Time: 3:00PM – 4:30PM

Location: Between the Sylvan Lake State Park visitor Center and Yeoman Campground

East Fork, Brush Creek 07/11/2025 Photo Album

Jane, Amy and I camped at Yeoman Campground on Thursday night, and we hiked the McKenzie Gulch Trail and the Sylvan Lake Shoreline Loop Trail on Friday morning and continued into the early afternoon. When we returned to the campsite, Amy and Jane released me to do some fly fishing, while they relaxed.

I pulled into a small parking lot and prepared to fish at 2:40PM, and by 3:00PM I was perched on the small creek ready to do some exploration on new water. The air temperature was in the upper seventies, and that was quite warm for the high elevation location of East Fork of Brush Creek. Because of the small stream and the tight nature of the surroundings, I chose to deploy my Orvis Access four weight rod.

Off and Running

I hiked down the road a short distance, and then I cut perpendicular to the creek and managed my way down a short but steep bank. To begin my trout quest, I tied a size 10 classic Chernboyl ant to my line. On my first flip of the fly, a trout nailed the Chernobyl. I set the hook, and the fish wiggled free sending my Chernobyl ant into a tree behind me. I attempted a rescue, but the thicket of branches was too dense to allow me to bend down the branch that possessed my fly, so I popped it off and knotted another similar foam fly to my line.

Gorgeous Hole

For the next forty-five minutes I hooked seven trout, but I landed only one. Talk about frustration. I concluded that the tight quarters prevented me from executing solid hook sets for fear of snagging another tree limb. In addition, the thick foam and invasion of the hook gap may have been a factor. A third explanation may have been tentative takes on the part of the trout.

At any rate, I switched flies and selected a peacock hippie stomper; and, suddenly my landed percentage climbed. This sort of reinforces the tentative take theory as an explanation for a low conversion rate with the Chernobyl ant. I ended up with eight landed trout on fifteen connections.

Splendid

The fishing was very challenging. The narrow creek funneled through dense overhanging bushes and branches. In addition, the gradient was fairly steep. Because of the tight vegetation I could only advance by wading up the stream, and even this approach was difficult at times. I was concerned that I would find a suitable exit point, but by 4:30PM I noticed an open area, and I could see the roadway high above me. I jumped at the opportunity for a decent route and called it quits.

Slow Area Next to the Boulders Delivered

What was the quality of the fish I was catching? Seven landed fish were browns, and one brook trout found my net. The browns were decent fish for a small stream with quite a few feisty twelve inchers. I would definitely like to return to explore the small stream more extensively, when I have more time at my disposal, even though I know I could expect adverse wading and casting conditions. It truly was a physical workout, particularly for my aging body.

Fish Landed: 8