Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Cache la Poudre – 04/12/2015

Time: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Above Mountain Park Campground and a picnic area downstream of the narrows area

Fish Landed: 7

Cache la Poudre 04/12/2015 Photo Album

Jane and I joined Debbie and Lonnie Maddox on a fun bike ride in Fort Collins on Friday, and the route included a brief stretch along the Cache la Poudre River. On Sunday Jane and I decided to undertake a fishing trip, and as I surveyed the stream options, I remembered that the Poudre looked clear and inviting as a destination. It had been many years since I fished the Poudre, but on Friday I realized that the distance from our house on the north side of Denver to the Poudre was actually shorter than trips to the South Platte River and Arkansas River. I checked out the St. Peter’s Fly Shop report on the internet, and this favorable piece of information clinched my decision.

Sunday turned out to be a nearly perfect day from a weather perspective. I inserted the word nearly because I did face my spring nemesis – strong wind. As Jane and I drove west along route 14 into the canyon, we noticed the limbs of the evergreens bending eastward as a result of the strong air currents. Sure enough when we parked along the highway just above the Mountain Park Campground, and I opened the car door, a blast of chilly air created a wind tunnel in the Kia Forte.

We had made the drive, so I resolved to make the best of the situation, and pulled on a fleece and windbreaker along with my New Zealand billed hat with ear flaps. I chose my Sage four weight rod, and decided to walk downstream along the shoulder for fifty yards and then dropped down to the river. The flow was around 120 cfs and this seemed to be nearly ideal to someone who does not have much experience on this northern Colorado waterway. The clarity of the water could not have been better, and in fact dictated stealth and caution when approaching pools.

Because of the strong headwind, I did not even consider a dry/dropper or dry fly approach and instead opted immediately for a nymphing rig. I attached a bright red indicator and then knotted a beadhead ultra zug bug to my line in the upper position, and below that I added a beadhead hares ear. I fished a nice deep run along the north bank with these nymphs and before long I hooked and landed a brown trout and then a small rainbow. I continued moving upstream looking for depth as the river had many wide shallow spots. I covered some juicy deep holes with no results, and then I spotted a couple small baetis tumbling along the surface of the stream. This observation prompted me to remove the hares ear and replace with a beadhead RS2. Over the next hour I covered quite a bit of river and managed to hook up with two more brown trout.

Long and Thin Brown Trout

The third fish came from a short pocket in front of a large vertical boulder on the north side of the river. I had pretty much given up on the spot when I allowed my flies to drift deep under the rock; a risky move that exposed my flies to snagging. It paid off however as a twelve inch brown grabbed the RS2, and I brought the hungry native to my net.

Nice Water Ahead

As I continued wading the south bank I reached Jane who was bundled in a blanket and multiple layers behind a large rock. She did not seem to be enjoying herself excessively, so I resolved to quit at 3PM. I prospected the subsurface flies farther upstream and added the fourth trout, but just before 3 I retreated to a point where the stream fanned out enough to offer a safe crossing point. When I reached Jane, we decided to drive back downstream so I could give one more spot a try.

Our second location was a nice picnic area just east of the narrows section. A gate blocked our ability to drive to the picnic area parking lot, so we parked in a small pull out just beyond the entrance. We walked down the paved road to the last picnic table where Jane prepared to read, and I walked down along the south bank for another fifty yards until I found a beautiful wide run and pool with a depth of four to five feet. The sparse blue winged olive hatch seemed to end, so I reverted to the ultra zug bug and hares ear combination and added a split shot in order to get my flies deeper in the beautiful run in front of me.

Ultra Zug Bug in Corner of Mouth

The strategy paid dividends as I landed  two browns from the best stretch of water of the day. I continued upstream to some deep slots below protruding boulders, and here I managed to land a third fish from the picnic area location. At this point I reached Jane, and fifteen minutes remained in my allotted hour of fishing time, so I moved to the slow deep pool next to the main portion of the picnic grounds. A tall bearded fly fisherman was at the top of the run that entered the pool, and this is the water I craved. I made some halfhearted casts to the slow section at the tail and midsection of the pool, but as I expected nothing materialized. The water above the long pool was wide and shallow and quite marginal, so I returned to Jane and called it quits.

Despite the stiff wind I managed seven trout in three hours and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering a stream that escaped my interest for twenty years. I will certainly return to this northern Front Range gem to do additional exploration during 2015.

Arkansas River – 04/07/2015

Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Salt Lick boat launch and then the area upstream of Pinnacle Rock with multiple channels

Fish Landed: 13

Arkansas River 04/07/2015 Photo Album

After two days on Front Range streams catching small trout, I was quite anxious to visit a larger river with the possibility of larger fish. However several additional reasons existed for my desire to undertake a fishing trip. A wider more open body of water would allow me to try out my new Sage One 9′ 5 weight rod that was presented to me as a retirement gift by my friends at Saddleback Design. In addition the weather forecast predicted highs in the low seventies, and this temperature range sparked feelings of spring fever.

I contacted my friend Steve Supple toward the end of the previous week and invited him to join me on a trip to the Arkansas River, and he readily accepted. The reports from ArkAnglers and Royal Gorge Anglers highlighted ideal stream flows, clear water and consistent blue winged olive hatch activities.

I picked Steve up at 7:30 at his house in Lone Tree, and we arrived at the pull out at the Salt Lick access in Big Horn Sheep Canyon between 9:30 and 10:00AM. When Steve and I opened the car doors to stretch and prepare to fish we were blown away…literally. Apparently our conversation was so engaging that we paid no attention to the blowing vegetation and bending trees along our route. The wind was continually gusting, and a cold bite made it even more unpleasant.

Near Starting Point at Salt Lick

We made the two plus hour drive so we were committed to spending some time on the river, but I have to admit that I was skeptical that we would have a productive day in the wind tunnel commonly known as Big Horn Sheep Canyon. In addition, casting into a gale force wind with a strike indicator and split shot was not exactly a true test of the casting qualities of my new Sage rod.

We tossed aside the adversity served up by Mother Nature and rigged our rods and descended the steps at the boat launch to the river. Steve claimed the nice deep run in front of the steps while I walked upstream a bit and tied on a 20 incher and pine squirrel leech. These are two large weighted flies, so I skipped adding split shot, but did loop a thingamabobber to my line just below the junction of the fly line and tapered leader.

I began casting my subsurface offerings to some attractive water with plenty of subsurface boulders, but the fish were not cooperating. Much of my time was spent turning my back to the raging wind currents to wait for conditions more suited to casting a fly. Even when the wind died back a bit, I was forced to over power my forward cast and this involved extending my stroke so that the tip almost touched the water.

An Early Brown Trout

A half hour went by with no action, so I clipped off the pine squirrel leech and replaced it with an ultra zug bug. Finally I saw the indicator dive and fought an eleven inch brown trout to my net only to discover that it was foul hooked. I wanted to count this fish as my first on the new rod, but I complied with my rule to exclude fish hooked in places other than the mouth. I released the brown and continued upstream and finally landed two fish that snatched the ultra zug bug from the swirling currents near the bank among rocky structure. At this point my upstream progression was blocked by a high vertical rock wall. I surveyed the situation and considered climbing the steep bank to circle above the structure, but then I thought better of it, and returned to the area that Steve was fishing below me.

By now it was 11 o’clock, so I told Steve that I would walk downstream along the shoulder of the highway and then fish back along the south bank and meet back with him by noon for lunch. Steve agreed with the plan, and I eagerly marched down the road for the distance of two football fields and carefully scrambled down a steep bank to the river. The next hour was the best of the day, as I moved along the bank and prospected nymphs in a series of deep slower moving side pockets where the fish could find refuge from the heavier current of the main river. I spotted two tiny BWO’s being swept from the surface of the river by the rushing wind, so I reconfigured my line to include the ultra zug bug as the top fly and added a RS2 as my point offering. Because I removed the weighted 20 incher, I crimped a split shot above the ultra zug bug.

Another Brown in the Net

The wind remained a constant adversary, but I found a bit of shelter behind boulders and made short 8-10 foot casts to the deep side pockets, and this resulted in six landed fish including one rainbow and five brown trout. All the fish were in the 9-12 inch size range, and two were fooled by the ultra zug bug with the other four snatching the RS2. I spotted several of the fish and managed to induce takes by providing movement to my flies before they reached the holding position of the fish.

This Guy a Bit Chunkier

Some juicy water remained between me and Steve at noon, but I honored my commitment and slowly negotiated the rocky bank until I reached the beach area below the parking lot. Steve and I grabbed our lunches and munched them on some large boulders that served as a barrier along the edge of the parking area along the top of the bank. We decided to move to new water after lunch, so we threw all our gear in the Kia, and drove along route 50 until we reached a pullout .5 mile above Pinnacle Rock The river in this area braids into four or five channels, and I had some success in this area in the past.

We experienced a bit of good fortune as the wind died back to a constant breeze and the air temperature was now in the low seventies. This was actually the weather I envisioned when I made plans for the trip. Steve began fishing some nice deep runs in the channel next to the highway while I hiked back along the shoulder to a spot fifty yards below the confluence of all the many branches. I began working my way along the rocky bank just below the shoulder of the highway convinced that my ultra zug bug and RS2 combination would continue to attract fish, but as is usually the case, my optimism was unfounded. I managed one brown that was actually visible as it snatched something from the surface. I had one remaining deep pool that fanned out below an overhanging tree next to the bank when Steve arrived and observed from the shoulder above me. Unfortunately this tasty stretch of Arkansas water did not produce, so I climbed the bank and joined Steve and we strode back to the car.

Steve was feeling quite tired due to some new medication, but it was 1:30, and I was still energized and anxious to try the north channel before we made the long drive back to Denver. I gave Steve the keys so he could access his water, and I set out to cross the closest channels to reach the northernmost branch of the river. Within a few minutes I reached the bottom segment of my destination, and I began to loft the tandem nymphs to some nice deep runs. The first attacker of the ultra zug bug was a ten inch brown, and then I ran the nymphs along a current seam on the north side of the river, and a feisty rainbow hammered the RS2 as it began to sweep at the end of the drift. These two fish put my fish count at ten, and I was quite pleased to reach this milestone in spite of the adverse windy conditions.

Nice Rainbow

I continued upstream working the nymphs and added another brown trout, and then I reached a stretch where there was a steady riffle over moderate depth that extended for forty to fifty feet. I noticed a few sipping rises and this caused me to speculate that this water was perfect for a dry/dropper approach. I was aching to cast dry flies with my new rod, so I made the switch. I removed the split shot and indicator and tied on a tan Charlie Boy hopper and then reattached the ultra zug bug and RS2. Guess what happened? The rod cast beautifully as the wind subsided to an occasional breeze, but the trout were not impressed. I covered the entire riffle area with no fish and no refusals.

One of the Four Braids

I decided to recognize this as a failed experiment, and took the time to return to my nymph set up, and the method once again proved itself as the superior technique for April 7. I landed two more fish including the best fish of the day, a fat thirteen inch rainbow, before quitting at 3PM. Both of these fish gulped the ultra zug bug, and the afternoon fish seemed to prefer the zug bug over the RS2. I found Steve waiting by the car, so I quickly removed my waders and stowed my gear, and we were on the highway headed for Denver.

Despite the frustrating gale force wind, I had a fine day and enjoyed breaking in my new rod and landed thirteen fish. I was able to cast a dry/dropper combination for fifteen minutes in the afternoon, and I was pleased with the performance of the new rod. It was a pleasant Tuesday in April, and I’m now addicted to retirement and week day fishing.

Clear Creek – 04/05/2015

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: Mayhem Gulch

Fish Landed: 5

Clear Creek 04/05/2015 Photo Album

Seventy-two degrees on April 5, Easter, is rather balmy. With no Easter egg hunts on the calendar Jane and I decided to enjoy the spring weather with a trip to Clear Creek Canyon. We arrived at the Mayhem Gulch parking lot at 10:30AM, and Jane prepared to do the hike that looped to Cathedral Dome, while Dave prepared to fish in Clear Creek. The fishing destination was not extraordinarily appealing as earth moving equipment and orange cones adorned the stream. Apparently a bike path is being constructed on the south side of Clear Creek.

No Traffic in This Photo

With the temperatures in the upper 50’s or low 60’s, I decided to forego any layers and descended to the slightly discolored Clear Creek with just a fishing shirt. Since the pine squirrel leech produced on the murky Eagle River, I opted to begin with a nymphing set up including the leech and an ultra zug bug. I fished this combination aggressively for a half hour with no results before switching the ultra zug bug for a red San Juan worm. This combination did not improve my results, so I exchanged the worm for a prince nymph. Again no fish, so another change was in order, and this time I clipped off the San Juan worm and tied on a bright green Go2 caddis.

After an hour of fishing I was skunked and frustrated, so I found a safe spot to exit the stream and climbed the steep bank to highway six and hiked back to the Mayhem Gulch parking lot. Jane was still in the midst of her hike, so I unlocked the car and enjoyed my lunch. I was a bit chilled during my one hour morning fishing experience, so I added my Adidas pullover and returned to the stream at the point where I exited. A significant head wind and canyon shadows made the air temperature feel five to ten degrees colder than the temperature reading.

Just before lunch I observed the first fish of the day as a shadowy form rose to inspect my bright pink-red strike indicator! While back at the car for lunch, I added a royal turk’s tarantula and royal stimulator to my front pack. I did not resort to these weapons immediately after lunch, but instead tested a tan pool toy trailing the ultra zug bug and subsequently a copper john. Neither of these offerings produced, so I swapped the pool toy for a Chernobyl ant, and I was still without a fish touching my net.

Large Fly for Small Brown Trout

I was pretty much resigned to a zero fish day and considered returning to the car to see if Jane returned, but in a final effort to break the slump, I tied the royal turk’s tarantula to my line and added a beadhead hare’s ear below it. I was positioned across from a slow moving side pool with numerous submerged boulders, so I lofted the huge attractor dry to the middle of the area. I was shocked to see a slender undernourished brown trout rise to the surface and suck in the tarantula. Apparently these trout were serious about looking for a touch of red in their meal.

Second Trout Came from This Area

Since this initial catch was on the far side of the creek, I found a place to wade across and worked my way up along the left (south) bank. The tarantula enticed two additional trout to the surface including a ten inch rainbow trout. The fish catching improved significantly over the morning doldrums, but it remained relatively slow with significant wading and casting between takes.

Rainbow Gulped Large Royal Turk’s Tarantula

After landing three fish, the large cumbersome attractor absorbed water and began behaving like a submarine with only the white poly tuft remaining above the surface. I grew weary of drying the waterlogged fly and clipped it and replaced with the royal stimulator. This move paid off with another small brown trout, and then I continued through another unproductive period until this fly also exhibited sinking tendencies.

One last change was in order, and this time I elected to tie on a dark olive size 14 stimulator. I approached a very attractive deep run, and fluttered the hackled stimulator to the top of the run. As it danced over the riffles and settled in the slower moving water near the tail, a small brown trout rose and gulped it. I was encouraged by this turn of events, but as I moved upstream and covered quite a bit of new water, I was unable to create any additional interest.

At 2:30 I reeled up my line and clipped the stimulator to my rod guide and made the long hike along the highway shoulder back to the car where I found Jane reading in her camp rocking chair. Five small fish over three plus hours was a bit disappointing, however, it was a pleasant Easter Sunday, and I enjoyed the outdoors in Colorado.

South Boulder Creek – 04/01/2015

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: Near the end of the trail then back up stream to the rock slide area

Fish Landed: 6

South Boulder Creek 04/01/2015 Photo Album

Retirement. When I was in my 30’s and 40’s this seemed like a goal that could never be attained. I worked long hours to earn promotions to support my wife and two children, and I could only dream of one day being retired. What would it be like to wake up each day and set one’s priorities while detached from work commitments? For the past seven years I enjoyed the flexibility of a part-time position, but since Jane’s retirement in June 2014 I yearned for even more freedom.

Retirement Gift from Saddleback Design

Today it began. Today was my first full day of unfettered life. What would I do? It was April 1, and the weather forecast projected highs in Denver in the low 70’s. Thursday and Friday conversely called for rain and cooler temperatures and even a rain and snow mix. Certainly I should take advantage of the last gasp of abnormally warm spring temperatures before old man winter paid a return visit to Colorado. Finishing taxes and catching up on mail and generating a post-retirement budget could wait until the bad weather rolled into Denver.

A gentleman at work told me that the stream conditions in South Boulder Creek were ideal, so I made this my choice to fish on Wednesday, April 1. Flows were 34cfs which is a bit low, but I did not check until I arrived back home at the end of the day. I arrived at the upper parking lot just after 10AM, and by the time I put on my waders and gathered all my necessary equipment for a day in the canyon and then hiked for a half hour, I began fishing at eleven o’clock. It was quite overcast and a chilly breeze blew down the canyon, and I wished I’d brought more layers than just the thin Marmot raincoat that was a Christmas gift from Jane. There were only a few other fishermen, so I had the freedom to wade and roam without any interference.

First Brown Landed on South Boulder Creek

I began my quest for South Boulder Creek trout by tying a dark olive caddis to my tippet, but after covering several attractive areas without so much as a refusal, I switched to a gray stimulator size 14. This did not change my fortunes so I converted to a Chernobyl ant trailing a salvation nymph and a RS2. Eventually this combination yielded a ten inch brown trout, and I was pleased to be on the scoreboard. Unfortunately this combination of flies did not live up to my heightened expectations, but I did manage another brown on the RS2 in a pool teaming with visible fish. It took a large quantity of casts to finally convince this fish to grab the trailing size 20 nymph. I observed small midges in the air, so I switched the RS2 for a beadhead zebra midge, but this did not seem to be what the fish were seeking. I could see them shifting their mouths from time to time to eat something in the drift, and they were hovering a couple feet below the surface.

A Very Inviting Pool

At 1PM I was feeling quite chilled as my feet turned to stumps, and I yearned for my New Zealand brimmed hat with earflaps and an extra fleece layer. I decided to pause and eat my lunch along the creek while warming my feet. During this lull the sun peeked out, and this warmed my body considerably. After lunch I abandoned the morning flies and returned to a beadhead hares ear with a non-beadhead soft hackle emerger, and these flies were topped by a Charlie Boy hopper. The period after lunch when the sun was bright was the highlight of my day, as I landed three more small fish, as two chomped the beadhead hares ear, and one snatched the soft hackle emerger. I never really saw any blue winged olives, but I used subsurface BWO imitations with the hope that they were in the drift.

A Nice Rainbow by South Boulder Creek Standards

By 2:30 some dark clouds rolled in from the west and blocked the sun, and I once again developed a chill. I had not landed a fish in the last 30 minutes, so I reeled up my line and hooked the soft hackle emerger to the rod guide. I had changed the Charlie Boy for a tan pool toy, and a RS2 replaced the hares ear, and then below that a beadhead soft hackle emerger replaced the one with no bead.

The Rainbow Out of the Net

I began hiking the Walker Loop Trail while anticipating the warmth of the Santa Fe, but when I arrived at the bridge, I stopped and observed the water downstream for a few minutes. I spotted a trout in a deep trough behind a large submerged boulder, so I decided to attempt to catch this sighted fish. I flicked the hopper and trailing flies ten feet above the visible trout and allowed them to drift downstream to the trough. In a flash the pool toy dipped, and I set the hook and landed a nice rainbow trout. This gave me a boost of confidence, so I continued fishing upstream above the bridge for a bit, but my luck expired, and I once again committed to hiking back to the car.

The weather was not what I anticipated, and six small trout over three hours is not the definition of hot fishing, but it still beat working. It was a great start to my retirement years, and hopefully I can continue to remain healthy and active so that I create more blog post experiences.

Brush Creek – 03/28/2015

Time: 3:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Private water up to Sylvan Lake Road bridge

Fish Landed: 2

Brush Creek 03/28/2015 Photo Album

Tom, Dave G. and I returned to the Gaboury house in Eagle Ranch and relaxed for a bit after eating our lunches. It was a gorgeous spring day in the Rocky Mountains and the temperature reached the low 70’s. By 2:30 we were sufficiently rested to embark on another fishing expedition, and this time we chose the convenient nearby Brush Creek. As we crossed the stream on our way back from the Eagle River, I glanced down and noted that Brush Creek was crystal clear.

We climbed back into our waders and jumped in my car and drove to the bridge where Brush Creek flows under Sylvan Lake Road. Our first move was to try the deep run just upstream from the bridge. Dave G. and Tom advanced to the sweet spot and began casting a dry/dropper, while I converted from deep nymphing to the dry/dropper technique. The flows were higher than during my visits in late summer and September, but still quite ideal as it was easy to read the likely fishing holding locations. Slapping a thingamabobber and split shot would have disturbed the water excessively, and snags and hang ups would have been frequent and frustrating.

Dave G. and Tom Stake a Nice Run on Brush Creek

I elected to tie on a small Chernobyl ant and added an ultra zug bug below it and then attached a beadhead soft hackle emerger. I was hoping that blue winged olives were present in Brush Creek, and fish had a long memory as we were a bit late in the afternoon to expect an emergence. Finally I was ready and began casting to some small marginal pockets below the long juicy run being prospected by Dave G. and Tom. No fish were evident, so I moved below the point of a tiny island and tossed a couple casts to a small deep run on the north side of the island. Nothing showed in the bottom half of the run, so I decided to go for broke and fired a cast to the very top. Unfortunately there was a small log protruding along the upper edge, and I wrapped my flies around it. I waded to the location of my tangle, and as I approached a nice trout bolted from cover and shot downstream. Disappointment reigned.

Dave G. extracted three browns from the premium run, and now we climbed back to the road, crossed, and walked across the grassy flat to the end of the private water. At this point we played hopscotch and alternated from one attractive hole to the next. Tom and Dave G. moved as a team, and Dave G. was assisting Tom in casting and reading the water. I made one jump when I reached a long narrow run next to a high undercut bank. I was just above Tom and Dave G. who were thoroughly and expertly covering the tail of the long run just below me.

I actually saw a small brown rise, so I I began drifting my three flies through the general area where the fish appeared, but my flies were ignored until on perhaps the fifth drift closer to the undercut, the Chernobyl dodged sideways. I executed a solid hook set and felt some significant weight, but it was only momentary, and the line went limp. When I reeled up my flies I discovered that the soft hackle emerger was missing so indeed my hook set was apparently more than solid.

Rainbow Rose Three Feet to the Left of the Log

On I moved leapfrogging the fishing tandem a few more times until I came to another twenty foot long run next to another protruding log. This log however was right in front of me, and I had no problem drifting my flies several feet to the left. On the second drift I spotted the flash of a fish refusing the Chernobyl, and usually this means I will have no success, but I ignored the norm and tossed another cast upstream so the flies drifted back along the current seam a foot or two to the left of the previous lane. Near the end of the drift I observed a fish slowly shifting to the left, and then it sipped the Chernobyl ant. This fish was a rainbow, and it put up a brief battle before I subdued it in my net and snapped a couple photos. This was my first fish caught on a dry fly in the new season, and the exhilaration of a surface take remains one of the highlights of fly fishing.

The Rainbow Extended

For the next hour I continued to skip around Tom and Dave G., but I was having no success. When the water is low and clear, I suspect that this method of fishing spooks a lot of fish as it is difficult to skirt the stream during the upstream detours. At any rate, my flies were no longer producing, and we finally reached the Sylvan Lake Bridge close to 5PM. Tom and Dave G. returned to the juicy run where they had begun their afternoon venture, and I once again worked some marginal spots below the bridge and then just above. I was wading to the bottom tip of the small island, when I saw Dave G. waving his arms. Clearly they wanted my presence, so I advanced to the base of the run and discovered a gorgeous brown trout in excess of 15 inches in Dave’s net. They were motioning me as Tom had landed this big boy, and they wanted to capture it in digital form. I snapped a photo of Tom holding the net and then a shot of the wild brown in the net and finally a couple shots of Tom gripping the brown with two hands.

A Beauty of a Brown Trout

Once my photography chores were complete, Dave G. suggested I take one last shot at the fish that I spooked on the other side of the small island, so I obliged. I did not require much encouragement. I cautiously positioned myself at the tip of the island and once again made a few short casts at the tail to no avail. It was now time to go for all the marbles so I lofted a cast to the top of the run, but learned from my past mistake and avoided the log. As the Chernobyl drifted back along the small current seam a fish nosed the surface and sucked in the fraudulent ant. I reacted and played a 13 inch brown to my net. Again I snapped photos and then gently nudged the catch back into the stream.

Deep Golden Color on this Fish

It was an exciting end to a pleasant afternoon on Brush Creek. After an enjoyable morning on the Eagle River, two nice trout landed on Brush Creek were nice additions to a successful early spring day of fishing.

Eagle River – 03/28/2015

Time: 11:00AM – 1:00PM

Location: Red cliff area below the route six bridge downstream from BLM campground area near Wolcott

Fish Landed: 4

Eagle River 03/28/2015 Photo Album

Early in each new season I am torn between experimenting with new flies I constructed over the winter or going with my old productive standbys. It is fun baptizing new flies, but at the same time I am anxious to catch fish, and I reserve the most confidence for flies that served me well in the past.

Our friends the Gaboury’s invited Jane and I to join them at their new home in Eagle Ranch over the last weekend of March, and naturally we jumped on this opportunity. The weekend projected as a fly fish and ski adventure, so I packed skiing equipment and fishing equipment and in a streak of foolish judgment, I loaded our mountain bikes to the rack as well. When would I have time for all of this over two days?

Jane and I had just returned from Big Bend National Park, so we busied ourselves with unpacking and repacking on Thursday morning before departing at 3PM. We were on the go since Friday March 20, and we were both feeling mentally fatigued with travel and the associated disruption to our routines.

Skiing conditions were spring-like on Friday with afternoon temperatures touching sixty degrees, and this translates to slushy sticky snow. The morning was decent, but Saturday’s weather projected to be even warmer, so Dave Gaboury and I decided to trade our ski poles for fly rods. Dave G.’s friend Tom Buchanan was visiting as well from Kansas City, so three of us made plans for a fun early season outing. Dave G. always prefers to fish Brush Creek, and the stream did in fact look quite attractive with clear water and ideal flows, but we opted for the Eagle River as it afforded more space for three fishermen to spread out.

After a stop at the Vail Valley Outfitters in Edwards where Tom and Dave G. purchased fishing licenses, we reversed our tracks to a downstream area of the Eagle River below Wolcott and then below the route six bridge. A tributary was dumping stained snowmelt above our position rendering the river a light pea green color with around 18 inches of visibility along the edges. Dave G. and I decided that this was good enough for hungry fish, and the young gentleman at the fly shop suggested that we could expect a blue winged olive hatch between 11AM and 2PM.

Typical Water Fished on the Eagle River

The three of us rigged our rods and pulled on our waders, and Dave G. and Tom preferred to fish downstream, so I grabbed the chance to fish some nice deep side pockets just below the car. After I carefully descended the steep bank and arrived at the river, I spent a fair amount of time rigging with a thingamabobber, pine squirrel leech, and ultra zug bug. This is where the decision described in the first paragraph became reality. I was anxious to break in the pine squirrel leeches that I produced during the winter, but I did not have extensive experience with them in Colorado. They certainly delivered a lot of rainbows on the North Platte River in Wyoming, but would they be favored by Eagle River trout during the early spring season?

I decided to give one of the conehead varieties a try, as I hoped this would act in lieu of a split shot, and the dark color of the natural leech fur would contrast nicely with the green off color water. I began lofting the flies upstream and allowed them to dead drift back toward me, and as I lifted to make each cast, I marveled at the pulsing lifelike movement of the pine squirrel strip. Surely this would attract the attention of any fish present in the Eagle River.

Nice Shot of 13″ Rainbow

Sure enough as I moved to the second attractive section of soft water between the bank and the swift current seam, I felt a jolt and set the hook and fought a feisty 13 inch rainbow to my net. I was thrilled with this early success and paused to photograph the iridescent rainbow trout that vindicated my fly tying efforts.

I moved on and went through a bit of a dry spell, and I observed a few blue winged olives fluttering up from the stream. The ultra zug bug was proving to be an irrelevant trailing dropper, so I swapped it for a RS2. This proved to be a solid move, and as I jigged the large leech and the tiny RS2 in front of a set of large boulders, a fish latched on to one of my offerings. Again I intuitively set the hook, and this time I felt more weight and battled a strong fighter for a minute or two. Eventually I slid my net beneath a fifteen inch rainbow and noted the tiny RS2 in the lip. Apparently fishing the fly actively with a lifting motion fooled my catch into mistaking the RS2 for an emerging BWO.

Here Is the Entire Fish

Again I moved upstream along the bank, and in a more shallow area at the tail of a long run, the indicator paused and I hooked and landed a small brown trout. This fish chose the meaty leech over the tiny RS2, so now I counted two rewards for tying and selecting the pine squirrel leech.

Unfortunately the hot action waned, and I covered quite a bit of water with no additional action when I reached a nice tail out below some riffles. The pine squirrel leech had ceased to produce, and the number of blue winged olives in the air increased, so I decided to move the ultra zug bug to the top position and jettison the leech. Because I removed my weighted conehead fly, I crimped a split shot above the ultra zug bug. I did not experience immediate action, but after I worked the deep riffle with a number of casts, I resumed the jigging action by lifting my rod repetitively and also by introducing bad downstream mends that accelerated the flies periodically. Finally this approach paid dividends and I landed a twelve inch rainbow that responded to the movement and gulped the RS2.

By now it was approaching 1PM so I decided to exit the river and find a path to the road so I could check the fortunes of my fishing friends, but before I could execute this plan, I heard Dave G.’s voice below me. I waded downstream to his position, and he informed me that he landed one rainbow, and he and Tom were ready to return to the house. We found a reasonably clear path through the brush to the road and returned to the car and subsequently to Eagle Ranch.

Four fish in two hours including a fifteen inch rainbow and two others over a foot was a nice result for early spring fishing in a mountain freestone stream. Two fish gulping my pine squirrel leech was icing on the cake.

Arkansas River – 03/15/2015

Location: Fremont – Chafee County Line
Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM
Fish Landed: 11

Arkansas River 03/15/2015 Photo Album

When I was a kid growing up in Pennsylvania, the second most anticipated day of the year was the opening day of trout season. In my estimation it trailed only Christmas and easily trumped Easter and Halloween. My grandfather, father, brother and I would rise early on a Saturday morning around the middle of April and head to our favorite spot on Manatawny Creek to secure a prime location. My grandfather was retired, and he assisted with the trout stocking in order to know where the highest quantities of fish were dumped. Of course many other locals possessed the same knowledge, so getting up before dawn was essential to have a shot at the best holes. Aggressive late arrivals bumped us youngsters from the best places, but I have now come to realize it was more about spending time with my Pop Pop and Dad, and less about catching my limit of fish. Of course catching a stringer of fish was still an acceptable result should it occur, but rarely was that the outcome.

Sunday March 15 had many similarities to the opening days of my youth. I contacted my fishing pal, Danny Ryan, and he agreed to join me on a trip to the Arkansas River. The weather forecast predicted highs in the 70’s, and that is bonus time for fishing in the Rocky Mountains during the middle of March. I anxiously anticipated the arrival of Sunday and spent an hour or two on Saturday making sure I had all the necessary accessories in my front pack. I also transferred reasonable quantities of my newly tied flies from the storage bins to my Montana Fly Company boat box. This step initiated my plan to use the boat box as an intermediate storage space that could easily be moved to the back of the car. When I deplete key flies from my front pack, they will be replaced from flies tucked in the boat box.

When Sunday morning arrived, I jumped out of bed early and gathered all the essentials that I prepared the night before. I fished once in 2015 on Valentine’s Day on the South Platte River, but I did not land a fish and in fact only spotted one fleeing trout during my entire 2.5 hour outing. It did not count as an official opener, but March 15 had that feel. I spent extra time preparing, I arose early in the morning similar to the days of my youth, the weather was expected to be unseasonably warm, and my young friend Danny Ryan was joining me in one of my favorite spots on a quality river. I stopped at Danny’s apartment at 6:30AM, and he was just as excited to be on the way as he tossed his gear in the back of the Santa Fe.

We arrived at the Fremont – Chafee County line pullout by 9:30AM, and the temperature on the dashboard registered 38 degrees. Seventies? What was I to believe? I pulled on a fleece and my New Zealand brimmed hat with ear flaps, and Danny and I descended the steep bank to the river. Danny was following my lead, and we waded across the river at the tail of the long pool below the parking area. The flows were around 390 cfs, and the water was very clear. We could not have asked for better conditions, and my heart was racing with the anticipation of finally feeling a throb on my Sage five weight after a long winter.

Danny Drifts Nymphs

We walked west along the north bank a bit, and then I directed Danny to a spot where the river fanned out a bit and created some nice deep lanes between submerged rocks. Danny was already rigged with a small copper john and juju baetis that he tied over the winter. I on the other hand had not attached any flies to my leader, so I wandered farther upstream and attended to this detail. I elected to knot an ultra zug bug to my line as the top fly and then added a chartreuse marabare as the point fly. Because of the cold early season water temperatures I assumed that I would be nymphing the entire day, so I attached a strike indicator and crimped a split shot to my line above the ultra zug bug.

The County Line Section

As I began to cast to some nice water of moderate depth similar to Danny’s location, I heard a shout and smiled as I looked down the river and watched Danny reel in a decent brown trout. He reported that the trout consumed his juju baetis. I continued prospecting with my nymphs, and it wasn’t long before I landed a twelve inch brown that chowed down on the ultra zug bug. Since this was my first fish of the season, I paused to snap a photo and then moved on upstream.

Ultra Zug Bug Secure in Lip

In a short amount of time I reached a nice piece of water where the river widened a bit and ahead of me was some slow moving water flowing over a sand and rock bottom. The depth was probably three feet maximum. I began casting directly upstream in this area, and much to my surprise three brown trout found my net over the next half hour. Needless to say, I was rather pleased with this favorable turn of events.

After landing the fourth fish, I waved Danny upstream and positioned him to fish the remaining half of the flats of moderate depth. As I looked on, he connected momentarily with a decent fish, and I could see the escapee resume a position in a deeper depression in front of a large submerged rock. With Danny now back in action, I moved up the river again and began prospecting some interesting deeper holes below large rocks that jutted from the bank into the river. The marabare was not producing results, and Danny was having success with the juju baetis, so I exchanged the new chartreuse fly for a RS2. Over the remainder of the morning I landed two more brown trout of medium size on the RS2.

A Pretty Spot

At 11:30 we decided to return to the car for lunch, so we walked back along the bank and then crossed the river at the tail of the long pool. We mounted the steep bank and gathered our lunches and then munched them from a high rock bluff above the south side of the river. Here we could see at least 6-8 trout holding several feet below the surface. They were obviously feeding on something subsurface, and occasionally the inertia of chasing food took them to the top of the water.

Changing Flies

Danny was quite excited to stalk these visible targets, so he retrieved his rod and began casting from the high platform to the deep pool with his nymphs. I finished my lunch and returned from the car with my rod and net. I volunteered to be the netter and took a position above the end of the rock ledge, but I stayed seven feet back so that I would not disturb the feeding fish. It was not long before Danny shouted that he had a hookup, so I moved to the edge of the river and scooped a fish with my net. But what a surprise! The fish appeared to be in the char family but was not a brook trout or lake trout. I was not aware of any other fish in the char family in Colorado, but the fish looked strangely like the Dolly Varden that I caught in Alaska. We snapped quite a few photos to show fish identification experts, and then Danny resumed his position high above the river.

Unknown Species of Trout from the Arkansas River

Once again he shouted that he had a fish on, and I once again assisted by swooping my net beneath the struggling captive. This fish was a 10-12 inch brown trout and an expected species for the Arkansas River. Danny gave me his rod for a bit while he attended to something else, and I made a few casts. On the fifth cast I was surprised to feel some weight so I set the hook and stripped in another char. Again we snapped documenting photos.

I handed the rod back to Danny and gave him the remainder of the pool while I moved upstream to a very attractive deep hole along the bank. This spot was not as large as the lunch rock spot I just vacated, but it looked quite juicy nonetheless. By now I spotted a couple blue winged olives, so I was optimistic that I might attract a few fish with my RS2. Sure enough over the next hour I landed four more browns as I moved along the south bank and flicked my nymphs into all the likely fish holding locations. Several of the fish smacked the RS2 when I lifted the nymphs or jerked them with excessive downstream mends.

Another Brown Trout for Dave

I wanted to return to the north and less pressured bank, so I found Danny and informed him that I was once again going to cross. By this time another fisherman had arrived, and he was casting directly across from the high ledge lunch rock where Danny continued to fish with enthusiasm after experiencing the post-lunch success. I crossed and moved above the other fisherman, and I fished aggressively along the north bank for quite a distance. There were some very attractive pools and pockets, but the sun was now quite high in the sky, and the air temperature was now in the seventies. This combination of weather characteristics apparently caused the trout to have lock jaw, as I landed only one additional small brown in the mid-afternoon time period.

Ready to Test the Peanut Envy

By 3:15 I grew weary of the lack of action and returned to the car where I disassembled my Sage four piece and pulled out my Scott six weight. I attached my Orvis reel with a sinking tip line and hiked a short distance to the rock bluff where I found Danny who was pretty much finished for the day. I pulled one of my freshly tied peanut envies from my fleece pouch and knotted it to my line and began to fling the two inch long streamer into the depths beneath the rock. The peanut envy was amazing as it pulsed and moved in every conceivable way as I stripped it across and sometimes upstream. I began lobbing the ugly marabou monstrosity three quarters downstream and allowed it to swing to the edge of the shadow of the rock, and then began stripping it back toward me, and on one of these presentations, Danny shouted that a huge brown trout swam up behind the streamer and nosed it but failed to chomp!

Danny was more excited than me because I never saw anything, but I was pleased to learn that my new fly created interest from a large brown trout. After 45 minutes of fruitless casting, I reeled up my sinking line, and we returned to the car. The three hour return trip seemed to fly by as we speculated on the species of the mystery trout landed.

Bighorns Appear Across the River

We had much more space compared to opening day in Pennsylvania, and we were fishing with flies rather than live bait, yet the anxious anticipation of a satisfying day on the river brought back memories.The tug of a fish and the bend of the supple long rod satisfied our needs after a long winter of tying flies and waiting for warmer temperatures. Let the 2015 fishing season begin.

South Platte River – 02/14/2015

Time: 11:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Downstream of Nighthawk at Whale Rock

Fish Landed: 0

South Platte River 02/14/2015 Photo Album

I pulled my dark olive Columbia fishing shirt off the hanger and eagerly slipped my arms through the sleeves and buttoned the front. The high in Denver was projected to be 65 degrees, and I anxiously anticipated my first fishing outing of 2015. My Valentine, Jane, agreed to accompany me to the South Platte River near Nighthawk, but before we left, Jane observed that my fishing shirt was excessively wrinkled. I responded that I was not about to waste valuable fishing time to iron a fishing shirt. Jane replied that the fish care, and I was disadvantaging myself in the battle to land my first fish of the season.

Wrinkled Fishing Shirt

Off we went with a chair for Jane and our lunches packed, and in my case guarded optimism that I could land a fish to kick off my new season. I checked the flows in the South Platte River below Cheesman Reservoir, and they were at a low level of 116 cfs. The combination of low clear flows, bright blue skies, typical cold water temperatures of February and the lack of significant insect activity caused me to be cautious in my expectations.

Ready for First Fishing Outing of 2015

When we reached the South Platte River at the base of Nighthawk Hill my hopes were further eroded by the significant number of vehicles parked in all the designated pullouts along the river. Fishermen were everywhere, and I was headed to the less popular lower river. The prime catch and release water between Scraggy View and Deckers must have been like opening day back east with fishermen lining the river.

I tossed aside my concerns and assembled my new replacement Orvis Access four weight rod and then pulled my head through the loop of my new Fishpond front pack. My fleece pouch was sufficiently stocked with San Juan worms, eggs, and tiny nymphs so I set out on my quest for trout number one. As I slid down the path toward the river several fishermen ambled past me along the shoulder of the dirt road. I rarely saw fisherman below me in this spot on the South Platte, so the parade of fishermen did not bode well.

Wading into the South Platte River

I began casting a nymphing rig with a strike indicator, beadhead hares ear and zebra midge to the nice bend pool where I had much success in previous first time outings, but Valentine’s Day 2015 was not going to be one of those experiences. I did not add a split shot to my set up as the flows were quite low, and I determined that the two beadheads would sink the flies sufficiently. After striking out in my ace in the hole bend pool, I moved upstream and worked a solid deep run along the far bank. The sky was a disappointing slate gray and the air temperature hovered at 42 degrees. These were not the balmy premature spring conditions that caused me to schedule this mid-winter venture.

A Prospecting Cast

I moved on to a channel on the south side of an island and worked some deep riffles to no avail and then returned to find Jane bundled up in a chair across from the bend pool. We agreed to retreat to the car to pick up our lunches, and then returned to our spot across from the bend pool. As we munched our lunches, we watched two fishermen thirty yards below us futilely flail the river with numerous hopeful casts.

After lunch I crossed the river to the west bank and then hiked downstream through some tall grass and ponderosa pines, but as I began to cut back to the river, I spotted another fisherman wearing a red ball cap in the area just above the white water cascade. This was the area I was targeting, so I made a right turn and cut back to the river halfway between the red cap gentleman and the fishermen below Jane’s reading spot.

Headed for the Rock Jumble after Lunch

I swapped out the beadhead hares ear for a pink San Juan worm and worked the deep runs and side pools, but once again I was met with disappointment. By the time I reached the point where a fisherman covered the water during our lunch, he had departed, so I explored the area from the opposite side. I exchanged the zebra midge for a RS2, and in a deep side pool I finally observed a trout dashing for cover after my third or fourth cast failed to attract interest.

I was now feeling quite bored with the winter fishing and my lack of success, so I crossed the river and approached Jane. We decided to move to another spot farther up the river, so Jane drove the Santa Fe, and dropped me off along the dirt road just above the next parking area. She continued to the next pullout, and I promised to fish to her position, and then we would begin our return trip to Denver. I thoroughly worked the rocky stretch of river next to the road with my worm and RS2, and again my rod did not feel the throb of a resisting fish.

One of My Favorite Stretches Was Unproductive

When I reached the top of the deep run, a white pick up truck appeared on the road above me, and a DOW agent greeted me and asked to see my fishing license. I struggled to open the zippered pockets in my wader bib, but upon inspection, I could not find my Colorado fishing license. The gentleman was nice enough to transport me upstream to the parking area where Jane parked the Santa Fe, and I found her by the edge of the river reading. She threw the keys to me, and I found my drivers’ license and presented it to the DOW agent. He politely accepted it and told me he would radio one of his other agents who was in cell range, and then that person could use the on board computer to check the database for my license.

After a five minute wait I was relieved to hear that the chain of connections worked, and he determined that I was a licensed fisherman. Later when I returned home, I found my license in my fishing backpack in my fishing bag. I had it with me in the car, but I did not have it on the stream. This was the most exciting aspect of my Valentine’s Day fishing trip.

If you ask Jane, she will tell you that I was skunked because I did not iron my fishing shirt. I, on the other hand, attribute my lack of success to the density of fishermen combined with low clear water conditions. One certainty however remains. I will not stoop to ironing my fishing shirts.

South Platte River – 11/29/2014

Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Cheesman Canyon

Fish Landed: 0

South Platte River 11/29/2014 Photo Album

I’ve never been a huge fan of winter fishing, but the mild weather of Thanksgiving weekend in Colorado induced me to overcome my reluctance. The high temperatures for Thursday through Saturday ranged from the mid-60’s to the mid-70’s, and Jane suggested that we take advantage of the weather and hike into Cheesman Canyon. I signed on to the late fall trek, and we arrived at the Wigwam parking lot at 11AM on Saturday morning. I put on my waders and wading boots and prepared my Sage four weight while Jane grabbed her lunch, stadium seat, and book. We were on our way on a pleasant .5 mile hike to the rim of Cheesman Canyon.

The temperature was in the low 60’s as we began, and when we began the descent to the river in the brilliant sunlight it felt more like 70. The flows in the South Platte tailwater were 125 cfs and crystal clear. As we traveled upstream on the red gravel trail, we passed quite a few fishermen. Our destination was Cows Crossing, but as we approached this ninety degree bend in the river, it was clear that the large rock that Jane loves to frequent was covered by shade. We shifted our destination and found another nice large flat boulder bathed in sunlight, and Jane made this our base camp.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KsGKmuXowDo/VHp3ZTdHxlI/AAAAAAAAtV0/TNDxYK5oEHw/s144-c-o/PB290013.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309122947499602″ caption=”Jane’s Spot Along South Platte” type=”image” alt=”PB290013.JPG” ]

I began my quest for a late November fish by moving fifteen yards downstream from Jane, and I tied on a Chernobyl ant with a trailing ultra zug bug and orange scud. I stood on some large rounded boulders and began covering some very attractive water, but I saw no signs of fish. I began to doubt the effectiveness of the dry/dropper configuration in the cold flows of the South Platte River, but when I approached a nice current seam just below Jane’s position, I observed a pause in the foam attractor and set the hook. Much to my surprise I was attached to a tiny rainbow trout that measured four inches, so I quickly removed the ultra zug bug and allowed the small gem to return to the icy flows. I gave my camera to Jane before I began fishing, so she actually captured me netting the hungry little fish.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gCVkVIYCTSU/VHp3cVSOO0I/AAAAAAAAtV4/HA50QBb3iKg/s144-c-o/PB290019.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309174978263874″ caption=”Landing a Tiny Rainbow Trout” type=”image” alt=”PB290019.JPG” ]

I moved on above Jane to the large bend at Cows Crossing and found a place where the river was shallow enough to cross, and I then continued fishing upstream along the opposite bank. I prospected some nice current seems, riffles over moderate depth and deep runs; but none of these typically productive stream structures produced any action. In fact I was surprised that I did not see any fish since the flows were low and clear.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hQRAV9UWB_s/VHp3dal10_I/AAAAAAAAtVs/xt01U8gTMNk/s144-c-o/PB290021.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309193582597106″ caption=”Forward Cast” type=”image” alt=”PB290021.JPG” ]

At 12:30 I returned to Jane’s base camp and enjoyed my lunch in the company of my lovely wife. Jane noticed that the shade was rapidly advancing toward her rock perch, so she announced that she might move before I returned. I meanwhile decided to walk farther up the trail and around the next ninety degree turn that is called Rainbow Bend. I discovered that this area was quite popular with other fishermen and passed four fishermen working the slow moving deep pool just above the bend.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-q1hg-wlwAL0/VHp3e_uwttI/AAAAAAAAtTU/JmucK4Rmpdo/s144-c-o/PB290024.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309220731991762″ caption=”Two Fishermen in Clear Pool” type=”image” alt=”PB290024.JPG” ]

Eventually I moved above the last fisherman and approached a nice wide pool. I abandoned the dry/dropper approach and configured my line with a hot pink strike indicator, split shot, ultra zug bug and zebra midge. I noticed quite a few minuscule midges buzzing about above the river, and this observation caused me to experiment with the midge larva. I began drifting the nymph combination through the pool, along the juicy current seams and through the tail out, but none of this focused fishing attracted any fish. Meanwhile another fisherman that was originally below me circled around my position and then entered the river forty yards farther upstream.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7c64xJrRm5c/VHp3iuHdCvI/AAAAAAAAtU8/f6r8uBia9zY/s144-c-o/PB290030.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309284723198706″ caption=”The Loop Is Forming” type=”image” alt=”PB290030.JPG” ]

Aside from the lack of action and absence of any signs of fish, the most frustrating aspect of this Saturday outing was the constant need to remove moss and scum from my flies. I estimate that scum removal was an every other cast event. After exhausting the prime pool that I optimistically claimed, I advanced upstream a bit, but after an hour of casting and moss removal, I began to think more about the snacks I packed for the return trip than the likelihood of landing a fish.

I clipped my flies to the rod guide and trudged back along the trail to our base camp. As Jane suggested, she was no longer there, so I hiked another .3 miles until I spotted her bright blue long sleeved shirt on the beach next to another juicy pool. She was now in the sun and sheltered from the wind by a huge boulder. Seeing no competing fishermen in the pool, I decided to make one more attempt to land a substantial trout from the South Platte River. Well, I have to admit that a nine inch fish would have exceeded my expectations at this point.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zj8LhozatXo/VHp3g_2i2JI/AAAAAAAAtTs/vTSP98dw998/s144-c-o/PB290027.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11292014SouthPlatteRiver#6087309255124375698″ caption=”The Top of the Pool” type=”image” alt=”PB290027.JPG” ]

Alas, after another half hour of fruitless casting, I decided to call it quits, and I waded back to Jane’s resting place. I acknowledged that she probably had the right idea about Saturday November 29. It was a rare opportunity to enjoy a pleasant hike through gorgeous scenery and bask in the warmth of the late autumn sun. Catching a fish was really secondary.

Clear Creek – 11/09/2014

Time: 10:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Large wide pullout on north side of route 6 and half a mile below where stream cuts to north side; 50 yards below bridge until just above the bridge

Fish Landed: 8

Clear Creek 11/09/2014 Photo Album

The water that one elects to fish is one of the keys to fly fishing, but I’m not talking about stream destination choice, although this is certainly another critical factor. Another critical decision revolves around the stretch of water that a fly fishermen chooses to fish, and I discovered how important this seemingly minor choice is to fishing success on Sunday November 9, 2014.

After skin surgery on my back (wear sunscreen) on Thursday, October 30 2014, I was not able to fish for at least a week. Until I experienced this incision, I did not realize how many movements bring the middle of one’s back into play, and casting a fly was certainly at the top of the list of aggravating actions. Unfortunately my recovery period coincided with a week of continuing mild fall weather in Colorado, and it was difficult to refrain from enjoying bonus fishing time.

Sunday was forecast to be the last of the mild weather before a blast of arctic air descended on the Front Range, and I felt that my back could withstand a couple hours of casting, so I committed to a late season trip. I did not want to make a long drive, so I evaluated nearby options. South Boulder Creek was flowing at a ridiculously low 13 cfs, so I ruled out my home water. The South Platte River was also trickling through Waterton Canyon at 34 cfs, and that represents quite low water and technical fishing. In addition this option necessitated a bike ride with a backpack, and I did not want to test the stitches on my back to that extent.

The next close option was Clear Creek, and the flows were fairly ideal at 50 cfs. Clear Creek Canyon is a mere 50 minute drive from my house, so I decided to make it my destination on Sunday. With the change from daylight savings time to standard time, I estimated that prime water and air temperatures would be in the 11AM to 2PM window. I packed my gear on Sunday morning and left the house by 9:30, and this enabled me to reach a wide dirt parking space on the north side of route six by 10:15, and I was in my waders and ready to fish by 10:30.

As I stood behind my car preparing to fish, another vehicle pulled into a pullout directly across from me, and a solo fishermen began a similar routine. When I initially arrived, I walked across the road and scanned the creek up and down for competing fishermen, and I was pleased to see no one else. After all my caution, my desire for stream space was being compromised unknowingly by the gentleman across from me. I considered moving on, but then decided to walk down the road .2 miles and fish back up to the Santa Fe, as I assumed the other fellow would cut directly down the bank.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Tzn0eDFeIQE/VGAuURweETI/AAAAAAAAqvo/Lh4s8n7ehV0/s144-c-o/PB090040.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11092014ClearCreek#6079910422849130802″ caption=”Clear Creek at My Starting Point” type=”image” alt=”PB090040.JPG” ]

I executed my plan and walked by a large rock formation that separated the highway from the stream and then found a nice worn path that took me gradually down the bank to the edge of the river. Another fisherman was in a nice pool thirty yards below me, but he seemed to be rather stationary, so I waded into the creek and crossed to the south side away from the road. A gorgeous pool and deep run presented itself just above me, and a rush of anticipation surged through me as I tied on a Chernobyl ant and ultra zug bug.

I was certain that this attractive water would yield one if not two small trout, but certainties are rare in fishing. I covered the length of the pool and the deep run at the top, and I had nothing to show for my efforts. Perhaps it was the flies? I added a salvation nymph below the ultra zug bug and moved up along the bank, and ten yards above the lovely starting pool I saw a fish dart to the surface to grab the Chernobyl. A swift hook set allowed me to connect, and I quickly stripped a skinny eleven inch brown trout to my net. I was pleased to have a fish and even more impressed that it took a fly on the surface. Did this fish lose weight in the spawning process?

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OrtX4k8CDEY/VGAuU8MZCCI/AAAAAAAAqv0/Rts5UQWfNbw/s144-c-o/PB090041.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11092014ClearCreek#6079910434240530466″ caption=”First Catch Was This Skinny Brown Trout” type=”image” alt=”PB090041.JPG” ]

I was pretty excited as I moved on after this minor success, and I focused my propecting casts on the water that bordered the bank and rocks on my side of the river. Despite some solid casting and drifts, my fish count remained at one as I worked my way upstream on the south channel that flowed around a long narrow island. After an hour of fishing I approached the tip of the island, and here I noticed the tip of a fly rod moving back and forth. When I moved closer, I found a heretofore hidden fisherman just above the island, and he appeared to be younger than the person who arrived and parked across from me.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rT9DlngH2To/VGAuVa61XXI/AAAAAAAAqv8/wzm2fKORciE/s144-c-o/PB090042.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11092014ClearCreek#6079910442488388978″ caption=”Liked the Chernobyl Ant” type=”image” alt=”PB090042.JPG” ]

I crossed the island and the small north braid and climbed the steep bank to circle around this temporary block to my progress, and when I crested the steep bank and looked upstream I could see the owner of the green Subaru that was parked across from me. At this point I realized that I had probably fished through water that the lower fisherman covered not more than thirty minutes beforehand.

With two fishermen now blocking my path I threw my gear in the car and slowly drove west to just beyond the bridge that crosses Clear Creek where it shifts from the south side of the highway to the north. Cars filled the parking spaces on both sides of the road just beyond the bridge, but I did not see fishermen in the stream. A second pullout on the south side of the paved two lane had an open space, so I made a U-turn and snagged the spot. In a matter of minutes I had my backpack and front pack in place, and I walked along the shoulder to the bridge where I jumped the guard rail and found a nice path that followed the creek along the south side.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bj1_wo9xgNM/VGAuWjz5KDI/AAAAAAAAqwI/-OC_GRpoTCg/s144-c-o/PB090044.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11092014ClearCreek#6079910462055065650″ caption=”Nice Spot” type=”image” alt=”PB090044.JPG” ]

I hiked along this path for fifty yards and then angled down a short steep bank to the edge of the water and resumed my prospecting. The remainder of my time on Clear Creek was quite enjoyable as I methodically worked my way upstream and cast the Chernobyl and trailing nymphs in all the likely pools and pockets. The creek in this area was faster due to the tighter canyon walls, and this probably explains why I no longer needed to share the water. Fortunately I developed a preference for pocket water, and the stretch of water below the bridge suited me perfectly.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lSBfVTmoP7I/VGAuV6JFAPI/AAAAAAAAqwE/_y3rtIzoQrs/s144-c-o/PB090043.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108128655430094950653/11092014ClearCreek#6079910450869633266″ caption=”Another Decent Brown for Clear Creek” type=”image” alt=”PB090043.JPG” ]

I landed seven additional brown trout in the remaining two hours as I fished to the bridge and slightly above. The weather was quite pleasant for early November with partial clouds and sunshine ruling the sky, and the high temperature reached the upper sixties. By 2PM I reached a churning white water cascade, and this forced me to once again scale the steep bank. I knew the shadows would shortly cover the stream and the temperature would plummet, so I decided to honor my commitment to quit at 2 and returned to Stapleton to watch the Broncos vs. Raiders NFL game.

I continue to be amazed by the amount of pressure that Clear Creek receives in the canyon between Golden and Idaho Springs, but I suppose fishermen head there for the same reasons that I do; proximity to Denver. The fish are small, but they still help to satisfy the avid fisherman’s need to feel the intoxicating tug on the end of a long rod. I enjoyed some bonus fishing on Sunday November 9, and I am thankful for that.