Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: National Forest land

North Fork of Ten Mile Creek 07/26/2024 Photo Album

My fly fishing friend, Nate, was in scooter/bicycle accident that resulted in a broken ring finger on his left hand. He is right handed, and like many of us, is a fly fishing fanatic. Unfortunately, his recent visit to the doctor resulted in a large cast on his left arm that stabilized his wrist and entire hand except for his index finger and thumb. His devotion to fly fishing was so intense that he attempted to fish a couple times, and he managed most of the necessary actions. The one activity that was difficult to perform with one hand was netting a fish, removing the fly and releasing the fish.

I fished for three consecutive days at the beginning of the week, but I was not satiated, so I offered to accompany Nate on a fishing trip. I suggested that we could fish together and alternate pools, so that I would be nearby to assist should he hook and land fish. Initially Nate rejected my offer, as he felt that fishing was too big a risk for his recovery, but eventually his strong desire to fish during one of the prime seasons of the year trumped other concerns, and we planned a day on his off day of Friday.

Charcoal Body on This Brook Trout

For a destination I suggested that we visit the North Fork of Ten Mile Creek. I fished there nine days ago with great success, and it met the criteria of a small stream with lots of fish that required anglers to alternate pools. Nate and I met at the Woolly Mammoth parking lot at 8AM, and we arrived at the North Fork parking lot by 9:00AM. After a rest stop break and assembling our gear, we hiked along the trail and approached a nice section of the creek for dry fly fishing. I chose my Orvis Access four weight and stuffed my raincoat and lunch in my backpack, The temperature at the start was a cool 61 degrees, even though the high in Denver was projected to hit 91 degrees.Corner Pocket

I began my day with a peacock hippie stomper, and Nate and I began alternating, as we progressed methodically up the creek. We failed to generate interest in the first four glassy smooth pools, but eventually we began to meet with success, I added a  hares ear nymph on a dropper, and this move resulted in two landed brook trout. By lunch time Nate recorded seven landed brook trout, and I notched five. We only counted fish over six inches, but very few sub-six inch fish visited our nets during the fly fishing prior to lunch. Nate was remarkably self sufficient in one-handed mode, but I did assist with a few hook removals and releases.

Pastel Hues

By lunch time some dark clouds obscured the sun, and the wind kicked up even more than what we had already experienced, so I dug out my raincoat for warmth and as a windbreaker. I was pleased with this move, as the rain shell remained in place for the remainder of our time on the water.

Nate Threaded the Needle Here

For some reason the fishing slowed considerably after lunch. We agreed that some of this was attributable to the quality of the water. Most of our action originated in deeper water next to faster currents, and the early afternoon featured numerous glassy smooth pools and shallow riffles. We approached these locales with stealth, but the number of darting fish was significant. Even relatively long casts with soft landings sent the wild trout scurrying for cover.

Clear and Smooth

In response to the slow action I added a size 16 light gray comparadun on a twelve inch dropper, and the comparadun accounted for a pair of trout. As more time elapsed, however, the hippie stomper once again began to dominate the appetites of the trout, and the trailing comparadun was a nuisance, so I removed it and fished the stomper solo.

Nature’s Palette

By 2:15PM the sky darkened, and a light rain descended. Nate was very concerned about getting his cast wet, so he retreated among a dense stand of tall evergreens for cover. As I mentioned, I was already cloaked in my raincoat, so I persisted through the rain and ramped up my fish count to eleven. After fifteen minutes the rain stopped, and the sun reappeared, and Nate resumed his fly fishing adventure. I relinquished my casting turns, and Nate upped his fish count to ten, so we called it a day and hiked back to the car.

Handful

Short Pool

Nate and I agreed that the biggest difference between my visit of 07/16/2024 and Friday, 07/26/2024 was the decrease in flows. Clearly the lower volume of water along with extreme clarity made the fly fishing significantly more demanding. The conditions dictated long casts and light deliveries. The difficulty was enhanced by the strong wind that made delivering a fly to a tight spot an extreme challenge. Placing casts in narrow slots beneath bushes and along the banks was frequently a risk of a snag or errant cast. In spite of these drawbacks we persisted and logged a fun day. Above all it was a pleasure to fish along side Nate. His fly fishing abilities have progressed significantly since we last met on a stream. Hopefully his recovery is rapid, and he is able to participate in some outstanding fly fishing over the remainder of the summer and fall.

Fish Landed: 11