Time: 11:00AM – 2:15PM

Location: Near Copper Mountain

Curtain Ponds 08/05/2024 Photo Album

Ben and I tossed our gear in the back of the Telluride and kept our waders on and our rods in ready mode and made the short drive west on Interstate 70 to the Curtain Ponds. Unfortunately I was now defaulting to what I felt was my backup plan.

We hiked to one of the ponds, and I allowed Ben to wade along the shoreline, while I fired some long casts from the bank east of his position. My chubby Chernobyl and prince nymph remained on my line, but it quickly became apparent that the dry/dropper was not the correct approach for the pond. I took the necessary time to remove the two flies that I deemed inappropriate, and I replace them with a peacock hippie stomper trailing a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis.

Initially Ben and I moved along the bank and fired long casts either toward the interior of the pond or parallel to the shoreline. The sun was high in the sky, the air temperature soared, and rises were nonexistent. We spotted schools of decent fish, but they seemed to be sulking in deep holes next to thick aquatic vegetation, where they streaked when my flies landed above them. I was not optimistic that the fallback would be any better than the exploratory first hour.

We slowly moved over to a sharp bend in the shoreline, and I cast to a corner nook, and finally a small six inch brook trout smashed the hippie stomper. Ben abandoned the pond closer to the highway and joined me, and we slowly shuffled our way along the bank, but the fish continued to flee at the first sight of our lines overhead. It was at this time, that I foolishly placed my backcast in the tip of a young evergreen tree. I attempted to bend the young conifer, but it was was too strong, and I snapped off both flies. I was quite peeved by my reckless casting ability.

Early Success Story

While I took the requisite time to redo my line with the same flies, Ben moved on, and he began to observe some very sporadic rises toward the center of the pond, and he reported several refusals to the hippie stomper. After I connected with and landed another countable brook trout on the deer hair caddis, I decided to offer him one as well. He eagerly accepted, and while using the stomper and caddis, he landed his first brook trout of the day.

Ben on the Board

I was moving along closer to the shallow shoreline with no success, so I decided to check out the next pond, which featured deeper water. I hypothesized that brookies in the deeper water would feel safer; and, therefore, more prone to visit the surface to pick off tidbits of food. My theory did not pan out, as I managed to land one two inch brook trout, before I returned to the main pond that now featured Ben along the bank opposite the highway. While I was chasing windmills, Ben landed enough brook trout to boost his fish count to five.

Focused

I joined him along the same shoreline, and we fanned casts toward the center of the pond in all directions. I finally managed to nail a couple brook trout to bring my total up to four, and at this point I found a seat on some thick railroad ties that formed a sort of dock, and I downed my lunch. Some dark clouds were building in the southwestern sky, and we welcomed the advancement of cloudiness.

After lunch, our wish was fulfilled, and the clouds blocked the sun for long periods. During these low light times, the amount of surface feeding increased, and this corresponded with an improvement in our fish catch rate. Ben and I matched each other with catches until his total stood at seven, and I boosted mine to six. I had written the day off as an exercise in futility, but we were now achieving a moderate amount of success and having fun.

The Fish Dove into the Aquatic Goop

Ben moved east toward the next corner of the pond, and I waded out on an underwater point that featured light colored rocks for a solid bottom. For some reason my success rate stalled, so I contemplated another fly change. Before embarking on the trip, I replaced a parachute hopper that I lost on the previous trip with another one, although it was a size 12 instead of a 10. These parachute hoppers were flies that I tied ten years ago, before I migrated to foam. For some reason I knotted it to my line behind the hippie stomper, and I began launching long casts toward the center of the pond. Initially I was frustrated by refusals and a couple very brief pricks, but I stuck with the hopper, and I landed three more brook trout to increase my fish count to nine. I also lost a couple fish that burrowed into the aquatic goop, before I learned that I needed to keep my rod tip very high in order to keep the fish near the surface. Catching fish on old flies that I resurrected from my fly storage boxes was very gratifying.

Fly Change Knot Tying

While this was transpiring, Ben, unfortunately was dealing with some tangles, but eventually he resumed his long distance casting and boosted his fish count to eight. The dark clouds rolled closer and the wind kicked up, and I could see waves of rain against the distant mountains. Some thunder rumbled down the valley, and this was the prompt that motivated us to call it quits. We hustled back to the car and threw our gear in the rear and sat in the driver and passenger seats and watched the rain flow down my new windshield (I replaced the old one that sported a long crack 80% of the way across). I could see a brighter sky to the southwest, so we decided to investigate another pond and an upper section of Ten Mile Creek.

Pretty One

We made the short drive to another parking lot, and we strolled down along the creek to near the first pond, but once again the sky darkened and in this instance we saw lightning and heard more thunder, so we adjourned our day of fishing, returned to the car and traveled back to Golden. We persevered and salvaged a decent day in early August.

Fish Landed: 9

Time: 9:30AM – 10:30AM

Location: Between Frisco and Copper Mountain

Ten Mile Creek 08/05/2024 Photo Album

Monday and Wednesday were open dates for fly fishing during the first full week of August, 2024. I desperately wanted to return to South Boulder Creek, but now that the Lake Shore wildfire was under control, the water managers raised the flows to 211 CFS. That is too high in my estimation for comfortable wading and fly fishing. How many hurdles can the fly fishing gods throw at me in order to thwart my ability to fly fish South Boulder Creek?

I decided to check in with my fly fishing student, Ben, to see if he was available to tag along for a day. I contacted his mother, and she informed me that Ben might be open Monday, but there was a chance he could work, and she would get back to me on Sunday. True to her word, she texted me on Sunday that Ben would not work, and he was free to join me.

Since Ben is a relative newcomer to the sport, I wanted to choose a place that was not too challenging for backcasts. I fished the North Fork of Ten Mile Creek a short while ago with my young friend, Nate, and I wondered if the main stem of Ten Mile Creek might produce similar results. When I first moved to Colorado, I avoided Ten Mile Creek, because it supposedly contained heavy metals from mining that stunted the growth of the fish population and reduced the insect supply. Perhaps, however, over the intervening period of thirty-four years, the aquatic environment improved. I decided it was worth a try, and the Curtain Ponds were available as a fallback.

Wide and Shallow Near the Start

I picked up Ben at 8AM, and we made the drive to the parking lot at the Frisco Main Street exit off of Interstate 70. I chose my Orvis Access four weight, and Ben armed himself with one of his 8.5 foot six weights, and we hiked down the trail for .1 mile and then cut to the creek. I was wearing my new waders after determining that the three year old Redingtons were worn beyond repair. The air temperature was in the low seventies, and the sky was deep blue. I explained to Ben the rules of alternating fishing on streams that were too narrow to allow anglers to fish in parallel, but Ten Mile Creek was wider than I expected, and we decided to move side by side. Ben took the left bank, and I occupied the right bank.

Ben began his quest for trout with a hippie stomper that he bought with a lime green body. I, meanwhile, opted for an amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl with a beadhead hares ear nymph on an eighteen inch dropper. For the next hour we attacked the small rushing creek next to Interstate 70 with extreme vigor, but the results were quite disappointing. Neither of us landed a single fish. Furthermore, we never witnessed a look or a refusal or even a fish darting for cover as a result of clumsy wading. In the early going I blamed the quality of the holding water, and hoped that some attractive pools might change our luck. At one point I lengthened my leader to achieve deeper drifts and swapped the hares ear for a prince nymph. Just before 10:30AM we approached a gorgeous deep run and pool below some fallen logs, but even this juicy spot failed to yield a trout. This was the last straw, so we clipped our flies to our guides and found the trail and returned to the parking lot.

As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Unfortunately we were victims of the nothing gained part of the sage saying. The creek was cold and clear and surrounded by scenic mountains, but based on our experience, it contained a sparse population of trout. Were we too early? Did we need to allow the water to warm to generate more movement from the fish and a greater appetite? Did we choose the wrong flies? The observation that led to our departure was the total lack of fish sighting. This is highly unusual for a productive Rocky Mountain stream based on my years of experience.

Fish Landed: 0

Tiime: 9:45AM – 2:30PM

Location: National Forest Land

Willow Creek 08/02/2024 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.

Friday was another hot day in Denver with temperatures approaching 100 degrees. I sought a high country stream or a tailwater to cool myself off and to escape the sauna that is called Denver. I experienced a superb day on South Boulder Creek on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, so my inclination was to return. Recall that I experienced issues with my wading boots and my waders, so I was anxious for redemption using my repaired fly fishing uniform. I replaced the Boa cables on my left and right wading boots, and I concluded that my Redington Sonic Pro waders were irreparable, and I ushered my backups into service. I checked the flows on South Boulder Creek, and they remained higher than I prefer, but only a notch below Tuesday’s levels at 162 CFS. I prepared my lunch and loaded the car with fishing gear and staged all my other fishing needs, so that I was prepared for an early start. In short, I was excited for another day on South Boulder Creek ( SBC).

All this took place before Jane stumbled across an online map that showed the areas affected by the four Front Range wildfires. When I viewed the map surrounding the Lake Shore Fire, I discovered that the blaze was near Gross Reservoir, and the impacted area extended over the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead; the very trailhead that I use to access the creek since Gross Dam Road has been mostly closed since construction work on the dam began. I dug further, and I found out that Flagstaff Road was closed between a fire rescue station and Gross Dam Road, and the closure was before the turnoff to the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead. A quick change in plans was in order. I did uncover a bit of good news surrounding the Lake Shore fire, as the web site informed me that the fire was quickly contained and confined to a relatively small area, so barring another fire or a sudden change in status, I suspect that SBC will once again be accessible shortly.

Finning in the Net

Now I needed to choose a new destination. Most of the Front Range options were impacted by wildfires including the Big Thompson and the St. Vrain. I was not impressed with my last visit to Bear Creek, and Clear Creek was not attractive to me, as it does not fish well in the heat. I investigated Eleven Mile Canyon, and the flows were in the 175 CFS range, but the fly shop report cited crowding even during weekdays. The report actually suggested showing good angling etiquette twice, and I took that as a bad sign. Finally I decided to revisit a stream that I fished twice this summer already. As mentioned earlier, I was prepared, so I got off to a nice early start, and that enabled me to park near the creek by 9:15AM.’

Good Start

Prime Pool

I pulled on my backup waders and cinched my replacement Boa cables on my wading boots, before I broke out my Orvis Access four weight, and I was ready to fish. I arrived at a spot on the stream that was different from my first two visits, and I began my effort with a solo peacock hippie stomper. I was shocked when the hippie stomper failed to interest any fish in the first fifteen minutes, and I approached a place with some faster entering current, so I added a beadhead hares ear nymph on a 2.5 foot dropper. The action improved, and I built the fish count to twenty by the time I paused for lunch at 11:50AM. That may seem like a torrid catch rate, but I also experienced my share of refusals and temporary hookups. Nearly all the trout in the morning session were brook trout, but I also landed one small brown and another juvenile brown trout beneath the six inch minimum.

Handle with Care

The section of the creek that I fished on Friday contained many more slow moving pools, and the level of the stream was quite a bit lower than my last trip with Ben. This translated to long casts and gentle presentations. I will be the first to admit that I did not execute this finesse on a consistent basis; and, therefore, I witnessed many mass evacuations from some prime pools. Nevertheless, twenty fish in a little over two hours of fishing was quite acceptable, and I was very focused on my approaches and casting technique. Quite a few beaver dams existed along my upstream migration, but in each case they were breached. It made me wonder if a human being was responsible to keep the water flowing.

A Rare Double

After lunch I resumed prospecting with the dry/dropper, but it seemed as though the catch rate waned a bit. The hippie stomper and beadhead hares ear continued to deliver positive results, and the fish count blossomed to thirty. At this point the hackle on the hippie stomper unraveled, so I decided to introduce some new surface flies, and while I was at it, I exchanged the dropper nymph as well. For the top fly I cycled through a parachute hopper, a Jake’s gulp beetle, and a size 10 Chernobyl ant. For the nymph component I tried a salvation nymph, and it nabbed a few fish, but the hares ear seemed far more effective, so I returned to the dependable hares ear after a reasonable salvation trial.

A Very Decent Brown

I managed to boost the fish count from thirty to forty-one with this mix of flies, but none of them compared favorably to the high standards of the hippie stomper. During the afternoon the brown trout portion of my catch improved somewhat, as I landed four countable browns, and this included a pair of very respectable thirteen inchers. A couple brook trout in the ten inch range also visited my net, and they represented the largest brook trout on the day.

Bank Dwellers?

The last twenty minutes were quite challenging, as it seemed that I spooked large schools of decent sized fish. I even observed one fish that must have measured in excess of fifteen inches, but it was fleeing its position and darting to an undercut bank from the impact of my flies. In retrospect, I wish I would have tried a double dry rig. Even though I landed forty-one fish and quite a few on the nymphs, I suspect that I would have startled fewer fish with the softer landing of two small dry flies.

Best Brown Trout on the Day

One factor I left out of this piece was the wind. It was atrocious, as it gusted quite regularly. As the creek meandered a bit, I faced cross winds and head winds, but never a tail wind. The cross winds were the worst, especially when I attempted to place the flies close to the right bank. Compensating for a variable wind is a casting skill that is at the expert level. I managed to do it a few times, but I also hooked some bushes and slapped down some heavy landings. Wind induced tangles were also a repeating problem, although I felt like I minimized untangling time quite well under the conditions.

Another Smooth Pool

Friday was a very enjoyable fly fishing day, and I am quite infatuated with the stream that I named Willow Creek. My three visits met or exceeded my expectations. The heat wave is projected to continue for the foreseeable future, so I will likely be seeking tailwaters and mountain creeks in August. Hopefully, South Boulder Creek, returns as an option shortly.

Fish Landed: 41