South Boulder Creek – 08/20/2023

Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/20/2023 Photo Album

On 8/16/2023 I made a trip to South Boulder Creek after a long hiatus due to dam expansion construction, road closures, and high flows. I experienced a fun day with flows at 155 CFS, and I was excited to make a return. I mentioned the idea of a visit to South Boulder Creek to my young fishing friend, Nate, and he was interested as well. I sold him on visiting a scenic location, wild trout and a green drake hatch. It did not take much convincing, and we arranged to make the trip on Sunday, August 20. I am generally averse to fishing on weekends, but Nate’s only days off are Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday; so I made an exception.

Nate drove, and we used the route through Boulder, CO and Flagstaff Park and arrived at a very busy parking lot at the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead on Sunday morning. We were relieved and pleased to discover open parking spaces. The air temperature was already in the low eighties, so we knew that Sunday was destined to be a hot day, and we both avoided thinking about the one mile uphill climb from the creek to the parking lot at the end of the day. Flows on the DWR web site were 144 CFS, and this represented a decline from August 16, but the water level was still higher than ideal in this angler’s opinion.

Heck of a Spot

I assembled my older Sage four weight, and we departed on the wide dirt trail toward South Boulder Creek, and we reached our designated starting point by 10:45AM. The hike in was taxing in the warm temperatures, and we could not contemplate the mostly uphill return. I assembled a South Boulder Creek fly box for Nate that included parachute green drakes, green drake comparaduns, a user friendly green drake, some foam beetles, a couple Chernobyl ants, and a parachute hopper. We both began our search for wild trout at 11:00AM with a size 14 parachute green drake, and we were quickly vindicated for our choice, By the time we stopped for lunch at 11:45AM, Nate was on the board with six splendid trout, and I netted eight. Although Nate recorded fewer trout, he made up for that fact with larger fish.

Nice Early Action

At the start of our day on the creek, we were able to cross to the south bank, and we worked our way upstream on that side for most of the day. A few wide spots offered moderated flows, and enabled us to cross. I generally believe that fishing the side of the river opposite a road or pathway is more productive, and on Sunday we mostly followed this tactic. During the afternoon I observed six natural green drakes, as they made the ascent from the river. They were large dark olive blurs and they glided smoothly skyward to begin their adult lives.

Zoomed a Bit Closer

I persisted with the parachute green drake for my entire stay on South Boulder Creek. For the last thirty minutes I added a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis as a second fly behind the green drake, and the caddis produced a pair of brown trout. Nate followed the same strategy for much of the day, but he also tested a user friendly green drake and a green drake comparadun in a double dry fly alignment. These trials produced a few fish, but we concluded that they did not match the pace of success that the single parachute dry yielded during the morning and early afternoon.

Dave’s Best

At one point in the afternoon Nate equaled his record for number of trout caught in a day at eleven, but a long dry spell with the double dry caused him to reevaluate. He plucked a royal madam X from his fly box, and instantly an inviting pool under an overhanging branch, that seemed lifeless with the double dry, jumped to life and produced two chunky brown trout. The madam X was a sure fired winner, and Nate jumped his fish count to eighteen on the back of the madam X. Actually Nate was not sure whether the count was seventeen or eighteen, but I grabbed the higher number to set the hurdle higher for his next outing.

Better Lighting

By 4:30PM the action slowed to a snail’s pace, and the bright sun in a cloudless sky beat down on our beings. We were hot and weary, and we reached a convenient exit point, so we climbed a steep bank back to the path and hoofed it back to the parking lot. Of course a fair amount of perspiration was involved in the one mile climb, but we both agreed it was worth it for a total of forty-two fish landed in a spectacular setting.

Nate on Fire

This report would not be complete without an account of two incidents that were ancillary to our fly fishing. I knew water would be a valuable commodity on the predicted hot day, so I stuffed my water filter system in my fishing backpack, and after lunch I pulled it out and filled the small bladder with creek liquid. I was holding my larger hydration bladder with my left hand and squeezing filtered water into the large bag with my right hand, when a large black ant crawled across my thumb and tumbled into the bladder. What now? Initially I was willing to continue with ant flavored water, but Nate convinced me that was not a good idea. Credit goes to Nate for patiently tilting the bag on its side, and then giving it a quick lift which flooded the ant to freedom. He was able to complete this rescue with only a small amount of lost water. I did, however, filter a second batch and topped off my hydration bladder.

Careful Hook Removal

During the early afternoon Nate lost awareness of his position, and he flicked a backcast into an overhanging evergreen bough behind him. He was beside himself with frustration, although any angler knows that these events are part of the sport. The fly was on the end of the branch, and it hung approximately ten feet above the surface of the creek. Nate was skeptical that we could reach the branch, but I was not willing to surrender. I scanned the bank behind us, and I found a long and straight dead log that was approximately four inches in diameter and six feet long. I handed it to Nate, and he was able apply pressure and bend the branch downward, but he had a rod in his other hand, and he was unable to reach up while pressuring the branch. I took his rod and moved to his opposite side, and we tried a second time. I was now reaching as high as I could, but the tip of the bough remained a few inches beyond my grasp. I pulled my wading staff from my right side, and I used it to push downward closer to the tip than Nate’s pressure point, and a miracle happened. On one of my sweeps, the wading stick wrapped the line and dragged both flies free! If only we had a third person to record this stream rescue adventure. We must have looked like a crazy team.

Sunday was a superb outing for this addicted fly angler. I was able to introduce Nate to some new sections of South Boulder Creek and to the hot fishing that accompanies the presence of large green drake mayflies. I described it to him in conversation, but that was not the same as actually experiencing it live. Best of all I gained a companion for fishing my favorite Front Range stream. Hopefully the flows will decline more before the green drakes disappear from the South Boulder Creek menu.

Fish Landed: 24

South Boulder Creek – 08/16/2023

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/16/2023 Photo Album

I consider my home waters to be South Boulder Creek, but quite a bit of time elapsed since my last visit. I frequently complain about the variability of the flows on this small tailwater, but that nuisance is now complicated by the construction to expand Gross Reservoir. Twice last year I was forced to abort a trip to South Boulder Creek, when I encountered digital signs announcing the closure of Gross Dam Road. Up until recently the flows remained too high to attempt a trip, but upon my return from Carbondale, I noticed the graph depicted several days of 155 CFS. I fished at 180 CFS in August in previous years with some success especially during the green drake emergence, so I got serious about making the trip.

I visited the grossreservoir.org web site and reviewed the map that tracked road closures and interruptions. My normal route to South Boulder Creek is via Coal Creek Canyon and then down Gross Dam Road, but that route was displayed in red, and the web site informed visitors that the road was closed until 2027. Yikes. I’ll be 76 by then and probably unable to fish anymore! Upon further review, however, I determined that I could access the creek from the north by traveling through Boulder and then following Flagstaff Road. I called the Denver Water customer service number and spoke with a friendly young lady named Bernice, and she confirmed my conclusion that the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead was open and accessible without interference from the Gross Dam project. My maps application indicated that the northern route extended my drive by fifteen minutes, and consultation with my friend, Nate, suggested that the hike to the middle creek section was comparable to that from the fishermen parking lot near the dam. I was sold on a day of fishing in South Boulder Creek.

155 CFS

I arrived at the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead parking lot, and the temperature was already in the low eighties. Eight other vehicles occupied spaces, but I was unable to determine whether the occupants were fishermen, hikers or bikers. I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight and departed down the dirt trail at the south end of the parking lot. I chose the Loomis, because I like the slow action and the way it casts dry flies and dry/droppers, and I assumed those approaches would dominate on Wednesday.

Nice Deep Run

As I hiked along the creek, I was surprised to discover two other anglers, and they were positioned in the middle of the stretch I targeted. Initially I was inclined to reverse direction and move upstream, but then I concluded that I planned to hike a significant distance below them, and by the time I fished upstream to their current spot, I was fairly certain that they would be gone. When I arrived at my chosen starting point, I realized that the flows were indeed 155 CFS, but the creek was very clear. I quickly determined that I was unlikely to cross due to the swift currents in the center of the creek; and, in fact, I did spend my entire day casting along the right bank.

Buttery Brown

Another Fine Brown Trout

To start my search for hungry trout I armed my line with a peacock hippie stomper and a Jake’s gulp beetle. The combination quickly generated four trout, with two nice brown trout chomping on the beetle. After the initial burst of action, however, the takes slowed to zero, and refusals began to dominate my morning. I removed the beetle, and not wishing to miss out on green drake feeding, I replaced the foam terrestrial with a size 14 parachute green drake. The change paid dividends, and I built the fish count to nine by the time I broke for lunch. Roughly half the eaters favored the hippie stomper with the others chowing down on the green drake.

Another Promising Slick

After lunch I resumed my upstream progression, and the stomper and drake combination spurred the fish count to seventeen. This took place over a couple hours, so the action was steady but not hot. A decent number of refusals and looks were interspersed with the eaters, and I was forced to move frequently to find takers after the solitary fish in a pocket refused my offering. Refusals seemed to prevail more often in the slower moving pools; whereas, takes were prevalent at the tail or along seams. I only spotted two natural green drakes during my entire time on the water, and I was surprised by this. The temperature probably spiked to the low eighties, and the heat may have been a factor in the lack of natural green drakes.

A Better View of the Parachute Green Drake

Hippie Stomper

When I reached seventeen, the fish became ultra fussy, and I suffered a long fish landing drought. I concluded it was time to change. The green drake was generating looks, but no eats, so I replaced it with a green drake comparadun. I loved the look of this fly with a large fan shaped deer hair wing and long moose mane tails, and initially two above average sized trout loved it as well. However after the initial burst of action, the comparadun failed to interest additional trout, so I implemented a radical shift to a dry/dropper featuring a tan size 10 pool toy hopper, beadhead hares ear nymph, and a salvation nymph. The hopper was ignored, but the hares ear and salvation produced one fish each. In order to land these two fish I covered some prime water with no success, so I pondered yet another change. I reverted to the foam beetle as the first fly and then added a Harrop hair wing green drake as the second dry. This combination was a dud, but as I was slinging the pair, I spotted a couple pale morning duns. I snipped off the hair wing and replaced it with a size 16 cinnamon comparadun.

Vivid Black Spots on This Rainbow

Rainbow Was Tight to the Rock

By now I reached a narrow fast section that in the past signaled my exit point, so I followed tradition and scaled the rocky bank to the path. On my return hike I paused at two typically productive pools, and I added two more fish to the count to bring the total to twenty-three. Both of the late eaters sipped the trailing cinnamon comparadun.

Love the Orange Spots

The worst part of my day was still ahead of me, however. My new hiking trail to the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead necessitated a one mile ascent from the creek to the parking lot. I executed small steps, drank water and paused many times, before I arrived at the parking lot. Needless to say, I was drenched in perspiration, and this condition developed in spite of some large black clouds obscuring the sun for much of my climb. Hopefully the difficulty of the one mile hike will fade from my memory banks, before I consider another visit to South Boulder Creek.

Wildflower

Twenty-three fish certainly represented a successful day in the South Boulder Creek canyon. Three brown trout and one rainbow extended to a foot with the remainder falling in the six to eleven inch range. The trout never locked into the green drakes in a manner comparable to previous August visits, when I logged ridiculous fish counts. Was it the heat, the higher flows, or the presence of a pair of anglers ahead of me? I will never know the answer to that puzzle, but I intend to return as soon as I can forget the strenuous climb at the end of the day.

Fish Landed: 23

Clear Creek – 08/15/2023

Time: 9:45AM – 3:45PM

Location: National forest

Clear Creek 08/15/2023 Photo Album

Although my fishing outing on Tuesday, August 15 was decent by most standards, it could have been even better. Let me explain.

After a fun day on a high mountain stream on Friday, I was yearning for another day on a Colorado stream; however, I was in favor of a closer destination, so I chose Clear Creek. I left the house at 7:40AM in order to pass through Floyd Hill before the rock scaling operations began at 9:00AM. CDOT announced that motorists should be prepared for delays between 9AM and 3PM on Mondays through Thursdays. I successfully avoided this scenario and arrived at my chosen pullout without incident.

Stream Improvement

The air temperature was in the sixties, but highs in the nineties were predicted for the metro Denver area. When I left the stream on Tuesday afternoon the dashboard digital display read 77 degrees. It was a splendid day to be in the mountains with mostly clear skies and the absence of wind. I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and fought my way through the trees and brush to arrive at the creek and begin fishing by 9:45AM. The water was exceptionally clear, and the flows were nearly ideal. I began my search for trout with a Chernobyl ant, and the all foam terrestrial produced four trout in the early going, although I experienced an equal number of temporary hookups. In fact, the escapees seemed to be the largest fish, and I was quite upset about this circumstance.

Sparse Speckles

In an effort to convert a higher rate of takes, I downsized the Chernobyl ant to a peacock body hippie stomper, and this change produced a couple fish, before it lost its luster to the local trout. I added a salvation nymph on a short sixteen inch dropper, and the salvation contributed a few additional catches to the fish count. During the late morning time frame I attempted to roll cast the dry/dropper, and I was unaware of an overhanging evergreen bough, and this foolish action resulted in breaking off the hippie stomper and salvation. I pulled another stomper from my fly box, but I opted for a sunken ant as the bottom fly, and the ant yielded a pair of trout. By the time I paused for lunch the fish count rested on ten, as four devoured the Chernobyl, two grabbed the salvation, two nipped the sunk ant, and the remainder crushed the hippie stomper. Ten fish in two hours of fishing was respectable, but I could have easily doubled the numbers, if I converted a higher percentage of my hookups to the net, and I am forced to reiterate that the fish that managed to free themselves also felt like the larger trout.

Lovely Pool

Jake’s Gulp Beetle

Beetle Chomper

After lunch I changed things up significantly, as I was not satisfied with the catch rate or the size of the fish. I grabbed a size 12 Jake’s gulp  beetle from my fly box and fished it solo. The change paid off handsomely, and I elevated the fish count to seventeen. During the early phase of the beetle slapping session, the trout responded very positively, and in many cases the trout smacked the terrestrial as soon as the foam imitation splashed down. Unfortunately, in one scenario a very nice fish sipped in the beetle and upon feeling the hook set, it raced downstream. I applied side pressure to keep the prize in the small pool, but it twisted its head, and the beetle was hurled skyward. Adding to the insult of losing the fish, the beetle came to rest in a tall evergreen twenty feet above me, and I was forced to apply direct pressure and snapped off another fly.

Subtle Beauty

The interest in the beetle seemed to fizzle after an hour of intense action, so I implemented yet another fly change. I plucked a lime green trude from my fly box in a fit of nostalgia, and the size fourteen dry fly notched a small cutthroat. The magic of the lime green trude was short lived, however, and I defaulted to the hippie stomper with a gray size 14 stimulator in the trailing position. The combination of the two buoyant dry flies, worked for while, but then refusals began to escalate, and I swapped the stimulator for a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. The caddis worked its charms on the wild trout, until I quit at 3:45PM, and the double dry fly tactic enabled me to boost the fish count from seventeen to twenty-six over the course of the afternoon.

Side Pool Was Attractive

Melon Color

I landed a pair of twelve inch cutthroats, but the remainder were rather small and ranged from six to eleven inches. These cutthroats more than compensated for their diminutive size with an explosion of vivid colors. Pastel olive and tan provided the body background, but ink black speckles, pink accents, crimson gill plates and the classic orange slash finished the pallet of colors. I had numerous opportunities to land slightly larger trout, and this was particularly the case in the morning time period. Nevertheless, Tuesday was a fun summer day with nearly perfect weather and ideal stream conditions. One cannot ask for much more than that.

Fish Landed: 26

Beaver Creek – 08/11/2023

TIme: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: National forest

Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Hopefully the readers will agree that excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities.

Beaver Creek 08/11/2023 Photo Album

Jane and I drove from Denver to the trailhead and arrived at a parking space by 10:45AM. By the time I geared up and assembled my Orvis Access four weight, it was 11:00AM, and a short hike placed me in a position to fish by 11:30AM.  Daughter, Amy, met us at the trailhead, and she and Chara and Jane hiked to the creek with me.

Beautiful Start

I started my quest for trout with a peacock hippie stomper and a gray stimulator, but other than a few splashy refusals, I was unable to generate any interest. I swapped the stimulator for a salvation nymph, and this tandem was ignored more than the previous pair of flies. Just before lunch at 12:30PM I switched the salvation for a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis, and the move paid dividends, when I landed a seven inch brook trout that was sporting a bright orange belly. I was baffled by my lack of success on the same creek that surprised me with both quantities of trout and quality trout eleven months ago.

Number One, a Brook Trout

After lunch I progressed steadily upstream, and I tossed the stomper and caddis to all the likely trout holding locations, and finally I enjoyed some success in the form of two brown trout in the eleven to twelve inch range. Wading was challenging among the large, slippery yellow-white rocks, and small cascades and fallen logs added to the difficulty.

Pleased

Nice Deep Run

By 1:30PM I arrived at a spot with a gradual beach, and sitting on the rocks ahead of me were Chara, Amy and Jane. We snapped photos of each other, and as I moved above them, I landed two small browns to boost the fish count to five. We said our goodbyes, and I continued on through a canyon environment with steep banks on both sides of the creek.

Handsome Brown

Jane and Amy

Between 1:30PM and 3:30PM I increased the fish count from five to thirteen. This time period represented the most steady action of the day. The caddis was not generating interest, so I exchanged it for a size 14 parachute green drake, and the stomper/drake combination provided the best results of the day. All the afternoon fish were browns, and several stretched the tape measure to twelve inches. The stomper and drake split the catch evenly.

Shimmering

What a Pool!

By 3:00PM I approached a deep plunge pool with three likely target areas for casting. I managed to land a trout from the deep, slow shelf pool on the right hand side. I decided to shift my position to reach one of the small side pools on the opposite shore, but my left foot slipped on an angled rock, and it never found a stopping point, until I lost my balance and fell backward in the deep pool. The water rushed over the top of my waders, and I gasped as the cold liquid spread down my legs to my feet. I scrambled to my feet quickly, but it was too late to avoid the ignominy of a cold creek baptism. I remained in one piece with no broken parts except for my pride.

Poised to Explode

What now? It was a rather warm day, so once my body adjusted, the cool wetness actually felt pretty good, although the saturated socks and sloshing stocking foot wader feet were an impediment to continuation. I found a large, dry rock and removed all my gear including my waders. I dumped what water I could from the waders and then suited up for more action.

Ooh. Screams Trout.

The wading became more challenging with some large spillovers and log jams, and the canyon walls became quite steep. I added a couple more trout to the count to reach thirteen, at which point I spotted a steep, worn path to the trail. It was 3:30PM, and some overhead clouds created a slight chill in my soaked body, so I took advantage of the exit route and called it a day.

Friday was a bit disappointing, as my results lagged September 2, 2022 both in quantity and quality. My largest fish was twelve inches, and I never felt a rhythm or a feeling of confidence. Nevertheless, thirteen wild fish landed in a spectacular environment was a valued experience for this avid fly fisherman. I have not given up on this stream and may return later in the season.

Fish Landed: 13

Elk River – 08/08/2023

Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: National forest

Elk River 08/08/2023 Photo Album

Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities.

Tuesday was my opportunity to spend a full day on a remote backcountry creek. I fished the Elk River three times previously, and I was very excited for another chance on Tuesday, August 8. I attempted to tamp down my expectations, but reading my blog post from 2022 only served to elevate them. This was one of my destinations that offered wild cutthroat trout, and I was unable to erase the image of those prized species from my memory banks.

I set out on a brief jaunt to my chosen starting point, and I quickly rigged my line with a tan pool toy hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear nymph and salvation nymph. I chose my Loomis two piece five weight for duty on Tuesday, as I like the slower rod for casting dry flies. I began fishing at 10:-00AM, and that was earlier than usual, so I elected to apply the dry/dropper concept to get deep in the many plunge pools of the small river. Flows were definitely higher than that which I was accustomed to from prior trips.

Promising

I worked my way upstream for a hour, while casting the dry/dropper, and I managed one four inch brook trout that struck the salvation nymph. Talk about disappointment. I never saw another fish, nor did I view a look or refusal. I began to question whether one of my favorite streams contained any fish at all. I decided to forsake the dry/dropper, and I substituted a peacock hippie stomper. Finally an eight inch brown trout slashed the stomper at the lip of a pool. Casting in additional locations proved futile, so I added a parachute green drake behind the hippie stomper. By noon my fish count remained at one, and I was perplexed regarding what happened to the fish of any kind let alone the cutthroats.

Fallen Trees Everywhere

I paused to munch my lunch, and I noticed some dark clouds to the southwest, so I pulled on my raincoat. The raincoat remained in place until I quit at 3:30PM, and I was never too warm. I removed it; however, for my 1.5 mile return hike.

Whoa. Unexpected.

After lunch my fly fishing action picked up considerably. The first sign of improvement was the sixteen inch brown trout that smacked the hippie stomper next to a jumble of branches and sticks. If I ended up with a two fish day, I could at least remember the outlier brown trout. Between 12:30PM and 3:30PM I logged steady progress, as I built the fish count from two to nineteen. This accomplishment required covering a significant amount of stream real estate with much difficult wading over slippery rocks and fallen logs. Only the most attractive pools with slower current, depth and nearby cover produced; although many locales that met these requirements also left me scratching my head.

Another Fine Brown Trout

Tuesday was not the exciting cutthroat searching that I anticipated. In fact, of the nineteen fish that rested in my net, none were cutts. Where have they gone? Did a poacher extract the more gullible wild cutthroats and chow down on fresh fish? The species that salvaged my day were the brown trout. Including the sixteen inch beast described earlier, I landed six browns in the thirteen to sixteen inch range. These trout were a very fine antidote to my cutthroat skunking. In total I landed ten browns and nine brook trout. Most of the brookies were barely six inches, but a pair extended to nine and eleven inches. Did the ultra territorial brown trout displace the cutthroats? This was another theory that rolled about in my questioning thought process.

Another Prime Home

Nice Chunk

Orange Edge on Tail

By 3:30PM I reached the small tributary that marked my usual exit point, so I took advantage and completed the return hike. I must admit that I was disappointed by the lack of cutthroat trout action; however, a nineteen fish day was much appreciated, and landing large browns in a small stream environment has its rewards. If I return, I will progress even farther from the trailhead, before I begin my day.

Fish Landed: 19

 

Elk River – 08/07/2023

Time: 4:00PM -6:00PM

Location: National Forest

Elk River 08/07/2023 Photo Album

Jane and I set up camp and did an out and back hike for an hour during the early afternoon. Once the tent was erected, I prepared to fish. Temperatures were in the low sixties with dark threatening clouds for much of my two allotted hours, although it never rained. Flows were higher than normal for the first week of August. Jane dropped me off next to the stream to eliminate hiking time and maximize fishing time, and I fished back to the campground. Before I embarked on my brief fly fishing excursion, I assembled my Orvis Access four weight, and I began my effort to catch fish with a peacock hippie stomper and gray size 14 stimulator.

Before I could make my first cast, I was forced to bash through some tough branches, and then I clambered over large, slippery boulders. The Elk River in this area actually flowed through a narrow canyon, and the character of the stream alternated between plunge pools and whitewater. Wading along the edge was an exercise in caution, rock climbing and branch avoidance.

Typcial Deep Shelf Pool

I positioned myself below an attractive swirling shelf pool for my first cast, and nothing responded, but on number two cast I spotted a swirl, and my fly disappeared. A swift set followed, but I felt no weight and, thus, assumed I was victimized by a refusal. Wrong. I stripped in my line and discovered it was devoid of flies and displayed only a curlicue; the telltale sign of a bad knot. I uttered some unmentionable words and knotted two more of the same flies to my line.

I Love the Speckles on the Tail

Finally I began to fly fish in earnest, and I landed three trout over the next hour. My catch included a cutthroat, a brook trout, and a brown trout. I was a rainbow trout short of a grand slam in one hour of fishing. The cutthroat measured around twelve inches, and it displayed gorgeous pastel coloration. The brook trout was barely over my six inch minimum, and the brown trout was a healthy twelve incher. The cutty grabbed the hippie stomper, while the brookie and the brown attacked the trailing light gray deer hair caddis. I swapped the stimulator for a caddis early in my fishing venture.

Pleased with This Brown Trout

By 5:30 the action stalled, so I converted to a tan pool toy hopper with a trailing beadhead hares ear. These flies were out of favor, so I added an iron sally to achieve more depth in the plunge pools, but the ploy was not effective. I reached a place, where I was “walled out”, and this forced me to scale a bank to the road. Once I was along the shoulder I looked back down to the canyon, and I could not bring myself to attempt another bout of extreme exertion. The quality of the fishing did not justify the effort required.

I hiked back to the bridge near the campground, and I prospected upstream, but the results were disappointing. I tried a Chernobyl ant solo, and in a last gasp attempt, I added a cinnamon comparadun, after I spotted a pale morning dun over the water. By six o’clock I was wasted, so I returned to the campsite for refreshments.

Monday was a slow start to my much anticipated trip to the Elk River. The main deterrent to more fish was the very challenging wading conditions. When I gazed back at the canyon near the end of the day, I was actually astounded that I fished as much as I did. Landing one trout of three separate species was also a welcome outcome on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Fish Landed: 3

Frying Pan River – 08/02/2023

Time: 1:00PM – 2:30PM

Location: Below Reudi Reservoir

Frying Pan River 08/02/2023 Photo Album

It took me thirty minutes to return from the upper Frying Pan River to the tailwater section, and I paused to eat my lunch upon my arrival at a wide pullout across from the river. After lunch I reconfigured my setup with a tan pool toy hopper, an iron sally and a salvation nymph. I lengthened the dropper section below the hopper and did the same to the connecting leader between the iron sally and salvation nymph. Based on my review of the flows, before I left in the morning, I assumed I was fishing at 151 CFS. Upon my arrival back home on Wednesday evening, I realized that the water managers increased the outflows to 210 CFS, while I was fishing! Trout generally take some time to adjust to significant changes in water conditions, and I judge plus 60 CFS to be significant.

Angling to the Far Bank

Another Glimpse

I carefully angled across the river and began fishing upstream along the south (right) bank. During my early afternoon foray on the tailwater I managed to land six brown trout. One stretched the tape to thirteen inches, but most fell within the ten to twelve inch range. Once again the fly fishing was not a torrid affair, and I covered quite a bit of real estate and made an abundant quantity of casts to achieve the six fish count. Many very attractive runs and pools failed to deliver; whereas, some marginal spots produced. The common denominator of the productive spots seemed to be depth and especially depth along the bank. A few refusals to the hopper accompanied the action, but the hopper also produced takes often enough to justify its presence in my lineup.

Yielded One Brown Trout

Not Bad

Near the End

By 2:30PM I realized that I was not going to encounter a safe crossing place, so I laboriously and carefully retreated along the edge of the river to my original crossing point. I maintained a low stance, secured my footing with each step, and made sure each placement of my wading staff was solid; and these precautions enabled me to cross the river without incident. Six fish in 1.5 hours was certainly a respectable haul, but once again I felt like I worked exceptionally hard for the results. Wading was nearly as difficult in the tailwater, as it was on the upper Frying Pan. Insects were largely absent from the landscape during the afternoon session, and I was very surprised by this circumstance. I saw one or two pale morning duns and a handful of caddis. The much anticipated green drakes were totally absent from the scene. Hopefully I will get to visit Amy later in the season, when all the hatches are active.

Fish Landed: 6

Upper Frying Pan River – 08/02/2023

Time: 10:15AM – 12:00PM

Location: Upstream from Reudi Reservoir

Upper Frying Pan River 08/02/2023 Photo Album

My original plan incorporated fishing another high mountain creek on Wednesday, but severe thunderstorms and heavy downpours forced me to scuttle those plans. I stayed with my daughter, Amy, on Tuesday evening, and I decided the safest bet was to fish the Frying Pan River. I decided to inspect the upper Frying Pan first, and if it was clear with manageable flows, that would be my destination. If my scouting mission revealed unfavorable conditions, I could fall back on the tailwater below Reudi Reservoir.

I departed Amy’s apartment at 8:30AM, and this enabled me to arrive at a pullout along the upper Frying Pan River by 9:45AM. The upper river was clear and definitely running higher than what I was used to, but I decided to give it a go. The flows on the DWR web site registered 120 CFS, and that was higher than my typical experience based on visits later in the year. I assembled my Sage R8 four weight and ambled down the road for .4 miles, until I found a suitable spot to access the river.

Deceptively Fast and Deep

I adorned my line with a tan pool toy hopper, prince nymph and salvation nymph; and I began my quest for Frying Pan trout. Between 10:15AM and noon I advanced along the north side of the river and prospected all the likely deep runs and pockets, and I managed to land six trout. A thirteen inch rainbow was the largest, and a surprise cutthroat was the prettiest, and one brown trout brought me within one species of a grand slam. Most of the fish were in the nine to eleven inch range, and I also experienced quite a few temporary hookups and refusals to the pool toy hopper. Of the six fish that found my net, three connected with the hopper, one mashed the prince and two nipped the salvation nymph.

Chunky

Deep Runs

Six fish in 1.75 hour seems fairly productive, but I worked quite hard for these results. The high flows pushed the strong current against the bank, and the tight vegetation made it impossible to circle around difficult wading situations. I moved slowly and secured my foot plants with each move. For the last thirty minutes I cast to very attractive pockets and deep runs with no action whatsoever, so I decided to execute my fallback, and I drove back to the Frying Pan tailwater.

Fish Landed: 6

Lake Creek – 08/01/2023

Time: 10:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: .4 mile from road

Lake Creek 08/01/2023 Photo Album

Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities.

Tuesday was my fifth visit to Lake Creek, and unfortunately I got off to a rocky start. On Monday evening in preparation for my day on the high elevation creek, I read my four blog posts from the previous trips. I was appropriately excited for a day of fly fishing.

I arrived at my usual parking space by 10:00AM, and I quickly assembled my old Sage four weight. Originally I considered using my Orvis Access eight foot four weight, but with flows higher than usual, I selected the longer and stiffer casting tool. The temperature was already in the seventies, as I sauntered down the trail. On a previous trip I hiked quite a distance, but I determined that farther was not better and opted for a .4 mile jaunt.

Sweet Pool

To begin my search for trout I knotted a peacock hippie stomper and parachute green drake to my line. The creek was flowing faster than I was used to, and the gradient in the early going made wading a challenge and minimized good holding spots for the resident trout. I managed a couple small browns barely longer than my six inch minimum on the green drake and hippie stomper, and then I needed to cross to access the better wading terrain on the west side of the creek. I took a step and carefully placed my foot on an angled rock, and my cleats instantly slid on the slant. I felt like I was surfing on the rock surface, and I managed to maintain my balance, but the current pushed me into a deep spot, and the creek water trickled over the top of my waders. My dry fly box was in the pocket of my wader bib, and it got submerged in the process causing my fly hooks to get wet. This unfortunate incident transpired within the first fifteen minutes, and needless to say, I was not pleased.

Off and Running

Love the Slick Below the Rocks

After the near dunking incident, I advanced quickly and hooked the same branch twice, in a ridiculous display of lack of awareness on my backcast. In the first incident I managed to free both flies, but the second transgression resulted in snapping off the trailing green drake. I took a deep breath and replaced the green drake with a purple haze, and within five minutes I repeated the errant backcast routine with another snagged branch. In frustration I cast forward with added power, and the flies released, but my follow through brought the rod in contact with a rock. I was momentarily pleased with my good fortune at recovering my flies, but after two casts I came to the realization that I broke the tip of my rod. I was not sure whether the snap occurred at the time of the powered forward cast or the follow through contact with the rock.

Shimmering Brown Trout

Now my only option was to hike back to the car to take down the broken rod and assemble a different wand. I chose my Orvis Access four weight and once again completed the .4 entry hike to my exit point. I resumed fishing for thirty minutes and built the fish count to four small brown trout, before I settled on a flat rock to eat my lunch. Between 10:30AM and noon I managed to land four small fish while making tremendous progress toward my step goal.

Tight Quarters

Mossy Background

After lunch I experimented with a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead hares ear, and one aggressive brown trout nabbed the Chernobyl. The dry/dropper failed to excite the fish, so I returned to a hippie stomper and green drake combination and very gradually boosted the fish count to nine. During this time I covered a significant amount of stream real estate, and promising locations failed to produce. The target spots were few and far between, and the netted fish remained in the six to nine inch range. I was ready to call Tuesday a rare failure and relegate Lake Creek to last place on my small stream list.

Shelf Pool Bonanza

Butter Brown

In a fit of despair I decided to once again try the dry/dropper approach. The hippie stomper was increasingly difficult to track, as dark clouds slid across the sky. I tied on a chubby Chernobyl with an ice dub amber body and added an iron sally and salvation nymph. Finally I began registering success, as the trout attacked all three flies with increased regularity. The fish count exploded to twenty-one, and the size improved with a twelve inch brown and several eleven inch jewels in the mix. Two trout clobbered the chubby, while several grabbed the iron sally, and the remainder snatched the salvation. The afternoon dry/dropper session represented the style of fishing that I associated with Lake Creek.

Promising Shelf Pool

Line Twister

Thick

A near dunking and broken rod tip surely placed a damper on the day, but I at least solved the riddle enough to land twenty-one wild fish, and I exceeded my step goal. It was a success in many ways.

Fish Landed: 21

Big Thompson River – 07/26/2023

Time: 10:30AM – 2:00PM

Location: Below Lake Estes

Big Thompson River 07/26/2023 Photo Album

After a fairly strenuous day on Tuesday that involved a fair amount of hiking in the heat and wet wading, I was reluctant to embark on a long journey on Wednesday. For this reason I reviewed all the stream flows on nearby Front Range streams, and I concluded that the Big Thompson River in the canyon below Lake Estes was my best bet. The flows were on the high side at 124 CFS, but the fly shop reports indicated that the fishing was decent. The high flows were actually a positive to buffer warming water temperatures from the soaring heat wave.

Starting Point

I arrived at my chosen pullout by 10:15AM, and this enabled me to be on the river fly fishing by 10:30AM after assembling my Loomis two piece five weight. The air temperature was 77 degrees, and it climbed to 86 degrees, before I ended my day at 2:00PM. I decided to wear my waders after wading wet on Tuesday, since very little hiking was involved with the road running along the river. When I was prepared, I hiked down the highway a short distance to a place that did not present no trespassing signs. I cut to the river and rigged my line with a peacock hippie stomper and size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. Within the first thirty minutes I landed five trout and witnessed numerous temporary connections. Three of the landed trout mashed the hippie stomper, and the other two nipped the caddis. Four of the five were wild browns, and one was a small rainbow trout.

After the hot fishing in the first hour, I encountered a private property and no trespassing sign, so I quickly retreated to the highway and skirted the private plot, until I was just upstream. I reentered the river just below a gorgeous deep pool, and I resumed my prospecting approach with the double dry presentation. The action slowed appreciably, and I was shutout in my pursuit of trout, before I claimed my lunch break at 11:45AM. I suspect that my first section of the river was assumed to be private and skipped by most fishermen; and, therefore, the fish were less pressured and more aggressive toward my flies. Of course, another explanation might be the time of day, and the late morning water temperature was in the prime feeding range.

Sweet Spot

After I fished the attractive hole on the upstream side of the private water, another fisherman appeared thirty yards above me. Needless to say I was not enthusiastic about his presence, so I gathered my rod and quickly circled around the intruder. In fairness to the upstream angler, he probably was not aware of my presence, until he waded into the river. I gave him fifty yards of space and cut back to the river across from where my car was parked. The well worn path to the river suggested that the easy access section received a high degree of fishing pressure, but I continued fishing nevertheless.

Near the End of the Day

I ate my lunch next to the river and observed the pool, but insects were not in abundance. An occasional yellow sally fluttered skyward, and small caddis could be disturbed from the streamside bushes and willows. My slow stint before lunch caused me to adjust my approach, and I switched to a dry/dropper, with a classic Chernobyl ant as the surface fly and a salvation nymph on the dropper. The Chernobyl accounted for a small rainbow, but the nymph was totally ignored. I pondered the lack of action and decided to go deeper and added a prince nymph. For the next thirty minutes I applied the dry/dropper methodology with intense focus, but two nymphs were treated the same as one. As this story developed some dark clouds arrived in the southwest sky, and the change in weather blocked the sun and dropped the air temperature.

Two on Caddis Below Overhanging Branch

As I continued my upstream migration, I moved beyond the pullout for the Santa Fe and reached a section, where the river divided into two branches around a long narrow island. I began on the left braid, but when I reached the midpoint, the stream above me was characterized as a wide fast moving riffle, so I crossed the island to the braid next to the highway. I declared the Chernobyl dry/dropper a failed experiment, and I reverted to a double dry with a size 14 yellow stimulator on the top and an olive size 16 deer hair caddis trailing. This combination enabled me to reach ten fish landed by the time a second storm cell arrived and chased me off the water. I had the most success with the double dry tight to the bank and at the tail of runs of moderate depth. Two decent browns smacked the caddis, as it began to swing at the tail of a smooth pool under an overhanging branch. I am sure this was a spot virtually ignored by fly fishermen prior to my arrival.

A streak of lightning and the nearly immediate sound of thunder motivated me to hustle back to the car. I arrived just ahead of the rain, and, in fact, I was forced to pull on my rain jacket as I pulled off my waders. Wednesday was a challenging day. I blasted off to a fast start with five fish landed in the first hour, but the catch rate stalled in the early afternoon, until I worked the edges with a dry/dropper. I was actually quite proud to be able to advance the fish count to double digits in spite of the lack of insects and high air temperature. The size of the fish was lacking with one brown trout perhaps stretching to twelve inches. I find myself yearning for another high elevation creek now that the daily air temperatures have climbed into the nineties and upper eighties.

Fish Landed: 10