Time: 9:00AM – 1:30PM
Location: Deckers area.
South Platte River 04/01/2006 Photo Album
Choppy Stretch
I caught three rainbows in some early season action on the South Platte in the Deckers area.
Fish Landed: 3
Caddis Abdomen
Dark Cahill Wet Fly
Cutbow with Slash
South Platte River 11/06/2005 Photo Album
I made a late season trip to the South Platte River on November 6, 2005, and the linked photo album documents the day. My fish counter indicates that I landed seven fish, but I did not prepare a fishing log entry to provide more details.
Fish Landed: 7
Close Up of Olive in Box
Big Thompson River 11/02/2005 Photo Album
First Trout of Day – Brown
I made a late season trip to the Big Thompson River on November 2, 2005, and the linked photo album documents the day. My fish counter indicates that I landed six fish, but I did not prepare a fishing log entry to provide more details.
Fish Landed: 6
The Successful Caddis
Lunch Pool
Time: 2:00PM – 5:00PM
Location: Waterton Canyon
South Platte River 10/08/2005 Photo Album
Jane and I loaded our bikes on the RAV on October 8 and headed to the Waterton Canyon parking lot. It was a beautiful day with high temperatures expected to be 70 degrees, although nasty weather was forecast for Sunday. We biked the four or five miles up the dirt road in the canyon to the picnic table just beyond the first bridge above the lake.
More Bend
A guy was standing in the large pool that I fished with moderate success the previous Sunday. I tied four size 22 CDC BWO’s Saturday morning in case a BWO hatch once again materialized. I put on my waders and began working the next upstream pool above the large bend pool. Almost immediately I noticed some sporadic rises, so I tied on a gray Madam X and then added a yellow beadhead caddis pupa below it. When I spotted some emerging BWO’s, I tied another length of tippet below the yellow caddis pupa and then added a WD40. I encouraged a flash to the Madam X, but the flies were not producing, so I cut everything off and tied on one of the CDC BWO’s, that I produced earlier in the day. I made two with a BWO poly body and two with a lighter olive poly body. The darker body was not generating interest, so I switched to the lighter color.
Successful Fly
Almost immediately my fortunes improved, and I landed eight trout over the next several hours. Six of the netted fish were rainbows or cutbows, and two were small browns. One of the cutbows looked more like a cutthroat than a rainbow, as It displayed lots of speckles and a slash under its mouth. The success required numerous casts, and the sporadic nature of the rises caused me to spray casts to many food lanes. After I landed five or so, the gentleman in the prime pool below me approached to learn what I was using. He had a box full of olives of varying sizes, and said he was using them with fish rising all over the place, but he did not indicate any success. I gave him a CDC olive in exchange for a trico. I do not think he gained any luck, so I concluded that presentation skills were the key.
Last Bow of the Day
Toward the end, I decided to work upstream more and landed two more rainbows where the river came back close to the road. By 5PM Jane grew impatient, so after releasing the last trout, I clambered up the bank, shed my waders, packed everything in the backpack, and biked back down the canyon. The foliage on the cottonwoods was brilliant, as we drove back to Stapleton.
Fish Landed: 8
Nice Foliage
Time: 12:00PM – 4:30PM
Location: Waterton Canyon
South Platte River 10/02/2005 Photo Album
It was a warm day with temperatures in the 70’s, and I decided to bike up Waterton Canyon. I had not been to this stream in over a month, and I did not want to travel far to fish. As I was biking, a man pulled up beside me on his bike and began talking to me. He said he fished Waterton Canyon quite a bit and seemed to be rather knowledgeable about what worked. He said he mainly nymphed and had much success with very small flies. He invited me to accompany him to where he generally starts, and he would share some flies with me. We parked our bikes at the picnic table beyond the first bridge in the upper special regulation water, and he gave me his version of an RS2, a black pheasant tail and a “Barrett Special”, a nymph with a green floss body. His name was Ken Barrett and he was a radio voice for concert ads in the 80’s and 90’s.
Approaching Nice Pool
I retreated downstream a bit, stashed my bike, put on my waders, took some photos, and began fishing back up to the bridge. I put on a size 12 parahopper and trailed a beadhead prince nymph. I caught five small trout on the prince nymph, four browns and one rainbow. I was experiencing success, but it was admittedly small stuff. I worked under the bridge and then approached a beautiful bend pool, where the main current deflected off a vertical rock wall. I could see six or seven trout lined up in the current below where it deflected off the rock. I also observed some BWO’s, so I concluded baetis were the preferred menu option. I tied on a CDC olive, but then I experienced an abundance of refusals and no luck. A change in tactics was in order, so I moved up to the head of the pool where the water had more riffles. Here I managed to take two rainbows. The rises occurred in waves. A flurry of activity transpired, and that was followed by a lull in feeding, before the rises reappeared. I noticed a couple fish rising about a foot from the far bank during one of the dead interludes. I decided to tie on a black ant with an orange poly indicator. I cast in the current that ran a foot from the bank, and a fish rose and engulfed my ant. The netted fish was a small brown, and then I spotted another fish rising 5 to 10 feet further downstream also a foot from the far bank. I provoked this brown to rise to the ant as well. However in the main runs at the head of the pool, they showed minimal interest in the ant.
Another Rainbow on BWO
While I was catching the trout on the ant, Ken worked back downstream with his nymphs. He was on the other side and made the comment, “it’s really been dead for the last hour”. I asked if he had seen the subtle rises, and he said he had not. I advised him to try a BWO dry. He appeared to change flies, but eventually reverted back to nymphs. Meanwhile another wave of rises took place at the head of the pool, and I changed back to a CDC olive. I was able to catch and land two decent rainbows on the olive. I packed everything up around 4:30. As I biked back down the canyon, I spotted quite a few trout sipping in the slower moving pools, and I decided I needed to tie some smaller CDC olives and return in late afternoon in the near future.
Fish Landed: 9
Black Ant
Time: 10:00AM – 5:00PM
Location: Chafee/Fremont County Line
Arkansas River 09/24/2005 Photo Album
I checked the Royal Gorge Anglers web site, and the report looked promising. Flows were decent, and owner Bill said fishing was good in the morning and late afternoon. Fishing riffles deep with rubber leg stones was producing in the mid-day. Armed with this optimistic information I drove to the Arkansas River hoping to hit the elusive red quill hatch that I had not encountered in four or five years. I decided to drive to the special regulation water between Salida and Wellsville, because that is where I hit red quill hatches in the past. The location of our new house necessitated a three hour drive to that stretch of the Arkansas.
Upstream from Island
I arrived at the destination area by 10AM, and I rigged up and hiked down route 50, and then I climbed down the bank and crossed half way to the top of the island. I walked down the south side of the island, and then I crossed to the north bank and went down below the island a bit where a nice long riffle and run exists. I tied on a size 12 gray parahopper and trailed a beadhead pheasant tail. I worked the entire run, but I had no action, so I began working up the smaller north channel, where I frequently experienced success in the past. In this stretch I had a refusal and nicked a brown. As I cast to the channel, I landed four trout, and some were quite nice. Most of the landed fish grabbed the trailing beadhead pheasant tail. When I got to the top of the channel, I covered the shallow tailout of the main river, where it spills into the smaller north braid. Here I landed another brown in some very thin water not more than two feet deep.
Parahopper Produces
I crossed back over and went back to the car and ate lunch. I took my lunch down to a rock ledge, and while eating I began to notice several fish rising in the wide smooth tail out of the pool in front of me. I went back to the car to return my lunch bag, and then I returned to the river and waded in. I noticed some small BWO’s emerging, so I tied on a CDC olive. I generated a look from the fish I observed during lunch, but I could not connect. I spotted three or four fish rising upstream and across from my position, so I targeted them. I hooked one, but when it ran across the current, I applied too much pressure and broke off the CDC olive. I tied on another and hooked and landed one of the fish, but the others were being very selective. I moved up along the shore to see if there were fish rising in the deeper run. I spotted several rising in the riffles, and I cast and landed two trout in short order. Unfortunately the rises ended as suddenly as they began, so I reeled up and walked back down the highway to the island. I continued below the small island and started at the same point where I began in the morning.
Struggling for Freedom
I decided to work deep with a beadhead prince and WD40 to imitate the BWO nymph. I drifted my flies through the beautiful run, but no action was forthcoming. Then I thought I would work up the north channel of the island again, but this time I would test the CDC BWO. Most of the fish I landed in the morning were in the top part of the channel. Sure enough, I landed two very nice browns on the CDC BWO and had a couple other momentary hook ups. Once I fished to the top, I followed the north shoreline up to the next section of pocket water. I did not see anymore BWO rises or mayflies, so I reverted to the gray parahopper and beadhead pheasant tail. I had the pheasant tail dangling only a foot or so below the hopper. In the next section of pockets I landed two beautiful browns; one on the BHPT and one on the parahopper.
Nice Riffles and Runs
I continued progressing upstream, but the action slowed significantly, and in fact it disappeared. I went back to nymphing, and I tried a caddis pupa, and then switched back to attractor dries such as the lime green trude and some caddis dries. I had one trout rise and look at the green trude, but no more hook ups. At around 5PM, I realized I was not having any luck, and I called it a day.
Fish Landed: 13
Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM
Location: Special regulation area .5 miles above Waltonia Bridge
Big Thompson River 09/18/2005 Photo Album
Jane works with a guy (Ben) who has a son and daughter, and the son wanted to fly fish, so I agreed to take them fly fishing on September 18. Consequently Jane and I drove Ben, Jessica and William to the Big Thompson River. I packed my extra rods and waders, and when we arrived at the stream, I gave them casting lessons in the parking lot and showed them how to tie on a fly. Once this education was behind us, we approached the stream. I guided William in the morning, and he generated some rises, but they were either refusals or he did not react fast enough. At one point, I took the rod to demonstrate how to cast. I floated a caddis dry along the far bank, and a brown rose and slurped in the fly. I landed it and showed William how to catch and release.
Crystal Clear
After lunch, I worked with Jessica. Her casting was not very good…too much wrist, and she did not pause enough before she executed her forward cast, so the casts were piling up at our feet, and the wind was adding additional difficulty. In an effort to counter these negatives I set her up with a double nymph rig and indicator and showed her how to sling it forehand and backhand. I put a prince nymph on the top and yellow beadhead caddis pupa on the bottom. The stream was relatively low and clear, and this added even more difficulty. We approached a fairly deep run below some white water, and she hooked up with a brown (I saw it flash sideways before it came off), and then added a momentary hookup with another fish. Finally she hooked a rainbow, and she played it to the pool below us before it came off. We worked upstream farther and finally in another deep pool, she hooked and landed a nice rainbow. While wading upstream she spotted a stonefly nymph case. I assumed it washed off a rock and was there for a while. I had her hold it while I took the photo with the super macro. I think I could have focused it slightly better. I set to manual focus and hit the up arrow until it looked focused on the viewing screen.
Stonefly Nymph Case
After Jessica caught her fish, William wanted to fish again. He didn’t put the waders back on, but eventually I got him to hook up in another deeper pool upstream. William’s fish was a rainbow, and he caught it on a prince nymph. When I work with rookies, it really makes me appreciate my accumulated knowledge of fly fishing. Being able to place a cast exactly where you want it is extremely key. Also, my flies are on the water in likely areas far more than novices. I think that may be the most important factor. And of course requiring multiple casts to the target area really reduces the chances of catching a fish.
Fish Landed: 1
Don’t Let Go
John Downstream
Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM
Location: Edward Rest Area
Eagle River 09/17/2005 Photo Album
John Broadbent and I headed to the Eagle River. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s. We started fishing at the BLM recreation area west of Wolcott, and we hiked across the railroad bridge and fished along the north side of the river. John had a parahopper with gray body trailing a copper john. I started with a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead pheasant tail, and then I switched to beadhead hares ear. We had no luck, so we quit around 11:30 and headed back to the car.
Brought to Net
In our pursuit of success we drove back east on I70 to the Edwards rest stop, where we ate our lunch. The river was exceptionally low with many boulders that were submerged earlier in the season, but they now extended halfway above the water. We went below the bridge to some pocket water and began working back up toward the bridge. John split off and went downstream. I worked back upstream and spotted some small BWO size mayflies emerging. I added a WD40 with glass bead to the end of the hares ear. I finally hooked up with a decent brown in the frothy water at the head of a pocket, but the brown trout quickly freed itself. I continued working the hopper with two nymphs and hooked and landed two browns on the beadhead WD40. That was the extent of the success. John waded back upstream to where I was, and we walked under the bridge. John had a fish flash at the hopper on the east side of the bridge, but it never touched the hook.
Late in the Day
We worked our way up the left bank, and then eventually went on the path to the long deep run that is popular. Unfortunately several fishermen beat us to the sought-after spot, so I guided John on some pockets upstream, but we had no success and called it a day.
Fish Landed: 2
Time: 12:30PM – 5:00PM
Location: Waterton Canyon
South Platte River 09/04/2005 Photo Album
Downstream from Start
I decided to fish the South Platte River in Waterton Canyon to avoid gasoline consumption. Jane, Amy, Max and Kirk agreed to bike the canyon, but I left before them. I reached the spot I planned to fish in the special regulation area above the diversion dam by noon. I ate my lunch, and then I put on my waders and began fishing upstream. When I checked the stream flows, the chart displayed around 67 cfs. I knotted a yellow Letort hopper and beadhead prince nymph to my line. I chose the prince because the water was just a bit off color, and I guessed that it would be more visible.
Prince and Letort Hopper Used
The visibility strategy worked rather well, and I landed 16 trout on the day. I caught rainbows and browns in a 50-50 mix, and half the trout slurped the Letort hopper, and the other half preferred the prince nymph. In one long smooth pool I spotted a solitary rise, so I cast the hopper a couple times, but the riser showed no interest. I decided to try a fur ant, and I selected one with a small white poly wing post for visibility. I cast above where I spotted the rise, and a rainbow rose and sipped the ant. I went back to the hopper and prince after this incident and continued catching trout. I stopped fishing when I reached the first bridge that crossed over the river.
Fish Landed: 16
Rainbow Landed
Time: 11:00AM – 5:00PM
Location: Lone Pine
I decided to try different stretches that I saw from the highway that I previously bypassed. I began at the Lone Pine recreation area, as I parked along the highway to avoid the parking fee, and I hiked straight down to the river. There was a wide area in front of me with a drop off, and I waded along the edge of the drop off until I approached the far side. I tied on a yellow Letort hopper and copper john. A large boulder was situated in the water, and current curled around it and entered a nice pool, and I cast above the boulder along the bank. The hopper drifted along the current, and as it tumbled to the drop off, it disappeared. I set the hook and had the largest brown that I ever caught on the Arkansas River. It extended to around 16 inches. I did not have my camera, as Jane and Dan took it on their ascent of Mt. Elbert.
I moved upstream casting to shallow lies, and I caught browns on nearly every cast. I worked up the small channel on the north side of an island, and by the time I reached the top of the island, I landed twelve trout. I crossed back over to the parking lot and moved to the next spot. I parked just before the Loma Linda KOA campground and hiked the path and ate my lunch by the river. After lunch I walked down the highway, and then I fished back upstream. I caught a couple trout in the wide flat area, where I crossed back to my lunch spot. I caught these trout on a elk hair caddis. Next I walked the path around a place where a family was swimming in a deep hole. I worked upstream, but it transitioned into very slow water. When I reached the campground, a man was spin fishing, so I turned around and returned to the car.
Next I drove upstream to an area of pocket water just before Cotopaxi. I hiked down along the river, and then I worked my way back up from just above some rapids. I picked up a few more browns and then quit for the day at around 5PM.
Fish Landed: 17