Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/28/2024 Photo Album

With Labor Day weekend and a trip to Hilton Head Island in my near future, I was facing perhaps my last fly fishing outing until the second week of September. I checked the flows on my home waters, South Boulder Creek, and the water managers cranked down the valve to 100 CFS. It was 122 CFS during my last visit to the tailwater below Gross Reservoir, and that level dictated extreme caution when wading with only a few viable crossing points. The combination of lower flows and the prospect of the presence of green drakes clinched my decision. I made the trip to the Walker Ranch Loop trailhead for a day of fly fishing.

The temperature at the parking lot, when I arrived, was 74 degrees, and I suspect that the reading reached eighty degrees, by the time I hiked out of the canyon at 4PM. I chose my Loomis two piece five weight for my casting tool. Somehow I strained my neck while camping over the weekend, and I felt like the short rod would provide less strain to the neck area, when I lifted the line to make a cast. Also, I planned to toss a double dry fly, and the slow action Loomis is well suited to that task.

Corner Pocket Was Productive

By the time I hiked down the trail to my chosen fishing spot, it was 11:00AM. I selected a peacock hippie stomper from my MFC fly box, and then I added a parachute green drake on a twelve inch dropper. It was slow going initially, as I prospected some very attractive pools and pockets with nary a look, but I persisted with the double dries, and eventually I was rewarded for my patience. In the 1.5 hours before lunch, I landed ten trout, and this included a couple very respectable brown trout and rainbow trout. Initially my best results came from pockets and runs along the edge of the creek, but as time passed, the fish in the larger and more obvious locations began to respond as well.

Plump Rainbow

Early Brown Trout

There was very little strategy on Wednesday, August 28. I fished the double dry consisting of the stomper and paradrake for the entire time, until I stopped at my favorite pool, but more on that later. The parachute green drake was the more productive of the two flies, and I estimate that the catch ratio was 70% paradrake and 30% hippie stomper. The desirable pair of flies in the eyes of the trout accounted for forty fish on the afternoon. The flies were not perfect, as an abundant quantity of refusals and rejecting looks were a significant part of the story.

Photographed Purely for the Color

Along the Rock

Between 12:30PM and 2:30PM, however, the fish were definitely tuned into the green drake. I spotted a handful between 1PM and 2PM, but they were not available to trout in great abundance, I attributed much of my success to trout having long memories for western green drakes.

Long for These Waters

What sort of water was the most productive? Deep slots and potholes around exposed boulders produced some surprisingly nice fish. Also, the lip of pockets and runs, where the water began to accelerate and sluice over the lip was another favorite. On several occasions I gave up on the drift and made a lift just prior to the fly racing over the lip, and I found myself attached to a fish. This always amazes me.

Ooh La La Pool

Brown Trout Perfection

By 3:30PM I decided to call it a day, however, on my return hike I could not resist the temptation to make a few casts to my favorite pool. Upon my arrival I lobbed ten casts with the double dry, but these selective fish were having none of it. While I observed, a flurry of rises commenced, but their target was so small that I was unable to determine the preferred food item. I began to cycle through fly changes, and I replaced the parachute green drake with a size 18 deer hair caddis. It became apparent that caddis was not the answer. Next I knotted a Jake’s gulp beetle as the trailing fly, and it was equally ignored. Finally in frustration I stretched my net seine across the mouth, and I held it in the current for three minutes. When I examined the contents of the seine, I noticed some nymph casings and a crippled mayfly with a dark olive body. I concluded that the fish were responding to a blue wing olive hatch, and judging from their aggressive feeding, I guessed emergers. I replaced the beetle with a soft hackle emerger, and I dabbed the body with floatant to fish in the surface film. This generated a couple looks, but no action. Next I replaced the soft hackle emerger with a CDC blue wing olive, and once again the fish ate naturals in close proximity to my fly. I finally threw in the towel and moved on.

Tucked Under Branches

The prevalent size of trout on the day was eight to nine inches, but I was pleased to land five trout in the twelve to thirteen inch range. Two browns and one rainbow stretched to the upper limit of the size range. The weather was ideal, and the flows were reduced more to my liking, and green drakes were favored by the wild trout. I could not have asked for a more enjoyable fly fishing outing.

Fish Landed: 40

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Between East Portal and Rollinsville

South Boulder Creek 08/26/2024 Photo Album

Jane and I reserved a campsite at Kelly Dahl campground from Sunday, August 25 through Tuesday August 27. We invited a group of friends to join us, and six agreed to camp along with three who planned to make a day trip on Monday, August 26. Two of the six who committed to overnight camping had to withdraw due to a family medical issue, so four of us arrived on Sunday and set up camp at sites 23 and 24. We scrambled to assemble the canopy and tents, before rain commenced on Sunday, and we were all thankful for the canopy cover that made dinner and evening card games comfortable.

Canopy Ready for Rain

Most of the group planned to complete a hike at the East Portal on Monday, but I tossed out the idea of fly fishing. Our friends, Howie and Sandie, decided to accompany me on the fly fishing venture. The only decent option within close driving distance of Kelly Dahl was South Boulder Creek between the East Portal and Rollinsville. I fished this section of South Boulder Creek a few years ago, so I decided to give it another trial. I had low expectations, but I hoped that Sandie and Howie could experience catching a few wild trout from the small stream.

We arrived at an obvious public stretch of the rapidly flowing creek by 10:30AM, and we were positioned on the stream casting by 11:00AM. Howie and Sandie decided to share a rod and alternate, and they were prepared before me, so they cut down to the creek first. Howie began with a Charlie Boy hopper and a beadhead pheasant tail nymph.

For the start of my day I bet on a tan size 8 pool toy hopper and a salvation nymph. I ambled along the creek for fifteen yards, before I slid down the bank and crossed the creek.   I began working up along the opposite bank, and I managed a small eight inch brown trout in the early going along with a couple browns below the six inch cut off that I require in order to count.

Fast Water Ruled

After the early success, I endured a fairly lengthy dry spell with quite a few refusals to the pool toy hopper. The nymph was totally ignored, so I added a 20 incher below the salvation to generate deeper drifts. The creek was tumbling along quite rapidly due to high gradient and flows that I suspect were above average for the last two weeks of August. My deep nymph strategy was rejected completely by the resident fish, so I crossed back to the road side of the creek,

I decided to look for Howie and Sandie to suggest that they try a different approach, but they were not in sight. I walked down a nice path that followed the top of the bank in an eastward direction, and eventually I found them. I rounded them up, and we moved back upstream beyond the parking lot that contained many worn paths and that screamed heavy fishing pressure. For the remainder of the afternoon we progressed upstream along the left bank and alternated among the three of us. I switched to a peacock hippie stomper and a size 14 light gray caddis, while Sandie and Howie utilized a Chernobyl ant and a size 16 parachute Adams.

During this time frame Howie had a slap at the trailing Adams, but he never saw it. On one other occasion, however, he spotted the take and set the hook and momentarily felt the weight of a brown trout. Unfortunately it quickly popped free and swam to freedom.

Best Fish of the Day

During my turns I tended to claim the places that looked fishy, but required superior casting skills. This entailed quite a few casts across the main center current to slower moving shelf pools. I executed mends and reach casts to counter the drag of the main current on my fly line. In a few cases my mend caused the double flies to skip or jump, and the fish responded with a refusal or look.

Same Fish Extended

I did manage to hook and land three browns during my turns. All of these trout consumed the deer hair caddis, and they were all in the eight to ten inch range. By 2:30PM some dark rain clouds slid across the sky and settled above us. I was wearing my raincoat for warmth, and it was a fortunate choice, as we paused for ten minutes under a cluster of large evergreen trees, as the skies opened with a curtain of rain. After the precipitation ended, we resumed for a short while, but I could sense that the troops were ready to head back to the campground for an early start to happy hour.

We called it quits, but left our waders on, as we drove another five miles to the East Portal. Another angler stopped to chat with us, as we fished along the creek, and he informed us that he fished near the East Portal with decent success on dry flies. One of the spots he mentioned was by some large rock piles. We found the rock piles before arriving at the East Portal parking lot, so I parked and crossed two sets of railroad tracks to have a look at the creek. It was interesting and perhaps worth a future try. The gradient appeared to be a bit less steep, but there was more tight vegetation along the banks to thwart efforts to move upstream.

My fish count was below average, but that was attributable to sharing the stream with Howie and Sandie. My expectations were low, but the high gradient limited the number of fish holding lies, and it represented quite challenging conditions for two fairly novice fly anglers. The combination of high gradient topography and small fish make South Boulder Creek in this area a marginal destination choice in my opinion.

Fish Landed: 5

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/23/2024 Photo Album

After three straight days of fly fishing early in the week, I took a break on Wednesday and Thursday, but by Friday I was eager to resume my August blitz. My trip on 08/16/2024 to South Boulder Creek was quite successful, and I was very anxious for a return visit. I was fairly certain the green drakes were still active, and I attempt to take full advantage of this once a year occurrence. The continuing heat wave in Colorado was another reason to seek out the cold water releases from Gross Reservoir.

Five or six cars preceded me to the Walker Ranch Loop trailhead, and I prepared for a day on the creek with my Loomis two piece five weight. Slow action, short length, and fast assemblage played into my choice. The temperature was 66 degrees, as I began my hike down the Walker Ranch Loop trail. On my way to my chosen starting point I passed a pair of anglers “practicing” in a spot, where I needed to wade in order to make farther progress. I excused myself, and we exchanged intentions, and they informed me that they planned to move downstream as well.

Early Success

By 10:30AM I arrived at my planned starting point, and I configured my line with a parachute green drake size 14. During my previous visit, I landed all my fish on this style of green drake, and I was hoping for a repeat engagement. Within the first five minutes I landed a small seven inch brown trout that rose and sipped the paradrake in a narrow band of slow moving water directly above my casting position. This event instilled a bit of optimism in my outlook, but then the trout decided to teach me a lesson, as they ignored my casts for a short period. I was spoiled from my earlier trip, and I quickly lost patience, so I modified my approach and added an olive ice dub body hippie stomper as the forward fly followed by the parachute drake.

Small Hidden Pool Produced

The stomper/paradrake combination initiated a frustrating run of refusals and very brief hookups. I counted five in a row. Among them was a fish that slipped free, and the pent up energy in the rod whipped the flies into a tree limb high above me. One can imagine my anger. I flicked the rod away from the flies, and this impulsive but dangerous action, resulted in snapping off two flies. I paused to replace them, but when I was done, I thought I spotted the white wing of the hippie stomper in a dead branch. I moved to the base of the cluster of tree limbs, and I was able to bend the branch down to retrieve my flies. There was, however, a slight problem. The white wing was, in fact, a small dense cobweb! I felt pretty ridiculous, but I gazed back at the next limb that was higher up, and I surmised that I might be able to bend that one down to a recoverable level as well. I did so, and what do you think I found? No, not another cobweb, but the two connected flies. I stuffed them back in their proper resting places in my fly boxes.

Delicate Wildflowers

By noon the fish count rested on a meager total of four, and I was beginning to question my decision to fly fish on South Boulder Creek. The two anglers that I encountered on my hike in appeared, and they proceeded to move below me, but by noon they were within sight. I decided to forsake the section that occupied my morning and move upstream, but when I advanced forty yards, I spotted another young fisherman working on his line in another spot that I needed to wade through. Once again I excused myself and quietly passed by. In retrospect the morning section of the creek was narrow, and the 122 CFS flows created only a few truly promising lies for trout.

Just a Nice Brown Trout

I moved above the angler that I just passed and found a place, where I could battle through some dense branches to regain access to the creek a fair distance above the other fisherman. In this area the stream spread out more, and this offered more side channels and pockets of moderate current velocity and moderate depth. These were the characteristics that attract trout. I progressed upstream through this section from noon until 2:30PM, and I moved the fish count from four to twenty-four. Yes, the catch rate improved dramatically. The hippie stomper and parachute hopper remained in place during the early going, and the flies delivered positive results, but refusals and tentative bites resulting in quick long distance releases plagued my fly fishing outlook. I decided to rotate through other green drakes styles. First I tested a Harrop hair wing green drake, and it provided a fish or two, before it broke off, as I played and released a rainbow trout that crushed the leading stomper. The hair wing was not doing much, so I opted for a size 14 green drake comparadun with a large fan hairwing.

Center Stream Pocket

The stomper/comparadun combination remained on my line until 2:30PM, and the comparadun accounted for roughly 60% of the landed fish with the hippie stomper delivering the remainder. By 2:30PM the sky darkened, and I heard distant rumbling, so I retreated to the shoreline and pulled on my rain shell. I completed this move in the nick of time, as the spigot got turned on, and drenching showers ruled the canyon environment. I backed into a small space beneath a dense evergreen and waited for the curtain of rain to end. A couple times the rain paused, and I stepped back to the creek only to be scared back to my sheltered enclave by thunder and lightning. Finally the western sky got brighter, and I spotted a glimmer of blue, but dense gray clouds predominated above. It was at this time that I observed two flashes with almost instantaneous loud rumbling, and this suggested that the lightning was in close proximity. I snugged back against a rock wall and impatiently awaited the end of the lightning and thunder.

One of Several Nice Rainbow Trout

Finally the thunder became distant, and blue sky ruled above me, so I resumed fly fishing. The temperature plunged during the storm, and I was quite pleased to have my raincoat for additional warmth. I was relatively close to two very attractive pools, so I progressed directly to them. At the first one I executed some long casts across the main current to the shelf pool along the far bank. and a brown trout dashed to the surface and grabbed the comparadun. At the next pool I could see fish finning at the tail and in the right side pool. For the most part they were immune to my efforts to hook them, but one overly aggressive brown snatched the hippie stomper.

The Ribbon of Water Along the Rocks Was Targeted

As I looked on, quite a few fish began to slash the surface, but the object of their actions must have been small, because I was unable to determine the food source. I cycled through the usual suspects which included a CDC blue wing olive, a size 16 light gray comparadun, a size 16 cinnamon comparadun, and a size 18 parachute black fur ant. Finally the ant duped a brown trout to bring my total to twenty-seven. I seined the water with my net seine, but all I could collect were some empty nymph husks. I tried a Craven PMD emerger pattern, but that was not the answer. In a last ditch effort to match the hatch, I removed the double dries and tested a size 20 CDC blue wing olive with a fairly large and fluffy wing. Nothing. As this hatch matching escapade evolved the water became quite tinged with sediment, but the trout seemed to ignore the turbidity, as they continued to feed.

I surrendered to the pool and thanked South Boulder Creek for a twenty-seven fish day and completed the hike back to the parking lot. As I strolled along the trail, the sun reappeared and warmed the atmosphere and this weary angler, and the clarity of the creek improved dramatically. Apparently the slug of run off moved fairly quickly through the narrow canyon. My goal of meeting the green drake hatch was achieved, although the fly fishing was not the free and easy experience of August 16. Friday was a great example of why I carry five different western green drake patterns. The quality of the fish was decent, as I landed a couple thirteen inch rainbows and several healthy twelve inch brown trout. The fish of South Boulder Creek are all wild, and they show off their vivid colors and patterns quite well. Will I register another South Boulder Creek green drake day? it is getting late, but stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 27

Time: 11:00AM – 2:45PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/16/2024 Photo Album

My most recent day on South Boulder Creek, 08/07/2024, was successful; but it did not satisfy my ongoing need for fishing to the western green drake hatch. After returning from our camping trip to the Taylor River, I checked the flows on South Boulder Creek, and initially they were reduced to 127 CFS. I had an open date on Friday, 08/16/2024, and I kept watch on the weather, flows and wildfire status; and fortunately everything aligned for a day trip. The flows bumped slightly to 133 CFS on Thursday, but this was not enough to deter me from my anxiously anticipated trip.

The temperature was a toasty upper seventies, when I arrived at the Walker Ranch Trailhead Loop. I quickly gathered my gear and fit together my two piece Loomis five weight, and I assured myself that I was in possession of my green drake fly box. Yes, I have a fly box that is almost entirely filled with five versions of western green drake dry flies.

First of Several Parachute Green Drakes

Early Honey Hole

By 11:00AM I was stationed in South Boulder Creek. I decided to go directly to a parachute green drake, and I was rewarded in the first fifteen minutes with four trout, and the quartet included a gorgeous thirteen inch brown trout with dark black ink spots. I was cautiously optimistic that my goal of fishing to green drakes was on the path to fulfillment. I continued advancing upstream, and by the time I broke for lunch, the fish count rose to ten. The one hour of fishing was rather action packed; however, it was not without its share of refusals and fishing to attractive spots with no action. After seven fish the olive grizzly hackle on the parachute fly got shredded, so I switched to another matched copy to continue my day.

South Boulder Creek Bruiser

While eating lunch I observed several natural western green drakes, as they floated slowly upward from the stream surface. I was encouraged by this sighting, as I knew this translated to fish eagerly searching for the large food items. Between 12:15PM and 2:45PM a scenario similar to the morning evolved on South Boulder Creek. I moved steadily upstream and tossed casts to all the likely locations, and quite often a fish responded. A sure sign that my fly was a solid imitation was how aggressively the fish inhaled it. I needed the assistance of my hemostat to remove quite a few flies, but I feel fairly certain that the fish were released unharmed. Ironically obvious deep pools were not as productive as some very marginal spots characterized by small pockets and moderate riffles near submerged boulders. I popped casts to any likely spot, and quite often I was surprised by the results.

Perfect Water for Green Drake Prospecting

Rainbows Also Love Green Drakes

By 2:15PM the pace of the action slowed, and refusals began to dominate the scene. The fish count rested in the upper thirties, so I decided to experiment with other versions of western green drakes. First a size 14 green drake comparadun went on my line. The fly looked very similar to the naturals with its large spread out deer hair wing, but it produced no fish. I returned to a new parachute green drake, and it nudged the fish count upward, but refusals began to outweigh takes. I managed to coax some takes by twitching the fly during across and downstream drifts, and apparently the motion imitated the naturals attempting to take off. Eventually even this tactic failed to produce, and fish were looking at the fly but not committing.

Pretty Green Drake Eater

I spotted a few pale morning duns, so I speculated that the fish’s selectivity shifted to PMD’s, so I replaced the green drake with a peacock hippie stomper and trailed a light gray size 16 comparadun. The hippie stomper and comparadun were primarily drawing looks with no takes. In a final effort to shift the momentum back in my favor, I switched to a user friendly green drake that trailed a cinnamon comparadun. Neither of these flies clicked, so I clipped my flies to the rod guide at 2:45PM and began the return hike which included the one mile uphill struggle at the end. This was my third trip to South Boulder Creek, and it was the first, where my exit hike took place during clear skies and direct sunlight. It was hot.

Splendid Shelf Pool

So Many Speckles on This Rainbow

I landed forty trout, and every fish ate a parachute green drake. There was a period after lunch when the action could only be described as torrid. It seemed as though it did not matter where I tossed the fly, and a fish would crush the low floating paradrake. My goal was to meet a green drake hatch in 2024, and Friday’s fly fishing realized my objective. I am not certain another opportunity to fish green drakes on South Boulder Creek will arrive, but I will restock my green drake fly box just in case.

Fish Landed: 40

Time: 10:30AM – 2:45PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/07/2024 Photo Album

Finally on Wednesday all the factors necessary to fish South Boulder Creek aligned. The roads were open after the wildfire was controlled, there were no dam expansion impacts, the flows were an acceptable 146 CFS, and the weather was forecast to be decent with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I was quite anxious to return to South Boulder Creek, and Wednesday was the day. Would the green drakes be driving the fish to gluttonous feeding?

Near the Start

I arrived at the Walker Ranch Loop parking lot, and the air temperature was already 81 degrees. I quickly gathered my gear and put together my Loomis two piece five weight and hit the trail. I observed no other anglers or moose on my inbound hike, and I was stationed next the stream with a peacock hippie stomper and size 16 deer hair caddis ready to cast by 10:30.

Early Eater

Promising Run

Almost immediately three trout crushed the stomper and caddis, and I was off and running. All was not perfect, however, as the hippie stomper also attracted its share of refusals. From 10:30 until noon I steadily moved upstream and boosted the fish count to twenty, before I rested on a large flat rock for lunch. Landing fish was a matter of popping casts to likely fish holding spots, moving quickly and ignoring the many fish that refused one of the flies. Roughly 70% of the landed fish grabbed the caddis and 30% fell for the hippie stomper.

Decent Rainbow Joins the Parade

Sparse Spot Pattern

After lunch I continued the upstream migration, but after I spotted a solitary green drake, I exchanged the hippie stomper for a parachute green drake. I never saw another natural green drake, and my flies were moderately effective. I cycled through the parachute version, a comparadun imitation, and a user friendly green drake. A user friendly is essentially a hippie stomper with a green drake color scheme. I landed a few fish on each type of green drake imitation, but the most effective seemed to be the user friendly. Historically the parachute green drake has outperformed the other green drake versions, but that was not the case on Wednesday. The size 16 caddis remained in place throughout the afternoon, and it was responsible for the most fish, as the fish count soared from twenty to thirty-six.

Exquisite Colors

During the afternoon session, I had to work harder for my catches. Places that seemed like certain producers were not, and marginal pockets near the bank surprised with trout. Surprisingly the number of rainbow trout increased to a 60/40 split with 60% being browns and 40% the pink striped fighters. Size was a positive with quite a few browns and rainbows in the twelve to thirteen inch range.

Love This One

During this time I approached a challenging wading predicament. I was along the left bank having carefully crossed the creek. 146 CFS was lower than the 165 CFS of my previous visit, but it remained at a level that inhibited free movement back and forth. The creek rushed against a high rock wall, before it glanced off an angled exposed rock that jutted into the creek similar to a stream improvement deflector. In the past I placed my bottom on the jutting rock and swiveled my legs to the upside and then slowly slid down into the creek before quickly stepping along the rock wall. On Wednesday I attempted this same move, but my feet reached and reached, but never gained traction. I should have pulled back, but instead I persisted, until the strong current along the rock swept my feet downstream, and I became a soggy floating human bobber. After a six foot float I gained my balance, but the damage was done, and cold tailwater rushed down my waders and filled my stocking feet. My frontpack and fly boxes were soaked.

Midstream Pockets

A bit later I landed a decent brown trout that I decided to photograph. In order to remove the fly and get a grip, I kneeled, but when I did so, cold water rushed down along my thighs. Where was this coming from? I assumed that it originated from water collected inside my waders and pooled just above my cinched wader belt.

Highlight of the Day

By 2:30PM some dark clouds rolled in, and I heard distant thunder, so I went through the chore of removing my gear in order to pull on my raincoat. I continued fishing for another fifteen minutes, and a short period of rain ensued, but then I heard more thunder and decided to call it a day. I sloshed back to the car including the one mile climb from the creek to the trailhead. My wet state actually helped cool me on the uphill climb, and the clouds remained for much of my return hike, so that I was not as hot, as I expected.

Tough Cast Beneath the Branches

When I arrived at the car I removed everything, and pulled on a change of clothes. After I dumped the water from my waders, I inspected them, and I discovered a small tear in the seat area that was the length of the end of my little finger. This explained the sensation of rushing water on my thighs, when I was releasing the brown trout. It was my second day of using my new waders, and I already damaged them. I recalled stumbling backward early in the day and landing on a log with sharp branch stubs, so I suspect that incident precipitated the tear. When I returned home, I dried out the waders and patched them, so they should be ready for my next fly fishing adventure.

Thirty-six is a big number day, and the size of the fish was quite acceptable. Obviously my brief swim and tearing my waders put a bit of a damper on my enjoyment, but the biggest disappointment was the relative lack of success with green drake flies. Hopefully the water managers cooperate, and I am able to visit South Boulder Creek again soon. In fact, as long as I am submitting wishes, another drop in flows would be highly welcome.

Fish Landed: 36

Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 07/30/2024 Photo Album

Today can be described as a day with a close encounter, equipment failure, and a fantastic day of fly fishing. Let me explain.

I fished four out of five weekdays during the previous week, but three days of grandson and grand puppy sitting had me craving another day for fly fishiing. Wednesday and Thursday were already booked with non-fishing commitments, so Tuesday was a day available to fish. I cashed it in. The flows of South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir were listed at 165 CFS, and that level was maintained for three days. I have had success in the past at flows as high as 180 CFS, so I decided to give it a try. I was also curious to discover whether green drakes announced their presence on the small Front Range tailwater.

Because of the work expanding Gross Reservoir, I was forced to drive through Boulder and then over Flagstaff Mountain to the Walker Loop Trailhead. Traffic was heavy on the Boulder Turnpike, but I used my Express Pass to avoid the worst tie ups. Tuesday became a more expensive fishing day with express toll usage required on both my outbound and inbound drives.

Four or five cars preceded me to the parking lot, but as best as I could tell, none seemed to be fishermen. The sun was pounding down on the car, as I prepared to fish, and the dashboard informed me that it was 81 degrees at 9AM. I debated whether to hike in to the creek in my waders, or whether to wear my wet wading pants and boots and carry my waders in my large backpack. I chose hiking in the waders, since it seemed far less hassle. For my casting tool I chose my Loomis two piece five weight.

Roughly half way down my descent of the Walker Loop Trail, my left foot seemed to be looser than normal. I stopped to examine the cause and discovered that the Boa cable on my Korkers had broken. Needless to say, I was not happy about this development. I was too far along to return to the car, and was unsure if I had a means to repair it in any case. I plunged ahead and racked my brain for some sort of temporary fix. The best I could concoct was to find a vine and wrap it around the wader boot and secure with a knot. It never happened, and I hiked in and out and fished for five hours with a very loose left wading boot. I made sure the wader cuff remained in place, and I was able to manage through the Boa failure. When I returned to the car, I noticed that the cable on the right boot was also frayed, so I scheduled time to replace both Boa cables. I have done it before, and I have several backup cables in my fly tying desk.

Prime Rainbow Spot

As I strolled along contemplating a boot fix, I heard a loud clop clop sound, and I instantly froze. I spotted a glimpse of movement in the trees ahead of me, and then I heard a splash, and a huge antlered moose stood in the middle of South Boulder Creek and stared back at me. I concluded the clop clop sound was the hooves of the moose striking rocks. I backtracked a short distance to an opening next to the creek, and I frantically pulled out my camera and snapped a photo. Next I hit the video button, and the moose decided I was not a threat, as it waded downstream and then crossed the other half of the creek to the opposite shore. I kept my camera out and proceeded down the trail a short distance to another opening, and I recorded another clip of the moose, as it meandered out of sight into a grove of evergreen trees. My heartrate was quite elevated after this encounter.

Moose Crossing

In spite of the loose boot, I arrived at my chosen starting point along the stream and began fly fishing by 10:00AM. I began with an amber ice dub body size 8 chubby chernobyl trailing a size 14 prince nymph and a size 14 iron sally. During the morning session between 10:00AM and noon I landed twenty trout. One grabbed the iron sally, four attacked the chubby, and one snatched the salvation nymph, after I swapped it for the iron sally. The remaining fourteen gobbled the prince nymph. All my action came from slower moving pockets, riffles and runs near the right bank. A few trout under six inches were also part of the morning, and refusals to the chubby were a frustration. I must admit, however, it is hard to be frustrated with twenty fish in two hours, although the size of the fish was somewhat lacking. I did manage one thirteen inch brown with dark spots, but most of the catch fell within the six to nine inch range.

Morning Brown Trout

Nice Spot

During lunch I observed quite a few yellow sallies floating skyward, so I decided to switch tactics, and I converted to a size 14 yellow stimulator and a size 14 peacock hippie stomper in a double dry fly configuration. The combination met with decent success, and I boosted the fish count from twenty to thirty. The trout ate either the stimulator or hippie stomper in roughly equal proportions, but the trailing stomper seemed to generate a larger number of refusals.

Love the Pattern on This Rainbow

Excellent Brown Trout

The thirtieth fish was a stunning thirteen inch brown trout, but then I once again experienced refusals, and I began to wonder, if the trout were seeking green drakes and perhaps the hippie stomper was a close but not close enough approximation? I replaced the hippie stomper with a parachute green drake, and I managed a few small brown trout, but the paradrake was an overwhelmingly excellent refusal generator. I returned to the hippie stomper, and eventually I raised the fish count to forty-one. Number thirty-nine was a gorgeous rainbow trout of thirteen inches and perhaps the best fish of the day.

Deep Body Color on This Rainbow

Top Notch Brown

The most productive areas were riffles of moderate depth and medium current velocity. Trout seemed to appear out of nowhere in these spots, and this was especially true, while I had the prince nymph on my line. Short deep pools and shelf pools were consistently unproductive, and I am unable to explain that circumstance.

Shelf Along the Far Bank Yielded Two Nice Rainbows

At forty-one I was satisfied with my day, and my watch indicated that it was 3PM, so I hit the trail with my loose left boot. I was concerned about hiking out with the loose fit in the afternoon heat, as the return hike involved a one mile climb up a steep hill. I took my time and drank an abundant quantity of water and reached the parking lot by 4:00PM. I passed three other anglers in the creek on the way back, and two fishermen arrived and were preparing to fish, as I removed my gear. When I removed my right wader leg, I discovered that my hiking sock was saturated with water to the point, where I could wring it out. I added wader repair to boot repair on my list of Wednesday afternoon activities.

Pretty in Pink

Wide Pool

Tuesday proved to be an eventful day on South Boulder Creek. Landing forty plus fish is always rewarding, but seeing a wild moose within casting distance was easily the highlight of the day. My ability to enjoy a successful outing while dealing with a broken boot was also a noteworthy accomplishment. I spotted one solitary green drake, so they are imminent, but the fish are not yet tuned into the large western mayflies.

Fish Landed: 41

Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 10/20/2023 Photo Album

Highs in Denver, CO were projected to reach 84 degrees on Friday, October 20, and this translated to the 70’s in most Front Range drainages, so I decided to take advantage and made a late season fishing trip a priority on my schedule. I reviewed the flows on my favorite creek, South Boulder Creek, and I was pleased to determine that the creek was sluicing along below the dam at 91 CFS. South Boulder Creek contains a higher percentage of rainbow trout than many Front Range streams, and I always gravitate to this factor during the brown and brook trout spawning season.

Because of the dam expansion work on Gross Reservoir, I was forced to drive on the Boulder Turnpike, and then I negotiated the twisting road through Flagstaff Park to the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead parking lot. By the time I strung my Loomis two piece five weight and hiked down the trail, it was 11:30AM. I tied a peacock hippie stomper to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph to initiate my Friday fishing outing. The hares ear and salvation were effective in previous ventures to South Boulder Creek in the October time frame, and this guided my choice of flies.

Promising Spot

Prior to lunch I landed three small brown trout, as two nipped the salvation nymph, and one grabbed the hares ear; however, this encouraging bit of action was accompanied by numerous refusals to the hippie stomper. I paused for lunch in a nice small beach area along the south bank, and after lunch I proceeded upstream. The angle of the sun was such that I had great difficulty following the hippie stomper through the glare, and I missed a couple trout after temporary hook ups, because I was late as a result of not tracking the surface fly.

Pretty Little Fish

I swapped the hippie stomper for a larger size 8 tan pool toy hopper, and I retained the hares ear and salvation, and I elevated the fish count slowly to five, but refusals to the pool toy became a prevalent condition. Once again I paused to ponder the reluctance of the trout to consume my dry fly offering, and I decided to test a size 8 yellow fat Albert. I was actually hoping to find a fly that did not distract the stream residents from the nymphs. I also swapped the salvation nymph for a prince nymph; and the fat Albert, hares ear and prince remained on my line, until I quit at 2:30PM. I raised the fish count from five to fourteen, but the largest fish on the day extended only to nine inches with most of the landed trout brown trout in the six to eight inch range. One small seven inch rainbow managed to join the parade of small browns.

Prime Dry/Dropper Water

Fourteen trout in three and a half hours of fishing is respectable, but the size of the fish was sorely lacking. Could the larger and more mature brown trout have been preoccupied with reproducing? I did not see any spawning activity, but the absence of larger fish certainly suggests that theory as a viable one. I fished a section of the stream that historically delivered high fish counts and larger fish on average. Many prime deep shelf pools and deep runs also failed to produce, and this circumstance was equally puzzling. During this spectacular fall day I felt strong vibes that my 2023 season was coming to an end. I will keep a close eye on the weather in the coming weeks.

Fish Landed: 14

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

Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/20/2023 Photo Album

On 8/16/2023 I made a trip to South Boulder Creek after a long hiatus due to dam expansion construction, road closures, and high flows. I experienced a fun day with flows at 155 CFS, and I was excited to make a return. I mentioned the idea of a visit to South Boulder Creek to my young fishing friend, Nate, and he was interested as well. I sold him on visiting a scenic location, wild trout and a green drake hatch. It did not take much convincing, and we arranged to make the trip on Sunday, August 20. I am generally averse to fishing on weekends, but Nate’s only days off are Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday; so I made an exception.

Nate drove, and we used the route through Boulder, CO and Flagstaff Park and arrived at a very busy parking lot at the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead on Sunday morning. We were relieved and pleased to discover open parking spaces. The air temperature was already in the low eighties, so we knew that Sunday was destined to be a hot day, and we both avoided thinking about the one mile uphill climb from the creek to the parking lot at the end of the day. Flows on the DWR web site were 144 CFS, and this represented a decline from August 16, but the water level was still higher than ideal in this angler’s opinion.

Heck of a Spot

I assembled my older Sage four weight, and we departed on the wide dirt trail toward South Boulder Creek, and we reached our designated starting point by 10:45AM. The hike in was taxing in the warm temperatures, and we could not contemplate the mostly uphill return. I assembled a South Boulder Creek fly box for Nate that included parachute green drakes, green drake comparaduns, a user friendly green drake, some foam beetles, a couple Chernobyl ants, and a parachute hopper. We both began our search for wild trout at 11:00AM with a size 14 parachute green drake, and we were quickly vindicated for our choice, By the time we stopped for lunch at 11:45AM, Nate was on the board with six splendid trout, and I netted eight. Although Nate recorded fewer trout, he made up for that fact with larger fish.

Nice Early Action

At the start of our day on the creek, we were able to cross to the south bank, and we worked our way upstream on that side for most of the day. A few wide spots offered moderated flows, and enabled us to cross. I generally believe that fishing the side of the river opposite a road or pathway is more productive, and on Sunday we mostly followed this tactic. During the afternoon I observed six natural green drakes, as they made the ascent from the river. They were large dark olive blurs and they glided smoothly skyward to begin their adult lives.

Zoomed a Bit Closer

I persisted with the parachute green drake for my entire stay on South Boulder Creek. For the last thirty minutes I added a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis as a second fly behind the green drake, and the caddis produced a pair of brown trout. Nate followed the same strategy for much of the day, but he also tested a user friendly green drake and a green drake comparadun in a double dry fly alignment. These trials produced a few fish, but we concluded that they did not match the pace of success that the single parachute dry yielded during the morning and early afternoon.

Dave’s Best

At one point in the afternoon Nate equaled his record for number of trout caught in a day at eleven, but a long dry spell with the double dry caused him to reevaluate. He plucked a royal madam X from his fly box, and instantly an inviting pool under an overhanging branch, that seemed lifeless with the double dry, jumped to life and produced two chunky brown trout. The madam X was a sure fired winner, and Nate jumped his fish count to eighteen on the back of the madam X. Actually Nate was not sure whether the count was seventeen or eighteen, but I grabbed the higher number to set the hurdle higher for his next outing.

Better Lighting

By 4:30PM the action slowed to a snail’s pace, and the bright sun in a cloudless sky beat down on our beings. We were hot and weary, and we reached a convenient exit point, so we climbed a steep bank back to the path and hoofed it back to the parking lot. Of course a fair amount of perspiration was involved in the one mile climb, but we both agreed it was worth it for a total of forty-two fish landed in a spectacular setting.

Nate on Fire

This report would not be complete without an account of two incidents that were ancillary to our fly fishing. I knew water would be a valuable commodity on the predicted hot day, so I stuffed my water filter system in my fishing backpack, and after lunch I pulled it out and filled the small bladder with creek liquid. I was holding my larger hydration bladder with my left hand and squeezing filtered water into the large bag with my right hand, when a large black ant crawled across my thumb and tumbled into the bladder. What now? Initially I was willing to continue with ant flavored water, but Nate convinced me that was not a good idea. Credit goes to Nate for patiently tilting the bag on its side, and then giving it a quick lift which flooded the ant to freedom. He was able to complete this rescue with only a small amount of lost water. I did, however, filter a second batch and topped off my hydration bladder.

Careful Hook Removal

During the early afternoon Nate lost awareness of his position, and he flicked a backcast into an overhanging evergreen bough behind him. He was beside himself with frustration, although any angler knows that these events are part of the sport. The fly was on the end of the branch, and it hung approximately ten feet above the surface of the creek. Nate was skeptical that we could reach the branch, but I was not willing to surrender. I scanned the bank behind us, and I found a long and straight dead log that was approximately four inches in diameter and six feet long. I handed it to Nate, and he was able apply pressure and bend the branch downward, but he had a rod in his other hand, and he was unable to reach up while pressuring the branch. I took his rod and moved to his opposite side, and we tried a second time. I was now reaching as high as I could, but the tip of the bough remained a few inches beyond my grasp. I pulled my wading staff from my right side, and I used it to push downward closer to the tip than Nate’s pressure point, and a miracle happened. On one of my sweeps, the wading stick wrapped the line and dragged both flies free! If only we had a third person to record this stream rescue adventure. We must have looked like a crazy team.

Sunday was a superb outing for this addicted fly angler. I was able to introduce Nate to some new sections of South Boulder Creek and to the hot fishing that accompanies the presence of large green drake mayflies. I described it to him in conversation, but that was not the same as actually experiencing it live. Best of all I gained a companion for fishing my favorite Front Range stream. Hopefully the flows will decline more before the green drakes disappear from the South Boulder Creek menu.

Fish Landed: 24

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/16/2023 Photo Album

I consider my home waters to be South Boulder Creek, but quite a bit of time elapsed since my last visit. I frequently complain about the variability of the flows on this small tailwater, but that nuisance is now complicated by the construction to expand Gross Reservoir. Twice last year I was forced to abort a trip to South Boulder Creek, when I encountered digital signs announcing the closure of Gross Dam Road. Up until recently the flows remained too high to attempt a trip, but upon my return from Carbondale, I noticed the graph depicted several days of 155 CFS. I fished at 180 CFS in August in previous years with some success especially during the green drake emergence, so I got serious about making the trip.

I visited the grossreservoir.org web site and reviewed the map that tracked road closures and interruptions. My normal route to South Boulder Creek is via Coal Creek Canyon and then down Gross Dam Road, but that route was displayed in red, and the web site informed visitors that the road was closed until 2027. Yikes. I’ll be 76 by then and probably unable to fish anymore! Upon further review, however, I determined that I could access the creek from the north by traveling through Boulder and then following Flagstaff Road. I called the Denver Water customer service number and spoke with a friendly young lady named Bernice, and she confirmed my conclusion that the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead was open and accessible without interference from the Gross Dam project. My maps application indicated that the northern route extended my drive by fifteen minutes, and consultation with my friend, Nate, suggested that the hike to the middle creek section was comparable to that from the fishermen parking lot near the dam. I was sold on a day of fishing in South Boulder Creek.

155 CFS

I arrived at the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead parking lot, and the temperature was already in the low eighties. Eight other vehicles occupied spaces, but I was unable to determine whether the occupants were fishermen, hikers or bikers. I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight and departed down the dirt trail at the south end of the parking lot. I chose the Loomis, because I like the slow action and the way it casts dry flies and dry/droppers, and I assumed those approaches would dominate on Wednesday.

Nice Deep Run

As I hiked along the creek, I was surprised to discover two other anglers, and they were positioned in the middle of the stretch I targeted. Initially I was inclined to reverse direction and move upstream, but then I concluded that I planned to hike a significant distance below them, and by the time I fished upstream to their current spot, I was fairly certain that they would be gone. When I arrived at my chosen starting point, I realized that the flows were indeed 155 CFS, but the creek was very clear. I quickly determined that I was unlikely to cross due to the swift currents in the center of the creek; and, in fact, I did spend my entire day casting along the right bank.

Buttery Brown

Another Fine Brown Trout

To start my search for hungry trout I armed my line with a peacock hippie stomper and a Jake’s gulp beetle. The combination quickly generated four trout, with two nice brown trout chomping on the beetle. After the initial burst of action, however, the takes slowed to zero, and refusals began to dominate my morning. I removed the beetle, and not wishing to miss out on green drake feeding, I replaced the foam terrestrial with a size 14 parachute green drake. The change paid dividends, and I built the fish count to nine by the time I broke for lunch. Roughly half the eaters favored the hippie stomper with the others chowing down on the green drake.

Another Promising Slick

After lunch I resumed my upstream progression, and the stomper and drake combination spurred the fish count to seventeen. This took place over a couple hours, so the action was steady but not hot. A decent number of refusals and looks were interspersed with the eaters, and I was forced to move frequently to find takers after the solitary fish in a pocket refused my offering. Refusals seemed to prevail more often in the slower moving pools; whereas, takes were prevalent at the tail or along seams. I only spotted two natural green drakes during my entire time on the water, and I was surprised by this. The temperature probably spiked to the low eighties, and the heat may have been a factor in the lack of natural green drakes.

A Better View of the Parachute Green Drake

Hippie Stomper

When I reached seventeen, the fish became ultra fussy, and I suffered a long fish landing drought. I concluded it was time to change. The green drake was generating looks, but no eats, so I replaced it with a green drake comparadun. I loved the look of this fly with a large fan shaped deer hair wing and long moose mane tails, and initially two above average sized trout loved it as well. However after the initial burst of action, the comparadun failed to interest additional trout, so I implemented a radical shift to a dry/dropper featuring a tan size 10 pool toy hopper, beadhead hares ear nymph, and a salvation nymph. The hopper was ignored, but the hares ear and salvation produced one fish each. In order to land these two fish I covered some prime water with no success, so I pondered yet another change. I reverted to the foam beetle as the first fly and then added a Harrop hair wing green drake as the second dry. This combination was a dud, but as I was slinging the pair, I spotted a couple pale morning duns. I snipped off the hair wing and replaced it with a size 16 cinnamon comparadun.

Vivid Black Spots on This Rainbow

Rainbow Was Tight to the Rock

By now I reached a narrow fast section that in the past signaled my exit point, so I followed tradition and scaled the rocky bank to the path. On my return hike I paused at two typically productive pools, and I added two more fish to the count to bring the total to twenty-three. Both of the late eaters sipped the trailing cinnamon comparadun.

Love the Orange Spots

The worst part of my day was still ahead of me, however. My new hiking trail to the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead necessitated a one mile ascent from the creek to the parking lot. I executed small steps, drank water and paused many times, before I arrived at the parking lot. Needless to say, I was drenched in perspiration, and this condition developed in spite of some large black clouds obscuring the sun for much of my climb. Hopefully the difficulty of the one mile hike will fade from my memory banks, before I consider another visit to South Boulder Creek.

Wildflower

Twenty-three fish certainly represented a successful day in the South Boulder Creek canyon. Three brown trout and one rainbow extended to a foot with the remainder falling in the six to eleven inch range. The trout never locked into the green drakes in a manner comparable to previous August visits, when I logged ridiculous fish counts. Was it the heat, the higher flows, or the presence of a pair of anglers ahead of me? I will never know the answer to that puzzle, but I intend to return as soon as I can forget the strenuous climb at the end of the day.

Fish Landed: 23