Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: National forest backcountry

Pine Creek 07/25/2023 Photo Album

After recent trips to the high and clear Eagle River and Arkansas River with decent results, I felt the urge to spend a day on a small high country creek. The high temperature for Tuesday in Denver was projected to reach the upper nineties, so that provided another solid reason for fishing at high elevation. The real question, however, was where to fish. Some of the Front Range freestones such as Boulder Creek and Clear Creek continued to race along at high levels, as did Chalk Creek on Monday, so I needed to exercise caution with my choice. I have a list of high country creeks that I have sampled or that I hope to sample this summer, so I pulled it up on my iPhone notes application. As I scanned down the list, Pine Creek caught my eye. I fished there one other time on 09/08/2021, after Jane and I scouted it via a hike. As luck would have it, there was a water gauge for Pine Creek on the DWR web site, so I checked it, and I was pleased to discover flows in the 30 CFS range. I suspected this was on the high side, but I was also fairly certain that it was manageable.

I arrived at the dirt road that serves the Pine Creek trailhead by 10:15AM, and I was surprised to see five or six cars parked along the rough and rocky road half a mile away from the trail. I decided to snag an open spot near them, since I was convinced that the closer spots were already taken. The hike from my parking space to the start of the trail was only .5 mile, and I always need steps. The air temperature was 77 degrees, as I prepared to fish, and the high was predicted to reach 84 degrees, so I pulled on my wet wading pants and wading booties. Tuesday would be my first wet wading outing of 2023. For a rod I selected my Orvis Access four weight, and this too was the first usage of the small light weight rod for the new year.

A Trout Home

Once I was properly prepared, I hiked for a bit less than a mile, and then I cut across a sagebrush flat and eventually bashed through some trees and bushes to the edge of the river. As I suspected, the creek was flowing along at a rapid rate, and my starting section was particularly intimidating due to the high gradient. I was forced to navigate the brushy bank for quite a distance, before I encountered a pocket that might allow a trout to hold in the heavy flows. Given the tight quarters and heavy flows, I opted to start with a classic Chernobyl ant, as it is nearly entirely comprised of foam and thus capable of floating without a backcast.

One of the Better Trout

Great Spot for This Small Stream

During the forty-five minutes before lunch I hooked and landed three brown trout, and I was pleased with this performance; however, I experienced an abundance of temporary hookups that far exceeded the number of trout that found their way into my net. After lunch I replaced the Chernobyl ant with a peacock body hippie stomper, and this fly remained on my line for the remainder of the afternoon. Actually the hackle on the first hippie stomper unwound after getting chopped by fish teeth, so I replaced it with another exact replica. The hippie stomper converted a few fish, but I felt that I was bypassing some as well, so I added a salvation nymph on a 1.5 foot dropper. These flies remained as my trusted offering for the rest of the day.

Great Spot

By the time I quit at 4:00PM, the fish count rested on twenty-one. As I mentioned, the first three nabbed the Chernobyl ant, and I estimate that five of the remaining eighteen nipped the salvation nymph with the remainder attracted to the hippie stomper. During the last hour, all the landed trout crushed the hippie stomper, and when I returned to my car to remove my flies at the end of the day, I discovered the explanation. The salvation nymph was missing a hook point, and that explained the high escape ratio on nymph takes.

One of the Better Brook Trout

The species of the landed trout was split fairly evenly between brown trout and brook trout. The brown trout were easily the larger fish, and I actually netted a pair of fine thirteen inchers. The other browns were in the eight to eleven inch range. The brook trout on the other hand were quite diminutive, with perhaps two extending to eight inches. They made up for their small size by displaying vibrant colors including bright orange bellies.

Shine On

Locating trout was easily accomplished, as nearly every spot with some depth and a length of slower moving water harbored fish. Wading to a casting position and placing a cast while avoiding the streamside vegetation was another matter. In addition, the trout were quite finicky, and I probably tallied twice as many long distance releases compared to landed fish. Of course, many of these fish were tiny brook trout beneath the six inch cut off required in order to be counted.

Hippie Stomper Craze

Loving the Left Bank

Tuesday was a successful day and a great introduction to high mountain stream fishing for 2023. The quantity of fish landed was more than I expected, and a few twelve inch plus browns kept me interested. I sensed that the ratio of brown trout to brook trout was greater than my previous visit on September 8, 2021. Tangles caused by spinning small fish were an ongoing frustration, but I managed to persist beyond this small adversity. Wading in the ice cold currents of Pine Creek on a hot day was an added bonus.

Fish Landed: 21

Time: 10:30AM – 12:30PM

Location: Between The Numbers and Buena Vista

Arkansas River 07/19/2023 Photo Album

After a couple hours of success on the Arkansas River on Tuesday, I decided to give the river another trial on Wednesday morning. Wednesday was get away day from our cabin, so we were required to pack up and clean dishes and do laundry prior to departure. My wife, Jane, and our friend, Amy, made plans to bike from The Numbers river access area to Buena Vista, and then play pickleball, while I fished, so I settled on fishing a section in between those two end points.

I dropped them off with their bicycles at 9:15, and I then drove to a parking lot at my chosen fishing destination. I quickly pulled on my waders and assembled my Sage R8 four weight, and I was ready to hike along the river path by 10AM. The air temperature was already around 75 degrees, and the sun was quite bright. As I was about to leave the parking lot, Jane and Amy arrived, and we said our final goodbyes, as we went our separate ways.

I ambled along the dirt path for .4 miles, before I decided to cut down a steep bank to the river’s edge, but when I peered down, I spotted the hat of another angler. There was one other fisherman in the stretch that I selected, and he happened to occupy my chosen starting point. What luck!. I reversed direction and hiked back toward the parking lot for .1 mile, and then I carefully stepped down a steep bank. I began my day with the size 8 yellow fat Albert, a prince nymph and a salvation nymph, since the aforementioned combination was effective on Tuesday in the late afternoon. On my second backhand cast I created a woeful tangle, and after some nasty words I spent eight minutes cutting off my flies and redoing the entire configuration. I was about to finally make another cast, when the downstream angler arrived. He asked if I was just starting, and I replied yes. He then asked, if I would mind, if he went around me and dropped in upstream. I told him to go ahead but asked for a forty yard buffer. He continued past me and much to my surprise, he resumed fishing no more than twenty yards upstream.

I once again uttered some unkind words to myself, and I hooked my flies to the rod guide and scaled the steep bank and continued back along the path, until I was .15 mile from the parking area. I was fuming the entire time. I finally engaged in some serious fishing, but the trout did not cooperate. I prospected with the dry/dropper for the next hour, until I approached the parking lot, and all I had to show for my efforts were a few splashy refusals to the fat Albert. The nymphs were totally ignored, so I concluded that the fish were looking toward the surface for their meals, and I decided to shift to a double dry approach. I removed the nymphs and the fat Albert and tied on a peacock hippie stomper and a size 14 light gray caddis. The hippie stomper attracted some attention with a refusal and a very brief temporary hook up, so I made a slight bit of progress in my quest for trout number one.

Promising but Disappointing

I arrived at the path to my car, so I decided to explore the western bank of the Arkansas River. I crossed at a bridge and carefully negotiated my way along the bank in a down river direction for .2 mile. The western side of the river featured some very nice long and wide runs and riffles over moderate depth, and I was guardedly optimistic that I could finally add a landed trout to my scorecard. The first ten minutes resembled the previous hour of fishing, and I spotted a yellow sally or two, so I replaced the hippie stomper with a yellow stimulator. The stimulator failed to attract attention, so I once again modified my offerings, and in this instance I replaced the stimulator with a size 10 Chernobyl ant and trailed a lime green trude. The fat Albert at least attracted looks, so I reasoned that perhaps the larger foam ant might draw interest. Tilt. Another change followed, and I replaced the lime green trude with a size 14 gray deer hair caddis. This finally did the trick, and I hooked and landed an eleven inch brown trout that consumed the caddis. A few more temporary connections with the Chernobyl and caddis combination elevated my confidence.

Best Fish Near Closing Time

I was now approaching the departure time required in order to meet up with Amy and Jane in Buena Vista by 1PM. I continued to work my way upstream along the left bank, and I allocated the most casts to the most promising sections, where the river flowed at a modest speed over moderate depth. During the last twenty minutes, I hooked and landed two additional brown trout, and both snatched the gray caddis. One of the brown trout measured to twelve inches, and that was my best of the day. Did I leave just as the resident trout began their daily feeding binge? 12:30PM is typically within the time frame of increased feeding activity, although I was uncertain whether that was the case on a hot summer day. I will never know the answer to that question, as I hurried up the bank  and returned to the car in order to meet my commitment.

Wednesday was a tough late morning of fly fishing. I began with limited allotted time, and the encounter with the other angler diminished the fishing window even further. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I felt rushed and constrained by the shortened time frame. My next adventure is a scheduled guided float trip on Friday, July 21. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 3

Time: 4:00PM – 5:30PM

Location: Private water

Arkansas River 07/18/2023 Photo Album

Tuesday was another hot day, so I was reluctant to fish in the middle of the day; however, this may have been a mistaken notion. The ladies in our group went on a hike to Ptarmigan Lake, while I agreed to accompany Dave H. to the pickleball courts in Buena Vista. We had a blast mixing in with some local players, and I got so caught up in the action, that I ignored my expressed desire to fish in the late morning. By the time we exhausted ourselves on the courts, it was 11:00AM, so we returned to the rental house for lunch.

I decided to sample the private water on the Arkansas River in the late afternoon, and at 3:15PM I enacted my plan. I pulled on my waders on the porch and fitted together my Sage One four piece and drove to the trailhead. After following a steep trail to the edge of the river, I applied the necessary dose of insect repellant, and I knotted a yellow size 8 fat Albert, prince nymph and salvation nymph to my line. The air was quite warm, and the atmosphere was punctuated by periodic bursts of hot wind. I was not optimistic.

Perfect Trout Refuge During High Flows on the Arkansas River

What a Start!

I began slinging the dry/dropper to all the likely runs and riffles of moderate depth and velocity, and the first ten minutes reinforced my conviction that the fishing was going to be difficult at best. I was surprised to learn that  my preconceived assessments of the fishing were misplaced, when I experienced two momentary hookups with what appeared to be respectable trout. This was a harbinger of the excellent fishing in my future.

Much Solid Water to Prospect

Butter Brown

Over the remaining 1.75 hours I landed six nice brown trout and connected with an additional four escapees that offered fierce resistance to a net visitation. Two trout mashed the fat Albert and the other four were split between the prince and salvation. The most productive approach was a lift or swing at the tail of the drift, although the fat Albert eaters responded to upstream dead drift casts.

Nice Length

Would this same level of success have resulted had I moved my fly fishing timing forward a few hours? I will never know, but perhaps the high flows mitigated the heat enough to make such an eventuality possible. Once again I enjoyed a fun although brief outing on private water, and I was quite impressed.

Fish Landed: 6

Rain on Mt. Princeton

Time: 4:45PM – 6:15PM

Location: Private water

Chalk Creek 07/17/2023 Photo Album

Jane and I, along with a group of friends, rented a cabin near Buena Vista during the week of July 16. On Monday we completed a wild rafting adventure through Browns Canyon which included eight Class III’s and two Class IV’s. Our group narrowly avoided three swimming (falling out of the boat) episodes. Once I returned to our cabin, I decided to explore some fly fishing. I only had a couple hours available to fish, so I chose to fish on some private water on Chalk Creek.

A Promising Deep Pool

I selected my Loomis 5 weight, and I began my fly fishing effort with a size 10 Chernobyl ant, a prince nymph, and a salvation nymph. The air temperature was in the low eighties, but some dark threatening clouds made it seem cooler. The flows were around 95 CFS, and this translated to some very difficult wading. In addition, the viable fish holding spots were scarce.

Butter Colored Brown

Over the course of my 1.5 hours on the creek, I landed twelve trout. Ten were browns, and two were rainbows. Two browns measured around twelve inches, and one of the rainbows reached thirteen inches. The other trout were in the nine to eleven inch range. One trout crushed the fat Albert, and 25% of the others grabbed the prince nymph, with the remainder consuming the salvation. If I could find a spot, where the current was slow enough to allow a trout to hold a position, I more often than not landed a fish.

Very Productive Spot

Surprise Rainbow

My first hookup was easily the best fish of the outing. I dropped the three-fly offering in a small pocket tucked between the bank, a branch and a fast current. After the fly rested for a couple seconds, I lifted and felt the weight of a substantial trout. I managed to guide it out of the bucket hole, but when I leveraged it within five feet of my net, it shot downstream and found a strong, deep current. I allowed line to spin off the reel, and when the run ended, I attempted to recover some line. The trout suddenly twisted its head, and the flies flipped free.

Zoomed in on the Site of the Big Guy

I was quite pleased with twelve fish over 1.5 hours given the elevated flows. Although the size was lacking a bit, constant action late on a hot day was much appreciated. Private water was valued and probably contributed to my Monday success.

Fish Landed: 12

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Big Horn Sheep Canyon

Arkansas River 05/03/2023 Photo Album

Wednesday, May 3 marked my annual attempt to intersect with the Arkansas River caddis hatch. I am pleased to report that I found it; however, I did not succeed in finding the elusive leading edge of the emergence. In 33 years of fly fishing in Colorado, I made the journey to the Arkansas River nearly every spring, but I only hit the sweet spot of the leading edge three times. 2023 was not one of them.

The high temperature was forecast to peak at 73 degrees on Wednesday, and the fly shop reports suggested that the caddis were in the vicinity of Salida, so I made the trip to the river below the popular rafting town. I arrived at my chosen pullout by 10:00AM, and two cars preceded me to the parking area. One contained two fly fishermen, and they departed heading east along US 50, before I was ready. The other car belonged to a gentleman, who was doing some sort of maintenance to the cable that crosses the river across from where my car was parked. I planned to fish upstream, and I only encountered one other fisherman during my five plus hours of fishing. I was quite pleased with this fortunate circumstance.

This Type of Water Produced

The air temperature at the start was around sixty degrees, so I pulled on my raincoat for a bit of added warmth, but as I prepared to fish, I felt overheated, so I removed the rain shell and stuffed it in my backpack. My fly rod of choice was my Sage One five weight, as I anticipated tangling with larger fish, and I liked the additional backbone of the five weight to counter the wind and cover the large river. When I was ready, I headed down the gradual path to the river, and began my caddis hatch adventure. To begin my quest I opted for a dry/dropper configuration with an ice dub tan chubby Chernobyl, size 14 prince nymph and a bright green go2 caddis pupa. I progressed along the left bank of the river for quite a distance and through some usually productive riffles and pockets, but by the time I broke for lunch, I could only claim credit for two temporary hook ups. Along the way I swapped the prince for an ultra zug bug, but the late morning was characterized by a lot of futile casting. I tried to impart movement to the flies by swinging them, twitching the rod tip and jigging; but none of these ploys produced the steady action that I anticipated.

Big River

Before lunch I converted to a deep nymphing set up that featured a Thingamabobber, bright green go2 caddis pupa and a RS2. I drifted these flies through a prime deep run and shelf pool, but once again my efforts were stymied in spite of aggressive strips, twitches and swings. I consumed my lunch at 11:45AM, and upon resumption of fly fishing I changed out my flies. I substituted a 20 incher for the top nymph and replaced the RS2 with a bright green caddis pupa with a dubbed body. On the fourth cast to the entering riffle section of the shelf pool, a nice trout grabbed the bright green sparkle pupa, and I avoided a skunking on May 3. I was seriously starting to believe that a zero fish day was a possibility.

Lots of Caddis

As the morning developed, it was clear that I was among the epicenter of the caddis hatch. The willows and boulders along the bank were absolutely swarming with caddis, and periodically they would flutter above the water and dap. Surely this activity was attracting the attention of the trout. I decided to forsake the deep nymphing, and I adopted the double dry fly approach. I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my leader as the forward fly, and then I added a size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis on an eight inch 5X dropper. The hippie stomper was intended to be the indicator fly that enabled me to track the small caddis through riffles and glare.

Bruiser

Another Fine Arkansas River Brown Trout

These flies remained on my line for the remainder of the afternoon except for a very brief period, when I swapped the caddis for a BWO puff. I would not characterize the afternoon fishing as hot action, but I was able to inflate the fish count from one to ten. Among these nine landed fish were two stunning rainbow trout in the fourteen inch range. The remainder were wild and deeply colored brown trout ranging in length from twelve to fourteen inches. By one o’clock the caddis left their streamside perches and clustered over the water and dapped down periodically. When the wind gusted, it knocked caddis on to the surface of the river, and the trout responded. The surface eats were very subtle, but I stumbled across two areas, where multiple fish exposed themselves via dimples in the surface chop, and I was able to leverage these observations to land five trout. The other four trout resulted from persistent blind casting, and two of these net dwellers actually smashed the hippie stomper.

Targeting the Seam Below the Exposed Rock

Caddis Macro

Yikes. Surprise.

Deep slow moving pools and slicks behind large exposed rocks were not productive. My best success occurred in long choppy riffles and troughs with four feet of depth. Nine fish in three hours represents a slightly above average catch rate, but the action was steady, although it required an abundant amount of long casts into the breeze. One of the surprise eaters that resulted from prospecting was a fourteen inch brown trout, and this angler was extremely pleased to see this prize curled in his net.

Foam Is Home

Lovely Spot Pattern

By 4 o’clock the caddis returned to their streamside habitat, and very few adults touched the surface. I covered .5 mile of the river, and the fish count extended to double digits, so I reeled up my line and hooked the caddis adult to the hook guide. Did I achieve my goal of hitting the 2023 grannom caddis hatch? Yes I did, but it was not the crazy drag your fly and catch a fish on every cast bonanza that characterizes the leading edge emergence. Achieving double digits on Wednesday required constant upstream movement, keen observation to notice subtle rises, and solid water reading skills. I drove six hours in order to log 5.5 hours of fishing, but landing ten quality trout made it worthwhile.

Fish Landed: 10

Arkansas River 04/07/2023 Photo Album

Finally an extended streak of nice weather encouraged me to seek out another day of fly fishing. High temperatures in the upper sixties on Friday, April 7, 2023 translated to fifties on the Arkansas River and South Platte River. I chose the Arkansas River because the ArkAngler’s report stated that blue wing olives were active and hatching in the Salida area.

I departed at 7:40AM, and this enabled me to pull in to my favorite pullout along US 50 by 11:15PM, and the temperature registered 46 degrees. Yes, if you do the math, you can determine that my usual 2 hour and 45 minute drive took 3 hours and 25 minutes. I sat in the first position of a long line of traffic for twenty minutes while waiting for a flagman to release us at the top of Kenosha Pass. I was not happy.

A Good Place to Start

I pulled on my North Fork light down coat and my raincoat for a windbreaker, and then I rigged my Sage R8 four weight for a day of casting. Two anglers ambled past me, while I was preparing to fish, and I held my breath that they would not head toward my chosen starting point. They did not, so I crossed the river and hiked downstream, although a guide with an inflatable raft was sitting on top of the nice deep run and shelf pool that usually serves as my starting point. I killed some time rigging my line with a New Zealand strike indicator, split shot, olive-black Pat’s rubberleg and sparkle wing RS2; and then I prospected a nice trough behind an exposed rock with no success.

Yielded a Trout

By the time I was ready to move on, the raft had disappeared down the river, so I circled around on the adjoining floodplain and positioned myself to fish the normally productive deep run and shelf pool. After ten minutes of unproductive casting, the indicator dipped, and I found myself attached to a feisty thirteen inch brown trout that gobbled the RS2. I snapped some photos and savored my good fortune and resumed my upstream migration.

Uncoiled

I experienced a momentary hook up in the short run, where I began, when I lifted the flies to recast in front of a submerged rock. The wide deep run and riffles below the upstream island looked very attractive, but I was unable to generate any interest, so I continued along the main branch of the river on the south side of the island. Near the top I once again connected for a split second with a fish, but it escaped very quickly, and it almost felt like it was foul hooked.

I retreated back to the downstream point of the island, and by now I could see the two fishermen that hiked past me at the car, but they were seventy yards away. The north branch of the river next to the island was very low as a result of flows in the in the 200 CFS range, so I decided to modify my approach to a softer presentation. I removed the split shot and the two nymphs, and then I knotted an olive hippie stomper to my line and dropped the beadhead sparkle wing RS2 below it. I left the tuft of neon chartreuse yarn that served as an indicator in place, as it was near the end of the fly line, and I felt it was far enough away from my flies to not affect the trouts’ interest. The ploy worked to some degree, as I landed a second trout, when it grabbed the trailing RS2, as it drifted along the bubble line near the head of the pool. I also generated two refusals to the hippie stomper, but that was the extent of the action in the usually productive north channel.

Yucca Clump

I advanced up the river above the island and stayed with the dry/dropper for a bit, and in a relatively shallow pool along the right bank, I managed to land a small brown trout in the eight inch range. This little guy also nipped the RS2. I was gaining confidence, but then I approached a long section with faster riffles and a few pockets, and the stomper/RS2 combination did not seem appropriate for exploring the deeper and faster water, so I once again made a switch. I reverted to the indicator (which remained in place), split shot, and a 20 incher nymph and RS2.

20 Incher

Sparkle Wing RS2

With this deeper water rig I decided to cherry pick the most attractive spots that featured depth and a slower current. My strategy seemed sound, but the fish did not agree, and I moved all the way back up the river to my crossing point with nary a fish to add to the count. At this point I crossed the river and climbed the bank and then dropped down to the juicy riffle section just upriver from the high rock wall and pool below my parking space. I began covering the wide riffle over four foot of depth and a very rocky bottom, and after ten minutes the indicator paused, and I set the hook into another fine thirteen inch Arkansas River brown trout. This healthy fish nailed the 20 incher, and I was fairly confident that the promising riffles, pockets and deep runs along the left bank would produce more action.

Nice One

Alas, my confidence was misplaced. During the 2:30 to 3:30 time period two circumstances commenced. The wind, which was bothersome due to intermittent gusts up until the early afternoon, began to blast down the canyon on a more consistent basis, and this made punching casts an arm-challenging event. Also during this time frame some heavy clouds blocked the sun, and I noticed a sparse hatch of blue winged olives, as they tumbled along the surface of the river. They never rested in one spot long enough to catch the interest of the fish, and consequently, I never spotted a single rise. I was, however, convinced that my RS2 would represent a tasty subsurface treat, but that thought was misplaced.

I reeled up my line and hooked the RS2 to the guide and clambered up a very steep bank to the highway at 3:30 and called it a day. Three hours and fifteen minutes of fly fishing yielded four trout. Two were fine thirteen inch chunks. I made the trip seeking the BWO hatch, and I found it, but I never intercepted the surface feeding that I was anticipating, and the nymph action was very slow. On the plus side I mostly had the river to myself, and my Sage R8 performed admirably. With another five days of nice weather ahead of me, I will continue to search for blue wing olive hatches in Colorado.

Fish Landed: 4

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Downstream from Salida

Arkansas River 09/28/2022 Photo Album

After a mildly disappointing fly fishing day on Tuesday (great wildlife viewing), I decided to make the long drive to the Arkansas River. The weather was projected to be very nice with high temperatures in the low seventies and clear skies and sunshine for most of the day. In fact, the lack of cloud cover was a concern, as I planned my fly fishing adventure. The Arkansas River is primarily a brown trout fishery, so spawning interest overshadowing feeding was another issue, but I concluded that the larger and warmer river at lower elevation meant spawning season was later in October. Being able to park next to the river, and the avoidance of a lengthy hike also appealed to my sensibilities on Wednesday.

Fish Number One Emerged Along the Right Edge in This Run

The drive to the Arkansas River took three hours and fifteen minutes, as I overcame heavy traffic on I70 in Denver and a slow moving dump truck during the early stages of my climb over Kenosha Pass. I also had the misfortune to endure two areas with road construction, where I was forced to stop and wait to funnel through one lane of traffic. A final hurdle to my arrival was a detour from Fairplay to Hartsel and then west to Trout Creek Pass. A trip that normally requires two hours and forty-five minutes extended to three hours and fifteen minutes. This angler was not happy.

Nice Shelf Pool

The dashboard digital display registered a temperature in the low sixties at the start of my fly fishing venture, and the thermometer probably peaked in the low seventies with minimal cloud cover. The flows were 352 CFS at Salida, and water clarity was excellent.

Love the Shadow

Tilted to View Spot Pattern

Two other anglers arrived at my chosen pullout before me, and as I prepared to fish, they crossed the river and headed downstream. This was my anticipated destination, and I debated hiking along the highway and crossing at a lower point above the island to cut them off, but in the end I relented and crossed the river to the north shore and worked my way upstream. I covered .8 miles between 11:15 and 3:30, and I managed to land five brown trout. The catch rate was abysmal, however, all five trout were quite nice. One was around twelve inches, but the others approximated fourteen to fifteen inches, and they were quite chunky.

Golden Brown

Perfect Trout Water

I used my Sage R8 four weight, and I cast a dry/dropper for most of my time on the water. A tan size 8 pool toy hopper was the featured surface fly, until I switched to a peacock hippie stomper for the final forty-five minutes. For nymphs I cycled through an iron sally, salvation nymph, hares ear nymph, and 20 incher. The hippie stomper was accompanied by a size 16 muggly caddis with a tannish body for the final forty-five minutes. The first trout landed grabbed the iron sally, and then the next one fell for a salvation nymph. The hares ear attracted the twelve inch brown, and the muggly caddis was the target of the final two brown trout.

Prize

Double Dry Water

I spent the day making a ridiculous number of relatively long casts, and I covered a significant amount of river in order to attain my five fish count. The double dry combination seemed to be the most effective, and I probably should have experimented with it sooner. Had I worked the north bank with the double dries and confined my casts to areas with moderate depth and medium current speed, I suspect I would have generated more success. The clear sky, bright sun and lack of any discernable insect activity probably explained my slow day.

In spite of the low catch rate, the quality of my catch was outstanding, and the warmth was a welcome change after several chilling experiences.

Fish Landed: 5

Time: 4:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: McPhelemy Park

Buena Vista Pond 07/21/2022 Photo Album

I met Jane on Wednesday at McPhelemy Park in Buena Vista after fly fishing on the Arkansas River, and we left her bike locked to a bike rack, while we continued on to our AirBnB. After finding our lodging for the next few nights, we returned to the park, and I suggested we do a bike ride around Buena Vista. I spotted some sections of lower Cottonwood Creek before the confluence with the Arkansas River that were marked as public on my river map, and I wanted to explore the area and accessibility to the stream. When we returned to McPhelemy Park, I cycled around the perimeter of the small pond, and I observed quite a few rising fish. I filed this observation away for future reference.

After whitewater rafting on Thursday morning, our gang returned to the AirBnB, and Jane and Amy S. decided to take a short bike ride. I jumped on this opportunity to return to McPhelemy Park in case the trout were once again hungry. Upon my arrival I quickly assembled my Sage four weight and opted to wade wet. I marched a short distance to the western edge of the pond just below some overhanging branches from a large tree. Almost immediately I spotted several fish in a regular feeding pattern. I did not see an obvious food source responsible for the steady feeding, so I plucked a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive-brown body from my fly box and tied it to the end of my leader.

Caddis Eater

I flicked a few casts toward the area below the trees and gradually lengthened my line, until the fly fluttered down twenty yards from the bank. Thwack! A fish rose and inhaled my tiny caddis, and an energetic fight ensued. Eventually I guided a fat thirteen inch rainbow trout into my net. The fly was taken fairly deeply, but I was able to remove it with my hemostats without injury. After I released the trout, I resumed my casting, but three young children were playing on a SUP just above the tree limb area, and their splashing and creation of waves put the fish down. I supplemented my offering with a hippie stomper trailing the adult caddis and persisted in my pursuit of trout, until I was accosted by a young man, who asked if he could borrow one of my flies.

I was quite impressed with the boldness of the youth, so I paused to examine his set up. He was slinging a spinning rod with a squirmy worm knotted to the line, but the line was not monofilament. I removed a length of tippet from my spool and extended it for twelve inches from the bend of the squirmy and then attached a bright green caddis pupa. I went back to my spot and managed to temporarily connect with another trout, but it jumped high above the surface and slid free of the small caddis. I glanced to the right and noticed that my new friend, Seth from Texas, dug into his tackle box and pulled out a small bobber. This gave me a new idea, so I asked Seth to cut off the squirmy worm and swivel, and I then proceeded to tie a surgeon’s knot that extended monofilament from the spinning line. Seth clamped the bobber to the running line, and I knotted a size 16 caddis to the end of the monofilament. Seth was now the proud owner of a bubble set up. I moved back to the area with the branches, and Seth began lobbing casts to the middle of the lake fifteen yards below me. As I executed several more casts, I watched Seth through my peripheral vision, and suddenly he lifted the rod, and I spotted some wild thrashing behind the float. Seth hooked and landed a trout on the caddis and bubble system that I set up for him. He was beyond excited, and I was admittedly a bit pumped myself.

Lots of Splashing

I decided to move north of the tree branches and the thrashing kids, so I circled around and left Seth to his solo efforts. I told him that he could keep the fly. I next perched next to the lake just below some protruding exposed dead sticks, and once again a few fish revealed their presence with some sporadic rises. A dad and three sons occupied the opposite bank and the area just above me, where Cottonwood Creek entered the pond, so I was constrained a bit in my ability to move. I remained in this general area for the remainder of my time on the lake, and I managed another temporary hook up. I also replaced the adult caddis with a zebra midge larva, beadhead hares ear, and emerald caddi pupa, but the dry/dropper ploy never produced results on the Buena Vista Pond.

Looking For Rises

I landed one nice thirteen inch rainbow in one hour of fly fishing, and it was a respectable thirteen inch fish. In addition, I hooked and failed to land three additional fish, but I assisted Seth in his foray into bubble fishing. I only had an hour to spare, and I was quite entertained by the Buena Vista pond. The small body of water was the home of multiple activities, and I was a bit frustrated by the alternative commotions, but it was fun nonetheless.

Fish Landed: 1

Time: 10:00AM – 11:15AM; 12:15PM – 2:30PM

Location: The Numbers and The Tunnel area

Arkansas River 07/20/2022 Photo Album

I decided to try a new section of the Arkansas River called The Numbers on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. The fishing map indicated that lots of public access was available in that area.

It was sunny and warm by 10AM, when I began to fish, but after disappointing results on Tuesday, which I attributed to hot weather, I hoped that an earlier start would increase my odds of success. I parked at a pullout where The Numbers entry road branched off to a private bridge, but another angler arrived, as I was arranging my gear. I was not keen on  a game of hopscotch, so I asked Ladd (the other man’s name) if there were parking spots along the entry road to The Numbers boat launch, and he replied that there were, but a pass was required. I told him I had a state parks pass, and he said he did not, so I departed and drove another .3 mile to a small gravel pullout.

The Numbers

I put together my Loomis five weight and hiked across some sagebrush to the edge of the river. The Arkansas was flowing along swiftly and crystal clear. I rigged with a yellow fat Albert, Pat’s rubber legs, and an iron sally and covered .8 mile of river, until I reached the parking lot at 11:15AM. Along the way I swapped the rubber legs for an emerald caddis pupa and moved the iron sally to the upper position. That combination failed to click, and eventually I traded the caddis pupa for a salvation nymph. All I had to show for my 1.25 hour morning effort was a pair of looks from some brown trout. I did not care for the river structure in the area, as it was mostly wide with uninteresting shallow riffles and long and fast sweeping glides and runs.

Fireweed

When I climbed the bank to the parking lot, I was alerted to a storm cloud in the southwest by a flash of lightning, so I quickly hoofed back on the road to my car. I decided to head south to the tunnels area, and I encountered wet and muddy road conditions, thus evidence that the rainstorm preceded me. I parked beyond the last tunnel and ate my lunch, and then I launched my second foray on to the Arkansas River. I was perplexed by the fact that a week earlier on the same river I enjoyed a twenty-five fish day on a float trip. The section was ten river miles south, but it did not seem like that would make a huge difference.

Finally

And Another

I persisted with the fat Albert, iron sally, and salvation nymph; as these flies, particularly the nymphs, were almost the exact same flies that my guide utilized with great success a week earlier. I spent the next two plus hours prospecting the ten yards of water along the bank, and I managed to avoid a skunking by landing three brown trout in the twelve inch range. Two of the aggressive feeders nabbed the salvation, and the other grabbed the iron sally. All three fish materialized from deep and slower moving areas next to large exposed boulders, and the action occurred in the first hour of the afternoon.

Promising

The second hour could be characterized as a long period of futility. I marched along the right side of the river and dropped casts in all the likely spots, but the fish were in a state of constant lockjaw. Several brief rain showers kept the temperature somewhat in check, so I cannot blame a bright clear sky. I saw virtually no insects on the river except for some small caddis on the bushes; whereas, yellow sallies and pale morning duns were present in decent numbers during the float trip a week prior. I attribute my disappointing results on Wednesday to the lack of trout food on the Arkansas River.

Fish Landed: 3

Time: 1:30PM – 4:00PM

Location: Railroad Bridge area

Arkansas River 07/19/2022 Photo Album

Jane and I reserved a campsite at Railroad Bridge and made the drive from Denver on July 19, 2022. We departed at 10:00AM and arrived at 12:30PM. The sun was bright, and it was quite warm, so after I ate my lunch, we erected the canopy to create some much needed shade. I quickly pulled together my fishing gear including my Loomis two piece five weight, and I set off down the trail to the river.

Ready to Go

During the afternoon a few passing clouds provided some breaks from the high sun, but direct sunshine mostly ruled the skies. The river was in superb condition at 700 CFS, and extreme clarity was apparent. I began with a tan size 8 pool toy hopper and then added an iron sally and salvation nymph. My first two bouts of action were refusals to the hopper, but eventually I began to connect with fish. From 1:30PM until 3:00PM I landed seven trout, all browns. One fine specimen measured twelve inches, and another pair registered eleven, while the remainder were in the six to ten inch range. The pool toy duped one trout, two favored the salvation, and the remainder grabbed the iron sally.

Not Bad

I noticed a few fluttering caddis on the streamside vegetation; but, otherwise the river seemed devoid of aquatic insect life. For the final thirty minutes I converted to a double dry that included a peacock hippie stomper and a yellow stimulator. The stimulator and stomper produced a few temporary connections, but none advanced to my net. I swapped the stimulator for a size gray deer hair caddis and a size 14 purple haze, but none of the dry flies delivered.

Pocket Water Everywhere

Seams and depth next to fast water and rocky structure provided the best results. Many promising spots failed to deliver, and the fishing was average at best. I worked hard for seven fish in 2.5 hours. At 3:50PM I stopped to deploy my stream thermometer, and after being submerged for two minutes, it registered 64 degrees. This was near the upper limit of safe fishing, and it gave me a sound reason to call it quits at 4:00PM. It also perhaps explains my lack of action during the last forty-five minutes. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I plan to fish the Arkansas again, but an earlier start is probably in my future.

Fish Landed: 7