Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Below Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek 08/27/2025 Photo Album

I was a bit under the weather on Tuesday after over exerting and not drinking enough fluids on Monday, but I made plans to fish South Boulder Creek with my young friend, Nate. It had been quite a while since Nate and I fished together, since his job and pursuit of a career dictated higher level priorities. However, with a short break in his education, we managed to meet up on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

Because of my concern over my weakened condition from illness, I parked at the kayak lot, as this allowed a shorter albeit steep return hike at the end of the day. The sky was overcast, and the temperature was in the mid-sixties, as Nate and I prepared to fish. I selected my Loomis two piece five weight for my day on the creek. Flows were steady at 100 CFS.

Lunch View

We were positioned along the creek by 10:30AM ready to cast. I began with a solo parachute drake with the hope that the trout had a long memory for western green drakes. In the first decent pool I witnessed five refusals to the parachute green drake. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I tested it in a few more promising spots, but fairly quickly I converted to a dry/dropper featuring a size 8 tan pool toy hopper, a prince nymph, and a salvation nymph. I never really got a read on this combination, as all three flies separated from my line for some unknown reason, probably a bad knot connecting to the eye of the hopper.

Amazing Color

When I rigged anew, I switched to a peacock hippie stomper and an olive perdigon. Nate was having quite a bit of success with his dry/dropper, and one of his nymphs was a perdigon similar to a rainbow warrior. I managed to land two small brown trout on the perdigon, but then I suffered through a lengthy time period with no action in spite of some very attractive creek structure. I finally ended the late morning frustration by wading to the bank to find a decent resting spot to eat my lunch.

Cannot Wait

Since Nate was faring quite well after lunch with his dry/dropper, I reverted to that approach. I knotted another tan pool toy hopper to my line and then followed it with an ultra zug bug and a size 18 pheasant tail nymph. The pool toy hopper suddenly worked some magic, and I landed two decent rainbow trout in the eleven to twelve in range on the foam terrestrial. Next, a fish grabbed the pheasant tail, and suddenly I was in the realm of respectability at five fish landed. Another trout grabbed the ultra zug bug, and then Nate and I spotted some natural green drakes floating above the creek.

Sleek Look

Nate quickly switched to a green drake, and he immediately netted a couple fish. This was the impetus I needed to make the same change, and I placed a size 14 parachute green drake on my line. For the remainder of my time on South Boulder Creek I fished green drake patterns including the paradrake, a user-friendly geen drake, and a comparadun green drake. The fish count climbed from six to eleven, and most of the takes were instigated by the parachute green drake.

Hit the Pocket

Although I enjoyed the two hours of green drake prospecting, the episode was nothing like my experience on my two previous visits to South Boulder Creek during the green drake hatch. The fish were very discerning, and I probably had one refusal and one temporary hook up for every fish that I landed. I rotated among the green drake styles, but none of them delivered the consistency that matched my earlier trips.

Backhand Casting Wizard

The highlight of the day occurred around 2:30PM. I was presenting a double dry with the user friendly in the forward position and the parachute green drake trailing. I made a reach cast across some currents and created a long drift over a relatively smooth slide of moderate depth, and suddenly I spotted a take just as the flies were set to drag before the lip of the run. I swiftly set the hook and immediately saw the side of a substantial brown trout flash. Eventually after a spirited battle, I slid my net beneath a fifteen inch brown; a giant by South Boulder Creek standards. Needless to say, this made my day.

Last and Best Fish

We both quit at 3:00PM, when we reached a narrow streambed that created fast whitewater. We were tired and not up for continuing, so we hooked our flies to our rod guides and made the return hike. Although Wednesday did not measure up to earlier South Boulder Creek green drake outings, it was a success nonetheless, and I valued my time with Nate. Nate’s fly fishing abilities have advanced measurably, and he accumulated fourteen fish on the day. I, in turn, landed eleven. All our fish were hard earned, and two double digit fish counts were worth a gorgeous day on South Boulder Creek.

Fish Landed: 11