Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek – 04/01/2019

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Buttonrock Preserve

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek 04/01/2019 Photo Album

A cold front including a minor accumulation of snow moved into Colorado on Friday evening, and I put a hold on my 2019 fishing plans. On Sunday I reviewed the weather forecast for the week beginning on April 1, and I noticed highs in the fifties and sixties in Denver for most of the week. Jane and I made plans to ski on Tuesday, so I was not interested in taking a long trip on Monday, and I evaluated the nearby Front Range options. The most decisive factor was weather, as a high of 58 degrees in Denver translates to relatively cold temperatures at higher altitudes.

I narrowed the choices down to the North Fork of St. Vrain creek, Boulder Creek and the Cache la Poudre in Ft. Collins. Lyons, CO, Boulder, CO, and Ft. Collins all registered forecast highs in the low to mid fifties. The North Fork of St. Vrain Creek is a tailwater, and for this reason it received the nod. I was a bit concerned about flows of 18 CFS, but I reasoned, that I had fairly decent success on South Boulder Creek at that level. The high temperature in Pinecliffe west of South Boulder Creek was 45 degrees, so I postponed a trip to that favorite destination.

I departed Denver by 9:30 and arrived at the parking lot at the gated entrance to Longmont Dam Road a few minutes before 11:00AM. The temperature in the parking area was 44 degrees with occasional wind, so I wore a fleece and light down along with my hat with ear flaps. I rigged my Orvis Access four weight and began hiking up the access road that follows the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek a few minutes after eleven o’clock.

Some Snow on Hillsides

A brisk hike of twenty minutes delivered me to my desired starting point, and I began my day with a size 12 hippy stomper, beadhead hares ear nymph, and RS2. I probed some attractive pockets and runs, as I progressed upstream, but after fifteen minutes there was no sign of trout in the vicinity of my casting. I decided that my second fly needed to be larger and heavier to obtain more depth, so I exchanged the RS2 for an ultra zug bug. The flows were relatively low, but there was enough volume to create some nice deep runs and seams at the head of the pools.

After thirty minutes of unsuccessful fly fishing I found a nice long rock next to a decent pool, and I perched on the edge, while I munched my lunch. Clearly Monday was not evolving in a manner that matched my expectations.

On Display

After lunch I continued upstream, and I finally began connecting with some small fish. A brown trout crushed the ultra zug bug, and this bit of good fortune was followed by a rainbow trout and brown trout that nipped the hares ear nymph. The early fish emerged from slow moving shelf pools next to faster moving deep runs. The catch rate was slow, and I covered quite a bit of decent water, but I was pleased to finally experience some action.

Rising Fish in This Pool

In the time period between lunch and 1PM I approached a long slow moving pool, and I paused to observe before casting. As I surveyed the smooth water ahead of me, I noticed several subtle dimples, and the initiators of the surface disturbance were readily visible in the clear water upstream. I was hesitant to switch to a single dry, so I tossed my three fly dry/dropper system to the scene of the rises. It was a mistake. The trout darted off, and I concluded that the double nymphs and foam dry were too much disturbance for these skittish creatures. I snipped off the three flies and tied a size 24 CDC blue winged olive to my line.

Jewel

Several fish showed their presence toward the middle of the pool, so I fluttered a cast in that direction, and I was shocked when a brown trout darted to the surface and plucked the CDC BWO. I congratulated myself on displaying the patience to make the changeover, before I released the aggressive feeder. I dried the CDC fluff and resumed casting to the top third of the pool, but my good fortune did not repeat.

I continued my upstream migration, but the next section of the stream was not conducive to prospecting with a size 24 dry fly, so I reverted to the dry/dropper arrangement. Since a trout responded to my blue winged olive imitation, I replaced the ultra zug bug with a sparkle wing RS2 without a bead, in case emergers were on the menu. The idea was worth trying, but the trout did not respond.

Once again I encountered a nice long pool with visible sippers, so I endured the time-consuming conversion to the same size 24 CDC BWO; however, this time I was not rewarded for my persistence. Again after I covered the length of the pool, I switched back to the three fly setup; however this time I knotted a yellow fat Albert to my line and chose an emerald sparkle caddis pupa for the end fly with the hares ear in the middle. I decided to dwell at one place less, move quickly and fish the faster runs and riffles at the head of the pools.

Emerald Caddis Pupa Did Its Job

The strategy more or less worked as I elevated the fish count from four to twelve before I quit at 4PM. I covered .5 mile of the small creek in my 4.5 hours on the North Fork, and I enjoyed moderate success. The largest trout landed over the course of my time on the creek was eleven inches, and most of the fish that nestled in my net were in the eight to nine inch range. Five of the last eight crushed the emerald caddis pupa, so that proved to be a fortuitous fly choice. Two more favored the hares ear, the last fish of the day slurped a size 14 olive-brown deer hair caddis.

I was near my end point, and I was about to strip in my flies to hook them to the rod guide before climbing the bank to exit. I glanced downstream and spotted a decent rise ten feet below me and four feet from the opposite bank in front of a large submerged boulder. Since I considered removing the three flies that comprised the dry/dropper, I completed that plan and pulled a size 14 olive-brown caddis from my box. This would be a last ditch attempt to dupe the source of the solitary rise across and below my position.

A Rare Rainbow on the North Fork

I stripped out adequate line and tossed a downstream cast. I checked the line high and allowed coils of slack to pile above the fly, and then it slowly drifted downstream. Unfortunately the line of the drift was off by three feet, but it did not matter, as suddenly a trout slowly emerged from the depths, and then it confidently slurped the deer hair caddis. I instinctively reacted with a hook set, and I quickly guided an eleven inch rainbow trout into my net. Needless to say I was quite thrilled and surprised with this late afternoon action. I persisted with the dry/dropper for most of the afternoon, and now I chastised my stubborn resistance to change. Perhaps prospecting with an adult caddis was the ticket to greater trout numbers? I’ll never know the answer to this quandary, but I do know that I generated two additional temporary connections with the caddis, when I deployed long downstream drifts through the tail of the pool.

Adult Caddis in Lip

Upon reaching the tail I stripped in the caddis and hooked it to my rod guide with the intention of testing several additional smooth pools along the road on the return hike. It never happened. I was weary, and it was after 4PM, and accessing the pools required scrambling over some large boulders on a steep bank. I adopted a comfortable pace and returned to the car for the drive back to Denver.

Twelve small trout in 4.5 hours of fishing is a decent record of success. The weather was chilly but tolerable, and the wind was present but never insurmountable. Two of the landed trout sipped dry flies, and that was a plus for early in the season. The hatch, if there was one, was very sparse. In fact I never actually saw an insect larger than a very small midge. Two of the twelve trout were rainbows, and the caddis eater at the end of the day was an eleven inch rainbow.

Fish Landed: 12

Big Thompson River – 03/28/2019

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Above RV park at large bend in special regulation water

Big Thompson River 03/28/2019 Photo Album

After three challenging days of fishing on the North Platte River, I was anxious for a day of rest on Wednesday. Unfortunately this day developed into the nicest day of the spring of 2019. It would have been an ideal day to fly fish, but I took advantage to plant the remainder of my raised beds. A glance at the five day forecast revealed that Thursday was the last mild day, before cold weather and a storm arrived. One day of relaxation was enough, and I pondered options for a day of fishing on Thursday.

South Boulder Creek, the North Fork of St. Vrain Creek, the Big Thompson River and the Cache la Poudre were on my radar, but after reviewing streamflows and fly shop fishing reports I settled on the Big Thompson. Current flows in the canyon below Lake Estes were a moderate 37 CFS, and I was drawn to low clear water after the dirty conditions on the North Platte.

I departed from my house in Denver by 8:45, and this enabled me to arrive at a pullout five miles below the dam at 10:30AM. The low clear flows were indeed in place, and the air temperature was in the mid-fifties, as I jumped into my waders and pulled on a fleece layer. The weather remained comfortable throughout my day on the river. The wind gusted off and on, but it did not represent a significant hindrance until the final thirty minutes.

Lots of Visible Fish in This Starting Area

The starting location was a thirty yard long relatively slow moving pool, and five or six small trout darted from the bank, where I entered to begin my morning quest for trout. I began the morning with a yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear nymph, and red annelid worm. I prospected with this combination for ten minutes, and managed two refusals to the fat Albert. I was skeptical of the annelid, so I exchanged it for a beadhead RS2. These three flies finally attracted interest, and I landed four trout before I took my lunch break at noon. A brown trout and rainbow nabbed the RS2, and then a small brown grabbed the hares ear. The last of the four trout netted in the morning slurped the yellow fat Albert, and this represented my first trout caught on a dry fly in 2019.

Grabbed a RS2

During the one hour before lunch I continued to notice sporadic refusals to the fat Albert, and I was late to set the hook on quite a few fish. I speculated that these were small fish that nipped the tiny RS2. I observed several groups of rainbows that appeared to be in spawning mode, so I exchanged the hares ear for an apricot soft egg, and I bounced this along the bottom for the last thirty minutes to no avail.

A Rainbow Joins the Count

The Trout Snack

After lunch I continued with the egg and RS2 for a bit without success, so I once again made a change and replaced the egg fly with a salvation nymph. A fifteen minute trial failed to change my fortunes, so I reverted to the hares ear and retained the RS2. From 12:30 until 2:30 I migrated upstream with the yellow fat Albert, hares ear, and RS2; and I tallied three small brown trout. All these fish slashed the RS2, as I drifted the dry/dropper configuration along the rocks that bordered the left and right bank. The third brown actually consumed a sparkle wing RS2, as I broke off the initial RS2 in the process of landing fish number six.

By 2:30 I encountered another angler, so I climbed the bank and hiked back along the shoulder of highway 34, until I returned to my starting point. This section of the river was the thirty yard slow moving pool that entertained me during the early stages of my outing. I decided to experiment with a dry fly in the area, where I could see the reaction of visible trout. I selected a size 14 gray stimulator from my fly box, and I began to shoot long casts to visible fish. The wind accelerated significantly compared to earlier, and I was forced to compensate by directing casts ten feet to the right of the location I targeted.

Needless to say accuracy was not an effective part of my arsenal; however, I did manage to generate a look and several splashy refusals to the stimulator. I paused to consider downsizing to a size 16 deer hair caddis, but the wind once again lashed out with several extended gusts. These outbursts rippled the surface of the water, but once the blast of air subsided, three or four rises materialized throughout the pool. I knew from similar experiences in the past, that the sudden surface feeding probably resulted from terrestrials being blown into the water. I immediately stripped up my line and added a size 18 black parachute ant on a twelve inch dropper behind the stimulator.

Lunch View

I began to cast the double dry to the areas, where I spotted rises, and during the last twenty minutes I succeeded in hooking and landing a brown trout to elevate the fish count to eight. In addition I generated three temporary connections. I feel certain that I cracked the code, and ants were the food of choice for the opportunistic Big Thompson trout. Unfortunately it was very difficult to detect the subtle slurp of the trout given the low riding ant and the rippled surface.

Thursday was a pleasant spring day in the Rocky Mountains. I landed eight small trout over four hours including two on dry flies. The catch rate of two per hour was average based on my fly fishing history. In retrospect I should have factored in the high ratio of rainbow trout in the Big Thompson River and the seasonal spawning ritual, when I chose my destination. I plan to rest the Big T for several weeks, before I return, when the rainbow reproduction cycle ebbs.

Fish Landed: 8

 

 

North Platte River – 03/26/2019

Time: 10:00AM – 11:30AM

Location: Fremont Canyon below Pathfinder Dam

North Platte River 03/26/2019 Photo Album

Fremon Canyon. Steve and I visited this short section of the North Platte River between Pathfinder and Alcova on 03/27/2013, and we experienced no success; but various sources suggested that water clarity was excellent and large fish were present in 2019. Fremont Canyon was our original destination on Sunday upon our arrival in central Wyoming, but when we cruised along the upper and most accessible half mile, the parking lot was overflowing, and fishermen dominated all the available water.

Our original plan included a trip to the Miracle Mile above Pathfinder on Tuesday, March 26, but this option necessitated a two hour drive over a muddy dirt road, and the weather reports highlighted wind velocities in excess of twenty miles per hour. This combination of adverse factors caused us to visit the much closer Fremont Canyon stretch, and we banked on Tuesday being less crowded than Sunday.

Steve at the Top of the Pool and Run

We were not surprised by the harsh assault on our senses, when we stepped out of the car at the large parking area high above the river and below the bridge that spans the North Platte on the road that leads to the Miracle Mile. The wind blasted our bodies, and the temperature hovered in the low forties. The weather forecast suggested high temperatures of sixty degrees, but this seemed like wishful thinking upon our arrival. Two other vehicles were in the parking lot, so Steve and I hustled to pull on our waders and an endless array of additional layers to combat the Wyoming spring chill. The wind would be a constant nuisance during our time on the water, but the presence of the sun did elevate the temperature to the upper forties before we left.

Our rods remained rigged with eggs and worms from our float on Monday; so once our layers, sunscreen and hats were in place, we descended a relatively steep angled path to the river. The flows seemed low as a result of the extremely wide streambed populated by an abundant quantity of exposed rocks. but once we approached the bank of the river, we noticed that the velocity and depth were greater than anticipated from a distance.

Looks Great

One of the fishermen in the parking lot occupied the large wide pool below the bridge, so Steve and I migrated toward a relatively long narrow run and pool below him. Another group of fishermen were visible fifty yards downstream from the section that we claimed. Our area was approximately thirty yards long, and the main current tumbled from the top of the section and then raced within five to ten feet of the north bank. The opposite side appeared to be more attractive with a wider shelf pool, so I requested Steve’s permission to cross at the tail. He approved of my plan, since he left his wading staff in the car.

Heavy Metal Worm Gets Tested

I ambled downstream to the tail and began a crossing, but three-fourths of the way I encountered fast water above my knees, so I retreated and modified my plan. Steve remained at the top of the run, so I began an upstream approach from the right bank. My line was configured with an apricot bead egg imitation, a D-ribbed red annelid worm and a second smaller red worm. The wind was a constant, and I began to chuck the rig  up and across, and then allowed the three fly arrangement to drift downstream with numerous mends. I covered ten yards with no success, at which point I arrived at the widest part of the pool. This spot was just above where the streambed narrowed and the current accelerated, so I once again attempted a crossing. I hoped that the slower current would enable me to manage the deeper channel close to the south bank, but alas when I reached that impediment to crossing, I was thigh deep, so I once again backed away. I was now committed to fishing the remainder of the pool from the north side.

Sucker Spawn Takes a Turn

I accepted my position and once again focused on fishing the North Platte River in Fremont Canyon. After thirty minutes with no sign of a fish, I began to consider a fly change. I decided to retain the egg and larger annelid, while I rotated other flies through the bottom position on my line. I was anxious to experiment with the heavy metal worm, that I tied in my Andrew Grillos class, so that was the next fly to occupy my line. I also was not sure whether my flies were getting deep enough, so the relatively large tungsten bead in the center of the worm was also a welcome addition.

Sumpbuster Did Not Bust

Unfortunately the heavy metal worm did not reverse my fortunes, so I cycled through a series of fly changes over the next hour, as I slowly progressed upstream toward Steve. Next I plucked a sucker spawn cluster from my fleece, and I allotted a fair amount of time to this new winter creation. No dice. The sucker spawn was not weighted, so I crimped another split shot to my leader to achieve more depth. I employed a dead drift as well as a swing at the end of the drift, but none of these tactics brought an ounce of success.

20 Incher Not Liked by Trout

Next I knotted a conehead slumpbuster to my line, and I fished this passively on a dead drift and then imparted various strips and twitches. The fish were not impressed. During the remainder of my time I cycled through a 20 incher, orange scud, and flashback zebra midge; but I was disappointed when 11:30 arrived without a sign of fish in Fremont Canyon. I sensed that I was pushing my rehabilitated elbow to the limit with constant casting across and into the wind, and the frequent mends were straining the joint excessively. Steve and I conferred and wisely decided to cut our losses and call it a day.

Mercury Midge Given a Chance

Steve and I remain fishless in Fremont Canyon. The combination of high wind and lockjawed fish made our one and a half hours of fly fishing a less than pleasurable experience. It will probably be another five years before we return, if we ever return.

Fish Landed: 0

North Platte River – 03/25/2019

Time: 8:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Grey Reef and downstream for seven miles.

North Platte River 03/25/2019 Photo Album

My friend, Steve, and I floated the North Platte River below Grey Reef in six of the last seven years, and Monday, March 25 was our selected date for 2019. Once again we arranged to use Wyoming Fly Fishing Guide Service, and we requested the repeat services of our guide, Greg. As we drove to Fremont Canyon on Sunday, we were very concerned with the dark olive to brown color of the river, as heavy snow from the Bomb Cyclone snowstorm continued to melt and discolor the river.

We anxiously monitored the weather forecasts, and we were relieved to notice a sudden change for Monday. Originally the weather experts expected a high of 48 degrees with a 40% chance of snow and rain, but Sunday’s version suggested more favorable conditions of 52 degrees with a 10% chance of precipitation. Imagine our surprise and disappointment, when we checked on Monday morning and discovered a reversal to highs in the upper forties with wind, snow and rain likely up until noon. The turbid condition of the river and the bleak weather certainly elevated my level of concern.

Greg’s New Clackacraft

As expected, weather was the most significant factor on Monday, March 25. The temperature hovered in the thirties throughout the morning, and the frigid conditions were accompanied by wind, snow flurries, and heavy cloud cover. It was rather miserable. I placed my mittens containing hand warmers next to my seat in the rear of the boat, and every time we stopped fishing, I jammed my frozen hands into these comfort zones.

Quite a Circus at the Boat Ramp

The river was a fairly dense olive color even at the boat ramp below the dam, but our guide assured us that the visibility was adequate for the resident trout. The sun broke through the dense clouds in the late morning for a brief pleasant period, but then another large cloud rushed in, and the afternoon approximated the morning minus the snow with temperatures in the balmy low forties. For the last hour the clouds lifted a bit, and I refrained from placing my hands in the sanctuary of my mittens.

Because of the dirty water conditions our guide, Greg, worked extra hard to remain in the first three miles for an extended period of time. He knew the location of the tributaries dumping sediments, so he repeatedly rowed upstream along the bank to enable multiple drifts through productive fish holding runs in the upper river.

Effective Flies

Pretty Fish

My line contained an apricot egg throughout the day, and a red annelid worm was a mainstay fifteen inches below the egg. Greg rotated a third fly twelve inches below the worm; and that position varied between smaller annelids of different colors, a gray leech, and a midge emerger. Over the course of the 7.5 hour, seven mile float I landed three rainbows in the morning and three more in the afternoon. Six fish in 7.5 hours of fishing represented disappointing results particularly for the North Platte Grey Reef section compared to history. All six fish were strong silver fighters in the fourteen to sixteen inch range, so size was not an issue. The first landed rainbow gobbled the orange egg, and the fifth fish smacked the midge emerger. The remainder of my catch grabbed one of the red annelid worms.

A Nice North Platte Rainbow

Overall it was one of my worst experiences on the tailwater west of Casper, WY. The common denominator to slow fishing on the North Platte seems to be timing. Our worst float fishing numbers coincided with trips that did not overlap with the spring flush. The snow melt turbidity was another negative in my opinion. The cold wet windy conditions were tolerable, when fishing action dominated; however, slow fishing caused one’s thoughts to dwell on adverse weather.

Fish Landed: 6

A Pretty Stretch

North Platte River – 03/24/2019

Time: 2:00PM – 4:30PM

Location: North Platte River, Alcova Afterbay

North Platte River 03/24/2019 Photo Album

For six out of the last seven years my friend, Steve, and I took advantage of the discount offered by Wyoming Fly Fishing Guide Service for guided float trips before April 1. During four of those six visits to Grey Reef our float trip coincided with the flush. During the flush large volumes of water are released from the dam overnight to cleanse the river bottom for improved rainbow trout spawning. Flows generally return to 500 cfs during the day, and the flush cycle repeats over a seven to ten day period. The fishing during the flush can generally be characterized as superb, since the temporary release kicks up abundant quantities of annelid worms, leeches and eggs; and the resident population of fish gorge on the high protein diet. Our goal for 2019 was to once again take advantage of the flush phenomenon.

Steve arrived at my house a bit before 7:30AM on Sunday, March 24; and we completed a gear transfer and hit the highway by 7:30. I was the designated driver, since Steve acted as the pilot during our 2018 expedition. We arrived in Casper, WY by 11:30AM, and we stopped for a quick lunch at Wendy’s. Next on our agenda was to check in at the Hampton Inn, and after taking care of that important task we refueled at a gas station on Poplar Avenue. We chose the North Platte River as our destination for Sunday, and we were now on our way. The Wyoming Fly Fishing Guide Service shop was along our route, so we stopped to say hello, but the door was locked. Failing to find someone with local information at the guide shop caused us to walk across the driveway to the neighboring fly shop. The door was unlocked, so we entered, but after calling for a staff person several times, no one responded.

We finally decided to proceed to Fremont Canyon without local information, and after another twenty-five miles we arrived at the large parking lot below Pathfinder Dam. Our route took us along the North Platte River below Grey Reef, and we were quite disappointed to view the off colored water that represented our fishing destination on Monday. Quite a bit of snow cover from the Bomb Cyclone storm remained, and warmer temperatures generated steady melt in the washes and tributaries that fed the North Platte thus creating the turbid conditions.

The combination of it being a weekend and the dirty water below Grey Reef apparently herded the anglers to Fremont Canyon, as all the parking lots were filled to capacity, and from the road high above the river we could see a large number of fishermen occupying all the accessible prime fishing locales. We drove downstream for a couple of miles, until we realized that Fremont Canyon quickly transforms into a deep gorge with sheer side walls, and we were not interested in a rock climbing exercise. We weighed our options and decided to reverse direction to the Alcova afterbay, a section that we fished on several past trips with some success.

The back road that followed Fremont Canyon downstream eventually led us across a bridge that was undergoing construction, and then we turned on to a moderately muddy dirt lane that delivered us to the crude boat launch in the afterbay. Another SUV was parked nearby, and we could see a pair of anglers in the wide run next to the boat launch. In addition a group of four occupied the nice run in the vicinity of a tall post. This was an area that I favored based on success on previous trips.

One of the Flies of Choice

I suited up with a fleece layer and Adidas pullover and rigged an apricot bead egg, D-rib red worm, and slumpbuster. By the time Steve and I were ready to fish, the group of four vacated the post area, so we migrated upstream to a nice run just below the wooden landmark. As I began probing the run, the heavily weighted conehead slumpbuster caused frequent snags in the relatively low flows, so I swapped it for a flashback zebra midge larva.

The air temperature was around fifty degrees when we began, and the water was mostly clear with a tinge of color. After I switched to the lighter rig, I enjoyed better drifts. I spotted a few sporadic rises during this time frame, and within fifteen minutes I hooked a thrashing rainbow trout. Unfortunately my joy was short lived, as the spirited trout made a quick escape. I sensed that the eater grabbed the midge larva, but I could not be certain about this assumption.

I continued casting and spotted two decent fish in a shallow depression on the opposite side of the run from my position. I made a multitude of drifts to this vicinity, but I concluded that the fish were in spawning mode and not interested in eating. I shifted my attention to the area downstream and across from the deeper run. This change in focus paid off, when the thingamabobber dove, and I connected with a breathtaking slab of a rainbow. The heavy adversary dashed back and forth and then rushed upstream, and finally I pressured it back down the run and into my net. The tail of the beast extended four or five inches beyond my net opening, and this suggested I landed a twenty inch fish. I gently released my prize and turned my attention back to the area below the depression.

Stunner

It was not long before the indicator once again skipped, and this time a fourteen inch rainbow splashed into my net. Both landed fish grabbed either the apricot egg or the red worm. The worm was in the mouth of the fish, but this does not rule out the possibility that the fish attacked the egg.

Smaller But Still Pleased

Steve and I persisted for another 1.5 hours, as we worked up and down the forty yard stretch on our side of the river, but neither of us could generate additional action. Occasional rises punctuated our time on the river, but we could not attract trout to our flies. During the last twenty minutes I converted to a missing link dry fly, and I placed some nice downstream casts over the locations of the rises, but the all purpose dry fly was totally ignored.

The sky clouded up and the wind gusted during the middle of the afternoon, so I returned to the car and retrieved my fingerless gloves and hat with earflaps. The construction crew at the bridge began digging in the river, and this caused significant sedimentation. By 4:30 Steve and I were chilled and bored, so we called it a day and returned to the warmth of the car. Two fish in 2.5 hours was not outstanding, but a twenty inch rainbow was certainly something to be thankful for.

Fish Landed: 2

Boulder Creek – 03/21/2019

Boulder Creek 03/21/2019 Photo Album

When I was young, opening day of the trout season was a big deal. I could barely sleep the night before; and my dad, brother and I always woke up before dawn to secure a favorite spot along the local stream. My dad and grandfather typically accompanied the stocking truck and identified the prime spots for opening day success.

My how my fishing life has changed. Unlike Pennsylvania, Colorado does not have an opening day. Trout fishing is a year round endeavor for those souls hardy enough to endure frigid winter temperatures and the arduous hike through snow. I am not much of a winter fisherman, since the sport ceases to be fun, when one’s foremost thoughts turn to toe warmers, hand warmers and car heaters rather than the allure of catching fish.

I experienced a severe case of tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow from August 2017 through the end of the 2018 season, and I pledged to avoid a fishing rod from my last day on November 15 until the end of February. During this time I faithfully completed my wrist, elbow and shoulder therapy on a three times per week schedule. Cold temperatures during the first week of March suggested skiing more than fishing, and a getaway to Arizona from March 9 through March 14 further delayed any thoughts of wetting a line.

Finally a break in the weather appeared on the five day forecast for Denver, CO with a high predicted to reach 58 degrees on March 21. I could no longer resist the urge to open my 2019 season on a Colorado stream. A friend reported clear conditions on the Cache la Poudre and South Boulder Creek, and I noted that flows on the Big Thompson in the canyon below Lake Estes were decent at 38 CFS. Unfortunately Jane reminded me, that we had a dinner date with another couple at 6PM on Thursday night, so this dictated a short trip. Boulder Creek in Boulder, CO is a thirty minute drive, and temperatures in the front range university town were reasonable and similar to Denver.

Nice Deep Run to Start My Season

I made the late morning drive to Boulder and pulled into a parking lot near the creek. The air temperature was in the low fifties, as I pulled on my fleece and waders, and in my two hours on the water the sun warmed the air to the upper fifties. By the time I geared up and stashed my lunch in my backpack and hiked along the path for ten minutes, it was noon; so I found a spot along the creek and devoured my sandwich, carrots and yogurt. Unlike my Pennsylvania opening days, I only encountered one other pair of anglers, a young man and woman engaged in casting and probing the stream for hungry trout. I planned to hike for twenty minutes, but the encounter with the couple caused me to reverse my direction, and I cut to the creek forty yards upstream.

I began my quest for 2019 trout with a peacock-body hippy stomper, a beadhead hares ear nymph and an ultra zug bug. The water was slightly stained, but visibility was good to three feet with most of the murkiness confined to the deeper slow moving pools. The first fifteen minutes failed to yield any action, so I exchanged the ultra zug bug for a salad spinner. I was catching bottom frequently with the two size 14 beaded nymphs, and I hoped that the small midge emerger would correct that problem. The ploy worked, and I hooked and landed my first fish in a nice riffle two feet deep. Number one was a spunky brown trout in the nine inch range, and I was very pleased to guide it into the net. I snapped a couple photos and then gently released the wild jewel into its home waters.

Showing Off First Trout of the New Season

Another nice section appeared shortly thereafter, and two large exposed boulders adorned the left side of a deep run. The hippy stomper paused next to the downstream rock in front of me, and I lifted the rod tip and discovered, that I foul hooked another feisty brown trout. I persisted in the same area and tossed a cast above the upper boulder, and as it swept by the left side of the large obstruction, another brown trout grabbed the beadhead hares ear. This brown was slightly larger than the first one, and again I paused to photograph my opening day prize.

Not Bad for Boulder Creek

As this scenario was playing out, I heard some loud sounds emanating from an area fifty yards upstream, and a brief survey of the situation revealed a team of workers doing streamside cleanup. The sound was the annoying rasp of a chainsaw, and the crew proceeded to chop up a fallen tree, that was then dragged up the bank by a small front-end loader. Needless to say this activity did not bode well for a downstream fisherman, so I climbed the bank to the path and circled around the group, until I was forty yards above the workers.

Last Fish Emerged from the Edge of the Run Along the Right Bank

For the next hour I continued my upstream progression, and I managed one temporary hook up and another landed brown. The creek grew increasingly muddy apparently from higher level snow melt, since no snow remained in the area that I passed through. In order to increase the visibility of my flies, I swapped the salad spinner for a size 14 prince nymph, and my third and last fish fell for the peacock attractor. I considered converting to a small streamer, but by the time the flows morphed into chocolate milk I was at the bridge near the parking area, and my watch told me it was 2PM. The adverse conditions convinced me to call it a day in order to allow enough time to comfortably meet my dinner commitment.

Tipping Up for a Photo

Three fish in two hours is below my normal average, but I was happy to experience a moderate level of success on my opening day. The sixty degree temperatures and brilliant sunshine were welcome on the second day of spring, and I overcame competing anglers, stream clean up crews and muddy conditions to achieve a level of success. A new season arrived, and I am anxious to learn what the future holds.

Fish Landed: 3

2018 Top Ten – 12/29/2018

In a year that included 93 fishing trips and more than 1,200 fish in my net, how is it possible to select a top ten list? My travels included the trip of a lifetime to the other side of the world. In North America I ventured to central Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Montana. Surprisingly after twenty-seven years of fly fishing in Colorado, I discovered some new places during my 2018 wanderings. I read the 93 posts that documented my fishing trips over the past year, and I whittled the possibilites down to 35. From this list of highlights I culled fourteen outings that stood above the others, and then I boiled that list down to a 2018 top ten. Many outstanding outings failed to make the cut, and it was difficult to not overload the rankings with days in New Zealand, since that place was so spectacular and unique. Here they are, my top ten fishing adventures of 2018.

10. Eagle River 06/25/2018– Monday June 25 was my best outing during my annual search for hot action while edge fishing Colorado freestones, as they declined from peak run off. During 2018 the low snow pack caused flows to drop three weeks early, so I encountered 400 CFS on June 25. On this day I met dense hatches of golden stoneflies, pale morning duns, yellow sallies and caddis; and my fly choices proved effective, as I landed seventeen trout including many muscular battlers in the 13 -15 inch range.

9.South Platte River 04/05/2018  – Nineteen trout landed including numerous hard fighting rainbows and browns in the twelve to fifteen inch range made this a candidate for my top ten. A 3.5 hour blue winged olive hatch nudged it toward the top ten, but the gratification associated with successfully introducing a new fly secured a spot at number nine. The Klinkhammer BWO emerger saved the day.

Perfect Rainbow Pose

8. North Fork of the White River 07/04/2018 – Abundant numbers of gorgeous wild fish on the Fourth of July in the Flattops is hard to beat. This was my first visit to the Flattops area in a time frame other than September, and it will not be my last.

7. South Boulder Creek 10/19/2018 – South Boulder Creek provided numerous exceptional memories in 2018, but this day stood out as the best. Low flows, solitude, mild autumn weather and hungry fish made October 19 a memorable day. My tried and true dry/dropper featuring a hippy stomper, ultra zug bug and hares ear nymph did the heavy lifting.

The Narrow Pool Yielded Two Trout

6. Piney River 07/11/2018 – How could a fifty fish day using dry flies while achieving a grand slam not make the top ten? It was a spectacular summer day in July in the Colorado backcountry. I even enjoyed some success with a green drake comparadun.

5. North Platte River 03/22/2018 – Was a five fish day during blustery fifty degree weather in Wyoming truly worthy of a top ten ranking? This Thursday in March was my first visit to the Miracle Mile, and it lived up to its reputation. Five stunning rainbows in the sixteen to twenty inch range left a large impression on my memory banks.

Quite a Bend

4. Mill Creek 08/18/2018 – I landed thirty fish in three hours, and I was quite pleased with that outcome. All the trout were brightly colored Yellowstone cutthroats, and that tipped this day from excellent to exceptional. New water and a different species of fish earned extra credit in my evaluation.

Glistening

3. Mountain Creek 10/25/2018 – This was another new piece of water that I discovered in 2018. I used a generic name to protect its fragile status. On this day in late October the fish were plentiful and aggressive despite low clear flows. Oversized trout in a tiny high elevation stream are always a positive, and I suspect Mountain Creek will appear in a future blog post.

Second Oversized Brown for Small Stream

2. South Platte River 10/03/2018 – Hot fishing, glorious scenery, balmy weather and the companionship of my lovely wife elevated Wednesday to a memorable day in 2018. The above sentence was extracted from the summary paragraph of 10/03/2018 blog post. I have very little to add, and I would relive this day in a heartbeat.

Spectacular Day

1. Wangapeka River 01/23/2018 –  I was tempted to rank all six of my fly fishing days in New Zealand among my top ten, but that would have reflected unfair weighting for the uniqueness of the fisheries and the surrounding beauty. Instead I chose this day as my best of the trip and for all of 2018. Why not? Although I only landed four brown trout on this day, each was a plump wild fish in the 18 -24 inch range. I caught four of the largest brown trout of my life in the same day! Numerous additional opportunities to land large fish presented themselves in the form of long distance releases, refusals, and sighted fish that ignored my offerings. This was New Zealand sight fishing at its finest.

Beauty

 

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek – 11/15/2018

Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Lavern Johnson Park

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek 11/15/2018 Photo Album

A snowstorm on Sunday deposited three or four inches in Stapleton, but according to news reports it delivered a foot to Boulder and the front range foothills. The weather forecast predicted highs of 60 degrees in Denver on Wednesday and Thursday, and I targeted one of these days for a late season fishing adventure. I dropped the Santa Fe off at the auto body shop on Monday for repairs to the bumper after a minor rear end incident on an earlier fishing trip to Boulder, and this reduced Jane and I to two cars. Adding to the logistical challenge of getting away for some stream time, the 1998 RAV displayed battery woes, and I was unable to start it on Tuesday. With Jane’s assistance we started it using jumper cables, and I immediately drove it to the nearby Brakes Plus. The man at the counter checked the schedule and committed to a diagnosis on Wednesday. Our two person family with three vehicles was now reduced to one on Wednesday, and I was reluctant to strand Jane with no transportation, so I delayed my fishing plans to Thursday.

LaVern Johnson Park

Fortunately Brakes Plus lived up to their commitment, and they replaced the battery in the RAV on Wednesday. Jane needed her Forte for tennis permanent court time on Thursday, so my fly fishing venture was dependent on the twenty year old RAV 4. Originally I selected Boulder Creek within the city of Boulder as my destination, but when I checked the flows, I noticed a 10 CFS spike on Tuesday and Wednesday. I suspected that this resulted from low elevation snow melt from the dumping on Sunday and Monday, and I never enjoyed much success under these conditions. I checked the North Fork of the St. Vrain, and the graph displayed a nice even line at 28 CFS. Of course this was measured at the outflow from the dam, and melting snow would impact the conditions below that location, but I surmised that there was less distance for run off effect.

I stuffed all my gear in the tiny RAV 4 and departed Denver by 10:30AM on Thursday morning. The air temperature was already at 54 degrees in Denver, and by the time I pulled into a parking space at Lavern Johnson Park, the temperature in Lyons was 58 degrees. Thursday evolved into a very mild sunny day in Lyons and Colorado, and I was optimistic that I might land some late season trout. Before I paid my $5 fee for four hours of parking, I visited the rest room and checked out the stream along the way. The creek was crystal clear and flowing at 28 CFS. Residual mounds of snow were evident in the shade, and full scale thawing was in effect, but I concluded that the conditions were favorable for a few hours of fly fishing.

Red Hippy Stomper

I rigged my Orvis Access four weight and quickly strode across the park to the downstream border with private land next to the RV camping space. I knotted a silver ice dub body hippy stomper to my line and added a beadhead hares ear on a 3.5 foot dropper, and I began to prospect the small stream. The St. Vrain in the park forms a  huge horseshoe, and man made dams and rocky stream improvement structures create a series of deep pools and eddies throughout the public area. These were my prime targets, although I allocated a few casts to the deep runs and pockets in between the human creations. The stream improvement project evidently was a response to the 2013 flood.

After thirty minutes of focused fishing I recorded only a rude refusal to the hippy stomper, so I paused and found a picnic table in the sun, whereupon I consumed my small lunch. At 12:15 I resumed my quest, and I added a beadhead ultra zug bug to my offerings. Finally in a deep shelf pool along the current seam formed by a deep run, I connected with two small brown trout. The first extended to eight inches, and I paused to snap a photo. This proved to be a fortuitous choice, as it represented the first and largest fish of the day.

First and Largest

My optimism elevated somewhat, and I continued around the curve and into the sunlight in the western section of the horseshoe. Although the temperature was nearly sixty degrees, my wet hands sent out a stinging sensation, while I dwelled in the shade from the steep hill on the south side of the creek.

One of the first places I encountered when I migrated into the sunshine was a long clear pool, and I sprayed some long casts through the bottom end of the area. A deep trough bordered the left bank next to a large rectangular rock, and I shifted my back cast to the right in order to angle a cast to the left side. I was surprised and depressed, when I discovered that I wrapped the trailing nymphs around an overhanging branch high above the creek. I was very reluctant to write off three flies, but the limb was out of reach, even when I climbed to the top of the bank. Finally I conceded to the tree and grabbed the leader as close to the hippy stomper as I could, and gave the line a strong steady pull. The tippet snapped below the hippy stomper, so I salvaged the largest and newest fly, but the two nymphs taunted me from their perch near the end of the overhanging branch.

I was about to replace the nymphs with a new set, when I developed another scheme. A jumble of dead branches was visible at the base of a tree on the opposite side of the creek, so I waded across at the tail of the pool and lifted the longest of the cluster. It was quite thick and extended to twelve feet, so I grasped it in the middle to balance the weight and lugged it back to the top of the high right bank. I used the clumsy branch like a jousting pole and managed to thrust the tip into the monofilament jumble and then lowered it toward the ground. Amazingly I snagged the ultra zug bug in the split in the end of the long pole, and I quickly recovered it, but the hares ear was no where to be found.

I congratulated myself for recovering two out of three, but then I made one last inspection of the branch dangling high above the creek. I spotted another tangled mass of line, and I concluded that it was the end of my dry/dropper rig, and a beadhead nymph dangled from the mess. I deployed the battering ram one more time and thrust it into the tangled web, and once again I succeeded in stripping the line from the tree. I placed my impromptu tool on the ground and rushed to the tip, where I discovered a previous angler’s line and a decaying beadhead nymph. The bead and hook were all that remained of an aging unidentifiable nymph imitation. I took credit for removing the fishing waste from the tree and returned to reconfiguring my line.

Since I was faced with nearly a total rebuild, I used the interruption to swap the silver hippy stomper for one of my trusted peacock body versions. I replaced the ultra zug bug and hares ear with fresh versions of the same flies, and I resumed my casting in the attractive pool. Of course I was extremely conscious of the streamside trees during my return engagement to fly fishing St. Vrain Creek.

Sunshine Welcome

The head of the pool paid dividends, when I connected with two additional small brown trout on the hares ear, and then I moved to the next attractive man-made structure. At some point during this interval a fish rose to the hippy stomper, and I quickly lifted the rod tip and felt a solid connection. This fish was clearly larger than my previous catches, but I was disappointed to discover that it was foul hooked after refusing the foam attractor. The victim of this inadvertent hook up was a stunning rainbow trout with a wide orange-red stripe along its side. I was disappointed with the foul hook, but I was excited to discover the existence of rainbow trout in the Lavern Johnson Park stretch.

During the remainder of my time on the creek I curled around the northwest section of the bend until I reached the huge pool just below the Riverbend dance floor, where Dan and Ariel performed their first dance on September 14. Along the way I notched a fifth small brown trout to finish the day at five. Five is a relatively low total, and the size of the fish was in the six to eight inch range, but I was nonetheless pleased with my small level of success. The sun was bright, and the temperature approached sixty degrees, and I escaped a skunking during ice cold snow melt conditions. A five fish day on November 15 is always welcome in my book.

Fish Landed: 5

 

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek – 11/10/2018

Time: 11:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Buttonrock Preserve

North Fork of St. Vrain Creek 11/10/2018 Photo Album

After a superb outing on October 29 on South Boulder Creek, I was itching to wet a line a few more times during 2018; however, the weather in early November was being unusually uncooperative. Between October 30 and November 10 a series of light snowstorms and cold fronts kept the high temperatures in the forties and thirties, and I desire temperatures to remain in the 45 -55 range to allow a modest amount of comfort. Highs in the mid-fifties in Denver generally translate to ten degrees cooler in the mountains and foothills, so I used the first two weeks of November to kick off my production fly tying for the 2019 season.

Finally when I checked the long term forecast, I noticed that Saturday November 10 was projected to yield a high in the mid to upper fifties in Denver. Jane and I were dog sitting our grandpuppy Zuni, and she loves the trails and off leash area at Buttonrock Preserve, so we scheduled a combined fly fishing/dog walking excursion. The high temperature in Lyons, the closest nearby town, was forecast to reach fifty-one degrees on Saturday, so I gambled that I could tolerate the chill and land a few trout.

Jane and I departed Stapleton by 9:30 and after stopping to fuel the car and buy a new leash for Zuni, we arrived at the nearly full parking area below Buttonrock by 10:50. The abundance of vehicles elevated my concerns over angler competition, and I passed a few fishermen on my way to the stream, but most of the visitors were dog walkers. I later told Jane that the Buttonrock Preserve is the boardwalk of dogs, as we passed a steady parade of canines of every variety.

Jane was prepared to leave the parking area almost immediately, and Zuni was not demonstrating an abundance of patience, so they departed, while I cycled through my fishing preparation ritual. One of Jane’s water bottles leaked and swamped the floor mat in the back of the Santa Fe, so I spent additional time repositioning  clothing and bags to avoid saturation. The stool and carpet sample that I normally use to pull on my waders were drenched with water, so I sat on a boulder in front of the car to wader up, and this added additional preparation time to my venture.

I elected my Orvis Access four weight to coddle my elbow, even though my final physical therapy appointment occurred on Thursday. The air temperature on the dashboard registered forty-one degrees, and a stiff breeze blasted down the canyon. The wind was strong enough to periodically create dust clouds, and this was a weather factor that I failed to consider. The sky was overcast and remained mostly in this state for my entire time on the creek.

I wore my fishing shirt and a fleece and stuffed my light down coat in my backpack along with my lunch and then cinched my long sleeved Under Armour shirt around my waist. For head gear I chose my New Zealand billed hat with ear flaps, and during my 2.5 hours in the canyon, I was thankful for this choice. I hiked for over a half hour at a decent pace, and the wind chill and shade forced me to stuff the hand that was not holding the rod inside my waders to prevent numbing and aching from the cold. The wind was a huge negative, that I did not bargain for, and I actually considered returning to the car to eat my lunch and wait for Jane and Zuni to complete their loop.

Finally I reached my targeted starting point, and I angled down to the stream, where I removed all my upper body layers and pulled on my Under Armour shirt. To combat the chilling impact of the wind I added my fishing shirt, fleece and light down and snugged my ear flaps over my ears. In the process of returning the sweaty undershirt to my backpack, my sandwich wrap tumbled to the ground and dumped my sandwich on to some rocks. I lost some of the extras on my ham sandwich, but quickly slapped the bread layers back together along with the ham and lettuce to salvage a reasonably appetizing lunch option.

Nice Clear Flows

I was now ready to begin my fishing adventure. I knotted a peacock hippy stomper to my line and then added an iron sally as the solitary dropper, and I began to prospect the deep holes and likely fish holding locations. The flow was low but actually quite acceptable for early November. In a nice long run early in the game, a fish darted to the surface and refused the hippy stomper, and in a spot slightly above this rejection I felt the temporary tug of another fish, as it latched on to the iron sally. I was encouraged that two fish found my flies interesting, but I was disappointed that the fish counter remained locked on zero.

After the two early fish encounters I suffered through an extended dry spell. I did learn during this lull that the fish were concentrated in deep slow moving pools. I wasted my time prospecting faster runs and riffles of moderate depth, before I isolated the prime holding water on November 10. During the first 1.5 hours I registered a few more temporary hookups on small fish, before I approached another nice long pool with a moderate center current and four to six feet of depth in the upper section.

By now I added an ultra zug bug as a third fly below the iron sally, and I cast toward the midsection of the long pool. The hippy stomper paused, and I reacted with a solid hook set, and this action resulted with a small rainbow trout in my net. The length of this trout was in the vicinity of six inches, so I tentatively counted it as my first fish of the day. I carefully waded to the middle portion of the run and paused to observe, and I was both amazed and encouraged to witness a few sporadic rises. Initially the rises were in the top fourth of the pool along the perimeter of a deep pocket, where the creek spilled over a curved and spaced wall of exposed rocks.

I lobbed some casts to this upper section, but the fish continued their sporadic feeding and ignored my large hippy stomper and subsurface offerings. What could these fish be eating? As I continued to observe, I spotted some small insects, as they skittered across the water. I was unable to identify the food source, nor was I able to place the species as mayfly, caddis or stonefly. Given the cloudy conditions and the time of year, I concluded that a sparse blue winged olive hatch was in progress, so I swapped the ultra zug bug for a RS2, and I began drifting and swinging the flies through the pool.

The Only Fish on Saturday, November 10

My logic was sound, but the trout ignored my nymphs whether dead drifted or active, and I was about to modify my approach, when a fish suddenly crushed the hippy stomper. I was almost caught off guard, but I responded in time to hook and land a ten inch rainbow, with the foam attractor solidly attached to its lip. This trout was clearly above my minimum threshold, so I made it my first legitimate catch of the day, and then I resumed casting.

After ten unsuccessful drifts I once again paused. By now five or six fish were rising throughout the length of the pool. I scanned the air above the creek, and I saw tiny midges and two small stoneflies. The stoneflies were easily distinguishable, because two sets of wings were visible, as they fluttered above the water. I also noticed an insect as it tumbled and skittered across the surface, and I assumed that it was a stonefly. I was undecided over my next step, but I decided to try a size 22 CDC blue winged olive first.

I tied the CDC BWO to my line and began to target the various rises around the pool. One fish that was fifteen feet below me in the center of the pool was a more consistent riser than the others, so I delivered several downstream drifts over the feeder. Twice the small aggressive sipper elevated, but each time it dropped back to its holding position. This was a strong sign that they were not eating baetis mayflies, so I defaulted to my back up plan. I replaced the BWO with a size 18 dark stonefly adult, that I tied for autumn emergences on South Boulder Creek. This was the smallest stonefly in my possession, although the naturals that I observed appeared to be lighter in color.

I will never know whether it was size or color, but the dark olive body imitation with a dark gray wing never fooled the residents of the North Fork pool. One trout displayed a splashy refusal directly across from me, but the stonefly searching period was characterized by an abundance of futility. I was frustrated that I did not possess any small light colored stonefly imitations, so I pondered my predicament once again. I was fortunate to encounter surface feeding late in the season, yet I was unable to unlock the secret code that would deliver fish to my net.

The only small light colored flies in my box were the light olive blue wings. I decided to give them another try, and I knotted a different size 22 to my tippet. During this repeat engagement of the CDC BWO, I managed to fool the small sipper that refused me earlier, but it escaped before I could net it, and it was below the six inch cut off. As this drama was unfolding, Jane and Zuni arrived, and Zuni nudged my waders to make me aware of her presence. After we exchanged greetings, she ascended the path, and I tossed the car keys to Jane, so they could return to the warmth of the Santa Fe.

I committed to quit by 2PM, and only ten minutes remained. I was evaluating a new plan of attack, when I saw a decent brown trout swirl to the surface three times in quick succession in the very attractive deep pocket at the top of the pool. Perhaps a caddis could induce a take? My caddis were larger than anything I saw on the water, but perhaps a large mouthful would generate an opportunistic slurp? I replaced the blue winged olive with a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive brown body, and I drifted and skittered the hackled fly through the top section. Nothing. I fired a few casts to the location of the riser across from me and then fed some downstream drifts to the fish in the lower half of the pool. I was not rewarded for my efforts, and it was 2PM, so I stripped in my line and climbed the bank and ambled back to the parking lot at a brisk pace.

One fish in 2.5 hours of fishing was not great, but the time was far from boring. At least five or six fish rose in the quality pool, and I was consumed by my efforts to fool the small feeders. I mostly failed in the undertaking, but I registered one rainbow trout on a newly tied hippy stomper, and I encountered several additional opportunities but failed to convert. As snow descends outside my office window, I question whether this was perhaps my last outing of 2018. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 1

South Boulder Creek – 10/29/2018

Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 10/29/2018 Photo Album

The long range forecast projected rain turning to snow and cold temperatures beginning on Tuesday, October 30. Monday on the other had was expected to be gorgeous with highs in Denver peaking in the upper seventies. This could translate to only one thing; an opportunity to sneak in a day of autumn fly fishing before wintry weather predominated. Perhaps this would be my last day of fly fishing in 2018.

But where should I invest my scarce amount of remaining nice weather equity? I scanned the stream flows, and of course the first drainage that I checked was South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir. The water managers were famous for making dramatic shifts in flows on the small tailwater west of Golden, and late October 2018 was not an exception to this tendency. My last visit to South Boulder Creek was on October 19, and I enjoyed an exceptional day, while the flows were a mere 14.4 CFS. The current DWR chart displayed a vertical rock wall for 10/24/2018, when the valve was opened to release 96 CFS. A dramatic change such as this caused me some concern, but it was five days ago, and I concluded that this allowed ample time for the stream residents to acclimate. I decided to give it a go.

Very Productive Run at the Start

I got off to a reasonably early start; and after I arrived at the trailhead, assembled my Orvis Access four weight and hiked down the path, I was in a position on the stream prepared to make my first cast by 10:30. The air temperature was in the mid-fifties, and the stream flow was indeed multiples higher than my previous trip. In fact the places were I was able to cross the creek were limited to wide shallow sections, and these were minimal within the predominantly narrow canyon environment.

A Beauty

Because of the higher flows akin to spring conditions, I opted to begin my day with a size 8 yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear nymph, and ultra zug bug. The first two pockets did not produce, but then I positioned myself near the middle of the creek and initiated some drifts through a prime deep run along the north bank. On the third pass a respectable South Boulder Creek brown trout pounced on the ultra zug bug, and I was very pleased to score my first fish of the day. I continued to prospect the quality run with across and downstream drifts, and I was pleasantly surprised to land five additional brown trout in the nine to eleven inch range. What a start to my day! Perhaps the elevated flows were not so bad after all, and the preponderance of brown trout relieved my fears of encountering mostly lockjawed spawning fish.

Nice Shelf Pool

I wish I could report that this pace of success continued through my remaining time on the stream, but that was not the case. When I cast to the productive run three successive times with no resulting action, I departed and continued my upstream progression. Between 10:45 and noon I incremented the fish counter from six to ten, so clearly my catch rate declined; however, I remained quite pleased with the 1.5 hours of morning fly fishing. The yellow fat Albert began to distract the trout in the next several pools, and a string of refusals was ample testimony. I concluded that the fly was too large, and I converted to a size 12 peacock hippy stomper. The smaller foam attractor was an improvement, and it accounted for a few fish during the last hour before lunch.

The Run Below the Log Was Prime

After lunch I resumed my quest for South Boulder Creek trout, and I recorded quite a record of success. The fish count zoomed from ten to thirty-six, before I ended my day at 3PM. Although the three fly combination yielded fish at a steady rate after lunch, I sensed that I could improve my success rate, so I experimented with several fly exchanges. I removed the ultra zug bug and replaced it with a size 20 soft hackle emerger. This was an attempt to match a blue winged olive hatch or an emergence of small black stonefles. From past experience I knew that the small stoneflies were present on South Boulder Creek in the late October time frame. While the soft hackle emerger was on the line, it failed to yield a singe fish, but the hares ear became a favorite target.

Twenty minutes of no response to the soft hackle emerger caused me to once again make a change. This time I selected a size 14 iron sally from my fly wallet, and I positioned the heavier fly with the coiled wire body in the top position and moved the hares ear to the point. The hippy stomper, iron sally, and hares ear maintained their place on my line for the remainder of the afternoon, and they generated the most success.

Lovely Rainbow

Unlike my last outing at 14 CFS when upstream casts proved effective, the best approach on Monday was across and downstream drifts. The brown trout could not resist attacking one of the nymphs, as they began to swing at the end of the run, and many of my netted fish were victims of this tactic. Four rainbows joined the mix of catches, and they emerged from faster riffles of moderate depth, and the iron sally was their preferred food source. The hippy stomper was not purely a strike indicator, as it contributed quite a few respectable cold water fighters to the fish count.

By 3PM I reached a section characterized by fast chutes and whitewater, and the south canyon wall blocked the sun thus creating shadows over the entire stream. Tracking the hippy stomper became challenging and the catch rate plummeted, so I called it a day and made my exit hike. The air temperature remained quite comfortable, and climbing the steep path out of the canyon made me wish I had removed a layer or two of clothing.

Nice Curl

In summary I landed thirty-six trout on a gorgeous fall day on South Boulder Creek. Five of the netted fish were rainbow trout, and as usual the rainbows were larger on average than the brown trout. Eight of my catch crushed the hippy stomper, four were duped by the ultra zug bug, six nabbed the iron sally, and the remainder snatched the hares ear. The higher flows made it more difficult to determine fish holding locations, which was a relatively easy exercise at 14 CFS. Counter balancing this factor was the relative ease with which I could approach fish holding lies, and the reduced level of stealth required.

If this was my last outing of 2018, it was a solid final episode. I suspect, however, that I will tally a few more days before my enjoyment of fly fishing is more that offset by the discomfort of cold hands and feet.

Fish Landed: 36