Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM
Location: National Forrest
Beaver Creek 08/29/2023 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 reinforced my love for Beaver Creek. I first fished this gorgeous creek on September 2, 2022 with great success, but a return trip in early August yielded an average day in terms of quantity and size of trout. I decided to give it another trial, but prior to making the drive I studied my post from September 2, 2022. During that day I experienced success with a pool toy hopper and salvation nymph early and then added to the fish count with a hippie stomper and the same salvation nymph in the afternoon. Why not follow the same recipe on August 29, 2023?
Ready to Begin
I arrived at the trailhead parking lot in the morning, and the dashboard thermometer registered 69 degrees. By the time I returned to the car at 4:30PM, the temperature had risen to the mid-eighties. It was a hot one and a good day to immerse oneself in cold mountain flows. I assembled my Sage R8 four weight and hiked to my desired starting point, where I configured my line with a size 8 tan pool toy hopper, a salvation nymph, and a sunk ant. This was the exact lineup that served me well during the morning component of my September 2, 2022 visit. Guess what? It worked again!
Hopper Scores
Deep Pockets
Between 11:00AM and 11:45AM I landed six brown trout, and these were not tiny tiddlers barely over six inches. Several of the morning net occupants stretched the measuring tape to thirteen inches. Five of the trout landed before lunch crushed the hopper, and these were not timid takes. The trout rose and sucked in the fake grasshopper with confidence.
Cascading Pools
Success
Perfect Pool
After lunch the same flies continued to perform, and I doubled the count to twelve, with four gobbling the pool toy and two nipping the salvation. I even had a double, when a twelve inch brown snagged the salvation and a seven incher slurped the pool toy. By 12:45PM the action slowed to a snail’s pace, and I began experiencing refusals and temporary hook ups. For some reason the trout no longer savored the hopper. This lull continued for thirty minutes, at which point I replaced the pool toy with a peacock hippie stomper, while allowing the salvation to remain in place.
Two Fish at a Time
Ink Spot Brown Trout
The move was slow to have an impact, but eventually it clicked, and I elevated the fish count from twelve to thirty, before I called it quits. During this afternoon trout catching session, 75% of the takes favored the salvation and one fourth gulped the hippie stomper.
Salivating
Submerging
The fun on Beaver Creek returned, and I fished with confidence from pool to pool. The average size of the fish was probably eleven inches, but several chunky thirteens and twelves were part of the mix. The tail of deep pools were prime spots, and I could generally rely on those locations for success.
Impressive Pool
Whew, Another Nice One
What a day! I landed thirty brown trout, and many were in the twelve to thirteen inch range. The scenery was spectacular, the water was cold and crystal clear, and I had the place to myself. It is hard to imagine a more perfect fly fishing outing.
Fish Landed: 30