Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: A mile or two downstream from Mayhem Gulch

Clear Creek 10/10/2016 Photo Album

Normally I subscribe to the theory that change is a constant in fly fishing, but today October 10 was nearly a repeat of yesterday on Clear Creek. The high temperature on Monday was in the low seventies and slightly warmer than Sunday, but the wind was a much greater factor, and in fact when I arrived next to the stream, I almost returned home, as the wind whistled by my ears and rustled the streamside vegetation. Fortunately I persisted, and the wind velocity subsided a bit after a rough first thirty minutes. The flows and clarity remained a constant, but I chose to fish a stretch of the creek that was approximately two miles east of the segment that I covered on Sunday.

Perfect Water

Splotchy Pattern on This First Landed Fish

After I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight, I stuffed my lunch in my backpack, and I found a relatively easy path to the edge of the creek. Similar to Sunday I knotted a size 12 peacock Jake’s gulp beetle to my line, and I began casting to the likely fish holding spots along the right bank that bordered US 6. I did not wait long before a small brown trout rocketed to the surface and smashed the impostor beetle. I continued prospecting the edge of the creek from 11:30 until 3PM, and I netted sixteen trout during this time period. The fish count included three small rainbows, and the remainder were feisty brown trout. Similar to Sunday I endured numerous refusals and temporary hook ups, but these frustrations occurred with much less frequency.

The Area in Front of the Log Produced

The significant adverse factors were the wind, tricky lighting and the loss of two gulp beetles over the course of my progression up Clear Creek. The first lost beetle was the victim of an errant backcast that wrapped the fly and leader around a dead tree limb. I initially broke the leader at a surgeon’s knot, and then I actually succeeded in knocking the fly free with the aid of my wading staff, but a gust of wind swept the leader and fly past my head, and I was unable to spot it in the rushing creek. The second beetle duped a decent trout, but then it broke free, and a quick inspection revealed that the knot may have been nicked or abraded.

Pretty Brown Trout

For most of the afternoon the lighting along the right bank made following the beetle very difficult in spite of the small orange indicator strip. I compensated by wading toward the center of the stream a bit and then cast back toward the bank. This worked in some places, but inevitably there were reaches where I was unable to wade into an advantageous position.

Shelf Pool Screams Trout

Amazingly the technique that produced the most fish was utilizing a downstream drift along the opposite bank. When I spotted a section of slow moving slack water of significant depth along the south bank, I positioned myself near the top and across from the target stretch. I cast across and made frequent steady mends to offset drag, and I was shocked how often a nice brown trout would move two or even three feet, as it followed the beetle and eventually snatched it near the lip of the pool. The fish put on quite a show, and I loved the visual effect of a streaking fish following and crushing its victim. My percentage of landed fish using this approach far surpassed my success rate when casting upstream or up and across.

Perhaps Best Ever Clear Creek Catch

At around 2 o’clock on one of these downstream drifts I connected with a larger than average brown trout. This battler put quite a bend in the five weight, and when I finally scooped it in my net, I estimated that it was the largest trout that I ever landed from the small front range stream. I guessed that it measured somewhere between twelve and thirteen inches.

A Relatively Rare Rainbow Trout

Once again I enjoyed a fun action packed day on Clear Creek. Although the fish are relatively small, they are not easily fooled, and I love the challenge of reading the water types. Clear Creek Canyon offers nine or ten miles of public access, and quite a bit of the tumbling creek remains to be explored. A fun day of fishing on October 10 is welcome and highly appreciated.

Fish Landed: 16

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: MM261.5 and then upstream .5 mile

Clear Creek 10/09/2016 Photo Album

Sunday was forecast to be a gorgeous fall day with high temperatures spiking in the seventies in Denver, so I once again felt the itch to exercise my arm and toss some flies. I experienced an enjoyable day on Clear Creek on Wednesday October 5, so I decided to repeat the short drive to the canyon. I purposely avoid fishing on weekends since I reached retirement status, but I made an exception on Sunday, so I could take advantage of the dwindling nice weather.

Pretty Day on Clear Creek

I arrived at the second parking lot along the newly opened Peak to Plains Trail at 10:30AM, and after assembling my Loomis five weight rod, I walked along the shoulder of US 6 until I was .2 miles below the pedestrian bridge and just above mile marker 261.5. The temperature was in the mid to upper fifties as I tied a size 12 peacock dubbed Jake’s gulp beetle to my line. The creek was ideal with flows in the 45 cfs range, and the clarity was perfect. I could see a fisherman hovering near the bridge, but he seemed fairly stationary, and I planned on circling around him if necessary to continue my upstream progression.

I began casting the beetle along the right bank, and in a short amount of time I witnessed several refusals and a momentary hook up. I began to evaluate a fly change and also rued the likely commencement of bad karma, when a small brown trout slashed at and consumed the beetle. This put a momentary halt on my negative thoughts, and I focused anew on the process of plopping the large beetle in the ten foot band along the north edge of the stream.

Deep Coloration on This Slightly Larger Brown Trout

Between 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock I landed twelve small trout on the beetle. At one point the large foam terrestrial broke off, and I caught myself casting a line with no fly on it. I felt rather foolish, but I quickly remedied the situation and knotted a size 14 version of the same beetle to my line and resumed. I am still not sure what caused the fly to separate, but I can only guess that the line acquired an abrasion or the knot was faulty.

New Pedestrian Bridge Ahead

After a few more fish I approached the pedestrian bridge, and while some spectators paused to observe, I landed a pair of small trout. A young lady queried me as to what I caught, and I replied that it was a rainbow trout. Somehow a section of the small narrow foam indicator on the size 14 beetle broke off, and I was struggling to follow the tiny remaining spot, so I exited the creek below the bridge, and returned to the car to pick up three new peacock beetles.

Huge Head Spots on This One

From 1:00 until 2:30 I worked my way upstream from the bridge, until I finally called it a day, so I could catch the second half of the Broncos’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The water upstream from the bridge was not as attractive to me, as the creek bed widened, and this created more wide shallow areas and reduced the number of attractive deep pockets and runs along the bank. Clear Creek brown trout love the cover provided by the great quantity of streamside boulders along the bank.

The Productive Jake’s Gulp Beetle

Sunday was a fun day. Indecision over fly choice was never a factor, as I plopped a size 12 or 14 beetle the entire time. The fly was not perfect as evidenced by the many refusals and temporary connections, but it worked often enough to yield seventeen fish, and the anticipation of a rising fish sustained my interest for three and a half hours. If only the Broncos could have generated similar success on their Sunday endeavor on the gridiron.

Fish Landed: 17

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Mayhem Gulch

Clear Creek 10/05/2016 Photo Album

After spending more time driving than fishing on Monday and then engaging in a battle with a windstorm, I did not wish to commit another huge amount of travel time to my fly fishing outing on Wednesday. I adopted a standard policy of checking not only the forecast of temperature and precipitation, but I also included wind speed in my review. With South Boulder Creek now raging at 210 cfs, and the Big Thompson farther than I wished to drive, Clear Creek became an obvious choice. The flows remained at a respectable 45 cfs, and the high temperature for Idaho Springs was projected to be in the upper 50’s. My weather application indicated that wind velocity would remain in the high single digits.

I read my blog posts for two ventures to Clear Creek in early October in 2015 and 2014, and the documented success convinced me that the creek west of Golden, CO was the place to be. I read that the Peaks to Plains Trail segment in the western portion of the canyon opened in July, so I convinced Jane to tag along. She planned to hike the full Peaks to Plains Trail, while I attempted to entice Clear Creek trout with my personally tied flies.

Typical Water

Because of the cold front that moved through Denver on Monday, I delayed our departure until 10:15AM, and at that time we made the drive to the Mayhem Gulch parking area in the western section of Clear Creek Canyon. Mayhem Gulch is located at the eastern end of the newly opened trail. I wore my fleece sweater and raincoat for added warmth, and I assembled my Orvis Access four weight for the relatively small but swift stream. When Jane was ready, we hiked through the tunnel beneath busy US 6, and then we proceeded west on the new trail on the south side of the creek. After a fifteen minute walk, I climbed over the cable fence and descended over some large rocks to the edge of the creek.

Almost Charcoal Body

To begin my quest for cold water inhabitants of the rushing stream, I tied a size 10 Chernobyl ant to my line and began to cast to likely fish holding locations. Initially I experienced several refusals to the large foam attractor, so I hedged my bets, and I added a beadhead hares ear nymph. Over the next half hour I managed to land two small brown trout that slurped the Chernobyl. A fifty/fifty split between refusals and hooked fish in the morning mirrored my experience over the remainder of my fishing time on Wednesday.

Beautiful Scene

After lunch I continued working my way upstream, as I crossed back and forth from north to south and vice versa. During this time period I incremented the fish count from two to six, and this included several small rainbow trout that snatched the trailing hares ear nymph. Oddly of the fourteen fish that I landed on Wednesday, five were rainbow trout, and all but one ate the nymph. Conversely nearly all the brown trout smashed the Chernobyl ant. After an exceptionally long streak of refusals, I recalled my 2015 blog post, when I resorted to a Jake’s gulp beetle and enjoyed a boost in my catch rate. I decided to repeat the strategy.

Big Appetite

The beetle occupied my line for thirty minutes and accounted for two brown trout, but I concluded that it lagged the Chernobyl in fish attraction capability. In addition it was much more difficult to track in the shadows and glare that predominated the early afternoon. I reverted to a different Chernobyl ant since the original version lost its hind legs. Once again I added the beadhead hares ear, and I resumed my upstream migration in a similar zig zag pattern.

Handsome Rainbow Trout

Between 1:15 and 3PM I landed six additional trout, and the Chernobyl dominated the action. One surprise catch was an eleven inch rainbow that crushed the oversized ant imitation . Most of my afternoon success occurred along the edges of the creek, so I moved rather quickly and ignored the water between the banks. The sun peeked out for a bit during this time, and the wind subsided, and I enjoyed a momentary respite. Unfortunately the weather break was short lived, and some large gray clouds blew in the from the west to create more poor lighting.

Wednesday was a fun day and a nice comeback from my frustrating day on the South Platte River on Monday. My confidence is on the rise, and I am already planning another outing on Thursday, although the weather pattern is expected to continue on the cool side.

Fish Landed: 14

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Between Tunnel 1 and 2.

Clear Creek 09/01/2016 Photo Album

Clear Creek continues to be an enigma to this fisherman. On Auguist 5 I visited the small stream near Idaho Springs, and I experienced a disappointing day, but I attributed it to the rafting traffic. I vowed that I would not return until the flows dropped to the 50 – 80 cfs range, as I felt that the rafting trips would no longer be viable at that level. On August 19 I revisited a section in Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden, and my persistence was rewarded with a fifteen fish day. On this delightful outing the fish responded to Jake’s gulp beetle in a big way.

The August 19 trip gave me the confidence to journey to Clear Creek once again on September 1. I fished the Colorado River on August 31, and I did not wish to undertake another extensive drive, so the 45 minute spin to Clear Creek appealed to me. When I departed my house at 10AM, the sky was overcast, but before I arrived at the pullout across route six from Clear Creek, the sun burned off the haze and clouds. In fact, the weather developed into fairly adverse conditions with the bright sun in a clear blue sky, and the temperature climbed to 85 degrees in the canyon.

Clear As Its Name

I elected to use my Loomis five weight, since I hoped to toss large foam attractors, and the slow action Loomis accommodates this form of fishing quite well. I packed my lunch and raincoat and dropped down a steep rocky embankment to the edge of the creek. From previous experience I knew the water next to me was heavily fished, so I waded along the edge to the point where the bank becomes very high and steep. I was certain that this unfavorable terrain was a deterrent to most fishermen.

I will not bore the reader with all the details of my movements. I will simply state that I fished from 11AM until 1:30PM and did not land a single fish. During this time I presented a size 10 Chernobyl ant, the same Chernobyl with a hares ear nymph dropper, a size 10 Jake’s gulp beetle with a peacock ice dub body, a size 16 gray caddis, a size 10 gray parachute hopper, and a size 10 tan Charlie boy hopper. None of these flies produced a fish; not even a tiny trout beneath the six inch minimum. There were occasional looks, but even these were few and far between. Even on my worst outings on Clear Creek I normally see a preponderance of looks, refusals, long distance releases and spooked fish, but on Thursday these engagements with trout were largely absent.

I knew from past experience that abundant fish resided in the area that I was fishing. I blamed my lack of success on the high bright sun, clear sky and warm temperatures. I concluded that the trout were hunkered down in deep oxygenated refuges, so I modified my approach. I knotted a size eight fat Albert to my line for buoyancy, and then I added a beadhead hares ear and a salvation nymph. With this alignment of flies I focused my casts on deep runs, current seams and large pockets in an effort to reach the hypothetical hangouts of the trout on a warm bright day.

Second Fish Was Bigger

It worked to some extent, as I landed a small brown on the hares ear and then another somewhat larger brown trout on the same fly. Both fish snatched the dangling nymph from deep areas along current seams. I suspected that I discovered a strategy to salvage the first day of September, but that was not the case. I endured another long slump and a few refusals to the oversized fat Albert. The fat Albert had a yellow body, so I surmised that perhaps the trout were looking for a yellow sally or small hopper with a yellow body.

Side Look

I followed up on this thought by changing my offering to a size 12 yellow stimulator. I cast this fly to many attractive spots with no response, but then I lofted it to a current seam at the edge of a nice riffle of moderate depth. In a flash an eleven inch slender brown surfaced and crushed the stimulator. Given the absence of action I was extremely careful, and I quickly played the prize fish to my net. Could the stimulator be the answer?

Zoomed in on the Last Fish of the Day

I moved farther upstream with the bushy yellow attractor on my line, but it no longer appealed to Clear Creek trout. Once again I paused to assess, and I remembered the small yellow hopper idea, so I knotted a size 10 yellow Letort hopper to my line. I applied floatant to the dubbed body and prospected some likely locations, but only a cautious look from a small trout in a narrow slot resulted. What else could I try?

I recalled that the fish did not respond to Jake’s gulp beetle until the afternoon on August 19, so I gave the foam beetle one more try. Once again I selected a version with a peacock ice dub body, but I downsized to a size 12. I plopped it in numerous likely places, but again the casting proved futile. My digital watch displayed 3 o’clock, and I was approaching the steep rocky area just before Tunnel 2, so I decided to cut my losses and called it a day.

The water was clear and the flows were 80 cfs, which I consider nearly ideal for late summer on Clear Creek. I can only attribute my slow day to the weather and the variable disposition of Clear Creek brown trout. The close proximity and abundant public access will likely lure me back to Clear Creek, but the timing will certainly be in late September, after the temperature range falls into the autumn pattern.

Fish Landed: 3

Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: First bridge after tunnel 1 and upstream

Clear Creek 08/19/2016 Photo Album

I endured three consecutive single digit fishing outings punctuated by a blanking on the South Platte River on Wednesday. Was I losing my touch, or was I a victim of the August doldrums, when hot sunny days and the absence of aquatic insect hatches doom a fly fisherman to empty drifts and miles of futile wading?

My sister and brother-in-law returned to Pennsylvania on Thursday, and Jane scheduled tennis for Friday, so I had an opportunity to search for answers. I packed the car with my gear and made the brief drive to Clear Creek Canyon. My visit to Clear Creek on August 5 was mainly an exercise in frustration; however, the other local options offered various issues as well. On August 5 I concentrated my efforts on the water above and below Idaho Springs, and on Friday August 19, I occupied Clear Creek Canyon. I was hopeful that the shift in venue would yield improved results.

Clear Creek Starting Point

I parked just beyond the first bridge crossing of Clear Creek above Tunnel One and assembled my Orvis Access four weight rod. As I was preparing to fish, I heard a loud voice ring across the narrow canyon, and I automatically looked up to the side of the canyon wall directly above and across from me. There I spied a young rock climber, and he continued to shout. I was unable to discern his monologue, but I could not spot any fellow rock climbers, so I wondered if he was attempting to communicate with me? This was a passing thought, before I concluded that other climbers were below him, but a small rock ridge blocked them from my view.

Indian Paintbrush

Friday morning was cool with the thermometer hovering in the low sixties, as I crossed the road and climbed over the guard rail to access the path that led me one hundred yards below the bridge. When the trail faded, I found myself amidst an area covered with a green invasive vine species, so I used this as an excuse to carefully pick my way down the bank to the edge of the creek. The flow remained in the upper nineties, and the creek exhibited a tinge of discoloration most likely originating from the area upstream where work continues on the Clear Creek Bikeway. I viewed the off color water as a positive, as it most likely enabled closer approaches to fish holding locations.

Nice Start

Close Up of the Productive Morning Fly

I tied a size 10 Chernobyl ant with longer than normal rubber legs and a pink indicator to my line and began casting to likely trout lairs. Ten minutes elapsed with no action, and visions of Wednesday crept into my head, but then I lobbed the foam imitation to a small foam covered nook next to a rock, and an eleven inch brown trout slammed the fly. I was relieved to remove the possibility of a fish count of zero from my list of worries. For the remainder of the morning I covered the section of the stream below the bridge and landed three additional browns to raise the fish count to four. Four fish in two hours of fishing was average, but given my previous four sub-par outings, I accepted my catch rate as improvement. The size of two of the brown trout was actually above the norm for Clear Creek, so that added to my satisfaction. Of course all was not perfect in my small world of fly fishing, as frequent refusals and temporary hookups marred perfection.

Too Fast for a Pocket Water Enthusiast

After lunch I decided to experiment with alternative flies with the hope of reducing the refusal rate. First I tested a size 10 Cathy’s super beetle, and the large foam rubber legged imitation yielded one fish, before it also generated looks and refusals. Next I downsized a bit more to a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle with a red underbody. This terrestrial fraud provoked a few refusals from likely small fish, so I once again paused to evaluate the situation. It was relatively clear that the fish were looking toward the surface for food, but what would match their appetites? The Chernobyl ant worked in the morning, so perhaps I needed to give it more time.

I knotted a different attractor ant to my line that displayed shorter legs and a chartreuse indicator, and in case the fish were also opportunistically tuned into subsurface nymphs, I added a beadhead hares ear on a three foot dropper. This arrangement accounted for one small brown trout, but after covering quite a few delicious pools, I concluded that the dry/dropper was not the answer. What should I try now? I was actually approaching a state of despair, as the day was evolving into another experience similar to the Big Thompson when the fishing turned off in the afternoon.

It was late August, and the only aquatic insects available were small caddis that fluttered up from the streamside rocks as I passed by, but this source of food was not on the water. I was convinced that terrestrials were the answer, and I had not yet tested a grasshopper or ant. I removed the dry/dropper components and replaced them with a parachute hopper with a gray hares ear body. I experienced success with this fly previously on Clear Creek, and it likely represented my most realistic hopper imitation. I gave the hopper a fair trial, but unfortunately, similar to Jake’s gulp beetle, it simply created a few uncertain looks from the residents of Clear Creek.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle Size 10 with Peacock Ice Dub Body

At this point I sat down and pondered my plight. In 2015 Jake’s gulp beetle was my savior on several occasions. I tried one earlier, but it possessed a red body. How many natural beetles display red underbodies, and in reality I tied the red versions as attractors and not imitators? I decided to revert to a Jake’s gulp beetle, but this time I chose a size 10 with a peacock ice dub body.

Beetle Showing

Guess what happened? Over the remainder of the afternoon I pushed the fish counter from six to fifteen as the Clear Creek denizens gave the beetle a solid thumbs up. I scrambled over the large boulders that bordered the narrow section of Clear Creek and dropped the beetle in all the likely pockets and pools in front of me. Certainly there were some refusals, but overall it was evident that the trout found the peacock beetle to their liking. As this turn in fortune was transpiring, some large gray clouds emerged in the western sky, and as three o’clock approached, I cringed at the distant sound of thunder. I needed to return home in time to prepare for the Cubs vs Rockies game at Coors Field, so I interpreted the thunder as an alarm, and I quickly climbed the steep rocky bank and returned to the car.

Pretty Clear Creek Brown Trout

My timing was good but not perfect, and sheets of rain descended just as I removed my waders and wading boots. I sat in the car for ten minutes until the heavy rain subsided, and then I packed up my belongings and returned to Stapleton. Friday evolved into a fun day, as I finally found the key to unlock the jaws of the Clear Creek brown trout. I climbed from a valley of despair after lunch to a state of elation, once the beetle tempted numerous trout. I was grateful for a fifteen fish day in late August.

Fish Landed: 15

Time: 12:30PM – 2:30PM

Location: Stairstep area west of Idaho Springs and area just upstream from I70 bridge that crosses the stream below Floyd Hill.

Clear Creek 08/05/2016 Photo Album

Clear Creek is an enigma. I attended a presentation at Blue Quill Anglers in March several years ago, and the speaker vouched that Clear Creek trout are easy pickings. He proclaimed in his talk that a fly fisherman simply needed to tie a large foam attractor to one’s line and fish only the edges, and this approach yielded prodigious quantities of fish. I have rarely found this scenario to be true, and Friday August 5 reinforced my opinion that Clear Creek is a tough proposition. The fish were extremely picky, and the few that I landed were quite small. Despite my complaints, I continue to return since I do have productive days, and the proximity is difficult to overlook.

When I checked the flows on Thursday, Clear Creek at Lawson was running at 113 cfs. I knew from prior experience that this was high for early August, but I was also certain that edge fishing was possible. Perhaps the higher flows served as a buffer against the ninety degree temperatures that settled over Colorado during the previous week.

After three consecutive days of fishing, I took my time on Friday morning and followed my non-fishing routine by going for a run and doing my workout. I did not depart from Stapleton until 10:30, and this placed me at the pullout just west of Idaho Springs by 11:30. Friday’s weather was cool and overcast similar to Thursday, but the threat of rain seemed more imminent. For this reason after I ate my lunch and assembled my Loomis five weight, I reached in my fishing bag for my raincoat. Uh oh. I realized that I left it on the drying rack in the bedroom and neglected to stow it back in my bag. Instead I pulled on my light fleece and prayed that it would not rain. I decided to fish until 3PM or the until the rain drove me from the creek, whichever came first.

An Early Afternoon Fish

At the same presentation at the Blue Quill Angler I learned of the stairstep area just west of Idaho Springs. The young expert on Clear Creek suggested that this area was public and productive, and I never tried it, so Friday was the day. I scrambled down a very steep path very slowly, and when I reached the creek, I encountered a wide segment of water. At fifteen yard intervals man-made rock dams spanned the stream, and these created riffles and runs that expanded into fairly shallow flats and pools. These structures were staggered through the entire section that I fished on Friday before I moved downstream.

A Fast Trough

I began with a size 8 Chernobyl ant since I bought the notion that any large foam attractor would catch fish. It did not, but several refusals caused me to downsize to a size 10, and then a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle. None of these surface flies induced a take, although they all prompted refusals. At some point I added a beadhead hares ear on an eighteen inch dropper, and this fly accounted for a few small brown trout. In fact, the hares ear hooked all five small brown trout that I landed during my hour and fifteen minutes west of Idaho Springs.

Unlike most of the other places that I fish on Clear Creek, the deepest and most attractive spots were in the center of the stream below the man made rock dams. I was unaccustomed to casting to spots other than right along the bank. In retrospect I probably should have abandoned the dry/dropper technique and instead experimented with indicator nymphing or even a streamer. I observed virtually zero insect activity, and the overcast cool weather and higher than normal flows perhaps suggested a deeper presentation to the Clear Creek trout.

Best Fish of the Day

After an hour and fifteen minutes of disappointing fishing, I decided to move downstream below Idaho Springs to the location just above the I70 bridge that spans Clear Creek. From past visits I knew that this stretch of water offered numerous nooks, pockets and eddies along the rocky bank, and brown trout love to hold in these areas. I made the quick four mile drive to the Boulder exit and parked just above the bridge. Several vans with trailers designed to transport inflatable rafts were parked in this area, so this should have been a clue.

I ignored the rafting warning signs and walked along the bike path a short distance. As I remembered, the shoreline contained numerous deep holes, but the dry/dropper offering failed to attract any fish. In fact I only spotted a few during my hour of fishing, and this is quite unusual for this segment of Clear Creek. As I worked my way upstream spraying two or three casts to each likely holding position, a flotilla of rafts drifted by. Clear Creek is a narrow creek, and certainly the large inflatable watercraft were visible to the underwater residents of the stream. I blamed the rafting industry for my lack of success between 1:30 and 2:30, and I reeled up my fly and called it quits early.

Five small fish in the 6-9 inch range did not represent an interesting outing, so I plan to avoid Clear Creek until the flows drop to the 50 – 100 cfs range. This level would likely deter the rafting industry and also make the fish more accessible. Despite the disappointing day on Friday, I cannot complain about the first week of August, as I enjoyed two fantastic days on Piney River and South Boulder Creek. Days like Friday are what make the sport challenging. If every day were easy, more people would be fly fishing, and I would complain about crowded rivers and streams.

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Downstream from Hidden Valley exit below Idaho Springs.

Clear Creek 05/18/2016 Photo Album

Adverse weather moved into Colorado on Sunday evening, and this placed a temporary halt on my fishing ventures. Rather than stewing over the cool wet conditions, I used the weekend and Monday to rest, and Tuesday Jane and I took full advantage of the cool temperatures by visiting Arapahoe Basin for some late season skiing. Conditions were actually quite good for May 17, and generous quantities of snow remain on the high elevation slopes. Jane volunteered to drive on our return trip, and this afforded me the opportunity to inspect Clear Creek where it runs along interstate 70. It was a bit high but clear on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday morning I reviewed the stream flows on the Front Range streams, and this exercise revealed that Clear Creek was flowing at 133 cfs. This is a bit high but within the 50-200 cfs range that generally suggests manageable fishing conditions. Since I had first hand knowledge based on our return trip from A-Basin, I opted to make the short trip to Clear Creek. On Tuesday I observed that clarity was decent, and this information is difficult to obtain over the internet.

I left the house at 9:30 on Wednesday morning, and I pulled into the pullout along the frontage road south of Interstate 70 off the Hidden Valley exit by 10:30. I quickly jumped out of the car and looked down at the stream and determined that it was in decent condition. The flows were obviously higher than the 50 cfs level that I encountered during my most recent visit to Clear Creek in the canyon, but the creek was only slightly discolored with decent visibility along the edges. Clear Creek is essentially a huge trough, and it is a waste of time to toss flies anywhere but right along the bank, so edge clarity is all that matters.

I quickly pulled on my waders and assembled my Sage four weight. A large black cloud was gathering to the west, so I added my fleece and raincoat and then threw my lunch in my backpack. I planned to hike down the bike path to the spot where the creek makes a bend, so returning to the car for my sandwich was not an option. After a twenty minute brisk hike on the path, I found a nice open area to approach the stream. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was 11:45, so I decided to eat next to the stream before beginning my quest for Clear Creek brown trout.

I began my afternoon by tying a fat Albert to my line, and then I added a beadhead hares ear nymph on a two foot dropper. These flies were on fire on the South Platte so why not test them on Clear Creek? Very quickly I discovered that the small brown trout were mesmerized by the fat Albert, but they chose to inspect but not eat the large foam attractor. After fifteen minutes of frustration, I clipped off both flies and tied on a size 10 Chernobyl ant. The fish actually chomped on this fly, but the first three or four were on my line only temporarily before they somehow escaped. Refusals and long distance releases upped my frustration level, but eventually a small brown gulped the Chernobyl ant, and I had my first fish of the day.

First Decent Fish on Wednesday

I discovered that my successful fish landing ratio improved if I paused for a couple seconds after I observed a fish slurp the foam ant. This took quite a bit of discipline, but restraint did improve my catch rate. The other key discovery was the water type that held brown trout willing to smash a surface fly. Basically the entire stream could be ignored except for very slow moving deep pockets right next to the bank. I landed eighteen brown trout over the course of the afternoon, and once I found the formula for success, I simply moved quickly and dapped or flicked the Chernobyl ant to tiny pockets or slack water along the bank. Many fish dashed from their hiding spots beneath rocks to snatch the foam fly within six inches of shore.

Fishing Next to the Interstate

The first Chernobyl ant rolled around the hook shank a bit, and I was concerned that this explained why a high percentage of hooked fish were able to shed the fly. After I reached six fish, I exchanged the first Chernobyl for a newer imitation that I tied during the past winter. This version was more solidly secured to the hook shank, and I feel that my landing ratio improved after this switch.

Perhaps Best Fish of the Day

At one point around 2:30 another dark cloud appeared to the east, and I heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. The storm tracked southeast of my position, so I did not need to exit for safety, but a short period of light rain justified my decision to wear a raincoat.

Mmm. Radioactive Ant.

By 4PM I fished my way back to the Santa Fe, and I was quite weary from carefully climbing over large slippery rocks, so I called it quits. Twenty fish has a nice ring to it, but eighteen is not bad for a freestone stream on May 18. The Chernobyl ant worked its magic as long as I placed it in preferred fish holding neighborhoods.

Fish Landed: 18

Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Half a mile upstream from Tunnel 6.

Fish Landed: 8

Clear Creek 05/10/2016 Photo Album

Day two of my fly fishing blitz in advance of the inevitable snow melt in Colorado unfolded on Clear Creek on Tuesday May 10. The DWR web site indicated flows of 89 CFS at Lawson, and I knew from experience that this is a manageable level for fishing. The graph did not portray any significant fluctuations within the last four days, so that was another positive. My only concern was clarity, but I decided to make the drive and discover first hand what the stream conditions were. A 9:30AM appointment with the doctor dictated that I fish in a local waterway, and Clear Creek is the closest, and all the factors indicated that it was a relatively safe bet.

I departed from Stapleton at 11:15 and arrived at a pullout roughly .5 mile west of Tunnel 6. The water was fairly murky at the eastern end of the canyon near Golden, but the turbidity gradually diminished as I drove westward and passed several sites where construction equipment was disturbing the earth in the process of building a bike path along the creek. The path will be a future recreational asset once completed, but heavy equipment is playing havoc with stream clarity on the eastern end of the popular stream in the present.

The weather was similar to Monday with more clouds than sunshine. The temperature never surpassed the mid-fifties, so I wore my fleece and raincoat as a windbreaker. The likelihood of rain was real, so I also wore my brimmed hat with ear flaps in the event I needed to pull my hood up. A fair amount of stain was present in the section that I planned to fish, but the rocks and stream bottom were visible throughout the creek, and I rarely fish any portion of Clear Creek other than the edge.

Typical Water and Santa Fe Within View

Once I assembled my Orvis Access four weight rod, I marched along the shoulder of route six for .2 mile, and then I dropped down the bank at a location where some nicely spaced boulders provided a natural stairway. I was optimistic that a solitary Chernobyl ant would draw hungry Clear Creek trout to the surface, so I knotted one to my line and began prospecting the pockets and shelf pools along the right bank. Very little time transpired before I discovered that the Chernboyl created refusals. I was looking for commitment not curiosity, so after four or five juicy spots yielded only inspections of the huge ant, I elected to make a change. The emerald caddis pupa caught the attention of the trout on the Big Thompson on Monday, so perhaps the Clear Creek fish were aware of emerging caddis as well.

It was a great thought, but the addition of the dropper did not change my fortunes, so I paused and pondered my next action. Surely caddis were present during May, but I did not wish to default to the small size 16 deer hair caddis just yet. I looked through the dry fly section of my fly box and spotted the size 14 stimulators that I carefully tied during the winter. A peacock body stimulator was my choice, but I was unable to locate one, so instead I slid a gray version from the foam slit and tied it to my line. This fly possessed the same shape and triggering characteristics as a caddis, but it was larger and floated better than the deer hair varieties.

Fooled by a Stimulator

My choice proved to be excellent. I landed seven small trout over the remainder of the afternoon on the gray stimulator. This may sound like some hot fishing, but in reality it was quite difficult. I covered nearly a mile of stream and made hundreds of casts to deliver these fish to my net. The most vexing challenge was the wind which blasted down the canyon in typically unrelenting fashion. In many cases the air currents pushed my light dry fly back to my feet, but more frustrating were the situations where a cross wind thwarted my attempts to place the stimulator in the sweet spot of a small pocket. Whereas normally from a short distance I can drop a a dry fly precisely where I intend on the first cast, on Tuesday such placement necessitated four or five casts, as it was impossible to anticipate the impact of the cross wind on the resting spot of my fly.

Persistence was the name of the game, but it was not easy to endure refusals, wind, and obstinate fish. The large deep pools and eddies once again failed to deliver feeding fish, and the most productive areas were deep still pockets next to large rocks along the bank. In addition a few appeared in riffles over moderate depth, but the steep Clear Creek gradient did not present much of this type of stream structure.

Nicest Catch on the Day

Near the end of my day an errant backcast caused me to donate a gray stimulator to a young tree, so rather than replace it with another copy, I experimented with an olive brown muggly caddis. This fly does not feature hackle, but instead it is constructed with an underwing of snowshoe rabbit foot hair. This fly floated quite nicely, and a spunky brown trout found it desirable in some moderate riffles. Unfortunately number eight was my last fish of the day, and the muggly caddis lost its magic over the last half hour of fishing.

It was great to visit a stream within a forty-five minute drive from my home, and eight fish over four hours represented my average catch rate. I am certain that I could have achieved double digits with more favorable wind conditions, preferably no wind at all, but any day of stream fishing on May 10 capitalizes on borrowed time.

Time: 11:45AM – 2:00PM

Location: Mile marker 266.5 and then upstream

Fish Landed: 2

Clear Creek 11/09/2015 Photo Album

After two nice days at the beginning of last week, the weather in Colorado finally turned toward an expected seasonal cold snap from Wednesday through Saturday. We avoided snow at our house in Stapleton, but the mountains and many towns along the Front Range experienced their first significant snowfall of the season. I used the adverse weather to augment my fly supply by tying ultra zug bugs and hares ear nymphs.

On Sunday and Monday however a break in the approaching winter pattern encouraged me to make yet another fishing trip. I preferred a trip to South Boulder Creek or the Big Thompson, but these two streams were trickling from their dams upstream at 11 CFS. I’m not sure what the water managers are up to, but these levels are quite low. Clear Creek continued to register flows of 30 CFS, so I chose to make yet another trip to Clear Creek Canyon.

A high in the low sixties in Denver translates to air temperatures in the low fifties in the canyon, so I took my time getting ready to depart on Monday morning. By 10:30AM, however, I judged that the weather would be tolerable, so I departed Stapleton and made the short thirty minute drive to mile marker 266.5 in Clear Creek Canyon. I prepared to fish by assembling my Orvis Access four weight, and then I ate my lunch because I planned to scramble down the steep bank to fish and did not wish to climb back for lunch and then descend a second time.

Starting Point. Mostly Clear.

By 11:45 I finished my lunch and found a relatively gradual path from the rim of the highway to the floor of the canyon. I  was pleased to discover that the water was ninety percent clear, but still tinged with some slight sedimentation presumably from the trail construction a few miles upstream. The clarity was much improved compared to my visit on the previous Monday.

I began fishing with a Jake’s gulp beetle, but this choice failed to arouse any interest in the first ten minutes, so I made a change. I pledged to not dwell on an unproductive fly excessively since my window of prime fishing time was only 2.5 hours. I removed the beetle and knotted a parachute hopper to my line and then added an ultra zug bug on a two foot dropper. I moved upstream quickly prospecting likely pockets with no reaction from the trout to my twin offering until I reached an area where the most attractive water was along the north bank. I waded to the middle of the river to position myself to cast to a very juicy deep pool that bordered the far bank.

A Very Nice Clear Creek Brown Trout

The lower section of this bank pocket did not produce, but when I flicked the tandem into the short top pocket, the hopper darted sideways, and this provoked a solid hook set. I was pleased to see a fine brown trout thrashing on my line, as it tried to eject the ultra zug bug from its lip. When I netted my catch, I was pleased to note that it was eleven or twelve inches and one of the nicer brown trout that I ever extracted from Clear Creek.

I moved onward and worked my way up the right bank, as I now suspected that it received less pressure and might be more productive in the challenging late season conditions. I cast to three or four promising deep runs with no success before I approached a spot that contained some very slow moving water. This section failed to yield any fish, but right above it a deep run angled at a ninety degree angle from the stream toward the north bank. I placed a few casts in the slow water along the side of the current, and then dropped a cast at the top of the small run. As I lifted to recast after a short drift, I felt weight and set the hook and landed a second brown trout that was slightly smaller than my first catch.

A Second Brown

I now theorized that the best spots were the very slow moving pools and pockets. My feet were starting to feel like stumps due to the very cold water, so I conjectured that the snow from the previous week melted and caused the water temperature to drop. The cold water caused a reduction in the metabolism of the fish, and in order to save energy they migrated to the parts of the creek that contained less current to battle.

This was a great theory, but I was never able to confirm it, as I continued working my way upstream, but I never landed another fish before I decided to convert to a streamer at 1:30. In reality I never encountered any water that was slow moving and along the bank, so perhaps my thought process was accurate, and I never found the proper conditions to confirm.

A Short Section in Sunshine

At any rate I was feeling quite chilled and bored with the lack of hook ups, so I decided to devote the final thirty minutes to stripping a streamer. I switched to my sink tip line and tied a conehead cream colored sculpzilla-style streamer to my line and began working the deep pools and pockets. The bait imitation looked great as it zigged and zagged through the deep areas, but I never attracted even a follow to my fake sculpin. At two o’clock I called it quits and scrambled up the steep bank to the road.

Close Up

It was a tough 2.5 hours of fishing, and I felt quite fortunate to land two decent fish. I am hopeful that the early snow melt will pass, and that some additional warm days will allow me to increase the fish counter before the end of 2015. I am also considering exploring tailwaters, since they will not be affected directly by early season runoff.

Time: 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Location: Just upstream from Tunnel 6.

Fish Landed: 10

Clear Creek 11/02/2015 Photo Album

The calendar flipped to November, and the time changed to standard time, but the weather remained more like September than the middle of autumn. Jane and I visited Santa Fe for Halloween weekend and had a great time doing things that did not involve fishing, but now that we were back in Denver, I had to take advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures.

I had a haircut appointment for Monday morning, so this forced me to get a later start than I would have preferred. During daylight savings time I reasoned that the prime fishing time period was between noon and 3PM. Now that we rolled the clock back an hour, 11AM until 2PM became the interval of the day that I ideally hoped to fish, but the best I could do on Monday was to begin by noon.

As predicted, the air temperature peaked in Denver at 75 degrees, and this translated to the low sixties in Clear Creek Canyon. I chose to fish in Clear Creek for the third consecutive time because of its proximity and because my preferred alternative, South Boulder Creek, continued to flow at a ridiculously low 10 cfs. Because productive fishing time is limited to only three to four hours, I wanted to avoid a long drive during the late season time period.

I hoped to continue fishing upstream from mile marker 263 where I ended my time on Thursday of the previous week, but as I approached the turnout, I came to a stop in a line of traffic. Apparently route six was confined to one lane of traffic due to road work. I was right next to the parking spot just beyond mile marker 263, so I made a quick U-turn and prepared to fish. I pulled on my waders, but before I strung my rod, I gazed down over the bank to check out the water. Much to my chagrin it was the color of split pea soup, and there was minimal visibility along the edge. I was about to fish anyway, but then I thought better of it, and threw my gear back in the car with the intention of moving.

My first inclination was to check on South Boulder Creek. It had been a week since I last looked, but when I fired up my iPhone and went to the DWR site, I was disappointed to learn that the tailwater continued to run at 10 cfs. This is quite low, so I turned my thoughts to other options. On one previous visit to Clear Creek I was able to fish in moderately clear water farther downstream despite high turbidity in the area where I was now located. I was about to attempt this strategy again, but then I considered driving upstream to a point hopefully above the construction.

Clear Creek Canyon

This then was what I did, and I discovered that path construction continued quite a ways, but eventually I passed through Tunnel 6 and glanced down to some beautiful crystal clear water on the north side of the highway. I pulled off on the wide shoulder at the first safe opportunity, and it was not long before I walked down the worn path to a point just downstream of the tunnel entrance. This was actually a very pleasant setting, as the tunnel blocked the sound of the steady stream of traffic, and I felt much more remote than my other haunts on Clear Creek.

Impressive Pool

I tied on a gray pool toy and an ultra zug bug dropper and began to prospect the tantalizing pools and pockets in front of me. Numerous deep plunge pools populated the stretch that I fished on Monday, but the offset was the increased pressure. I was fairly confident that this area was more popular than the mile marker 263 area, as the well worn path and large number of boot prints were obvious clues.

Tasty Ultra Zug Bug Fooled This Guy

I fished with the dry dropper combination from noon until 3PM and landed ten small trout. I was surprised to net six rainbows and four browns, as Clear Creek historically yielded nearly all brown trout. Perhaps it was the segment of the stream farther upstream that explained more rainbow trout, or maybe the DOW stocked small rainbows to build up the fishery, but the rainbows were all barely over my six inch minimum limit that I require for increasing the fish counter. Most of the landed fish gobbled the trailing ultra zug bug, although I had quite a few refusals to the pool toy, and three or four incidents where a fish nipped the hopper imitation. I am not sure if the hopper was too large for their small mouths, or if the fish were giving me an aggressive refusal. I did manage to land two or three fish that threw caution to the wind and hammered the hopper.

Lots of Small Rainbows Like This Today

Nice Brown Slurped Pool Toy

Just before my last hour of fishing, I lobbed the pool toy to a nice deep pocket in the middle of the creek, and as the hopper drifted slowly toward the tail, a nice eleven inch brown trout shot to the surface and smashed the imitation. This was the best fish of the day and also the most visual take, and I was grateful for this late season surface action.

By 3PM the shadows extended across the entire stream, and a chill settled in the canyon. The evaporation effect of my wet sun gloves caused my fingers to curl and ache, so I decided to call it a day. I am not a huge fan of cold weather fishing, so ten trout landed on November 2 is a major bonus. Tuesday November 3 is expected to be another warm day, so I may make another appearance on a Colorado stream, but the rest of the week is forecast to be highs in the fifties. The fly tying bench seems to be a pleasant alternative for the remainder of the first week of November.