Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Clear Creek – 10/10/2016

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: A mile or two downstream from Mayhem Gulch

Clear Creek 10/10/2016 Photo Album

Normally I subscribe to the theory that change is a constant in fly fishing, but today October 10 was nearly a repeat of yesterday on Clear Creek. The high temperature on Monday was in the low seventies and slightly warmer than Sunday, but the wind was a much greater factor, and in fact when I arrived next to the stream, I almost returned home, as the wind whistled by my ears and rustled the streamside vegetation. Fortunately I persisted, and the wind velocity subsided a bit after a rough first thirty minutes. The flows and clarity remained a constant, but I chose to fish a stretch of the creek that was approximately two miles east of the segment that I covered on Sunday.

Perfect Water

Splotchy Pattern on This First Landed Fish

After I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight, I stuffed my lunch in my backpack, and I found a relatively easy path to the edge of the creek. Similar to Sunday I knotted a size 12 peacock Jake’s gulp beetle to my line, and I began casting to the likely fish holding spots along the right bank that bordered US 6. I did not wait long before a small brown trout rocketed to the surface and smashed the impostor beetle. I continued prospecting the edge of the creek from 11:30 until 3PM, and I netted sixteen trout during this time period. The fish count included three small rainbows, and the remainder were feisty brown trout. Similar to Sunday I endured numerous refusals and temporary hook ups, but these frustrations occurred with much less frequency.

The Area in Front of the Log Produced

The significant adverse factors were the wind, tricky lighting and the loss of two gulp beetles over the course of my progression up Clear Creek. The first lost beetle was the victim of an errant backcast that wrapped the fly and leader around a dead tree limb. I initially broke the leader at a surgeon’s knot, and then I actually succeeded in knocking the fly free with the aid of my wading staff, but a gust of wind swept the leader and fly past my head, and I was unable to spot it in the rushing creek. The second beetle duped a decent trout, but then it broke free, and a quick inspection revealed that the knot may have been nicked or abraded.

Pretty Brown Trout

For most of the afternoon the lighting along the right bank made following the beetle very difficult in spite of the small orange indicator strip. I compensated by wading toward the center of the stream a bit and then cast back toward the bank. This worked in some places, but inevitably there were reaches where I was unable to wade into an advantageous position.

Shelf Pool Screams Trout

Amazingly the technique that produced the most fish was utilizing a downstream drift along the opposite bank. When I spotted a section of slow moving slack water of significant depth along the south bank, I positioned myself near the top and across from the target stretch. I cast across and made frequent steady mends to offset drag, and I was shocked how often a nice brown trout would move two or even three feet, as it followed the beetle and eventually snatched it near the lip of the pool. The fish put on quite a show, and I loved the visual effect of a streaking fish following and crushing its victim. My percentage of landed fish using this approach far surpassed my success rate when casting upstream or up and across.

Perhaps Best Ever Clear Creek Catch

At around 2 o’clock on one of these downstream drifts I connected with a larger than average brown trout. This battler put quite a bend in the five weight, and when I finally scooped it in my net, I estimated that it was the largest trout that I ever landed from the small front range stream. I guessed that it measured somewhere between twelve and thirteen inches.

A Relatively Rare Rainbow Trout

Once again I enjoyed a fun action packed day on Clear Creek. Although the fish are relatively small, they are not easily fooled, and I love the challenge of reading the water types. Clear Creek Canyon offers nine or ten miles of public access, and quite a bit of the tumbling creek remains to be explored. A fun day of fishing on October 10 is welcome and highly appreciated.

Fish Landed: 16

Clear Creek – 10/09/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: MM261.5 and then upstream .5 mile

Clear Creek 10/09/2016 Photo Album

Sunday was forecast to be a gorgeous fall day with high temperatures spiking in the seventies in Denver, so I once again felt the itch to exercise my arm and toss some flies. I experienced an enjoyable day on Clear Creek on Wednesday October 5, so I decided to repeat the short drive to the canyon. I purposely avoid fishing on weekends since I reached retirement status, but I made an exception on Sunday, so I could take advantage of the dwindling nice weather.

Pretty Day on Clear Creek

I arrived at the second parking lot along the newly opened Peak to Plains Trail at 10:30AM, and after assembling my Loomis five weight rod, I walked along the shoulder of US 6 until I was .2 miles below the pedestrian bridge and just above mile marker 261.5. The temperature was in the mid to upper fifties as I tied a size 12 peacock dubbed Jake’s gulp beetle to my line. The creek was ideal with flows in the 45 cfs range, and the clarity was perfect. I could see a fisherman hovering near the bridge, but he seemed fairly stationary, and I planned on circling around him if necessary to continue my upstream progression.

I began casting the beetle along the right bank, and in a short amount of time I witnessed several refusals and a momentary hook up. I began to evaluate a fly change and also rued the likely commencement of bad karma, when a small brown trout slashed at and consumed the beetle. This put a momentary halt on my negative thoughts, and I focused anew on the process of plopping the large beetle in the ten foot band along the north edge of the stream.

Deep Coloration on This Slightly Larger Brown Trout

Between 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock I landed twelve small trout on the beetle. At one point the large foam terrestrial broke off, and I caught myself casting a line with no fly on it. I felt rather foolish, but I quickly remedied the situation and knotted a size 14 version of the same beetle to my line and resumed. I am still not sure what caused the fly to separate, but I can only guess that the line acquired an abrasion or the knot was faulty.

New Pedestrian Bridge Ahead

After a few more fish I approached the pedestrian bridge, and while some spectators paused to observe, I landed a pair of small trout. A young lady queried me as to what I caught, and I replied that it was a rainbow trout. Somehow a section of the small narrow foam indicator on the size 14 beetle broke off, and I was struggling to follow the tiny remaining spot, so I exited the creek below the bridge, and returned to the car to pick up three new peacock beetles.

Huge Head Spots on This One

From 1:00 until 2:30 I worked my way upstream from the bridge, until I finally called it a day, so I could catch the second half of the Broncos’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The water upstream from the bridge was not as attractive to me, as the creek bed widened, and this created more wide shallow areas and reduced the number of attractive deep pockets and runs along the bank. Clear Creek brown trout love the cover provided by the great quantity of streamside boulders along the bank.

The Productive Jake’s Gulp Beetle

Sunday was a fun day. Indecision over fly choice was never a factor, as I plopped a size 12 or 14 beetle the entire time. The fly was not perfect as evidenced by the many refusals and temporary connections, but it worked often enough to yield seventeen fish, and the anticipation of a rising fish sustained my interest for three and a half hours. If only the Broncos could have generated similar success on their Sunday endeavor on the gridiron.

Fish Landed: 17

Arkansas River – 10/06/2016

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Spike Buck and Five Points

Arkansas River 10/06/2016 Photo Album

The view out of my windshield was miserable as I departed from Stapleton on Thursday morning October 6. I alternated the windshield wipers between intermittent and steady, and the dashboard digital thermometer displayed 38 degrees. Could I really enjoy fishing in the Arkansas River, when the weather in Denver was this adverse? My Weather Underground app forecast a high of 65 degrees in Canon City and only a very slim chance of rain. Was Weather Underground out of date compared to the national weather service?

Miraculously when I reached the Palmer Divide just north of Monument, CO, the steady rain/sleet ceased to slap my windshield, and the sun peeked from behind the clouds in the eastern sky. The thermometer registered its low of 34 degrees, and it gradually climbed through the forties and peaked at 50 degrees, when I pulled into the Arkansas River Headwaters access location at Spike Buck. I was quite relieved to confirm the accuracy of the Weather Underground app, and I prepared to fish.

When I exited the Santa Fe, I detected some air movement, but clearly wind was not the significant negative factor that frustrated me on Monday on the South Platte River. Nevertheless I pulled on my long sleeved Under Armour base layer and then topped it with my fishing shirt and raincoat. I was relatively comfortable during my morning session, although intermittent gusts of wind gave me a slight chill, so I added a fleece layer when I reached the car again in the early afternoon. Although the wind did not impact my fishing as was the case on Monday, it did accelerate in the afternoon and provided several moments of frustration.

Cheech Leech to Begin the Day

I pledged to dedicate thirty minutes to streamer stripping, so I assembled my Sage One five weight and attached the reel that contains my sinking tip line. I was not ready to devote an entire day to streamer fishing, so I dropped my five weight floating line in my backpack, and then I sauntered along the shoulder of US 50 until I was .3 miles below the Spike Buck parking lot. I dropped down to the edge of the river and knotted an articulated cheech leech to my line. The river was rushing along at a bit over 300 cfs, and it was crystal clear, as I began tossing the weighted streamer into the attractive deep pockets. I experimented with upstream casts with a jigging action, up and across slings with fast and slow strips, and downstream dangles. I tried to strip the animated marabou streamer along large boulders and typical brown trout hiding places, but I never detected a bump or follow. After twenty minutes of arm exercise I snipped off the cheech leech and replaced it with a black woolly bugger, but the results mimicked the first twenty minutes.

Looks Fishy

Having fulfilled my streamer commitment, I shifted direction and swapped the sinking tip line for my floating line. I invested twenty minutes to configure my line with the deep nymphing arrangement that Taylor Edrington taught me during a guided trip several years ago. I removed my tapered leader and tied a six inch section of 0X to the end of the fly line, and then connected the other end to a thingamabobber. I fumbled in my frontpack and uncovered a five foot section of 3X, and I knotted this to the thingamabobber as well. The addition of a split shot, 20 incher, and hares ear nymph completed my set up, and I began to lob casts to the deep holes, pockets and runs along the south side of the Arkansas River.

20 Incher in the Mouth

Between eleven o’clock and noon I managed to land two brown trout in the twelve inch range. One snatched the 20 incher, as I raised my rod at the end of the drift, and the other slightly smaller catch selected the hares ear nymph. I was pleased to register a pair of landed fish, but the action was slow, and I covered quite a bit of productive water in order to get on the fish count scoreboard.

Wet and Effective 20 Incher

After lunch I continued the same approach, until I reached the Spike Buck parking lot , and during this time I netted four additional brown trout. All of these landed fish grabbed the 20 incher, and the other fly on the end of my line did not contribute. I replaced the hares ear with a small baetis imitation that I purchased from Royal Gorge Angler in the spring, as I hoped that the trout would be dialed in to active blue winged olive nymphs. Taylor Edrington recommended the fly, since it sported a loop wing case, and he believed that the fat thorax was a key triggering characteristic.

The Edge Was Productive

Unfortunately on Thursday the loop wing feature did not interest the trout, so I once again made a change and replaced the BWO nymph with a Craven soft hackle emerger. I experienced success with this shiny fluoro fiber imitation during past fall blue winged olive hatches, so I decided to give it a try. The Arkansas River trout threw a penalty flag on the soft hackle emerger, and it did not yield any fish during this October 2016 outing.

Lovely Spots

When I reached the car, I decided to move to another location. I drove west on US 50 until I was just above the Salt Lick access point. I remembered this as a productive spot from previous spring ventures, but the descent was steep over some large rocks, and the river bed was narrow and quite swift. I chose the location because I was certain that most fishermen avoid it because of access difficulty, but I only lasted twenty minutes, and then I realized that it was not the right type of water for October 2016. I cautiously scaled the very steep bank, and executed a U-turn and returned to the Five Points location.

Five Points would be my last stand. I continued with the nymph configuration, but I removed the unproductive soft hackle emerger and replaced it with a salvation nymph. The swap yielded a temporary hook up in a moderate run, but just as I felt weight, I saw the side of the ten inch fish flash, and then it was gone. Shortly after this brief connection, I snagged a rock in a place where I could not wade to a position to salvage the flies, and I ended up breaking off the salvation. Salvation nymphs and lost flies seem to be a repeating story.

I decided to replace the salvation nymph with an ultra zug bug, since I recalled success with this simple fly in the autumn in previous years. Similar to the salvation, the zug bug produced a momentary connection, as it began to swing it in the nice bend run next to the island above Five Points. This fish felt a bit larger, but I did not get a glimpse of it. At this point farther progress involved climbing around a large vertical rock or wading to the island in the swift current. Rather than undertaking these challenges, I ambled back to the parking lot, and then I returned to the stream below some picnic tables. While at the bend I observed a flurry of blue winged olives taking flight, so I reverted to the soft hackle emerger, but the gambit proved unsuccessful, and I did not spot any additional mayflies in the air.

By now it was just past 3PM, so I reeled up my line and called it quits. The wind velocity escalated, and I was quite weary from a day of casting the five weight, and a significant hatch did not appear to be in the future. I managed to enjoy a day of fishing when remaining along the Front Range would have likely meant forsaking my beloved pastime, so that was a positive. Six brown trout over four plus hours of fishing is rather mediocre, but as usual, I was in the Colorado outdoors, and I took advantage of the dwindling opportunities to fish in 2016.

Fish Landed: 6

Clear Creek – 10/05/2016

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Mayhem Gulch

Clear Creek 10/05/2016 Photo Album

After spending more time driving than fishing on Monday and then engaging in a battle with a windstorm, I did not wish to commit another huge amount of travel time to my fly fishing outing on Wednesday. I adopted a standard policy of checking not only the forecast of temperature and precipitation, but I also included wind speed in my review. With South Boulder Creek now raging at 210 cfs, and the Big Thompson farther than I wished to drive, Clear Creek became an obvious choice. The flows remained at a respectable 45 cfs, and the high temperature for Idaho Springs was projected to be in the upper 50’s. My weather application indicated that wind velocity would remain in the high single digits.

I read my blog posts for two ventures to Clear Creek in early October in 2015 and 2014, and the documented success convinced me that the creek west of Golden, CO was the place to be. I read that the Peaks to Plains Trail segment in the western portion of the canyon opened in July, so I convinced Jane to tag along. She planned to hike the full Peaks to Plains Trail, while I attempted to entice Clear Creek trout with my personally tied flies.

Typical Water

Because of the cold front that moved through Denver on Monday, I delayed our departure until 10:15AM, and at that time we made the drive to the Mayhem Gulch parking area in the western section of Clear Creek Canyon. Mayhem Gulch is located at the eastern end of the newly opened trail. I wore my fleece sweater and raincoat for added warmth, and I assembled my Orvis Access four weight for the relatively small but swift stream. When Jane was ready, we hiked through the tunnel beneath busy US 6, and then we proceeded west on the new trail on the south side of the creek. After a fifteen minute walk, I climbed over the cable fence and descended over some large rocks to the edge of the creek.

Almost Charcoal Body

To begin my quest for cold water inhabitants of the rushing stream, I tied a size 10 Chernobyl ant to my line and began to cast to likely fish holding locations. Initially I experienced several refusals to the large foam attractor, so I hedged my bets, and I added a beadhead hares ear nymph. Over the next half hour I managed to land two small brown trout that slurped the Chernobyl. A fifty/fifty split between refusals and hooked fish in the morning mirrored my experience over the remainder of my fishing time on Wednesday.

Beautiful Scene

After lunch I continued working my way upstream, as I crossed back and forth from north to south and vice versa. During this time period I incremented the fish count from two to six, and this included several small rainbow trout that snatched the trailing hares ear nymph. Oddly of the fourteen fish that I landed on Wednesday, five were rainbow trout, and all but one ate the nymph. Conversely nearly all the brown trout smashed the Chernobyl ant. After an exceptionally long streak of refusals, I recalled my 2015 blog post, when I resorted to a Jake’s gulp beetle and enjoyed a boost in my catch rate. I decided to repeat the strategy.

Big Appetite

The beetle occupied my line for thirty minutes and accounted for two brown trout, but I concluded that it lagged the Chernobyl in fish attraction capability. In addition it was much more difficult to track in the shadows and glare that predominated the early afternoon. I reverted to a different Chernobyl ant since the original version lost its hind legs. Once again I added the beadhead hares ear, and I resumed my upstream migration in a similar zig zag pattern.

Handsome Rainbow Trout

Between 1:15 and 3PM I landed six additional trout, and the Chernobyl dominated the action. One surprise catch was an eleven inch rainbow that crushed the oversized ant imitation . Most of my afternoon success occurred along the edges of the creek, so I moved rather quickly and ignored the water between the banks. The sun peeked out for a bit during this time, and the wind subsided, and I enjoyed a momentary respite. Unfortunately the weather break was short lived, and some large gray clouds blew in the from the west to create more poor lighting.

Wednesday was a fun day and a nice comeback from my frustrating day on the South Platte River on Monday. My confidence is on the rise, and I am already planning another outing on Thursday, although the weather pattern is expected to continue on the cool side.

Fish Landed: 14

South Platte River – 10/03/2016

Time: 9:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 10/03/2016 Photo Album

Monday October 3, 2016 qualifies as one of my worst days of fly fishing since I adopted this addictive pastime over thirty years ago. The source of my discontent is a four letter word. The four letter word is wind.

I arrived at the parking area along the South Platte River at nine o’clock, and when I attempted to get out of the car, the wind repeatedly forced the hinged door back to a closed position. Only after applying my full body weight and both hands was I able to swing the door to a fully open position. I should have accepted this as nature’s way of warning me to change my plans, but I foolishly pursued my scheduled day of fishing.

The air temperature on the dashboard was 53 degrees, and I knew from past experience that this was very tolerable if dressed appropriately. I swapped my high tech short sleeve shirt for an Under Armour long sleeve undershirt, that I wear while skiing. Over this base layer I added my fishing shirt and an insulating fleece cardigan. I elected to wear my brimmed New Zealand hat with ear flaps for additional comfort. I felt reasonably warm as I assembled my Sage four weight rod and then ambled to the edge of the river downstream from my parking spot.

I tied a beige pool toy hopper to my line, and beneath the foam imitation I added a hares ear nymph. The area in front of me contained numerous attractive deep runs and pockets, but it was enveloped by shadows, and this made following even the large foam attractor difficult. I persisted and stationed myself in a manner that enabled me to get the best lighting, so I could follow the drift. After ten minutes of prospecting with the two flies and no signs of trout, I added a salvation nymph as the third bottom fly.

I am embarrassed to report that after an hour of empty casting, I landed my first fish, a small brown trout. I was wading across the river to a new position closer to the far bank, and as the flies dangled behind me, the aggressive brown trout latched on to the salvation nymph. Who was I to reject this good fortune?

Zoomed and Better Lighting

By 11:30 I moved around the bend and slightly above the Santa Fe, so I decided to return to the car for an early lunch. During the morning session the wind continued to howl, and this made casting a very difficult endeavor. Sporadic side gusts played havoc with my accuracy, and I executed numerous casts to obtain the desired drift, when normally I can place my flies very close to the target on the first attempt. Head winds were the worst, and I cannot even remember how often my cast was blown back to my feet. I reacted to the strong wind by overpowering the forward cast, and the rod tip actually touched the surface of the river on many occasions.

After lunch the wind velocity actually increased. I prospected a couple juicy runs, and then I approached a deep pocket, and I spotted three or four decent fish clustered in the deepest section near the tail. As I looked on, the fish demonstrated no reaction to my flies, and I concluded that the dry/dropper method was ineffective because my flies were not drifting along the bottom. I clipped off the pool toy and nymphs and converted to a strike indicator nymphing set up. I began with a beadhead hares ear and a soft hackle emerger, and this approach was moderately successful.

Best Fish of the Day

Between noon and two o’clock I landed three additional small brown trout. In addition I experienced several temporary hook ups, so the change in tactics seemed to pay off. Unfortunately the wind continued to gust, and I actually endured numerous periods when I was unable to cast. In fact I could barely hold my stance in an upright position, as the wind attempted to undermine my balance. Even with the splt shot and strike indicator adding weight to my line, casting continued to be a difficult chore, and the only way I could combat the head wind was to cast toward two o’clock. The angled cast allowed me to shoot line, but mending upstream was very challenging and drag was impossible to prevent.

Productive Pool

Several two minute periods elapsed when I was forced to turn my back to the wind, and the most forceful gusts lifted spray from the surface of the river and hurled it toward my face. By two o’clock I was sufficiently frustrated to call it quits. I hoped for a blue winged olive hatch, but such a fortuitous occurrence would have been wasted, since the tiny mayflies would have been whisked toward land before the trout were even aware of their presence. The wind showed no signs of abating, and I decided to save my arm and back muscles for more advantageous conditions. Hopefully this is a day that will quickly fade from my memory.

Fish Landed: 4

 

 

Big Thompson River – 09/29/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Private boundary upstream until near Noel’s Draw

Big Thompson River 09/29/2016 Photo Album

After a day of rest on Wednesday I was anxious to visit a local stream on Thursday September 29. The 2016 season is winding down, and I felt the need to take advantage of gorgeous weather while it lasted. I drove to the Big Thompson River below Lake Estes and arrived at the pullout above the first bridge after Noel’s Draw by 10:30. After I pulled on my waders and assembled my Orvis Access four weight, I walked downstream along the highway, until I reached the barbed wire fence that denotes the beginning of private water.

It was a beautiful late September day, as the temperatures reached the middle seventies by the afternoon. I wore only my fishing shirt, and I was comfortable all day. The stream flow was 39 cfs, and this is a bit below ideal for the Big Thompson, but fairly normal for early autumn.

First Trout on September 29

To begin my quest for Big Thompson River trout I tied a size 10 Chernobyl ant to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph. These mainstays from my fly box allowed my to net four trout, before I broke for lunch at noon. Two of the morning fish were brown trout and two were rainbows. One of the rainbows smashed the Chernobyl ant, and the first fish snared the salvation nymph. The brown trout that snatched the salvation shot under a small branch, and I was certain I would lose the fish. By some stroke of good fortune the Chernobyl got lodged on the submerged stick, and I was able to wade over and net the brown trout. That was the good news. The whole episode created one of the worst tangles of my fly fishing career, and that is saying something. The other two morning catches favored the hares ear.

A Bright Rainbow Adds to the Fish Count

After lunch I continued to plug along with the same flies for a bit, and I landed a nice brown on the hares ear to boost the fish count to five. The catch rate, however, slowed appreciably, and I spotted a pair of blue winged olives in the air. This observation prompted me to switch the salvation for a soft hackle emerger. The change did not spur instant results, however, and I covered a significant amount of water with no results. By the time I moved above the bridge below the Santa Fe, the fish count rested on seven as a result of two small fish that latched on to the hares ear.

Lots of Boulder Hopping

I moved rather quickly through the long pool located above the bridge and next to my parked car, and then I arrived at another elongated pool next to the cabin on the side of the stream opposite the road. I spotted two rises near the tail of the deep center run, so I made the effort to remove three flies, and I tied on a size 22 CDC blue winged olive. The fish that rose previously ignored the tiny speck, but a prospecting cast prompted a darting rise from a small brown, and I moved the fish count to eight. Catching a fish on the microscopic dry fly boosted my spirits, so I made a long cast to the top left side of the long run. I lost sight of the tiny fly, so I lifted and found myself momentarily attached to a decent fish, but it managed to escape.

Above the long pool the river transformed into deep runs and pockets, so I shifted my strategy back to a hopper/dropper arrangement. I tied on a beige pool toy hopper, and then reattached the hares ear and soft hackle emerger. For the remainder of the afternoon I cast the threesome to deep pockets and runs, as I maneuvered my way around the bend and eventually exited thirty yards below Noel’s Draw. This period was the most productive segment of the day, as I incremented the fish count from eight to fourteen.

Another Hungry Rainbow

Surprisingly the hares ear was the productive fly; whereas, I expected the soft hackle emerger to shine in the midst of the sparse BWO hatch. During this time one fish snatched the soft hackle emerger, and the rest nabbed the hares ear. At one point I landed three foul hooked fish in a row. I suspect these fish refused the pool toy, and when I recognized the splash in the glare, I reacted and pulled the trailing soft hackle emerger into the front fin.

It was a decent day, but most of the action took place between 2:30 and 4:30, when some clouds moved into the area. I could have skipped the noon until 2:30 time period and saved quite a bit of wear and tear on my arm. The wind was a factor from time to time, and I suffered some of the worst tangles of the season. I blame the tangles on the wind and casting three flies, which is always a challenge. I suspect a cooler overcast day would enhance the intensity of the blue winged olive hatch, so I will keep a watchful eye on the weather forecasts.

Fish Landed: 14

Gunnison River – 09/27/2016

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: One to two miles above Gunnison Forks River Access

Gunnison River 09/27/2016 Photo Album

In August 2007 my son, Dan, and I floated the Gunnison Gorge from the Chukar Trail to the Pleasure Park takeout. It was a three day and two night adventure, and we had a great time; however, the fishing was slow and difficult. During this trip I noticed that quite a bit of the lower portion of the canyon was accessible via a hiking trail along the north side of the river.

Since I targeted this area as a fishing destination on Tuesday, September 27 with Jane’s reluctant approval, I did some reading and discovered that the trail was accessed from a parking lot next to the private Pleasure Park, and it was called Gunnson Forks National Recreation Area. Furthermore I learned that hiking fishermen were required to wade across the North Fork of the Gunnison in order to gain access to the trail on the opposite bank.

Jane and I pulled into the aforementioned trailhead parking lot at 11AM on Tuesday, September 27. It was cool, but one sensed that the weather forecast that predicted high temperatures in the eighties with blue skies and minimal probability of precipitation was likely accurate. I pulled on my waders and boots, assembled my Sage One five weight rod, stuffed my backpack with lunch goodies and kissed Jane goodbye. The North Fork was quite discolored from weekend rain, and it was difficult to gauge the depth at the primitive boat launch next to the parking lot. I decided to wade along the edge for thirty yards, until I reached a point where the river spread out in a shallow riffle. On the return I discovered that this was unnecessary, as the the river was quite shallow directly across from the gravel boat ramp.

Grandeur

Once I was safely positioned on the east side of the North Fork, I found a well worn trail, and I sauntered at a brisk pace for twenty minutes. Once I crested the high bluff on the north side of the main Gunnison, I was treated to a spectacular panorama, and I paused to snap a landscape photo. I passed three or four wade fisherman, and then I found a spot where the slope seemed gradual enough to allow a cautious descent. This was true, until I reached a rim rock section that was fifteen feet above the river. I strode along the top of the rim rock for fifty feet until I found a break, and here I slowly lowered myself on to a worn path. The river here looked very appealing with some nice deep shelf pockets bordering the steep rock ledge wall.

Near My Starting Point

I tied a gray body pool toy to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph to begin my quest for Gunnison River trout. The river was quite wide and imposing even at the late season flows that were present, but I intended to confine my casting to the edge. I worked my way upstream with casts fairly tight to the rocky bank, and within fifteen minutes I hooked and landed a small seven inch brown trout that grabbed the tumbling salvation nymph. This buoyed my spirits and within another couple casts, a larger brown flashed from a position next to a rock, but turned away at the last instant. One fish landed and a look from another caused my optimism to surge, but it would be misplaced.

The first half hour that I just described proved to be the highlight of the day. I continued fishing for another .75 mile along the northern shore of the Gunnison River, and I added two more small brown trout to my count. I snapped a photo of the largest fish, and it was not more than ten inches. After an hour of futile casting with the dry/dropper, I decided to go deep. I reconfigured my line with a strike indicator, split shot, 20 incher, and WD40; and I cast this system to the deep runs and current seams. I was certain that this combination would be irresistible to the denizens of the cold Gunnison River, but I was proven wrong. I did trigger one temporary hook up on a trout that felt like it might have been larger than my three small netted fish.

By 12:30 I spotted a rare size 22 blue winged olive, and this observance prompted me to add the WD40 to my line. After an hour of fruitless slinging of the nymph rig, I reverted back to a dry/dropper approach, although this time I opted for a yellow Letort hopper, beadhead hares ear, and beadhead soft hackle emerger. The willows and bushes along the bank were flush with grasshoppers with light greenish-yellow bodies, thus the choice of the yellow Letort hopper. The hopper/dropper combination enabled me to land two additional fish in the afternoon heat, and both snared the soft hackle emerger in fairly shallow riffles below rocky spillovers.

Better Light Angle

The action stalled again so I paused to catch and examine one of the hoppers. In addition I startled two into ill advised suicidal leaps into the slow moving water along the bank, but the hoppers just sat there and wiggled, and amazingly this did not attract the appetite of a neighboring trout. As I watched the forlorn grasshoppers struggle, I concluded that a fat Albert with a light yellow body would more closely imitate the natural hoppers, so I made the substitution. It was all for naught, and I never managed to solicit even a look at the fat Albert before I wearily ended my day at 3PM.

Better Focus

My Imitation

It took me forty-five minutes to return to the parking lot, after I ascended the fairly steep bank to find the well worn trail. Jane reappeared at her shaded picnic table shortly thereafter, and I removed my waders and packed my gear for the drive back to Denver.

Being present in the Gunnison Canyon once again was an exciting experience, and the wide open canyon and desert environment reminded me of the beauty that surrounds us in Colorado. The fishing on the other hand was disappointing, and inferior to what I remembered from our float trip. Once again I blamed the abnormally warm weather that suggested late summer doldrums and not pre-spawn active feeders. Some day I will return and hopefully unravel the puzzle of the Gunnison River.

Fish Landed: 3

My Return Route

Focused

Beaver Lake – 09/26/2016

Time: 4:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Next to the parking lot.

Beaver Lake 09/26/2016 Photo Album

The objective of our trip to Salt Lake City was to spend quality time with our daughter, Amy, who is nearing the end of an internship in Murray, UT. Of course I can never stop pondering fishing, so I tossed my fishing rods, waders, wading boots, net and fishing bag in the back of the Santa Fe before we departed on Thursday, September 22. I performed a small amount of research on fly fishing near Salt Lake City, and this caused me to focus on the lower Provo River Canyon. On Friday while Amy worked I hoped to explore the lower Provo, while Jane enjoyed a hike in the vicinity.

Before we departed Denver I checked the Salt Lake City weather, and I was disappointed to see a prediction of precipitation and cool temperatures for the area on Thursday night and Friday. In fact the probability of rain ranged from 70 – 90% for most of Friday September 23. Unfortunately the weather prognosticators were accurate, and it rained quite heavily on Thursday night, as we unpacked the car and moved our luggage into the hotel that we reserved for four nights in the Sugar House section of Salt Lake City.

Friday morning was extremely overcast, but as we ate breakfast and walked to the supermarket for supplies, raindrops were not present. We prepared to make the trip to Provo Canyon, but before driving south we stopped at a fly shop in Sugar House for information. I was not pleased to learn that the minimum amount I could spend on a non-resident fishing license was $24 for a three day pass. Given the adverse weather forecast, I was reluctant to pay $24 for what could be an hour or two on the river. The young man behind the counter suggested that, if I possessed a smart phone, I could buy the license online once I reached the river. Hedging my purchase until I investigated the stream and weather seemed like a smart approach. Armed with this new plan of action, Jane and I departed and drove south for forty-five minutes on interstate 15, until we exited and proceeded on Canyon Boulevard through Orem and up the lower canyon.

Bad Weather Moving In

We were looking for a trail to hike along the river, so that I could obtain a closer look. The young man in the fly shop suggested we drive beyond the tunnels, and as it turned out, the tunnels were next to each other halfway up the lower canyon; one for eastbound traffic and one for westbound. We thought he meant successive tunnels when traveling in the same direction, so we drove east until we reached the dam. We exited US 189 and entered a parking lot, where we stopped and prepared to hike. The signs were not very helpful, but eventually we stumbled across a two mile bike lane on a frontage road, and we followed this to an overlook of the river and then returned to the car. As this short hike transpired, some dark clouds appeared on the southwestern horizon, and I was reluctant to spring for the fishing license.  We later discovered a fine fifteen mile bike trail that would have been perfect for us to explore in the lower canyon.

The Provo River at the Train Stop

We hopped back in the car and slowly negotiated the curving US 189 back toward Orem. We stopped at nearly every pullout and park along the way, and I made a point to evaluate the river. By 11:30 the dark clouds hovered overhead, and sheets of rain descended upon us, although the periods of rain were intermittent, and I probably could have fished. In fact the overcast skies and cool temperatures may have been ideal conditions for a blue winged olive hatch, although I never observed such an emergence during my brief survey of sections of the stream.  I was also reluctant to abandon Jane in an unknown environment in adverse weather. In addition to the off and on rain, the air temperature lingered in the upper forties, and I typically do not enjoy fishing in cold conditions.

A Churning Section of River Near the Falls

In conclusion I never fished on Friday, and instead enjoyed a day of scouting the river and sightseeing with my lovely wife. My first impression of the Provo River is that it would be fun to fish. A few of the spots I observed looked like large wide troughs, so in the absence of a hatch, it might be difficult to select a place to cast. The area near Bridal Veil Falls offered quite a bit of structure, but it seemed like a whitewater chute at the water levels of September 23. Since I never fished there, I have no basis for comparison regarding the flows.

A Wave of Color

The remainder of the weekend was spent hiking and biking with Amy and Jane, but I persuaded Jane to stop in Delta, CO on the return trip, so I could sample the lower Gunnison River. On Monday morning we departed Salt Lake City and traveled in a southeasterly direction until we intersected with interstate 70 just west of Green River, UT. Since neither of us ever visited the Grand Mesa, we followed interstate 70 beyond Grand Junction and then exited and traveled south over the Grand Mesa on route 65. What a trip! The leaves were slightly past their prime, but the layers of yellow, light green and evergreen were stunning; and Jane and I made slow progress, as we stopped frequently to snap photographs.

I read about two areas that offered numerous hiking trails, so we targeted the first one, Mesa Lakes. We easily found the recreation area and parked in the fisherman parking lot overlooking Sunset Lake. Jane and I planned to complete the hike around Mesa Lake, but at the time we mistook Sunset for Mesa and began to circle the small dazzling body of water. After we crossed the berm that served as a dam, we entered the north facing trail, and it was a quagmire of mud due to weekend rain. Wishing not to cake our shoes with mud clods, we turned around and reversed our direction to the parking lot.

We were now curious to understand if there were other trails, and whether Mesa Lake was at a different location. We walked along the paved roadway between four lakes and never found an obvious trail that fully circled a lake. Despite not finding our chosen trail, we did hike for thirty minutes and along the way passed Beaver Lake next to Mesa Lodge. There were several spin fishermen present, as well as a woman who was tossing flies. I ambled to the edge of the lake and spotted numerous decent trout cruising within 30 – 50 feet of the shoreline.

My Fishing Spot on Monday

Of course this scene caused my addiction to flare up, and I asked Jane if I could fish for a bit, while she extended her hike. She quickly acquiesced, so I grabbed my Sage four weight, front pack and backpack and found a spot near the cluster of cruisers. I tied a tiny size 18 caddis adult with a cream body to my line and made a couple casts to the vicinity of a recent rise. Small rings dappled the smooth surface of the lake on a regular basis, and this only served to heighten my enthusiasm for duping one of the lake prowlers. The shadow of my line spooked one of the visible fish, and it immediately bolted for deeper water.

This was not going to be easy. I concluded that I needed to make longer casts and then allow the fly to sit motionless until cruisers returned after being spooked by my cast. I began executing forty foot casts, which taxed my distance casting ability, and I directed the casts to the area that displayed the largest concentration of riseforms. In addition I added a tiny size 22 griffiths gnat to the caddis on an eight inch dropper.

A Slightly Bigger Fish

It worked. Over the remainder of the hour I spent at Beaver Lake, I landed two rainbow trout with the largest measuring eleven inches. Both appeared to be stockers, and they slashed the griffiths gnat after my flies sat motionless for what seemed like an eternity. In addition I witnessed several refusals and two momentary hook ups. I enjoyed myself casting to stillwater cruisers for an hour, and then sensing Jane’s growing impatience, I called it quits, and we continued on to Delta, where we found a room at the Riverwood Inn.

Fish Landed: 2

Arkansas River – 09/20/2016

Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Lunch Rock and then downstream from the Chaffee – Fremont County line.

Arkansas River 09/20/2016 Photo Album

The one positive to a five fish day is that I can remember each fish, and Tuesday September 20 was one of those days. I slept at the Rincon Campground in John’s casita, and I was overwhelmed with fine food and comfort. On Tuesday morning we arrived at Lunch Rock in time to begin fishing by 10AM after a tasty breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, breakfast sausages, and hashed brown potatoes.

It was quite overcast and windy when we began, so I wore my raincoat for a windbreaker, until I stopped to eat lunch at noon. We spent the first half hour just above Lunch Rock, and John and I attempted to coax a nice brown trout to accept our offerings, but our efforts were in vain. After John covered the deep pocket with many futile casts, I took my turn, but I was equally unsuccessful. Initially I used a strike indicator, split shot, iron sally, and zebra midge; but after I spied a couple blue winged olives, I swapped the midge for a RS2. The new offering did not phase the trout.

I suggested that we leave Lunch Rock and move to the Fremont – Chaffee County line, so we would be in a good position before an anticipated blue winged olive hatch. On Monday the hatch commenced between 12:30 and 1:00, and given the overcast conditions, I suspected the hatch might materialize sooner. We parked at the pullout off of route 50 and crossed the river at the tail of the long pool, just as I had done on Monday. Next we climbed the steep bank, and then we hiked down the railroad tracks, until we arrived at my normal starting point fifty yards below a narrow island.

I retained the strike indicator, split shot, hares ear nymph and RS2; and I worked the bottom half of the huge shelf pool, while John patrolled the juicy top section. I covered the entire bottom half with no action, so I added a second split shot in order to fish the deep seam along the fast current effectively. Finally near the midsection of the pool, the indicator paused, and I set the hook and landed a nice eleven inch brown trout to register my first fish of the day.

John Downstream above a Raft

John meanwhile snapped off all his flies on a rock, and this required a significant time commitment to rig anew, so I progressed upstream to the next nice riffle and run below the point of the island, where the two channels merged. Surprisingly the nymph tandem failed to deliver results, so I worked up along the left side of the island to kill time, while I waited for John to join me. The water was relatively marginal here except for a riffle of moderate depth at the top of the island, but it also proved to be unproductive.

Lowering

I circled back to the downstream point of the island and ate lunch while I waited for John to catch up. After lunch I prepared for my foray into the smaller and shallower right channel by switching to a dry/dropper configuration. I tied a size 12 medium olive stimulator to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear and a RS2. I fired a long cast upstream to the top of a relatively shallow run below the main pool on the right channel, and almost instantly a fish rose. Initially I thought the fish hammered the stimulator, but when I slid the net under the thirteen inch brown trout, I discovered the hares ear in its lip.

I immediately went back to our starting point to check on John, and I informed him of my good fortune, and I discovered that he landed a brown trout in the shelf pool on a nymph. He decided, however, that he was ready to move, so we waded upstream and approached the right channel again. When we arrived, we spotted a flurry of rises at the bottom of the long shallow pool, so John made some nice casts, but to no avail.

Rises by the Rocks Along the Bank

While he fished the bottom portion of the pool, I made some upstream casts along the left side, and I managed one splashy refusal to the stimulator. I was certain that the fish would respond to the subsurface RS2 as an imitation of the blue winged olive nynph, but I was mistaken. Finally as I approached the prime area at the top of the long pool, I switched to a size 16 gray comparadun, since I also spotted a few pale morning duns floating in the air among the smaller blue winged olives. I was hopeful that the trout might recognize the larger mayfly and go for it, but again my wish was misplaced.

When the money fly was ignored, I relented to my instincts, and tied on a size 20 CDC BWO. Timing is everything, and by the time I defaulted to the tiny imitation, the hatch ended, and the fish ceased their surface feeding. I prospected with the CDC BWO for a bit, but the tiny fly seemed futile, so I reverted to the stimulator, hares ear, and RS2. I experienced one foul hooked twelve inch brown that refused the stimulator, and I dragged the trailing nymph into its tail. Another small fish inspected the stimulator but returned to its holding position.

When I reached the top of the island. I remained at two fish, and it was 1:30, and I was not optimistic about my prospects for Tuesday. John and I met and decided to fish the deep run and riffles between the island and our crossing point. I waded toward the center of the river and fished back toward the north bank in the likely deep pockets, riffles and runs. Since the hatch was over, I converted to a gray pool toy hopper as my top fly, and retained the hares ear, but swapped the RS2 for a size 20 soft hackle emerger.

Soft Hackle Emerger Lover

Halfway through my search of the faster water section, a fifteen inch brown attacked the soft hackle emerger, and I was quite pleased to net and photograph this beauty. This was the best fish of the day at that point, and it boosted my energy level. I moved upstream a bit and tossed a cast into a narrow slot behind an exposed boulder, and I was shocked to see a fish rise and gulp the pool toy hopper. I set the hook, and this fish put up a dogged fight, but I eventually subdued a gorgeous sixteen inch brown trout. I thought that perhaps my fortunes had turned.

Hopper Fancier

Alas I covered the second half of the deep riffle area with no success to reward my hard work, and wading in the relatively fast current over slippery boulders was indeed a challenge. Once I reached the top, I noticed that John crossed to the bank along the road, so I joined him. He expressed a desire to fish the side that is conducive to right handed casting, so I left him at the bottom of the long pool, and I climbed to the high rock wall to watch. It was now late afternoon, and the sun broke through the thick clouds, and I anticipated a repeat of the dead time that evolved in the late afternoon on Monday.

As I sat on the rock perch, I spotted the same rainbow that haunted me in the late afternoon the previous day. I watched its movement and made some half-hearted casts with the dry/dropper, but the circling rainbow ignored the flies. John meanwhile joined me and waded upstream of the deep pool. I observed the rainbow as it sipped something small from the surface, so I clipped off the hopper and nymphs and knotted a size 22 CDC BWO to my line. I was now prepared, but I waited and observed for another ten minutes. Finally the rainbow came into view, and it cruised in an oval below me, and then it slowly drifted to the surface and sipped another small morsel.

This was my sign, and I flipped a cast above the fish’s position. I held my breath and lost sight of the tiny fluff of a fly, but then I spotted a subtle disturbance near the position of the rainbow. I raised my rod and executed a swift hook set, and the fish darted toward the middle and made a quick dive while thrashing fiercely. I was six feet above the water and not in a good position to land the fish, so I asked for John’s assistance, since he arrived from above. As I slid down the rock precipice on the bank, I applied side pressure and guided the rainbow toward shore, where John scooped it with his net.

Hooked from the Overlook

What a team effort! It was an exciting ending to a tough day on the Arkansas River, although four of my five fish were very nice, and I remembered each one.

Fish Landed: 5

Arkansas River – 09/19/2016

Time: 12:30PM – 4:30PM

Location: Chaffee – Fremont County Line

Arkansas River 09/19/2016 Photo Album

A couple days of rest and relaxation at the Timbers Bachelor Gulch Resort near Beaver Creek allowed me to recover from my intense but satisfying four days of camping in the Flattops region of Colorado. A weekend with no fishing had my thoughts turning to my next fishing adventure. I contacted my friend, John, and we decided to undertake a joint trip to the Arkansas River. John owns a small Casita travel trailer, and he invited me to join him in the relative plush accommodations compared to my normal REI two person tent.

John planned to stay for four days; whereas, I needed to return on Tuesday evening to prepare for a trip to Utah to visit my daughter. Consequently I drove separately, and we devised a plan whereby John would meet me on the river on Monday afternoon. I arrived at the pullout at the Chaffee – Fremont County line by 11:45, and after gulping my lunch, I assembled my Sage four weight rod and crossed the river at the tail of the long pool below the parking area. I climbed the bank on the opposite side of the river and hiked down the railroad tracks until I reached my usual entry point. By 12:30 I was in the water casting a yellow Letort hopper, beadhead hares ear, and a RS2.

The fishing reports from the local fly shops indicated that the fishing was decent after the cooler weather that moved across Colorado while I was in the Flattops and at Bachelor Gulch, and the web sites suggested blue winged olive imitations for the late morning and early afternoon. This explained the RS2 attached to my line. I read my blog posts from 2011 when I fished the Arkansas River at the same time of year, and the Letort hopper was productive, so I attempted to repeat the success.

Starting Point on Arkansas River

Better Lighting

In the faster water below the narrow island I landed three brown trout, and all of them nabbed the RS2, as it drifted in the wake of the hopper. I observed several rises at the top of the juicy shelf pool where I began, so this indicated that the blue winged olives were active. With this auspicious start behind me I approached the bottom of the narrow right channel that flows around the island, and once again I noticed a few rises from likely small fish at the tail of the long smooth pool. I knew the dry/dropper approach was not appropriate for the shallow smooth tail of the pool, so I skipped around it, and executed some long casts to the deep run that flows through the center. On the first cast the hopper paused, and I set the hook and found myself attached to a gorgeous fifteen inch brown trout. I managed to land the beauty despite repeated attempts of escape, and my optimism reached a new peak.

More Poundage on This Guy

The faster runs at the top of the long pool are really the prime real estate in this section of the Arkansas River, and my heartbeat raced with the anticipation of probing my favorite place. Alas, the fish were there on Monday, but I suffered three temporary hook ups toward the center of the deep channel. My momentary elation after landing the fifteen inch brown trout plummeted to new depths. Fortunately I persisted, and another fifteen inch brown trout nipped the RS2, as I lifted near the end of the drift. This trout also generated a spirited fight before I coaxed it into my net.

In the Water

I moved on to the top of the right braid, and I induced two more temporary connections before I reached the top of the island. I was back in the main river now, and I skipped past the wide shallow section in order to quickly reach the long deep riffle with an abundance of deep pockets. I swapped the Letort hopper for a foam pool toy hopper, since I desired better visibility and flotation for the faster water, and I thoroughly prospected the fifty yard section of the river. The difficult wading and constant casting finally paid off, when a rainbow trout aggressively snatched the hares ear from the drift in a riffle that was four feet deep. Unlike the brown trout, the bow streaked across the river and then downstream, but I allowed my line to spin off the reel until the scared fish paused. This allowed me to regain line, and after a five minute battle, I scooped the sixteen inch beauty into my new net. Needless to say I was rather pleased with this reward for a tough couple hours of wading and prospecting.

Recovery

By 3 o’clock the sun was directly overhead and beating down relentlessly on the Arkansas River. The temperature climbed into the upper eighties, and I spotted a black truck parked behind my vehicle high above the river. A car door slammed, and I guessed that my friend John arrived. I was at a transition point in my progress upstream, so I veered to the left, climbed the south bank, and then found John in the river just west of the deep long pool with the high rock overlook. I greeted him, and while he began to cast, I surveyed the river below me. I was pleasantly surprised to spot a very nice rainbow trout hovering just below the surface downstream from John, so I guided and coached him in an effort to position his fly over the prize fish below.

John Intense

Apparently John’s chubby Chernobyl and RS2 were not favored by the rainbow trout, so we surrendered and moved upstream between three and five o’clock. I was weary from my earlier adventures, so I decided to be a contrarian, and I swapped my floating line for a sink tip and tied a cheech leech to the staunch leader. I spent a half hour stripping the streamer through likely holding spots, but the river was dead. By 4:30 my confidence was at a low ebb, and I sat on a rock and converted into a cheerleader for John, but even this added encouragement could not open the mouths of the Arkansas River trout. I suspect that their state of mind in the late afternoon approximated mine.

Fish Landed: 6

John and the Casita