Time: 10:00AM 3:00PM

Location: In the vicinity of Lodgepole Campground

Taylor River 07/22/2025 Photo Album

Jane and I snagged a first come, first serve campsite number one at Lodgepole Campground for July 21 and 22. On the day of our arrival, we hiked along the Taylor River, and then we completed a four mile hike on the South Lottis Creek Trail. We did these hikes after driving from Denver to Lodgepole and after putting up our tent and canopy. The weather was magnificent with high temperatures in the upper seventies.

A Good Starting Point

Solid Water Ahead

Tuesday was my day to fish. This gave Jane access to the car, although she never took advantage. After a tasty breakfast, I prepared to fish the Taylor River. I selected my Sage R8 four weight and pulled on my brand new Guideline waders and set out for the river. Jane accompanied me to make sure that I did not attempt any unsafe crossings. While she was watching, I actually tried to cross at two spots near the campground, but using my better judgement, I reversed course and moved on. Eventually I found my preferred crossing point and managed to wade across the river, as Jane observed. The Taylor River is one where I firmly believe that fishing away from the pressured bank next to the road is advantageous.

Fine Fish

By 10:00AM I was positioned along the left bank, and I opted for a size 14 peacock hippie stomper trailing a size 14 parachute green drake. I suspected that July 22 was near prime green drake emergence time, and history told me that trout have long memories, when it comes to western green drakes.

Getting Bigger

During the first forty-five minutes I built the fish count to three. One of the early catches was a decent twelve inch brown trout that grabbed the trailing green drake on a downstream drift. The other two trout were small browns that favored the hippie stomper. During this time, I experienced quite a few refusals and several long distance releases. It seemed that the fish were drawn to the large hackles and profile of the stomper, so when the hackle on the parachute green drake got shredded by fish teeth, I replaced it with a size 14 green drake comparadun. This comparadun had a large and high fan-wing with a long moose mane tail. The switch made a difference, and I increased the fish count to ten, before I broke for lunch at noon. A thirteen inch rainbow and a couple twelve inch browns were among the late morning catch, and the fly of choice was split fairly evenly between the stomper and the comparadun..

Along the Seam

After lunch it seemed that the comparadun was favored, and the pace of action accelerated. I actually saw a natural green drake between 1:00PM and 2:00PM, and this sighting was accompanied by some rises. The actual hatch, if there was one, took place between 1PM and 2PM.

Green Drake Comparadun Slimed

More Shelf Water

By 2:15PM the maroon thread rib on the comparadun began to unravel, and there was a lull, so I replaced it with a fresh comparadun. This fly, however, presented a sparser wing, and the fish avoided it. Perhaps I needed a fly with bushy hackling? I tested a size 14 Harrop hair wing, but it also failed to deliver. I inspected my green drake box and found another comparadun with a dense wing. It was tied to the leader from the stomper, and between two and three o’clock I added three trout to boost the count to nineteen.

Solid

Best of the Day

The prime green drake time from 12:30PM until 2:00PM accounted for trout numbers eleven through sixteen. One of these netted fish was a healthy fifteen inch brown trout that gulped the comparadun at the lip of a pocket not more than eight feet above me. This fish charged into fast water, and I was forced to follow it downstream over some rather large and slippery boulders. Another highlight was a rainbow, only the second of the day, that crushed the compardun on the first cast to a faster run. A testy battle ensued.

Along the Log Is Obvious Fish Magnet

I quit at 3PM and crossed once again at the location, where I knew it was doable. Nineteen fish was a decent day on the Taylor River. Six fish in the twelve to fifteen inch range were notable. The best aspect of the day; however, was fishing green drakes. Casting large green drake dry flies to hungry trout is one of my favorite activities. Hopefully I can encounter more such occurrences in 2025.

Fish Landed: 19

Time: 1:00PM – 3:00PM, 4:30PM – 5:45PM

Location: Between Lodgepole CG and Lottis Creek CG

Taylor River 08/13/2024 Photo Album

I removed my raincoat for the two mile trek from Lottis Creek to Lodgepole, but I still perspired. By the time I sat on a rock to eat lunch, the sun appeared, and the temperature was delightful and in the upper sixties. I planned to cross the river near my lunch spot, as historically the north bank fished better than the roadside with more and bigger fish. I chose a line that I deemed doable, but after three steps, I thought better of the attempt. The current was swift, and the distance to the opposite shore was intimidating, and I am seventy-three years old. For once, I exercised my better judgement.

I decided to focus my fishing on the south bank upstream from my abandoned crossing point under the theory that the water near the campground gets pounded by the campers. After two hours of frustrating fishing, I discovered that the less pressured section along the south bank remains that way for a reason. There are very few attractive fish holding spots. I skipped around many fast riffles, where the current ran tight up against the bank. I managed to land three brown trout. The first was a respectable chunky twelve inch fish that snatched a pheasant tail nymph. I began my quest for Taylor River fish with an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher and a beadhead pheasant tail. The 20 incher was there for depth, and the pheasant tail was a response to a pale morning dun sighting.

Afternoon Best

The dry/dropper stopped producing, and a few sporadic rises appeared among a brief flurry of PMD emergences, so I switched to a double dry featuring the reliable peacock hippie stomper trailing a light gray size 16 comparadun. Frustration reigned. Both flies provoked refusals or in a few cases foul hooked fish, as the trailing fly penetrated the fish after a snub of the first fly. Clearly the fish were eating something. Could body color be the difference? I exchanged the light gray for the same size in cinnamon. Finally two small browns ate my flies. One gulped the stomper, and the other sipped the PMD.

Very Attractive Pool

It was approaching 3PM, and the western sky darkened, so I paused my day and hiked back to the campground. I gave some thought to driving to Spring Creek to salvage the day, but those thoughts were drowned by a deluge of showers. Jane was in the car staying dry, so I jumped in the drivers’ seat, and we watched waves of water cascade down the windshield.

Evening Action

Shelf Pool Bonanza

Finally we decided to drive the five miles to the Taylor Reservoir Overlook, where cell phone service was available. Eventually the sky brightened, and I completed Connections and the Mini, so we retreated to the campground. I remained in my waders, so I geared up and crossed the highway to to the south shoreline section near the campground. I swapped the comparadun for a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis, and I methodically forged a path up the river while prospecting likely spots. In 1.25 hours I landed six additional trout including a pair of decent twelve inch battlers. I also momentarily hooked what felt like a bigger fish, but it broke off the caddis. This late afternoon session salvaged my day, and I returned to the campground in better spirits.

Fish Landed: 9

Rain Yields Mushrooms

Time: 10:00AM – 11:45AM

Location: Near Lottis Creek Campground

Lottis Creek 08/13/2024 Photo Album

My wife, Jane, expressed an interest in camping, since she had not camped since 2023, so I accessed the USFS campground reservation service and reserved campsite number eleven at Lodgepole Campground along the Taylor River for two nights, August 12 and 13. Jane does not fly fish, and we only had one car, so the campground location was ideal, since it was directly across from a section of the Taylor River that I like to fish. I could operate independently, while she commandeered the car for a trip to hike and browse around Crested Butte.

We made the drive to our campground on Monday, and stopped for a sumptuous lunch at the House Rock Kitchen along the main street in Buena Vista. By the time we arrived at Lodgepole, it was three PM, and we quickly set up the canopy and tent, before we took a stroll along the river.

Small Stream

Tuesday was my allotted day to fish. I mentioned that historically the Taylor does not fish well in the morning, and I often fish Spring Creek for a few hours before returning for prime time on the Taylor River in the afternoon. We tried to devise a plan whereby Jane dropped me off at Spring Creek, but all the scenarios had me not returning to the Taylor until 2:00PM. As an alternative I thought of Lottis Creek. I checked the map, and it was two miles from Lottis Creek to Lodgepole, so we adopted a new plan. Jane would drop me off at Lottis Creek, and I would fish for a few hours in the morning, and then I would hike the two miles back to Lodgepole to fish the Taylor. Neither of us would be constrained by timing deadlines to meet up.

Early Catch

I prepared to fish at the campsite with my Sage R8 four weight, and Jane dropped me off next to the campground at 10:00AM. The air temperature was in the sixties, and the sky was quite overcast, so I wore my rain shell for warmth. I was geared up with my rod strung, so I advanced immediately to the small creek that was running quite full for August 13. I began my day with a Chernobyl ant, and I landed a pair of small browns.

Big Boy

Home of Big Boy Between Branch and Log

After a fast start, I began to witness refusals, so I added a beadhead hares ear nymph two feet below the Chernobyl. Once I was ready, I flicked a short cast to a narrow band of slow water tight to the bank. I had already fished the spot, before I added the hares ear, so I had low expectations. In fact, it was a perfunctory effort aimed more at simply getting the nymph wet in anticipation of a cast farther upstream. While I watched the top fly, I noticed a fish beneath the surface making a quick move, so I set in case it grabbed the nymph. It did! Not only that, but this fish was a monster compared to the small size of Lottis Creek. It put up a powerful fight in a confined space, before I slid the fourteen inch brown trout into my net. This catch vindicated my decision to fish Lottis, and in fact, it made my day.

Salivating Over This Stretch

I continued fishing the Chernobyl and hares ear upstream and added five more trout to the count to reach eight. One was a six inch brook trout, one was an eight inch rainbow, and the remainder were small browns with perhaps one or two twelve inch fish in the mix.

At 11:45AM I called it quits and departed on my two mile jaunt along the highway back to Lodgepole. In 1.75 hours of fishing, I landed eight fish including a fourteen inch prize. I was pleased with my session on Lottis Creek.

Fish Landed: 8

Time: 4:00PM – 5:30PM

Location: From the highway upstream beyond the campground

Lottis Creek 07/14/2022 Photo Album

I drove from the Taylor River back to our campsite. Jane returned from her nine mile hike, and some thunder sounded in the west. I exchanged my Scott five weight for my Sage four weight, given the smaller stream dimensions of Lottis Creek.

I hiked from the campground to the bridge, where the highway crosses the creek, and I worked my way upstream. The sky was dark and gloomy the entire time, and I wore my raincoat through steady rain for the last half hour.

Promising

Initially I tossed a classic Chernobyl size 10 solo, and the fish count quickly bounced to four. At that point the action slowed, and I added a hares ear on an eighteen inch dropper. I was anxious to discover whether I was bypassing fish that were willing to get their meals below the surface. I covered a lot of the stream with the dry/dropper and cherry picked spots with depth and built the count to seven. Most of the second wave of fish that I landed grabbed the trailing hares ear.

Struggling Against Rubber

Nice for Small Stream

An extended dry spell motivated me to make another switch, and I went double dry with an olive hippie stomper and a size 14 yellow stimulator. Two of the last three fish bashed the stimulator and one crushed the stomper.

Ten fish in 1.5 hours was a success in my book. A pair of twelve inch browns topped the chart, with the remainder falling in the six to nine inch range.

Fish Landed: 10

Under the Branch Looks Prime

Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Vicinity of Lodgepole Campground

Taylor River 07/14/2022 Photo Album

During our guided float trip on Tuesday our guide mentioned that he attended a wedding at Harmel’s Ranch Resort along the Taylor River. He reported that he spent a few hours fly fishing the Taylor River, and green drakes were the food of choice. My ears perked up, since I knew that Jane and I reserved a campsite at Lottis Creek Campground along the Taylor River on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, July 13 and 14. Would I encounter my favorite hatch, the western green drake?

The day began with the temperature in the low sixties, but the appearance of the sun in clear skies caused the thermometer to rise to the seventies by lunch time. During the afternoon some heavy clouds rolled in, and this kept the temperature in check in the low to mid seventies. I slipped Dave G.’s Scott five weight from the tube and assembled it for another day of fly fishing. Dave G. loaned me the Scott while the broken tip on my Sage One gets repaired. The river was cascading along in the low 400 CFS range, and it was crystal clear.

Near My Start

I began my venture with a size 8 fat Albert, Pat’s rubber leg, and a prince nymph. I was hoping the green drake nymphs and stoneflies were on the main menu for Taylor River trout. After a decent amount of time with no action, I switched to an iron sally and a salvation nymph. and after the change I landed two small brown trout; one on the salvation and a second on the iron sally. Eventually I swapped the fat Albert for an olive hippie stomper while retaining the iron sally and salvation, and this trio of flies yielded the most success. The majority of the landed trout grabbed the salvation nymph. Number three and four were easily the best fish of the day, as a fifteen inch brown and sixteen inch rainbow nabbed the salvation.  Add three or four twelve inch browns to the mix with the remainder being relatively small browns, and you have a solid picture of my day on the Taylor.

Impressive Number Three

Taking Off

Taylor River Brown Trout

Between 12:30PM and 1:30PM, there was a sparse pale morning dun hatch and a fairly heavy yellow sally emergence. This coincided with my best action on the salvation nymph. I covered quite a bit of stream real estate and found a new crossing point at 3PM, at which point I ended my day with dark clouds rolling in from the west. I failed to observe a single green drake, and I concluded I should have driven farther downstream to where the hatch begins earlier in the season.

Fish Landed: 11

Very Attractive Pool and Run

Time: 10:00AM – 1:30PM

Location: Between Harmel Resort and Spring Creek Reservoir

Spring Creek 07/28/2021 Photo Album

Wednesday was my getaway day from the Taylor River Valley, and I needed to choose between fishing the Taylor, returning to Spring Creek or seeking out another creek not yet visited. The choice was rather easy after landing a combined total of thirty-two fish on Spring Creek in two separate visits on Tuesday. I enjoyed the hour of fishing on the Taylor River with western green drakes on Tuesday, but the non-hatch times were extremely slow. I slept in a bit later on Wednesday morning and packed all my gear and departed the campground by 9:00AM. The tent was covered with dew, so I rolled it up along with the rainfly and stuffed it under a pair of bins. Once I returned home, I could spread everything out in the patio, and it would dry in minutes given the hot, dry temperatures in Denver.

I made the thirty minute drive to Spring Creek and found a pullout upstream from my locations on Tuesday. Before I parked, however, I drove north along the creek a bit to make sure that the gradient was not excessive, and also that I could find a relatively manageable exit point. My Orvis Access four weight remained rigged from Tuesday, so it was not long before I waded into the creek to begin my Wednesday adventure. I was admittedly rather confident, after I enjoyed substantial success the previous day. On Tuesday morning I prospected almost entirely with a peacock body hippie stomper, and this strategy led to eighteen trout in two hours of fishing. How could Wednesday not be a repeat?

Change is constant in fly fishing, and Wednesday was not a repeat of Tuesday morning. Naturally I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my line, and in the first twenty minutes I landed two brown trout that exceeded my six inch minimum. This was not the relaxed dry fly fishing that I experienced on Tuesday. For each fish I landed, I witnessed three refusals. For some reason the same attractor fly that the Spring Creek trout loved on Tuesday was now avoided. On Tuesday afternoon I modified my approach to that of dry/dropper fishing, so I decided to make the same switch on Wednesday. My line absorbed a Chernobyl ant and trailed a salvation nymph and eventually a hares ear to gain more depth, but the dry/dropper technique on Wednesday morning was a bust. I landed one small brown trout on the Chernobyl ant, and the nymphs were blatantly ignored.

What now? I observed a couple of yellow sallies along with a veritable swarm of spruce moths. I began my experimentation with a yellow size 14 stimulator, but refusals reigned, so I abandoned it after ten minutes. I peered into my fly box for large caddis flies and spotted a size 14 muggly caddis with a light gray body. Perhaps the muggly caddis imitated the spruce moth? I knotted it to my line, and in a short amount of time it attracted the attention of two trout. My optimism quickly waned; however, as the fly failed to produce in some attractive spots, and the body and wing absorbed water and began to sink. I grew weary of the excessive drying and pondered yet another switch. By now I had fished for forty-five minutes, and the fish count rested on five.

Harrop Hair Wing Green Drake Getting It Done

Green drakes hatched on the Taylor River on Tuesday. Could the same aquatic insects be present on this cold tributary stream, and could their emergence lag their appearance on the main river? I decided to give one a try and attached a Harrop hair wing green drake to my line. Finally I met with success, and I began catching trout with some regularity bringing the fish counter to nine after one hour of fishing. Suddenly my day of frustration morphed into one of optimism, as my catch rate mirrored the rate for the two morning hours of the previous day!

Fine Brown Trout

After a period of steady production the hair wing became saturated with fish slime and moisture, and like the muggly caddis it required constant sopping, trips to the dry shake vial, and application of floatant. I yearned for a green drake imitation that floated better, and I actually had such a fly in my box. I retrieved a user friendly green drake with its narrow foam back, and I replaced the Harrop hair wing. The user friendly proved its worth, as five additional brown trout succumbed to its magic, but then once again I endured a lengthy lull in prime trout habitat.

What a Trout Lie!

User Friendly Visible in the Mouth

I never actually observed a natural green drake, so I concluded that perhaps the sparse hatch was over or perhaps the normal emergence period had passed. I elected to try the terrestrial route and equipped my line with a size 14 Jake’s gulp beetle. The beetle prompted a few looks, but it was not on the menu, so I once again paused to consider my options. Could a double dry fly be the ticket? Maybe I did not give the hippie stomper a fair chance? I found a peacock body stomper in my frontpack and attached it to my tippet, and then I added a purple haze on a foot long dropper. The double dropper method seemed to be in vogue so far in the summer of 2021, so why not give it another chance?

Small Shelf Pool

Suddenly trout appeared where I expected them to be, and the purple haze became a desirable treat for the Spring Creek trout. The two relatively large surface flies with large white wings were relatively easy to follow, and I capitalized to move the fish counter from eighteen to twenty-six. The purple haze became a hot commodity, and some larger than average trout went out of their way to crush the purple bodied attractor fly.

Chunky One

Unfortunately the torrid action suddenly ceased, and I spent the last thirty minutes in futility. Quality pools and pockets similar to ones that recently delivered multiple trout abruptly seemed to be devoid of fish. The lack of action and the advancement of my watch to 1:30PM prompted me to call it quits with a 4.5 hour drive to Denver ahead of me.

Subtle Fish Holding Water Here

I approached Wednesday with the expectation of tying a hippie stomper to my line, and that simple step would invite a parade of wild trout to compete to chomp the large attractor dry fly. It did not evolve that way. Three flies accounted for the bulk of my catch, and they were the Harrop hair wing green drake, user friendly green drake and purple haze. Wednesday’s success required thought, experimentation and persistence; and fortunately I was up to the challenge. A twenty-six fish day in 3.5 hours of fishing is an outing to be proud of, Of course, the fish were on the small side with most falling in the seven to eleven inch range. A few stretched the tape to twelve inches, but Wednesday was definitely a day where quantity exceeded size. I love small stream fly fishing, exploring new sections of a creek, and moving along at a steady pace; and Spring Creek certainly met these criteria.

Fish Landed: 26

Time: 3:30PM – 5:00PM

Location: Between Spring Creek Reservoir and confluence with the Taylor River

Spring Creek Afternoon 07/27/2021 Photo Album

I was curious if I could catch fish on Spring Creek in the late afternoon, a time that is generally the doldrums on large rivers during hot summer days. My Orvis Access four weight remained set up with a peacock hippie stomper from the morning session, so I jumped right into action at 3:30PM. In a short amount of time the stomper delivered two small brown trout, but then a lull ensued, as I prospected some great looking water with no response. Would a nymph perform better in the late afternoon, when the hatches were history? I swapped the stomper for a Chernobyl ant for better flotation and added a salvation nymph on a two foot dropper. What a move!

Salvation Nymph Caught Fire

Handsome Brown Trout

The fish count soared to fourteen over the next 1.5 hours, and 80% of the brown trout snatched the salvation. I was particularly amazed at the trout that emerged from shallow riffle sections, when the Chernobyl paused. A few fish ate the attractor terrestrial, but it also generated a fair share of temporary hookups and refusals. I was using it as more of an indicator, with the main emphasis on the nymph. Most of the late afternoon fish were in the eight and nine inch range with a few stretching the tape to eleven inches. Another visit to Spring Creek is on tap for Wednesday, my getaway day.

Fish Landed: 14

Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Taylor Reservoir

Taylor River 07/27/2021 Photo Album

I quit fishing on Spring Creek at 10:30AM, and this enabled me to arrive at the Taylor River pullout above Lodgepole Campground by 11:20AM. I drove the ten miles from Spring Creek and stopped at the Harmel Resort store to purchase a ten pound bag of ice.

My Sage One five weight was rigged from Monday’s action, so I crossed the river at the same spot as Monday and then hiked down the north side of the river, until I was across from and above the paved parking lot across from Lodgepole. My Sage One five weight remained assembled from Monday with a tan pool toy hopper, iron sally, and bright green caddis pupa. I tested this threesome for thirty minutes with only a hopper refusal to show for my efforts. I began  to regret my decision to leave Spring Creek.

Prime Pool

Green Drake Snacker

At noon I arrived at a tantalizing pool at the upper end of a large rock moraine, and the air above the river came alive with a smorgasbord of insects. There were caddis, yellow sallies, pale morning duns, and a green drake or two. The pale morning duns seemed most prevalent, and I saw a few aggressive rises, so I replaced the bright green caddis with a pale morning dun juju emerger. It was soundly ignored. Perhaps the trout were chowing down on subsurface nymphs? A salvation nymph replaced the juju emerger, and it was treated with similar disdain. I spotted two rises along the well defined center current seam, so I removed the dry/dropper and presented a solitary size 16 light gray comparadun. This fly provided one temporary hookup, but the take seemed tentative.

Scene of Multiple Hatches

As I pondered my next move, the river came alive with green drakes. They appeared to be size 14, and they were nearly as abundant as the PMD’s. I abandoned the comparadun and knotted a size 14 parachute green drake to my line. This solved the puzzle, as two gorgeous brown trout in the fourteen to fifteen inch range inhaled the western green drake imitation. There was nothing tentative about the eats from the pool dwellers. I persisted with the parachute green drake, until the hackle began to slip up the wing post, and I replaced it with another fresh version.

Looking Back at Crossing Point

I vacated the quality pool and began working my way upstream, but the green drake hatch began to wane. I felt like my parachute was riding low in the surface film, and perhaps the fish were tuned into something with a large upright wing which created the illusion of motion. I swapped the parachute for a comparadun, and this fly duped a few trout, before I broke it of on a decent fish that dove under a rock or stick. I persisted with the green drake approach, until I quit at 2:30PM. The last thirty minutes were quite slow, and I ended with a peacock hippie stomper and purple haze. One small brown nipped the haze to put me at ten on Tuesday on the Taylor River.

Other that the first two fish from the moraine pool, all the remainder were relatively small browns in the seven to eleven inch range. I decided to return to Spring Creek in an attempt to recapture the magic of the morning session.

Fish Landed: 10

Time: 8:30AM – 10:30AM

Location: Between Spring Creek Reservoir and confluence with the Taylor River

Spring Creek Morning 07/27/2021 Photo Album

It was 46 degrees, when I rolled out of my sleeping bag at Lottis Creek Campground . I got off to a nice early start for my long day of fly fishing and arrived at a pullout along the dirt road that follows Spring Creek by 8:10AM, and the temperature was up to 51 degrees. I wore my fleece to start the day, since I planned to return to the car by mid-morning, and this would allow me to shed a layer prior to continuing through the warmest part of the day. I rigged my Orvis Access four weight for some small stream fishing, but I really had no idea what to expect on this rare early morning venture into fly fishing.

Honey Hole

Suffice it to say, that I never anticipated landing eighteen trout in two hours of fishing. The creek was running full, yet very manageable, so I began and ended with a peacock hippie stomper. During a thirty minute period I felt that the catch rate slowed, so I added a pheasant tail nymph, but the fish continued to attack the attractor dry fly and ignored the nymph. The dropper was simply a nuisance, and it seemed that I experienced more long distance releases perhaps due to the leader connecting the stomper to the trailing subsurface fly. I theorized that the small fish felt the line coming off the bend, and this sensation caused the fish to flip off the hook.

Large for Small Stream

Bankside Lie

My two hours on Spring Creek were great fun, Nearly all the likely spots delivered, and in many cases they yielded multiple fish. Of course most of the stream trout were small, but early in the game I tempted a fourteen inch brown to chase the hippie stomper from its lair under a log. I made a downstream drift, and just as the fly approached the submerged log beneath an overhanging branch, I lifted to avoid a snag, and the wily trout grabbed the dry fly, before it could escape.

Fish Landed: 18

Time: 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Lodgepole Campground area

Taylor River 07/26/2021 Photo Album

A four hour drive landed me along the Taylor River on Monday, July 26, 2021. After a slow day on Boulder Creek I vowed to begin concentrating my fly fishing efforts on high elevation streams and tailwaters. The Taylor River below Taylor Reservoir was the beginning of that pledge.

I needed a campsite for Monday and Tuesday night, so I investigated the Lottis Creek Campground before moving on to my final fishing destination. I found one open campsite, number thirteen, on the Baldy Loop and immediately snagged it. A no vacancy sign at the entrance to the loop left me skeptical, but apparently a camper departed after the sign was posted. The hosts were absent, when I arrived, and I needed to pay them directly, so I unloaded some camping gear and left them a note and headed to the river to fish.

Fisherman Campsite

I found a parking space in a wide pullout above Lodgepole Campground, where I like to cross the river, and I geared up with waders and my Sage One five weight rod. I was quite anxious to cross the river at one of the few spots, where it is safe to do so, but another fisherman was stationed just above my desired crossing route. Yet another angler was thirty yards downstream. I decided to amble east beyond the upstream angler while allowing adequate space. This ploy worked out quite well, as I found some interesting pocket water and another spot where a crossing was possible.

A Fine Brown Trout

I began with a tan pool toy hopper, prince nymph, and iron sally and prospected some moderate depth pockets in the middle of the river.  Within ten minutes a fish grabbed a nymph on the swing, and I felt a brief connection, before I realized that both nymphs broke off! I replaced the prince with another similar version, but for some reason I added a salvation nymph instead of the iron sally. I had a hunch that pale morning duns were active. This theory never became reality, but I landed a very nice fourteen inch brown trout on the hopper and a small brown on the prince, before I worked my way up to a point, where I could cross to the north bank.

Same Fish

This Bank Pool of Moderate Depth Invites Some Casts

I hiked through the woods, until I was just above the moraine field, and at this point I cut to the river and resumed my dry/dropper prospecting. Another fat fourteen inch brown smacked the hopper as well as a small aggressive surface feeder. I was pleased with the two hopper eaters, but I covered a ton of attractive water to net four fish, and quite a few refusals to the hopper accompanied the intermittent action. I spotted two green drakes during this time period, so I converted to a solitary parachute green drake. Over the next hour I incremented the fish count to eight, as the parachute green drake worked its magic, although quite a few of these fish were dinks barely over the six inch minimum. The drake was drawing interest, but some of the takes were tentative, and looks and refusals accompanied the action.

Pretty Brown Trout

I began cycling through my inventory of green drakes including a user friendly, comparadun, and other parachute models. I added a peacock hippie stomper in the forward position to aid in tracking the earth toned drakes. This fly rotation enabled me to add three more trout to the count including a very fine fourteen inch brown that sipped the green drake comparadun. The hippie stomper picked up a medium sized brown, and a replacement parachute attracted a small fish as well.

The last hour was extremely slow, and I switched back to the dry/dropper approach for the last thirty minutes, with the pool toy leading the way followed by an iron sally and bright green caddis pupa. The dry/dropper gambit was futile, and I quit and crossed the river at the same place that I forded earlier and returned to the car.

In the Middle of the River

Monday was a decent day on the Taylor River that included four browns in the thirteen to fourteen inch range, three browns of eleven to twelve inches, and the remainder barely over the minimum six inch size requirement. I started fishing late in prime time, so hopefully an earlier start on Tuesday will yield more action and some insect availability. Securing a campsite at Lottis Creek was a bonus during the peak summer season in Colorado.

Fish Landed: 11