Monthly Archives: July 2026

St. Vrain Creek – 07/08/2026

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Time: 10:15AM – 2:30PM

Location: National forest land

St. Vrain Creek 07/08/2026 Photo Album

I had a great day of fly fishing on Tuesday, and with another open day on Wednesday I committed to another fishing trip. I was reluctant to drive two plus hours as was the case on Tuesday, so I chose a relatively close destination. On Friday, July 3, 2026 I enjoyed quite a bit of success on St. Vrain Creek. The size of the fish was somewhat lacking, but the western green drake hatch was the attractor. Could I hit it again? Read on.

New Lace for My Simms Wading Boot

Wednesday was forecast to be another hot one, and indeed, by the time I quit at 2:30, the temperature spiked into the eighties. I repaired my wading boot BOA lace on Tuesday evening, and I am happy to report that it worked perfectly. Wading in a tight fitting boot is more comfortable that shuffling along in a boot that resisted tightening. For Wednesday’s action I rigged my Orvis Access four weight. This is my lightest fly rod, and I felt it was appropriate for the small stream.

Early Brown Trout

From 10:15AM until 11:45AM I fished a section that was characterized by a lower gradient than the stretch that I visited on Friday, July 3; however, it was still flowing at an above average speed. During the 1.5 hour morning session I failed to land a single fish, and I sensed that the day was going to be a challenge. I began with a peacock hippie stomper and trailed a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. The stomper provoked a couple refusals, and that was the extent of the double dry fly action.

Parachute Green Drake Along the Bank

In a state of disbelief, I changed tactics and adopted a dry/dropper approach. In this instance I used a tan body mini chubby and an ultra zug bug as a single nymph. After failing to interest any stream residents, I suspected that maybe I was not drifting deep enough, so I added a hares ear nymph. Two momentary tugs were all I had to show for my dry/dropper test, and the nips were so subtle, that I may have imagined them.

Aligned

After lunch I decided to move upstream to the high gradient canyon section that rewarded my difficult wading on Friday. I used the change in location as an excuse to switch from my Orvis Access to my Loomis two piece five weight, as I need more backbone to punch casts into the wind.

Nice Spot

When I arrived at my second destination, I decided to try a parachute green drake. After all, my main motivation to return to St. Vrain Creek was my previous success with green drakes. The size 14 parachute green drake fooled three small brown trout to place me on the scoreboard, but then a string of refusals returned me to a state of frustration. I swapped the parachute green drake for a user friendly version, and that imitation created one or two refusals. Maybe the fish wanted a sparser profile? I switched again to a green drake comparadun, and it also prompted a refusal, but then it ceased to be relevant, and it was difficult to track, so I abandoned the green drake gambit.

Steep Gradient

As I mentioned earlier, the wind was ridiculous, so why not try terrestrials? I knotted a classic Chernobyl ant to my line and trailed a Jake’s gulp beetle on an eighteen inch dropper. Once again a couple splashy rises ensued, but the fish were being highly selective.

I abandoned the terrestrial trial and returned to aquatic insects, and in this instance I chose a size 14 yellow stimulator as a yellow sally imitation and a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive-brown body. The olive-brown representation of a caddis failed to connect, and I replaced it with a size 16 light gray comparadun. I landed a decent brown on the stimulator, but then another lull developed. I was about to quit at 2:00PM, when another decent (for St. Vrain Creek) brown smacked the pale morning dun fake. I continued for another thirty minutes and added a sixth brown trout on the stimulator.

Better Focus

At 2:30PM I approached a segment characterized by whitewater, narrow chutes and huge boulders; and I was not up for the task of negotiating the tricky wading and hiking. Some large black clouds were building in the west, so I scrambled through some brush and climbed some rocks and returned to the car.

Such a Pretty Pool

The fish count was only six and the size of the fish was six to nine inches. The temperature was hot, and it was a struggle to entice fish to feed. I never saw a green drake, and my green drake flies worked only marginally. Nevertheless, I was in a stunningly gorgeous canyon environment, and I had the entire place to myself. I did not break any equipment, and I did not injure myself. Any day with those attributes is a success in my book.

Fish Landed: 6

South Platte River – 07/07/2026

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Time: 9:30AM – 2:30PM

Location; Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 07/07/2026 Photo Album

For the week beginning on Monday, July 6, 2026 my calendar was open for Monday through Wednesday. Guess what I did? I went fly fishing on Tuesday. The weather forecast suggested hot temperatures with highs in the nineties in Denver; however, Monday was the hottest of the three days. I played pickleball on Monday morning and remained inside handling chores for the remainder of the day.

Tuesday was forecast to be moderately less hot, so I made it my first fly fishing day of the week. I decided to make a longer drive and chose the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon. Flows out of Eleven Mile Dam were in the 105 CFS range, and I was optimistic that these bottom releases would be enough to buffer the warm air temperatures. As an insurance policy, I prepared thoroughly the night before, and this enabled me to depart by 6:45AM, and the early departure in turn delivered me to my chosen pullout along the South Platte at slightly after 9AM.

Starting Run and Pool

The air temperature was in the upper sixties, as I geared up and fit together my Sage R8 four weight. For the first time I wore a hooded sun shirt that my son and daughter-in-law gave me for Christmas. As I pulled on my wading boots, I discovered the one glitch of the day. The cable lace on the BOA system had broken, and I was unable to tighten the left boot. I had no choice but to tolerate the loose fitting boot, and I now faced the task of repairing the lace on Tuesday evening for a day of fishing on Wednesday.

Stunning Rainbow Trout

The river looked amazing, as it chugged along at 106 CFS, and it was very clear. To begin my day, I deployed a double dry fly system with a peacock hippie stomper and a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. I began casting at 9:30AM, and my earlier than usual start paid dividends, as I landed three brown trout in the first thirty minutes. Two trout nabbed the caddis and the other one smashed the hippie stomper.

Poised Torpedo

Unfortunately the hippie stomper began to provoke refusals and tentative bites, so I moved the caddis to the forward position, removed the hippie stomper, and added a size 16 light gray comparadun. I was anticipating an earlier than usual pale morning dun hatch. This two fly combination produced, and the fish count surged to seven by 10:30AM. The additional four trout that landed in my net nabbed the caddis, and the size of these fish improved over the earlier catches.

Long and Deep Pocket

Between 10:30AM and 11:00AM I elevated the fish count from seven to eleven. I remember thinking to myself that I had eleven by eleven! Again most of the action was on the caddis, but the comparadun contributed a fish or two. Refusals continued to be an issue, but the takes were frequent enough to offset any frustration, and the size of the fish seemed to improve.

Covered in Ink Spots

By the time I broke for lunch at 11:45, the fish count rested on seventeen. Even if I failed to catch more fish, I deemed Tuesday to be a success. The caddis continued to be the main attraction; however, the comparadun accounted for a few, and it seemed the comparadun attracted larger than average fish. I noticed caddis dancing along the banks, and a few sporadic pale morning duns confirmed my hunch that they were present. I also noticed a few yellow sallies. This observation became a factor later in the day.

Home of Beast Brown

After lunch I continued my upstream migration, and the fish continued to mash my flies, although it seemed the gaps between trout interaction lengthened. The fish count mounted to twenty-two, and among this group of landed fish was a stunning eighteen inch brown trout. It was deeply colored in gold with black ink spots. What a specimen!

Pink Cheek

By now the sun was very bright, and the fishing action slowed significantly. The yellow sally sightings prompted me to replace the light gray caddis with a size 14 yellow stimulator, while I retained the light gray comparadun. The original comparadun lost most of its deer hair wing during one of my hook removal procedures, so I replaced it with a fresh version with a thicker wing.

Rock Garden Ahead

For the remainder of the day I once again experienced steady but slow action, and the fish count lifted from twenty-two to twenty-six. It seemed like I attained the best results in the afternoon with long upstream casts and dead drifts. Across and down casts were not effective, and this is very unusual, since I have experienced many days, where this was the most effective technique.

Bankside Home

Tuesday was a banner day. The early start paid off with extensive morning action. The early afternoon was definitely slower, and I executed many more futile casts to places that appeared to be very attractive. The caddis was easily the most effective fly with smaller contributions from the comparadun, stimulator and hippie stomper. The size of the fish was satisfactory, with many trout in the twelve to thirteen inch range. Of course I also registered six smaller brown trout. The eighteen inch bruiser brown was a highlight of the day. It sipped the compardun from a relatively shallow lie just below some overhanging branches. As long as flows remain above 100 CFS, I plan to make additional visits to the South Platte River.

Fish Landed: 26

 

St. Vrain Creek – 07/03/2026

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Time: 10:15AM – 3:00PM

Location: National forest land

St. Vrain Creek 07/03/2026 Photo Album

I fished for a couple hours during our trip to Steamboat Lake State Park, but I was anxious for another outing. We had grandson kid sitting duty on Thursday with another session scheduled for Saturday, so I felt the need to take advantage of an off day from sitting on Friday. I was not up for a long drive, so I surveyed the options near Denver and settled for St. Vrain Creek. It had been awhile, since I fished the St. Vrain, so I was uncertain how my day might develop.

Early Brown Trout

I arrived at my chosen destination by 10:00AM, and I was next to the stream ready to cast by 10:15AM. The air temperature was in the low seventies, and I chose my Orvis Access four weight for the small Front Range creek. I did not have a source for the flows, but the creek was chugging along at a decent pace. Clarity was perfect, and the water felt cold, and I was sure the fish were appreciative.

Attractive Section

My day can be broken down into three segments. Initially I tossed a tan pool toy hopper, a hares ear nymph and an ultra zug bug. This combination resulted in three landed fish with one small brown trout nipping the ultra zug bug and two browns grabbing the hares ear nymph. The pool toy hopper was noticed by the fish, but it only produced looks, refusals and very brief nips. The action stalled, and I broke for lunch stuck on a fish count of three.

Decent Hole

I reacted to the signals from the fish, and I replaced the dry/dropper rig with a double dry configuration that featured a peacock hippie stomper and size 16 light gray deer hair caddis as the trailer. This was the second portion of my day, and the double dry approach commenced after lunch. The caddis produced a pair of trout, and the hippie stomper yielded two, before the action once again stalled with the fish count at seven. Although a few fish nailed the hippie stomper, it created two refusals for every eat, so I swapped it for a size 14 Jake’s gulp beetle. Almost instantly the beetle duped a trout in a nice riffle of moderate depth, and that action was followed in short order by a grab on the light gray deer hair caddis.

Very Nice Pool

The fish count rested at nine by one o’clock, and while moving upstream to a new location, I spotted a western green drake, as it slowly floated above the creek. Would the trout favor a green drake imitation? July 3 is very early for a green drake emergence. I eventually saw a second natural, and that was the total observed on the day, but it was enough to prod me into switching to a green drake dry fly.

High Gradient

I removed the beetle and caddis and knotted a parachute green drake to my line. Clearly the trout were aware of green drakes, as instantly my fly became the object of their desire, but not quite. I endured a flurry of refusals and uncertain nips to the parachute green drake. This lasted for twenty minutes, as I persisted with the parachute style drake knowing that it is typically my top producer during western green drake season.

Prize of the Day

Finally I acknowledged that the paradrake was not what the trout desired, and I switched to a user friendly green drake. This fly contains a foam strip that aids in floatation, and consequently it requires very little in the way of prep and care to maintain its buoyancy on the surface. The user friendly clicked, and I advanced the fish count from nine to sixteen. The bushy drake imitation fooled many fish, but it was also refused. For some reason casts across the creek accompanied with a downstream drift seemed to entice takes. I am not sure whether to attribute this to the fly entering the trout’s window ahead of the line, or whether it was a function of fishing the less pressured opposite bank from the road.

Very Promising

Once again a lull occurred, and the user friendly failed to attract looks or refusals, so I made another change. In this instance I introduced a green drake comparadun size 14, and the third green drake imitation fooled one trout, before I called it quits at 3:00PM.

One of the Better Brown Trout

Friday evolved into a fun day. I landed seventeen brown trout with the last eight attempting to eat a green drake. I love fishing the large bulky green drakes, so hitting a sparse hatch in early July on a seldom fished creek was very rewarding. The day was not without challenges. The section I fished consisted of a steep gradient, and this in turn resulted in some very challenging wading. Actually it was more like rock climbing than wading. The relatively high flows tight to the bank and steep gradient created numerous situations, where I was forced to leave the creek and carefully climb around huge streamside rock obstacles. Many times I was forced to put down my fly rod in order to utilize two hands to pull myself up and over barriers. The fast flows also reduced the number of fish holding lies, and this in turn dictated longer than normal moves between casting spots.

I have three open days next week after the Fourth of July, and I am already considering options. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 17