Time: 11:30AM – 2:00PM
Location: Upstream from Tunnel 3
Clear Creek 10/01/2018 Photo Album
After a fun day of fishing with Dan on Sunday, I decided to sneak in a few hours on Monday before the start of the National League western division playoff game between the Rockes and Dodgers. The short time available translated to a nearby destination, and the closest spot was Clear Creek Canyon.
I departed Stapleton by 10:30AM, and I arrived at a wide pullout along US 6 west of Tunnel 3 by 11:15. I threw a light lunch in my backpack and assembled my Orvis Access, before I ambled down the road a short distance, and then I carefully negotiated a short steep bank. I was in position to cast by 11:30. The dashboard temperature registered in the upper 50’s, as I began, and I wore a long sleeved insulated undershirt, and I was comfortable throughout my 2.5 hours on the stream.
I knotted a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle to my line, and I began plopping the foam terrestrial in the likely fish holding places. Fifteen minutes elapsed before a brown trout cautiously nipped the fly, but I was unable to connect permanently. Two more temporary hook ups extended my frustration, but then a nice eleven inch native crushed the beetle, and I photographed number one on the day.
Great View of the Lip Adornment Beetle
After forty-five minutes that yielded one landed trout, three temporary hook ups, and several refusals; I began to question the effectiveness of the beetle. It was attracting attention, but the fish were backing off at the last minute. I decided to test the dry/dropper method, so I converted to a peacock hippy stomper, ultra zug bug, and a salvation nymph. This conversion produced positive results, as I landed three additional fish to attain a count of four. One twelve inch brown trout attacked the hippy stomper, and two smaller cousins consumed the ultra zug bug. I also felt the weight of two temporary connections, and I was feeling quite optimistic about my switch to a dry/dropper configuration.
Promising
Of course as soon as one gains confidence, the game changes, and I endured a long drought in spite of covering very appealing water. Once again I considered a change. I removed the three flies and tied a size 16 gray deer hair caddis to my tippet. The caddis fooled two trout, and I was pleased to elevate the fish count to six. Again, however, the attraction of the caddis was short lived, and I sensed that I was passing over fish that were available to a desirable fly.
A Very Fine Wild Clear Creek Brown Trout
With two o’clock rapidly approaching, I reverted to Jake’s gulp beetle. I reasoned that the plop would generate interest, and the orange indicator made it easy to track. Shortly after attaching the beetle to my line, two refusals introduced doubt to my thoughts. However, with only a few minutes remaining of my allotted time frame, I persisted with the beetle. I lobbed a relatively long cast toward the upper third of a long attractive pool, and an eleven inch brown attacked the bobbing black fake food morsel. I netted number seven, snapped a photo, and quickly scrambled up a steep bank and returned to the car.
Some Fall Colors in This Scene
Monday developed into a reasonably successful day with seven fish landed in 2.5 hours of fishing. Nevertheless I suffered numerous refusals and momentary connections. I was unable to settle on a fly or combination that yielded consistent results, and I covered a significant amount of stream to achieve somewhat above average results.
Fish Landed: 7