Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 07/30/2024 Photo Album

Today can be described as a day with a close encounter, equipment failure, and a fantastic day of fly fishing. Let me explain.

I fished four out of five weekdays during the previous week, but three days of grandson and grand puppy sitting had me craving another day for fly fishiing. Wednesday and Thursday were already booked with non-fishing commitments, so Tuesday was a day available to fish. I cashed it in. The flows of South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir were listed at 165 CFS, and that level was maintained for three days. I have had success in the past at flows as high as 180 CFS, so I decided to give it a try. I was also curious to discover whether green drakes announced their presence on the small Front Range tailwater.

Because of the work expanding Gross Reservoir, I was forced to drive through Boulder and then over Flagstaff Mountain to the Walker Loop Trailhead. Traffic was heavy on the Boulder Turnpike, but I used my Express Pass to avoid the worst tie ups. Tuesday became a more expensive fishing day with express toll usage required on both my outbound and inbound drives.

Four or five cars preceded me to the parking lot, but as best as I could tell, none seemed to be fishermen. The sun was pounding down on the car, as I prepared to fish, and the dashboard informed me that it was 81 degrees at 9AM. I debated whether to hike in to the creek in my waders, or whether to wear my wet wading pants and boots and carry my waders in my large backpack. I chose hiking in the waders, since it seemed far less hassle. For my casting tool I chose my Loomis two piece five weight.

Roughly half way down my descent of the Walker Loop Trail, my left foot seemed to be looser than normal. I stopped to examine the cause and discovered that the Boa cable on my Korkers had broken. Needless to say, I was not happy about this development. I was too far along to return to the car, and was unsure if I had a means to repair it in any case. I plunged ahead and racked my brain for some sort of temporary fix. The best I could concoct was to find a vine and wrap it around the wader boot and secure with a knot. It never happened, and I hiked in and out and fished for five hours with a very loose left wading boot. I made sure the wader cuff remained in place, and I was able to manage through the Boa failure. When I returned to the car, I noticed that the cable on the right boot was also frayed, so I scheduled time to replace both Boa cables. I have done it before, and I have several backup cables in my fly tying desk.

Prime Rainbow Spot

As I strolled along contemplating a boot fix, I heard a loud clop clop sound, and I instantly froze. I spotted a glimpse of movement in the trees ahead of me, and then I heard a splash, and a huge antlered moose stood in the middle of South Boulder Creek and stared back at me. I concluded the clop clop sound was the hooves of the moose striking rocks. I backtracked a short distance to an opening next to the creek, and I frantically pulled out my camera and snapped a photo. Next I hit the video button, and the moose decided I was not a threat, as it waded downstream and then crossed the other half of the creek to the opposite shore. I kept my camera out and proceeded down the trail a short distance to another opening, and I recorded another clip of the moose, as it meandered out of sight into a grove of evergreen trees. My heartrate was quite elevated after this encounter.

Moose Crossing

In spite of the loose boot, I arrived at my chosen starting point along the stream and began fly fishing by 10:00AM. I began with an amber ice dub body size 8 chubby chernobyl trailing a size 14 prince nymph and a size 14 iron sally. During the morning session between 10:00AM and noon I landed twenty trout. One grabbed the iron sally, four attacked the chubby, and one snatched the salvation nymph, after I swapped it for the iron sally. The remaining fourteen gobbled the prince nymph. All my action came from slower moving pockets, riffles and runs near the right bank. A few trout under six inches were also part of the morning, and refusals to the chubby were a frustration. I must admit, however, it is hard to be frustrated with twenty fish in two hours, although the size of the fish was somewhat lacking. I did manage one thirteen inch brown with dark spots, but most of the catch fell within the six to nine inch range.

Morning Brown Trout

Nice Spot

During lunch I observed quite a few yellow sallies floating skyward, so I decided to switch tactics, and I converted to a size 14 yellow stimulator and a size 14 peacock hippie stomper in a double dry fly configuration. The combination met with decent success, and I boosted the fish count from twenty to thirty. The trout ate either the stimulator or hippie stomper in roughly equal proportions, but the trailing stomper seemed to generate a larger number of refusals.

Love the Pattern on This Rainbow

Excellent Brown Trout

The thirtieth fish was a stunning thirteen inch brown trout, but then I once again experienced refusals, and I began to wonder, if the trout were seeking green drakes and perhaps the hippie stomper was a close but not close enough approximation? I replaced the hippie stomper with a parachute green drake, and I managed a few small brown trout, but the paradrake was an overwhelmingly excellent refusal generator. I returned to the hippie stomper, and eventually I raised the fish count to forty-one. Number thirty-nine was a gorgeous rainbow trout of thirteen inches and perhaps the best fish of the day.

Deep Body Color on This Rainbow

Top Notch Brown

The most productive areas were riffles of moderate depth and medium current velocity. Trout seemed to appear out of nowhere in these spots, and this was especially true, while I had the prince nymph on my line. Short deep pools and shelf pools were consistently unproductive, and I am unable to explain that circumstance.

Shelf Along the Far Bank Yielded Two Nice Rainbows

At forty-one I was satisfied with my day, and my watch indicated that it was 3PM, so I hit the trail with my loose left boot. I was concerned about hiking out with the loose fit in the afternoon heat, as the return hike involved a one mile climb up a steep hill. I took my time and drank an abundant quantity of water and reached the parking lot by 4:00PM. I passed three other anglers in the creek on the way back, and two fishermen arrived and were preparing to fish, as I removed my gear. When I removed my right wader leg, I discovered that my hiking sock was saturated with water to the point, where I could wring it out. I added wader repair to boot repair on my list of Wednesday afternoon activities.

Pretty in Pink

Wide Pool

Tuesday proved to be an eventful day on South Boulder Creek. Landing forty plus fish is always rewarding, but seeing a wild moose within casting distance was easily the highlight of the day. My ability to enjoy a successful outing while dealing with a broken boot was also a noteworthy accomplishment. I spotted one solitary green drake, so they are imminent, but the fish are not yet tuned into the large western mayflies.

Fish Landed: 41