Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Trout Creek – 07/11/2018

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Downstream from parking area at river crossing

Trout Creek 07/11/2018 Photo Album

Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities.

An axiom of fly fishing posits that the more difficult a stream is to access; the better the fishing. Wednesday would be a test of this theorem.

After two days on the upper Arkansas River I was ready for a change. I packed all my camping gear in the Santa Fe on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning I bypassed the normal hot tea and oatmeal in order to avoid the necessity of firing up the camp stove. Instead I downed a slice of zucchini bread and ate a cup of yogurt and then brushed my teeth. I took down the tent in record time, and consequently I was on the road by 6:30AM. A 1.5-hour drive delivered me to Vail, and then I bounced over the rocky Red Sandstone Road for nine miles, until I reached a dirt parking area and the trailhead for the Trout Creek.

It was 8:20 when I departed on the trail in my waders carrying my Orvis Access four weight. I considered the option of wading wet, but the air temperature was fifty degrees, and I surmised that the waders offered more protection against bruises and thorns, since I knew I would be scrambling over numerous large rocks and slashing through dense vegetation.

Meadow Section

I hiked for forty-five minutes and then angled down a steep slope to a meadow section of Trout Creek. Normally I skipped this placid section of the small stream in the Eagles Nest Wilderness; however, on Wednesday I decided to test the willingness of high elevation trout to partake of my flies in challenging conditions. I tied a size 14 gray stimulator to my line and shot some long casts to the middle of the pond-like water in front of me. In a short amount of time a missile of a fish charged to the surface and inhaled my dry fly. Was it going to be this easy? The first landed fish was actually a stunning ten-inch brook trout, and I later learned that it represented one of only two of the char species landed on the day.

I continued prospecting the slow-moving meadow area for an hour and landed five additional trout, all smaller than the opening brook trout. Several of the early catches were brown trout, and the others were cutbows and rainbows. While this may seem like fast action, it was not. I fired out numerous very long casts, and scattering fish represented the predominant scenario. As I moved closer to the faster water at the entrance to the meadow, I actually grew bored with the lake-like nature of the fishing and skipped the final thirty-yard section.

Wild Brown Smacked a Stimulator

The abuse delivered by the small fish in the meadow caused the palmered brown hackle on the stimulator to unravel, so I replaced it with a near replica, as I entered the fast canyon section of Trout Creek. I began popping the stimulator in all the pockets, large and small, and the ravenous trout in the lower end of the canyon responded by crushing the high floating attractor. The fish count doubled in short order to twelve, and my day was off to a promising start.

Giving a Red Hippy Stomper a Try

Again the durability of my fly was challenged by the hungry trout, and the collar hackle unraveled on gray stimulator number two. I considered switching to a foam fly that would offer improved durability, improved buoyancy and better visibility. The advantages seemed obvious, and I swapped the damaged stimulator for a red hippy stomper. The body on this fly was flash red, and a layer of red foam served as the underbody. The new menu item seemed to please the resident trout, although perhaps the catch rate diminished, but the size of the fish improved. As I progressed farther from the meadow section, the species diversity expanded, and I began to encounter cutbows, rainbows, and cutthroats in addition to the ever present brown trout.

Stunning Cutthroat

Life was good, and I landed four trout on the hippy stomper design, but of course the fishing gods decided to introduce some adversity. For some unknown reason the hippy stomper began to land upside down with the flashy red body on top, and the white poly indicator faced down. The stream dwellers did not like this presentation. I began to dip the fly in the dry shake to absorb the water that soaked into the poly tuft, and this helped for a while, but then I grew weary of this repetitive maintenance. I stopped for lunch on a wide flat rock, and as I downed my sandwich, I considered alternatives. Might a small Chernobyl ant appeal to the trout and avoid the repeated dry shake cycle?

Narrow Canyon Section

This is exactly the direction I took, after I took the final bite from my honey crisp apple. I knotted a size 14 Chernobyl ant to my line, and I began to toss the buoyant attractor to the same promising locales that occupied my efforts in the morning. Voila! The monster ant was dessert to the hungry Trout Creek residents, and amazingly the catch rate accelerated. The fish counter swiftly climbed through the twenties, and I enjoyed my afternoon immensely. This period coincided with my migration through the middle part of the canyon, and the stream was characterized by steep walls and deep plunge pools. The steeper gradient and boulder strewn stream bed translated to a change in the predominant species, and my net was visited by a preponderance of colorful cutbows and rainbows. A twelve-inch fish was a rarity, but the vivid colors and unique spot patterns more than made up for a slight deficiency in size.

Lovely Slash

Good things do not last forever, and after an hour of hectic catch and release action, I sensed a slowing in my success rate. My failure to generate even a look in an extremely attractive pool caused me to reassess, and the net result of my evaluation was the addition of a salvation nymph dropper to my offering. This proved to be another fortuitous action, as the fish counter once again surged. The presence of the size 14 Chernobyl ant and salvation nymph created a halcyon period on Wednesday afternoon. Sixty percent of the time, the trout crushed the Chernobyl on the surface, but the rest of the time aggressive feeders could not resist the trailing nymph. Several times a trout attacked the salvation as soon as it plunked in the water, and I am always amazed by this phenomenon. Are fish lying in wait for random food to splash down and sink below the surface?

As was the case earlier, the torrid action subsided a bit, and then I created a tangle between the Chernobyl and the salvation. In the process of undoing the snarl, I somehow pulled out the rubber legs on one side of the foam ant. Past experience taught me that a handicapped fly is more of a problem for the fisherman than the fish, but in this instance it seemed that a disfigured Chernobyl ant lost some of its appeal. I eventually recognized this deficiency, and I exchanged the lopsided ant for a fresh version that was a size twelve. I continued with the salvation nymph dropper, and the new combination enabled me to increment the fish tally albeit at a somewhat slower pace.

Very Productive Pool

As the afternoon wore on, the canyon widened a bit, and the gradient was reduced, and this shift in terrain coincided with the return of brown trout as a more significant part of the landed fish ratio. For some reason I switched the salvation for a beadhead pheasant tail, and this normally dependable fly fooled a few fish. Some dark clouds moved in from the southwest, and a few distant claps of thunder caused me a bit of concern, although the density and size of the clouds assuaged my fears a bit.

As 3:30 neared I approached a spot where the severity of the grade of the canyon wall tapered down a bit, and I recognized the area as my normal exit point. The edge of the dark cloud hovered overhead, and a few random large drops of rain reminded me that a small storm was imminent. The fish count was perched on forty-nine, and I desperately wanted to achieve a fifty fish day. I cannot explain this compulsion for round numbers and goal setting that burdens my personality. For some reason the fish stopped favoring my Chernobyl ant, and I spotted several yellow sallies throughout the day, so I removed the two-fly dry/dropper rig and tied a size 14 yellow stimulator to my line. Success. Not only did I quickly notch number fifty, but I was drawn to a very nice large pocket, where I cast the stimmy, and a final brown trout slashed the fraud.

Second Brook Trout

I was very weary and faced a forty-five minute return hike, and the rain was intensifying, so I decided to begin my outbound trek. I once again gazed at the clouds and assessed that the rainstorm would be brief, so I did not extract my raincoat. A very brief shower ensued, and my shirt absorbed a decent amount of moisture, but in actuality it felt cool and refreshing.

What a day! I spent six hours on a small mountain stream and landed in excess of fifty fish. The fish were small, with the largest perhaps reaching twelve inches, but they were wild and spectacular in their colorful splendor. I achieved a Colorado grand slam that included rainbow, brown, brook, cutthroat and cutbow species. The outing necessitated a rough drive over rocks and potholes, and the forty-five minute hike each way tested my stamina, but the action was fast and furious. The fish were hungry, and I was totally absorbed with fooling them, and I enjoyed the magnificent beauty of my surroundings. Wednesday certainly proved the axiom outlined at the outset of this blog post.

Fish Landed: 51

Looking Back

Arkansas River – 07/10/2018

Time: 9:00AM – 2:00PM; 3:00PM – 4:30PM

Location: Between Granite information sign along US 24 and CO 55 dirt road; Hayden Meadows upper lot to US 24 bridge.

Arkansas River 07/10/2018 Photo Album

The salesman at the Orvis Shop in Cherry Creek recommended the upper Arkansas River upstream from the US 24 bridge as a productive fishing destination. I hoped to sample this section on my 2018 trip to the upper Arkansas River area, but on Monday five vehicles occupied the small parking space just ahead of the the US 24 bridge. On Tuesday, since I camped at nearby Turquoise Lake, I hoped to be the first fisherman there as a result of my proximity and early start. Wrong. Two trucks were already present when I passed by at 8:45, so I defaulted to my backup plan.

I continued south along US 24 for another two miles below CO 55 and arrived at a wide pullout with an informational sign about granite. I was the only vehicle present, and I quickly pulled on my waders and assembled my Loomis five weight for a day of fly fishing. The first fifty yards looked rather inviting but I assumed its proximity to the parking space translated to excessive pressure. I hoped to cover two miles of river, so I skipped around it and explored the upstream territory.

It was earlier than usual for me to be on the the river, and no gray drakes were evident, so I began with a yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear, and salvation nymph. These flies are my most productive, but they failed to interest the Arkansas River trout on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. After thirty plus minutes with no results despite prospecting some quality spots, I reconfigured with an iron sally instead of the hares ear, and I swapped the salvation for a size 12 prince nymph.

Iron Sally Also Popular

This change was a master stroke, and the newly added flies enabled me to land fish and boost the fish count from zero to seven. The prince accounted for the trout during the 10AM to 11AM time frame, and the iron sally became a favored food source in the last hour before noon. The first three netted brown trout were on the small side, but the next four were prize catches in the twelve inch range including a welcome surprise in the form of a fifteen inch brown trout.

Whoa Those Spots

Just before lunch I unknowingly snapped off the two nymphs, so replaced the iron sally and size 12 prince with a fresh pair. Two lost princes in the morning forced me to settle for a smaller size fourteen on a standard hook, and this unforeseen substitution failed to attract much interest from the river residents. Despite this handicap I incremented the fish count to ten after lunch. Surprisingly a fourteen inch rainbow was among these catches, and I suspect this was the first rainbow that I ever encountered in the upper Arkansas River.

Muscular Rainbow Trout

During this time I enjoyed four instances of success, when I cast the dry/dropper to very narrow ribbons of slow moving water along the bank. The space was not more than four feet wide. I landed three of the bank dwellers, and several managed to escape after being pricked temporarily.

Riffles Deflect Against the Bank

Having attained ten fish by one o’clock including several decent wild river inhabitants, I decided to shift gears and switched to a size 14 parachute green drake. One of my goals for Tuesday was to begin with the parachute style to determine if it outperformed the hair wing and stimulator style. The experiment on Tuesday was not really fair as the conditions were quite different. Unlike Monday I only spotted two or three gray drakes in the air. On Monday several quality deep runs and riffles exhibited rising trout, but surface feeding was largely absent on Tuesday. Despite the less than optimal gray drake emergence conditions, I managed to hook and land two very respectable brown trout. One consumed the parachute style and another chomped the comparadun.

So Pretty

Just before 2PM large gray clouds billowed up on the eastern horizon, and the sound of distant thunder caused some concern. By now I was at least 1.5 miles from the car, and the landscape was devoid of any reasonable shelter. Even the vegetation lacked trees of any significant size. The thunder claps grew louder, and I finally relented to my better judgement and embarked on an exit. I walked at a quick pace toward the CO 55 parking lot, but then I spotted a faint trail through the bushes and scrub grass. Fortunately an old barbed wire fence was beaten down, so I stepped over it and crossed the railroad tracks to intersect with US 24. I began to stride along the shoulder at a rapid pace, but after ten minutes the large widely spaced raindrops intensified. I stepped off the shoulder, removed all my packs, and slid into my raincoat. The added layer became essential as sheets of rain blew against my body and face for most of the remaining hike on the shoulder of the highway.

I Landed This Caddis Stick

When I reached the Santa Fe, naturally the rain stopped, so I spent another thirty minutes sampling the attractive water, that I skipped upon my arrival. in the post-storm calm several trout displayed their presence via random rises. I cast the parachute green drake and experienced several refusals and a foul hooked brown, but finally in a deep riffle a thirteen inch brown elevated and sucked in the drake.

I covered the first fifty yards by the pullout, and then I reached an uninteresting wide shallow section, so I returned to the car. Perhaps the storm scared off the crowd on the west side of the US 24 bridge? I decided to check it out. I was surprised to discover that two vehicles remained in the bridge lot, so I reversed direction and drove to the parking area across from the north end of Hayden Meadows. Between 3:30 and 4:30 I covered the section of the river between the parking area and the US 24 bridge.

Wild Iris

Drakes were absent so I returned to the producers of the morning and early afternoon; yellow fat Albert, iron sally, and prince nymph. In a deep step pool behind some man made structure the Albert dipped, and I guided a twelve inch brown to my net. I was near the highway, and the sky threatened rain again, so I found a nature trail that skirted the pond and called it a day.

Although the fish count matched Monday, I was more satisfied with my Tuesday effort. I discovered a new stretch of water never before explored, and I was selective about my target areas. I covered a significant amount of water and skipped long unattractive areas to focus on proven structure. Narrow deep slow moving bands along the bank and moderate riffles through large rocks were the obvious fish producers. I did not fish to a significant gray drake hatch as anticipated, but I stumbled into two solid nymph producers. The average size of the fish exceeded Monday’s results as well. These accomplishments were attained despite being interrupted by a storm during a normally productive time period. Bravo! Tuesday was a fun day of fly fishing.

Fish Landed: 14

Mt. Elbert

Arkansas River – 07/09/2018

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Hayden Meadows, southern section

Arkansas River 07/09/2018 Photo Album

Fourteen fish in a day of fishing is a decent accomplishment, but nevertheless Monday was a day, when I never achieved a consistent rhythm.

I evaluated several possible destinations for a multi-day camping and fishing trip, and I settled on the upper Arkansas River/Turquoise Lake area. Numerous vehicles occupied the parking lots and pullouts at the northern side of the Hayden Meadows area, so I continued until the CO 55 sign appeared, and I turned left and crossed the river and parked. Two SUV’s were present when I arrived, and a pair of fishermen were downstream from the bridge.

Productive Spot

I quickly pulled on my waders and assembled my Sage four weight. I elected to fish upstream and began with a size 14 Harrop hair wing green drake in the attractive deep foam covered hole and eddy just above the pipe that carries water under the road. The eddy failed to deliver fish, but then I moved to the upstream position and drifted the hair wing through a V-shaped area where the currents merged. On the third drift I allowed the dry fly to float deep and along the seam at the start of the eddy, and suddenly the green drake imitation disappeared. I quickly set the hook and was temporarily connected to a twelve inch brown trout. Temporarily is the key word, as the fish executed a leap and plunge and shed the fly.

Deep Run on a Bend

For the next two hours I moved upstream at a rapid clip, and I was forced to circle around two pairs of anglers. The Harrop generated refusals, so I rotated among a size 12 olive stimulator, a size 14 gray stimulator, and a size 14 yellow stimulator. All these choices were intended to imitate gray drakes and yellow sallies. Several quality deep runs revealed rises, but all my flies were refused by the choosy surface eaters. I did, however manage to land five brown trout during this period including a very rewarding fifteen inch chunk. For a period of time I fished a double dry combination with the gray stimulator in front and the yellow version on the point. The gray stimulator produced three of the five landed trout, and the yellow one accounted for two. I witnessed a few large natural gray drakes along with a smattering of pale morning duns and yellow sallies. Aside from the fifteen inch brown trout the other fish measured in the ten to twelve inch range.

Looking Good

As I spotted a couple additional gray drakes, while I munched my lunch, I challenged my rigid thinking. I read my blog post from 2017 on the upper Arkansas River, which documented that I crushed trout on the Harrop hair wing, and this research caused me to focus on the stimulator and hair wing styles of dry fly. But what about other productive green drake imitations? I rotated between three different styles on the Frying Pan, until I determined which one fooled the most fish. I resolved to think outside the box, and I knotted a size fourteen parachute green drake to my line after lunch.

Looking Down on a Brown

The move was effective, and I jumped the fish counter from five to eleven between one and two o’clock. The trout in moderate riffles ripped the surface parachute with conviction. Another fifteen inch brown visited my net during this period, but it was quite skinny, and I feared it was suffering from some sort of disease. Of course the parachute was not perfect, and quite a few refusals accompanied the confident takes.

By 3PM the presence of gray drakes, yellow sallies, and pale morning duns disappeared, so I switched to a dry/dropper method. A red hippy stomper assumed the surface position in my lineup, and beneath it I attached an ultra zug bug and size 16 iron sally. During the last hour these flies enabled me to add three additional small brown trout to the count. All favored the iron sally, and in addition several trout snatched one of the subsurface offerings but avoided the net after perfecting some escape maneuvers.

Less Shadow

Monday was a decent day, but I wish I would have experimented with the parachute and comparadun green drakes earlier, especially during the time when fish were visibly feeding on the surface. Perhaps I will return on Tuesday and test the alternative green drake styles.

Fish Landed: 14

Cache la Poudre River – 07/06/2018

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Pingree Park area

Cache la Poudre River 07/06/2018 Photo Album

I enjoyed some outstanding visits to the Cache la Poudre during 2017, so after reading some encouraging reports from local fly shops, I was very anxious to make the two hour drive to the freestone river west of Ft. Collins. Friday was an open day, and we returned from our camping trip to the Flattops on Thursday, so I made the trek.

Friday’s high in Denver was 95 degrees, and the temperature in the Poudre canyon peaked in the low eighties. It was toasty, but fortunately the flows remained elevated from run off, and that held the water temperature in check. Even though the level was a bit high, wading was very manageable compared to trips in early July a year ago.

Blossom

I parked along CO 14 in the Pingree Park area and assembled my Orvis Access four weight. Cache la Poudre fish are typically on the small side and easily managed by the slender four weight, and I preserved my arm and elbow with a short light fly rod. I entered the river at 10:30 and selected a size 8 Chernobyl ant to join a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph.

Lunch View

During the first hour I slowly progressed upriver along the right bank and registered five small brown trout on the fish counter. These trout were in the 7-8 inch range, and I did not bother to use my net, since they would have simply passed through the wide openings. Most of the early trout snatched the salvation nymph, although quite a few trout elevated and refused the oversized Chernobyl. Given the preponderance of refusals, I modified my approach. I swapped the Chernobyl ant for a size 12 hippy stomper and persisted with the hares ear nymph dropper.

The new set up enabled me to increment the fish counter to seven, before I paused for lunch, and the two additional fish grabbed the trailing hares ear. After lunch I continued to offer the hippy stomper and hares ear and added a few more trout to my net, including an overzealous feeder that chowed down on the hippy stomper; but I cast to some reliable fish holding areas with no results, so I lost confidence in my offerings.

In previous years I enjoyed some success with stimulators, so I tested a size 14 yellow version in a few choice spots, but the fish were unimpressed with the high floating pretend yellow sally.

The Type of Water That Produced

I decided to revert to the three fly dry/dropper approach, and for this adjustment in technique I selected a tan pool toy as the top fly. I was actually seeking an indicator that would not elicit refusals. Given the greater buoyancy of the layered foam pool toy, I added back the hares ear and salvation nymph. This set up was far more productive than my earlier combinations, and the fish count climbed into the high teens, with most of the netted river residents fooled by the hares ear and salvation nymph.

Salvation Nymph Was Productive

By 1PM I began to notice an increased quantity of small mayflies, as they steadily floated into the space above the river. I surmised that they were size 18 pale morning duns, and I feared that my salvation nymph imitation was too large. It produced some fish, but given the strength of the emergence, I suspected that the catch rate on the PMD nymph imitation was lagging. I stripped in my line and swapped the salvation for a size 18 beadhead pheasant tail, and this fly provided improved success over the next hour.

Dark Olive Color

I discovered that the key to fast action revolved around the type of water targeted. Deep pockets and runs were unproductive, so I circled around deep holes and gravitated to riffles and pockets of moderate depth near the bank. My three fly dry/dropper offering was extremely effective in these environments. During this time I advanced to a side channel that was ten to fifteen feet wide, and the small brown trout were quite abundant and more importantly very willing to smash my flies.

At the top of the secondary braid I faced another quality section characterized by many inviting riffles and pockets that met the likely success criteria, and I did indeed land a few fish, but I once again sensed that I was missing opportunities. The quantity of small pale morning duns diminished, so I elected to revert to the salvation instead of the pheasant tail. I reasoned that the salvation nymph was larger and displayed more flash, and this in turn might attract more attention from the stream dwellers.

Longest Fish of the Day

The ploy was effective, and my catch rate surged in the last hour. During this time four or five rainbow trout thrashed in my net, and this was surprising given their absence heretofore. I did not complain, as two of the rainbows represented my longest trout of the day.

By 3:30 I notched catch number thirty, and I was weary and hot, as the sun peaked, and the temperature rose to the level that promotes sluggishness. The character of the river shifted, as the river bed narrowed resulting in many deep pockets along the bank. I was not interested in circling around the lengthy area ahead to seek a more conducive stretch, so I ambled back to the car and called it a day.

Pool Toy Hopper Did Its Job

My largest fish was probably no more than twelve inches, so my day on the Poudre did not challenge the strength of my four weight rod. But once I determined the type of water that the stream residents preferred, I enjoyed a high level of success, and I loved the fast paced action offered by responsive trout. The insect activity was less evident than 2017 trips, and I am unsure whether I was earlier in July, or perhaps the hot weather was the main deterrent. I already have plans to return on July 20, and additional visits may fit on the schedule.

Fish Landed: 30

 

 

 

 

 

North Fork of the White River – 07/04/2018

Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Between Trappers Lake and Himes Peak Campground

North Fork of the White River 07/04/2018 Photo Album

After spending Tuesday on a spectacular hike to Skinny Fish Lake with my lovely wife, Jane, Wednesday was my allotted day to revel in some serious fishing in the Flattops region of Colorado. I selected the segment of the North Fork of the White River between Himes Peak Campground and Trappers Lake as my destination and arrived so that I was in the stream casting by 10:00AM. Jane dropped me off along the road, so she could utilize the Santa Fe to access some nearby hiking trails.

Prime Habitat

I began fishing with a yellow fat Albert, iron sally and salvation nymph, and I landed seven trout between 10AM and noon, when I took a break for lunch. Among the seven trout were three gorgeous brook trout in the 10-12 inch range with bright orange bellies. The remainder were rainbows, and several of the pink striped variety measured out in the 12-13 inch range. Size was secondary, as these fish dazzled the observer with vivid colors and artistic spot patterns.

Monster for a Brook Trout in a Stream

After lunch I continued with the dry/dropper approach, but I exchanged the iron sally for a hares ear nymph. During the two morning hours all the landed fish nabbed the salvation except for one deviant, who snatched the iron sally. The dry/dropper method increased the fish tally to eleven after lunch with the hares ear and the salvation producing two fish each. Near the end of this period the salvation and leader broke off in my net, so I secured it to my fleece wallet and continued for a bit with the single hares ear dropper.

I arrived at a quality deep pool after thirty minutes, and I could see a pair of fish flash to the fat Albert. As I studied the attractive spot, I sighted at least four decent trout, and they were ignoring my nymphs. I decided to made the significant move to a single dry, and I began with a yellow size 14 stimulator. Two fish refused the fuzzy light yellow attractor, so I cycled through a series of changes including a size 14 light olive stimulator and a light gray size 16 caddis. The caddis proved to be temporarily effective, as I picked up three pool dwellers.

Likely Trout Lair

I persisted with the caddis for another fifteen minutes or so with moderate success, but I also spotted trout that totally ignored the small adult. From time to time small yellow sallies fluttered over the stream and although less prevalent than the caddis, I speculated that perhaps the fish favored the less active stoneflies. I switched to a size 16 yellow sally adult, and this fly was a winner. I moved the fish counter up by ten and reached twenty-five on the strength of its magnetism.

Most of the fish landed on the dry flies were brook trout in the 8-10 inch range. I was pleased with the action and success, but I yearned for additional slightly larger and brightly colored rainbows and cutbows. I also sought a fly that was more visible, so I resurrected a lime green trude size 14. The lime green attractor with a swept back wing produced well for me in previous visits to the North Fork. During July 2018 it again proved its worth, but after four fish in the net, it became waterlogged, and I again desired a fly that floated high and dry.

Rainbow Trout Joins the Mix

I returned to the yellow stimulator, and it attracted a couple small brook trout from marginal lies along the bank. Where were all the rainbows? I pondered this question and recalled that my most robust rainbows arrived in my net via the dry/dropper nymph approach. Suddenly I remembered the hippy stompers that I tied over the winter, so I knotted one to my line and added a single size 18 beadhead pheasant tail nymph on a two foot dropper.

The tactic proved to be a master stroke, and the trout demonstrated their overwhelming approval, as they hammered the pheasant tail cast after cast. If I found a nice deep pocket or hole, and executed nice drag free drifts, I could expect a favorable reaction on nearly every cast. The fish count ballooned to thirty-eight, and during this exciting period spunky 10-12 inch rainbows outnumbered the brook trout.

Astounding Colors

The Fourth of July was a blast in spite of banned fireworks! By 3:45PM I realized that I would not be able to cover the remaining fifty yards of stream, so I scrambled over dead trees and jagged rocks and climbed a steep hillside in order to meet Jane at the prearranged time and place. What a fun day on the North Fork of the White River! The fish were plentiful, but more impressive was the exceptional colors of the wild fish.

Fish Landed: 38

North Fork of the White River – 07/03/2018

Time: 5:00PM – 6:00PM

Location: North Fork of the White River across from the North Fork Campground

North Fork of the White River 07/03/2018 Photo Album

The shutout at Skinny Fish Lake had me aching for the throb of a trout on the end of my fly line, so I requested Jane’s approval to explore the North Fork of the White River in the public section across from our campground. She readily agreed, as this allowed her to cleanse her dust covered ankles and feet after our afternoon hiking adventure. I decided to wade wet in an effort to achieve a similar rinsing effect on my legs.

My Sage four weight remained assembled from our Skinny Lake venture, but I deviated from the lake configuration and began fishing with a yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear, and go2 caddis pupa. I spent an hour prospecting viable holding locations, and I managed to land two small rainbow trout in the 6-9 inch range. I also temporarily hooked a fish that felt heavier, but it quickly shed the pointy irritant after a five foot downstream dash.

North Fork of the White River Across from the Campground

I noticed a few small caddis and a rare mayfly in my short time on the water. The flows remained a bit above normal summer levels, but I was very disappointed with the number of decent holding lies. This translated into covering quite a bit of water in a one hour time frame. Although I registered a couple of fish, the outing was fairly disappointing and did not satisfy my urge for a decent fish on the end of my line.

Fish Landed: 2

 

Skinny Fish Lake – 07/03/2018

Time: 1:15PM – 2:45PM

Location: Western shoreline

Skinny Fish Lake 07/03/2018 Photo Album

Jane and I completed the long challenging drive from Denver to the Flatttops area on Monday July 2, 2018. Upon our arrival we secured campsite 25 at the North Fork Campground, and then we made our way to the outlet parking lot at Trappers Lake. Many years elapsed since Jane and I gazed upon the gem of a lake situated among stunning rock formations such as the Chinese Wall and the Amphitheater. A 2005 wildfire converted the forests into green slopes with scattered dead tree trunks, and the grey remnants of evergreen trees reminded me of toothpicks. Certainly the scenery was much different from the views prior to the fire, but it remained stunning nonetheless.

Must Be a Perfect Climate for Indian Paintbrush

Before committing to the trip I reviewed my National Geographic contour map and selected a few interesting hiking trails. Tuesday was devoted to exploring wilderness trails with Jane, and we chose a five mile round trip trek to Skinny Fish Lake. Naturally since the destination was a high mountain lake, I filled my backpack with fly fishing gear with the hope of sneaking in an hour or two of casting for gullible high elevation trout.

Wildflowers Were Abundant

Our expectations were more than satisfied, as we enjoyed a fun 1.5 hour hike to Skinny Fish Lake. The wildflowers en route were amazing, and the views of the Chinese Wall and Amphitheater were spectacular. Upon our arrival at the picturesque body of water, Jane and I found a large fallen log, and I munched my lunch, while she marveled at our surroundings. My Sage four weight accompanied me, so after lunch we circled along the left shoreline, until we reached the point of a peninsula that protruded into the middle of the lake.

Giving Lake Fishing a Go

I knotted a slumpbuster to my line and trailed a beadhead hares ear, as I began my optimistic attempts to attract the attention of resident coldwater species. I slowly fanned casts out from the point, and then I worked counterclockwise back to the spot, where I ate lunch and stashed my backpack. Unfortunately I must report that I experienced zero action. I did not land or hook a fish. In fact I did not witness a single refusal or see a fish or even observe a rise. As far as I was concerned, Skinny Fish Lake was barren of fish, but it was worth the hike simply for the view and the wildflowers.

Fish Landed: 0

Jane Floats in Wildflowers

Eagle River – 06/28/2018

Time: 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Eagle, CO

Eagle River 06/28/2018 Photo Album

A successful day of fishing on the Eagle River on Monday, and an afternoon guiding my brother-in-law, niece and nephew on Wednesday, made me anxious for a return outing on Thursday. Jane and I stayed at our sister and brother-in-law’s time share in Bachelor Gulch on Wednesday night, so the Eagle River was only a few miles away from our doorstep. I checked the flows, and they remained relatively stable in the 390 CFS range down moderately from the 450 CFS level experienced on Monday.

I served as a fourth for some doubles tennis in the morning, and after one closely contested set I grabbed my lunch snack and headed to the river. I arrived along the edge of the river by 11:45 and downed a granola bar, a handful of carrots, and a yogurt; before I began my quest for Eagle River trout. I chose my Sage One five weight in anticipation of battling some hard fighting fish.

Where I Began

As I surveyed the river after lunch, I observed quite a few golden stoneflies and yellow sallies, and this prompted me to prospect the nice pockets along the edge with a size 14 yellow stimulator. I was certain that the large heavily hackled dry fly would draw the interest of the resident cold water inhabitants, but that was not the case. I fished for twenty minutes without a refusal or look, so I changed my strategy and knotted a yellow fat Albert, iron sally and salvation nymph to my line. Initially I was very confident that these mainstay offerings would reverse my fortunes, but after another forty minutes of concentrated fishing through many attractive locations, I began to doubt my approach.

Wide Body Brown Trout

Finally at one o’clock the fat Albert dipped, as it floated along a deep current seam, and I reacted with a swift hook set and felt significant throbbing weight on the end of my line. The angry brown trout deployed every escape tactic imaginable, but eventually I scooped it with my net and admired my first catch of the day. The wild fish before me was very chunky, and I estimated that it measured fifteen inches. I slowly revived the valiant fighter and watched it swim gracefully back toward its river home.

Nice Deep Pocket

The dense hatch of yellow sallies and pale morning duns ended by 12:30, and surface feeding was absent, so I persisted with the dry/dropper method. I surmised that the high temperatures on Thursday advanced the hatches to the late morning time period, and my later than normal start caused me to miss the prime hatch time.

Heads Up

Between 1:00PM and 3:00PM I added six additional trout to my count. Three of the six were relatively small, but the other three were very robust rainbow trout in the thirteen to fifteen inch size range. One of these hot catches was also disproportionately wide and heavy for its length, and it demonstrated excessive resistance to my efforts to confine it to my net.

Hard to Grip

The first iron sally that occupied a position on my line was a size fourteen, and it failed to generate interest. Only after I exchanged it for my normal size 12 2XL did I begin to experience success. In fact all but one of the landed trout chowed down on the iron sally. The lower velocity of the river enabled me to explore more deep pockets and runs toward the middle of the river, and the extra wading over slippery round boulders paid dividends with excellent results in the 1PM to 3PM time period. All the fish emerged from large moderate depth pockets and increasingly from the deep seams that bordered faster currents.

Three Fish Were Rising in This Area

At 2:30 I approached a series of nice deep runs along the left bank. Each was characterized by a set of large boulders that served as current breaks with a forty foot long and twenty foot wide run and pool downstream. As I began prospecting with my dry/dropper configuration, I spotted a pair of rises in the lower pool, and eventually a third surface feeder joined the party. My nymphs were soundly ignored, so I converted to a single dry fly to finish my day.

First I presented a tiny size 18 caddis with a tan body, and this imitation provoked a close inspection and subsequent rejection. Next I tested a size 16 deer hair caddis with a light gray body. Historically this pattern served as a solid all around caddis generalist, but these Eagle River trout were not impressed. Perhaps the trout continued to concentrate on straggling yellow Sallies? I revived the size 14 yellow stimulator, but once again it failed to attract actively feeding trout. In a last ditch effort to dupe one of the brown trout in front of me, I switched to a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive-brown body, but again the trout indicated that they were looking for a triggering characteristic that my flies lacked. While this scene was unfolding, quite a few caddis fluttered down from the bank, and they dapped and frolicked constantly on the surface of the river. I was sure that the food of choice was caddis, but I never succeeded in corroborating my hunch.

I finally conceded to the selective trout and progressed upstream to the large ditch that served as my access and exit avenue. Along the way I made some additional blind casts to some very attractive deep runs and moderate riffles, but I never spotted additional rising trout. I departed from the river at 3PM, as I committed to that time with Jane.

Thursday was another fun day on the Eagle River, although I was disappointed to miss the more intense emergence event, that I presumed occurred in the late morning. Another possible explanation for the smaller than expected hatch was an upstream migration of the epicenter of the hatch, but I will never know the answer with certainty. Seven fish in three hours does not constitute a blistering pace; however, four of the landed fish were in the thirteen to fifteen inch range, and they presented a significant challenge to land. I fear that the days of prime fishing on the Eagle River are numbered, and the fly shops in the area are already refraining voluntarily from fishing during the warm afternoon hours.

Fish Landed: 7

Eagle River – 06/27/2018

Time: 3:00PM – 5:30PM

Location: Between Avon and Edwards, CO

Eagle River 06/27/2018 Photo Album

This blog post is a bit of a deviation from the norm, as it describes a few hours of guiding rather than fly fishing. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law from Atlanta, Ga. invited us to spend a night at their plush time share unit at the Timbers in Bachelor Gulch, and we eagerly accepted. We chose Wednesday and Thursday, June 27 and 28 as our designated days to visit the Vogels. Their daughter, Jennifer, and son-in-law, Kerby, and grandson, Mason, were also staying at the condo.

Before we departed, Jane texted the Vogels to inform them of our planned activities. She communicated my desire to spend three or four hours on the Eagle River on Thursday. Much to my surprise I received a prompt reply text message from my brother-in-law, Bill, who expressed a desire to fly fish on Wednesday afternoon. Apparently Kerby and Jennifer were the main driving force behind this plan. I agreed to accompany and guide them, if they took care of equipment rental and purchased Colorado fishing licenses.

Originally we planned to be on the river by 1PM, but by the time everybody tried on waders and boots and filled out the fishing license paperwork, our starting time lagged into three o’clock. I was hoping to catch the yellow sally and pale morning dun hatch in the early afternoon, but once I realized that the group would not be ready until later, I modified my initial choice of fishing destination to a location no more than five miles from the Timbers condominium complex.

Bill, Jennifer and Kerby rented waders, boots, and two rods and reels. I showed them how to string the rods, and then provided an impromptu casting demonstration and lesson along the edge of the river, before I tied flies to their lines. Jennifer and Kerby never fly fished previously, and ten minutes of casting practice advanced their skills minimally, but I judged that they could probably execute some twenty foot casts.

I paused to observe the pool next to us, and surface activity was lacking, so I quickly decided to start them off with a nymphing configuration. I was fairly confident that they could sling a line adorned with a strike indicator and split shot to the current seams, and I was certain that quite a few trout occupied this prime location. In fact I was a bit surprised that we had the area to ourselves.

Jennifer Teller Wades Deep

I began with Jennifer and led her to the tail of the pool. I started her off with a size 16 iron sally and a beadhead soft hackle pheasant tail. Clearly I was playing the yellow sally and pale morning dun card. I spent fifteen or twenty minutes instructing Jennifer, but we were unable to generate action, so I left her on her own, while I waded to shore and worked with Bill.

Bill Focused

I decided to position Bill at the top of the pool, where a strong current spilled over some large rocks, and this structure created a quality shelf pool. I knew from past visits that several fish occupied this prime location. Once I had Bill positioned within fifteen feet of the juicy current seam, I scanned the water, and I was pleased to observe some surface action. In fact a decent rainbow trout was visible no more than eight feet to the left of Bill in a deep depression in front of a large submerged rock. I decided to skip the time consuming task of configuring Bill’s line with an indicator and nymphs, and instead I knotted a light gray deer hair caddis to the line.

Bill executed some nice drifts over the rainbow, and as this scenario unfolded, I also noted additional rises along the current seam and fifteen feet upstream behind another large boulder. Bill was rather pleased to actually see his target fish and in fact became quite obsessed with hooking the active feeder. Unfortunately our quarry was quite selective, as we cycled through at least four fly changes, but Bill was unable to fool the rainbow. We tried two deer hair caddis with gray and olive-brown bodies along with a size 14 yellow stimulator and a parachute ant. While the parachute ant was attached to Bill’s line, he cast toward the deep current seam, and a brown trout swirled on the terrestrial. Bill’s untrained eye never saw the take, and by the time I yelled set and grabbed his arm to lift and set, the fish disappeared to the depths.

I looked downstream to check on Jennifer and noticed that she was joined by Kerby, and they were wading back toward the shoreline. I quickly left Bill on his own and met the couple, as they raised their line to display the most intense tangle that I ever witnessed. I jumped into the recovery effort and removed the strike indicator and split shot and cut off the two flies. I spent ten minutes attempting to unravel the tag end of the line and made some small progress, before I surrendered to the monofilament gods and removed the entire tapered leader. I handed the snarl to Jennifer, while I pulled a pack of tapered leaders from my front pack, and I began the task of unraveling a fresh leader to attach to the rental line.

The fishing gods looked upon us with favor, and before I could uncoil the new leader, Jennifer miraculously untangled the mess. Apparently having access to two free ends facilitated the process. I used a loop to loop connection to reattach the line, and then Kerby and I waded back to the tail of the pool, while Jennifer joined her father in an attempt to dupe the rising fish at the top of the pool.

Kerby’s Trout Came from This Area

Kerby is probably 6′ 2″, and this extra stature enabled him to wade closer to the opposite bank than was possible for Jennifer. As we moved into an advantageous position, several fish made their presence known, as they created subtle rings on the river surface. In fact the feeding activity accelerated over the next thirty minutes, and we observed at least six fish actively feeding in the area. Given the surface action I decided to remove the nymphing paraphernalia from Kerby’s line, and I set him up with a single size 16 gray deer hair caddis.

When Kerby spotted the array of rising fish along the far bank, I could see his excitement increase. Initially his casting prevented him from obtaining a solid drift over the risers, but eventually the possibility of hooking a visible fish elevated his casting skills and also seduced him into wading closer to facilitate shorter casts. I noticed that his casts were landing quite a distance above the fish that fed steadily, and consequently line drag caused an unnatural drift by the time the fly reached the target feeding area. I demonstrated mending, and he adopted the line flipping technique with reasonable proficiency.

My Nephew Did Well

After fifteen minutes of practice and twenty drifts, Kerby finally applied all his lessons, and a trout slashed at and ate the adult caddis imitation! We were beyond excited, and now I attempted to provide on the job training on playing a fish. The fish dashed about in short spurts and executed numerous head shakes and rolls. I continually cautioned Kerby to allow the fish to pull out line, if the counter pressure was too great, but miraculously the finned foe eventually tired, and I was able to slide my net beneath it. High fives erupted and cheers cascaded from the shoreline observers, which now included Jane and her sister Judy. I was more excited, than if had I caught and landed the fish myself.

Happy Angler

I gently reached into the net and removed the caddis fly and then snapped a few photos in case the thirteen inch brown trout escaped, before I could stage additional shots with Kerby. After I obtained my safety stock of photos, I handed the net to Kerby, and clicked a few of him holding the prize catch, and then I tapped the video button and recorded the release. Kerby was beaming, and as expected he was very anxious to cast to the remaining feeders in the area. I stayed with him for another fifteen minutes or so, and we changed flies several times, but for some reason we could not repeat the earlier success.

Once again I shifted gears and left Kerby with the lower pool risers, while I returned to the top of the pool. By now Bill relinquished the rod to Jennifer, so I joined her and assisted in her efforts to fool the rising rainbow trout, that Bill attempted to catch earlier. Once again I cycled through a series of fly changes for Jennifer, but alas our educated companion would not be deceived. I even knotted a Jake’s gulp beetle to the line and then added a salvation nymph dropper, but this ploy was also soundly rejected.

We had dinner reservations at a restaurant on Wednesday evening, so by 5:30 we reeled up the lines, removed the flies and returned the equipment to the fly shop in Avon. It was a fun 2.5 hours, and Kerby, Jennifer and Bill repeatedly thanked me for guiding them and expressed how much they enjoyed being in a crystal clear mountain stream in the Rocky Mountains. When I paused to reflect, I realized how astute their observations were.

Eagle River – 06/25/2018

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Eagle, CO

Eagle River 06/25/2018 Photo Album

I was disappointed with my June 12, 2018 outing on the Eagle River, and I kept my eye on the flows of my big three choices for fishing Colorado Rivers during receding levels, as snow melt waned. Monday was an open date for fly fishing between a Rockies’ game and another doctor appointment, so I scheduled a fly fishing day trip. The Yampa River and Arkansas River dropped to post run off levels, so the Eagle River was the one remaining option, and even that western slope freestone was down to 400 CFS. The online fly shop fishing reports were out of date for the Eagle River, so I took advantage of my reservoir of information on this web site. I learned that the late June time frame coincided with dense hatches of caddis, pale morning duns, golden stoneflies and yellow sallies.

Geese and Pockets

As I perused other Front Range options, I discovered that the Big Thompson River and Cache la Poudre River dropped to levels within my upper range of acceptability, but I decided to gamble on another two hour drive to the Eagle River. I theorized after my June 12 visit, that my history of success at high run off levels was more attributable to excellent insect hatches rather than the phenomenon of fish stacked along the banks to avoid the raging mid-river currents. Actually I suspect the combination of both factors produced outstanding fly fishing in the time period after peak run off. I hoped to return to the Eagle River during a strong aquatic insect activity time frame to test my theory.

After a two plus hour drive I arrived at my intended destination along the Eagle River on Monday morning. I was surprised by the number of anglers present in the many roadside pullouts on a Monday, but thankfully none were present at my chosen entry point. I quickly climbed into my recently repaired waders and assembled my Sage four weight and negotiated the stile provided to access the river. A short hike delivered me to my starting point, where I tied a yellow Letort hopper and iron sally to my line. I prospected several quality sections with the two fly combination for fifteen minutes, but the absence of action caused me to make an early change.

Big Shoulders

I replaced the Letort hopper with a yellow pool toy, kept the iron sally as the top nymph, and added a beadhead hares ear as the point attraction. Another solid thirty minutes of exploration yielded no activity, so I once again stripped in my flies and replaced the hares ear with a salvation nymph. This proved to be magic, as a fifteen inch brown trout mauled the salvation shortly after the conversion. It took me forty-five minutes to put a notch on the scoreboard, but the chunky brown made the wait worthwhile.

Pretty Fish

By the time I paused for lunch at noon, the fish counter incremented to three including a rewarding fourteen inch plump rainbow. My confidence in the iron sally and salvation was gradually climbing along with my frustration, as I hooked and failed to land two additional muscular combatants during the period before lunch.

As I sat on a nice flat rock next to the river and munched my snack, the river came alive with a smorgasbord of trout delicacies. Dense swarms of caddis continued to dap the surface of the water, and their animated actions continued throughout the day. New stars took center stage in the form of yellow sallies, pale morning duns and golden stoneflies. I concluded that I was well positioned with the iron sally, as it represented a golden stonefly or yellow sally. The salvation nymph served as a decent copy of a pale morning dun nymph.

Another Wide Trout

By 12:15PM I was back on the river, and the period between noon and 2:30 was electric. The air above the river was alive with stoneflies and caddis and mayflies, and I debated switching from the dry/dropper approach to a single dry fly. I resolved to stay with the nymphs, until rising fish became prevalent. How did this tactic work out?

Sparkling Brown Trout

The fish counter surged from three to sixteen during the period between lunch and 2:30, and many of the netted stream residents were fit and muscular specimens in the thirteen inch to fifteen inch range. In addition I endured three or four escapes, and as is usually the case, these fish felt quite heavy. In one scenario the hooked trout morphed into a jet powered submarine, as it streaked immediately into the heavy current. I attempted to follow it, but before I could cover ten yards, the surging weight on the end of my line disappeared. When I reeled up line, I discovered the reason, as the aquatic freight train broke off all three flies. When I rigged anew, I replaced the pool toy with a yellow fat Albert. The top fly was not attracting attention, so I opted for maximum buoyancy.

More Pocket Water

The intense action of the hatch-driven two hour and thirty minute trout-fest was an absolute blast, and I was very pleased to confirm my theory, that the hatches drove the outstanding late June and early July fly fishing on the Eagle River. The Eagle River contains one of the densest yellow sally hatches, that I ever encountered in my fly fishing lifetime.

Major Stripe on This Beauty

By three o’clock I suffered through an extended lull, and I approached a very attractive section with several deep runs and slots behind large boulders that served as current breaks. I paused to develop a plan of attack, and a fish elevated to gulp a natural insect. The dry/dropper tactic was in a slump, so I abandoned the three fly set up and knotted a size 14 yellow stimulator to my line. I applied floatant and lobbed a cast above the scene of the recent rise. On the fourth drift over the nearby target area, a fish elevated and sipped the heavily hackled stonefly imitation.

Love These Shelf Pools

At first the greedy feeder angled across the run in a relatively calm manner, but when I applied side pressure, it apparently realized that the insect in its mouth possessed a metal point. The powerful rainbow trout went into crisis management and executed a series of leaps and high speed sprints. When I finally sensed that it was tiring, I guided it upstream, and this action caused the valiant fighter to roll on the line several times in an attempt to shed the pointy object that constrained its freedom. After three or four minutes of intense resistance, the rod lost its deep bow, and the rainbow trout celebrated its freedom. Needless to say I was less than thrilled by this turn of events, but the entire episode was an adrenaline inducing thrill.

I moved upstream a bit and waded into position below a quality section that featured a fifteen foot wide riffle over moderate depth next to the left bank. A branch from a deciduous tree extended over the bottom portion of the riffle, and before I could cast, a trout revealed its position next to a streamside boulder and under the large tree limb. One rise does not equate to steady feeding, but I was armed with a dry fly and pleased to at least locate a rare surface feeder. I side armed three casts under the tree limb and allowed the stimulator to bob over the area that featured a rising fish. I allocated two more casts to the effort, but only one was required, as a thirteen inch brown trout crushed the fuzzy yellow dry fly. The wild brown trout represented fish number seventeen and my first and only fish on a dry fly for the day.

Bluegill Shape

I continued my upriver progress with the hope of spotting additional rises, but the quality of the river diminished, when long shallow riffles predominated. I stopped at a few deep runs and pockets to prospect with the stimulator, but these late attempts with a dry fly were not met with success. At four o’clock I reached a convenient exit point and took advantage and ended my day on the Eagle River.

Seventeen trout was an excellent accomplishment, and the average size was very satisfying. The hatches between noon and 2:30 were first rate, and I hope to take advantage of the early summer insect activity with a second visit this week.

Fish Landed: 17