Time: 2:30PM – 5:00PM

Location: National forest

Marvine Creek 09/17/2026 Photo Album

Well, Thursday did not develop as anticipated. Rain began falling Wednesday evening and continued through the night and into the morning. I repeatedly visited the porch to check the intensity of the rain while also viewing Weather Underground to study the radar map. Initially Weather Underground indicated that the rain would stop by noon, but eventually the rain cloud icon slid to 2:00PM. Several periods of heavy rain interrupted the steady soaking. I did my New York Times games and read my book and ate the lunch I packed , when I optimistically thought that I would be fishing.

One of the More Attractive Spots

Early Stunner

Finally by 1:30PM the rain subsided to a drizzle, so I made the short drive to the Marvine Creek trailhead. The entire parking lot was full except for one space on the north side, so I grabbed it. Archery and muzzleloader seasons were in full swing.

Trout Emerged Along the Log

I geared up and fit together my Sage R8 four weight for small stream action. By the time I was prepared, the rain stopped, and I departed on the trail. The trail was another story. The steady rain converted the sunken trail into a nearly continual muddy hog trough. I did my best to straddle the narrow mud pit or stay on the packed earth that bordered the path, but getting my wading boots muddy was inevitable. I was headed toward wading in a clear mountain stream, so I am not certain why avoidance of mud was a priority.

Big Boy

Brook Trout Haven Was Foam

By 2:30PM I arrived at a narrow canyon section tucked deep below the trail high above. I knew from previous visits that the canyon section lasted for .5 mile, before the bank tapered to allow an easier exit strategy. I gambled that I could cover the .5 mile in 2.5 hours. My theory was that most anglers would not undertake the challenge. Well, I suspect my theory was sound, but I discovered that the narrow streambed and steep gradient provided a limited number of quality holding spots for trout. In addition, being a contortionist would be a huge advantage, as I twisted and turned my seventy-five year old body in all manner of positions to climb over, under and through fallen logs.

A Rare Double of Two Species

Double Site

How was my day? I fished a tan mini chubby with a size 14 beadhead prince and salvation nymph during my time on the creek, and I landed seventeen trout. Unlike previous visits to Marvine, the ratio of rainbow/cutbow/cutthroats to brook trout was 70% to 30%. I have no explanation. As one might expect, quite a few fish were beneath twelve inches including some six inch brook trout. However, the highlight was a fifteen inch cutbow, and I also landed a splendid fat brook trout that extended to thirteen inches. That is large for any Colorado stream let alone small Marvine Creek. Early on I netted a fat thirteen inch cutthroat that tested my four weight.

Pumpkin Brook Trout

Fish producing locations exhibited depth and slowing current, and these spots were rare in the canyon section. Of my seventeen trout landed, nine accumulated in the canyon, and the last eight were found in the wide and open meadow area. If I fish Marvine again, I will skip the high gradient canyon. Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with a seventeen fish day in 2.5 hours of fishing, and I managed a few larger than expected fish from a small mountain stream. At one point I was skeptical that I would even fish on Thursday, September 17.

Fish Landed: 17

Cutthroat with No Slash?

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