Time: 2:30PM – 6:00PM

Location: Below Yeoman Campground

Fish Landed: 8

East Fork, Brush Creek 08/12/2011 Photo Album

I was pretty frustrated with my lack of fish in the morning and fortunately Dave G. suggested we go higher up to the East Fork of Brush Creek. After a good lunch we put our waders back on and jumped in the rental car and headed south on Brush Creek Road. When the road enters Sylvan Lake State Park, the stream splits into an East and West Fork. The West Fork comes out of Sylvan Lake, but we chose the East Fork and drove another 3-4 miles to a pullout near some yurts that can be rented. We paid our fee and began fishing where the stream came close to the road. The stream at this location had a lower gradient and was surrounded by low shrubs so casting was fairly open with much room for backcasts.

Dave G Shows Trout Caught with Tenkara Rod

Dave G. brought along his new Tenkara Japanese rod. It telescopes down to a couple feet long. To use it, one grabs the tip and pulls it out to 12 feet long. The length of the line is equal to two times the length of the pole and there is no reel. It is basically a sophisticated version of cane poling.

Dave Tries to Capture Line in Wind

I began first and switched things up with a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead hares ear. In the first nice pool I experienced three or four refusals to the Chernobyl before finally landing a small brook trout. I fished this combination for a bit, but soon switched the Chernobyl ant for a gray body Letort hopper. I landed a couple brookies and then Dave G. landed a nice brown on his stimulator. Shortly after Dave’s fish I hooked what felt like a decent fish in a very small plunge pool, but the fish charged into a small nook and wrapped me around a branch and escaped.

Nice Fish Landed by Dave W

I managed some small fish on the beadhead hares ear, but I was covering a lot of very attractive water with minimal success, so I tied on an olive body deer hair caddis dry fly. This proved to be a success, and I landed a pair of quite nice browns for the size of the stream on the caddis. In both cases I approached from the side and stayed quite a ways back from the stream and flicked my fly into a nice clear pool. The fish confidently appeared from the depths and inhaled the size 16 caddis.

Nice Fish for Small Stream

We went through a section that contained more rocks and trees and eventually came to an open area where we could see the road. It was close to quitting time so we decided to cut across the meadow to the road and hike back down the road to the car. By this time I’d landed eight trout, a couple brook trout and surprisingly the remainder were browns. Dave G. had described this small stream as predominantly a brook trout fishery.

Aspens Blanket Hillside

As we hiked down the road a couple in a white pickup truck came by and asked if we wanted a ride. We accepted the lift, and I threw my rod in the back of the pickup truck and sat on the tailgate. When we arrived at our car, Dave G. showed the driver his Tenkara rod and the driver was quite amazed by the simplicity of the concept.