Monthly Archives: March 2025

Clear Creek – 03/12/2025

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Time: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Clear Creek Canyon

Clear Creek 03/12/2025 Photo Album

Wednesday’s forecast promised another mild late-winter day, with temperatures in Denver expected to climb into the upper sixties. The urge to hit a stream was strong, but first, I had to handle a commitment at home—the expected delivery and installation of our new dishwasher. Our fifteen-year-old unit had given up on properly cleansing the top shelf, forcing us into the less-than-enjoyable habit of handwashing. By 10:30 AM, the Home Depot crew had completed the installation, and I was free to chase some trout.

Given the late start, I opted for a short drive to Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden, CO. I arrived at my chosen pullout by 12:30 PM and immediately downed my standard lunch. The section of the creek, where I planned to start, was already covered in shadows, so I made a quick wardrobe adjustment—swapping my short-sleeve undershirt for an Under Armour long-sleeve thermal, layering on my North Face light down, and finishing with a rain shell as a windbreaker. The combination kept me comfortable for the entirety of my outing, even as the late afternoon sun shifted my fishing spots.

Plenty of Ice and Snow Remained Along the Creek

I assembled my old Sage four-weight and followed the south side of the creek for roughly 0.2 miles before scrambling down the steep bank to begin fishing. My starting rig consisted of a size 8 yellow Fat Albert, a 20 Incher, and a size 16 olive Perdigon—a trio that had served me well on the Arkansas River just two days earlier.

For the next hour, I worked my way upstream, managing to land two small brown trout, each around six inches. One fell for the Perdigon, and the other snatched the 20 Incher. It was a far cry from my successful outing on Monday, and despite casting to some very promising pools, my drifts remained largely unproductive. Hoping to change my luck, I swapped the 20 Incher for an Ultra Zug Bug, but that adjustment proved ineffective as well.

One of the Better Fish

By 2 PM, I reached a bridge and climbed up to the highway to cross to the other side. My plan was to continue upstream, but the narrow canyon kept much of the water in the shade, and the chill was beginning to set in. Rather than tough it out, I packed up and moved half a mile west to another wide pullout. Another angler had already claimed a spot directly across from the cars, so I opted to hike along the guardrail for some distance before descending a steep, boulder-strewn bank, carefully using hand grips to steady myself.

Prime Spot

With the change in location, I decided it was also time for a change in tactics. I swapped the Fat Albert for a Peacock Hippie Stomper, thinking that the relatively low flows—24 CFS—might make the large foam hopper too splashy. I kept the 20 Incher but replaced the Perdigon with an Emerald Caddis Pupa.

One of Two Rainbows

The adjustment paid off. My catch count climbed from two to seven, before I called it a day at 4:00 PM. A rainbow rose to the Hippie Stomper, while another trout nabbed the Emerald Caddis Pupa. A brown took the 20 Incher, and my final fish—a brown—fell for a size 14 Prince Nymph. There was no single pattern that dominated the action, but the change in flies certainly made a difference.

Last Fish of the Day

Clear Creek, with its narrow, shaded canyon, still had plenty of ice shelves and packed snow along its banks. The cold water likely kept the trout sluggish compared to other rivers flowing through open valleys. Of the seven fish landed, two were rainbows and the rest were browns, with the largest stretching to a modest nine inches.

While it wasn’t a banner day in terms of size or numbers, it was still a rewarding outing. The beauty of the setting and the simple pleasure of being outside were enough to make it worthwhile. With a trip to Phoenix on the horizon, I’ll have to put my fishing ambitions on hold for a bit, but I hope to get back on the water in the final two weeks of March. Stay tuned!

Fish Landed: 7

Arkansas River – 03/10/2025

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Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon

Arkansas River 03/10/2025 Photo Album

Forecast highs of 74 degrees in Denver, CO had me seeking fly fishing water on Monday, March 10, 2025. I checked temperatures in various potential destinations, but I could not overlook 72 degrees in Canon City. The wind speeds in the 10 – 15 MPH range gave me pause, but I decided to make the trip regardless. I experienced several productive days in lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon last spring, and this influenced my decision to visit the Arkansas River.

Starting Point

The drive was inconsequential, even though Jane warned that the number of accidents spike after daylight savings time. I arrived at my chosen spot by 10:45AM, and this enabled me to be on the water ready to cast by 11:00AM. I stopped for gasoline in Florence, CO, and the wind was whipping by me at a ridiculous rate; however, the wind, although present, was more moderate at my chosen fly fishing spot.

Number One Was This Rainbow That Grabbed the Olive Perdigon

I rigged my Sage One five weight and wore my light down North Face coat, which proved to be a bit of a mistake, as I was overly warm during the afternoon time frame. To begin my search for trout, I configured my line with a New Zealand strike indicator, a yellow/green Pat’s rubberlegs and a zebra midge. The yellow/green rubberlegs was chosen with the molting golden stoneflies in mind, as both ArkAnglers and Royal Gorge Anglers fly shops reported their presence.

Olive Perdigon Saved the Day

I prospected up along the left bank of the river for fifteen minutes with no response, so I swapped the zebra midge for one of my crystal stones, size 18. Once again my flies were ignored, as I spent 1.5 hours in the late morning exercising my arm. I did connect with a small trout briefly, but it escaped after throbbing my rod for a few seconds.

Nice Catch

Between noon and 12:30PM, I moved to a separate braid of the river, and I switched the crystal stone for a beadhead hairs ear nymph. I encountered another angler, the only one I saw on the river, so I steered clear of him and migrated up the braid for at least fifty yards to allow him space. When I jumped in, I made some drifts through some marginal runs along the far bank, but once again I was met with futility.

Another Fine Wild Brown Trout

At 12:30PM I found a nice rock to serve as my seat, and I downed my three course lunch. After lunch I used my pause to revise my rig. I removed the New Zealand strike indicator and shifted to a dry/dropper system with a size 8 fat Albert as the top fly. Beneath the fat Albert I knotted a size 12 20 incher, and below that I added an olive perdigon. I tied five perdigons within the last week, so I was anxious to baptize them. I also wanted to make sure I was drifting deep with the dry/dropper, and the four foot dropper along with the tungsten bead were geared toward that objective.

Left Bank Produced

I am not sure whether it was the time of day, deeper drifts, flies chosen or the new section of the river; but some combination of factors caused my angling futility to change into hot fishing. One o’clock was the new noon after turning the clocks forward, so that may have been part of the change in fortunes, but I was also certain that utilizing the tungsten bead perdigon was a turning point. Between 1:00PM and 3:00PM I landed ten trout, and all but one were in the twelve to fourteen inch slot. Four were rainbows and the other six were brown trout. At least three of the landed trout were healthy fourteen inch fighters, and I was quite pleased with my successes.

Headed Back

The olive perdigon accounted for six of the trout, the fat Albert duped one aggressive rainbow, and the 20 incher made its presence worthwhile by fooling three fish. The wind was a constant nuisance, but I was able to avoid severe headwinds, although my casting arm was quite fatigued by the end of the day. The action slowed significantly by 3:00PM, and, in fact, I did not land additional fish between 3:00PM and 4:00PM. For the last hour I probed the largest braid of the main river, and this may have also inhibited my ability to catch fish.

Chunky Bow

I was quite pleased with my day of fly fishing on the Arkansas River on Monday, March 10, 2025. The wind was tolerable, and the air temperature was pleasant. I landed ten trout in the twelve to fourteen inch range, and the dry/dropper approach proved to be effective. I also tested my olive perdigon and discovered it to be a solid fish producer. Monday sparked my interest in fly fishing, and I hope more nice weather will encourage another trip in the near future.

Fish Landed: 10

Slower Velocity to the Right

Love the Distinct Spots on This Prize Brown Trout

Olive Perdigon – 03/05/2025

Olive Perdigon 03/05/2025 Photo Album

I tied a few of these simple flies in 2020 during Covid to kill time while quarantined. I used them infrequently, and like many new patterns they lingered in my fly box, as I opted for tried and true patterns that I had confidence in.

Slender Nymph

Fast forward to 11/04/2023. If you read this post, you learn that I had an outstanding fall day on the Eagle River, when the olive perdigon delivered superior results for my friend, Dave G. and me. Needless to say, this prompted me to tie a batch, but I must confess that I did not test them to any great extent during 2024. I plan to make amends for this oversight, and as a result I approached my vise and produced five additional olive perdigons. I am confident that if I give them a chance, they will become a new favored fly from my fleece wallet.

A Batch of Five and Associated Materials

This fly is quite easy to tie, although I am not a fan of messing around with UV resin application. I have squeeze tubes, and the caps become a gooey mess. I plan to switch over to product with applicators, but being a frugal fly tier, I am attempting to use up the resin in my tubes. These olive perdigons require only six materials if you count the hook, bead and a black marker. Otherwise, all you need is some grizzly spade hackle fibers, olive thread and UV resin. The result is a very slender heavy fly that rapidly sinks to the bottom. If I can discipline myself, I would like to test these in pocket water, where it is necessary to get the fly to the bottom quickly. Doesn’t it seem like this is a perfect application for the olive perdigon?

Griffiths Gnat – 03/03/2025

Griffiths Gnat 03/03/2025 Photo Album

I searched back in time across this blog, and I found no posts on the Griffiths gnat. I know I have tied some, so I suppose I neglected to write a report on this diminutive fly. It requires only two materials aside from the hook and thread, and those two are peacock herl and grizzly hackle. The aspect of this fly that makes it challenging to tie is its small size.

A Model Griffiths Gnat

I expanded my efforts to fish in lakes over the past several years, and midges comprise a huge portion of the biomass in stillwaters. A Griffiths gnat is purported to be a solid imitation of an adult midge, so adequate quantities in my fly box are highly recommended. I have tied a griffiths gnat to my line from time to time on lakes, but I would characterize my success as sporadic. Unfortunately I knot one of these on my line, when the fish are rising sporadically, and I am not certain what they are eating, so I may be misjudging the source of the trout protein.

A Clump of Four

Apparently I had not tied these in a while, so I counted my supply and concluded that I could use another four, so I settled at my tying station and generated them. I am ready for stillwater action in 2025.

Tricos – 03/01/2025

Tricos 03/01/2025 Photo Album

For an excellent description of my introduction to trico spinners along with a materials table and other information, click on my post of 01/15/2012. After a particularly frustrating day on the South Platte River I created trico spinners using CDC for the spent wing. My post on 02/27/2019 describes this effort to imitate the tiny but abundant mayflies. My post of 12/05/2011 describes my history with sunken tricos. This is also worth a read.

Trico Spinner

I failed to encounter a trico hatch in 2024; however, in an effort to cover all my bases, I counted my supply of spinners in size 20, 22, and 24 and sunken tricos in size 22. I concluded that I needed to tie five additional spinners in size 24, one size 20, and five sunken tricos. I experimented with various materials for tricos over the years, but for this iteration, I used white microfibbet tails, black thread bodies, white antron for the wing, and fine black dubbing for the thorax. For the sunken tricos I added a strand of super hair wound around the hook shank for the abdomen.

Sunk Trico

Hopefully I will encounter a trico hatch and spinner fall in 2025. I need to make a point of visiting the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon, as the trico event is a regular occurence there. As I have learned in the past, it can be an exercise in frustration, but an experienced fly angler needs challenges from time to time.Trico Assortment