South Fork of the White River – 09/15/2020

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Southeast of the South Fork Campground

South Fork of the White River 09/15/2020 Photo Album

I camped at the South Fork Campground on Monday night, and I was pleased to discover that the air was relatively free of smoke. Only two other campsites were occupied, and I elected to stow my storage bins in the bear locker and slept in the back of the Santa Fe. I was successful in avoiding setting up and taking down my tent for a one night stay.

No. 6 at South Fork Campground

I was conveniently positioned for my day of fishing the South Fork of the White River on Tuesday morning. I stashed all my food and camping gear in the car and drove fifty yards to the trailhead, where I assembled my Sage four weight and pulled on my waders. The temperature at the beginning of my hike was 48 degrees, but the hike initiated quite a bit of body heat, and the high temperature for the day peaked in the 70 degree range. In short, it was a glorious late summer day in the Flattops. As I strode along the South Fork, I noted that the flows were ideal, and the river was crystal clear and cold.

Grandeur of the Flatttops

Nice Clear Deep Run

I hiked a good distance from the trailhead and began fishing at 10:30AM with a tan ice dub chubby Chernobyl, ultra zug bug, and salvation nymph. Early in the game I landed a chunky twelve inch rainbow on the salvation, but it was tough going in the hour before noon, as the fish count slowly advanced to three. Midway through the morning I exchanged the ultra zug bug for a 20 incher to achieve deeper drifts.

Subtle Pink Stripe

After a quick lunch I continued my upstream progression and raised the fish tally to six. Other than the first fish of the day, the rainbows were on the small side. Once I attained six on the trout meter, I decided to convert to a double dry approach. For this endeavor I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to the front position and trailed a gray stimulator. For most of the afternoon I concentrated on prospecting prime spots; depth and moderate current were the key prerequisites. The fish count climbed from six to ten, but the fish netted in the afternoon were the nicest of the day. These afternoon fish convinced me that the thirteen and fourteen inch cutbows and rainbows of the South Fork are pound for pound some of the hardest battlers, that I have encountered.

Worthwhile

Stunning

With an hour remaining before my planned exit I swapped the stimulator for a salvation nymph, and then I added an ultra zug bug. The dry/dropper approach clicked for a pretty cutthroat trout and two small cutbows, but two substantial fish escaped my hook and added to my frustration.

Cast Worthy

On Tuesday I suffered several break offs on fish and ended my day by breaking off three flies in a tree. I lost two 20 inchers, four salvation nymphs, two ultra zug bugs, one gray stimulator, and one hippie stomper. I also tossed a legless pool toy hopper in my fly recycling canister.

Power Curl

I must admit that my expectations for Tuesday were higher, but a double digit day including six trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range was more than acceptable. I had the place to myself, and the weather was spectacular. I observed very little aquatic insect activity, and historically my best days on the South Fork coincided with the presence of more caddis, pale morning dun and blue winged olives. September 15, 2020 seemed like a continuation of the summer doldrums from an insect perspective.

Fish Landed: 13

North Fork of the White River – 09/14/2020

Time: 1:30PM – 5:00PM

Location: Between North Fork Campground and Trappers Lake

North Fork of the White River 09/14/2020 Photo Album

I protected the week of September 14, 2020 from conflicting appointments, as I eagerly anticipated a week of fly fishing in the Flattops area of Colorado. This trip has developed into an annual tradition, and I was not willing to sacrifice it in 2020. I was, however, cognizant of my recent heart issues and atrial fibrillation, so in a concession to advancing age I rented a satellite phone for the week. I planned to hike into several remote stream destinations, where the presence of other human beings was rare, so the availability of 24/7 communication capability was a valuable safety precaution. I viewed the $255 for thirty minutes of voice time as an insurance policy in case of injury or health issues.

Branch in a Bad Place

Salvation Nymph

I departed on Monday morning after completing most of the packing on Sunday night, and I arrived next to the North Fork of the White River by 12:45PM. I quickly downed my small lunch and prepared to fly fish with my Sage four weight as the weapon of choice. Monday was a bright sunny day with the temperature at my location in the 69 – 70 degree range. Flows appeared to be a bit lower than previous years, but easily within an ideal range for mid-September.

Nice Grip

Speckles and Stripes

I began my quest for White River trout with a tan pool toy hopper that dangled an ultra zug bug and salvation nymph on a three foot dropper. I read all my North Fork posts on this blog from previous years before my departure, and the three flies that I selected were the top producers. In the very first decent pocket along the left bank, I landed a thirteen inch rainbow that nabbed the salvation nymph, and my optimism zoomed. I continued working my way upstream, and I built the fish count to seven in the first hour, but all the fish except the first were in the six to eleven inch range. One was a brook trout, and the others were rainbows and cutbows. The ultra zug bug delivered a small trout early, but then it drifted mostly unmolested, so I switched it for a weighted size 12 prince nymph. The prince became a relatively hot item, as it combined with the salvation to boost the fish count from seven to fifteen. The heavier prince enabled deeper drifts, and this condition likely explained the elevated catch rate. Three of the last eight landed trout were muscular fourteen to fifteen inch rainbows, and the prince was the food of choice for these bruisers. In addition, another three energetic hook ups developed, but the bold fighters managed to escape while breaking off the prince and salvation.

Slip Away

Surely Home to a Fish

Similar to past years on this section of the White, long riffles and pockets with depth in excess of four feet produced. Toward the end of my time on the river I bumped into two other anglers, so I circled around them and continued upstream. The last hour was very slow, and I failed to increase the fish count, although I was teased by two decent temporary hook ups in the final pool. Monday represented a fine start to my week in the Flattops during 2020. Fifteen fish landed in 3.5 hours is an above average catch rate, and the three bruisers in the late afternoon were much appreciated surprises. Monday afternoon boosted my appetite for more success during the remainder of the week.

Fish Landed: 15

South Boulder Creek – 09/02/2020

Time: 10:45AM – 3:15PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 09/02/2020 Photo Album

After two very successful days on South Boulder Creek in early August, I yearned to return in order to take advantage of the late green drake hatch on the small front range tailwater. Unfortunately the Denver Water managers had other ideas, and they boosted the flow rate from 140 CFS to 230 CFS. As you might imagine, 230 CFS in the narrow tight South Boulder Creek canyon creates some challenging fishing conditions. I decided to bide my time and wait for the flows to drop to more favorable levels, while I sampled other high country options in Colorado. Finally I noted that the DWR graph depicted outflows from Gross Reservoir of 139 CFS, and I promptly made plans to pay the canyon tailwater a visit.

Yummy Water

Wednesday developed into a sunny day with the high temperature on South Boulder Creek approaching eighty degrees. Wet wading seemed like an attractive option, but I recalled that my feet grew numb even while wearing waders due to the cold bottom release from the dam. I slid into my waders and rigged my Orvis Access four weight and descended the steep trail from the kayak parking lot to the edge of the creek. Three cars preceded me to the parking area, and another arrived with a man and presumably a son and grandson, while I prepared to fish. Surely the small number of vehicles meant that I would have the creek mostly to myself.

Early Hippie Stomper Success

As I crossed the creek at the bottom of the steep trail, it seemed that the rushing flows were stronger than 139 CFS; however, when I checked again upon my return home, the DWR web site graph continued to depict a level line at the aforementioned velocity. As mentioned in the first paragraph, I anxiously anticipated prospecting with large green drake dry flies; and I did, in fact, do some of that, but the fish were not as cooperative, as they were on 8/11/2020 and 8/14/2020. According to plan when I arrived at my favorite starting point, I tied a parachute green drake to my line and began to prospect likely fish holding lies, but the stream residents showed no interest.

After I covered several very attractive pools with no response from the fish, I exchanged the green drake for a peacock hippie stomper. In the early going before lunch the stomper registered a pair of trout, but it also generated an abundant quantity of refusals, so I swapped it for a user friendly green drake. The user friendly fooled my only rainbow trout of the day, but then it also became a fly that the fish decided to inspect but not eat.

Worth a Few Casts

Held in the Sunshine

This description of my morning fly fishing pretty much characterized my entire day. I cycled through a lot of flies but never settled on a consistent producer, until the end of the day on my way back to the parking lot. I fished diligently and covered a significant amount of stream and managed to land fifteen trout. All were brown trout except for the rainbow that crushed the user friendly. Ten trout rested in my net between 10:45 and 2:45, and I added five in a thirty minute period, when I stopped to fish a favorite pool during my return hike. Obviously my catch rate in the first four hours was very lackluster.

Recovery

After lunch I tried a tan pool toy hopper trailing a beadhead prince and a salvation nymph, and I succeeded in attracting a batch of refusals to the hopper. The nymphs were totally ignored, so I returned to the dry fly approach and tossed a green drake comparadun for a reasonable length of time. The solitary green drake imitation duped one fish, but it was largely avoided. What could the trout be looking for? I pulled a beetle from my box, and it was one of the most popular flies of the day. After some initial success with the beetle, the action slowed down, and I spied several natural green drakes and a large pale morning dun. I switched to a size 14 light gray comparadun and induced one trout to gulp the large PMD imitation, and then I reverted to the beetle and added the green drake comparadun as the second dry fly. Of the first ten fish landed before I embarked on my return hike, three ate the hippie stomper, one chomped the light gray comparadun, one smacked the user friendly green drake, one sipped the green drake comparadun, and four nipped the Jake’s gulp beetle. The numerous fly changes were indicative of a slow catch rate and my inability to identify a consistently productive fly for the trout of South Boulder Creek.

Healthy Brown Trout

I wasted too much time casting to center runs and pockets, because most of my success was derived from the deep pockets and riffles along the bank. The higher than desired flows reduced the number of prime holding spots for trout, and this forced me to move often, and this in turn caused me to climb over numerous boulders and to battle strong currents to make headway.

End of Day Fun

At 2:45PM I reached an area where the canyon narrowed, and flows at 139 CFS hampered my ability to find decent holding water. I hooked my fly to the rod guide and began my return hike. After .75 mile I approached a nice wide pool and before wading through it to continue my return journey, I paused and observed several rises. I decided to extend my fly fishing day, and I lobbed some casts of the beetle to the vicinity of rises. The beetle attracted several looks, but the trout would not close their jaw on the foam imitation. What could the fish be eating? I swapped the beetle for a size 18 cinnamon comparadun. It was mostly ignored or refused, but through persistence I induced two trout to sip the low riding mayfly imitation.

End of Day Bonus

Four or five fish fed sporadically at the tail of the long pool area, and they became immune to my comparadun, so I exchanged it for a size 22 CDC blue winged olive. This was definitely not on the radar of the stream residents, so I removed it, and replaced it with a size 18 light gray comparadun. Voila! Three trout recognized the small comparadun as a desirable food item, and I built the fish count to fifteen. Four of the last five trout landed were browns in the twelve inch range, and I was quite pleased to end my day on a high note.

Fish Landed: 15

South Fork of St. Vrain Creek – 09/01/2020

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between confluence with Middle Fork and Brainard Lake

South Fork of St. Vrain Creek 09/01/2020 Photo Album

2020 has been a year of exploring new streams or different stretches of streams never before visited. Tuesday, September 1, would continue this trend. I packed up my gear and headed to the South Fork of St. Vrain Creek. Jane and I completed a hike along this stream a year ago, and it looked like an interesting creek to sample, so Tuesday would be the day.

It was sixty degrees, when I arrived at the trailhead parking lot, and a constant wind created a slight chill, so I opted to pull on a fleece. I knew that I would probably overheat on the inbound hike, but rationalized my decision with the understanding, that I could remove the fleece and tie it around my waist under my waders. I assembled my little Orvis Access four weight and departed along the well worn path. I was in a position to begin fishing by 10:45AM, but after walking at a moderate pace for .6 mile, I realized that I forgot my frontpack. I briefly considered trying to fish without it, but then I realized that my frontpack contains my hemostats, floatant paste, tippet spools, dry shake and fleece nymph wallet. I reluctantly executed a U-turn and returned to the parking lot to retrieve an essential piece of gear. Of course this added 1.2 miles to my hike, and my initial cast was delayed until 11:30.

Stealth Required

When I finally stood along the edge of the small creek, I noticed that it was a bit off-colored with a green tinge similar to what we observed on Beaver Creek on our hike from Camp Dick the previous Wednesday. Beaver Creek is a significant tributary to the South Fork not too far upstream, so this probably explained the discoloration. In spite of the greenish tinge the stream clarity was decent, and the creek tumbled along at 11 CFS based on my review of the closest DWR water gauge. I quickly concluded that fishing the South Fork would require stealth and caution.

Nice Pool with Green Tinge

I began my maiden expedition on the South Fork with a solo peacock hippie stomper, and I landed two small brown trout, before I broke for lunch at noon, but the stomper generated a lot of refusals and temporary hookups. It was encouraging to witness the presence of trout in previously unexplored water, but my inability to connect in the early going was frustrating. The first hour of fishing was characterized by a slow catch rate, and I contemplated hiking back to the parking lot to move to another location. Before doing so, however, I added a size 16 olive-brown caddis on an eight inch dropper to the hippie stomper, and this really escalated the pace of action.

On the Board

Productive Hole

I persisted with the hippie stomper/caddis double dry combination for the remainder of the afternoon and elevated the fish count to twenty-one. Roughly sixty percent of the trout sucked in the caddis, and the other forty percent crushed the hippie stomper. I gradually learned that the shallow flats were a waste of time, as fish scattered in every direction in response to my first cast. Deep slow moving pools were also largely unproductive. Spots with moderate depth and greater current velocity were the producers. I executed quite a bit of dapping and bow and arrow casts, due to the tight quarters and the many deadfalls that partitioned the creek into short sections. Wading was challenging as a result of climbing over the abundant quantity of dead trees that spanned the waterway.

Another Little Guy

Another Sweet Spot

Places next to worn campsites or paths were also largely unproductive, and I suspect this circumstance can be directly attributed to human fishing pressure. I enjoyed my greatest success in sections that were either distant from the path, or the trail was high above the stream, thus creating a significant barrier to access. All twenty-one fish landed were brown trout with the largest extending to eleven inches. It was a day of quantity over quality, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The low water and tight vegetation made fooling the small browns quite challenging. If you are looking for lunker fish, the South Fork of the St. Vrain is not for you. If you treasure small wild trout in a remote natural environment, then give the South Fork of St. Vrain Creek a try.

Fish Landed: 21

Clear Creek – 08/27/2020

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: West of Idaho Springs

Clear Creek 08/28/2020 Photo Album

I was itching to return to South Boulder Creek for green drake action after our camping trip on Monday through Wednesday. After Jane and I unpacked the car from the camping venture, I immediately reloaded it with my fishing gear, and I prepared a lunch. I was all set for an early start to my drive to South Boulder Creek. I learned, however, from past experiences, that the Denver Water managers unexpectedly vary the flows from Gross Reservoir, so I made a last minute check on Thursday morning. Imagine my disappointment, when the graph revealed that the flows were ratcheted up to 230 CFS after four days at 140 CFS. I was not interested in battling the stiff currents through the narrow canyon, so I resigned myself to a day of catching up on other matters.

I began to unpack the car, when Jane asked why I did not try the stretch of Clear Creek that a pickle ball acquaintance recommended. I pondered the question and decided that Thursday, August 28, was a day to experiment with a different section of water. I restored my fishing gear to the car, stuffed my lunch in the Coors insulated bag, filled my hydration bladder, and departed for an adventure on Clear Creek. I arrived at my chosen destination at 10:30AM, and by the time I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and tugged on my waders and hiked .5 miles downstream, I was primed to fish by 11:00AM.

Let’s Begin

By late morning, Thursday developed into another hot day with temperatures in the eighties at my high elevation location. I wore my waders, because I was not familiar with the vegetation and terrain, but I soon regretted that decision. The creek was clear and cold and fairly narrow, but enough volume tumbled over the rocky stream bed to create abundant quantities of deep pools, runs and pockets. I would characterize my mood as moderately optimistic, but I was obviously excited to sample a new area.

Glassy Clear Pool

I tied a light brown-olive size 14 stimulator to my line, and in a short amount of time I experienced two refusals and two temporary connections. Clearly the bushy attractor fly caught the attention of the fish, but the takes seemed to be very tentative thus explaining the brief nature of the encounters. When refusals become the prevalent fish response, my first response is to down size, and in this case I accomplished that by exchanging the stimulator for a size 16 deer hair caddis with an olive-brown body. The small low riding caddis clicked, and I began landing stunning cutthroat trout from the small stream. The trout measured between eight and twelve inches, but they were a pleasant surprise, and their colors were vivid in the dry high country environment.

All Day Long 

Many of the trout consumed the caddis, but of course this fly was quite difficult to follow in the dappled shade and sunlight. I grew weary of drying the fly constantly and decided to evaluate a more visible and buoyant option. I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my line, and almost immediately duped a cutthroat, but after the early success the trout served up a steady stream of refusals. I once again elected to downsize, and I tied a bionic ant to my line. The bionic ant is a foam ant that I tied for the first time this spring during my surgery recovery, and it showed promise, as it fooled two cutties, before I set the hook on water and hurled the fly line into a tall evergreen tree. I quickly determined that the fly was impossible to retrieve, so I yanked hard and broke off the only bionic ant in my MFC fly box. I made a mental note to restock some bionic ants.

Brilliant

I now knew that the local fish savored ants, so I knotted a size 18 parachute black ant to my line. Logic would suggest that this fly was actually more imitative of the ants in the area than the bionic version, but surprisingly it elicited looks and refusals. I considered another fly change, and I stuck with the terrestrial theme and replaced the small ant with a size 14 Jake’s gulp beetle. The foam beetle imitation duped a pair of fish, but frequent refusals suggested that it was not the favorite, that I was seeking. I returned to an earlier productive fly and added back the deer hair caddis on a six inch dropper from the bend of the beetle. Once again the caddis justified my confidence, and tentative feeders morphed into confident eaters. The fish count mounted steadily, and I enjoyed myself immensely, as I migrated upstream. I spotted quite a few of my target fish in the clear water, and it was a thrill to view the casual approach and slurp of the visible cutthroats.

Cannot Wait to Probe This Deep Run

Special Fish

When one of the cutthroats crushed the foam beetle, I struggled to remove the fly, and a damaged terrestrial was the outcome. One of the legs disappeared, and the orange indicator began to rotate to the side as a result of the loosened thread wraps. I decided to make a change, and I scanned my fly box for a replacement. Originally my eyes focused on a size 12 Jake’s gulp beetle, but in the midst of these flies I noted a pair of size 12 moodah poodahs. These were also experimental flies tied during the surgery recovery and coronavirus lockdown, so I selected one and attached it to my line.

I Need More

Caddis Fan

More Gold Than Light Olive

It was at this time that I was locked on fourteen fish, and I had gone without action for a longer than usual period of time. I subscribe to quite a few fishing magazines, and on a regular basis they discuss the ploy of fishing drowned terrestrials. I decided to experiment with the sunken ant concept on Clear Creek, and I plucked a black size 16 hard body ant from my box. This was the only one in my possession, and it was tied by my friend, Jeff, many years ago.

Productive Angled Run

What a choice this combination turned out to be! The fish count surged from fourteen to twenty-three over the last hour, and most of the landed fish snatched the hard ant. A couple cutthroats succumbed to the moodah poodah, but the prevailing preference was the sunken ant. The ant seemed to be particularly effective in small deep oxygenated pockets at the top of a run. My best cutthroat of the day grabbed the black hard body in a deep tight eddy next to a large exposed boulder.

Small Perfection

What a pleasant surprise Thursday evolved into! I went from resigning myself to not fishing. to landing twenty-three high country jewels. All the trout that occupied my net were cutthroat trout, and this result was very satisfying. I will hopefully be returning again before the end of the 2020 season.

Fish Landed: 23

St. Vrain Creek – 08/25/2020

Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: National Forest

St. Vrain Creek 08/25/2020 Photo Album

Our pickle ball friend, Anne, contacted us and invited us to join her on a camping trip west of Lyons, CO. Jane and I hiked in this area once before in 2018, but we never considered camping there, because we assumed it was a very popular spot within 1.5 hours of Denver, CO. Anne, being the inveterate planner, reserved a campsite six months ago, and she was looking for someone to share in the good fortune. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity and joined her from Monday, August 24, through Wednesday, August 26.

Promising

After our initial hike in 2018 I made a subsequent trip on July 24, 2018 for a day of fly fishing. I experienced a so-so day of catching tiny brook trout, and I deemed the effort required as a result of high flows and difficult terrain not worth the reward of small brookies. This new camping opportunity provided another chance to explore the small high elevation stream in order to assess whether my initial impressions were accurate.

Even Better

On Tuesday morning I dressed in my wet wading uniform and assembled my Orvis Accsess four weight. Anne and Jane decided to hike west on the main trail along with me, so I waited, and we departed together by 9:30AM from the campground. After 2.3 miles the trail began to ascend at a rapid rate, and this circumstance meant that I was getting higher and more distant from the creek, so I split from my hiking friends and reversed direction for .2 mile to a point, where I could maneuver through the forest to the edge of the creek. The temperature was in the mid-seventies, as I began, and the day developed into another hot one even at 9,000 feet, and I was comfortable wet wading during my entire time on the stream. The creek was clear and near ideal levels in my opinion, and this eased my efforts to wade and improved the quality of the fishing compared to my trip on July 24, 2018.

Perfect Pool

I opted for the double dry approach to launch by quest for backcountry trout. The previous night at the campground I observed size 12-14 caddis with an auburn body color, and the closest I had in my fly box were size 14 light olive-brown stimulators. One of these occupied the forward position on my line, and behind it I featured a gray bodied size 16 caddis. The combination  caught the attention of brook trout in the first thirty minutes, although refusals were part of the game, and several sure-fired spots failed to produce. Three brook trout slurped the stimulator, and one gulped the caddis.

Oh Those Colors

The stimulator was difficult to follow in the alternating sunlight and shadows of the dense forest canopy, so I decided to make a radical change and adopted a peacock hippie stomper as my sole offering for probing the small creek. I reasoned that it was worth a try to provide greatly improved visibility, and if it failed, I could always revert to the stimulator. No worries! Two successive brook trout crushed the stomper in a gorgeous deep pool to raise my fish count to six, and I never looked back. The peacock stomper dominated my line for the remaining time on the water.

Brook Trout Haven

The late morning period featured several spectacular deep pools among sheer vertical rock walls, until I encountered a location, where I concluded that it was too difficult and dangerous to circumnavigate the canyon. I landed four aggressive feeders from a splendid pool that spanned the creek, and then I sat on some flat rocks and munched my small lunch, while I contemplated a strategy to extricate myself from a dead end position.

Closer View of the Trout Condo

After lunch I crossed the creek and climbed around a massive rock only to discover that the narrow canyon continued unabated in insurmountable vertical terrain. I retreated downstream, until I found a manageable exit point and then bashed my way through thick forest brush to the trail. Even this effort was no walk in the park, as I climbed  and stumbled over an abundant quantity of dead and fallen trees. I hiked along the trail in a westward direction for another .3 mile, until I recognized that I was above the impassable canyon stretch, and then I cut perpendicular through the woods to the creek.

Belly Bright

First Cutthroat

The stream during the afternoon was much more conducive to wading, and I progressed upstream and continued prospecting with the hippie stomper. The action was steady, and I incremented the fish count from ten to twenty-three. The lower gradient translated to fewer plunge pools, so I probed less obvious holding lies, but the fish were still present.

Fabulous

The highlight of the early afternoon were three stunning cutthroat trout that graced my net. One was the largest of the day, although quite skinny. Catching some natives among the prolific population of imported brookies was very satisfying. Many of the trout ambushed the hippie stomper at the tail of pools, just as the fly began to escape at the lip. I suspect the accelerated speed of the fly prompted the trout to respond before losing a big meal.

Marveling at This One

Tuesday evolved into another enjoyable day on a high country stream. The fish were small, but they more than compensated with their vibrant colors. I had mainly written off future visits to the St. Vrain, but it is back on my list of destinations for future visits. Of course, I need to be prepared to hike and wade in a difficult landscape.

Fish Landed: 23

Elk River – 08/20/2020

Time: 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Routt National Forest

Elk River 08/20/2020 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.

Thursday was nearly perfect for this avid fly fisherman. Yes, the fish could have been larger, but the remote setting and the outstanding beauty of the high country jewels that found my net were unsurpassed. I fished the Elk River on 08/04/2020, and I was quite pleased with the results; however, the ongoing heat wave, drought and the expectation of a decrease in flows caused me to lower my expectations for another day on the small high country stream.

Interested Observer

I woke up early, and I pulled on my down coat to ward off the cold air temperatures prior to the sun’s ascent to a position above the hill to the east. I ate my breakfast and packed up my camping gear, and I was prepared to fish by 8:30AM. I intended to wet wade once again, so I decided to tarry at the trailhead, while the sun warmed the air to more comfortable temperatures before stepping into the icy morning flows. I killed thirty minutes while reading my Nevada Barr novel on the Kindle app on my iPad. By 9AM I was ready to begin my fly fishing adventure, so I pulled on my wading socks and wading boots and assembled my Orvis Access four weight and launched a relatively short hike to the bank of the river.

Depth and Cover Equals Cutthroat Habitat

The flows were indeed down quite a bit from my outing on 08/04/2020, but the canyon section I was about to explore retained deep plunge pools and highly oxygenated flumes and cascades, so I was confident that I could find a few fish. On the plus side, the lower volume of water made wading along the rocky shoreline much more manageable, and I was thankful for this small advantage. The silver bodied hippie stomper and gray stimulator performed admirably on Wednesday, so I initiated my quest for trout with the same pairing on Thursday.

Stunning

The Spots and Light Olive Knock Me Over

In the 2.5 hours before lunch I cycled through a series of fly combinations. The silver hippie stomper and gray stimulator notched one trout each, but the subsequent string of refusals to the hippie stomper prompted me to swap it for a size 16 olive-brown caddis, and I moved the stimulator to the forward position. These two flies elevated the action, and I began to connect with trout at an accelerating rate. I was particularly pleased to break through with some nice cutthroat trout in addition to the small browns and brookies that graced my net early on. In one attractive pool I spotted a very nice cutty, as it rose and inspected the flies repeatedly, but it was unwilling to commit, so I exchanged the caddis for a size 18 parachute black ant. Historically the small black ant has rescued me from frustration, when casting to ultra fussy fish, but on Thursday it was not the answer.

Stairstep Plunge Pools

Browns Were Smaller Than Cutthroats on This Stream

Unwilling to endure the difficult visibility of the small ant given its lack of effectiveness, I swapped it for a user friendly green drake. On August 4 a green drake fooled several fish, and I surmised that perhaps the Elk River trout possessed long memories for the large western mayflies. This hunch was also off base, but fortunately, while this game of fly exchange transpired, the leading gray size 12 stimulator continued to produce. I was advancing farther from my starting point and deeper into the canyon, and the number of cutthroat trout that attacked the stimulator increased concurrently. I suspect this had everything to do with angler pressure and ease of access.

Take Two

Better Focus

By lunch the fish count rested on twelve, and I was quite pleased with the results, although the gray stimulator continued to generate its share of refusals, and it seemed that the cutthroat eats were somewhat tentative. I decided to downsize to a size 14 olive bodied stimulator, and this fly remained in the forward position for the remainder of the afternoon. For awhile I fished it solo, and the trout responded, but in the early afternoon I spotted a couple pale morning duns, and this induced me to extend a section of tippet from the bend of the stimulator. I knotted a size 16 light gray comparadun to the the end, and the combination performed admirably, until the comparadun snapped off in the mouth of a fish.

Fireweed Colony

Prime Holding Spot

A parachute Adams is revered by the worldwide fly fishing community, so I climbed on board and attached a size 16 to my line in place of the light gray comparadun. I anxiously looked forward to the additional visibility of the white wing post of the Adams. The olive stimulator collaborated with the comparadun and Adams to increase the fish count from twelve at lunch to twenty-two by 3PM, when I hooked my flies to the guide and sought the path that returned me to the trailhead parking lot. I was quite pleased with my day on the Elk River, and I practically skipped with joy along the dusty trail on my return hike.

Must Be a Female

Of the twenty-two fish landed on August 20, eleven were cutthroats, seven were small brown trout and four displayed the orange belly of a brook trout. The cutties were the prize I was seeking, and they did not disappoint. Early in the game I realized that the cutthroat were the dominant fish in each pool. They favored long deep holes and seemed to position themselves at the bottom of the center seam or tail, as they ambushed food including my flies. My awareness of this circumstance caused me to approach the tail cautiously. The cushion in front of a submerged boulder was very popular, and quite a few nice cutthroats waited, until my fly began to accelerate around the boulder, before they moved laterally to intercept it. Once I recognized this ploy, I allowed my flies to drift deeper than normal.

Stand Out Colors, Adams in Mouth

The color scheme of the backcountry cutthroat trout was spectacular. The belly area was typically cream in color, and the background color transformed into a light olive. A dense array of speckles adorned the tail and dwindled to a few dots on the upper body behind the head. The crimson cheek was a signature characteristic along with the orange-red slashes under the jaw. Several of the wild jewels displayed bright red undersides, and a couple of the later fish sported very light pink splotches along the sides, where a rainbow trout normally exhibits a stripe. Ironically my rarest catch in Colorado is the cutthroat trout, even though it is the only trout native to the Rocky Mountains. I cherished each one and handled them with utmost care.

Fish Landed: 22

Center Cut

Middle Fork of the Elk River – 08/19/2020

Time: 9:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Confluence upstream

Middle Fork of the Elk River 08/19/2020 Photo Album

Wednesday presented another hot day with temperatures in the mid-eighties by the afternoon. I decided to explore the Middle Fork of the Elk River, since it was very close to the campground, and it represented a stream that I never touched previously. I love exploring new water, and the prospect of experiencing a new high country creek had me excited. As I began strolling along the road through the campground, I realized that I forgot my standard supply of chap stick and eye drops, so I quickly reversed direction and returned to the car to secure those two items. I was now prepared for an enjoyable day of fly fishing on the Middle Fork, and I hustled to the end loop and found the path that led to the confluence of the Middle Fork and North Fork. As I passed one of the last campsites in the loop, a young man, trying to be helpful, shouted out that there was a path to where the two forks met (I already knew this, but I let him think he was assisting me). He also offered, that I was likely to catch a bunch of brookies. I was hoping for cutthroats, but since I never fished the creek before, I could not dispute his projection. I arrived at the sought after confluence and began to select flies for my start, and at this point I realized that I left my MFC fly box, that contained my core supply of dry flies, in the bib pocket of my waders. I pondered the idea of continuing without my dries, but I quickly rejected this foolhardy concept. I climbed the hill on the faint trail and repeated the entire circuit back to the campsite to retrieve my essential fly box. I had the presence of mind to shed my wading staff, fly rod, front pack and backpack; and at least lightened my burden for the repeat hike.

Partial Shadows at the Start

The Middle Fork is smaller than the North Fork, but nevertheless a decent sized creek at a relatively high elevation. I began my day with a tan pool toy hopper plus a beadhead hares ear and salvation nymph. The dry/dropper threesome failed to produce in the early going, until a trout in a deep slot rose and crunched the hopper. Apparently I tied a faulty knot, because all three flies disappeared along with the fish. I failed to land my first fish and lost three flies in the process, and this was not an auspicious beginning.

Depth Next to Rocks Tantalizing

The fish encounter elevated my optimism and confidence in the dry/dropper approach, so I replaced the full set of flies with no changes. My confidence was misplaced, and I suffered an extended lull, until I abandoned the nymphs and pool toy and resorted to a peacock hippie stomper. The stomper delivered positive results, and I notched three small brown trout and a brook trout by 11AM. Although catching fish was better than fruitless casting, I sensed that I was passing through trout holding locations with no action, so I repeated my newly applied summer of 2020 strategy and adopted a double dry fly configuration. I added a size 14 olive stimulator on an eight inch leader, and instantly my fortunes improved. By the time I grabbed lunch on a small gravel beach, the fish count rose to eight.The morning was not characterized by intense action, but the catch rate exceeded two per hour.

Deep Olive-Black-Blue Background Color on This Wild Specimen

Lovely Yellow Spots

The two hours after lunch developed into the best fly fishing of the day. For most of the time I tossed the peacock hippie stomper and olive stimulator, and the heavily hackled impostor did the heavy lifting. At one point a high errant backcast hooked an out of reach limb, and this resulted in a two fly break off. The peacock stomper was merely serving the role of indicator, so I deviated from tradition and replaced it with a silver bodied version, but I maintained the olive stimmy as the end fly. The silver bodied hippie stomper contributed a few fish to earn future consideration in the role of surface fly.

Stimulator Was Effective

Classic Cutthroat

The fish count rested on twenty-one when I reached the area behind the group campground. The nature of the creek altered at this point and transformed from a canyon with deep runs and pockets to a more gentle waterway with alternating pools and riffles. The changed stream structure was easier to wade, but paled in comparison to the canyon area from a fish productivity perspective. In the final hour I continued from the group camping access to the South Fork Bridge and only incremented the fish counter by two to twenty-three.

Big by Brook Trout Standards

Faint Pink Displayed

The last fish, however, was notable; as a gorgeous twelve inch cutthroat elevated to confidently inhale the stimulator. This bit of positive interaction took place in a spectacular bend pool. A short time after landing the cutthroat, I slung a long cast to a deeper run along a large bank side rock. The two flies bobbed along, when a splashy rise appeared next to the rock. I executed a swift hook set and felt weight, and an orange-bellied brook trout flipped over and tossed aside the fly. My fleeting contact with potential fish number twenty-four was the last action of the day.

Subtle Beauty

I exited at the South Fork Road Bridge and clocked my return hike on my Garmin. The smart watch revealed that I covered 1.2 stream miles on Wednesday, August 19. Twenty-three fish represented a fine day in mid-August in spite of above average temperatures. Seventeen landed fish were brook trout, three were small brown trout, and three were highly prized cutthroats. Wednesday reinforced the need to get away from easily accessed locations. My most productive time occurred, when I was in the middle of the canyon away from the campgrounds and trails. Climbing over fallen trees and large slippery rocks paid dividends.

Fish Landed: 23

Swirly Pool

Elk River – 08/18/2020

Time: 2:15PM – 4:15PM

Location: Routt National Forest

Elk River 08/18/2020 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.

With four major fires raging in Colorado I was concerned about finding a high mountain creek that placed me a reasonable distance away from the danger zones. The area north of Steamboat Springs in Routt National Forest seemed like a viable location for a three day and two night fishing trip. Uncertainty about air quality and smoke prompted me to reach out to a person that I follow on Intagram, and she suggested that the direction of the wind was a major factor, but she expected the air to be reasonably free of smoke during the days that I planned to visit. This cinched my decision, and I packed the car with my camping supplies and fishing gear and headed off to central Colorado on Tuesday morning.

My Home for Two Nights

I arrived at my chosen campground by 12:30PM, and I quickly claimed one of the first come, first serve campsites. After I visited the pay station and wrote a check for $12 for two nights, I returned to my campsite and ate my lunch and set up the tent. My national parks senior pass qualified me for a 50% discount, and no better deal can be found. It was now 1:45, and I concluded that plenty of time remained to log a few hours of fishing. The campground was situated near a river, and I decided to sample the nearby Elk River.

Lots of Exposed Rocks

When I reached the place where I decided to begin, I noted that the flows were down from my previous visit on August 4, 2020, and the water was very clear. I estimated the flows to be in the 20 – 25 CFS range. The air temperature was quite warm, and I celebrated my choice to wet wade, as I slowly introduced my feet and legs to the cold mountain river. The afternoon was mostly bright and sunny, and a few large clouds blocked the sun periodically, but not enough to prevent the highs from spiking in the mid-eighties.

A Mauled Hippie Stomper

I began my two hours of fly fishing with a peacock hippie stomper and immediately landed a small brown, and then I connected with a more substantial fish that escaped the hook after a brief fight. I was rather optimistic after the hot start, but my hopes were misplaced. Within the first hour I landed another small brown trout on the hippie stomper, and then refusals became the prevailing state. Since the fish seemed to be attuned to the surface, I added an eight inch tippet to the bend of the stomper and knotted a size 14 olive stimulator  to the section. The move paid off in a short amount of time, when a decent rainbow locked on the stimulator. Shortly after this jolt of good fortune, a third small brown trout smacked the hippie stomper.

On the Board with a Small Brown Trout

The fish count rested on four for a considerable lull, until I dropped the double dries in a slow moving pool in front of a large log, and a surprise jewel of a cutthroat slurped the stimulator. I persisted upstream for another hour and covered a significant amount of stream real estate, but additional trout were either resting or not interested in my offerings. I witnessed a few refusals and temporarily hooked some very small trout, but the time between 3:15PM and 4:15PM was primarily futile.

A Cool Porthole in A Rock Next to the River

I tried a beadhead hares ear dropper and then also experimented with a solo parachute green drake, a Jake’s gulp beetle, an olive mugly caddis, and a size 10 Chernobyl ant. I am not sure whether to attribute the doldrums to the late afternoon heat or fishing in areas much closer to the road and the campground. I vowed to do some hiking on Wednesday and Thursday.

Fattening Up

Five fish in two hours is respectable, and the one rainbow probably measured in the twelve inch range. I was pleased to encounter a native cutthroat, and hopefully that was a harbinger of more to come on Wednesday and Thurday. All in all it was an acceptable introduction to my stay in the Elk River Valley.

Fish Landed: 5

South Boulder Creek – 08/14/2020

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/14/2020 Photo Album

I experienced a spectacular day on Tuesday, August 11 on South Boulder Creek, so I decided to replicate it on Friday, August 14. Predictably I was a vicitim of high expectations.

Traffic was uncharacteristically light on Friday morning, and this enabled me to arrive at the kayak parking lot by 8:45AM. The air temperature was in the low sixties, and it was obvious that Friday would evolve into another hot day. Based on prior experience I knew that the bottom release flows from the dam were extremely cold, and flows of 168 CFS meant that I would be standing knee deep in water most of the day. I quickly made the decision to wear my waders, and I put together my Sage four weight rod.

Dainty Wildflowers

Two vehicles preceded me to the lot, and as I ran through my preparation routine, two additional gentlemen arrived. They were not familiar with the South Boulder Creek area and access points, so they immediately began questioning me about the matter. I explained that there are essentially three access points, and they were currently at the closest to the creek, although I warned them that the short trail to the creek below the dam necessitated a very steep climb out at the end of the day. One of the men appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, so I wanted to make them aware of the stressful climb. As I departed for the trail myself, it sounded like they were inclined to take the plunge.

At Least One Trout Must Call This Spot Home

I hiked a reasonable distance from the parking lot and found myself along the edge of the creek ready to cast by 9:30AM. 168 CFS is higher than I prefer; as it reduces the number of attractive fish holding lies, prevents crossing to the opposite bank and mostly confines casting to the area between the right bank and the middle of the creek. The combination of a peacock hippie stomper and parachute green drake performed quite well in the morning on Tuesday, so I copied the strategy on Friday. I began in a gorgeous wide pool that represents one of my favorites on the entire creek, and fifteen minutes of focused casting and prospecting failed to produce one iota of interest from the resident trout. At this point I sensed that Friday was going to be a completely different experience than Tuesday.

Only Trout Taken on a Nymph

I abandoned the double dry approach and adopted a dry/dropper configuration. In previous years I enjoyed some success with a prince nymph imitating a green drake nymph, so I tested this tactic on Friday morning. I deployed a tan pool toy hopper as the top fly for visibility and buoyancy and then knotted the prince in the top nymph position and then added a salvation nymph below it. The salvation choice was an attempt to imitate pale morning dun nymphs, in case they were present as well. The dry/dropper was allocated a fair share of stream time, and it allowed me to record my first landed fish; a small brown trout that gobbled the salvation, but otherwise I judged the method to be lacking. Fish were not responding to the hopper, and they generally ignored the nymphs as well.

May Require a Left Handed Cast

My earlier than normal start and extra stream time, before the heat materialized, was largely squandered with one trout in 1.5 hours of fishing. I decided to revert to what worked on Tuesday, but to focus on green drake dries, and consequently I retired the hippie stomper. I selected a parachute green drake from my drake fly box, and I began to prospect with the solo dry fly. In short order a feisty eleven inch rainbow snatched the parachute, and my fortunes made a U-turn in a positive direction. Over the next hour I learned that most of the trout willing to eat my dry fly were tucked in slower moving water with some depth near the bank, and I concentrated my energies on these types of stream structure.

Rescued from Net Hell

The remainder of my day on South Boulder Creek followed the script. I cast a single dry fly to likely fish holding lies along the right bank, and I steadily boosted the fish count from two to fourteen, before I called it quits. Unlike Tuesday this was not fast and furious action. Instead I worked upstream very methodically, and my persistence was periodically rewarded with a hungry eater. Although the quantity of fish landed lagged August 11, the size was on average superior, although thirteen inches represented the best fish of the day. Brown trout outnumbered rainbow trout by a two to one ratio. I cycled through four styles of green drake imitations including the parachute, comparadun, user friendly and May break cripple. The introductory test of the May break was disappointing, as no trout gave it a look. The user friendly delivered a fish or two, but then it created a streak of refusals and lost its prominent position on my line.

Decent

Quite Nice Brown for SBC

The parachute green drake and comparadun were the workhorse flies on Friday, and they accounted for the bulk of the landed fish. In one promising pool I observed some rises to smaller mayflies, which I presumed to be pale morning duns, so I added an eight inch section of tippet to the bend of the green drake and attached a size 16 light gray comparadun. The smaller mayfly proved its worth, as two rainbows nabbed it from the surface. At 2:30PM I observed two natural green drakes, as they fluttered on the surface in an attempt to escape the surface tension.

So Close I Nearly Dapped the Cast, but a Fish Materialized

By 3PM I became quite weary from scrambling around branches and over slippery rocks, and the mid-afternoon sun was scorching the creek and its surroundings including me. I reeled up my slack line, hooked my fly to the rod guide and began my hike back up the canyon to the car. Along the way I stopped at three separate shelf pools to test my skills, but a subtle refusal from a small fish was all I could muster, before I ascended the steep trail to the parking lot. I stopped five times during my climb to catch my breath and test for afib. By the time I arrived at the Santa Fe, my body was fatigued, and my layers were saturated with perspiration. The two gentlemen that I advised at the outset of my day were no longer present, and I was pleased to avoid their criticism, if they endured the rigorous climb.

SBC Rainbows Are Special

Rainbow Curl

In retrospect Friday was a decent day for mid-August. The air temperature was much hotter, and I encountered many more anglers compared to my visit earlier in the week. The additional fishermen certainly stirred up the water and spooked more fish thus impacting my fish count. But all things considered, fourteen fish was reasonable, and each was a brilliant gem, while the size of the trout was above average for the South Boulder Creek fishery. If I eliminated the forty-one fish day on Tuesday from my mind and re-calibrated my expectations to a normal level, I realized that Friday was another fun experience during the summer of 2020.

Fish Landed: 14

Where to Cast First?