Time: 10:30AM – 2:45PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 07/27/2026 Photo Album

Monday through Wednesday of the last week of July were open for fly fishing on my calendar, so I chose to designate Monday and Wednesday, as my days to fish. The intense heat wave that covered Colorado for the entire month of July was projected to continue. The major freestone streams of Colorado were already in shutdown mode, with fishing voluntarily prohibited on the sections of the Eagle River, Yampa River, Roaring Fork River and Colorado River. My choice of destination was necessarily dictated by weather and stream flows. In normal years I focus on high country streams and tailwaters by the second week of August, but 2026 represents a dire situation, when I comes to water in the west.

Fine Specimen

A week ago I visited South Boulder Creek and experienced decent success in the tailwater section below Gross Reservoir. Flows remained in the 73 CFS range, and the weather suggested highs of 83 degrees in Eldorado Springs and 73 degrees in Pinecliffe. The location where I planned to fish was in between, so I interpolated a high of eighty degrees. Of course during my 07/21/2026 outing I encountered a moose. Would I meet him again? I also spotted six western green drakes during my time on the creek, and I was hopeful that the passing of another week allowed the stream resident trout to tune into the large western mayflies.

Lovely Pool

One truck occupied a space at the parking lot below Gross Reservoir, when I arrived, and another angler pulled in, as I prepared to fish. The temperature was 73 degrees, and I assembled my Loomis two piece five weight for my day on the creek. I hiked a decent distance from the parking lot and passed the occupants of the two vehicles in the lot in the early going. Later I encountered a group of four anglers, who were pulling on their waders, as they apparently backpacked their gear in from a different trailhead to avoid getting overheated. I probably should have done the same.

Love the Run

By 10:30 I was positioned in the stream ready to make my first cast. My underwear was drenched with perspiration, and my glasses were fogged, but the forecast of a hot day convinced me that the cooling effect of perspiration would be welcome. As it turned out, high clouds blocked the sun for much of my day, and I was actually chilled after standing in the cold creek flowing from the bottom of the large dam.

Very Nice Rainbow

Since I was hopeful that the trout were tuned into the green drake hatch by now, I tied a size 14 parachute green drake to my leader. Surely this tactic would draw the trout of South Boulder Creek to the surface. My wishful thinking did not pan out, as trout refused and nipped at the green drake imitation. I did manage to land three eager feeders, but most of the first thirty minutes yielded frustration.

Glistening Brown Trout

I debated switching to a different green drake pattern, but instead I converted to a double dry presentation. The double dry was my breadwinner on July 21, 2026, so perhaps a repeat performance was on the agenda. I opted for a peacock hippie stomper and a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. The ploy was partially successful, as I landed two additional trout on the caddis, but refusals outnumbered takes, and I prospected some very attractive spots with no reaction. I pondered another change.

Likely Spot

By now it was lunch time, and the next upstream section featured faster water and deep pockets, seams and plunge pools. After lunch I decided to go deep with a dry/dropper, and I knotted a tan pool toy hopper to my line and then dangled a size 14 prince nymph. The prince sometimes serves as a reasonable imitation of a green drake nymph, thus my choice.

Prince Nymph Produced

The hopper/dropper combination proved to be the answer to the fly fishing riddle of the day. The first two trout after lunch smashed the pool toy hopper, but then the nymph began to work its magic. Over the remainder of the afternoon I upped the fish count from five to thirty-one! The prince nymph was clearly the star performer. At some point I added a salvation nymph and then a supernova PMD below the prince, but they were largely bystanders, as the prince did the heavy lifting. The hopper remained a viable alternative as well.

Pool Toy Hopper Floating

The breakdown of fish landed by fly goes as follows: parachute green drake – 3, deer hair caddis – 2, pool toy hopper- 8, salvation nymph – 1, supernova PMD – 1, and prince nymph – 16. Did the trout mistake the prince nymph for a green drake nymph? I am not certain, but I do know that they recognized it as a source of protein.

Seam Likely Home to a Trout

I estimate that ten of the thirty-one landed trout were rainbows with the remainder being brown trout. The rainbows were larger on average with several in the thirteen inch range. A few thirteen inch brown trout also landed in my net. All the trout were wild and much appreciated by this angler.

Another Fat Rainbow

The locations that produced on Monday were deep pockets and runs and riffles of moderate depth. Typically the hopper takes were on the first cast to a new area, while the nymph hits may have come on subsequent casts.

Fat Tail on This Brown Trout

In this year of drought and heat, I was quite pleased with my day on Monday, July 27, 2026. As usual, size was somewhat lacking, but this was offset by numbers. The action was steady throughout the day.

Lots of Options in This Section

I began my hike back to the car at 2:45PM, as the western sky blackened. Could I make it back to the car, before the storm arrived? I was half way back, when the wind picked up, and I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. Shortly thereafter, some light rain began to fall, but I pressed on, as the cool wetness of my shirt actually felt refreshing. After a few minutes of this refreshment, however, the density of the rain increased, so I stopped beneath a large tree and removed all my gear in order to slip into my rain jacket. The pause was very timely, as the rainfall shifted from light to heavy in a matter of seconds. I waited beneath the tree for fifteen minutes, until the downpour subsided, and then I continued on my way. I was amazed at the instant discoloration of the creek from crystal clear to milky coffee after the relatively brief rainfall. South Boulder Creek remains on my favorite list, as long as flows are sustained in the current range. I looked for Mr. Moose, but apparently he was also seeking shelter from the rain.

Fish Landed: 31