies bobbed along, when a splashy rise appeared next to the rock. I executed a swift hook set and felt weight, and an orange-bellied brook trout flipped over and tossed aside the fly. My fleeting contact with potential fish number twenty-four was the last action of the day.

Subtle Beauty

I exited at the South Fork Road Bridge and clocked my return hike on my Garmin. The smart watch revealed that I covered 1.2 stream miles on Wednesday, August 19. Twenty-three fish represented a fine day in mid-August in spite of above average temperatures. Seventeen landed fish were brook trout, three were small brown trout, and three were highly prized cutthroats. Wednesday reinforced the need to get away from easily accessed locations. My most productive time occurred, when I was in the middle of the canyon away from the campgrounds and trails. Climbing over fallen trees and large slippery rocks paid dividends.

Fish Landed: 23

Swirly Pool

Elk River – 08/18/2020

Time: 2:15PM – 4:15PM

Location: Routt National Forest

Elk River 08/18/2020 Photo Album

With four major fires raging in Colorado I was concerned about finding a high mountain creek that placed me a reasonable distance away from the danger zones. The area north of Steamboat Springs in Routt National Forest seemed like a viable location for a three day and two night fishing trip. Uncertainty about air quality and smoke prompted me to reach out to a person that I follow on Intagram, and she suggested that the direction of the wind was a major factor, but she expected the air to be reasonably free of smoke during the days that I planned to visit. This cinched my decision, and I packed the car with my camping supplies and fishing gear and headed off to central Colorado on Tuesday morning.

My Home for Two Nights

I arrived at my chosen campground by 12:30PM, and I quickly claimed one of the first come, first serve campsites. After I visited the pay station and wrote a check for $12 for two nights, I returned to my campsite and ate my lunch and set up the tent. My national parks senior pass qualified me for a 50% discount, and no better deal can be found. It was now 1:45, and I concluded that plenty of time remained to log a few hours of fishing. The campground was situated near a river, and I decided to sample the nearby Elk River.

Lots of Exposed Rocks

When I reached the place where I decided to begin, I noted that the flows were down from my previous visit on August 4, 2020, and the water was very clear. I estimated the flows to be in the 20 – 25 CFS range. The air temperature was quite warm, and I celebrated my choice to wet wade, as I slowly introduced my feet and legs to the cold mountain river. The afternoon was mostly bright and sunny, and a few large clouds blocked the sun periodically, but not enough to prevent the highs from spiking in the mid-eighties.

A Mauled Hippie Stomper

I began my two hours of fly fishing with a peacock hippie stomper and immediately landed a small brown, and then I connected with a more substantial fish that escaped the hook after a brief fight. I was rather optimistic after the hot start, but my hopes were misplaced. Within the first hour I landed another small brown trout on the hippie stomper, and then refusals became the prevailing state. Since the fish seemed to be attuned to the surface, I added an eight inch tippet to the bend of the stomper and knotted a size 14 olive stimulator  to the section. The move paid off in a short amount of time, when a decent rainbow locked on the stimulator. Shortly after this jolt of good fortune, a third small brown trout smacked the hippie stomper.

On the Board with a Small Brown Trout

The fish count rested on four for a considerable lull, until I dropped the double dries in a slow moving pool in front of a large log, and a surprise jewel of a cutthroat slurped the stimulator. I persisted upstream for another hour and covered a significant amount of stream real estate, but additional trout were either resting or not interested in my offerings. I witnessed a few refusals and temporarily hooked some very small trout, but the time between 3:15PM and 4:15PM was primarily futile.

A Cool Porthole in A Rock Next to the River

I tried a beadhead hares ear dropper and then also experimented with a solo parachute green drake, a Jake’s gulp beetle, an olive mugly caddis, and a size 10 Chernobyl ant. I am not sure whether to attribute the doldrums to the late afternoon heat or fishing in areas much closer to the road and the campground. I vowed to do some hiking on Wednesday and Thursday.

Fattening Up

Five fish in two hours is respectable, and the one rainbow probably measured in the twelve inch range. I was pleased to encounter a native cutthroat, and hopefully that was a harbinger of more to come on Wednesday and Thurday. All in all it was an acceptable introduction to my stay in the Elk River Valley.

Fish Landed: 5

South Boulder Creek – 08/14/2020

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?

Clear Creek – 08/12/2020

Time: 10:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Clear Creek Canyon

Clear Creek 08/12/2020 Photo Album

The most favorable thing I can say about today was my decision to wet wade during the sizzling ninety degree heat in Clear Creek Canyon. Will this heat wave ever end? My fishing experience on Wednesday was the exact opposite of Tuesday. It did not take long for the euphoria associated with my splendid day on South Boulder Creek to disappear in the sun and heat of Clear Creek Canyon.

The flows leveled out at 82 CFS, and that level is very close to my ideal for the medium sized drainage west of Golden. I was able to wade comfortably along the north (right) bank, although crossing to the opposite shore was a dangerous proposition that I never attempted. I wisely wore my Columbia fishing shirt with large pockets, as this enabled me to transfer my MFC fly box from my wader bib to my shirt. Waders were not part of my attire, as I pulled on my wet wading pants, socks and wading socks and enjoyed the cool sensation of Clear Creek. When I departed at 2:30PM, the dashboard digital thermometer registered 91 degrees.

Wet Wading

Olive Stimulator in Starting Lineup

After I assembled my Orvis Access four weight, I extended my tippet several feet with 4X and 5X sections, and then I ambled downstream along the shoulder of U.S. 6 for .4 mile, until I found a rough path down the bank to the edge of the creek. I began with a double dry set up that included a peacock hippie stomper and olive bodied size 14 stimulator. These flies have become my primary choice during recent outings during the dog days of August.

Promising

Hippie Stomper Batting First

After one hour of prospecting with the high floating dries, I managed three refusals. The looks occurred early in the game, and the flurry of unfulfilled action was followed by a long lull. I decided to experiment with a dry/dropper approach. and I switched to an Amy’s ant trailing a hares ear nymph and perdigon. This was my first attempt to deploy a perdigon, but it never produced a fish. The hares ear on the other hand was effective, as three brown trout barely over six inches boosted the fish count. A few temporary connections were also part of this phase of my fishing day.

On the Board

After lunch the lull continued, so I elected to make another change, and I swapped the Amy’s ant for a size 10 Chernboyl ant. I also replaced the perdigon with a salvation nymph.  These two flies occupied my line for the next 1.5 hours, and two additonal small fish rested in my net. Actually the fish were so small, that they slid through the holes in my net, and I struggled to corral them. The worst part of catching small fish is re-threading the line back through the hole in the net.

Typical Productive Water

At 1:30PM the action slowed even more. A few refusals to the Chernboyl ant convinced me that the fish were mostly looking toward the surface for their meal, so I decided to downsize to a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle. I cast it solo, and in a short amount of time four small trout emerged to inspect the beetle, before they returned to their holding position. I seemed to be on the right track with terrestrials, which made sense with the acceleration of wind bursts after lunch. I downsized once again to a parachute black ant size 18, and I sprayed at least ten drifts over a very attractive wide riffle of moderate depth. Much to my amazement the juicy ant was totally ignored. In a last gasp effort to land another fish I reverted to a Jake’s gulp beetle, and a fifth refusal added to my frustration. I glanced at my watch and noticed that it was 2PM, so I slowly climbed the bank and returned to the car.

Sweet Little Pool

Every year I convince myself that Clear Creek is a viable option for dog days of August trout, and every year I return home in a state of disappointment. The brown trout are very small, and they are infuriatingly fussy. The large rocks are polished to a glassy smooth surface, and my studded waders glide over the slanted surface like a greased ice block. Hopefully I can find better options, until the nights begin to cool off in September.

Fish Landed: 5

South Boulder Creek – 08/11/2020

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

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek – 08/08/2020

Time: 10:30AM – 1:00PM

Location: Buttonrock Preserve

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek 08/08/2020 Photo Album

One of the by-products of my mitral heart valve surgery was getting introduced to many front-line health care workers within the Boulder Community Health network. Among my favorites is Meghan Gerlach, one of the anticoagulation pharmacists that I conferred with on nearly a weekly basis, while I adhered to a blood thinner regimen after my heart surgery. In one of the early appointments I mentioned my passion for fly fishing, and she informed me that her eleven year old son, Lucas, was an avid fisherman. Apparently Lucas experienced some success fishing for bass while visiting his grandparents cabin in Missouri, and he was keenly interested in advancing his capabilities in the realm of fly fishing. I volunteered to guide Lucas on a local stream or lake, once my arm and shoulder recovered sufficiently from my surgery, and when the covid19 threat was minimized.

Fast forward to August 8, 2020, and the two conditions described above were met, and Meghan and I worked out a plan, whereby I would meet them at Buttonrock Preserve for several hours of instruction and fishing. Boulder Creek in Boulder Canyon was my first choice, but ongoing road construction presented a formidable obstacle with forty-five minute delays and potential disruption of the stream clarity. My second choice was the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek in Laverne Johnson Park in Lyons, but an online search revealed that the park was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Knowing that the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek at Buttonrock Preserve offered more challenging conditions, I opted for it anyway, since it was relatively close, and the flows were in a reasonable range for a novice fly fisherman. The large parking lot offered a nice space to introduce some casting instruction, and I was hopeful that the attractive pools next to the parking lot might harbor a few willing trout.

I arrived at the Buttonrock Preserve parking lot at 9:45 and quickly secured one of the six remaining spaces. I prepared to guide Lucas by pulling on my waders, and I set up my Orvis Access four weight. Meghan told me in a text that Lucas had his uncle’s fly rod, but I wanted to provide an alternative. Lucas is saving money that he earns from chores to purchase a starter rod, and I wanted him to have a basis of comparison. As I waited for the two Gerlach’s to arrive, additional preserve visitors appeared, and the free parking spaces dwindled to two. I kept my fingers crossed, and the move paid off, as a white Toyota Sienna arrived and secured a parking space one car over from mine.

Friday’s weather was in line with the recent trend of a lingering heat wave, and the thermometer was already in the low eighties when we began. I pondered suggesting wet wading for Lucas, but he was wearing shorts, and I was concerned about sunburn and scratches, so he climbed into my backup waders and boots. In case you are wondering, he is eleven years old and already has a foot size equal to mine. He is shorter, and this caused the waders to bunch up a bit, but we made it work by shortening the shoulder straps and cinching the belt around his waist.

We began the outing with some casting practice in the parking lot, and although Lucas did not perfect dry fly casting, he advanced his abilities to the point, where I felt he was ready to attack the stream. We meandered to the edge of the creek by a nice starter pool, and I tied on one of the size 16 hippie stompers, that he showed me in his fly box. I directed his casts, and we worked through three or four nice pools and pockets, but neither of us saw any evidence of trout. The high sun and hot atmosphere dampened my confidence, but Lucas was undeterred.

I was reluctant to deploy a dry/dropper due to the risk of entanglement, but I decided to give it a trial. I swapped Lucas’s hippie stomper for one of my peacock size 12’s, and then I added a beadhead hares ear on a 2.5 foot dropper. Lucas managed the two fly system quite well with only a few minor tangles, but the trout in the North Fork were not cooperative. In one shallow run I took the rod to demonstrate how to flick a short backhand cast, and a small four inch brown trout grabbed the hares ear near the middle of the run. Lucas’s eyes grew wide, and I could sense that his level of determination elevated, after he actually held a small trout in his hand.

Lucas Examines His Line

At noon we paused for lunch, and Meghan had moved the minivan closer to the western portion of the parking lot, so we made a short hike to the nearby van. While we munched our snacks, another angler returned to his car right next to us, and he had been fly fishing in Ralph Price Reservoir. I asked him how he did, and he extracted a nice fourteen inch rainbow trout from his bag. It was already gutted and ready for the grill, and he related that he caught it on a woolly bugger. Of course this merely served to get Lucas more optimistic about landing a fish from the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek. The neighboring gentleman also suggested that a good approach to the creek was a chubby Chernobyl trailing a beadhead pheasant tail.

Since our morning results could be described as futility, I adopted the suggested approach. I knotted a chubby Chernobyl with a tan ice dub body to Lucas’s line and then added a super nova nymph as a dropper. The super nova is a close approximation of a pheasant tail. Forty-five minutes remained in our allotted time, before Meghan needed to return to her father’s house to collect Lucas’s sisters. We escalated our focus and fished with intensity for the remainder of our time, but I am sad to report that Lucas failed to land a fish. I concentrated his casts to the whitewater spots at the head of the runs and pools under the theory that the trout sought oxygenated water during the high air temperature conditions. In one promising pocket along the right side Lucas flicked a nice cast next to the seam, and the chubby Chernobyl dipped quickly. Lucas responded with a quick side set, but nothing was attached to his line. I suspect this may have been his closest encounter with a fish.

At 1PM Meghan was ready to depart, so I climbed up some large boulders to join her. Lucas remained in the stream and executed several eleventh-hour casts in an effort to avoid a skunking. I was very impressed with his intensity and persistence, and I am certain he will grow up to be a first rate fly fisherman. He is thirsting for knowledge and willing to seek sources of instruction. These qualities should carry him a long way in fishing but also in whatever career path he pursues. I was very pleased to meet Lucas, and perhaps we can meet again when the temperatures cool in September or October.

Fish Landed: 0

Elk River – 08/04/2020

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Upper Elk River

Elk River 08/04/2020 Photo Album

During thirty-seven years of fly fishing I experienced numerous days, where I remained in a state of euphoria for days afterward. As I grow older, however, these occasions are less frequent. Tuesday afternoon, August 4, evolved into one of the increasingly rare times of extreme exhilaration. Normally the circumstances that create such a state of jubilation are a dense hatch, large fish or an abnormally large quantity of fish; but Tuesday’s experience resulted from a different source.

Let the Fun Begin

After a disappointing 1.5 AM hours on the lower Elk River I decided to cut my losses and shifted my attention to a different section. I informed Jane that the this new stretch was my backup plan should the lower Elk fail to deliver on its promise, and at 11:15 I found myself parked at the trailhead parking lot. I hiked national forest trail for a considerable distance and then angled to the right at a Y, and a fisherman path delivered me to the river. I suppose the Elk is referred to as a river, although it approximates a large creek in size. The Elk River in this locale was in spectacular shape with cold, clear flows over large boulders and an abundant quantity of deep plunge pools and pockets. The whole scene caused my heart rate to elevate several beats per minute; not a good thing for someone recovering from heart valve surgery.

Subtle Beauty

Handsome Brook Trout

I continued with the double dry fly approach that I initiated on the lower Elk River, and it included a peacock hippie stomper and olive size 14 stimulator, and I immediately began landing small trout. The fish count surged from one to seven in the thirty minutes before lunch; and my net felt the weight of brook trout, cutbows, and a rainbow trout. I assumed that the Elk River was predominantly a brook trout fishery, so I was pleased with the diversity of species. My optimism soared, as I munched my ham sandwich and observed a tantalizing pool.

Tail of the Pool

Front Half Spotless

After lunch I progressed upstream for .5 miles and boosted the fish count from seven to twenty-four. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as I prospected the dry flies through every likely fish holding location. Of the twenty-three fish landed from the Elk River, five were brook trout, three were small brown trout, and the remainder were cutthroats and cutbows plus one or two rainbow trout. I was surprised to realize that I recorded a Colorado trout grand slam. I estimate that sixty percent of the netted trout preferred the olive stimulator, and the remainder favored the hippie stomper.

Maybe My Favorite Color Scheme

Ooh!

As I migrated farther from my starting point, I began to catch an increasing number of gorgeous cutthroat trout. Quite a few of these prizes were in the twelve to thirteen inch range, and they confidently slashed one of the double dries. I could not have imagined a more perfect scenario than the remote setting, confident rises to large flies, and spectacular native cutthroat trout. I marveled at the coloration of the cutthroats, as they displayed a light olive body with a sparse spot pattern. Bright red cheeks punctuated the subtle beauty, and of course the signature slashes were evident under the jaw.

Nature’s Perfection

Hefty Cutthroat

Trout Haven

Tuesday afternoon was everything I hoped it would be. I was situated in a remote backcountry stream catching five species of trout. The largest and most impressive fish were the cutthroats, as they displayed their bright yet understated colors. The euphoria that I referred to at the outset stemmed from the rare opportunity to catch native cutthroats. A return visit to the Elk River is a certainty in my mind.

Fish Landed: 23

Exiting the Canyon