Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: First bridge after tunnel 1 and upstream

Clear Creek 08/19/2016 Photo Album

I endured three consecutive single digit fishing outings punctuated by a blanking on the South Platte River on Wednesday. Was I losing my touch, or was I a victim of the August doldrums, when hot sunny days and the absence of aquatic insect hatches doom a fly fisherman to empty drifts and miles of futile wading?

My sister and brother-in-law returned to Pennsylvania on Thursday, and Jane scheduled tennis for Friday, so I had an opportunity to search for answers. I packed the car with my gear and made the brief drive to Clear Creek Canyon. My visit to Clear Creek on August 5 was mainly an exercise in frustration; however, the other local options offered various issues as well. On August 5 I concentrated my efforts on the water above and below Idaho Springs, and on Friday August 19, I occupied Clear Creek Canyon. I was hopeful that the shift in venue would yield improved results.

Clear Creek Starting Point

I parked just beyond the first bridge crossing of Clear Creek above Tunnel One and assembled my Orvis Access four weight rod. As I was preparing to fish, I heard a loud voice ring across the narrow canyon, and I automatically looked up to the side of the canyon wall directly above and across from me. There I spied a young rock climber, and he continued to shout. I was unable to discern his monologue, but I could not spot any fellow rock climbers, so I wondered if he was attempting to communicate with me? This was a passing thought, before I concluded that other climbers were below him, but a small rock ridge blocked them from my view.

Indian Paintbrush

Friday morning was cool with the thermometer hovering in the low sixties, as I crossed the road and climbed over the guard rail to access the path that led me one hundred yards below the bridge. When the trail faded, I found myself amidst an area covered with a green invasive vine species, so I used this as an excuse to carefully pick my way down the bank to the edge of the creek. The flow remained in the upper nineties, and the creek exhibited a tinge of discoloration most likely originating from the area upstream where work continues on the Clear Creek Bikeway. I viewed the off color water as a positive, as it most likely enabled closer approaches to fish holding locations.

Nice Start

Close Up of the Productive Morning Fly

I tied a size 10 Chernobyl ant with longer than normal rubber legs and a pink indicator to my line and began casting to likely trout lairs. Ten minutes elapsed with no action, and visions of Wednesday crept into my head, but then I lobbed the foam imitation to a small foam covered nook next to a rock, and an eleven inch brown trout slammed the fly. I was relieved to remove the possibility of a fish count of zero from my list of worries. For the remainder of the morning I covered the section of the stream below the bridge and landed three additional browns to raise the fish count to four. Four fish in two hours of fishing was average, but given my previous four sub-par outings, I accepted my catch rate as improvement. The size of two of the brown trout was actually above the norm for Clear Creek, so that added to my satisfaction. Of course all was not perfect in my small world of fly fishing, as frequent refusals and temporary hookups marred perfection.

Too Fast for a Pocket Water Enthusiast

After lunch I decided to experiment with alternative flies with the hope of reducing the refusal rate. First I tested a size 10 Cathy’s super beetle, and the large foam rubber legged imitation yielded one fish, before it also generated looks and refusals. Next I downsized a bit more to a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle with a red underbody. This terrestrial fraud provoked a few refusals from likely small fish, so I once again paused to evaluate the situation. It was relatively clear that the fish were looking toward the surface for food, but what would match their appetites? The Chernobyl ant worked in the morning, so perhaps I needed to give it more time.

I knotted a different attractor ant to my line that displayed shorter legs and a chartreuse indicator, and in case the fish were also opportunistically tuned into subsurface nymphs, I added a beadhead hares ear on a three foot dropper. This arrangement accounted for one small brown trout, but after covering quite a few delicious pools, I concluded that the dry/dropper was not the answer. What should I try now? I was actually approaching a state of despair, as the day was evolving into another experience similar to the Big Thompson when the fishing turned off in the afternoon.

It was late August, and the only aquatic insects available were small caddis that fluttered up from the streamside rocks as I passed by, but this source of food was not on the water. I was convinced that terrestrials were the answer, and I had not yet tested a grasshopper or ant. I removed the dry/dropper components and replaced them with a parachute hopper with a gray hares ear body. I experienced success with this fly previously on Clear Creek, and it likely represented my most realistic hopper imitation. I gave the hopper a fair trial, but unfortunately, similar to Jake’s gulp beetle, it simply created a few uncertain looks from the residents of Clear Creek.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle Size 10 with Peacock Ice Dub Body

At this point I sat down and pondered my plight. In 2015 Jake’s gulp beetle was my savior on several occasions. I tried one earlier, but it possessed a red body. How many natural beetles display red underbodies, and in reality I tied the red versions as attractors and not imitators? I decided to revert to a Jake’s gulp beetle, but this time I chose a size 10 with a peacock ice dub body.

Beetle Showing

Guess what happened? Over the remainder of the afternoon I pushed the fish counter from six to fifteen as the Clear Creek denizens gave the beetle a solid thumbs up. I scrambled over the large boulders that bordered the narrow section of Clear Creek and dropped the beetle in all the likely pockets and pools in front of me. Certainly there were some refusals, but overall it was evident that the trout found the peacock beetle to their liking. As this turn in fortune was transpiring, some large gray clouds emerged in the western sky, and as three o’clock approached, I cringed at the distant sound of thunder. I needed to return home in time to prepare for the Cubs vs Rockies game at Coors Field, so I interpreted the thunder as an alarm, and I quickly climbed the steep rocky bank and returned to the car.

Pretty Clear Creek Brown Trout

My timing was good but not perfect, and sheets of rain descended just as I removed my waders and wading boots. I sat in the car for ten minutes until the heavy rain subsided, and then I packed up my belongings and returned to Stapleton. Friday evolved into a fun day, as I finally found the key to unlock the jaws of the Clear Creek brown trout. I climbed from a valley of despair after lunch to a state of elation, once the beetle tempted numerous trout. I was grateful for a fifteen fish day in late August.

Fish Landed: 15