Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Downstream boundary of the “private water” to the road near Bryse Gaboury’s lot

Fish Landed: 8

Brush Creek 07/06/2014 Photo Album

Before Jane and I arrived at Eagle Ranch, Dave G. called the owner of the “private water” and reserved Sunday, 7/6/14 for our personal enjoyment. Dave has cultivated a positive relationship with the owners of the private water by being respectful and providing occasional gifts as appreciation for allowing him access. The private water is roughly a .5 mile stretch within Eagle Ranch, and it contains numerous bends and pools as it winds its way through a large meadow. The combination of bends and limited access make this a very desirable piece of water to fish, and I’m always grateful that Dave G. invites me to join him.

Once again we asked Jane to drop us off near the beginning of the private water, and we began walking down a path at around 11AM. I elected to begin with a Chernobyl ant and a beadhead hares ear plus a salvation nymph, but I covered quite a bit of water without landing any fish. Because of the lack of action, I switched the salvation nymph for an emerald caddis pupa, and in an eddy, I landed my first fish. It was a brown trout that measured approximately twelve inches long.

A Brightly Colored Brush Creek Brown on Sunday

Next I found myself at the bottom of a huge deep pool where the stream makes a ninety degree bend. I tossed several casts to the lower end of the pool and landed two small browns that couldn’t resist the caddis pupa. Perhaps I stumbled on to a winning fly.

Dave G. and I found ourselves across from each other, and he informed me that a purple San Juan worm had produced nearly all of his fish. I didn’t have any purple worms in my possession, so I tried a brown and light pink version to no avail. Next I added a red rock worm such as the variety that produced well on the North Platte River, but this also failed to attract any fish. Eventually I gave up on my worm patterns since apparently the fish were selective to purple, and I tied on a bright green caddis pupa.

Several Small Browns Came from This Deep Bend Pool

The green caddis pupa produced a rainbow when I twitched my flies next to an undercut bank, and then I landed a small brown before the Brush Creek Road bridge. Above the bridge I landed another 12 inch brown on the hares ear nymph after a momentary hook up and refusal to the Chernobyl ant. The water above the bridge was quite fast and straight with minimal places to fish, but I did manage to hook and play a large brown in one of the few attractive spots. Unfortunately after quite a tussle, the fish managed to get in the fast current, and as I took my first step to follow it downstream, the fish made a sudden move and broke off three flies; a Chernobyl ant, hares ear nymph, and salvation nymph.

I continued on and managed one more small brown and then reached an angled pool near Bryse Gaboury’s lot. As Dave G. was quite a distance downstream, I took the time to switch my floating line for a sink tip and tied on a sculpzilla that I’d purchased for Argentina. The big ugly olive concoction produced three follows from small fish, but none chose to close the deal and bite on the big streamer.

Wildflowers Along Brush Creek

I somehow managed to land eight fish, but they were mostly small with only a couple extending to 12 inches. Overall it was a slow day, but it was still fly fishing in Colorado, and that is always fun.