Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: MM266.5 in Clear Creek Canyon

Fish Landed: 4

Clear Creek 10/31/2013 Photo Album

Jane and I purchased a 157 piece bag of assorted candy to disperse to trick or treaters on Halloween 2013. We agreed to turn off the lights and head out to dinner once the candy was gone. What time would you guess we departed for Wahoo’s for some delicious Mr. Lee’s pork tostadas?

Most normal people are not thinking of fly fishing on Halloween, but I’m probably not a normal person. The weather forecast called for temperatures in the high 50’s in Denver and I was in a good position to take a day off work, and Jane and I reached a decision not to purchase a second house in Eagle Ranch, so I decided to make a short return trip to Clear Creek Canyon where I experienced decent success catching small brown trout on October 10. I knew the air temperature would be quite chilly in the tight canyon in the morning so I took my time getting ready and departed at 11:15. As I drove west on I70 and then crossed to route 58 in Golden I noticed quite a bit of wind that caused the leaves that remained on trees to flutter and swayed the tall grass and branches. The dashboard thermometer dropped to 42 degrees as I progressed west in the canyon and I looked for a stretch of water that was exposed to the sun.

By mile marker 166.5 I discovered a nice stretch where the stream flowed on the north side of the highway and the south wall of the canyon was lower thus allowing sunshine to stream into the streambed below. I parked in a pullout on the south side of the road and prepared to fish by adding several layers of warm clothes. As the sun was out when I began, I elected to wear my wide brimmed cowboy hat, but I would have preferred the warmth of my ski hat. I dropped my reel containing my sink tip line in my backpack as I planned to include some streamer fishing in my afternoon casting, and once I was prepared to begin fishing I returned to the driver’s seat in the Santa Fe and ate my lunch as it was now close to noon.

After lunch I carefully crossed the highway and found an angled path down the steep bank to the stream below. I noticed another fisherman in the next pullout east of my location, and once I descended to the creek and looked downstream, I noticed him fifty yards below me. To allow the other fisherman more space I walked upstream a bit to a nice area where Clear Creek spread out and created some nice deep pools along the edge. I had my 5 weight Loomis so I tied on a Chernobyl ant and beadhead hares ear and began prospecting the water. Since during the previous trip I had the most success along the bank, I continued with this strategy, but did cast to some juicy midstream locations on the rare occasions when they presented themselves.

I fished for a half hour or so through some juicy pockets and pools along the left bank with no success, although I kicked four or five nice fish out from lies tight to streamside boulders. These fish were on average larger than the fish I landed on my previous visit on October 10. After covering the nice water up to the head of the pool I encountered a wide shallow riffle stretch so I crossed to the north bank and began prospecting the attracive locations on the side of the creek away from the highway. I normally like this strategy as I believe most fishermen do not take the trouble to cross and therefore the fish are less pressured.

For the next two hours I worked my way upstream and landed three brown trout roughly 10-11 inches long. Two of the fish slowly rose and sipped the Chernobyl ant and one grabbed the hares ear nymph in front of a submerged boulder. In addition I hooked two rainbows I did not land and toward the end of this period at around 2:30, I hooked a brown on the hares ear as I lifted to recast, but this fish also managed to shake loose from the hook point. During this time some clouds moved in and blocked the sun and the wind began to gust to the point that I had to stop fishing and turn my back several times. The combination of the wind chill and the icy water temperature caused me to stop several times and attempt to warm my hands and feet by standing out of the water and thrusting my hands in my pockets. I had my sungloves on and when I landed a couple fish they got wet and the cooling effect of the evaporation during the wind gusts caused my fingers to curl and lose feeling.

First Brown Gobbled Chernobyl Ant

By 2:30 I’d reached a point where the stream narrowed between vertical rock walls and I wasn’t prepared for difficult rock climbing or challenging wading so I retraced my path and crossed back to the south bank at a wide shallow spot. I carefully climbed the steep bank on my numb feet and returned to the car where I exchanged my wide brimmed hat for a ski hat and pulled out my neoprene fishing gloves to replace my sungloves. Once my fingers regained feeling I swapped the reel with the tapered leader for my sink tip line and clipped the tapered leader back to a length of four feet. The leader at this point was probably 0X but supposedly fish are not leader shy when chasing a streamer so I knotted on an olive woolly bugger with a black tail to the thick leader and then crimped a split shot just above the eye of the fly.

I crossed the highway and walked downstream to a point where the stream narrowed to a white water chute and descended here to work my way back upstream with the woolly bugger.I experimented with different approaches including upstream dead drift, across stream while allowing the fly to sweep down and across, and finally I’d cast directly across and then begin sporadically stripping line. The woolly bugger exhibited great movement as it dipped up and down due to the split shot near the eye of the hook, and the soft marabou and hackle undulated in the current like a live source of food.

I covered quite a bit of water in this manner until I approached a spot where the main current angled against the far bank and the flow scoured out a nice deep pocket in front of me. I cast along the current seam and allowed the bugger to tumble downstream on the sinking line. Next I cast to the very top of the pocket and after allowing the streamer to sink, I began to strip it across the five foot midsection of the pool and as I lifted the fly to recast, I noticed a small brown following. This continued until on the fourth pass through the pool I felt a bump so the brown had apparently grabbed the tail of the bugger. Finally on drift number five I’d tormented the brown into attacking the woolly bugger and I set the hook and stripped in a nine inch brown trout.

This small success renewed my enthusiasm for stripping the streamer so I proceeded upstream working all the likely water that might hold cantankerous trout that might strike out at the invading woolly bugger. Unfortunately after another half hour of fishing I hadn’t aroused any additional action and I was once again suffering cold hands and feet so I reeled up the line, climbed the steep bank and called it a day. Although four fish does not seem like a successful outing, I regard it as a significant achievement due to the adverse conditions. I tested out my long dormant sinking line and managed to land a trout. In addition I landed two trout on a Chernobyl ant, a large dry fly, on October 31. Surface action late in October is something to appreciate. Had I worn my ski hat and neoprene gloves from the start, I feel that I could have weathered the wind and cold better and perhaps picked up a few more fish.

I glanced at the thermometer in the Santa Fe as I began my drive back to Denver and noted that the air temperature had risen to 49 degrees. Once within the city of Denver it topped out at 54. Jane had already come home from work when I arrived and we prepared for the onslaught of trick or treaters. The first costumed kid rang the doorbell at 5:30 and we distributed 140 goodies by 6:45. I was feeling quite hungry by this point, so I suggested to Jane that we leave at 7PM even if there was remaining candy in the bowl. There was no need for this contingency plan as the candy disappeared by 6:55 and we were on our way to Wahoo’s.

We are teaching our children greed at an early age. I’m not sure whether chocolate Easter egg hunts or begging for Halloween candy take the prize as the most despicable holiday acts of greed. At one point the doorbell rang and I answered and was faced with a small group of princesses, butterflies, Draculas and Spidermen. However I noticed an adult woman standing off to the left side of the group so after reaching out the candy bowl so the youngsters could claim their booty, I mentioned that the adult “appeared to be a bit old to be trick or treating”. She replied that she was representing her “little one” and nodded toward the crowd on the sidewalk. To this I responded, “Can your little one eat candy?” She nodded briefly and made a hasty retreat down the steps to join her group.

Like other holidays, Halloween has morphed into a money making event for the costume and candy industries. How much candy can one child or family consume?

Time: 12:00PM – 4:30PM

Location: Clear Creek Canyon just above MM261.5

Fish Landed: 24

Clear Creek 10/10/2013 Photo Album

Those of you reading this blog may accuse the author of fish count padding when you see Clear Creek and 24 fish landed, and yes the 24 fish landed were on the diminutive side. Admittedly landing 24 small fish in 4.5 hours of fishing gives the fish count table a boost, but I did not set out to do this, and besides it is my life and my day off so I can do whatever provides the most fun.

Since it was October 10 I was concerned that brown trout would begin their spawning ritual, and I’ve never had great success fishing in predominantly brown trout drainages during the spawning period. Before and after are generally spectacular, but during is another story. The weather was forecast to be transitional and I didn’t want to make another long trip after driving two hours to the Eagle River on Monday. In past Octobers I’ve fished the Big Thompson River and South Boulder Creek during this time period as both of these Front Range streams contain strong populations of rainbow trout, and they are spring spawners. Unfortunately the Big Thompson is out of consideration because of the huge September flood, and the Coal Creek Canyon road to South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir is also closed due to the flooding.

But wait a minute, there are alternative routes to South Boulder Creek. I went to Google maps and obtained driving directions and the web site sent me up the Boulder Turnpike to Boulder and then on Baseline Road to Flagstaff Drive, and that led over the mountain to Gross Reservoir. That sealed it. I packed all my fishing gear and made a lunch and departed on my way to South Boulder Creek. The high temperature for Thursday was expected to be low 60’s in Denver so that probably translated to a high in the 50’s at South Boulder Creek. That was certainly tolerable with the proper attire, but a front was expected to move in during the afternoon and that would likely yield showers starting at approximately 1PM.

I quickly reached Boulder and turned on to Baseline and reached the point where I needed to continue on Flagstaff, but there was a sign that said Flagstaff Drive was only open to residents. What should I do? My wife will tell anyone that listens that I am a chronic follower of rules, but for once in my life I ignored the sign and continued. After half a mile I reached a point where only one lane was open and there was a traffic signal alternating north and southbound vehicles through the single lane. This probably explains the sign about residents only. That was really the only dicey obstacle to my passage however and I continued on the winding twisty drive through the Flagstaff Mountain Park and then down the other side to Gross Reservoir. I had never been to Flagstaff Mountain Park, and it was a beautiful place with scenic views and numerous hiking trails, so it was a nice discovery for future exploration.

When I approached the reservoir I reached a point where I needed to turn left to continue on a dirt road to get to the parking lot below the dam that is the tralhead for the path that descends to South Boulder Creek. I made the turn and immediately I was stopped by a flag man. I was concerned that I would be reprimanded or fined for ignoring the sign that said residents only, so I began concocting a story to explain why I was on the road. I’d traveled ten miles beyond the residents only sign, so I was skeptical that this would be the case, but concerned nonetheless. Fortunately I waited for approximately 10 minutes and then I was allowed to proceed and after a mile or so I encountered the reason for the stoppage, a road grader working on smoothing out the dirt road.

I was relieved to discover that I was allowed to continue and after descending the steep dirt road with numerous switchbacks, I finally reached the destination parking lot and pulled in. There were no other cars and I looked down at the river far below and it looked ideal. The flows were 90 cfs on the department of water resources web site and this falls within the ideal range for the relatively small stream bed. I was ready to begin my preparation to fish when I looked at the entrance to the trail and spotted a yellow ribbon stretched across the south end of the parking lot so I walked over to inspect it more closely. The text on the opposite side of the ribbon said, “Do not cross sheriff’s line”. After the long drive through several obstacles I desperately wanted to duck under the ribbon and descend to the stream to fish, but I was in a disaster relief area and the obedient side of me prevailed and I decided not to ignore the sheriff’s line.

What now? I thought I remembered another road that connected with Colorado 119 that could get me to Nederland and then through Blackhawk  and down to Idaho Springs where Clear Creek was open and available for fishing. Unfortunately I was out of cell range and the Colorado state map in the glove box was not detailed enough to shed any light on roads in the remote area I now occupied. I decided to reverse my course and once again was forced to wait while the flagmen stopped traffic for the road grader, but eventually I reached the paved road, and there was only one choice and that was to return to Boulder the way I had come. Once I got back in cell range in Boulder I asked my phone for driving directions to Idaho Springs and fortunately there was a route that took me south through Golden so I avoided returning to Denver on the Boulder Turnpike.

Since I was now ad-libbing I decided to drive up Clear Creek Canyon and check out water that I’d never fished. Route six winds through the canyon and signs along the route actually indicated that the entire canyon stretch is designated as a Jefferson County park. There were numerous pullouts along the way, but I continued along until I’d nearly reached the western end and pulled over in a stetch that appeared to have a lower gradient than much of the canyon water. I was just west of mile marker 261.5 as I ate my lunch in the car at noon. The temperature by now had climbed to the upper 50’s, but I could see large gray clouds moving in from the west, and I remembered the forecast of showers by 1PM so I wore my fleece and raincoat in addition to my ski hat for warmth.

The Very Productive Hares Ear Nymph

After lunch I climbed into my waders and put together my rod and hiked down along the river a bit until I found a place where a rough path angled down the steep bank. I tied on a Chernobyl ant and added a beadhead hares ear nymph on a fairly long dropper and began to prospect the water. It didn’t take long before I hooked and landed two or three small brown trout on the hares ear, and this would be the norm for the remainder of the afternoon. The dark clouds moved in after a half hour or so and a light rain fell, but I was prepared with my raincoat so I continued fishing through the shower. Eventually the rain stopped and the sky brightened somewhat, but for the most part it was overcast and chilly during most of the afternoon.

Typical Water That Yielded Fish Along Right Bank

I continued fishing along the north bank of Clear Creek and hooked and landed fish at a nice pace. I fairly quickly learned that most of the fish were tight to the bank and eventually began to ignore all the water except the four to five feet along the edge. Several times I waded through small pockets tight to the bank where there was hardly any current and kicked out two or three nice fish by Clear Creek standards. Although the fish were mostly in the 7-9 inch range, I probably landed three or four in the 10-11 inch class, but also landed 10-15 fish that were below the 6 inch standard that I use to judge whether to count or not. In terms of flies, there was no strategy involved in this type of fishing. I stayed with the hares ear and Chernobyl over the entire afternoon and landed perhaps five or six on the Chernobyl with the remainder grabbing the hares ear as it drifted beneath the surface. There were also quite a few refusals to the Chernobyl ant and a number of fish chomped the foam attractor but came off when I set the hook aggressively causing the flies and fish to come hurtling back toward me through the air.

My Only Rainbow and the Largest Fish of the Day

The Key Peacock Chenille Underbody

I covered perhaps a mile of stream over the course of four and a half hours of fishing and continuously kept on the move. I adhered to my rule of three casts and move for average water, one or two casts for marginal water and five casts for attractive water. Even though the fish were on the small side, I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon on Clear Creek. I caught  a bunch of fish, covered a lot of water, and explored a new stretch within an hour of my home in Denver. Nine more miles of stream remain along Clear Creek Canyon to be explored in future trips to this accessible area.

Nice Fall Foliage Remains Along the Creek

Time: 10:00AM – 2:00PM

Location: Route 6 downstream from quarry or mine; section along bike trail midway from route 6 exit and Hidden Valley

Fish Landed: 18

Clear Creek 09/26/2012 Photo Album

Dan and I made plans to meet after work and fish in South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir since he had not yet experienced that beautiful area. For this reason I didn’t want to stray too far from Denver on my solo fishing venture so I decided to try new water on Clear Creek; the top part of the canyon between Golden and Idaho Springs.

I pulled into a large wide pullout a half mile or so downstream from the busy quarry near the I70 interchange. Two couples had just pulled in as well, but they appeared to simply be sightseers as they hiked down to the edge of the stream and paused there a bit and returned to the car. It was quite chilly in the canyon with temperatures in the high 40’s or low 50’s when I began fishing. Once I was in my waders and outfitted in all my gear I walked down the road a bit to the area where the canyon narrows and the creek accelerates through plunge pools and deep slots. I tied on a muggly caddis and began prospecting the deep holes and pools on my side of the stream, but this didn’t yield any looks or hook ups so I switched to a parachute gray hopper and a beadhead hares ear. Shortly after this change I landed a spunky eleven inch brown that rose up to the hopper.

Large Brown by Clear Creek Standards

As I worked my way upstream along the right edge I landed another small brown on the beadhead hares ear as I lifted to recast. When I encountered an area where the stream widened I crossed to the side away from the road and worked my way past the spot where the Santa Fe was parked. During this period I landed another six small browns in the seven to eleven inch range, and they all grabbed the trailing hares ear. As I approached a beautiful deep pool and a large vertical rock wall along the left side, another fisherman arrived and hiked up a path between route 6 and the creek. It was now noon so once I’d fished the large pool and landed my eighth trout of the morning I retreated to a point where I could cross and returned to the car for lunch. Normally I eat by the stream, but it was quite chilly with temperatures now in the mid-50’s and some dark clouds blowing in from the west so I elected to remain in the car for warmth.

Pretty Stretch Along Route 6 in Clear Creek Canyon

After lunch rather than circling above the other fisherman or driving further downstream, I decided to drive back up to the eastern end of the bike path and fish Clear Creek between there and the Hidden Valley exit from interstate 70. I was pretty confident I could pound up fish in the short deep pockets on the right bank next to I70. As I pulled into the small parking lot it began to rain lightly and an older gentleman rolled his truck window down and asked me how I was doing. I told him about my morning and he suggested trying the area near tunnel 6 downstream from where I fished on a future visit. I showed him the beadhead hares ear that was working for me, and he said he’d caught a couple on midge flies. He was apparently not prepared for rain and was enjoying the shelter of his truck.

I hiked up the bike path to the first island and crossed just above it to the right bank and then skipped past the wide shallow area to where the stream bed narrows and creates deep pockets along the rocky bank created by the construction of interstate 70. I stayed with the parachute hopper and beadhead hares ear and landed ten more browns over the remainder of my time fishing before quitting at 2PM. The light rain intensified as I moved along and it seemed that the fish grew hungrier as well as the raindrops splashed down at a rapid pace. Two of the ten smashed the hopper on the surface and the others grabbed the nymph. During the last half hour when the rain came down heavily I had great success lobbing the flies to the top of the short pockets and then lifting at the lip, and the fish were grabbing the nymph in nearly every nice pocket on the lift. By 2PM the water started becoming quite murky and the fish no longer responded to the lifting technique. The lack of visibility discouraged me, and although I was dry underneath my waders and raincoat, I could feel some rain trickling down my sleeves, so I decided to return to the car and warm up.

The storm was actually pretty much through the area, but the dirty water and the need to meet Dan at 4PM for our trip to South Boulder Creek caused me to remove my waders and stash my gear in the car and return to Denver.

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: East end of bike path; above kayak course; below Georgetown Lake

Fish Landed: 9

Clear Creek 09/07/2012 Photo Album

Now that Dan and I set our plan to hike into Wildcat Canyon on Saturday, I didn’t want to travel too far on Friday so I elected to drive to Clear Creek. I parked and began fishing at the eastern end of the bike path below Idaho Springs just before Floyd Hill. Two other fishermen were already there ahead of me and were already casting flies as I prepared. When I was ready I walked down the path to a point thirty yards above them, but as I tied on my flies they decided to migrate upstream and jumped in above me. They were already cramping me so when I found a spot where the stream spread out I crossed to the opposite bank.

I began fishing with a Chernobyl ant and a beadhead hares ear and prospected along the bank with only refusals to show for my efforts. According to Blue Quill Angler, catching fish in Clear Creek is easy using large attractor flies. I was not finding it to be easy. I switched the Chernobyl for a parachute hopper and kept the BHHE and only refusals ensued. Next I tried an olive body caddis and a light gray caddis and these were equally ineffective. Finally I returned to the parachute hopper and added a beadhead pheasant tail instead of a beadhead hares ear, and I landed a brown on the pheasant tail. Phew! I had at least one fish before I broke for lunch at noon.

Decent Size Brown for Clear Creek

During lunch some light rain fell and it was cloudy and overcast most of the day, although there were more periods of sunshine in the afternoon than the morning. After lunch I tried a Letort hopper and a beadhead pheasant tail and landed a small brown on the nymph. When I reached the point where Dan and Adam and I began fishing during an evening in August I decided to move to a different location. I jumped back on interstate 70 and drove west and then got off at Lawson and drove to a spot above the kayak course. Unfortunately I didn’t remember that the stretch of water between the kayak course and the bridge for the I70 east bound on ramp was relatively short.

I put on a red body attractor fly and this didn’t bring any luck. Next I tied on a royal stimulator and this enabled me to added two more small browns to my fish count. When I reached the I70 ramp bridge, the only ways to continue fishing were to wade the stream through a long tunnel under the highway or to climb up to the shoulder and walk across the east and west lanes of the highway. I didn’t like either of these options so I returned to the car and decided to take a drive west on the frontage road.

The first mile or two was private, but I then came to a place where there was a parking lot for a hiking tail and then a bridge over Clear Creek a short distance up the road. I parked at the trailhead and hiked up the road to the bridge and dropped down to fish on the west side of the bridge. Initially Clear Creek was very fast with a high gradient. In addition it split into two and sometimes three channels and the willows and vegetation were very tight to the bank making upstream progression quite difficult. But I stuck with it and ducked under branches and pushed aside willows and found a few nice small pockets and holes to fish.

Leaves Changing on Upper Clear Creek

After fighting my way upstream a bit I reached a spot where there was only one channel and there were a couple larger pockets. Here I began to see a decent BWO hatch so I tied the Chernobyl back on and added a RS2 dropper. This turned out to be a good move as I landed three additional rainbows, two on the RS2 and one the Chernobyl. I cast the Chernobyl into the middle of a small deep pocket and the rainbow ambushed the fly on the plunk. In addition to the three landed fish I experienced a couple long distance releases as the action really picked up at 3PM when the hatch commenced. This left me wondering if the hatch also took place downstream at my starting point, but we will never know the answer to that.

Rainbow from Clear Creek Near Georgetown

I ended the day in some very enticing water just below the Georgetown Lake dam and behind a county maintenance facility. The grass was packed down in this area so it was obvious it received heavier pressure from other fishermen.

Time: 5:00PM – 7:30PM

Location: Philadelphia Mills Open Space Upstream from Idaho Springs

Fish Landed: 5

Clear Creek 06/24/2012 Photo Album

Normally in June I am anxiously checking the stream flows for signs that the water is dropping and perhaps I can fish on a stream by July Fourth. I need to keep reminding myself that it is only June as the air temperatures and the lack of snow pack make the rivers and streams of Colorado look like it is late July or even August. Starting on Friday June 22 through June 26 Denver experienced five successive days with high temperatures over 100 degrees. With this backdrop Dan and I decided at the last minute on Sunday to make a trip to Clear Creek for an evening of fishing.

I picked Dan up at 4PM and we were parked and ready to fish on Clear Creek by 5PM. The eastbound traffic on interstate 70 looked ridiculous so I hoped it would clear by the time we elected to make the return trip. Because of the heat, Dan chose to wade wet with shorts and chacos. We soon discovered that some entrepreneurs purchased land just east of the open space and opened a zip line business. There were at least six wooden towers; three on each side of Clear Creek with wires connecting each tower. We also noticed there were no trespassing signs on all the towers, so we walked beyond the eastern boundary and descended the bank to a stretch where we began fishing in previous years.

Zip Line Towers Take Over Favorite Stretch of Water

Dan began fishing with a Chernobyl ant and waded to the north side while I tied on a lime green trude and fished the half of the stream closest to the road. Fairly quickly I had a refusal and then a couple momentary hook ups on the trude. Dan meanwhile wasn’t having much action. I moved upstream a bit and finally connected on a couple small browns. Dan moved up along the right bank roughly parallel to my position. After I landed a third brown on the trude from beneath an overhanging branch along the bank, I noticed that I was getting close to the first wooden tower, and I wasn’t sure if I was in private water. A man with a red shirt was gathering trash bags at the base of the tower, and eventually he began walking toward me. This could only mean one thing, I’d crossed the line.

I made a hasty retreat back downstream to near the area where we’d begun, however, Dan couldn’t move as fast because wading in chacos requires careful foot placement. When Dan and I met near our starting point, I asked him what the gentleman said, and Dan said he couldn’t hear over the rushing water, but he was motioning with his thumb to get out.

We ascended the bank and walked back up the frontage road to a spot just beyond the western border of the zip line property where we dropped back down to the creek. This time Dan stayed on the south bank closest to the road, and I waded across to fish along the north side. By now Dan had switched to a lime green trude and it wasn’t long before he shouted, and I looked toward him and saw an eleven inch brown trout doing cartwheels as Dan had set the hook pretty hard. He wasn’t about to lose this one. I waded toward hiim and snapped a decent photo then returned to the business of fishing.

Dan Shows Off His Catch

After I moved upstream a bit I reached a ten foot stretch of water where only around two feet of slack water existed between the current and the bank that could hold fish. I flicked a few backhand casts upstream and the current pulled my fly right along the grassy bank. On the third or fourth such drift a brown emerged from the bank and slurped the trude.

As I continued upstream II felt like there were more fish than we were pounding to the surface so I tied on a Chernobyl ant and dropped a beadhead hares ear off the bend. I was mostly using the large foam attractor as an indicator and hoped to get some action on the nymph as I approached the bridge. I fished up to the bridge and then waded underneath and up along the bank on the opposite side. I’d seen kids swimming in this area and didn’t hold much hope so I covered this water fairly quickly and then came to some additional bank side pocket water forty yards above the bridge.

Clear Creek Below Bridge in Open Space

Here in a short but deep hole in front of a large rock a 10-12 inch brown emerged from the depths and sipped in the Chernobyl ant. This occurred no more than five feet across from me and was quite cool to observe. Dan was having difficulty seeing his trude in the bright glare on his side of the river, so I suggested that after I covered two more attractive spots upstream, that we should call it a night and return to the car. Dan found a spot where he could ford the creek while I fished out the stretch of pockets, and then we scrambled over the large boulders along the stream and reached the car by 7:30PM.

Dave's Last Catch on Chernobyl Ant

We had escaped the heat, landed a few fish, and had additional action in the form of momentary hook ups and refusals so we decided to celebrate and wait out the traffic some more by stopping at Tommyknocker’s Brew Pub in Idaho Springs for dinner. The two fish tacos I consumed rank among the best I’ve ever had and the Black Powder Milk Stout only added to my enjoyment. It was a grand early summer evening in Colorado.

Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM

Location: Downstream from Hidden Valley exit

Fish Landed: 2

Clear Creek 05/18/2012 Photo Album

Dan and I made plans to fish after work on Friday, May 18 at Clear Creek. I planned a retro day and wore my old fishing shirt and took my Fenwick fiberglass fly rod out of mothballs. I was still waiting for my repaired Sage rod, so I let Dan use the Loomis five weight that he has become comfortable with, and I dusted off the old fiberglass since it is a short rod and better for small streams such as Clear Creek.

A change of weather was rolling in to Denver and the skies were overcast most of our time on the stream. Dan met me at the Woolly Mammoth parking lot near the geologic cut out and we continued in my car to the parking lot at the start of the bike trail off the Hidden Valley exit of interstate 70. We hiked down the trail to the area where the creek widens near the large green Blackhawk road sign on I70. Dan waded across to the north bank and I worked up the south or left bank. I began fishing with a yellow Letort hopper and added a beadhead hares ear dropper approximately 2.5 feet below the hopper. Dan used the same flies with a shorter dropper.

Dan Ties on a New Fly Along Clear Creek

In short order Dan landed a small brown, but it took me half an hour or so to connect with my first fish. Over the next 1.5 hours we paralleled each other as we worked up along opposite banks. I landed one more fish in the last half hour. Dan landed a second fish as well but earlier in the two hour window of fishing. I probably failed to land an additional four or five fish after making a hook up. I attribute this to the soft nature of the fiberglass pole, and my failure to adjust my hook set technique to accomodate the increased flex deep into the trunk of the rod.

Dusk on Clear Creek Along Interstate 70

Fishing during the last half hour was very challenging as there was a glare on the water in the dwindling light. I switched the top fly to a parachute hopper during this time to gain better visibility of the white wing, but this only marginally improved things.

Time: 5:15PM – 7:45PM

Location: Downstream from Hidden Valley exit along bike path starting below green I70 sign

Fish Landed: 15

Clear Creek 05/09/2012 Photo Album

Was I padding my numbers? Perhaps a bit, but I really enjoyed my evening on Clear Creek on Wednesday, May 9. Making the relatively short 45 minute drive to Clear Creek just east of Idaho Springs and fishing into the evening when the sun dropped behind the mountains and the air cooled reminded me of evening fishing in Pennsylvania when I began fly fishing.

I threw all my gear in the back of the Santa Fe when I got home from work and departed for the mountains. I had to maneuver through some heavy traffic on I70, but still managed to arrive at Clear Creek by 5:00PM. Initially I planned to fish upstream from the Hidden Valley exit, but there were road construction workers up ahead on the road, so I decided to turn around and park at the bike path trailhead and walk downstream. I hiked down the path beyond my previous furthest point and entered where Clear Creek fans out from its normal narrow chute.

Nice Wide Area

I tied a nice dark olive deer hair caddis to my line and began casting in some very attractive water at the tail of a run over moderately deep water. There were caddis in the air, so I was hoping to get some action on top before resorting to nymphs. However, I covered the nice twenty foot run with no signs of interest from any fish, and the fly was difficult to see in the sun glare and the swirly water, so I elected to tie on the tried and true yellow Letort hopper with a beadhead hares ear nymph dropper.

It didn’t take long before I hooked and landed a small brown on the hares ear as I moved up above the long run to some shallower pocket water. At this point the stream was shallow enough that I could cross, and I concluded that the north or right side of the stream would remain in the sun longer, so I made the move and worked my way up along the right/north bank.

For the remainder of the evening I scrambled over the rock embankment and popped casts to the likely deep slower moving pockets along the north bank. I landed an additional fourteen brown trout mostly ranging in size between seven and ten inches with perhaps two or three stretching the tape to eleven inches. I caught a few no counters and had numerous long distance releases and refusals. The key was to keep moving and not dwell on spots where a fish showed but wouldn’t take. As time passed I also found that the fish liked to hit the trailing nymph as I lifted the rod to make a new cast. Of the fifteen fish landed during the evening two inhaled the hopper and the others bit the hares ear.

Typical Clear Creek Brown

By 7:30 the air had chilled to the point that my hands were cold, and the sun disappeared behind the mountains to the west. I decided to scramble up the steep bank to the shoulder of interstate 70 and walk back to a point where I could cross and return to the car.

Yes, the fish were small, but I enjoyed my evening and remembered fishing during cool spring evenings in Pennsylvania on the Monocacy Creek and Little Lehigh Creek. I’ll do it again if the snowmelt holds off.

Time: 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Location: I70 Overpass west of Hidden Valley exit to near small tunnel before Idaho Springs

Fish Landed: 14

Clear Creek 04/14/2012 Photo Album

The weather on Saturday was supposed to be cool and windy, but still better than Sunday when there was a chance of snow and rain. I was anxious to get in some more fishing before the deterioration in weather following my fun outing on Friday on the Arkansas River. I decided to make a quick trip to Clear Creek on Saturday afternoon after a morning run and a big breakfast. I can reach some nice water on Clear Creek with a relatively short 45 minute drive.

I arrived at a pullout next to Clear Creek below the I70 overpass just west of the Hidden Valley exit by 11:45AM and after downing a sandwich and some carrots, I was on the water by noon. I didn’t want to fish deep with nymphs having done that all day on Friday, so I tied on a Chernobyl ant and trailed a beadhead hares ear nymph. It was quite chilly, probably around 50 degrees, with frequent gusting wind when I began with a thick Adidas pullover windbreaker as my outer layer. I tossed an initial cost up along the left bank while standing next to the I70 bridge support, and as the Chernobyl drifted back it took a dip. I set the hook and landed a small brown on the BHHE on my first cast.

First Cast, First Fish

This was an auspicious start, and I was quite pumped for a great afternoon of fishing. Unfortunately as I made additional casts with the Chernobyl ant, I began to see fish inspect the large flashy ant, but then return to the stream bottom. In other words, I was getting refusals and after not taking the fly, I couldn’t tempt them to take the trailing nymph.

I decided to swap the Chernobyl for a yellow Letort hopper, and kept the trailing beadhead hares ear, and then continued rock hopping along the bank. I began picking up fish at a faster clip, but still noticed the occasional refusal to the hopper. Unfortunately for me, the wind gusts were becoming a huge nuisance, and untangling flies seriously cut into the amount of time my flies were on the water. I was fishing in a southwesterly direction and the wind was blowing from the west, and pushing my tailing flies into the extended line on my backcasts. In addition I snapped my flies off on an evergreen tree once and also looped my line over an evergreen branch another time with an errant hook set. I was able to recover the snapped off flies, but had to retie. The looped line incident required me to hang on a branch as I dangled above the earth until I moved hand over hand to a point where my feet rested on the ground.

At around 1PM, I suspected that there might be BWO nymphs in the drift so I added a RS2 beneath the beadhead hares ear, and made the ridiculous decision to fish with three flies. This did not work out well. I caught a decent number of fish in between unsnarling nasty tangles. I probably had 10 tangles over the course of the three hours that required me to clip off the flies and retie. The other problem was fish taking the hopper or top nymph and then mercilessly tangling the trailing flies around itself and ultimately the fly in the fish’s mouth.

A Monster by Clear Creek Standards

In spite of all this tangle misery, I landed eleven fish by 2:30 by moving along the rocky bank quickly and popping three to four casts in the small slots and pockets between the bank and fast current. The fish were all browns in the 7-9 inch range with an occasional 10-11 inch monster. Two fish inhaled the hopper, one or two nabbed the RS2, and the remainder grabbed the beadhead hares ear.

Clear Creek Below Interstate 70

At 2:30 the sky was clouding up more than usual and the wind was picking up and I was frustrated with all the entanglements, so I decided to clip everything off and try a dry fly. I pinched a size 16 dark olive deer hair caddis from my frontpack foam patch and tied it to my line. It didn’t take long for a feisty brown to rise and smash the caddis. I continued moving up the bank at a rapid pace fluttering the caddis in all the likely pockets and caught two more browns bringing my total to 14. At this point it was slightly after 3PM and the sky was even darker and I was quite chilled, so I decided to head back to Denver.

Despite the frustration of the wind and the tangles, I explored a new stretch of water on Clear Creek and had quite a bit of success. I wish I’d gone to the single dry fly earlier to avoid a lot of frustration, but a lesson was learned for future trips.

Time: 11:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Whitewater Park above Lawson for first two hours then HIdden Valley exit of I70 upstream just beyond Central City Parkway bridge

Fish Landed: 6

Clear Creek 03/25/2012 Photo Album

After attending Cody Scott’s informative presentation on fishing Clear Creek on St. Patrick’s Day at the Blue Quill Angler I was anxious to apply some of my new found knowledge. Unfortunately I picked up a nasty head cold beginning on Tuesday, and the congestion was invading all parts of my head by Sunday. But it was another beautiful unseasonably warm early spring day, and I’d spent Saturday building a raised bed next to the patio, so I decided to make a short trip to Clear Creek.

One of the stretches Cody mentioned was Clear Creek west of the Whitewater Park by Lawson. He assisted in electroshocking Clear Creek in 2011, and discovered that the fish density was greatest in this area. I exited I70 at Lawson and followed the frontage road underneath the highway and saw an immediate pullout on the left. I wasn’t certain this was the correct place but decided to give it a try. I initially rigged up with a Chernobyl ant and trailed a chartreuse copper john and olive midge larva. I worked my way upstream through some attractive water and noticed one small brown inspect the Chernobyl. But that was the extent of action and after a half hour of unproductive prospecting, I encountered a young man who had waded into the stream fifty yards above me. Since I was between private homes, I didn’t want to create an encounter, so I decided to retreat back to the car and search for the whitewater park.

I turned left off the frontage road and drove a short distance until I saw a sign by a parking lot denoting Whitewater Park. I found a parking spot and grabbed my rod and noticed three or four fishermen already working the water in this area. The stream had been modified in this stretch to a series of perhaps twenty pools. Each pool had a short waterfall or riffle at the top, then a run that fanned out into a nice deep pool. I hiked the path along the south bank and circled above the last fishermen already in the water and began fishing near the western end of Whitewater Park with perhaps five or six pool sections. I continued fishing the dry/dropper combination but experienced no action, so I decided to switch to an indicator with a weighted rubber leg stonefly nymph and reattached the olive midge larva.

Whitewater Park on Clear Creek

I worked these flies through the deep pools and thoroughly drifted the seams along the runs at the top of each pool. I wasn’t having any success and didn’t even see fish. Perhaps the fishing would improve beyond the stream improvement stretch? I went a bit beyond the last manmade pool, but continued to be thwarted in my efforts to catch a single fish. I was also observing an increasing quantity of snow and ice due to the narrow nature of the creek bed with steep banks on both sides. It was now approaching 2PM, and I was getting hungry so I decided to retreat to the parking lot.

I grabbed my lunch bag and found a nice large smooth rock to rest on while I ate my lunch and observed the water. Another fisherman was prospecting the head of a pool across from the parking lot with a spinning rod, but didn’t seem to be having any success. I decided to drive further downstream after lunch to water that was perhaps warmer and more open to the sun.

I hopped back on I70 and drove beyond Idaho Springs to the Hidden Valley exit where I’d caught my last two fish of 2011. I grabbed my rod and descended the bank next to where I parked and decided to test the wide riffle stretch down the bank from the car and then work my way upstream underneath I70. By now I’d clipped off the stonefly, added a split shot and attached a beadhead hares ear and beadhead RS2. I cast across the middle section of the riffles and let my flies swing at the end of the drift and felt a tug and miraculously landed my first small brown of the day. At least I wasn’t going to get skunked.

First Brown Landed

I moved up to the top of the pool, but by now some dark gray clouds moved in and blocked the sun, and I was feeling quite chilly in my fishing shirt, so I reeled up my line and climbed back up the bank to the car to add a fleece layer. When I returned to the stream I began lower in the run and fairly quickly I hooked a second small brown on the RS2 as it began to swing at the tail of the drift. I also noticed a sporadic rise or two along the far bank. Perhaps the cloud cover had initiated a BWO hatch?

I moved upstream to an area under the I70 eastbound ramp and landed two more small browns in some riffles and pockets. The fish seemed to be taking the fly just as it began  to swing. One of the ramp fish took the beadhead hares ear and the other grabbed the RS2. The next stretch of water was fairly unattractive so I quickly moved to the north side of I70 and worked up around the curve behind the store that sells propane. I covered quite a bit of water with no success and then encountered another fisherman walking back along the south bank presumably to his car. We chatted a bit, and he said he’d landed a few fish on some sort of tiny tinsel fly.

Largest Fish of the Day

In a nice run just before the Central City Parkway bridge I landed perhaps my largest fish of the day, still only perhaps 10 inches, on the beadhead hares ear. I continued upstream through a narrow channelized stretch where the DOT was doing some sort of excavation. Just above this there was a long deep pool right under I70. I slowly worked my way to a position on a large flat submerged rock and observed the water. Suddenly I spotted a dimple eight feet across from me. I still had my nymphs and indicator on, so decided to switch to a dry fly. It was getting late in the afternoon, and I was considering quitting, so why not end the day by casting some dries?

I tied on a CDC BWO and cast above where I’d seen the rise. It was difficult to follow the tiny gray fluff, but I believe I noticed a refusal to my fly. But as I made a couple more casts to the same general area, I observed several rises several feet out from the cement wall under the bridge and across from me. I decided to shoot a cast to that general area even though I certainly couldn’t follow my fly from that distance in the shadows of the bridge. But as I watched I saw a fish sip something on the surface so set the hook and amazingly hooked a brown. This brown was probably equal in size the the previous fish, and I quickly played it to the net.

I meticulously dried the CDC wing and then attempted to catch the fish that had resumed rising sporadically across from me. I wasn’t seeing any BWO’s in the air, but did notice four or five midges buzzing about. Another fish rose across and below me near the tail of the long pool so I fired some long casts down and across, but this didn’t result in any hookups. Finally I gave up on the deep pool and hiked under the I70 bridge and crossed to the opposite bank where I climbed back up to the frontage road and returned to the car. The water on the other side of the bridge looked quite attractive, and I made a mental note to give it a try on a future trip.