Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

South Fork of the White River – 09/12/2017

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Along the South Fork Trail upstream from the campground.

South Fork of the White River 09/12/2017 Photo Album

After spending the night camping at the South Fork Campground, I packed up my tent and camping gear and prepared to make the hike into South Fork Canyon. A day of remote fishing on the South Fork has become a standard event for me during the last three or four years. 2016 was a bit of a disappointment, but with the closure of the upper North Fork, I decided to give it another chance in 2017.

For some reason the campground and parking area did not seem as busy with hunters and horses as in previous years, although a group of camouflage clad individuals huddled at the trailhead and greeted me, as I began my trek. They asked about the fishing, and I told them that I enjoyed decent success in past years. I did not wish to divulge too much information to strangers. I carried my Orvis Access four weight, as it remained assembled from my day of fishing on Monday.

Tall Aspens

Recent rain caused the trail to contain frequent muddy spots, and hoofprints and horse excrement offered proof that hunters on horseback traveled the route quite frequently. The temperature was probably in the low fifties when I began, but I did not wear additional layers, since I knew from past experience, that I would overheat quickly. As was the case in the 2016, I hiked for an hour, before I cut down to the river in an open meadow area. I began my efforts to attract South Fork trout with a tan three-legged pool toy, ultra zug bug, and salvation nymph; and I picked up a few small fish in the morning before breaking for lunch at 11:45. By lunch time my fish count mounted to four trout, with three consuming the salvation and one latching on to the ultra zug bug.

Very Nice Rainbow Trout in My Net

The action escalated in the afternoon, and I added twenty-three trout to the fish tally. The compilation included one fourteen inch rainbow, three rainbows in the twelve to thirteen inch range, and a bunch of feisty rainbows/cutbows in the six to eleven inch spectrum. I applied my knowledge from past trips, and this guided me to be selective and directed my casts to deep pockets and runs. Prior years taught me that fishing marginal pockets and riffles was largely a waste of time and energy. The selectivity caused me to log significant wading, as I skipped vast stretches of water. If I return in the future, I hope to implement a strategy of focusing on sections where the river bed narrows. These locales offered more deep pockets and the type of structure that delivered fish.

Beauty Abounds

The weather was very pleasant for the second week in September. I wore only a fishing shirt for the entire day and never considered adding a layer.The high temperature probably peaked in the upper sixties for much of the afternoon. The flows were quite nice and a bit higher than normal, but this was probably beneficial for the fish and enabled me to make closer approaches than was possible during years of lower volume.

At one point I lost all three flies to a bad knot, and I followed up with a size 10 tan Charlie boy hopper with black legs. It was worth a try, but the small hopper did not entice fish, and it did not float two beadhead nymphs very well, so I reverted to a pool toy with a light yellow body for the remainder of the afternoon.

Pool Toy Snack

As I hiked back to the parking lot at the end of the day, I stopped just above the pedestrian bridge to rinse off my wading boots. I scanned the river and noticed two attractive deep narrow slots fifteen feet across from me. I decided to test the river close to the campground and unhooked my flies and lobbed a cast to the nearest narrow slack water area. Instantly a small trout bolted to the surface and inhaled the pool toy. When I brought the aggressive feeder to my net, I was shocked to learn that I caught a brown trout on the South Fork. This represented the first brown trout that I caught on either the North Fork or South Fork in my many years of fishing in the Flattops. Hopefully this is not a leading indicator that brown trout are migrating upstream on the White River and displacing rainbows and cutthroats.

Tuesday was a fun day with fairly consistent action throughout my time on the river. In 2014 and 2015 I experienced torrid action in the late afternoon, and for some reason I have been unable to replicate those experiences in 2016 and 2017. My only explanation is that the weather has been warmer and not as favorable to fall insect activity from blue winged olives and caddis. The hot action during the late afternoon in 2014 and 2015 also yielded some larger than average rainbows, so I was a bit disappointed with the size of the trout on Tuesday, September 12.

Despite these small shortcomings I was in a remote setting with no other fishermen to contend with, and it was a pleasant day in the Rocky Mountains. I landed twenty-seven beautiful wild fish and created new memories to carry me over to another year. No more complaints from this happy fisherman.

Fish Landed: 27

 

North Fork of the White River – 09/11/2017

Time: 1:00PM – 4:30PM

Location: Near the North Fork Campground

North Fork of the White River 09/11/2017 Photo Album

Monday was the start of my highly anticipated annual trek to the Flattops area of Colorado. The second week of September has become my preferred time to make the long four hour drive to the White River including a forty mile rumble over gravel and dirt washboard roads. Generally the arduous trip is well worth it for the fishing, scenery and solitude.

A day before my expected departure Jane spotted an item in the Denver Post announcing a new wildfire near Maybell, CO. I reviewed a map and determined that the area of the fire was in northwest Colorado and safely distant from my planned fly fishing destination. However, not willing to undertake a long journey only to be thwarted by smoke and closures, I decided to call the White River National Forest office on Monday morning. I placed the call shortly after 8AM, and a woman answered the phone. She assured me that the Maybell wildfire was not an issue, but then she informed me that there was a closure in the Himes Peak area near the White River. This was a surprise stroke of back luck, as the Himes Peak Campground was one my favorite starting points for fishing the North Fork.

I debated what to do, and I finally concluded that enough options remained to entertain me for at least three days. I simply needed to be flexible and adjust my plan. I departed Denver by 8:20AM, and the lack of traffic snarls or weather delays enabled me to arrive at the junction of CO 8 and CO 155 by 12:15PM. I turned left to head toward the stretch of water above Himes Peak, but two national forest service employees were seated in chairs along the side of the road. A young man walked over to my rolled down window and asked if I knew of the closure. I told him I did, and then I asked if the area above Himes Peak was also closed, and he replied that it was. I voiced my disappointment and asked if he knew when the area would reopen? He stated that the closure would most likely extend through Friday. With this bit of discouraging news I was in ad lib mode, since the wildfire eliminated one of my favorite haunts for the entire week. I backed up to CO 8 and considered my options.

There was a section that yielded success three to five years ago, but a more recent visit delivered disappointment. Perhaps with the elimination of the upper North Fork, I needed to give it another try. I continued for a few miles until I was near the North Fork Campground, and here I parked along the shoulder. It was 12:30, so I munched my sandwich and downed a yogurt and assembled my Orvis Access four weight for a day of fishing.

As I was about to hike along the road to a path that led to the river, I heard the rumble of thunder and noticed some dark threatening clouds to the southeast. I judged that the storm would pass to the south, and I was not dissuaded in my pursuit of trout. I hiked for approximately .5 mile and hoped to exit and climb back up the hill near where the car was parked. I glanced at my watch and noted that my start time was 1PM, and I added a tan pool toy, salvation nymph and ultra zug bug to my line. These three flies served me well for the entire day.

Deep Slots Ruled

When I reached the edge of the river, I continued downstream for another .3 mile in order to explore a segment never previously fished. I began prospecting the dry/dropper combination, and fairly quickly an eight inch rainbow snatched the salvation nymph in a deep run. A bit of a lull in action ensued, but then I noticed a pause of the hopper in a deep run, and this prompted a quick hook set. The shocked fish flashed near the surface, and I glimpsed a bronze colored combatant. Sure enough when I lifted the trout into my net, I gazed at a gorgeous cutthroat that measured thirteen inches in length. I was quite pleased, and this stroke of good fortune spurred me to continue in my impromptu destination.

Best Cutthroat of the Week

I was mindful of previous visits to this section of the White River, when I determined that the fish inhabited pockets and runs of moderate depth. This caused me to move along at a fairly rapid pace, as I allocated three to five casts to spots that met the criteria described above. I covered between .5 and one mile and landed twenty-two trout. I had a blast. Shortly after starting a large threatening cloud settled above me, and large raindrops began to ping my hat. I scrambled to remove my packs and quickly retrieved my raincoat just before a fairly heavy fifteen minute shower commenced.

Fish of the Day

Displaying the Chubby Whitefish

Included in my catch on Monday was a sixteen inch rainbow, a couple of feisty thirteen inch bows, and a significant  number of eleven and twelve inch striped gems. A small brook trout was also in the mix, but a brown trout remained outstanding to claim a grand slam. Number twenty-one was the prettiest fish on the day, as it displayed a bright cheek, yellow-bronze body, and a wide bright stripe. This fish measured around fourteen inches, and I obtained a photo from above while it rested in the net. Unfortunately it squeezed through one of the plastic holes in the net, before I could obtain a better view. During Monday’s action one fish smashed the pool toy, and all the others grabbed the nymphs. I estimate that 75% preferred the salvation.

Rather Nice

At 4:30 I debated whether to walk along the edge of the river in order to exit near the car, or whether to retreat to my starting point. I chose the latter, and this decision necessitated some serious bouldering over large rocks deposited at the bottom of the steep bank beneath the road. Since I was now improvising my fishing trip of 2017, I decided to drive to the South Fork Campground. Camping at this campground positioned me for hike-in fishing on the South Fork on Tuesday.

On my drive to South Fork I found a few places with enough cell coverage to text Jane about my whereabouts. Also I passed two livestock trailers at the corral below the North Fork Campground, and shaggy sheep were wandering everywhere in the vicinity. Apparently they were enjoying their last moments of freedom before being transported to another destination. I hate to think where that might be.

Monday afternoon was a windfall after the disappointing information surrounding the wildfire. Early success in an area previously written off was an excellent start and provided me with a necessary boost of optimism.

Fish Landed: 22

Arkansas River – 09/05/2017

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Hayden Meadows

Arkansas River 09/05/2017 Photo Album

Our friends the Gaboury’s invited Jane and I to join them for a couple days at their beautiful home in Eagle Ranch, CO. We made the trip on Monday, Labor Day, and Dave Gaboury made plans for a day of fishing on Tuesday. In an earlier meeting with Dave and his wife, Beth, Dave floated the idea of driving over Tennessee Pass to fish in the upper Arkansas River, and I jumped on the idea. Historically the nearby Eagle River is very low and difficult around the Labor Day weekend, and I surmised that the higher elevation of the upper Arkansas River might translate to better fishing success.

Our mutual friend, Todd, joined us, and the three of us made the drive to Hayden Meadows on Tuesday morning. We arrived at the parking lot above Hayden Meadows a bit after ten o’clock, and after a thirty minute hike on a dirt lane, we entered the water and began casting by 11AM. I chose my Loomis five weight in case I tangled with a fifteen inch fish, and I like the slower action and shorter rod for chucking dry/dropper configurations. Since three fishermen were in our group, we adopted a hopscotch approach, but we always kept the upstream fisherman in view. The river was roughly half the volume that I experienced in my two earlier visits, but it remained high enough so that two fishermen could fish across from each other, as long as care was exercised, and one angler did not advance ahead of the other.

The weather consisted of bright sun and temperatures that advanced to the upper seventies. The more significant factor was the strong winds that plagued us in the afternoon, and this condition was probably fairly typical for the river that is located on a high open plain with very few wind breakers. The flows listed on the ArkAnglers web site were 130 CFS. The volume of water was actually fairly ideal for fishing and wading, and clarity was perfect.

I began my day with a parachute grasshopper with a hares ear dubbed body, and this fly generated one unproductive look. I switched to a Jake’s gulp beetle, and the usually reliable terrestrial was soundly ignored. In past visits I enjoyed success in the morning with a dry/dropper set up, so I converted to a tan pool toy trailing a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph. I persisted with this combination for quite awhile, and the only evidence of trout resulted from another reluctant look to the pool toy. While I was cycling through these fly choice scenarios, Todd hooked and landed a fish on an elk hair caddis, and this forced me to reevaluate. So far only the hoppers attracted any attention, and they were surface flies, so perhaps a dry fly was the best bet.

Dave Ready to Probe a Run

I removed the three flies and knotted a gray size 14 stimulator to my line. Shortly after this change, I encountered a spot where a narrow side channel split off from the main flow, and I followed it and discovered a very attractive small pool in front of an overhanging bush. I flicked the stimulator to the entry current, and as it slowly floated beneath a small overhanging branch, a fish created a bulge next to the fly and then disappeared. I succeeded in adding a refusal to my list of near misses. Todd was behind me, and he accepted my invitation to toss his elk hair caddis to the small pool, but the inhabitant was apparently now educated and would not reveal itself a second time.

We moved back to the main channel and moved upstream, and the stimulator ceased to create interest. Dave G. experienced a momentary hook up with a decent fish on a chartreuse copper john, so I returned to the dry/dropper system and exchanged the salvation nymph for an ultra zug bug. I persevered with this set up over the remainder of the afternoon, since other options seemed ineffective, and the other guys were not having much more success. Eventually I coaxed a four inch brown into my net, but it measured beneath my six inch threshold for counting. The small trout inhaled the ultra zug bug.

The Guys at the Start of Our Day on the Upper Arkansas River

Shortly after 2PM I drifted the trio of flies through a nice deep current seam, and the hopper darted sideways causing me to instinctively raise the rod. I felt significant weight, and a fish executed a quick roll and tail thrash, and then it escaped. The duration of the connection was too fleeting to reach a conclusion on which fly hooked the fish. This was my best shot at a substantial fish on the day, and it lasted half a second.

By three o’clock we approached the bridge next to the parking area, and Dave G. marched ahead in a state of boredom. In short order Todd and I followed suit, and I was forced to record a skunking. I second guessed my fly choices and approach, but the lackluster results of Todd and Dave G. convinced me that Tuesday presented very challenging conditions. I saw virtually no aquatic insect activity, although I was surprised that terrestrials did not produce given the constant gusts of wind. Perhaps I should have cycled through more grasshopper, beetle, and ant imitations; but I suspect this approach would not have changed the results significantly. Hopefully the weather will cool in the near future, and the summer doldrums will come to a quick halt.

Fish Landed: 0

Frying Pan River – 09/01/2017

Time: 9:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Between MM 11 and MM 12.

Frying Pan River 09/01/2017 Photo Album

I did not give much credence to the Taylor Creek Fly Shop sentence on their web site, but it stated that now was a good time to visit the Frying Pan River, since crowds were thinned due to the bridge detour in Glenwood Springs. It was positioned at the top of the fishing report in bright red text, but I discounted it, since it came from a fly shop attempting to attract customers. When I arrived at the Frying Pan River on Thursday, the river did in fact seem relatively vacant, but I attributed it to being a weekday, and the more moderate popularity of the section of the river that I elected to fish.

The Whole Leaf

I camped at Little Maud Campground by Reudi Reservoir on Thursday night, and quite a few vacant sites remained, so I admitted that perhaps there was something to the Taylor Creek announcement. A thunderstorm on Thursday evening soaked my rainfly, and rather than wait for it to dry, I rolled it up along with the tent and footprint and spread them out on the waterproof floor mat in the rear of the Santa Fe. I did not want to delay my start on the Frying Pan River tailwater, and it would be easy enough to spread everything out on the patio when I returned home. I camped within a couple miles of the upper tailwater, and I was not about to squander this convenient location and the ability to beat the hordes to the upper three miles.

Yellow Buttons

I pulled into a wide pullout above the private water border between mile marker eleven and twelve at 9AM. Amazingly I only passed a couple cars along the way, but it was early for the guide crowd. Fridays generally are a favorite day for extending a long weekend, so I was certain that anglers would arrive in droves for the Labor Day weekend. Since I was ahead of the throngs, my plan was to begin at the bottom of the public water and then work my way upstream as far as time would permit. If I bumped into other fishermen, I planned to circle around them and continue, since I had roughly three miles of stream to work with.

More Hops Vines

I assembled my Loomis five weight and walked downstream to the first no trespassing sign and began my quest for Frying Pan River trout. I tied a tan pool toy to my line as the top fly and then added a beadhead salvation nymph and a beadhead hares ear. I fished aggressively from 9:45 until noon and covered a significant amount of water, and one small brown trout that grabbed the salvation was my only reward. Needless to say, I was frustrated, and although I carried my lunch in my backpack; I decided to return to the car, since I was in the vicinity. I needed a break and a change of scenery.

After lunch I walked along the road for a short distance and then descended to the base of a series of tiny islands. I persisted with the dry/dropper configuration and added a second small brown trout that nabbed the hares ear. When I reached the nice pool that contains an exposed rock with a tree growing out of it, I saw a few sporadic rises, so I removed the three fly set up and tied on a size 14 parachute green drake. This fly was on fire on Thursday, so why not give it a trial early on Friday?

A cast to the area of a rise just below the large rock elicited a refusal, and after a few additional futile casts to the pool surrounding the rock, I turned my attention to the angled riffles. This area historically produced quantities of fish and several of decent size. I was certain that the green drake would generate some excitement. If one defines excitement as landing another small brown trout from the tail of the riffle where the current accelerates along the bank, then I suppose I was energized.

An attractive deep pool and run represented my next target area, and this prime spot delivered another small brown trout. I began to notice an occasional green drake, and this reinforced my choice to fish the large mayfly imitation, but I began to doubt that the parachute style was a winner on September 1. I stripped in my line and swapped the parachute style for a heavily hackled Catskill style. This fly does a fine job of imitating the fluttering motion, when the large mayflies attempt to become airborne. On the third cast a nice rainbow surfaced and crushed the bushy green drake imitation. Well I thought it smashed the dry fly; however, when I scooped it with my net, I realized that it was hooked in the cheek. Several additional refusals to the hackled imitation convinced me to make yet another change.

The parachute version produced on Thursday, so I resolved to give it another chance; however, this time I selected a size 14. A nice deep run angled into the pool at the very top, so I made a nice left handed cast to the swirling water above me, and suddenly the green drake disappeared. I set the hook, and after a short battle I was pleased to find a nice twelve inch brown trout in my net. This catch represented number five on the day, and it was also my best at that point.

A Bit Larger

I retreated to the area above the angled riffle and crossed back to the road, and then I hiked upstream and followed an angled path to the left braid, where the river splits around a long island. The left channel is generally very challenging, as it carries lower flows than the right. When I reached the edge of the stream, I paused to observe, and I noticed three rises over a period of three minutes. I decided to cast to the area where I spotted a swirl directly upstream first, and this paid off when an eleven inch brown slurped the parachute green drake. Casts to the vicinity of the rises along the left and right bank were futile, however, so I decided to cross to the bottom tip of the island.

Once this maneuver was completed, I quickly fished some marginal pockets along the right braid, until I reached the spectacular pool below the large square block rock near the top of the island. This was another area that yielded some nice fish in the past, so I was eager to explore it on Friday. By now it was around 2PM, and I expected a dense mayfly emergence to commence, but it never materialized. A few pale morning duns made an appearance along with the occasional green drake, but a dense hatch was not in my future on Friday.

Left Side of the Pool Is Prime

A few fish began to rise in the slow water along the opposite bank, and after numerous casts I managed to eliminate drag long enough for another eleven inch brown to nab the parachute green drake. I turned my attention to the left side of the pool directly above me, and after quite a few unproductive casts, I managed to hook a ten inch brown. The top of the pool where the heavy current spreads out into the pool generally harbors some nice trout, but on this day I never saw evidence of their presence.

Settled Down

I hated to vacate one of my favorite spots, but my preferred mode of operation is to keep moving and not dwell. This commitment to action paid off, when I migrated to the series of nice deep pockets above the island and the cube rock pool. I was not pleased with the sporadic performance of the size 14 parachute green drake, so I exchanged it for a size 14 ribbed comparadun. This fly change seemed to be popular with the fish, as I added four more trout to bring the fish count to twelve on the day. Several were healthy wild twelve inch browns, but the four also featured an energetic husky thirteen inch rainbow that emerged from the current seam just above the tip of the island.

As 3PM rolled by I realized that a hatch of any significance was not going to happen. It was late in the day, and I did not relish the idea of fishing the edge, where the river funneled through a narrow chute between my position and mile marker twelve. I climbed the steep bank and walked along the road, until I reached the same angled path that I followed earlier. Once again I approached the left braid, but this time I planned to cover it from the bottom to the top. I shot several casts to the left bank with no action, and then I directed a long fling directly above me. I struggled to follow the comparadun in the glare, but my vision detected a dimple and the fly disappeared, so I raised the rod tip and set the hook. I was quite surprised to gain a glimpse of a more substantial fish than I expected, and after a brief fight I netted a seventeen inch rainbow trout. Although this fish was the largest of the day, it was quite slender and did not battle in a manner that one would expect for a fish of that size.

Nice Length, but Lean

I released the late afternoon surprise catch and continued my progress up the left braid. Near the very top in a series of short pockets, I landed a very small brown, and I was about to call it quits. I was now perched at the tip of the island below the deep pocket that yielded the nice rainbow earlier, and I decided to made a few final casts. I flicked the comparadun to the deep depression just below the pocket seam, and I was again shocked when a fifteen inch brown trout confidently finned to the surface and inhaled the green drake. I made sure to secure some photos and a video, and after I released the wild brown trout, I called it a day.

Very Respectable Brown Trout

I fished for seven hours on Friday and managed to land fifteen trout. Only three exceeded twelve inches, and it was in all respects an average day. A fifteen fish day on the Frying Pan River in the absence of significant hatch activity is a testament to persistence. I never encountered a competing fisherman during my entire time on the river on Friday, and I am forced to acknowledge the veracity of the Taylor Creek highlighted sentence. As with all things in life, there is no free lunch. I paid dearly for my solitude on the Frying Pan River on my return trip, as it took me over an hour to pass through Glenwood Springs in order to head east on Interstate 70. Would I do it again? Absolutely!

Fish Landed: 15

Frying Pan River – 08/31/2017

Time: 12:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Upper river below Reudi Dam

Frying Pan River 08/31/2017 Photo Album

I declared 2016 the year of the green drake, and I made a concerted effort to find green drake hatches. Unfortunately I only met green drakes a few times, and I never made a trip to the Frying Pan River. The Pan is one of my favorite rivers in Colorado, and it produces one of the best green drake hatches, with the added bonus that the emergence spans from July until October. Although I never set a goal to encounter green drake hatches in 2017, good fortune blessed me with a large number of western green drake experiences.

We returned from Canada on Sunday August 27, and various commitments prevented me from resuming my fly fishing wanderings in Colorado. As I reviewed the calendar, I noted a gap on Thursday and Friday just before the Labor Day weekend, so I decided to squeeze in a two day and one night trip to the Frying Pan River. The fishing report on the Taylor Creek website noted that the crowds were down because of the detour around the route 82 bridge in Glenwood Springs. I was skeptical that this annoyance would have an impact on the avid fly fishermen who visit the Frying Pan, but it gave me another reason to commit to the drive.

I left the house at 6:50 on Thursday morning, and in spite of the roundabout detour in Glenwood, I arrived at the Little Maud Campground by 10:30. I cruised the loop and noted that quite a few sites were unoccupied for Thursday night, and I eventually secured site number 5. I removed my water container and deposited it at the campsite, and then I reversed my direction and drove below the dam to a spot in the upper five miles of public water.

Downstream View of the Frying Pan River

Thursday was a hot day, and the temperature was in the upper seventies when I began fishing at noon. Fortunately a nice cloud cover moved in by 1:30, and this maintained comfortable conditions for the remainder of the afternoon. The flows were 267 CFS, and this proved to be nearly ideal, although crossing the river was a challenge. The number of cars parked along the river, as I drove from the campground to my starting point was lighter than normal, so perhaps the detour was impacting the angler visits to the Frying Pan River.

After I parked, I assembled my Sage One five weight, and then I hiked downstream along the road for .3 mile, until I was just above a no trespassing sign. I entered the river here and began casting with a size eight Chernobyl ant that trailed a salvation nymph and a beadhead pheasant tail. I persisted with this combination for thirty minutes, until I returned to the car for lunch, and the only result of my efforts were a couple empty looks at the Chernobyl.

At the end of lunch I noticed a green drake, so I tried a parachute and ribbed comparadun for a short amount of time with no positive results. Since several fish looked at the Chernobyl earlier, I tested a Jake’s gulp beetle, and this fly placed me on the scoreboard, when a small brown trout in a tiny pocket along the bank snatched it. A couple arrived while I ate lunch, and the male member began fishing one-third of the way between the parking space and the private boundary. Rather than hiking back to the area just above the private water, I cut down to the bank twenty yards below a small island. After the beetle ceased to be productive, I returned to the dry/dropper with a tan pool toy, beadhead salvation, and a beadhead hares ear. These flies began to produce, albeit small fish.

Between 12:30 and 1:30 I tallied eight additional fish to increment the fish counter to nine. A couple ten inch browns crushed the pool toy, and the remainder grabbed the nymphs. Two of the eight fell for the salvation, and the remainder favored the hares ear. The largest of this group was an eleven inch brown that snatched the hares ear, as I began to lift at the end of a deep narrow slot. As usual the elevation of the nymphs at the lip of pockets and the end of deep runs and slots proved to be effective.

Nice Early Catch

At 1:30 I approached the wide riffle with pockets across from the Santa Fe. This was the position I desired to reach in case green drakes became a factor. Right on cue I spotted two large mayflies, as they floated up from the river. Prior to the Frying Pan trip I loaded my fly box with some size 12 ribbed parachute drakes as well as some Catskill style ties, and I now elected to attach one of the parachutes to my line. Bingo! I began landing fish in rapid fire succession. Initially the small pockets produced small fish, but as I migrated upstream to the prime deep pools and pockets along the right bank, the size increased. Over the course of Thursday I added another twenty-five trout to the fish count to end up at thirty-four.

Cutbow or Rainbow?

Chunky Specimen

Between 2:00 and 4:00 I was on fire, as nearly every likely spot produced a fish or two. The parachute took me to nineteen, and then I snapped it off on a tree branch. A second parachute continued the streak, until it broke off in a fish. At this point I decided to try a Catskill style, but it produced refusals and a couple foul hooked fish, so I returned to a size 14 parachute. The last parachute was not as effective as the first two, although the hatch waned, and that may have been a contributing factor. The green drake victims included a spunky fourteen inch rainbow and a deeply colored fourteen inch brown trout. A fair number of twelve and thirteen inch browns comprised the afternoon count, but only one additional rainbow rested in my net.

One of the Better Fish on Thursday

Downstream casts were far and away the most productive approach. The trout inhaled the first two parachutes with a great amount of confidence as evidenced by the lack of refusals, temporary hook ups, and foul hooked fish. I was a bit disappointed to not encounter a fifteen inch or greater fish, but it is hard to complain about a thirty-four fish day on the Frying Pan River with nearly constant action on large visible green drakes. Hopefully my boat box contains enough parachute green drakes to get me through tomorrow. The year of the green drake continues into September.

Fish Landed: 34

Beer Making

 

 

Clear Creek – 08/29/2017

Time: 12:30PM – 4:00PM

Location: Between Tunnel 3 and Mayhem Gulch

Clear Creek 08/29/2017 Photo Album

The contrast between the Bow River in Alberta and Clear Creek along Interstate 70 is stark. The Bow River contains wide sweeping runs and glides over a white cobble bottom with an abundant quantity of trout in the fifteen to twenty inch range. Clear Creek tumbles along a high gradient path over large angular rocks right next to a busy highway, and it contains primarily brown trout in the six to eleven inch range. On Tuesday August 29 I chose to shock my system back to reality by fishing in Clear Creek.

Still Higher Than Normal at 93 CFS

Flows finally dropped to 93 CFS, but even that level remains high for this late juncture in the fly fishing season in Colorado. I had a few tasks to complete in the morning, so by the time I pulled into a wide pullout along Clear Creek, the clock displayed 11:50. I decided to eat my lunch, and then I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and found a well used path to descend the steep bank. The air temperature was in the upper eighties, and the sun was brilliant in the solid blue sky. For some reason I wore my waders, when Tuesday was probably the best day of the summer for wet wading.

For some reason I always expect Clear Creek to offer easy mindless fly fishing, but Tuesday reminded me to cleanse that idea from my thought process. I began the day with a size 12 Chernobyl ant, but it possessed a tiny yellow indicator spot, and I had great difficulty tracking it in the swirling currents. I could have overlooked this shortcoming, if it generated action, but it did not; so I swapped it for a size 10 Chernobyl with a much larger yellow indicator. The change did not yield results instantly, but after some persistence, I landed two ten inch brown trout. In both cases I utilized a downstream drift along the narrow band of slow water on the opposite shoreline. This was the only way I could manage a decent drag free drift due to the surge of fast tumbling current in the middle of the creek.

Yummy Chernobyl Ant Snack

The larger Chernobyl generated quite a few refusals, so despite netting two fish in the first hour, I decided to experiment with a different fly. In recent years Jake’s gulp beetle outproduced most of the other flies in my box, so I knotted one with a peacock dubbed body to my line. This move once again proved to be effective, and I upped the fish count from two to ten over the remainder of the afternoon. The pace of the action improved, but it never approached a state that I would describe as hot. I cast to a huge number of pools, pockets and runs without even a look; however, the fish responded often enough to maintain my interest.

First Victim of Jake’s Gulp Beetle

At roughly 2:30 some small blue winged olives made an appearance, as a few clouds blocked the sun for short periods off and on. Initially I ignored them since they were quite small, but by 3:00 I added a 2.5 foot dropper and a size 20 RS2. The addition of the nymph was a positive, and two of the eight fish landed in the afternoon nipped the small nymph. In addition two fish nabbed the trailing baetis nymph imitation, as it began to swing, but I failed to bring these to the net. It was quite apparent that the trout were accustomed to blue winged olive nymphs showing fairly rapid movement. The other six afternoon trout responded to the foam beetle. All the fish landed on the day were brown trout except for one early rainbow that gulped the beetle.

Beauty Among the Rocks

Given the hot sunny conditions and the time of the year, I was quite pleased to land ten small fish on Clear Creek on August 29. Historically fishing from the middle of August until the first week of September is very challenging on freestone streams in Colorado. The major hatches are over, and the weather is hot and clear. Once again Clear Creek was not the pushover stream that many fly shops tout. I worked hard to scramble over large rocks while executing a huge number of casts, but persistence rewarded me with a double digit day.

Fish Landed: 10

Bow River – 08/25/2017

Time: 10:00AM – 7:00PM

Location: Downstream from Calgary

Bow River 08/25/2017 Photo Album

I began fishing in my early thirties, and my passion for this wonderful sport endured for over thirty years. In the early years I read everything I could, and I subscribed to numerous periodicals. Even now I receive six magazines, and although I struggle to keep pace with their arrival, I continue to read and educate myself. As with technology, I fear becoming outdated, and reading is an excellent means to stay current.

Over the years I devoured numerous articles that described fishing in the Bow River in Alberta. The descriptions sounded almost mythical to my eager ears, and the thought of visiting Alberta to cast a line in the blue hued river that tumbles from its source in Banff National Park struck me as a vague fantasy. Yet here I was at the Out Fly Fishing shop in Calgary on Friday morning, August 25, 2017.

When I decided to book a day of guided fishing on the Bow River, I contacted one of my Instagram connections and asked for a recommendation. She suggested a guide who also worked for Out Fly Fishing; however, he was already booked on August 25, so he suggested that I contact the shop and seek another guide.

Jane graciously allotted me a day of fishing on our return trip to Colorado from Jasper, and I stood at the counter and purchased my one day non-resident fishing license. Once this necessary detail was completed, I met my guide for the day, Mike, and he ushered me to his SUV and drift boat. Mike and I exchanged initial greetings, and I was admittedly a bit concerned over my assigned mentor, as Mike was obviously older than me. Could this elderly gentleman handle the physical requirements of rowing a drift boat while at the same time knotting my flies and directing my casts? I decided to trust the shop and defer any judgments.

Trico Cloud Hovers Over the River

We drove south from Calgary for thirty minutes, until we reached a nice gradually sloping boat launch site, and while I waited, Mike backed his trailer in the water and shoved the boat into the river. Huge swarms of tricos hovered over the edge of the river right in front of me, and I walked among them to inspect their size. They were tiny. I estimated that an exact imitation would require a size 26 or 28 hook. When I pointed them out to Mike, he informed me that in all likelihood we would not attempt to match the trico hatch.

I was equipped with my Sage One five weight rod, and before we launched, Mike tied a size 10 foam hopper to my line along with a bright red annelid worm as a dropper. I expected a terrestrial on top, but I was surprised by the worm. According to Mike the river was quite low for late August, although it struck me as a very substantial river compared to my usual destinations in Colorado. Unlike the upper Bow, the color of the river was greenish blue as it rushed over round white river rocks. The terrain along the river was mostly flat prairie farmland, although the gradient dropped enough to create a nice mix of pools and long flowing runs and glides.

The Drift Boat Anchored

By the time we drove to the river, launched the boat and rigged the rod it was ten o’clock, and now my day began in earnest. The first hour was a period of adjustment, as I followed Mike’s guidance, and I gradually grew to understand his verbal commands. This in turn enabled me to cast to the places that Mike knew, through many years of experience, would most likely produce trout. The first hour did not produce any fish, although I felt as if I made some expert casts and executed long drag free drifts.

In hour number two the fishing began to heat up. Mike and I began to work as a more cohesive team. We moved farther from the launch point, and the air temperature warmed the water. Fish began to rise in the slow moving pools, and I suspected they picked off tricos, but the feeding was not the regular gulping, that I associated with trico hatches. It quickly became clear that the trico eaters were tiny fish, and I did not commit my time and money to a day of casting for dinks on the Bow River.

We drifted through a nice run of moderate depth, where several currents merged below some gravel bars, and here I connected with three small rainbow trout in the nine to eleven inch range. At least I was catching fish, but the size was obviously disappointing. These fish relished the bright red worm, and this discovery relaxed my concerns about fishing a red worm in low late summer water conditions. I usually associate worm fishing with the high discolored conditions of spring.

The Beauty Came from This Slow Pool

Nice Bend on a Late Spurt

My trust of Mike was gradually increasing, but then he pulled the boat up on a gradual bank and instructed me to walk the grassy slope with him. We proceeded to take a few steps, and then we paused to gaze into the slow moving band of water ten to fifteen feet beyond our positions. We repeated this over and over until we spooked two substantial rainbows that responded by slowly swimming out of view to the deeper current. I began to question whether this slow process was wasting my valuable guide trip time, but after covering thirty yards, we spotted another sizable trout, as it slowly cruised downstream above us. We froze instantly, and the fish made a one hundred and eighty degree turn and faced upstream. This was what Mike was looking for, and he instructed me to step down from the three foot bank and cast.

What a Beauty

I stripped out line and began to cast and lengthened the distance with each forward thrust. I was feeling quite a bit of self inflicted pressure, and I was certain that I would flub this unexpected sight fishing opportunity. Finally I judged that my distance was sufficient, so I released the line and allowed it to glide through the rod guides, while I held my breath. The hopper shot out straight and then plunked down in the river, and the worm dropper followed with a small splash, but I now realized that my cast came up short. I was admonishing myself for failing my first significant casting test of the day, when the large underwater form turned around. Apparently the sound of the hopper caught its attention, and it slowly swam toward the terrestrial, and after traveling two feet it turned its head. Mike shouted, “hit it”, and I did so and felt a strong connection with the targeted fish. I was shocked to realize, that the trout snatched the trailing annelid!

The rainbow trout instantly went into escape mode, and I allowed it complete three or four high speed dashes, while line peeled off my new Battenkill disk drag reel. I was quite pleased over my decision to upgrade the reel that held my five weight line prior to the trip. Eventually the rainbow began to tire, and at this point I realized that Mike left the net back in the boat. This fact did not faze Mike, as he waded into the river, and instructed me on how to guide the fish within his reach, whereupon he confidently grasped it and positioned it for a few photos. Mike estimated that the rainbow trout measured twenty inches, and it exhibited a fine width. The entire episode was extremely visual, and a state of euphoria settled over me, until we were back in the boat.

We continued our journey down the Bow River, and after another thirty minutes elapsed, we drifted through an area where a nice deep run cascaded within  five feet of the north bank. I made a cast to the bank and allowed the hopper to bob along the seam next to the rocky shoreline. Suddenly a large form emerged, and the back of a rainbow trout humped above the surface, and then the mouth of the hungry stream dweller crashed down on the grasshopper. I was attentive and instantly raised my rod, and I was excited to feel a connection with another substantial fish.

Another Beauty

Once again a battle ensued, and fortunately I withstood the various escape antics and guided another twenty inch rainbow trout into Mike’s waiting net. I pinched myself to make sure that landing two twenty inch rainbow trout on the Bow River within one hour was not a delirious dream. The first significant trout was a textbook sight fishing scenario, and now I witnessed an aggressive take of a large surface hopper imitation. Although rainbow number two equaled the earlier prize in length, it did not possess the same bulk. Mike and I exchanged high fives and continued our journey down the Bow River.

Number Two Not As Fat

I wish I could report that twenty inch fish continued to nestle in Mike’s net during the remainder of our float, but that was not the case. I was not disappointed, however, as the catch rate continued at a reasonable rate, and my focus was sustained by the expectation of connecting with another large fish. We paused and ate our lunches at 1:30, and between two o’clock and seven o’clock I managed to steer eleven more rainbow trout into the large long handled net. Three of these fish were powerful rainbows in the fourteen to fifteen inch range, and they acquitted themselves well with leaps, dives and sudden bursts in their attempts to shed my hook. Another fish measured in the seventeen inch range, but it was lean and undernourished, and Mike speculated that it was diseased in some way.

The remainder of the catch were spunky rainbows in the nine to twelve inch range, and I lifted these to the boat quickly in order to pursue bigger targets. Of course success was not always a given, and I also hooked and lost four or five trout that in all likelihood fell into the fifteen to twenty inch size slot. A twenty plus fish day was a possibility, but long distance releases are an expected part of the game.

Over the course of the day I learned that the best water was characterized by the seams and deep runs where multiple currents merged. Also productive were stretches of moderate current and depth along rocky shorelines. In these places I cast ahead of the boat within a few feet of the bank, and Mike matched the drift of the boat with the speed of the fly enabling very long drifts. Slow moving deep pools were unproductive, and by the afternoon we rowed through them quickly to seek the locations that matched the productive areas described above.

Keeping It Wet

What a fun day! I landed seventeen trout including two twenty inch fish and four in the fourteen to seventeen inch range. All the larger fish were persistent fighters, and they forced me to employ my best fish fighting skills. The catch rate subsided during the last hour or two, but between 11AM and 5PM it was relatively steady.

My Guide Mike Prepares to Launch the Drift Boat

And what about my concerns with Mike? He took longer to knot fluorocarbon than the average guide, and his hearing was a bit impaired, but he more than compensated through his vast knowledge of the river. I developed an understanding of Mike’s verbal directions, and my confidence in his guidance blossomed. He clearly knew the river and how to maneuver the boat and positioned me for my best chance for success. After thirty years of dreaming about the Bow River of Alberta, I actually spent a day drifting along its spectacular waters and managed to land some quality fish. What a day.

Fish Landed: 17

Elk River – 08/18/2017

Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Olsen Rest Area

Elk River 08/18/2017 Photo Album

I visited the Elk River in British Columbia on 8/8/2015 and 8/9/2015. That trip was my introduction to the beautiful blue tinged crystal clear river in the southeastern corner of the western province, and when Jane and I discussed a road trip to Banff and Jasper, I made sure to include a day for fly fishing on the Elk River in our itinerary. In August of 2015 I was a guest of Montana Fly Company, and this translated to floating the river in a drift boat both days. Friday August 18, 2017 was scheduled to be a self guided wade fishing experience. How would the two experiences compare?

Jane and I arrived in Fernie, BC on Thursday August 17, and we checked into our hotel and enjoyed a delightful dinner at the Curry Bowl a few blocks down the street. Knowing that the Canadian trip was in my future prompted me to exchange direct mail comments and emails with an Instagram acquaintance, Cliff Razzo, who lives in Fernie. He recommended lodging and most importantly suggested a wade fishing section for me to explore. His kind advice was utilized, and I was grateful for his assistance. Cliff also urged me to carry bear spray several times in his informative email, so I purchased a canister at Bass Pro Shop prior to departing on the trip.

On Friday morning Jane and I walked from our lodging to the Elk River Fly Shop, and I purchased the requisite license and permit for one day of fishing on the Elk River. After the transaction was completed, I asked the young lady behind the counter about the turn off from the highway into the Olsen Rest Stop, since Cliff was very explicit in directing me not to make a left turn from the northbound lane. She suggested turning right into the toilet area and then crossing both lanes of the highway to avoid making a left across traffic. Once she explained the traffic nuance, she offered some unsolicited advice. “Be alert because that is where they dump roadkill.” Whoa! This caught my attention. Apparently bears were attracted to the area I chose to fish by deer, elk, and a variety of carcasses. I was instantly on high alert, and when I returned to the hotel, I immediately opened our recent purchase of bear spray in preparation for my day on the water.

Bear Spray at the Ready and on My Hip

I departed the hotel at 9AM, and by the time I drove past the Olsen Rest Area to Sparwood and returned south, it was 9:30 as I pulled into the parking lot. As it turned out, the toilets described by the Elk River salesperson were across from the Olsen Pit Road, and I was searching for the Olsen Rest Area. Much to my relief I was a mile or two below the Olsen Pit, the apparent repository of roadkill carcasses.

I assembled my gear as usual and elected to use my Sage One five weight with the expectation of some larger fish. The temperature was in the mid-fifties, but I wore no extra layers, as the high for the day was predicted to reach the mid-eighties. I dutifully slid the holster over my wader belt and inserted a can of bear spray, and then I followed the five hundred meter path to the river. The riverbed displayed a significant amount of exposed round rock, and initially I assumed that flows were low, and they may have been, but the strong current remained fast enough to dissuade me from any attempt to cross.

Absolutely Stunning

In 2015 a Jake’s gulp beetle was magical, so I began my 2017 adventure with the same fly. Unfortunately fly selection was not that easy, as the foam beetle was not desired by the west slope cutthroats on August 18, at least not in the morning time period. Following the small orange indicator on the back of the beetle was difficult in the morning shade created by the high bank, so I converted to a yellow fat Albert with a beadhead hares ear and a copper john. The fat Albert attracted two refusals, but after covering an hours worth of water, I switched to a Chernobyl ant, and this provoked no response from the fish. At least the fat Albert generated a few looks.

I opted for another change and knotted a tan pool toy to my line, and this foam terrestrial once again produced a pair of tentative looks. I also briefly tested a parachute green drake, since Cliff mentioned it as a productive fly. The looks and refusals described might suggest that I was having a fair amount of activity, but it transpired over a 3.5 hour period, and by 1:30PM my net failed to feel the weight of a fish. I was rather frustrated and snapped a series of landscape photos to make sure I had some remembrance of the day.

So Blue

Although the fish count was locked on zero, the 3.5 hours did provide some clues. All the refusals occurred in deep slow moving areas within ten feet of the bank. I invested a significant amount of time casting to moderate riffles, long glides and deep pools with no discernible benefit from my effort. I pondered this observation and vowed to cover more of the river and focus on the slow bank side spots. Unfortunately these locations tended to exist next to high dirt banks. In fact they were so high, that it was impossible to lower oneself from the top to the water. I adopted the tactic of entering the river where the drop off was mild, and then I carefully waded along the base of the steep bank to access the band of slow water. For the most part this worked, but several times the water bordering the bank was too deep or too fast, and this circumstance forced me to retreat.

My Two Best Fish Came from This Area with Deadfalls in Abundance

By 1:30 I approached a nice area that met my productive water criteria. I flicked a backhand cast below a log and above a smaller branch that extended from the high bank. I reverted to a Jake’s gulp beetle with a peacock dubbed body, and suddenly after the beetle crept only six inches, a shadowy form emerged from the depths and moved a couple feet to chomp on the foam bug. I could not believe my eyes. I instinctively reacted with a hook set, and once I felt resistance, I realized I was attached to a decent cutthroat trout. This was the action I sought, and I carefully maintained pressure, until I scooped the fifteen inch prize into my net. I was finally on the scoreboard, and the native cutthroat was a very pretty fish to behold.

I Love the Color of These Cutthroats

The ten foot ribbon of water continued, but in order to fish it, I was required to climb the bank and circle around a large log. I complied and carefully lowered myself back to the river. Once I was positioned, I gazed upstream, and I noticed a deep depression where the river displayed a brilliant aqua color, as it flowed over a white bottom. As a result of the extreme clarity I was skeptical that a fish was present, but I flicked an obligatory backhand cast to the top of the trough. I retain a vivid image of what happened next. A large cutthroat materialized from the aqua depression, and it actually launched out of the water and descended on the beetle from above. In a state of shock I lifted the rod and set the hook. This Elk River inhabitant displayed its power and endurance, as a prolonged tussle ensued, but eventually I scooped the seventeen inch wild fish into my net. The stunning cutthroat was very wide and possessed a light tan body with vivid fine speckles. I was shaking from the excitement for several minutes after this episode.

After Lens Cleaning

I continued upstream at a rapid clip for another 1.5 hours, and I managed to land a small eight inch cutty along with two momentary connections with likely substantial fish. By 3:30 I was quite weary, and I knew a decent hike was in my future, and I could see the highway, so I reeled up the beetle and made my exit. Friday was a challenging day on the Elk River, and I gained an appreciation for the advantages of a drift boat. Traveling on foot limits the number of prime cutthroat holding spots that can be accessed in a day of fishing. Despite this handicap I managed five refusals, three temporary hook ups, and three landed fish. Two of the netted trout were absolutely stunning wild westslope cutthroat trout of fifteen and seventeen inches. The landscape was spectacular, and I never encountered an angry bear. It was a success in my book, and that is all that matters.

Fish Landed: 3

 

South Boulder Creek – 08/14/2017

Time: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Dam.

South Boulder Creek 08/14/2017 Photo Album

Monday was the last day available for local fishing, before Jane and I depart on a trip to Canada. On Sunday we hiked the Peak to Plains Trail in Clear Creek Canyon, and I viewed this as a scouting mission. It was obvious that Clear Creek continued to run above the ideal range at 150 CFS, but I noted numerous nice pockets and slower moving pools along the edge that offered viable targets for my flies. As I drifted off to sleep on Sunday night, I was fairly certain that I would give Clear Creek a try on Monday.

The drive to Clear Creek from my house in Denver is a mere 45 minutes, so I completed my normal morning exercise routine. Part way through the morning I took a break and checked the DWR stream flow web site, and I noticed that Clear Creek was in the 140 CFS range and declining. I was curious to see how Denver Water was managing South Boulder Creek, so I scrolled up to that tailwater, and I was pleased to note that South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir was down to 144 CFS. This new information prodded me to reconsider my destination choice. I knew from Friday’s experience that green drakes were emerging on South Boulder Creek, and flows were now 20 CFS lower than the level that I endured on Friday. I surmised that green drakes would be absent by the time I returned from Alberta, so I modified my plan and targeted South Boulder Creek for Monday, August 14. Clear Creek could wait until late August.

Lots of Options Here

I packed the Santa Fe and departed by 11AM, and this allowed me to arrive at the upper parking lot by noon. In order to avoid packing my lunch into the canyon, I devoured my sandwich, carrots and yogurt in the parking lot; and then I gathered my gear and assembled my Orvis Access four weight. Seven other vehicles were present in addition to mine, so I knew there would be some company on the stream. The air temperature was quite warm, as the dashboard thermometer registered in the low eighties.

Since I started late, I decided to shorten my hike, but I did cross the stream at the pedestrian bridge. Tools and supplies were present at the bridge, but workers were absent and probably on their lunch break. I continued along the Walker Loop trail for a decent distance, and then I found a relatively easy path down to the creek. I chose South Boulder Creek because of the possibility of fishing to a green drake hatch, so I tied a size 14 2XL parachute green drake to my line and began to spray searching casts to the likely trout holding habitat.

Impressionistic Parachute Green Drake

The first four trout interactions were refusals, but these fish appeared to be tiny, so I persisted with the parachute. After the dose of rejection, I hooked and landed two decent brown trout, and this affirmed the parachute green drake selection. Over the next 1.5 hours I built the fish count to six, as the parachute style green drake attracted enough attention to retain its position on my line. I estimate that I observed three refusals or temporary connections for each fish that landed in my net, but I suspected that the fish that ate the fly were larger than those that rejected it. In many cases I could see the side of very small fish, as they flashed toward the surface and then turned away.

Nice Start

At approximately 2:30 I reacted to one of the aforementioned flashes and executed an overzealous hook set. Unfortunately the trout never grabbed the fly, and it catapulted towad a tree branch behind me. I attempted to avoid the snag and quickly thrust my arm forward, but it was too late, and I snapped the parachute green drake off in the tree branch. In a futile effort to recover my fly, I bent down the small branches and inspected the leaves, and I found some flies lost by other fishermen, but I could not locate the coveted green drake. I declared it a write off and used the break off as an excuse to test a different green drake.

The parachute fly was very waterlogged and difficult to follow in the dim light that resulted from the heavy cloud cover and intermittent rain. I decided to try one of the ribbed size 14 comparaduns, as it possessed a large full upright deer hair wing. The choice was sound, and I increased the fish count to from six to fourteen with the comparadun on the end of my leader. During this late afternoon period rainbow trout became the predominant species. I am not sure if this was attributable to the different style of fly, the type of water, or the time of day. The afternoon section of South Boulder Creek was characterized by faster water, and rainbow trout generally tolerate more current than brown trout.

Glistening Brown Trout

The first four landed fish after the fly change emerged from the stretch below the bridge, and the last four lived in the stream above the bridge. On my return hike I stopped at a nice series of pockets just above the pedestrian crossing, and I fooled a brown and rainbow in that area. Interestingly the final two fish came from some pockets in the wide relatively shallow area, that I normally use simply as a stream crossing point.

A Very Defined Pink Stripe

I was pleased with my decision to revisit South Boulder Creek, as I landed fourteen fish in three hours. Although it was quite warm during my hike down to the stream, storm clouds quickly moved in, and the mostly cloudy skies kept the air temperature quite cool for most of my time on the water. I never saw a green drake, but it was obvious that the local stream residents recognized my imitations. I suspect that the cool overcast conditions did not create an environment conducive to  a green drake emergence, but the cause was irrelevant, because the trout ate my imitations. I endured a significant number of refusals and a few temporary hook ups, and the glare and low light made following the dark olive fly a challenge at times; but the action was steady, and the size of the fish was typical for South Boulder Creek.

Landed Fish: 14

South Boulder Creek – 08/11/2017

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/11/2017 Photo Album

After a stellar day on Tuesday on South Boulder Creek, I was eager to visit the small tailwater again, and Friday, August 11 was that day. I was convinced that I fished South Boulder Creek on Tuesday amid flows of 144 CFS; however, when I reviewed the DWR website prior to making the trip on Friday, I checked the graph and discovered that the water managers reduced the output on Tuesday morning to 90 CFS. No wonder the conditions seemed so ideal! Unfortunately the graph also revealed that Denver Water was performing its usual yoyo stream management, as the level dropped to 50 CFS from 90 CFS, and then on Friday morning the valves were opened again to 164 CFS. The reading actually displayed 126 at 8AM on Friday morning, but the graph was spiking, and I suspected that it was on an upward trajectory. When I returned home after fishing, I determined the actual outflow.

Tuesday was a spectacular day, and I did not expect to replicate it. I landed nearly forty fish, and all except the first two devoured a dry fly, and large size 14 green drakes were the food of choice. That type of good fortune is rare, and given the increase in flows, I ratcheted down my expectations. Would I be able to wade and cross the creek, or would I be locked into one side? Did the frequent adjustments to flows impact the feeding routines of the resident trout? What impact did the change in flows have on the insect hatches, and most importantly would green drakes attract the attention of the South Boulder Creek trout? All these questions bounced through my brain, as I drove to the upper parking lot on Friday morning.

When I arrived at the parking area, I noted that five vehicles preceded me. Two anglers quickly appeared at the top of the trailhead, and they quickly stashed their gear in two separate cars, and their departure reduced the competitive population of fishermen to three cars. I quickly assembled my Loomis five weight, as I enjoy using it to cast large dry flies, and it also gave me an excuse to utilize my new disc drag reel. The air temperature was in the upper fifties, and the sky was partly cloudy with some large puffy gray clouds building in the southwest. I quickly descended the steep path to the stream, and I crossed below the small island just below my convergence with the creek. The water was indeed running high, but the wide riffle section was manageable for a stream crossing.

My next concern was the repair work on the pedestrian bridge, but apparently work was not scheduled for Friday, and I crossed without any delay. I passed one solo fisherman in the long deep pool that is perpetually occupied, and a second fisherman in wet wading attire appeared from below the bridge. This accounted for two of the three remaining cars in the parking lot. The gentleman by the bridge hiked ahead of me, and he disappeared after we turned right off the Walker Loop on to the fisherman path. A family was gathered by the single picnic table just before the fisherman path turn off, and I was fairly certain they were the occupants of the final car in the parking lot.

High Flows Made Me Search for This Type of Water

I now had the remainder of the stream to myself, so I hiked a fair distance below the fellow who emerged from below the bridge, and then I cut down to the stream. The high flows dictated that I could only fish on the north side of the stream, and they forced me to focus on the protected pockets and shelf pools where the water velocity was favorable for the local trout. By the time I initiated my first cast it was approaching 11AM, so I decided to go directly to a green drake imitation. I tied a parachute green drake to my line and began to prospect the shelf pools and edges. Some downstream casts to a nice pocket next to a vertical rock wall failed to yield any action, so I pivoted and launched some casts to a gorgeous deep shelf pool just upstream from my starting point. Success. A small brown trout darted to the surface and chomped on the parachute green drake. This was an auspicious sign, but I was not convinced it would be easy.

My Starting Fly After Being Rescued from a Bush

Within minutes I discovered that various obstacles would test my patience on Friday. In order to angle a cast to the current seam along the shelf pool, I initiated a high backcast, and I was shocked to discover that I hooked a scraggly bush growing from the huge vertical rock wall behind me. I only packed four size 14 parachute green drakes, so I was very reluctant to lose one this early in the game. I waded in both directions to ascertain whether I could do some amateur rock climbing, but I wisely concluded that a fly was not worth the undue risk associated with this plan. Only one option remained, and that was to tug directly on my line. I grabbed the tapered leader so that I would not put excessive stress on my rod tip, and I pulled directly toward the stream. Sometimes miracles do happen, and the line released and caught on branches twice, before it recoiled in my direction. I stripped up the line assuming that my valuable green drake was absent, but much to my surprise it was still attached! Unfortunately the force of tugging it free somehow stressed the parachute hackle, and it climbed up the wing post. I pressed it back against the base by pinching my fingers around it, but I could see that the thread wraps were unraveling, and it was just a matter of time until the fly joined my handicapped fly pile.

Light Gray Caddis in Corner of the Mouth

I finally advanced upstream and quickly determined that the green drake was not a morning favorite, so I tested a medium olive size 12 stimulator. The heavily hackled dry fly enabled me to add another small brown trout to my tally, but then it attracted attention in the form of refusals. After the fourth snub, I swapped it for a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis, and the fish that rebuffed the stimulator fell for the caddis. I persisted with the diminutive deer hair dry for a decent amount of time, and it allowed me to move the fish count to five, before I encountered one of my favorite pools on the river. I knew from prior visits that quite a few trout called this location home, so when I gained no action with the caddis, I removed it and reverted to the parachute green drake. The change worked, and I landed a small brown, but as expected the hackle unraveled, and I replaced it with another size 14 parachute. This fly generated several refusals, so I cycled through a comparadun style with no rib and a Harrop hair wing version. All were rejected by the pool dwellers.

Several large boulders bordered the quality pool, so I elected to rest the water and make this my lunch spot. After lunch I spotted a couple natural green drakes, and this reinforced my commitment to green drake dry fly fishing. The naturals from a distance seemed larger than the parachute and comparadun imitations that got refused, so I examined my box and extracted a nice comparadun with maroon ribbing. The deer hair wing on this fly was quite large, and I speculated that the high wing might be a major triggering characteristic. It worked, sort of. I landed a few fish, but then several rejections dampened my spirits.

It was about this time that a fisherman who had been thirty yards above me walked by along the path. We exchanged greetings, and since I noticed he was casting downstream, I asked if he was fishing with wet flies. He replied negative and showed me a green drake cripple that he was drifting over fish. He said he hooked one, but invited me to fish the spot he just vacated, since he observed quite a few fish there. This gentleman also told me that the flows were increased to 166 CFS.

Proud of This One

I moved upstream at a moderate pace and continued prospecting with the ribbed comparadun, and this fly allowed me to net a few more fish. Unfortunately I never found a fly that totally eliminated the refusals and temporary hook ups. At some point I switched from the ribbed comparadun to a different size 14 parachute. The first parachute seemed undersized to me, and the second one possessed a fatter body and a longer bundle of moose mane hair for a tail. The fly actually tilted forward a bit due to the large tail, but it was more productive than its predecessors. The fish count climbed to twelve on the performance of the second parachute, but then it grew waterlogged, and my frustration with frequent drying caused me to make yet another change. This time I dug out a different ribbed comparadun with a high full wing and a slender body.

Helicopter View

The ribbed comparadun became my last fly choice, and it boosted the fish count to twenty. It was not perfect, as I witnessed a huge number of refusals and hook ups that lasted only a fraction of a second, but it performed better than any of the other flies that spent time on my line. The sun finally gained dominance, and the added warmth seemed to prompt more green drake hatching activity, although the emergence was very sporadic at best. My best success coincided with the time period when I spotted the most naturals. It also seemed that the rainbow trout were far less discriminating than brown trout, as brown trout exhibited a much more wary behavior with a preponderance of last minute twists and turns to avoid my tempting fly.

Scarlet Is Best Description

Friday was not Tuesday by any means, but a twenty fish day at high flows was certainly satisfactory. I cycled through an array of flies, and I settled on a parachute and comparadun that delivered a level of success. Persistence was the name of the game, and again I was thankful for my fly tying capability, since this allowed me to stock a variety of green drake styles. I tested nearly every variation, and two produced most of my success.

Fish Landed: 20