Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Arkansas River – 10/17/2023

Time: 11:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Below Salida

Arkansas River 10/17/2023 Photo Album

The high temperature was predicted to reach the low eighties on Tuesday, October 17, so I decided to take advantage of the summer-like weather with a trip to the Arkansas River. I departed Denver at 7:30AM, and I arrived at my favorite pullout along US 50 by 11:00AM, and this enabled me to be on the river fly fishing by 11:30AM. I geared up with my Sage R8 four weight, and I wore my Under Armour long-sleeved undershirt. The air temperature was in the upper fifties with a periodic chilly breeze, so I added my raincoat as an outer layer and windbreaker. The sky was bright blue with no clouds in sight, and the flows on the river were in the 285 CFS range and crystal clear.

Perfect Run and Shelf Pool

I hiked downstream for .3 miles and cut to the edge of the river, where I configured my line with a size 8 yellow fat Albert, a 20 incher nymph, and a size 22 olive zebra midge. I covered a spectacular long run and shelf pool, but the fish were not cooperative, so I moved on toward the narrow island. Between the long run and the island, I landed a nine inch brown trout on the 20 incher, but several prime locations failed to produce, so I swapped the olive zebra midge for a blue-green perdigon. This combination was unproductive, and I once again paused to exchange the perdigon for a size 22 sparkle wing RS2. The trout provided another resounding thumbs down, as I worked my way along the south side of the island to the very top.

Soft Hackle Emerger

Managed Two from This Smooth Pool

Before approaching the smaller and shallower right braid next to the island, I sat on a nice rock and munched my lunch. After lunch I cautiously approached the right channel, and given the low water conditions, I decided to modify my approach. I switched to a peacock hippie stomper and trailed a beadless soft hackle emerger. A small brown trout responded to the hippie stomper, and I elevated the fish count to two, but I was sensing a tough day under the bright sun and clear skies. I made long casts with no positive results, until I arrived at the very top of the long pool, and a nice twelve inch brown trout sipped the soft hackle emerger in a bubble seam next to a large submerged rock. In the attractive feeder currents at the head of the pool, I witnessed a refusal to the hippie stomper, and then I moved on to short angled riffles on the north bank above the long pool. I sensed that trout were present and ignoring my flies, so I removed the soft hackle emerger and replaced it with a beaded size 22 sparkle wing RS2.

Trout Here

I methodically sprayed casts across the fifteen foot wide riffle, and as the hippie stomper bobbed along the north bank, it paused, and I immediately set the hook and found myself connected to a brutish fifteen inch brown trout. This proved to be the best fish of the day, and it inhaled the trailing sparkle wing. Unfortunately the trout escaped my net in the process of removing the fly, so I was unable to capture a photo.

Number Five

I continued prospecting the remainder of the narrow braid, but when I reached the very top, I crossed the upstream tip of the island and approached the nice deep pool and riffles bordered by a huge vertical rock wall on the south side of the river. I committed to experiment with streamer fishing, and this was my moment to pursue it. It was around 1:30PM, as I studied my fleece wallet and the messy flap that contained an assortment of streamers. I had decent success with classic bucktail and feather wing streamers, the gray ghost and Mickey Finn, in Iceland, so I gravitated to that style. Unfortunately the versions that I tied, when I first started fly tying, unraveled or lost bucktail fibers, but I did notice an Edson Tiger Light, that I tied in the same early stages of my fly tying career. The Edson Tiger light contained the same red and yellow bucktails as the Mickey Finn, so I plucked it from the fleece and knotted it to my line.

Sunk in the Net

I began to cast across the current to the vertical rock wall, and on the fifth cast and strip I felt a bump and then stripped and hooked a ten inch brown trout. Although I was expecting more size, I was quite pleased with my streamer success story. After I covered the lower half of the area, I waded up the river for ten feet, so that I was positioned across from the upper portion of the riffle, where the river deflected off the large rock. I threw some long casts across the current, and on the third pass I felt a solid shock, and I made another strip and connected with a fish. I immediately knew this was a bit larger, and sure enough, when the fish rested in my net, I inspected a chunky thirteen inch brown trout. It was a thrill to earn success on the Edson tiger light, a fly that I tied thirty-five years ago, when my skills were in their infancy.

Edson Tiger Light

I crossed the river to the north bank and worked my way upstream and cherry picked a few spots with deep troughs, but the river structure was not very conducive to streamer fishing. When I reached my original crossing point, I crossed back to the side of the river near the highway, and I ambled along the path to the top of the wide and deep pool below where my car was parked. I maneuvered the Edson tiger through some very attractive deep riffles and runs to no avail, and then I moved upstream thirty yards to a gorgeous shelf pool. Once again the trout were not kind to me, so I searched my fleece wallet once again and replaced the Edson tiger with an articulated streamer with dumbbell eyes and a clump of rust colored marabou. This fly was quite heavy, and I worked it diligently for fifteen minutes, but the trout were not interested.

By 3:00PM I was bored and weary, so I climbed the bank and returned to the Santa Fe and ended my day of fly fishing. Six trout was a rather anemic quantity; however, I landed a thirteen inch and fifteen inch brown. so that was rewarding. Catching two trout on the classic bucktail was another highlight of the day, and I definitely plan to construct more classic streamers and bucktails this winter. With my improved tying skills I look forward to this challenge.

Fish Landed: 6

South Boulder Creek – 10/15/2023

Time: 12:00PM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 10/15/2023 Photo Album

When my son texted me on Saturday regarding a day of fly fishing on South Boulder Creek, I immediately checked the flows, and I was pleased to discover that they remained at 83 CFS, thus holding basically constant, since I checked on Monday, October 9. I responded to Dan with an affirmative, and I suggested that I pick him up at 10AM on Sunday morning. In addition to checking the water level, I used my Weather Underground application to review the weather, and the high temperature in Pinecliffe, CO, the closest town to South Boulder Creek, was predicted to be 55 degrees. All systems were go for a Sunday fly fishing adventure with my son; a rarity, as he juggles a career, being the father of a three year old, and spending quality time with his wife.

As planned, I picked Dan up at 10:00AM, and my grandson, Theo, appeared on the porch to offer me a soft pretzel shaped like an E. Dan and Theo baked soft pretzels on Saturday, and they formed four into the letters: T, H, E and O. I accepted Theo’s gracious gift and stuffed the pretzel into my lunch bag. By the time we drove from Louisville to the Walker Ranch Trailhead parking lot, prepared to fish and hiked down the Walker Ranch Loop trail; it was 11:45AM, so we immediately found a spot on a log in the sun and ate our lunches. I selected my Loomis two piece five weight, and I packed in my Under Armour undershirt and North Face light down coat. Before I began fly fishing, I pulled on my light down, but I never accessed the Under Armour shirt, as the air temperature and sun were warmer than I expected.

Opening Location

Fine Brown Trout

I began my quest for wild trout in a gorgeous pool along the left side of the creek, and within the first fifteen minutes I landed three small fish. Two were browns and one was a rainbow, and each of my first three flies produced a fish. I began with a peacock hippie stomper, beadhead hares ear nymph and salvation nymph. I was predictably optimistic, as I moved upstream, and another small trout attacked the hippie stomper to boost the count to four. That’s when the real challenge began. For the next couple hours I moved steadily upstream, as I prospected likely spots, and I managed to add one additional trout that sipped a size 14 gray deer hair caddis. The nymphs were ignored after the early flurry, and the hippie stomper attracted an abundance of refusals. I clipped off the nymphs and added the caddis on a two foot dropper behind the hippie stomper. The fish continued to focus on the hippie stomper via refusals, so I defaulted to a single deer hair caddis, and that resulted in the aforementioned trout. I moved on to some very attractive longer side pools, but the solo caddis was ineffective, so I eventually removed it and reverted to a red hippie stomper trailing a size 18 dark olive stonefly imitation, that I designed myself. Miraculously in a nice pocket around a bend, I spotted a fish in a depression in front of a submerged rock, and once I floated the double dries over its position, the fish darted to the surface to grab the stonefly imitation. The hungry stream inhabitant was a ten inch rainbow trout, and it boosted my fish count to six.

Dan Landed a Pair from This Area

Dan was also catching trout sporadically, and he now caught up to me, as we approached a gorgeous deep run with attractive shelf pools on each side. I spotted a rise, but the trout ignored the stonefly, so I replaced it with a soft hackle emerger, that I greased with floatant. I hypothesized that the small soft hackle fished in the surface could imitate small stoneflies or blue winged olives, but the theory never gained traction with the fish of South Boulder Creek.

Likely Fish Holding Spot

Another move upstream placed me next to a nice deep shadowed pool, and I could see two fish finning in the tail area. I flicked the double dry, but the fish did not respond, so I swapped the soft hackle emerger for a parachute black ant size 18. I was certain that the trout could not resist a large juicy terrestrial, but I was again proven wrong. In a final act of desperation, I exchanged the ant for a size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis, and this fly was also treated like inert flotsam.

By this point is was 2:30PM, and another angler appeared in the nice pocket water ahead. I was weary and frustrated, and Dan readily agreed that it was time to leave and undertake the one mile hike from the creek back to the parking lot, so we quit for the day. Sunday was admittedly somewhat disappointing from a fish count perspective, but the weather was favorable, and we managed to land a few wild jewels from the clear tailwater. Most importantly I was able to spend some rare time with my son, and that was the most valuable gift for me on Sunday, October 15 on South Boulder Creek.

Fish Landed: 6

Big Thompson River – 10/10/2023

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Canyon below Lake Estes

Big Thompson River 10/10/2023 Photo Album

Last week on a trip with Amy and Jane to a relatively remote area in Colorado, I relapsed into my gastrointestinal illness. I was in a difficult situation, as there was only a couple outdoor hotspots, where I was able to obtain cell phone reception, and the closest pharmacy was thirty miles away. Fortunately I was able to connect with the office of my primary care physician, and we used scheduled call back times to generate a prescription at the closest town. Jane and Amy made the 1.5 hour roundtrip on Thursday, October 5, and this enabled me to initiate my dosage that same day. Although I missed two days of highly anticipated hiking with my wife and daughter, the medicine kicked in and alleviated my concern over the four hour return drive on Saturday.

By Monday I was feeling close to normal, and with another very fine autumn day forecast for Tuesday, I made plans for another fly fishing adventure. My initial thoughts revolved around South Boulder Creek, but when I checked the flows, I noted that they elevated from 5.6 CFS to 80 CFS in one single twist of the valve on Monday, so I was concerned that the dramatic change would impact the willingness of the trout to feed. I am convinced that large changes in stream levels require a period of adjustment for the cold water inhabitants. I moved on to look at other Front Range possibilities. I settled on the Big Thompson River, as the flows were 60 CFS, the high temperatures in Estes Park were in the 65 degree range, and fly shop reports were favorable. Based on past experience, I knew that 60 CFS represented nearly ideal flow rates.

Deep Run

I arrived at the highway pullout by 11AM, and the air temperature was 57 degrees. I wore a long sleeved undershirt, but that was the extent of my layering, as I was convinced that the temperature would quickly warm to comfortable levels. For my casting tool I chose my old Sage four weight, and after I hiked down the road a decent distance, I waded into the river (more like a creek) and began fly fishing at 11:30AM. To start my advance on the local trout population I armed my line with a size 8 tan pool toy hopper, a salvation nymph and a beadhead RS2. Quite a few flying grasshoppers flushed from the roadside vegetation, as I strolled along the shoulder of the road, and this prompted my choice of the pool toy hopper. Fall baetis hatches are prevalent on Colorado streams; and, thus, the RS2 nymph assumed a position on the end of my line.

In the first thirty minutes I progressed a short distance upstream, and I managed to fool one small six inch brown trout on the salvation nymph, before I adjourned for my lunch break on a wide flat rock in full sunshine. I also momentarily hooked a better fish on the hopper and temporarily connected with a smaller finned resident on one of the nymphs. Three refusals to the hopper were also part of the morning experience.

Nice Pastel Colors

After lunch I decided to downsize, and I replaced the hopper with a peacock hippie stomper while allowing the other nymphs to remain in place. In a short amount of time a small rainbow trout grabbed the hippie stomper, but then I suffered through an extended period with only stomper refusals to show for my efforts. I paused to reevaluate, and I concluded that the nymphs were not a desired food source, as nearly all the interactions with trout were on the surface. I nipped off the nymphs and replaced them with a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis on a twelve inch dropper. The stomper/caddis combination yielded a small brown trout that grabbed the caddis; however, most of the activity involved refusals to the hippie stomper.

Looks Promising

Respectable Brown Trout

Edge Water Produced

I removed the distracting hippie stomper and settled on a solitary deer hair caddis as my offering. I focused my casts to the small slow pools along the edge of the river, and I was rewarded with four very nice brown trout. This portion of my day elapsed between 1:00PM and 2:15PM. Eventually the caddis began to generate refusals as well, but I observed fairly frequent rises to surface foods that were too small to detect. I suspected a mid-afternoon blue winged olive hatch, so I clipped off the caddis and replaced it with a CDC BWO.

Recovering

Rising Fish in This Area

The transition to the CDC BWO occurred, as I approached a long smooth pool that spanned the entire riverbed, and sporadic rises appeared throughout the pool For the next hour I cast the CDC BWO to rising fish, and I managed to boost the fish count from seven to ten. Two of the landed fish were medium sized browns; however, one was a very respectable chunky twelve inch rainbow. I made a significant number of casts throughout this time period, and the fish were by no means competing for my fly. Quite a few regular risers absolutely ignored my fly, and quite a few more looked at and refused the small CDC puffs. I swapped the CDC BWO for a soft hackle emerger fished with floatant on the body, but this ploy was ineffective. Near the end of my time on the water I converted to a size 22 CDC BWO with a small medium dun hackle, and this duped the rainbow trout, but it was also refused and ignored as frequently as the CDC BWO without hackle.

Flipped Around

By 3:30PM I progressed to the top of the run and pool, so I retreated along the south bank and crossed at the shallow water near the tail. The shadows lengthened across the river, and the absence of the sun’s rays sent chills through my back. I could have added my raincoat for an extra layer of warmth, but I attained double digits, and it was 3:30 and time to make the drive home.

Tuesday was a fun bonus day of fly fishing after another bout of illness, and I appreciated it. The action was not fast and furious; however, I managed to reach double digits, and at least four of the trout measured in the eleven inch range. Fishing dries in October is always appreciated, and I managed to formulate tactics to net a few nice fish with the caddis along the banks of the river. The weather is supposed to cool significantly over the next few days but then return to warmer temperatures Sunday through early next week. Perhaps I will post another fishing report before the cold weather moves in to stay.

Fish Landed: 10

Eagle River – 10/03/2023

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: Private water near Eagle, CO

Eagle River 10/03/2023 Photo Album

My friend, Dave G., invited me to fish the private water of the Eagle River with him on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Jane and I joined Dave G. and his wife, Beth, for dinner on Monday night, and then we stayed over in Eagle, CO.

Tuesday morning was very dreary with overcast skies and rain, so Dave G. and I took our time before departing for the river. When we arrived at the crude parking area, the air temperature was 46 degrees, but the sun broke through among heavy clouds. I chose my Sage R8 four weight and wore my North Face light down coat. We hiked a short distance to the A section, and we were positioned on the water fly fishing by 11:00AM.

I copied Dave G. and launched my pursuit of trout with a yellow fat Albert, a green-black Pat’s rubber legs, and a size 20 blue-green perdigon. In the early going I managed to land a small rainbow and brown trout on the perdigon, but then my fortunes tumbled, as I suffered through a lengthy fish drought. Dave G., meanwhile, was rocking, and his catches included a twenty plus inch cutbow.

Stunning Relatively Large Trout

Wide Riffle Was Productive

After a lengthy lull, I asked Dave G. for one of his olive-green perdigons (I will tie some of these this winter), and he obliged. I swapped the unproductive Pat’s rubber legs for a salvation nymph, and I exchanged my perdigon for the olive-green version from Dave G. I approached a  long and wide riffle that screamed trout, and I began to toss the three fly dry/dropper to the top of the section, as I covered all the feeding lanes. I fished from the top and moved steadily downriver for thirty yards, and I concentrated on the seam that bordered the fast moving main current. This section was easily my most productive on the day, as I landed four rainbows. The first netted fish was a football shaped sixteen inch rainbow that snagged the salvation nymph. The girth of this fish barely allowed me to get a grip around the body. The other three were fat gems in the fourteen inch range. I was beyond excited after this early afternoon session.

I Can Barely Get My Hand Around the Body

Faint Slash on This Cutbow

For the remainder of my time on the river, I progressed steadily upstream, and I doubled the fish count to twelve. Four of the additional catches were chunky thirteen and fourteen inch slabs that displayed iridescent pink and purple stripes. All the fish landed after the first two inhaled the olive perdigon except for number three which grabbed the salvation nymph.

Love This Head Shot

Screams Trout

Tuesday exceeded my expectations, and the size of the fish was superb. The weather gradually improved, although there were periods of heavy overcast with intermittent blasts of wind. I pulled on my rain shell as a windbreaker at lunchtime and added my billed hat with earflaps. More October outings such as Tuesday would be greatly appreciated.

Fish Landed:12

My Host, Dave G.

North Fork of the White River – 09/29/2023

Time: 10:45AM – 2:45PM

Location: National forest

North Fork of the White River 09/29/2023 Photo Album

Friday was my last day in the Flattops, and I was rather pleased with my first three days particularly after enduring a lengthy sickness due to an adverse reaction to antibiotics. A fairly lengthy hike to and from my fishing spot on the South Fork of the White River punctuated my physical recovery. For Friday I chose a destination that allowed me to quit by 3:00PM and avoided a lengthy return hike to the car. Once again I chose the North Fork, and I was positioned at a roadside pullout, as I prepared to fish at 10:00AM. I got off to a later than desired start, as I waited until the Ute Lodge office opened at 9:30 in order to pay my remaining bill and check out.

Prime Leaf Viewing

Friday was another glorious late September day, as the temperature rose from 57 degrees, when I began, to the low seventies at the peak. Since I expected to fish dry/droppers and double dries, I chose my Loomis two piece five weight to take advantage of the slower action for casting larger flies. I also favored the slightly shorter length on the relatively narrow high elevation creek. A twenty minute hike placed me on the bank of the river, and I began fly fishing at 10:45AM. To begin my fly fishing experience, I knotted a size 8 tan pool toy hopper to my line as the surface fly, and beneath it I attached a beadhead hares ear nymph and a salvation nymph. In the first decent riffle area, two small rainbows attacked my flies, as one gulped the hopper, and the other snatched the salvation. I was off and running with an auspicious start. I continued my progression upstream through a fairly narrow and high gradient section, and I was careful to focus on only the prime locales with slower current and depth to afford the resident trout security from overhead predators.

Depth of Color Impressive

By the time I broke for lunch at 11:45AM, the fish count rested on five, and I was quite pleased with my first hour endeavor. Number five was a stunning copper colored cutbow, but it crushed the hopper and wrapped the trailing nymphs in a ridiculous snarl that included tight knots and loops. It took me at least ten minutes to unwind the damage, but at least the hassle was somewhat worthwhile with the nice trout as a reward.

Prime Spot

Zoomed Closer

After lunch I continued to employ the same offerings, and the fish count slowly crept to twelve, but frequent refusals combined with blowing up prime spots, when the dropper nymphs snagged on rocks and sticks. suggested that a change was in order. In spite of these downsides to the 11:45 to 1:15 period, my catch included quite a few respectable cutbows and rainbows in the twelve to thirteen inch range. Most of the larger fish smashed the hopper, so I was reluctant to abandon it, but the terrestrial was also responsible for looks and refusals that detracted attention from the nymphs. Interestingly, the number of brook trout to rest in my net was only a few small ones, and this would be the case for the remainder of my time on the water. I theorized that the older, adult brookies were busy procreating and not eating, and this left the feeding open for the cutbow population.

Prime Spot

Despite my reluctance to abandon the target of larger trout in the stream, I replaced the pool toy with a peacock hippie stomper, and in an effort to reduce the frequency of bottom snags, I opted for a one fly nymph dropper on a three foot leader and chose the salvation nymph. This combination remained on my line until I quit at 2:45PM, and I was quite pleased with the results.

Bronze, Light Green and Pink

I progressed upstream and prospected the two fly set up in all the prime locations that offered depth, slower current and length; and the trout responded. I increased the fish count from twelve to twenty-nine before I quit at 2:45PM in order to achieve my goal of departing for the long drive home no later than 4:00PM. For the most part, if I cast to an attractive spot, the fish responded. The salvation nymph became the food morsel of choice, and I estimate that thirty percent smacked the stomper on the surface and the other seventy percent nabbed the salvation on the drift.

Narrow Section

The quality of the fish was outstanding. I had a difficult time resisting photographing every fish, as they either displayed splendid color schemes, or they were chunky fish in the thirteen inch range. I moved at a fast pace and dropped three to five casts in likely spots, and in the process covered nearly a mile of stream real estate. I love this style of fishing, and the mild weather and the warm glow of the aspens accentuated my fun day. I quit at 2:45PM, which was earlier than I planned, because I was unsure of my exit strategy, but I climbed two steep banks and zig zagged through an aspen grove, before I spotted the road and found my way back to the car.

Rose Predominates

Although I posted a greater number day on Wednesday, Friday may have been my favorite day of the trip. I suspect that another hour on the stream would have enabled me to surpass Tuesday’s big number day, and the cutbows and rainbows were somewhat larger than Tuesday’s haul. I have plans to return to the Flattops next week, but the weather will be cooler; however, I expect that I might be able to carve out another day on the North Fork. Friday’s section might be perfect for a return.

Fish Landed: 29

South Fork of the White River – 09/28/2023

Time: 11:45AM – 4:00PM

Location: National forest

South Fork of the White River 09/28/2023 Photo Album

When I made plans to visit the Flattops during the last week of September, I was uncertain whether I would attempt my annual hike in to the South Fork. This venture is typically my most arduous day of the week, and after enduring a three week layoff and significant illness, I reasoned that it was a good idea to skip it in 2023. That was before the area was blessed with balmy early fall temperatures that hovered in the sixty to seventy-five degree range. Tuesday and Wednesday were solid from a health standpoint, so I took the plunge and invested one day on the South Fork.

When I arrived at the trailhead, the temperature registered 50 degrees, but I knew that once the sun crept over the mountain ridge to the east, the atmosphere would quickly warm. I elected to deploy my Sage One five weight, as I favored the long and heavier rod, in case I tangled with some energized South Fork rainbows and cutbows.

Number One Grabbed Just Below the Rock

After I established a decent buffer from the trailhead, I cut to the river, and my watch displayed 11:30AM, so I immediately devoured my small snack. As I munched my sandwich, a decent trout darted to the surface to sip a food item trapped in the surface film of a small eddy twenty-five feet above the log I was resting on. I continued to observe, and a second subtle surface grab appeared several feet away from and below the eddy. Given this activity I decided to open with Jake’s gulp beetle. I plopped ten casts in the area, but the targeted sipper never made a move. Maybe the second rise was focused on a caddis? I replaced the beetle with a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis, but it was also ignored.

Nice Length

I decided the random feeder was no longer hungry, so I changed my lineup and waded across the river to the south side. I was now in prospect mode, and I tied a size 8 tan pool toy to my line followed by a 20 incher on a four foot dropper and then added another twelve inch leader with an emerald caddis pupa. I flipped some casts to a slow-moving deep run between an exposed boulder and the swift main current, and on the third cast the hopper disappeared. I suddenly found myself connected to a hard fighting cutbow, and after a five minute battle I dipped the net beneath my prize. My net was occupied with a fat fifteen inch fish that grabbed the 20 incher.

Thick Body

My optimism soared, but I had to endure an hour of fruitless casting, before I enjoyed more action. In this case I lobbed the three fly dry/dropper in a narrow but deep slot between two faster currents. Near the end of the drift the hopper disappeared, and once again an angry fish streaked down and then up the river. I held tight and after a short but spirited fight, I witnessed another fat slab of a cutbow in my net. This adversary was also fifteen inches but definitely very thick and heavy, and it displayed vivid colors particularly the bright orange-red cheeks. Between “red cheeks” and 2PM I endured nothing but fruitless casting and boredom.

Trout Home

I continued to focus on deep areas with slower current velocity, but spots that matched this criteria failed to deliver. Finally at 2PM I changed up with a major new rigging. I went to my stalwart peacock hippie stomper with a beadhead hares ear in the upper nymph position and a salvation nymph at the end of the line. Finally in a small slow side channel, I landed a small rainbow on the hares ear, and then shortly thereafter another ten inch rainbow smacked the hippie stomper. I was beginning to wonder what happened to the small fish that I typically slide in my net on the South Fork.

Pointing Upstream

Productive Spot

I advanced up the river to the point, where the main river was once again one channel. The riverbed was narrower in this stretch, and this created more attractive deep pockets and runs. Since I had success with the small rainbows in slower water near the bank, I began focusing my casts to slow pockets and deep slower runs along the left bank. For the next hour I was on fire. I landed four hard charging rainbows and cutbows, and it felt like I was in a different river. This transpired between 2:30PM and 3:30PM. Casts along the bank that were previously ignored suddenly drew aggressive attacks. The first of this quartet of eaters was a magnificent seventeen inch cutbow that smashed the hippie stomper. I could hardly believe my good fortune, when I guided the behemoth into my net. What a beast of a wild fish!

Hard Fighter

Another Sweet Spot

Two of the others were very respectable thirteen inch chunks, and these wild fish put on noble displays of streaking, rolling and head shaking. As quickly as the river turned on, it ended. I once again made an exorbitant number of futile casts to similar water types, but now the trout had lockjaw. The shadows extended across the river except for a narrow band along the left bank. I continued in spite of glare and difficulty following the white wing of the hippie stomper, and finally a drift through a deep and narrow band of slower water produced another feisty thirteen inch rainbow. I celebrated reaching double digits and initiated the hike back to the car.

Lovely Pink Accents

Thursday was all about quality over numbers. I remain curious over the status of the smaller fish. It was a struggle to achieve double digits, but six quality fish found my net including a seventeen inch beauty and two fifteen inch slabs. The one hour window between 2:30PM and 3:30PM saved my day. Of course the weather and scenery were perfect, and the fall foliage remained near its prime. I have one more day, before my Flattops trip reaches its end.

Fish Landed: 10

The Return Hike

North Fork of the White River – 09/27/2023

Time: 10:45AM – 5:00PM

Location: National Forest

North Fork of the White River 09/27/2023 Photo Album

After a promising start to my Flattops trip on my arrival day, Tuesday, I was rather excited for a full day outing on Wednesday, September 27. Would I be disappointed? For Wednesday’s adventure I chose a different section of the North Fork. The temperature when I departed from the Pine Cabin was 42 degrees, so I was in no rush to begin my fly fishing day. I was favorably surprised that the temperature was 57 degrees, when I pulled into the parking space next to my chosen trailhead. The sun was warming the atmosphere quickly, and the deep blue sky was devoid of clouds. I pulled on my rain shell for a bit of warmth, but I stuffed it in my backpack after thirty minutes of fly fishing, rock scrambling, and log rolling. My fly rod choice was my Loomis two piece five weight. The Loomis stick is shorter than my Sage options, and it offers a slower action, which I favor for casting large foam flies, dry/droppers and double dries.

Great Beginning

Typical Brawling Section

By the time I was ready and hiked to the creek, it was 10:45AM, and I noted this as my start time. I knotted a size 8 tan pool toy to my 4X tippet and then added a 20 incher on a relatively short dropper. The two fly combination yielded four trout, before I paused for lunch at 11:45AM. Two were ten to eleven inch cutbows, and two were smallish brook trout. Two of the morning catch smashed the hopper and two nabbed the 20 incher. The beginning portion of the section I chose was characterized by high gradient; and, therefore, lacking prime deep pools and long runs, so I was reasonably pleased with my morning.

Vermiculation Impressive

Roy G Biv Example

Home to Trout

After lunch, however, my concern over a lack of action increased. Admittedly the creek continued to rush downward at a rapid pace, so attractive spots continued to be a scarce commodity, but I plateaued at seven after two hours of intense fly fishing. I decided a change was in order, so I elected to try a double dry that featured the trustworthy peacock hippie stomper along with a medium olive body size 14 stimulator. The stimmy attracted a fish almost immediately, but when I moved on to the lower end of a spectacular pool, I witnessed a long look and rejection from what appeared to be a respectable rainbow. Rather than moving on, I did what I rarely do, and I swapped the stimulator for a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. I launched at least twenty casts to the sighted trout, and it looked a few times, but it refused to eat my offerings. I shifted my attention to the equally attractive top half of the pool, and I managed a very brief connection. After five minutes of frustration, I flicked a downstream cast beneath a branch, so that the dries drifted over my reluctant friend. It worked, and the trout rose and drifted back under the hippie stomper and eventually nipped it. I followed the entire act and set the hook expeditiously, but the rainbow cleared the surface and slipped free.

Copper Tone

Yellow to Orange Belly

A few more pools failed to ignite confidence in the caddis, so at 1:15PM I replaced it with a salvation nymph on a short leader that remained from the double dry set up. I finally stumbled into fast action, and over the remainder of the afternoon I elevated the fish count from ten to forty-two! The hippie stomper and salvation were constants, but I also experimented with several flies in the middle position that included a tan caddis pupa, a yellow PMD emerger, an iron sally, an ultra zug bug, a yellow emergent caddis pupa, and an emerald caddis pupa. This entire group of add on flies probably accounted for three fish, but two were quite nice and deeply colored cutbows. The overwhelming favorites for the fish were the hippie stomper and the salvation nymph, and I estimate they split the catch 50/50.

Rare Pool As Wide as Creek Bed

On Display

What about the quality of the trout? It was outstanding. Approximately twenty netted fish were brook trout, and as expected quite a few were in the six to seven inch range, but I also played my share of ten and eleven inch trophies with hooked jaws and pumpkin colored bellies. The other twenty plus trout were robust wild cutbows, rainbows and cutthroats. In the latter stages of my outing I landed at least three gorgeous cutbows in the form of thick slabs that measured fourteen and fifteen inches. These catches were gratifying prizes. In addition, I probably landed ten rainbows and cutbows in the twelve to thirteen inch range, and these were much appreciated within the confines of the relatively small creek. The cutbows and cutthroats were deeply colored with that light copper background body and large black spots accented by a thin red stripe, red cheeks, and the iconic orange slash.

Zoomed in a Bit

Pointed Toward Home

What a day! My slump on Clear Creek was in the rearview mirror, and hopefully my body can hold up for another full day on Thursday. The weather is forecast to be spectacular once again.

Fish Landed: 42

North Fork of the White River – 09/26/2023

Time: 1:30PM – 4:30PM

Location: National forest

North Fork of the White River 09/26/2023 Photo Album

After a rough outing on Clear Creek on Friday, September 22, I was anxious to atone. I suffered through a severe illness from Labor Day through September 19, and I was feeling well enough to resurrect the idea of a Flattops trip. I did it. Jane helped me book three nights at the Pine Cabin at the Ute Lodge from Tuesday, September 26 through Thursday, September 28 and departing on Friday, September 29. I was undecided about whether to fish on my departure day, but I decided to allow the quality of the fishing to dictate that decision. Another factor prompting my decision to undertake the Flattops trip later that usual was the weather. I had reconciled myself to the fact that my annual trip was not in the cards, until I examined the Weather Underground forecast. The closest stations were in Yampa, CO and Meeker, CO; and both predicted highs in the low to upper seventies with virtually no threat of precipitation. Surely I needed to take advantage of this window of prime fall weather.

I departed Denver at 8:15AM on Tuesday morning and arrived at my chosen fishing destination by 12:40PM, and I elected to chow down before preparing to fish. As forecast, the temperature was in the mid-sixties, so I chose to wear only my fishing shirt and stuffed my raincoat in my backpack. With the expectation to tangle with some hot fish, I assembled my Sage R8 nine foot four weight. The only negative through my three hours of fishing was a fairly persistent wind.

Great Beginning

I began my quest for rainbows and cutbows with a size 8 tan pool toy hopper and a size 12 beadhead prince. In the first nice deep pocket, a feisty rainbow gobbled the prince, and I was on my way. Next a pair of small rainbows barely over six inches grabbed the prince, but this welcome but underwhelming action was accompanied by quite a few looks and refusals to the hopper. Number four emerged from a prime deep run to smash the hopper, and this reinforced my belief in the pool toy, but another string of refusals caused me to reevaluate.

Slick Behind the Rock

Respectable

Keeping Wet

I elected to swap out the pool toy for a size 8 yellow fat Albert, and then I added a 20 incher and a salvation nymph. This combination clicked, and I boosted the fish count from four to twenty by the time I quit at 4:30PM. Eight of the trout landed on the dry/dropper combination ranged in size from twelve to fifteen inches, and these cutbows and rainbows were hard charging and thick wild fish. The fifteen inch beauty was a certifiable wide slab with gorgeous scarlet coloration. Of course, the remainder of the trout were small juveniles in the seven to ten inch slot, but they were colorful jewels in the backcountry setting. One of the trout in the five to twenty count sequence nailed the fat Albert, and the remainder snatched the salvation or 20 incher. I estimated that the salvation outperformed the 20 incher by 60% to 40%. I covered a lot of water in three hours by skipping marginal spots, as I cherry-picked deep runs and large pools. It seemed that depth was the main factor that attracted trout and particularly the larger fish.

Foam Line Promising

Dense Spots

Of course , a day would not be perfect without a bit of adversity, and I endured my dose of hardship. I was paused on six trout, when I approached a gorgeous narrow pool and deep run. I landed two very fine rainbows, and then I tossed a cast to a promising spot where two currents merged to form a deep V slot. The hopper paused, and I quickly set the hook and connected with what felt like a decent fish. Before I could gain control, however, the obstinate fighter turned its head, and the fly slid free. The pent up energy caused the flies to slingshot around a dead branch high above me. I was not ready to surrender these flies, so I started breaking off the lower branches. I made progress, but the dead branch that captured my flies was out of reach. I found a large rock that boosted my reach, so that I could grab the target branch just beyond the junction with the main trunk, but in spite of being dead wood, it remained strong enough to resist breaking. I inched my hands outward on the branch, but I lost my grip and fell backward into the edge of the river. Fortunately I landed on my backpack, so there was no bodily injury, but in spite of my quick response in righting myself, my shirt and undershirt were soaked, and spillover ice cold water slowly trickled down my long underwear and saturated my socks. On a positive note I limited the overflow enough, so that my feet were not sloshing in their neoprene booties.

Red Cheek and Matching Red Spot on the Tail

Under the Evergreen

As a footnote, after my spill I grabbed one of the dead branches that I broke off early on, and it had a notch, which I was able to hook over the dead branch that held my flies. I applied minimal pressure, and the end of the branch tumbled into the edge of the river, where I quickly grabbed it and untangled and recovered my flies. Why didn’t I try this sooner? I was roughly half way to my exit point, so I had no recourse except to grimace and move. When I was in the sun, I remained fairly comfortable, but the shade and wind put me between chilled and shivering. My shirt dried somewhat, and the wet suit effect caused the wet socks and long underwear to warm a bit, but the remainder of the afternoon was a bit of a struggle. Fortunately the post-fall period coincided with steady action and upstream movement, and this distracted me to some degree from my wet sponge state.

Another Fine Rainbow

Tuesday was a fun day on the North Fork of the White River. I gained confidence after my tough outing on Clear Creek, and I landed twenty fish including ten robust fighters in the twelve to fifteen inch range. I solved the puzzle and eventually found fly combinations that met the criteria of the local trout. I look forward to tomorrow and another Flattops adventure.

Fish Landed: 20

Clear Creek – 09/22/2023

Time: 11:15AM – 3:00PM

Location: West of Idaho Springs

Clear Creek 09/22/2023 Photo Album

Friday was a success simply because I returned to fly fishing after a long hiatus due to injury and illness. The fly fishing itself was beneath my expectations, but being on a stream instead of tethered to my home was an improvement in my book. My last outing was on Maroon Creek on 08/30/2023, so I endured a 23 day layoff. I will not go into details here, but my woes began on the pickleball court, when I extended to return a shot by the net, stumbled and crushed my mouth in the metal net post. The pratfall necessitated three stitches, but the worst of it was the prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection. The pills caused an adverse reaction in my gastrointestinal tract, and I suffered for two weeks before I felt like a functioning human being again.

Lunch View

For my return outing, I did not want to travel too far, in case I suffered fatigue or a relapse, so I elected to test the waters of Clear Creek. In retrospect I should have paid more attention to the weather, because it was not very pleasant. When I arrived at the pullout, the dashboard thermometer registered 51 degrees in spite of an inviting 64 degrees, as I passed through Golden, CO. Adding to the discomfort was a cold wind that blasted along the top of the ridge overlooking the creek. I pulled on my fleece hoodie and topped it with my rain shell, but I decided against my hat with earflaps. That proved to be a poor decision, as I was chilled nearly my entire time on the narrow and largely shaded creek. Adding to my discomfort were my feet which turned into frozen stumps after an hour of wading.

Small But Pretty

The results of my upstream quest for trout certainly did not justify this taste of early winter-like fly fishing. I landed three small cutthroat trout during 3.5 hours of relatively intense fishing. In addition I hooked two temporarily that managed to quickly slip free, and I netted three tiny juveniles that did not meet my six inch threshold to count. Unlike an earlier trip to this area, I hardly saw any fish beyond those that I just mentioned. Normally steady action is accompanied by numerous looks and refusals, and fish that scatter upon my approach, but on Friday, this was not the case. I am baffled by this circumstance and can only hope that the creek is not the victim of an overzealous summer catch and kill crowd.

A Productive Spot

For flies I cycled through a peacock hippie stomper, size 16 gray deer hair caddis, beadhead salvation nymph, beadhead hares ear nymph, tan pool toy hopper and size 10 parachute hopper. I was really convinced that the realistic looking parahopper combined with the salvation nymph would unlock the code, but other than a pair of nymph eaters, it was not the ticket to success.

Coiled for Release

By 3:00PM my club feet condition forced me to exit and climb up the long bank and return to the Santa Fe. Adding to my resumption of fly fishing woes was a two hour and forty-five minute return drive due to road repairs on Interstate 70 just west of Wadsworth Blvd. Normally this trip takes one hour and fifteen minutes. Hopefully I can bounce back with more decent outings in what remains of September and October, before cold temperatures once again sideline this avid angler.

Fish Landed: 3

Maroon Creek – 08/30/2023

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Aspen Highlands and Maroon Lake

Maroon Creek 08/30/2023 Photo Album

Wow. I explored another high elevation mountain stream in Colorado. How was it? Read on.

In August of 2022 my wife, Jane, and daughter, Amy, accompanied me on an e-bike excursion from Aspen Highlands to Maroon Lake and back. Along the way I was in awe of Maroon Creek, as it tumbled along the valley floor toward its junction with the Roaring Fork River near Aspen, CO. I knew that one needed to take a shuttle from May through October to reach Maroon Lake and the fabled photography site for the Maroon Bells. Would the shuttle drop off fishermen at points in between? Fishing before and after the shuttle period was another option, but November and April would be quite chilly at that elevation. My daughter pointed out that autos were allowed to drive before 8:00AM or after 5:00PM. Given all the logistical issues with accessing Maroon Creek, I was convinced that the fishery was lightly pressured and worth the effort to explore.

On Wednesday, August 30, fly fishing on Maroon Creek became a reality. As I prepared for the Maroon Creek adventure, I called the White River National Forest ranger district office in Carbondale. The folks there were extremely helpful, and I found myself at the East Maroon Portal on Wednesday morning at 8:30AM. The air temperature was fifty degrees, so I procrastinated my preparation for thirty minutes, while I waited for the sun to rise and warm the high elevation valley. Eventually I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and pulled on my fleece and rain shell, and I crossed the pedestrian bridge to access the Maroon Creek Trail on the east side of the creek. The temperature eventually rose into the seventies, and I shed my rain shell, but I removed and added back the fleece several times during the day in accordance with the fluctuating cloud cover.

Massive Pool

The man that I spoke to at the ranger district office mentioned a huge and very popular pool downstream from the bridge crossing, and the young lady at the welcome station echoed his recommendation, so I veered to the left and wandered downstream along the trail for forty yards. Sure enough, a huge horseshoe shaped pool appeared where the creek made a sharp, greater than ninety degree bend. Wide shelf pools existed on both sides of the main current which deflected off the eastern bank and turned back toward the northwest. I found a gap in the bushes to allow unobstructed backcasts on the eastern bank, and I rigged with a tan size 8 pool toy hopper and a salvation nymph. I was new to the pool and somewhat intimidated by the size, but I began lobbing casts to the main current. The entire area was shrouded in shade, but a glare made following my fly difficult, as it bounced along the entering center current. Much to my surprise, as I was prospecting left, right and straight ahead; several rises appeared. I attempted to spot some casts in the vicinity of the surface feeders, but I managed only a refusal for my efforts. At least five rises were visible, so I decided to abandon the dry/dropper and switched to a single olive-brown size 14 deer hair caddis. A caddis is always my go to default, when I am uncertain about the source of trout feeding, but in this case the ploy failed, and after fifteen minutes of futile casting, I surrendered to the pool and resumed my original plan.

I walked back to the bridge and picked up the Maroon Creek Trail which paralleled the creek southward to the junction of East and West Maroon Creeks. A crude estimate on the parking lot map suggested that the creek ran a mile from the East Maroon Creek Portal to the confluence, so I hiked for .3 mile to get away from the parking lot but also to allow sufficient stream distance to cover over the course of the day. The trail began to angle uphill and away from the creek, so I cut through the woods and quickly found a space between the trees to access the creek.

This Small Pocket Produced Quite a Few Trout

Big Mouth

Between 10:00AM and 3:30PM I battled my way southward, and I landed thirty-six trout. This sounds like a resounding success, but this fish count was achieved with a large amount of adversity. The gradient for the .7 mile of creek coverage was rather severe, and this limited the fish holding lies quite a bit. At least four times I was forced to bash through thick bank vegetation in order to advance due to very swift current across the entire creek bed accompanied by thick brush and bushes tight to the water. The other downside was the size of the fish. Of the thirty-six fish that rested in my net, thirty-four were brook trout, and the largest of these catches stretched the measuring tape to ten inches. The predominant length was six inches, but these char made up for lack of size with their brilliant display of colors. Orange bellies, white-edged fins and elaborate patterns of aqua, green, yellow and purple vermiculation on the backs of these fish dazzled my eyes. Two of the landed trout were cutthroats, and these were eleven and twelve inch fish that offered significant pound for pound resistance.

So Pretty

Lots of Orange

I cycled through a range of flies during my day on the rapidly tumbling mountain stream, but the top producers were the size 8 tan pool toy hopper and a size 14 peacock hippie stomper. During the early morning session I utilized a deer hair caddis, the pool toy with a salvation nymph and then a prince nymph. By lunchtime at 11:45 these flies produced sixteen trout, but in truth all but one smacked the pool toy hopper. Ten of the sixteen trout came from two honey holes that featured slow current and at least four feet of depth. If I could find productive water, the fish were there.

Rare Trout Holding Spot

After lunch I switched to a single classic Chernobyl ant for the exceptional floatation qualities, but it only induced one take. Next I tried a yellow size 8 fat Albert with a salvation nymph dropper, and this combination delivered another hungry brook trout, but clearly I was bypassing some attractive spots with no success. I paused and analyzed the situation, and I converted to a single dry fly in the form of a tan-bodied size 14 chubby Chernobyl. I was optimistic about this fly, but it attracted one fish and then failed to produce thus provoking another change.

Under Control

For the remainder of the afternoon I cast a double dry offering, and the one constant was the hippie stomper. I boosted the fish count from eighteen to thirty-six, and the stomper was complemented with a purple haze and parachute green drake; and toward the end, the hippie stomper was fished solo. The purple haze and green drake accounted for a combined total of five fish, so the hippie stomper was the overwhelming star of the afternoon and only trailed the pool toy on the day.

Prime Pool

Pool Resident

Upper End of Pool Produced As Well

Toward the end of my adventure on Maroon Creek I encountered some massive deep pools upstream from some huge log jams. The water was over six feet deep with a significant amount of dead logs, and these locales harbored quite a few colorful brook trout. As I moved upstream, I monitored the surrounding terrain, and for awhile both sides of the creek featured steep banks, and I grew concerned about my ability to find an exit point. Beyond the last deep pool, the left ridge moderated, and when I approached a spot that was clear of trees and bushes, I decided to take advantage. At 3:30 I tucked my fly in the rod guide and mounted the bank, and then I ambled perpendicular to the stream through some tall grass and thistles, until I intersected with the trail. One mile later I was back at the parking lot and climbing out of my waders.

Cutthroat Number Two

Home of Cutthroat

Maroon Creek certainly ranks among my favorite outings of 2023, but unlike others that featured large fish or quantities of fish, the appeal of Wednesday was the feeling of remoteness and venturing, where others may not have attempted. I also felt a sense of accomplishment from being able to endure fast water and difficult wading conditions during my senior citizen status. I was extremely cautious, and in many circumstances I was very measured with each step or in planning my moves over logs, rocks and between nettlesome bushes and branches. Of course, the spectacular surroundings were another plus, and simply developing a successful plan that afforded access to Maroon Creek provided a deep sense of accomplishment. Would I return? Possibly. A lot of unexplored creek remains, and I suspect that some lower gradient sections might offer superior fly fishing. Getting familiar with a creek is another challenge that I enjoy. Wednesday was a lot of effort for small fish, but that is certainly part of the fly fishing equation.

Fish Landed: 36