Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 05/23/2026 Photo Album

With commitments stacking for the week after Memorial Day, I was anxious to squeeze in a day of fly fishing, so I settled for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. It was risky, but my concerns turned out to be unfounded. I chose South Boulder Creek as my destination, because the flows at 70 CFS were advantageous compared to other Front Range streams, and I was averse to making another long drive, particularly with labor day traffic heading into the mountains.

For Show

Early Take Site

I arrived at the Walker Ranch Trailhead parking lot on Saturday morning and prepared to fish. The lot was overflowing, such that cars were parallel parked along the entry/exit road, but I lucked out and found a spot in the lower lot relatively close to the trailhead. I was concerned about fly fishing competition, but I eventually learned that most of the visitors were cyclists, hikers and dog walkers.

Workhorse Pat’s Rubber Legs

The temperature was in the upper fifties, but when clouds blocked the sun, a chilly wind blew through my shirt. I knew I would overheat, if I wore an extra layer, so I stuffed my raincoat in my backpack as an insurance policy. I quickly assembled my Loomis two piece five weight, and I was on my way. All this preparation enabled me to arrive next to the creek to begin my quest for trout by 11:30AM.

Deep Trough

Broad Shoulders

After experiencing excellent success on Tuesday on the Eagle River with two Pat’s rubber leg nymphs, I was curious to discover, if the same flies would produce on the small tailwater of South Boulder Creek. I began my day with a tan chubby Chernobyl trailing a medium olive-black Pat’s rubber legs and a coffee and black rubber legs as the end fly. I never switched flies as the day progressed, so I can report that the smaller fish of South Boulder Creek relish the Pat’s rubber legs just as much as Eagle River rainbows. The creek was tinged a bit, so I suspect that the black rubber legs contrasted nicely and caught the attention of the resident trout.

Nice for SBC

Between 11:30AM and 1:10PM I racked up fifteen trout. A bit past one o’clock I stepped in a spot that was deceptively deep. My right foot searched for bottom, but never found it, and consequently my entire body spun, and I tilted backward, until I was on my back in the creek. Ice cold water rushed over the top of my waders. before I could right myself. After uttering quite a few loud expletives, I debated whether to begin my return hike or continue. The sky was quite cloudy, and the lack of sun and cool breeze was not helping my soaked state. I decided to continue, until I hit twenty and then return regardless of the time.

Deep Run

I fished on and built the fish count to twenty-one, even though my feet were transforming into cold stumps. Sloshing water pressed my long underwear against my legs, and that was not a comfortable feeling. Nevertheless, persistence enabled me to boost the fish count to twenty-one, and then I climbed the bank for my return hike. Surely the one mile hike up the steep incline to the parking lot would warm me up.

Stretched Out

Shelf Pool Deluxe

In spite of my soggy state, I stopped at two favorite haunts on the return hike, and I added two more fish including a nice twelve inch rainbow. A twenty-three fish day in three hours of fishing was certainly respectable. I was pleased to net some decent trout for South Boulder Creek in the 12 – 13 inch range, I estimate that sixty percent of my catch were brown trout with the remainder rainbows, and as usual, the rainbows ran slightly larger on average than the browns. Roughly five of the landed fish grabbed the olive Pat’s rubber legs, while the remainder inhaled the coffee-black version.

Pastel Rainbow

I am unable to suggest a favorite water type that yielded fish. I cast across the creek to slower moving shelf areas and allowed the flies to drift downstream and swing, and quite a few fish reacted favorably to this approach, However, Upstream casts to deep areas produced as well, typically as the flies reached the tail out section. A few trout smacked one of the rubber legs almost the instant they hit the water. On Saturday the best approach was to cover the water, but move quickly after three to five casts. Most of the fish reacted to the first or second cast, so stealth and accuracy were critical.

My experiment of fishing the same lineup of flies that worked on the Eagle River was successful. I am rather psyched to implement the same strategy on another stream in the near future. It does seem that run off is in the early stages, although I expect it to be short lived. Tailwaters or lakes are probably the best bet for the next several weeks.

Fish Landed: 23

Location: Cline Ranch State Wildlife Area

Time: 2:45PM – 3:30PM

I abandoned my efforts on the Arkansas River and decided to visit the Cline Ranch State Wildlife Area on my return trip. The area is right off of US 285 and along my return drive, and I pass it quite often. I was curious to scout out the area. I pulled into the tight two-track lane and after a short drive arrived at a parking area. There were four designated parking spaces, and each displayed a sign assigning a fishing beat. I was the only car there, so I’m sure I could have parked in any space and fished in any beat, but I chose to park in the beat 2 space.

I was still wearing my waders, so it did not take long to prepare to fish, although I packed away my five weight, and this caused me to have to assemble my Sage four weight. I used the narrow opening to circumnavigate the gate that blocked the continuation of the two-track lane, and I was confronted with a sign pointing to the left for beat one and right for beats 2-4. I chose right, since I was parked in the beat 2 slot, and I was new to the Cline Ranch experience.

I hiked down the lane for .4 mile or so, and I began to wonder how far it was to beat 2. After all, I was only planning an hour or so to sample the new area. Another sign pointed me farther along the two-track to beats 2-4, so I decided to just cut across to the stream. Shortly after beginning my unsigned detour, I found a fisherman access sign and followed a trench-like path to the creek. Actually I first hit a braid off the main steam, and I followed that for a bit, until I realized that it was not the main branch.

Eventually I arrived at an area littered with small beaver ponds. I do not like beaver ponds. Some beaver ponds contain large fish and some contain stunted fish and some are barren of fish altogether. I had no knowledge regarding these ponds, so I decided to skip around them in search of a moving creek.

Before long I found such a segment, and I prospected it with a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead hares ear nymph. I managed to momentarily hook a tiny brown trout, but that was the only fish I saw. The moving water section was very short, and then I encountered another series of beaver ponds. The other reasons I hate beaver ponds is because of all the trenches, holes and tunnels along with the mucky bottoms. These features make fishing beaver ponds very dangerous for a 75 year old angler.

I was not impressed with the Cline Ranch area, so I bushwhacked my way back to the lane and returned to the parking lot. The lane was littered with deer and elk waste, so apparently the local herds love Cline Ranch.

As I was removing my waders, a Tesla arrived on the other side of the gate. An older gentleman emerged and opened the gate and drove through and then closed the gate again. I chatted briefly with him, and he said beats 2-4 were 1.5 miles up the two-track lane. He also said that the entire area is filled with beaver ponds, although in normal years snow melt breaks things and converts the area into more normal stream fishing. Because of the low snowpack that is unlikely to happen in 2026. I crossed Cline Ranch off my list of small streams to try on future trips.

Fish Landed: 0

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Clear Creek Canyon

Clear Creek 05/03/2026 Photo Album

Once again I had difficulty dialing in the fly fishing on a nearby Front Range Stream. Jane and I hiked the newest section of the Peak to Plains Trail on Friday afternoon, and it served as a scouting expedition for this avid angler. I spotted quite a few spots along the newly opened trail that appealed to my fly fishing instincts. With nice weather projected for the next two days, I planned to make a longer trip on Monday, before bad weather arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday, but then a scheduling conflict resulted in a change in plans. Sunday became my alternative to Monday, and Clear Creek and the short drive made sense.

I completed my workout and some gardening chores, and I departed my house in Denver by 10:40AM. I arrived at one of the Peak to Plains parking lots a bit after eleven o’clock, and this enabled me to stand along the edge of the stream ready to fish by 11:30AM. The air temperature was in the upper sixties, so I simply wore my fishing shirt, but I stuffed my raincoat in my backpack in case of cool cloudiness. My classic Sage four weight was assembled and served as my fly rod on Sunday. The canyon was alive with all manner of outdoor enthusiasts including anglers, dog walkers, walkers, runners and cyclists. I am certain rock climbers were also in attendance, but I was not near a popular rock climbing destination.

First Fish Landed

On my hike on Friday I picked out a prime spot to begin my test of new water, but when I arrived a father and daughter were tossing rocks in the creek right next to the large series of pools that I targeted. The dad announced that they would be leaving shortly, so I waded along the north bank downstream for fifty yards. I concluded that I was beyond the impact of the stone tossing crew above me, and I could fish the lower portion of the attractive stretch and then skip the recently disturbed section.

Caddis Eat in This Area

I began my day with a gray chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher and a bright green sparkle caddis pupa. I quickly moved through the section of moderate riffles, long pockets and deep runs; but no evidence of trout made an appearance. When I arrived at the top of the area, where the rock hounds had been situated, I attempted a backhand cast and snagged a tree limb. I waded out a bit and made an attempt to bend the small tree down to rescue my flies, but the fly grabbing branch was too stiff. Seeing no way to unsnag the flies, I grabbed the line above the chubby Chernobyl and applied direct pressure and snapped off the 20 incher and bright green caddis pupa. I berated my lack of awareness and decided to change my approach.

Rare Brook Trout from Clear Creek

I observed one refusal to the chubby Chernobyl in the early going with no action on the nymphs, so I decided to alter my approach. My early session in recently disturbed water was perhaps not a fair test, but I had a hunch that dries might produce more action. I opted for a peacock hippie stomper and a size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis, and I began to work upstream at a decent pace while prospecting the caddis in likely holding lies. It worked, sort of.

Brook Trout Came from the Slick above the Whitewater Near the Far Bank

I landed five trout on the double dry lineup with one smashing the hippie stomper and the others rising to crush the deer hair caddis. I actually deployed three different caddis dry flies, as the hackle on the first one got cut by the teeth of a trout, and I switched out the second one to go with a gray body instead of olive-brown. During the main portion of my fishing day, I discovered that I could generate interest by skating the flies on the surface. I cast across and then executed abrupt mends that jerked both flies upstream in an erratic manner. This worked best, when I cast across the creek to some slow moving water along the opposite bank. I admit that this method encouraged a large number of slashing misses or refusals, but I did hook and land two with the skating caddis methodology.

Some Heft to This One

For the last half hour I switched back to dry/dropper mode with a tan pool toy hopper trailing a size 14 prince nymph and a size 16 ultra zug bug. I saw a fair number of caddis flitting about, so I surmised that perhaps egg layers were present, and the prince and ultra zug bug tend to mimic egg laying caddis. I did not take the time to lengthen the dropper, and I was fishing a dry/dropper rig that only extended around three feet deep. I did land one brown on the prince nymph for my only subsurface eat of the day, and that advanced the fish count to six, but I probably should have extended the leader for more depth.

Skated the Flies Under the Branches

I continued a bit longer after fish number six, but then my watch reminded me that it was 3:00PM, and my flies were not clicking in spite of some very attractive water, so I stripped in my line and called it a day.

Size 14 Olive-Brown Deer Hair Caddis

Fortunately I was near a break in the high fence that separates the creek from the trail, so my exit was straightforward. I landed six trout in three hours of fly fishing. Two of the landed fish were browns of around twelve inches, and those were fine catches for Clear Creek. I probably should have skipped the section disturbed by the rock tossers, but it looked pretty amazing. I landed four brown trout, one very small rainbow trout and a ten inch brook trout; so I was a cutthroat away from a grand slam. I suspect the brook trout was the first that I ever landed in Clear Creek. I was outside on a nice spring day with cool temperatures, and I landed some fish. It was a satisfying day for this angler.

Fish Landed: 6

I was unable to complete my top ten ranking of fishing outings for 2024, so I made it a priority for 2025. I read all my posts for the year excluding the ones on flies tied, and I narrowed my outings down to sixteen that were worthy of top ten status. As a side note, I counted my outings, and I spent seventy days on lakes or streams in 2025. I feel quite fortunate to achieve this amount of fishing at my age. With that brief introduction, I will launch the 2025 top ten list.

10. Arkansas River – 03/24/2025 – I was quite pleased to land fifteen trout from the Arkansas River on 03/24/2025. I am accustomed to catching single digit fish in the early season, but this day was a welcome surprise. A brief blue wing olive hatch and some resulting success on my part were icing on the cake.

Long and Fat

9. Beaver Creek – 07/30/2025 – I love prospecting small streams with my Orvis four weight, and that is actually how this day unfolded. I had not fished this small mountain stream in a few years, and I was pleased to discover that it maintained an abundant supply of spunky wild fish.

8. Taylor River – 07/22/2025 – I anticipated green drake action on 07/22/2025 on the Taylor River tailwater, and although the early hours required dry/dropper drifting, things heated up considerably in the early afternoon. Green drakes took over, and they were accompanied by some pale morning duns, and I enjoyed the ride.

Olive Perdigon

7. Eagle River – 04/09/2025 – This was a rare early season visit to the Eagle River. This outstanding day featured a blue wing olive hatch and meeting new friends on the river. I explored a new section of the river with unexpected success, and this served as a segue to quite a few additional outstanding outings on the Eagle River.

6. South Boulder Creek – 08/04/2025 – Every summer I attempt to hit the green drake hatch on South Boulder Creek. During this outing I succeeded. It was a pure green drake fly day, as I used exclusively green drake dry flies. My green drake user friendly surpassed all previous trials in terms of effectiveness. Lots of fish spent time in my net.

Amber Hued

5. North Fork, White River – 09/09/2025 – Several things were impressive about this day. I drove four plus hours from Denver to this fishing destination, so this allowed only four hours of afternoon fishing. In that relatively short amount of time I landed thirty-four trout, and they were not dinks. I was very strategic in my approach and casting, and it paid off.

4. Yampa River – 06/25/2025 – This was another example of getting a late start, yet enjoying excellent results. Jane and I took down our campsite and drove from Steamboat Lake to Steamboat Springs, before I launched my three hours of fishing. I landed twelve fish, but it was an action packed time. A nice pale morning dun hatch developed, and I took advantage, and the size of the trout was very respectable. It was reassuring to learn that lots of robust trout remain in the Yampa River in spite of some very hot summers.

Excellent Spot

3. Eagle River – 09/24/2025 – 2025 seemed to be the year of the Eagle River with many outstanding outings, but this day stood out for several reasons. I explored never before fished water and met with excellent success. Based on a previous outing, I searched out water types that produced and stuck to a consistent approach, and I was rewarded with an abundant quantity of plus-sized trout.

2. River Nire – 06/03/2025 – My ranking of this day was biased by the fact that I was fishing in another country, Ireland. I booked two days of fly fishing in Ireland assuming that I would catch 5-10 brown trout per day in the ten to fifteen inch range. Guess again. Thirteen fish were landed, and most were in the fifteen to twenty inch range. This far surpassed my expectations, and I was surrounded by the beauty of the stunning Irish countryside. If you get a chance to fish in Ireland, grab it.

Wild Irish Brown Trout

1.Frying Pan River – 08/19/2025 – An outstanding day was required to surpass my day on the River Nire, but 08/19/2025 met that requirement. How about forty-eight trout on the Frying Pan River? I have fished this small tailwater nearly every year of my residence in Colorado, but this day surely topped all others. Between 9:45AM and 1:30PM I landed twenty-two trout, and quite a few were very respectable fish from a size perspective. I was satisfied with my day, as I resumed after lunch, and I spied a few western green drakes. I changed over to a parachute green drake, and the fishing action accelerated from the morning and early afternoon! What a day!

Lots of Possibilities

Big Mouth

Iron Sally 12/30/2025 Photo Album

Go back to my initiation with the iron sally by clicking on this link to my 01/20/2013 post. I’ve been tying these for over ten years; however, they remain relatively time consuming. The turkey wing, dubbing and black crystal flash enter the mix during the thorax construction, and it requires quite a bit of patience to follow the detailed steps. The end result, however, is worth the effort.

Love the Double Wing Case

The gold ultra wire abdomen and bead give this nymph lots of weight, and the crystal flash flashback and legs are both effective imitations and attractors. I deem the iron sally to be one of my prettiest flies.

Another Angled Right Side

I have experienced quite a bit of success with this fly. It is a solid searching pattern during the early season, when flows are high, and a heavy fly is required to get down to the trout’s feeding level. Perhaps my most effective usage of the iron sally took place on the Eagle River in early July just after the run off flows subside. I have witnessed very dense yellow sally hatches during this time frame, so this probably explains their attractiveness to the resident trout.

Including the Materials

I counted my supply of iron sallies and discovered that I had twenty-two size 12’s and twenty-nine size 14’s. I tied three size 12 and one size 14 to bring my totals to twenty-five and thirty. I will be knotting an iron sally to my line in a matter of three months.

Brown Perdigon 11/10/2025 Photo Album

If an olive perdigon is effective, why wouldn’t a brown version produce as well? I plan to find out. My salvation nymphs, pheasant tail nymphs, and supernova PMD’s are productive flies throughout the season, but particularly favored during pale morning dun time. It seems to me that a brown perdigon brings a similar size and color to the menu with the added benefit of extra weight to sink the nymph or sink a second fly on the dropper. What about pairing a brown perdigon with a PMD nymph imitation?

Look at the Taper

I get excited thinking about the possibilities. A month or so ago I tied three brown perdigons, but I never introduced them to the Colorado rivers during the fall. While my perdigon hooks and tungsten beads remained out on my tying tabletop, I decided to add seven additional brown perdigons to my storage boxes to bring my total to an even ten for 2026.

A Batch of Seven and Materials

I simply substituted brown thread for olive and brown spade hackle fibers for grizzly. I am now excited to test these flies and my theories on fly attractions.

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 10/27/2025 Photo Album

With nice days dwindling during the 2025 fly fishing season, I jumped on the chance to fish on Monday, 10/27/2025. Air temperatures have arrived as a prime factor in choosing a fly fishing destination, and after I surveyed all the likely locations, I settled on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon. The high in Lake George was forecast to peak at 61 degrees, and that was well within my comfort zone.

Looking Up the River

I arrived at my chosen roadside pullout by 10:30AM, and after pulling on my fleece hoodie and raincoat and assembling my Sage R8 four weight, I was prepared for a day of autumn fishing. I recently saw an Instagram post lauding the superb streamer fishing on a Colorado river. I decided to take advantage of the information, and I loaded my reel with my sinking tip line and knotted a size 8 Mickey Finn bucktail streamer to my line. I crimped a split shot a foot above the streamer, and for thirty minutes before lunch, I cast and stripped the streamer in all directions and varying degrees of stripping speed and movement. I never saw so much as a follow. I have no confidence in my approach to streamer fishing. I suppose I need to fully commit to the method and experiment with different streamers and varying amounts of weight.

Pleased to Land a Fish

Run Near Far Bank Produced

I ate lunch at 11:45AM across from the car, and then I returned to the Telluride and swapped the sinking tip reel and line for my normal four weight. For the remainder of the afternoon I worked my way up the river with my reliable dry/dropper configuration. I suppose repetition breeds confidence, and confidence yields fish. An amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl and olive perdigon were constants on my line, and I cycled through several flies on the end position. I began with a salvation nymph and then converted to a hares ear nymph and ended with a small apricot egg.

Headed Back

One aggressive brown trout clobbered the chubby Chernobyl and created a nasty snarl in the process. One of the early fish nabbed the salvation nymph, and the remainder snatched the olive perdigon. Seven fish in 3.5 hours of focused fishing does not translate to hot action, but given the timing in late October and the absence of insects, I was pleased with the results.

Shelf Pool Was Explored

Two landed fish were rainbow trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range. Two trout were on the small side, and the remainder were average trout in the twelve inch slot. Large deep pools were unproductive as were seams and glides of moderate depth in areas where the stream widened. I focused most of my attention on long and deep troughs and slots particularly where the deep hole was right above the junction of two faster currents.

Spread Out in the Net

Future outings in 2025 are weather and health dependent. The month of November calendar is sprinkled with various dentist and doctor appointments. I will keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities to extend the season

Fish Landed: 7

Time: 11:00AM – 12:00PM

Location: One of the wooden docks

I was very anxious to introduce my five year old grandson, Theo, to fishing; and we were babysitting both our grandsons on the weekend of August 22 – August 24. Jane and I concluded that Saturday offered the perfect opportunity to deliver on the idea of a fishing outing.

A year ago when Theo was four, I also attempted an introduction. I shopped at Bass Pro Shops and purchased an all-in-one Jurassic Park rod and reel. I also parted with a few bucks to buy a styrofoam cup of night crawlers. On a Saturday in late August or early September, Jane and I along with Theo and his parents tromped to Warembourg Pond in Louisville.

It was a hot day, and the pond was very low requiring fairly long casts to get beyond the dense algae that bordered the shoreline. It was not ideal for a novice four year old. I rigged Theo’s Jurassic Park setup with a bobber, split shot and hook baited with a small section of a nightcrawler and tossed everything toward the middle and beyond the muck. I handed the rod to Theo, and the bobber remained stationary for what seemed like five minutes, but was actually only a minute or two, but nothing happened. I took the rod back and reeled in, and I was about to cast to a new location, but I noticed that the line was twirled and kinked along its length. I spent some time unfurling it and made another cast with similar results. Our fishing venture ended pretty quickly, due to a lack of fish and the frustrating line condition.

I returned the rod to Bass Pro Shop and bought another, where the line actually passed through the hollow rod without rod guides, but when I tested it, the same twirling and kinking plagued me, so that outfit was also returned. I eventually released the nightcrawlers into my garden. so at least I gained some benefit from the experience.

Summer turned into fall and then winter, and I pondered the youth fishing problem. At some point I discovered an old rod in the corner of the garage, and I remembered that an old push button reel was settled in the bottom of my fishing box. In anticipation of a new attempt at introducing Theo to fishing, I retrieved the reel and attached it to the rod and strung the line. However, when I attached a heavy rubber weight to the line to test the casting capability, I discovered that the push button release was not functioning. Theo had a bit of fun in the alley, however, bouncing the rubber sinker off the concrete.

At a social gathering with friends, Howie and Sandy informed us that they took their granddaughters to Lake Mary at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, and they mentioned that the girls caught loads of fish. They described small sunfish actually fighting to eat the bait. This was my ticket to select Lake Mary as my next fishing destination for Grandson Theo.

As our babysitting days approached I, along with assistance from Theo, spent quite a bit of time picking Japanese beetles from my garden. For some reason they prefer pole bean leaves and eggplant leaves, and it is a constant battle to stay ahead of the infestations. Theo loves spotting the pests, and then I pluck them and shove them into a large yogurt container with a clear plastic lid. It may sound inhumane, but I let them sit in the garage in the heat, and they eventually suffocate.

When Saturday arrived, Jane and I loaded Benny and Theo into their car seats and motored off to Bass Pro Shop. I stowed the rod and the yogurt container with Japanese beetles in the back of the car next to the stroller. I planned to purchase a new functioning reel with line that would not kink at Bass Pro Shop on our way to Lake Mary

I approached the non-fly fishing counter and described to the friendly salesperson what I was looking for. I wanted a fairly inexpensive push button reel for my five year old grandson (who was standing nearby) with a decent line that would not kink. In short order he led me down the counter to a box filled with red push button reels that were on sale for $5.99! I inspected the footing to make sure it was compatible with my rod, and I scooped up the reel. Next I marched over to the refrigerator and bought a box of medium nightcrawlers in case Colorado fish did not savor Japanese beetles. We were now set for fishing adventure number two.

A short drive delivered us to the parking lot at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge (RMAWR). We unbuckled the boys from their car seats and approached the lake. We quickly discovered that the perimeter of the lake was filled with tall cattails that made it almost impossible for an experienced fisherman to cast let alone a novice five year old. We spotted two wooden platforms that extended into the lake, but it was a Saturday, and not surprisingly, they were filled with anglers, young and old.

We were about to acknowledge that the fishing gods did not want Theo to catch a fish, when the occupants of one corner of the platform offered us space. We jumped at the invitation, and Theo and I moved to the right corner of the dock. The dock contained a railing, and that was good for safety reasons, but it also served as an impediment for a five year old to sling the line over the top.

Lots of Small Sunfish

I removed the lid from the beetle container and impaled one with a size 8 snelled hook that I purchased in the early 1980’s. Because Theo was unable to fling the rig over the railing, I pressed the button and flipped a cast ten feet from the dock. It only took a second before the bobber moved sideways, and I set the hook and felt the small weight of a fish. I attempted to hand the rod to Theo, so he could experience the fun of reeling it in, but he refused! I wound the handle and brought up a four inch bluegill. Theo and Benny admired the flopping fish, but neither were brave enough to touch it. I quickly removed the little guy and flicked it back in the lake.

I embedded the hook in several more beetles and landed another smaller sunfish, but then it seemed that the beetles were falling off prematurely, so I switched to nightcrawlers. I ripped a piece of a nightcrawler off, and double hooked it. By now the nice anglers that offered us the corner moved to the left, and this opened up space where the railing was lower. I thought Theo could cast over the lower barrier, but he remained adamant that he did not wish to cast. With the worm as bait. I simply dropped the bobber off the edge of the dock, and Theo and I could see at least twenty small sunfish nipping at the worm. We stuck with it for another fifteen minutes or so and landed three more tiny sunfish. Theo continued to resist reeling them in.

I discovered that catching small sunfish on a worm is not an easy thing. The fish were very adept at grabbing the part of the worm that did not contain the hook. This caused the bobber to slide and sink, and I reacted with a hook set, but more times than not, I came up empty. I made a bit longer cast, and decided to allow the bobber to dive deeply before executing the hookset. This worked too well, and I landed a three inch sunfish with a size eight hook embedded in its gullet.

As Theo looked on, I used my hemostat to yank out the hook, but in the process blood squirted all over my hand. It was a tough lesson for Theo on his first fishing outing. This little study of the harshness of life was the impetus to call it a day.

Was Theo’s first day of fishing a success? I think he would still like to give it another try. I would like to identify another lake with plenty of small fish, but with more shoreline access. The lesson I learned is that Japanese beetles work better than worms, because in order to consume the beetle, the fish needs to eat the hook. If I could only figure out a way to get the beetle to stay on the hook better. Hopefully Theo and I will have another opportunity to try fishing in 2025.

Time: 11:15AM – 12:30PM

Location: Clear Lake on Guanella Pass

Clear Lake 06/13/2025 Photo Album

My grandson Benny was ill and unable to attend daycare on Wednesday and Thursday, so us grandparents stepped in to provide care. This eliminated those two days from consideration for fly fishing. On Friday morning I had a doctor’s appointment at 8AM, but I decided that I could visit a relatively local lake, if I prepared ahead of time.

Big Horns

That is, in fact, what transpired, and I set out for Clear Lake on Guanella Pass after my appointment. I had decent success in the small mountain impoundment in previous years in early June, so I decided to give it another test. I arrived by 10:45AM, and after I pulled on my waders and boots and assembled my Sage four weight, I hiked a short distance to my favorite spot. Alas, as I slowly scrambled down the bank to the edge of the lake, I discovered four anglers surrounding my favorite spot.

Target Area Surrounded by Anglers

I surrendered to the crowd, and I established a position north of the other fishermen. The lake was already quite low, and for the most part the surface was smooth under very bright sunshine. These were not prime conditions. I rigged with a peacock hippie stomper and olive-brown deer hair caddis, and I began to fan casts to the mirror-like surface. The next twenty minutes tested my patience, as the flies sat unmolested. I failed to observe a single surface rise during my entire time at Clear Lake. I began to experiment with different retrieves including pops and stops and steady strips, but none of these tactics generated interest from a fish.

Hippie Stomper and Deer Hair Caddis

Slowly the competing anglers began to depart, and I interpreted this as a bad sign. The last of the folks that were present, when I arrived, moved on, but a young man in shorts with a spinning rod descended above me, and he began to launch long casts to the far shoreline. He seemed to have a bobber with a spinner beneath it, and the bobber scooted along the surface creating a wake. Eventually he crossed to the opposite bank and worked his way north and away from the area that I wished to occupy.

Smooth Like a Mirror

While this was going on, I decided to kill time and allow the water to rest, so I pulled out my lunch and relaxed on a large boulder. Once my lunch was completed, I changed my set up to consist of a tan body mini chubby Chernobyl, a prince nymph and a beadhead hares ear nymph. I crossed to the opposite shoreline, and I began lobbing casts in a southward direction, as I covered the deep drop off that produced in previous years. In spite of some nice casts and thorough coverage of the area, I was unable to generate even a look, until finally the top fly bobbed, and I set the hook. I quickly stripped in a six inch brook trout, and I was pleased to avoid a skunking at Clear Lake. I continued working my way along the bank, until I reached shallow water, and then I called it quits and modified my plan for the remainder of the day.

Fish Landed: 1

Time: 9:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Near Ballymacarbry

River Suir 06/04/2025 Photo Album

Kevin, my guide, suggested that our day on Wednesday might be more challenging than Tuesday. His lowering of my expectations was prescient.

Frenchy

Once again he collected me from the B&B at 9:00AM, and we proceeded to the Clonanav shop. I snugged on my waders and wading boots over my layers of fleece, light down, and a rain shell. I was glad for all the layers, even though we enjoyed long intervals of sunshine. Periods of overcast, wind, and light rain between the sunshine made my choice of attire proper.

Mayfly

The River Suir is a powerful river, and although the Irish guides complained about low water for the time of year, it seemed to be running swiftly from bank to bank. Kevin fixed me up with a Klinkhammer dry and a frenchy dropper, and I was off and running. For Wednesday Kevin brought along a wading staff, and I was pleased to have it; however, it was longer and heavier than I was accustomed to.

Big Fast Moving River

Since the River Suir is a larger waterway, I was forced to make long casts. My line had a shooting head, and it took me quite awhile to adjust to this line configuration. For me, the hard part was lifting the long line to recast after a drift. I was waiting too long, and stripping the front section into the rod, and this then required abundant casting to get the shooting head back outside the guides. Once Kevin demonstrated how to pick up, when the orange section was at the tip, my casting improved significantly, although probably not up to the expertise of those who do it frequently.

Keeping It Wet

The other issue was the glare on the water, and this was especially problematic, when I zinged out a sixty foot cast. I was out casting my vision. Nevertheless, I managed to land four brown trout before lunch including a dink six incher, a thirteen incher, and a fourteen inch fish. The last morning fish was a very fine trout in excess of fifteen inches, but exceedingly fat, and it demonstrated the hardest fight of the trip. This fish craved the bottom of the river, and it dove repeatedly. At one point Kevin readied his net, and this angered the fish and goaded him into another extended fight that included diving and head shaking.

Fat One

After lunch we moved upstream to some very attractive water, where a long seam bordered a strong center run. During the afternoon session, I alternated between chucking a streamer, dry/dropper and a single dry fly. I experienced hits and brief hookups with the streamer and one connection on the caddis dry. In the latter case a sizeable brown moved a foot beneath the water and then crushed the dry fly, but I only nicked its lip, and it dashed downstream to safety. It was the most visual take of the trip.

Silvery

I doubled the fish count from four to eight, and this included a pair of fish in the fifteen to sixteen inch range along with a pair of sub one foot browns. For the last hour we moved to the River Nire, my home on Tuesday, and I covered a riffle section and a long slow-moving pool. Once again I took advantage of the shooting head, and Kevin taught me to aim high, so the line turned over and fluttered down on the extremely smooth water of the large pool. This avoided slapping the line down with the risk of spooking fish. Fish were rising sporadically throughout the pool, but I was unable to tempt a bite despite a fly change to a small olive comparadun. Finally in an act of desperation, Kevin returned me to the dry/dropper technique, and on the first cast after the change, a hard charging brown in the fifteen to sixteen inch range grabbed the frenchy. This was number eight, and as a light rain changed into steady precipitation, we called it quits.

End of Day Pool

Wednesday was an eight fish day that could have easily been double digits, had I improved my conversion rate. I caught five very respectable browns, but most importantly I learned some new techniques and improved their application. Hopefully I can reinforce them during future outings in the western U.S.

Fish Landed: 8