Monthly Archives: August 2023

Frying Pan River – 08/02/2023

Time: 1:00PM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Reudi Reservoir

Frying Pan River 08/02/2023 Photo Album

It took me thirty minutes to return from the upper Frying Pan River to the tailwater section, and I paused to eat my lunch upon my arrival at a wide pullout across from the river. After lunch I reconfigured my setup with a tan pool toy hopper, an iron sally and a salvation nymph. I lengthened the dropper section below the hopper and did the same to the connecting leader between the iron sally and salvation nymph. Based on my review of the flows, before I left in the morning, I assumed I was fishing at 151 CFS. Upon my arrival back home on Wednesday evening, I realized that the water managers increased the outflows to 210 CFS, while I was fishing! Trout generally take some time to adjust to significant changes in water conditions, and I judge plus 60 CFS to be significant.

Angling to the Far Bank

Another Glimpse

I carefully angled across the river and began fishing upstream along the south (right) bank. During my early afternoon foray on the tailwater I managed to land six brown trout. One stretched the tape to thirteen inches, but most fell within the ten to twelve inch range. Once again the fly fishing was not a torrid affair, and I covered quite a bit of real estate and made an abundant quantity of casts to achieve the six fish count. Many very attractive runs and pools failed to deliver; whereas, some marginal spots produced. The common denominator of the productive spots seemed to be depth and especially depth along the bank. A few refusals to the hopper accompanied the action, but the hopper also produced takes often enough to justify its presence in my lineup.

Yielded One Brown Trout

Not Bad

Near the End

By 2:30PM I realized that I was not going to encounter a safe crossing place, so I laboriously and carefully retreated along the edge of the river to my original crossing point. I maintained a low stance, secured my footing with each step, and made sure each placement of my wading staff was solid; and these precautions enabled me to cross the river without incident. Six fish in 1.5 hours was certainly a respectable haul, but once again I felt like I worked exceptionally hard for the results. Wading was nearly as difficult in the tailwater, as it was on the upper Frying Pan. Insects were largely absent from the landscape during the afternoon session, and I was very surprised by this circumstance. I saw one or two pale morning duns and a handful of caddis. The much anticipated green drakes were totally absent from the scene. Hopefully I will get to visit Amy later in the season, when all the hatches are active.

Fish Landed: 6

Upper Frying Pan River – 08/02/2023

Time: 10:15AM – 12:00PM

Location: Upstream from Reudi Reservoir

Upper Frying Pan River 08/02/2023 Photo Album

My original plan incorporated fishing another high mountain creek on Wednesday, but severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours forced me to scuttle those plans. I stayed with my daughter, Amy, on Tuesday evening, and I decided the safest bet was to fish the Frying Pan River. I decided to inspect the upper Frying Pan first, and if it was clear with manageable flows, that would be my destination. If my scouting mission revealed unfavorable conditions, I could fall back on the tailwater below Reudi Reservoir.

I departed Amy’s apartment at 8:30AM, and this enabled me to arrive at a pullout along the upper Frying Pan River by 9:45AM. The upper river was clear and definitely running higher than what I was used to, but I decided to give it a go. The flows on the DWR web site registered 120 CFS, and that was higher than my typical experience based on visits later in the year. I assembled my Sage R8 four weight and ambled down the road for .4 miles, until I found a suitable spot to access the river.

Deceptively Fast and Deep

I adorned my line with a tan pool toy hopper, prince nymph and salvation nymph; and I began my quest for Frying Pan trout. Between 10:15AM and noon I advanced along the north side of the river and prospected all the likely deep runs and pockets, and I managed to land six trout. A thirteen inch rainbow was the largest, and a surprise cutthroat was the prettiest, and one brown trout brought me within one species of a grand slam. Most of the fish were in the nine to eleven inch range, and I also experienced quite a few temporary hookups and refusals to the pool toy hopper. Of the six fish that found my net, three connected with the hopper, one mashed the prince and two nipped the salvation nymph.

Chunky

Deep Runs

Six fish in 1.75 hour seems fairly productive, but I worked quite hard for these results. The high flows pushed the strong current against the bank, and the tight vegetation made it impossible to circle around difficult wading situations. I moved slowly and secured my foot plants with each move. For the last thirty minutes I cast to very attractive pockets and deep runs with no action whatsoever, so I decided to execute my fallback, and I drove back to the Frying Pan tailwater.

Fish Landed: 6

Lake Creek – 08/01/2023

Time: 10:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: .4 mile from road

Lake Creek 08/01/2023 Photo Album

Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities.

Tuesday was my fifth visit to Lake Creek, and unfortunately I got off to a rocky start. On Monday evening in preparation for my day on the high elevation creek, I read my four blog posts from the previous trips. I was appropriately excited for a day of fly fishing.

I arrived at my usual parking space by 10:00AM, and I quickly assembled my old Sage four weight. Originally I considered using my Orvis Access eight foot four weight, but with flows higher than usual, I selected the longer and stiffer casting tool. The temperature was already in the seventies, as I sauntered down the trail. On a previous trip I hiked quite a distance, but I determined that farther was not better and opted for a .4 mile jaunt.

Sweet Pool

To begin my search for trout I knotted a peacock hippie stomper and parachute green drake to my line. The creek was flowing faster than I was used to, and the gradient in the early going made wading a challenge and minimized good holding spots for the resident trout. I managed a couple small browns barely longer than my six inch minimum on the green drake and hippie stomper, and then I needed to cross to access the better wading terrain on the west side of the creek. I took a step and carefully placed my foot on an angled rock, and my cleats instantly slid on the slant. I felt like I was surfing on the rock surface, and I managed to maintain my balance, but the current pushed me into a deep spot, and the creek water trickled over the top of my waders. My dry fly box was in the pocket of my wader bib, and it got submerged in the process causing my fly hooks to get wet. This unfortunate incident transpired within the first fifteen minutes, and needless to say, I was not pleased.

Off and Running

Love the Slick Below the Rocks

After the near dunking incident, I advanced quickly and hooked the same branch twice, in a ridiculous display of lack of awareness on my backcast. In the first incident I managed to free both flies, but the second transgression resulted in snapping off the trailing green drake. I took a deep breath and replaced the green drake with a purple haze, and within five minutes I repeated the errant backcast routine with another snagged branch. In frustration I cast forward with added power, and the flies released, but my follow through brought the rod in contact with a rock. I was momentarily pleased with my good fortune at recovering my flies, but after two casts I came to the realization that I broke the tip of my rod. I was not sure whether the snap occurred at the time of the powered forward cast or the follow through contact with the rock.

Shimmering Brown Trout

Now my only option was to hike back to the car to take down the broken rod and assemble a different wand. I chose my Orvis Access four weight and once again completed the .4 entry hike to my exit point. I resumed fishing for thirty minutes and built the fish count to four small brown trout, before I settled on a flat rock to eat my lunch. Between 10:30AM and noon I managed to land four small fish while making tremendous progress toward my step goal.

Tight Quarters

Mossy Background

After lunch I experimented with a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead hares ear, and one aggressive brown trout nabbed the Chernobyl. The dry/dropper failed to excite the fish, so I returned to a hippie stomper and green drake combination and very gradually boosted the fish count to nine. During this time I covered a significant amount of stream real estate, and promising locations failed to produce. The target spots were few and far between, and the netted fish remained in the six to nine inch range. I was ready to call Tuesday a rare failure and relegate Lake Creek to last place on my small stream list.

Shelf Pool Bonanza

Butter Brown

In a fit of despair I decided to once again try the dry/dropper approach. The hippie stomper was increasingly difficult to track, as dark clouds slid across the sky. I tied on a chubby Chernobyl with an ice dub amber body and added an iron sally and salvation nymph. Finally I began registering success, as the trout attacked all three flies with increased regularity. The fish count exploded to twenty-one, and the size improved with a twelve inch brown and several eleven inch jewels in the mix. Two trout clobbered the chubby, while several grabbed the iron sally, and the remainder snatched the salvation. The afternoon dry/dropper session represented the style of fishing that I associated with Lake Creek.

Promising Shelf Pool

Line Twister

Thick

A near dunking and broken rod tip surely placed a damper on the day, but I at least solved the riddle enough to land twenty-one wild fish, and I exceeded my step goal. It was a success in many ways.

Fish Landed: 21