Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Williams Fork River – 09/01/2015

Time: 11:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: Upper portion of Breeze lease water below dam

Fish Landed: 4

Williams Fork River 09/01/2015 Photo Album

“What does not kill me, makes me stronger”. This quote from Friedrich Nietzsche comes to mind after my fishing adventure today on the Williams Fork River. Hopefully I will wake up tomorrow feeling like a much stronger human being, because I am not feeling that way right now.

First there was the traffic backup on Central Park Boulevard on the way to accessing interstate 70. Next came another jam on I70 heading west due to heavy commuter traffic. Unexpectedly there was a four car accident in the Wheat Ridge section of interstate 70 that forced me to creep along for twenty minutes until I finally inched past the accident site. Normally I can reach the Loveland Tunnel in an hour, yet on Tuesday September 1, one hour merely advanced me on I70 just west of the Ward Road exit.

I rejoiced as I hit open roads and traveled at or slightly above the speed limit until I reached the north side of Berthoud Pass where I was halted by road resurfacing for ten minutes, as the highway was reduced to a single lane. Finally I reached the parking lot at the Breeze Unit at 11:00AM and prepared to fish the small Williams Fork tailwater. I quickly pulled on my waders and assembled my Sage four weight, and to avoid a repeat of my lost rod tip, I made sure to string my line through the rod guides. Finally I was free to fish after a drive that took an hour longer than expected.

The Brown Dry Road to the Williams Fork

I hiked for a mile across the dry sagebrush terrain until I reached the upper stretches of the Williams Fork River. But wait a minute, what was the stinging pain that emanated from my right heel as I approached the water. I tried repositioning my foot to relieve the sharp needle sensation, but the only thing that provided relief was landing on my toes on my right foot. Initially I feared that I stepped on a nail, but that probably would have generated constant pain. Were the socks that I was wearing the same ones that had a cactus needle in them at Baker Campground, and was a small remnant now invading my heel? I limped to the edge of the water and tied on a Chernobyl ant, ultra zug bug, and RS2 and attempted to fish while wading on my right tip toe.

Nice Stretch Did Not Produce

This sort of worked for half an hour, although I was unconsciously wading slower and more carefully. I covered some fairly attractive water and finally managed to land a six inch brown trout as the flies swept upward at the end of a drift. In addition to the pain in my heel, I was now a bit concerned that I was in for a challenging day of fishing. I sat down on a grassy spot on the bank and devoured my small lunch, and then I decided to investigate the heel pain. This required removing my waders from my right leg, but when I put my hand into the neoprene foot section, I did not feel anything abnormal. This was actually good news, because a sharp object could have created a leak. I pulled out the fleece wading bootie that I wore over my socks, and I inspected the heel closely, but everything appeared to be normal.

Next I removed my SmartWool sock and turned it inside out. I could see blood on my heel, and at last I found the reason. Embedded in the woven fibers of my sock was a half inch section of thin wire. Apparently the wire punctured my heel, and every time I landed on the pierced location, pain shot through my foot. I flicked the wire into the weeds and pulled on the socks and waders and stood up. The pain was gone, and I was ready to resume fishing.

Unfortunately the fish were not ready for me. I worked my way upstream covering attractive areas on both sides with only a second six inch brown trout to show for my efforts. I exchanged the Chernobyl for a Charlie boy hopper since there was some nice tall grass along the bank. I also swapped the ultra zug bug for an iron sally and then a salvation nymph. Nothing improved my fortunes. I encountered a nice deep run that I was certain harbored decent fish, so I took the time to reconfigure my line with an indicator, split shot and two flies. This change did nothing to improve my success rate, but I did clean much green scum from the rocks, and I spent additional time removing the moss from my flies on nearly every other cast.

Flows at 125 CFS

If I was not going to catch fish, I might as well do it with a dry/dropper approach that picked up less green moss. I switched back to the Charlie boy hopper, salvation, and RS2 and worked my way upstream farther. It was about 2:30 when I noticed some dark clouds gathering in the western sky. More troublesome was the periodic rumble of distant thunder. I was now across from a gorgeous large deep pool that produced great action five or six years ago when Steve Supple and I encountered a dense blue winged olive hatch. I was contemplating returning to the car before the storm hit, but what if the dim light provoked another BWO emergence?

As the clouds moved closer and streaks of lightning increased in frequency, I decided to exit the water and hike to the east away from the tall cottonwood trees that surrounded me. I remembered that it is not good to be near tall objects during an electrical storm. I reached the dirt farm road that parallels the river, and stood there with my back to the rain for ten minutes. Finally it seemed as though the electrical threat of the storm had passed, so I returned to the edge of the pool and began fishing in the slow light rain.

The MFC Sparkle Minnow

I worked my way upstream for .2 miles, but the dark clouds and rain and wind did not seem to change the case of lockjaw that inflicted the Williams Fork fish. It was 3PM when I returned to the pool, and my confidence was at an all time low. What should I do? I finally decided to experiment with a sparkle minnow. I removed my floating line and replaced it with a five weight sinking tip, and then I knotted my sole sparkle minnow to the 3X tippet. I began chucking the weighted streamer to the far bank and worked my way downstream. I thoroughly covered fifteen feet of the bank with multiple casts, and I varied the retrieve between short choppy strips, long strips, wiggling rod tip, and rapidly repeating mends. On the fifteenth cast (approximately) as I quickly stripped the streamer back toward me from the five o’clock position, I felt a bump. I remembered my lesson from Adam and Jake, and did not set, but instead gave the line another strip, and suddenly I felt the weight of a large fish. The torpedo also felt the penetration of a hook and instantly shot upstream.

Curled Deep in the Net

I applied side pressure and endured several strong runs before I was able to hold my ground and then leverage the head of the fish to the surface and guide it into my net. What a surprise! There before me in my net was a meaty seventeen inch rainbow trout. I actually caught a nice fish on a streamer on my own without guidance. Needless to say this modified my gloomy outlook on the Williams Fork, and after carefully releasing the rainbow, I resumed chucking the clumsy weighted bait fish imitation to the bank and frantically stripping. Alas, I was unable to induce any more meat eaters to hammer my offering.

Stretched Out. A Very Thick Fish.

As this was transpiring, I observed a few sporadic rises in the foam eddy along the far bank. The sky remained quite overcast, and I spied a couple small mayflies in the air, so I suspected that a fish or two were plucking cripples or stragglers from the eddy. In my previous wanderings I did not see additional attractive areas that suggested streamers, so I removed the minnow and the sinking tip line and returned to the floating line. I tied on a size 22 CDC blue winged olive and made some half hearted attempts to cast to the eddy. This seemed hopeless as I could not see the tiny fly, and my ability to drift the fly in the swirling currents without drag was impossible.

I decided that my best chance of catching another fish was to focus on the risers across from me, so I walked to the tail of the pool and crossed to the high bank on the far side. I cautiously crept to a position next to the eddy and observed. The main current ran downstream four feet away from the bank for fifteen feet and then curled toward the bank and flowed back within six inches of some tall grass until it reached the deepest nook of the eddy. A long narrow foam patch hovered between the main current and the return current that bordered the bank. I noted a fish that rose once or twice next to the foam area, a fish that rose several times where the current curled toward the bank, and another fish that was downstream beyond the curl. I decided my best shot was the fish at the point of the curl so I made some downstream drifts to that area.

I could not follow my fly at all in the dim light, so I resolved to set whenever I spotted a rise in the area. Naturally the fish stopped rising, so I stripped in my line and tied on a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis, and then I added a section of eight inch tippet and attached the CDC olive. My strategy was to fish a double dry and follow the leading caddis as a means to estimate approximately where the trailing BWO was. It worked!. I saw the fish at the curl location rise and set the hook and felt decent weight on my rod tip. Unfortunately it was momentary, and the fish escaped in a short amount of time.

The Eddy

I was now forced to wait until I located another fish. The sky remained dark and the wind picked up considerably. I turned and looked back upstream at the return eddy next to the grass and thought I saw a nearly imperceptible dimple within four inches of the tall grass. It was only four feet away from me, so I reeled up all my fly line so I had only the tapered leader beyond the rod tip. I held the line away from me and allowed the wind to blow the flies down on the water in a position where the slow current would feed them along the bank. On the fifth such attempt I noticed a bulge at the approximate location of my double dry offering and set the hook. Instantly a large fish dashed into the heavier current and then downstream a bit. I allowed some line to play out, but when the fish stopped, I applied side pressure and forced it back into the eddy next to me where I scooped it with my net.

Trying Unsuccessfully to Stretch Out

What a thrill! Another large rainbow trout flopped desperately in my net, so I took several photographs and then gently released it into the eddy. This was one of the tougher situations in all my days of fly fishing, and I was quite proud to have landed this sixteen inch beauty.

At 4:45 the sun peeked out again, and the sparse hatch seemed to abate, so I waded back across the river and passed through the cottonwoods and then climbed the steep bank to the sagebrush path. Thirty minutes later I was at the car and ready for my return drive. Of course Tuesday could not end without two more road construction traffic delays on the trip back to Denver. Four fish is admittedly a slow day, but the last two were quite gratifying. I landed a large rainbow on the sparkle minnow streamer, and then managed another on a size 22 dry fly in low light and difficult surface currents. I cannot wait to wake up with extra strength tomorrow.

Clear Creek – 08/31/2015

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: From bottom of Floyd Hill on the west side upstream a half mile.

Fish Landed: 11

Clear Creek 08/31/2015 Photo Album

After a weekend with no fishing I was once again anxious to cast some flies on Monday, the last day of August. Since the flows on Clear Creek were finally favorable after one of the longest run offs I can remember, I decided to give it a try. I also read a favorable report on the Front Range Anglers web site.

Since the drive is merely forty-five minutes, I did my normal morning workout and run before departing at 9:50, and I arrived at my chosen starting point by 10:30. I parked at the end of the Clear Creek bike path at the bottom of the west side of Floyd Hill. By the time I rigged my line and put on my waders and entered the water it was 11AM. The fisherman who filed the report on Front Range Anglers said he was receiving refusals on the larger attractor flies on his dry/dropper rig, and he suggested downsizing to compensate. I used this information to downsize from the beginning and tied on a size 16 elk hair caddis with a medium shade of olive body. The caddis did not have any hackle, but there did seem to be some snowshoe rabbit foot fur tied in as an underwing below the elk hair.

I did not generate any interest in the first two deep pockets, but as I moved away from the parking lot, the small caddis imitation began to produce. I landed five small brown trout in the first hour on the simple pattern. The tan elk hair wing was very visible, as it contrasted nicely with the clear water, and the body rode deep in the surface film, which apparently was what the trout were looking for. I even caught two fish by casting to the opposite bank and using a reach cast as learned from Jake Chutz of Montana Fly Company. This was a significant achievement given the very fast center current on trough-like Clear Creek.

Best Brown Trout from Clear Creek on Monday

After landing number five I foolishly snapped off the elk hair caddis and substituted a size 14 deer hair caddis with a gray body. This pattern generated a few refusals, but then yielded a sixth brown trout just before noon. Unfortunately I also broke off this fly on a tree, as I was reckless with my backcast, and this seemed like a good time to return to the car to eat lunch.

I70 Highway Sign Mars Natural Beauty of Clear Creek

After lunch I checked my boat box and found one additional medium olive elk hair caddis, so I added it to the fly box that I now carry in my wader bib. When I returned to my pre-lunch exit point, I crossed the river to work the bank between interstate 70 and the stream. I always gravitate to water that is more difficult for the average fisherman to access, and the north side of Clear Creek in this area meets that definition. I immediately tied on the same elk hair caddis that was on fire between 11AM and noon, but alas it lost its magical qualities. I covered a fair amount of water propecting with the elk hair with no action, and then I once again broke it off on a brittle dead weed behind me, when I attempted to execute a reach cast and a downstream drift to some slow water along the far bank. Again I became careless when I redirected my casts across rather than upstream and did not check what was behind me.

Since I needed to tie on a new fly, I decided to experiment with the dry/dropper approach that produced so well for me on the South Platte River on Friday. One never knows what the fish are looking for if one does not try different flies and varied approaches. On to my line went a Chernobyl ant, beadhead ultra zug bug, and salvation nymph; but these flies were only moderately successful. I spent an hour prospecting with the dry/dropper combination and managed to land only two small brown trout; one on the ultra zug bug and one on the salvation nymph. I also generated a couple momentary hook ups, but I covered the greatest amount of water with these flies and had minimal return.

Flowers Border Clear Creek

As the sky clouded up I decided to revert to dry flies in case the low light caused trout in Clear Creek to look for caddis. I tied on a size 14 stimulator with a body color close to the elk hair caddis, and then I added a twelve inch dropper and tied on a size 16 deer hair caddis with a light gray body. I rarely fish a double dry combination, but I tried it in the dim light so I could follow the large lead stimulator yet still track the more difficult to follow caddis.

This move proved to be moderately effective, as I landed three additional brown trout before quitting at 3PM. During this time I reached water that appeared more attractive as the creek channel narrowed, and this created more deep pockets along the bank. I suspect that I could have lured more trout to the surface, but my efforts were suddenly interrupted by a streak of lighting and then the loud clap of thunder only seconds afterward. The quick succession of light and sound told me that the lightning strike was nearby, so I hustled up the steep bank and walked back along the shoulder of interstate 70 while the wind picked up and the sky darkened. In order to reach the car I was forced to scramble down the steep rocky bank next to the highway and then cross the creek to the bike path on the other side. As I emerged on the bike path some more lightning brightened the sky and then sheets of rain began to pour from the clouds. I was prepared with my raincoat on, but the threat of another lightning strike kept me on edge until I reached the car.

Since the rain continued to pour from the sky in heavy quantities, I threw my rod, front pack, and backpack in the car and jumped in the driver’s seat clad in wet waders. I drove east on route six a bit to wait out the storm and hopefully sample different water, but when I turned right into the pullout below the gravel quarry, I could see that the creek was beginning to show color. It was a bit after 3PM, so I decided to call it a day and drove home in my waders.

I am grateful for landing eleven fish within an hours drive of my house, but Monday August 31 was also a frustrating outing. The fish were small and ridiculously easy to catch for the first hour, and then they became quite difficult in the afternoon. It just seems that small fish on a lightly pressured stream with flows finally at ideal levels should be more cooperative. But if fly fishing were too easy, I probably would not love it as much as I do.

South Platte River – 08/28/2015

Time: 12:30PM – 5:30PM

Location: South Platte River

Fish Landed: 26

South Platte River 08/28/2015 Photo Album

All is well that ends well. The real hero of this story is my lovely wife, Jane, who converted a potential day of frustration into one of the better outings of the season.

The story begins with my trip to the Elk River in British Columbia. While there Jake Chutz of Montana Fly Company convinced me to purchase some Simms neoprene wading booties for wet wading during hot summer days. I tried them out on the East Fork of Brush Creek, but I was not totally sold on the concept because my bare legs were exposed to thistles and thorns, and I needed to reapply sunscreen often to compensate for getting in and out of the water repeatedly. In order to overcome these negatives, I purchased a pair of quick dry pants that can be converted to shorts. I anticipated that using the pants in combination with the wading booties would make wet wading an enjoyable method of fishing Colorado streams.

One of my favorite areas to fish is the South Platte River, where I am required to hike for three miles from the trailhead to the river. As I was anxious to experiment with my new wet wading set up, I felt that this would be a perfect test. On previous trips I lugged my waders, wading boots, rod, reel, and fishing pack in a regular backpack. The three mile hike with a heavy load put significant stress on my neck, shoulders and back; and after a day of fishing, the three mile return was quite taxing. For this reason I only made the trek one or two times a year, as I needed a month or two for the tiresome aspect of the experience to fade from my memory.

Sun and Mist

With my new fishing apparel purchases, I could hike to the river in my wading boots and quick dry pants, and the only equipment I would need to carry on my back would be my normal fishing backpack which contained water and a raincoat. I decided to evaluate my new hike-in summer fishing approach on Friday August 28, and my wife, Jane, decided to accompany me.

The trailhead for this South Platte venture is two hours and fifteen minutes from our home in Denver, and the hike generally adds another one hour and fifteen minutes. In order to allow myself to begin fishing by mid-morning, I like to camp near the river the night before. Jane and I adhered to this plan by making the drive on Thursday, and we stopped for dinner along the way and then set up our tent before dark.

A Rocky Section with More Mist

The flows in the section of the river that I wished to fish were 157 CFS. This is a bit high, but I fished the area at 180 CFS several years ago with excellent results, so I was actually optimistic that the fishing would be good. Also above normal flows are a welcome change from the normal low clear difficult conditions present on most Colorado streams in late August. Everything seemed to be falling in place for a fun fishing trip to the South Platte River.

On Friday morning after eating breakfast and packing our camping gear, we arrived at the trailhead by 9AM. I was already attired in my quick dry pants, so after I pulled on my wading booties and boots and completed all my normal preparations for a day of fishing, we began our hike. I assembled my Sage four weight four piece rod, but I did not string the line because I do not normally do that until I arrive at the stream so I can observe the water before deciding on what flies to use. We hiked for a couple miles with Jane setting the pace, and I became annoyed with constantly getting my rod entangled in low overhead branches. Also I tended to gain on Jane and came close to tapping her with the rod several times, so I decided to reverse the position of my rod and began holding it with the tip facing backwards.

We arrived at the river by 10AM and established a base camp, and then Jane walked down the path with me for another .5 mile to the point where I planned to enter the river. I gave my camera to Jane so she could record my maiden entry into the cold river with my wet wading uniform. I stopped at the edge of the river while Jane looked on and began to string my rod with the fly line. When I reached the tip section, my jaw dropped, and my facial expression made an abrupt shift from anxious anticipation to deep gloom. A tip section was no longer present on my rod! My first concern was the cost of buying another tip section for my rod, but rather quickly this shifted to the anger and frustration that results from the sudden shattering of all plans for a day of fishing on one of my favorite remote stretches of Colorado water.

We had camped in order to be on the water early, so I could maximize my fishing time to compensate for the arduous hike. I purchased the wading booties and quick dry pants to test, and now that was in jeopardy as well. What could I do besides cry? As usual Jane was the voice of reason. She suggested that we retrace our steps back to the base camp and carefully look for the rod tip along the way. If we did not find it by the time we arrived at the base camp, we would need to hike back along the entry trail and look for it along the way. The worst case scenario resulted in our return to the car to pick up my spare tip, and then we could return to the river to fish. We were retired and had all day, so if I needed to fish later to make up for lost time in the morning, that would be the answer.

I meanwhile was in the depths of despair. I was mourning the loss of my rod tip and convinced that my carefully planned day of fishing was ruined as well. We began the process laid out by Jane, but the rod tip did not appear along the trail between my planned fishing entry point and the base camp. When we arrived at the base, I shed all my fishing gear except my wading staff which now morphed into a walking stick. We commenced a slow walk along the trail we had just covered. Before we reached the point where the trail veers away from the river, we encountered a couple on their way in from the trailhead. We asked if they noticed any rod tips, but they both replied no, but they really were not looking for one. Of course my first thought was that they probably stepped on it and crushed it.

We continued up the steep ascent away from the river. Jane suggested that I could move ahead at a faster pace while she moved at a slower methodical rate, but I was concerned that she might find it and have no way to communicate this information to me, so we stayed together. We covered roughly one and half miles from the base camp when Jane suddenly cried, “There it is!” I was in disbelief, but I turned and looked back, and she held the fragile fly rod tip in her hand. Even more amazing was the fact that I walked past the very rock where she found the rod tip, and I never saw it. The decision to not separate was now looking quite fortuitous. Jane handed me the rod section and suggested that I could now return at a faster pace, since she knew how anxious I was to fish.

The Found Rod Tip

I hustled back along the trail to our base camp and decided to eat my lunch since it was now approaching noon. Just as I finished lunch, Jane arrived and agreed to once again walk to the entry point and take a photo. We repeated the entire process, and this time we followed it through to completion. I entered the river with all four sections of my rod in place, and then I knotted a Chernobyl ant, beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph to my line. I thanked Jane for finding my rod tip and accompanying me on this adventure, and I turned my attention to fishing. I lost a couple hours, but at least I was now in a position to salvage some fun from a day that I prematurely wrote off.

Dave’s First Attempt at Wet Wading with Quick Dry Pants

I worked my way upstream methodically casting the dry/dropper trio for thirty minutes, but no fish responded. I was beginning to seethe with frustration since I suffered through many trials and tribulations to get to this point, and now the fish were not cooperating. But once again I was being overly pessimistic, and finally a ten inch brown trout grabbed the salvation nymph at the tail of a deep pocket. I was on the board, and the remainder of the day would raise my spirits and justify the long hike and search. The river was too high to safely cross to the opposite bank, so I continued working along the west side. This necessitated many backhand casts which created wear and tear on seldom used shoulder and back muscles. In addition I was not as accurate, and more nasty snarls resulted from backhand casts and three flies.

Nice Pocket Water Section

Despite these hassles I persisted, and between 1:00PM and 3:30PM I landed sixteen trout on the three fly system that I began with. All the landed fish were brown trout, and quite a few were in the twelve to thirteen inch range, and they displayed vivid spots over a silvery gold background. This was the fishing that I worked so hard for. I love moving quickly and popping three to five casts to likely areas, and the fish were rewarding me frequently by snatching the trailing salvation or hares ear.

Nice Vivid Spots on This Wild Brown

By 3:30 I reached a nice long pool, but the deep areas were not delivering fish on Friday, so I climbed to the path and circled around to the faster run that fed the pool. As I was doing this I ran into Jane, who was cautiously walking toward me to confirm my well being and progress. I could see the large rock across from the base camp, so I told her I planned to fish to that point, and then I would quit, and we would commence the long return hike.

One of the Better Brown Trout

When I re-entered the river I spotted quite a few tiny blue winged olives floating up from the surface, so I removed the salvation nymph and replaced it with a RS2. For the next two hours I worked upstream to the base camp pool and landed ten more fish. Unlike the early afternoon, two rainbows landed in my net, and these were probably my best fish on the day. Both the rainbows sipped the RS2, but the hares ear continued to outproduce the smaller nymph. During this time I also experienced two awful tangles, and quite a few long distance releases. I attribute the higher rate of momentary hook ups to the tiny size 20 hook contained in the RS2.

The Second Rainbow

At 5:30PM I reached the base camp and prepared for the return trip. We departed by 6PM and reached the Santa Fe by 7:15PM. The wet wading experiment worked out well, as I felt comfortable for the entire afternoon except for a few occasions when some large clouds blocked the sun, and some wind kicked up. Overall however it worked well and cut down greatly on the weight on my back and the associated neck and shoulder strain. We stopped at a brew pub on the way home and enjoyed craft brews and a delicious late dinner. Even this did not begin to repay Jane for salvaging my fishing day on August 28. Perhaps the best gift for Jane was the absence of whining and complaining that would have occurred should I have lost the rod tip and missed a day of fishing. Jane is one of a kind, and I cannot thank her enough. All is well that ends well.

 

South Boulder Creek – 08/26/2015

Time: 11:00AM – 5:30PM

Location: A half hour hike from the parking lot downstream. Open area beyond where the trail forces one to wade the edge due to high vertical rock wall.

Fish Landed: 21

South Boulder Creek 08/26/2015 Photo Album

Other than one hour and fifteen minutes on Baker Creek, I did not fish from August 14 through August 25, and I was aching to get on a local stream to satisfy my addiction. I did not want to make a long drive, so I checked the flows on Clear Creek, the Big Thompson, Boulder Creek, and South Boulder Creek. The Big Thompson was relatively low at 50 cfs, and Boulder Creek was running at expected late August levels. I felt that both these options would offer fairly difficult conditions with high temperatures approaching ninety degrees in Denver. Clear Creek was nearly ideal at 80 cfs, but I get frustrated with catching fish in the 6-9 inch range. South Boulder Creek was rushing along at 152 cfs, and that is actually high for the small stream bed in a canyon setting. Denver Water actually dropped the flows to this level three days ago, and before that the stream was surging at 200 cfs. I fished South Boulder Creek in the past at 200 cfs, so I knew 150 was manageable, and I suspected that the fish would be less skittish at levels more typical of early July.

Flows Were Just Over 150 CFS

I left the house at 8:50AM and made the short drive to the parking lot on a hill .3 mile past the outlet of Gross Dam. There were three other vehicles in the lot, and another solo fisherman arrived as I was putting on my waders and rigging my Loomis five weight. It was relatively warm as I began my descent to the canyon, so I decided to hike for thirty minutes and then begin fishing. I turned off the Walker Loop trail and followed the fisherman path beyond the talus slope until I reached an open area where I could easily access the water. I read my post from an outing last August 31 on South Boulder Creek, so I used the same flies that performed well a year ago; a Chernobyl ant, a beadhead hares ear, and a salvation nymph.

First Landed Fish Was This Brown Trout

Between 11AM and 1PM I covered quite a bit of attractive water on South Boulder Creek and landed four trout; one nice brown and three rainbows. Two of the fish smashed the Chernobyl and the others nabbed the salvation as it drifted through some nice runs near rocks. I stopped to eat lunch at 1PM, and then resumed fishing the dry/dropper trio for a half hour in the early afternoon. I added two fish to my total, but it seemed like I was covering some very fishy locations with no action, so I decided to make a change. I noticed one or two green drakes during my hour and a half on the water, so I removed three flies and replaced them with a solitary parachute green drake size 14. This proved to be a huge positive move, and I landed ten additional trout between 1:30 and 3:30.

This Rainbow Could Not Resist the Chernobyl Ant

Parachute Green Drake Duped This Beauty

Some very nice rainbows literally leaped at the green drake, as their momentum carried them above the water when I set the hook. A couple decent browns were in the mix, and I knew that I had a convincing fly on my line, because I observed very few refusals. Unfortunately my most productive parachute drake unraveled after eight fish, so I was forced to replace it with another close copy that was in my front pack. This fly actually had an unraveling thread, but I clipped it back and hoped it would last for a few fish, and that is exactly what transpired. After landing two fish, the hackle unraveled on the second parachute, and the green thread formed a small burr behind the eye of the hook.

Saturated but Effective Green Drake

Several Fish Hammered the Green Drake from Beneath the Limbs

I reviewed my front pack and realized that I had only one remaining parachute green drake, and it was a large size 12. Rather than risk refusals on the behemoth, I found a nice size 14 comparadun green drake and attached it to my tippet. This fly produced a fine rainbow on a downstream drift, and then I exited the creek and hiked back down to my starting point. I was searching for an item that I thought I dropped at the start of my day, but it did not appear, so I decided to call it quits.

As I hiked the return trail, I was forced to wade the edge of the creek at the spot where a large vertical wall blocked my land progress. I was about to wade back to the path, but as I gazed upstream at a very nice deep pool, I noticed several rises. Closer inspection revealed some size 18 mayflies fluttering up from the surface, and they reflected a gray hue. I found a gray comparadun in my front pack and knotted it to my line, and this fooled a couple fish in the prime water before me. Unfortunately it was not a perfect match, as I endured quite a few refusals in addition to the landed fish. I suspect that the natural pale morning duns were closer to a size 18, and my imitations were size 16.

Nice Brown by South Boulder Creek Standards

Eventually I could not interest the rising fish in my fly, so I hiked back to the pedestrian bridge crossing and then walked up the left side of the creek to the huge long pool that typically attracts hordes of fishermen. There was a gentleman positioned at the tail, so I moved in next to several large boulders at the head of the run. I could see three or four fish in this area, so I began drifting my comparadun over the sighted trout. It took a lot of casting, but I managed to land three more trout from this area to bring my count to 21.

Deep Rich Colors on This PMD Eater

In typical unpredictable South Boulder Creek fashion, I thought I was in for a below average day, but mayflies made a late appearance and converted a mediocre outing to an above average day. Yes, many of the fish were small, but I also managed to landed five or six fish in the twelve to thirteen inch range, and possibly my best fish managed to shed the hook before being introduced to my net. My deep thirst for fly fishing was momentarily quenched, but I’m already planning another adventure.

Baker Creek – 08/15/2015

Time: 5:30PM – 6:45PM

Location: lower end of Baker Creek Campground

Fish Landed: 1

Baker Creek 08/15/2015 Photo Album

The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is native to the Great Basin area of Utah, southern Wyoming and eastern Nevada. This cutthroat trout once inhabited Bonneville Lake, a large body of water that covered much of what is now the Great Basin, but when the water receded to what is now the Great Salt Lake, these trout migrated to cold headwater streams in the surrounding mountains. Their population has since diminished due to over fishing and other human degradation of their environment. When rainbow trout are introduced to their home water, they hybridize with cutthroat trout to create cutbows, and this compromises the pure strain.

After reading about this rare strain of cutthroat trout, I was intrigued by the possibility of catching one during our visit to Great Basin National Park. Information available to me on the internet indicated that Bonneville cutthroat inhabited Lehman Creek and Baker Creek within the park. How convenient that Baker Creek flowed within fifty yards of our campsite! Or was it?

When we returned from our tour of Lehman Cave, I estimated that I had an hour to explore Baker Creek with the goal of landing a Bonneville cutthroat. If I were successful in this endeavor, it would represent my first catch of the subspecies as well as my first trout landed in the state of Nevada. It was quite warm, so I decided to test my newly acquired Simms wading booties which enabled me to wade wet in the tiny creek. I cut across the native grass, shrubs and cactus until I intersected with the tumbling stream named Baker Creek.

The creek was tiny and never wider than five feet with thick brush serving as a barrier to upstream movement. In many places thick branches and dead logs extended over the water, and these obstacles forced me to make repeated exits and re-entry. Unfortunately for me, but lucky for the trout, moving on land was equally difficult as dead branches and pine trees grabbed my rod tip and fly with nearly every step. Since I was at my starting point I was not aware that these challenges stood in front of me, so I naively tied on a Chernobyl ant and went to work.

One of the Better Pools on Baker Creek

As I stepped toward the first small pool, I stumbled a bit, and this shock to the earth sent two fish streaking upstream. I cursed my clumsy approach, but I now knew that there were fish in the narrow trickle. Since I spooked the fish in front of me, I moved upstream a bit to another promising but diminutive pocket. Much to my surprise this location provided enough space to actually execute a backcast, so I flicked the Chernobyl just above a small deep depression. Instantly a decent sized fish charged the Chernobyl, but I cast farther than I anticipated and could not pick up my fly in the shadows. By the time I set the hook, the fish was wise to my presence, and it darted for cover.

There was another tiny deeper run within a few feet of my position, so I dapped a cast and allowed it to drift along the edge of the pocket. Once again I spotted a decent fish as it nipped the large foam ant, but again I was disappointed with only a momentary hook up.

This description of my first two fish encounters largely explained my fishing time on Baker Creek. I either spooked fish or endured momentary connections of which I counted six. I was spurred on by the realization that there were fish in nearly every small nook of this tiny stream, and surely many had to by Bonneville cutthroats. Conversely the skittish fish and tight vegetation made hooking and landing even one fish quite a challenge.

Between seductive momentary hook ups I battled trees and bushes and spent a significant amount of time reeling my fly to within two feet of my rod tip. In many spots this dapping technique with two feet of line was the only way to get a drift over likely fish. Unfortunately this approach was followed by time spent struggling to strip out enough line to clip the fly back in the hook keep in order to make farther progress without getting stuck on a tree limb or bush.

The preponderance of momentary hook ups was partly explained by the lack of overhead space in which to raise the rod tip to make a solid hook set. Another factor affecting my fish landing efficiency was the large size of the fly and the tendency of the Chernobyl to spin around the hook shank thus reducing the size of the gap. I probably should have switched to a fresh Chernobyl ant that was not subject to spinning, but I was too caught up with the other hassles and felt that other factors were having more impact.

Finally just before quitting I dapped a promising tiny run, and a fish charged my fly. In this case I had enough space to execute a swift hook set, and I quickly played a trout to my net. I wish I could report that it was the much sought after Bonneville cutthroat, but instead I must reveal that it was an eight inch brown trout. I completed one of my goals, that of landing a trout in the state of Nevada; however, bringing a Bonneville cutthroat to my net remains as a future accomplishment.

 

 

Brush Creek – 08/12/2015

Time: 10:00AM – 2:00PM

Location: E. Fork from where road crosses below yurts and then lower Brush Creek from above private water to above Sylvan Lake Road bridge

Fish Landed: 5

Brush Creek 08/12/2015 Photo Album

I was floating on a cloud of euphoria after two fun days of fishing on the Elk River in British Columbia. After one day of recovery on Monday, Jane and I drove to Eagle, CO to visit our friends the Gabourys at Eagle Ranch. Since we arrived around noon on Tuesday, and Dave Gaboury was tied up with an issue related to a company where he serves on the board of directors, I decided to skip fishing. Jane and I did a nice bike ride around Eagle Ranch that included a return on the cinder bike path that borders Brush Creek. I used this as an opportunity to scout the stream, and immediately I was struck by how low the water was compared to my previous visit in July.

Dave G. and I discussed fishing options on Wednesday morning. I reported tough fishing on July 30 and 31 on the Eagle River, and when Todd Grubin joined us for dinner on Thursday night, he confirmed that the last two weeks were slow. I suggested the East Fork of Brush Creek within Sylvan Lake State Park, and Dave G. quickly agreed. On Wednesday morning we packed our lunches, and I drove to a parking area along the East Fork just below the yurts that can be rented within the state park. Dave G. extended his tenkara rod, and I assembled my Orvis Access four weight. In addition I wore my Simms neoprene wading boots and prepared to wade wet for the first time.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle

The air temperature was cool and in the low 60’s as we began on the west side of the road and began working our way upstream. In fact initially I was concerned that I would need to return to the car to pull on my waders, as both legs felt numb from the frigid high elevation water. Fortunately as we began to fish, my thoughts turned away from cold legs and focused more on what flies might tempt these high elevation trout to rise. Dave G. elected to cast a renegade dry fly first, and I opted for Jake’s gulp beetle. It worked well over the weekend on the Elk River, so why would it not shine on this small creek with tall grass and vegetation on both sides. Surely beetles inhabited these plants, and the wind certainly deposited numerous quantities in the tumbling stream.

Dave G. connected first, and as I looked on, he landed several fish and experienced an equal number of refusals. Once he was done harassing the small fish in the first attractive pool, he ceded the upstream position to me. I flicked the beetle to a nice deep run, but there was no reaction. We continued playing hopscotch in this manner, and Dave G. continued to see more reaction to his fly than mine, so I switched to a size 12 peacock stimulator. After quite a bit of upstream wading, the stimulator finally duped a small brown trout, and I was on the scoreboard. Dave G. meanwhile was dissatisfied with the number of refusals created by his renegade, so he tied on a royal wulff.

Brush Creek Brown with Peacock Stimulator

The Brown Came from Area Below Stump

After the stimulator registered one landed fish, it ceased to produce takes or even refusals, so I finally surrendered to adding a nymph dropper. I swapped the stimulator for a Chernobyl ant and then added a two foot tippet and a beadhead hares ear nymph. This improved my fortunes, and in a short deep run below some overhanging branches, the Chernobyl paused, and I made a quick hook set. I was shocked to see a substantial fish attached to the other end of my line, and when I eventually landed the feisty fighter, I discovered a thirteen inch brown trout in my net. A thirteen inch fish in the tiny East Fork is quite a catch, so I celebrated my good luck and moved on.

Giant for E. Fork Brush Creek

It did not take long before I saw another pause in the ant and set the hook, and this time I found an eight inch brook trout. The brook trout was so pretty that I could not resist taking a photo despite its relatively diminutive size. Dave G. seemed to be passing me at shorter intervals by now, and he was voicing displeasure over the lack of action. I pressed ahead, but I knew that his frustration level would likely put an end to the East Fork adventure shortly. Just before noon I landed a small six inch brookie in a smooth shallow pool behind a large rock, and then I caught up to Dave G., and we decided to move downstream to Brush Creek in Eagle Ranch. Although I landed four fish in two hours, the action was admittedly rather slow, and I was amenable to making a change.

Pretty Brook Trout

We thrashed through some thick bushes until we reached the dirt road, and then we walked back to the Santa Fe and tossed our gear in the back. A brief fifteen minute drive brought us to the bridge on Sylvan Lake Road where I parked, and we grabbed our rods and tromped across a grassy field to the upstream border between the private water and the public Eagle Ranch section. Here we once again began playing the game of hopscotch as we worked our way upstream. The creek in Eagle Ranch was relatively low, although probably normal for the middle of August. The low clear conditions dictated much caution as one approached and cast to the deeper runs and pools.

Dave G. immediately began to experience success on his dropper, however, I was unable to unlock the secret code to catching these Eagle Ranch brown trout. I stuck to the Chernobyl ant and hares ear for awhile, but after a half hour with no success I switched back to Jake’s gulp beetle. This was rudely ignored, so I reverted to the Chernobyl ant with a hares ear and again the combination failed to excite fish. I swapped the hares ear for an ultra zug bug and then a salvation nymph, and none of these combinations put any weight on the end of my rod. Eventually I returned to the hares ear and picked up a six inch brown.

Dave G. began like a ball of fire, but after his initial success, he also found the fishing quite challenging. After two hours of difficult fly fishing on Brush Creek, we surrendered to the wild fish and called it a day. Wednesday on Brush Creek was disappointing, but the weather was pleasant and the scenery was outstanding. The August doldrums have officially arrived, and I now plan to seek out high elevation creeks and tailwaters to offset the impact of high temperatures and low flows.

Elk River, BC – 08/09/2015

Time: 12:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Olsen Pit – Hosmer

Fish Landed: 6

Elk River, BC 08/09/2015 Photo Album

Big fish eat little fish. At least that is the conventional wisdom in fly fishing circles. For the last year or two, I made ongoing efforts to improve my streamer fishing game since big fish eat little fish, and streamers attempt to imitate little fish. If I could consistently recognize opportunities to deploy streamers, then I could probably catch more large fish. Unfortunately I struggle with technique, but on Sunday I would spend a significant amount of time stripping a large bait fish imitation.

Flies Designed by Jake Chutz in Elk River Guiding Fly Bins

Adam Trina is the president and CEO of Montana Fly Company, and he arrived in Fernie, BC on Sunday morning to join us for another day of fishing on the beautiful crystal clear Elk River. Jake and I checked out of our hotel and found an open breakfast spot called Smitty’s, and then we drove a short distance to the Elk River Guiding Shop where we met Adam. After Adam purchased his Canada fishing license, we were off to Olsen Pit to launch Jake’s craft for another day of floating. The plan for Sunday was to drift a different stretch of the Elk River from Olsen Pit to Hosmer. Hosmer was our take out on Saturday, so this segment of the river was the next section upstream of the water we covered the previous day.

Drifting Some Crystal Clear Riffles

Unlike Saturday the sky was quite overcast, and the temperature was much cooler. I wore my new neoprene booties in case we decided to park the drift boat and wade fish, as I was anxious to give my new purchase a test. Once Jake launched the river boat, I climbed in the front and remained in the bow for the entire afternoon. The front position is the most desired as the occupant gets first shot at drifting flies over new water. Jake and Adam were skilled oarsmen, so they alternated between fishing and manning the paddles. Apparently the convention among fly fishing rowers was to  switch positions each time the one fishing has success.

The upstream section of the Elk was similar to Saturday with alternating small bends, riffles and deep pools; although it seemed to me that we encountered more deep pools filled with rich azure color. Since Adam did not fish on Saturday, we gave him first choice on type of fishing, and he quickly selected streamers. Adam and I quickly grabbed our six weight streamer rods and began attacking the banks with sparkle minnows. Adam brought along prototypes of larger sparkles that were weighted much heavier than the versions that Jake and I tossed on Saturday.

One of My Meat Eaters from Sunday

I found myself quickly immersed in the active game of stripping streamers. I am the type of person who likes to follow direction and rules, but I quickly learned that other than some basic principles, there is a huge amount of improvisation in streamer presentation. Some of the underlying tenets are: allow the rod to load by pausing on the back cast, cast toward the bank, point the rod tip at the fly, never set the hook, and just keep stripping. I followed these basics, but then applied my creativity by varying the speed of retrieval and the jerkiness of my strip. Another option is whether to make a large mend when the streamer hits the water or a series of quick mends to create erratic movement. Speaking of erratic movement, wiggling the tip of the rod and making quick side to side shakes are quite acceptable. Anything that creates movement and the illusion of wounded bait is fair game.

This is what I practiced for the first three hours of the afternoon, and I am proud to report that I landed four trout on the sparkle minnow. One of the fish eaters was a bull trout that fell off my line just as I lifted the fish to bring it to the net, while the other three were quite handsome west slope cutthroats in the fourteen to sixteen inch size range. Remember the opening sentence? Here was proof that the conventional wisdom is true. I probably failed to capitalize on an equal number of opportunities. Early in my real world lesson, I found myself reacting to bumps with hook sets. Unfortunately this intuitive hook set that works well in the dry fly and nymphing world simply pulls the artificial bait out of the trout’s mouth. Once I learned to ignore the bump and continue stripping, my ratio of conversion to landed fish improved.

PB-J’s Were Eaten Here in the Boat

After three hours of chucking the heavily weighted sparkle minnow with a six weight catapulting device, I felt quite a bit of wear and tear on my right shoulder and arm, so I asked Jake if I could switch to my five weight with a gulp beetle. This move delivered two additional cutthroats in the twelve to thirteen inch range, but the beetle did not seem to pique the interest of fish on Sunday in the same manner that it performed on Saturday.

Adam Shows Off Double

By five o’clock we reached the take out ramp at Hosmer and called it a day. Obviously my fish count suffered in comparison to Saturday, but I feel that the weather and section of the river had more to do with that result than the choice of fishing with streamers. Three of the streamer chomping fish were fourteen to sixteen inch bruisers, and that is something to appreciate. Best of all I committed to streamers for an extended time period and experienced a modicum of success. The true value of Sunday August 9 with Jake and Adam was advancement of my streamer technique along with confidence that this method of fishing can deliver superior results. I’m actually anxious to toss some bait fish imitations in the waters of Colorado.

Pretty Bend of the Elk River

 

Elk River, BC – 08/08/2015

Time: 10:00AM – 6:30PM

Location: Hosmer to Fernie

Fish Landed: 20

Elk River, BC 08/09/2015 Photo Album

Jake Chutz is the sales manager for Montana Fly Company, and Adam Trina is the president and CEO. They invited me to visit them in Columbia Falls, MT, and the invitation included a trip to Fernie, BC in Canada for some fishing on the Elk River. I never met either of these gentlemen in person, yet I felt that I knew them quite well from the many phone conversations.

Jake’s MFC Hopper Box

Jake picked me up at Adam’s house in Columbia Falls, MT where I was staying on Friday evening, and we made the two hour trip to Fernie, BC with his drift boat in tow. It was a scenic drive as we spotted numerous deer along the way and passed many picturesque lakes. By the time we crossed the border into Canada, darkness descended, and this made it impossible to view my surroundings in southern British Columbia. I was pleasantly surprised by the extra hour or more of daylight in the western and northern portion of the mountain time zone.

Saturday morning after breakfast at the Park Place Inn, Jake and I crossed the main highway to the Elk River Guiding Shop, and here we purchased eight day fishing licenses and access permits for two days on the Elk River. I also splurged on a pair of neoprene wading booties for wet wading during the summer, although I did not wear them on Saturday. Jake arranged for a shuttle service to transport his truck and trailer to the take out in Fernie, and we moved on to the Independent Market to pick up lunch supplies and sunscreen. With these chores out of the way we proceeded north along the Elk River until we found the turn off for the Hosmer boat launch. Jake commented on the low level of the river as we crossed a bridge, but I had no point of comparison, and the crystal clear flows looked quite inviting for a fly fisherman.

Steady

Since Jake informed me that we would likely be in the boat most of the day, and the forecasted high was eighty degrees, I changed into my shorts and Chacos. Jake rigged up a six and five weight as well as my Sage One five weight. The five weights were configured for dry fly fishing, and the six weight was threaded with a streamer set up. Once we were ready, Jake launched and paddled the drift boat down a narrow channel to the main river just below a bridge. He jumped out of the boat and pulled it across some shallow water so we could prospect a bridge pylon and a long dead tree branch that extended downstream. The water look magnificent, but I was unable to interest any trout in my size 10 Jake’s gulp beetle.

The weather was fantastic with a high around eighty as predicted and minimal cloud cover. In Colorado these clear conditions can presage challenging fishing, but that was not the case on the Elk River. Since we arrived after dark, I did not have the opportunity to see the landscape, but on Saturday morning I was dazzled by the jagged rocky topped hills that bordered the river on all sides. The Fernie, BC area reminded me very much of the Grand Tetons near Jackson, WY.

Jake Displays One of Dave’s Nicer Fish

The first hour of fishing was quite slow, and I was unable to bring any fish to the large net in the boat, but the second hour proved to be more productive. My first fish was a small cutthroat, and this fish proved to be the smallest of the day. All the remaining catches were in the 12 – 15 inch range with several fish topping out around sixteen or seventeen inches. The gulp beetle was the workhorse fly over the course of our eight mile drift, although Jake changed my line from a size 10 beetle with a purple body to a size 12 with a red body for the midday period. The cutthroats seemed to favor purple and red with equal enthusiasm.

More Gorgeous Scenery

It took some time to identify the productive water types, but eventually we solved the riddle and focused on deep slow pockets and slack water along the bank. A drag free drift was required, but successful presentations were nearly always rewarded with stubborn hard fighting west slope cutthroats. For short casts to small pockets I executed high stick maneuvers where the fly line never touched the water and only the beetle gently drifted along the surface. In places where there was fast current between the boat and the slow shelf water next to the shore, Jake taught me to perform a reach cast which positioned the line upstream of the fly to avoid drag without a mend. It was great fun drifting from one side of the river to the other, as I popped quick cast to small pockets and enjoyed longer drag free drifts in other bank side locations. Solid drifts consistently yielded regular bites from the pretty speckled residents of the Elk River.

A Rarity…Dave Wading Wet

The other water type that yielded cutthroat trout was riffles of moderate depth over a green bottom where the river dropped into a pool. These areas seemed to be more productive in the morning, as the action in the drop offs tapered in the afternoon.

The Drift Boat Anchored

When I reached twelve fish landed on my mental scorecard, Jake suggested that we give streamers a test. We stopped in a gorgeous deep hole where the main current angled at ninety degrees toward the west bank. I wet waded and landed a twelve inch cutthroat while Jake stripped the sparkle minnow through the aqua depths until he connected on a small bull trout. When we resumed our drift, Jake continued demonstrating the streamer basics and yanked a fine cutthroat from a root ball. The hungry fish darted from beneath the root wad and gulped the fraudulent minnow that gave the appearance of a struggling dead bait fish.

Great Shot of a Nice Fish and Jake’s Gulper Beetle

With his fine demonstration complete, Jake handed the six weight rod to me, and I began to practice what I observed. Jake preached confidence in my ability to induce a take, and after twenty minutes I did in fact succeed. I cast repeatedly toward the bank and manipulated the minnow with short jerky pulls on the line. Suddenly I felt a small tug, and I was not sure whether it was fish or bottom, so I resumed the retrieve, and immediately I felt the heavy weight of a struggling fish. I gave the rod a quick jerk to set the hook after the fish was on the line, and then I fought a hard fighting seventeen inch cutthroat to the net. This meat eater proved to be the best fish on Saturday, and I was thrilled to experience some success with a streamer.

Jake Plays a Nice Cutthroat

After some additional streamer tossing with no success we reverted to the gulp beetle, and this move enabled me to build my fish count to twenty. As we approached the take out point we stopped a few times so Jake could explore some side channels, and he demonstrated exceptional casting and line management capabilities that yielded numerous fine cutthroats in our large net.

Very Nice Beetle Consumer

Toward the end of our drift I tried a small foam hopper as I searched for improved visibility, but the high floating terrestrial yielded only a few refusals. Jake meanwhile returned to the workhorse beetle and added a few more nice fish to his count for the day. I was surprised to learn that the Elk River fish favored beetles over hoppers, but the riparian vegetation was trees and bushes rather than grass. Grass is the preferred habitat for grasshoppers.

It was a spectacular day on the Elk River, and I enjoyed my first fish caught north of the border. The weather was perfect, the scenery was a sensory delight and a twenty fish day is something to treasure, especially when the trout are thirteen to seventeen inches long, and they are delicately spotted cutthroats with a brilliant orange slash below the jaw. Was it my best outing in 2015? I rank it slightly above the Conejos River on July 22 due to the unique appeal of catching west slope cutthroat. Another factor elevating my day on the Elk was the excellent rowing and instruction by Jake Chutz. Hopefully I can build on these skills during my future fishing adventures.

 

 

Cache la Poudre River – 08/03/2015

Time: 9:00AM – 11:00AM; 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Location: First bridge after beginning of Pingree Park special regulation water and then upstream for a mile.

Fish Landed: 13

Cache la Poudre River 08/03/2015 Photo Album

Jane and I drove to the Kelly Flats Campground along the Cache la Poudre River on Sunday where we tested our new Big Agnes Big House tent. We are scheduled to make a long camping and sightseeing trip to Crater Lake in Oregon to visit with our daughter Amy in August, so we decided to practice assembling and taking down our new purchase. We completed a 2.2 mile hike on Sunday afternoon, and then we relaxed and enjoyed happy hour and dinner at our prime campsite along the Poudre River.

On Monday morning I ate a quick breakfast of cherries and breakfast bars, as I hoped to get an early start with warm temperatures in the forecast. Jane, being the wonderful wife that she is, dropped me off so she could keep the car and begin packing all our camping gear for the return trip. We drove west along highway 14 until we reached the special regulation water at Pingree Park, and then we continued another mile until we crossed a bridge, and this is where I began my efforts to catch and land some Cache la Poudre trout.

The Brawling Cache la Poudre

I was pleased to note that the sky was quite overcast, and the air was cool as I descended the bank to begin fishing. These were ideal fishing conditions, so I hoped I could capitalize. I noticed a dozen or more caddis with a dark gray/brown body on the tablecloth on Sunday night as we played cards by the bright propane lantern, so I decided to begin my day with a size twelve peacock stimulator. This was larger than the caddis at the campsite, but the body color was a close match.

A Nice Brown Trout Near the Start

Initially I experienced two momentary hook ups and two refusals, but then I landed four fish in the first hour. One was a fourteen inch brown that slurped the stimulator confidently in a tiny pocket right along the edge of the river. My fishing guide book pointed out that the upper limit for Poudre fish is fourteen inches, so I was quite ecstatic with this catch.

Peacock Stimulator Did the Trick

The second hour was rather tough as I endured forty-five minutes without any action. I eventually came to realize that my success on Monday came from a distinct type of water, and I wasted quite a bit of time during this unproductive forty-five minutes in non-productive water. The characteristics of the water that produced the most fish was along the edge and at least three feet deep, and the pace of the current had to slow down quite a bit. Water that did not produce was riffles and current seams along faster runs; places that generally produce for me on other rivers. Other non-productive areas were deep pools such as the places that other fishermen flock to. These did not produce for me at all on August 3, but it was difficult to skip over them because they looked so attractive.

A Different Look

Between 10:45 and 11:00 I decided to change to a dry/dropper, and this proved to be a great move. I tied on a Chernobyl ant with a pink indicator and then added a beadhead ultra zug bug and beadhead hares ear nymph. This combination worked quite well as I landed three browns before lunch in some nice pockets along a steep bank with moderate depth. All three fish snatched the ultra zug bug from the drift, and several reacted to my lift.

I returned to the campground at 11AM and ate lunch and helped Jane take down the canopy, load the car and put the bicycles on the rack. At 12PM we checked out of the campground, and Jane dropped me off a half mile above the bridge where I stopped fishing at 11AM. I began working upstream with the dry/dropper combination and landed two more small browns, but the action was very slow, and I covered a considerable amount of water between catches. I began to wonder if the fish in the first hour took the peacock stimulator mistaking it for a green drake? I decided to try one of the bushy green drakes that worked on the Conejos in case the fish were still accustomed to seeing these large mayflies. The bushy green drake actually has the characteristics of a large stimulator, so I attached an ultra zug bug as a dropper.

An Afternoon Prize

I approached a spot that appeared to offer the requisite depth and desirable stream characteristics, but some branches stretched out over the water. I fired a sidearm cast up under the branches, and as the green drake drifted just below the branch I saw a slurp. A hook set yielded a nice 12 inch brown, and then I moved a bit closer and fired another sidearm cast up under the leaves but a bit farther, and a smaller brown attacked the ultra zug bug almost as soon as it hit the surface.

Success Under the Branches

I thought I was on to something, but that was the end of the green drake/ultra zug bug production. Between 1:30 and 2:30 I began to see a handful of pale morning duns in the air. By this time the sun burned off the clouds, and the air temperature increased dramatically. While I was next to a deep pool, I decided to go deep with nymphs. I attached a thingamabobber, split shot, hare nation nymph, and pheasant tail. The hare nation is a new fly I invented over the winter that combines features of a salvation nymph and hares ear nymph, and I hoped that this fly would imitate the nymph stage of a pale morning dun.

In a series of nice deep pockets of moderate depth along the bank, I hooked and landed three brown trout on the hare nation. The fish aggressively attacked the nymph almost as soon as it hit the water, so perhaps the hare nation was mistaken for a pale morning dun nymph as I theorized. Again I thought I had solved the riddle of the Cache la Poudre, but the nymphs ceased producing.

A Huge Eddy and Pool

Over the last half hour, I returned to a green drake dry, but this time I experimented with a size 12 comparadun style that I tied myself. This fly looked quite juicy as it danced on the current, but I was more enthralled by it than the fish. I quit at 2:35 to make sure I was at the pullout when Jane arrived, and she arrived promptly so we could begin our return trip to Denver.

It was a productive day on the gorgeous Cache la Poudre River west of Ft. Collins, CO. The river carries higher than normal flows for early August, so this probably bodes well for late August and September fishing. Unfortunately I did not experience the easy number boosting fishing that I hoped for, but thirteen fish including a fourteen inch brown that approaches the maximum for the Poudre is a solid outing. The miles of access to this gorgeous clear free flowing river will bring me back at some future date.

 

Eagle River – 07/31/2015

Time: 8:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Edwards rest area and then section between Minturn and interstate 70

Fish Landed: 9

Eagle River 07/31/2015 Photo Album

My most significant accomplishment on July 30 at the Timbers at Bachelor Gulch had nothing to do with fishing, but more on that later. I spent Thursday morning fishing with Jeff Weekley, and this taught me two things. First, I realized that the best fishing was in the morning with the bright sun and warm air temperatures making fly fishing in the afternoon a difficult proposition. I enjoyed my time with Jeff, but I did not want to push him too hard to move often given the extremely slippery wading conditions on the Eagle River. The Thursday experience did whet my appetite for some aggressive wading and dry/dropper fishing in the abundant pocket water near the Edwards rest area.

With these thoughts spinning in my head, I woke up early and quickly munched an english muffin and yogurt. The valet quickly brought my car to the covered entrance to the condominium complex, and I drove the short distance to the Edwards rest area where I prepared to fish. For Friday I decided to explore the pocket water between the Riverwalk shops and the rest area, so I followed the fisherman path and then walked downstream along the bank as far as I could until I reached the very fast whitewater chute that blocked the progress of Jeff and me on Thursday.

I began with a Chernobyl ant with a pink foam inidcator and added a beadhead ultra zug bug and salvation nymph, and interestingly these flies would serve me over the course of my entire day on the Eagle River near the rest area. Despite my early start and the cool air temperatures, the first hour was very slow, and I did not land a single fish. Although the fishing was lacking, I did burn quite a few calories as I slipped and slid over the round slimy rocks that characterize the Eagle River stream bed. I moved back and forth between the left bank and the edge of the heavy current in the middle of the river and prospected all the deep attractive pockets in between.

Pocket Water as Far as the Eye Can See

Finally after an hour of fishing, a twelve inch brown grabbed the salvation nymph as it tumbled next to a large exposed rock. This gave me some hope, so I continued in this manner and landed three additional trout until I encountered a wide shallow section of the river above the rest area. All the fish landed in the rest area pocket water were brown trout in the twelve inch range, and all but one took the salvation nymph. The other one inhaled the ultra zug bug. This segment of my outing between 8:30 and 10:30 represented a lot of difficult wading over much stream real estate for a fairly minimal return.

A Decent Brown from the Eagle River Early Friday Morning

I could see fishermen in the prime run between the rest area and the pedestrian bridge, so I exited and climbed the bank to the path and circled high above the river and then crossed the pedestrian bridge. I returned to the river on the opposite side and decided to fish the right bank upstream from the bridge. This is my favorite stretch of Eagle River water, although Todd Grubin told me it is private. I decided to fish it anyway and plead ignorance should I be confronted, as I rarely see anyone on the condo side of the river high above a steep bank.

This section of the Eagle is perfect brown trout water. It consists of a series of deep pockets and runs between the heavy main current and the bank. The dry/dropper method is devised for this water, as the approach matches the moderate depth. On Friday the right side produced three additional fish under some very challenging conditions. I began fishing at 10:30, and the sun was strong, and the air temperature was rising quickly. There was no evidence of a hatch of any sort. Despite these adverse conditions, I landed a feisty twelve inch brown from the area just above the pedestrian bridge.

Same Chunky Fighter from the Side

After I released the brown trout, I cast to a fairly shallow riffle close to the bank, and the indicator paused for a split second. I reacted to this subtle shift in drift and set the hook and landed a very healthy 15 inch brown. Ten yards farther upstream as the flies drifted tight to the edge of the current seam, the indicator once again dipped, and I executed a swift lift with my rod tip and discovered a beautiful 16 inch rainbow attached to my line. I enjoyed the battle with this beauty and eventually brought it to my net and rejoiced in the two large fish that I managed to land under very trying conditions.

Great Shoulders on This Pretty Fish

By 12:30 it was quite warm, and I had fished the entire right bank from the pedestrian bridge to the ninety degree bend, so I exited and walked back to the car via Riverwalk and the Edwards bridge. It was 12:45, and I wanted to fish a bit longer, so I drove east and exited at the Minturn ramp. A short drive south brought a bridge into view, so I turned left, crossed and then turned right and drove on the rough dirt road until I was a decent distance beyond a camper. I cut straight down to the river, and began prospecting with the same flies that I used at the Edwards rest area, but there were no signs of fish until I landed a small brown on the salvation nymph as it drifted tight to a large side boulder along the bank.

The Eagle River Below Minturn

The river here was narrower than the main branch, but it was similar to the Edwards section in terms of many exposed boulders, deep runs and pockets. It seemed there should be more fish than I was encountering, so I clipped off the dry/dropper components and tied on a size 14 olive stimulator. This generated some refusals, so I downsized to a size 16 gray caddis. In a short amount of time after the change, I landed a ten inch brown on the caddis, This caused me to believe that I unlocked the secret, but then the fish began refusing the small caddis imitation.

Small Brown from the Minturn Section

I continued on and covered quite a bit of the stream, and I did manage several momentary hook ups at the very lip of pockets. I saw a few PMD’s rising up from the surface and wondered if the fish were refusing the light gray caddis because they recognized the light gray body, but were then turned off by the swept back wing. I went to a light gray comparadun to test my theory. In a nice deep trough next to the bank, I spotted a swirl in the glare and set the hook and felt the weight of a decent fish, but it only lasted for seconds, and the fish was gone. The comparadun stopped producing, so I experimented with a large peacock body stimulator, but that only elicited a refusal or two.

By 2:45 I was weary and frustrated by how picky the small fish were, so I returned to the Timbers at Bachelor Gulch condo. Nine fish on a hot day was actually respectable, and this included two beauties of fifteen inches or greater.

But what about my most significant accomplishment on Thursday? I often saw runners gliding along at high altitude, and I held these folks in very high regard. It is difficult to run at the elevation of Denver, let alone 8,000 feet above sea level as is the case in Vail or Avon. Even more impressive is running uphill at altitude against a severe grade. When I returned from fishing with Jeff on Thursday, the other guests at the condo were golfing, and I felt like I needed to exercise. I decided to run to the tennis courts and back, but I soon discovered that it was only a half mile with the return being a severe uphill that followed several sharp switchbacks. After I finished the one mile loop, I turned left and followed the paved road that skirts the Bachelor Gulch developed area and continued on an uninterrupted climb for another mile. At age sixty-four I accomplished what I marveled at other young runners doing; I ran a continuous uphill at altitude in eighty degree temperatures. Now that is something to celebrate.