Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: National Forest

St. Vrain Creek 08/06/2025 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.

After a very successful day on Monday, I was anxious for another day of fly fishing on Wednesday, July 6, 2025. I was not interested in a long drive, so I chose to visit a Front Range favorite, St. Vrain Creek. Another hot day was forecast, and I felt my destination choice took that factor into consideration.

Tumbling and Tight

Orange Belly

I arrived at my chosen parking lot at 10:00AM, and after I assembled my Orvis Access four weight and hiked .3 mile from the trailhead, I was ready for action. I usually hike farther from the parking lot, but on Wednesday I wanted to test the need to do so on St. Vrain Creek. The temperature at the trailhead was 73 degrees, and in a concession to the heat wave, I wore my wet wading gear. I forgot how hard it is to pull on neoprene booties that are dry. Note to Dave: wet the booties next time.

One of Two Outlier Brown Trout

For starters I tied an olive ice dub body hippie stomper to my line, and I prospected likely spots for the first forty-five minutes. I managed to land four small brook trout, but they all came from very marginal locations; whereas, the prime pools and deep runs seemed devoid of fish. There was a lot of evidence of angler traffic with bare spots and worn fishermen trails in abundance. I concluded that hiking a good distance from the parking lot remained a solid tactic, so I bashed through the brush and found the trail and stomped out another .5 mile. Would this improve the fishing?

Pounded One Up Along the Wall

Light Gray Deer Hair Caddis Was Effective

Initially it did not. Once again attractive spots that normally produced fish seemed barren. The flows remained relatively high, so I pondered the idea that the fish were hugging the bottom and snatching nymphs. I was hesitant to add a nymph given the tight quarters and risk of snagging a tree, but I capitulated to the idea and added a hares ear nymph on a short two foot dropper. I persisted with the dropper for a solid length of time, but it failed to produce, while the hippie stomper proved its worth.

Perfect Colors

Impressive Spot Pattern

By lunch at 11:45AM the fish count rested on seven trout, and all were small brook trout that smacked the hippie stomper. After lunch I removed the hares ear and shortened the leader and replaced the hares ear with a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. The stomper/caddis combination improved my success rate, and I steadily worked my way upstream prospecting all the likely fish holding locales. I persisted with the hippie stomper and caddis duo for the remainder of my time on the creek, and I boosted the fish count to twenty-eight. I estimate that the caddis was responsible for 60% of the takes , and the hippie stomper accounted for the remainder.

Trout Lair

The afternoon fishing was not a walk in the park. I climbed over large slimed rocks, countered strong, rushing currents and scrambled over too many logs to count. It seemed that difficult wading correlated with greater fish density. I snagged a few trees but only lost one pair of flies, when a brook trout shrugged free causing the flies to catapult into an evergreen branch that was beyond reach. The hackle on another caddis was shredded by the teeth of a fish.

Another Mature Brook Trout

Of the twenty-eight fish landed, two were brown trout and the remainder were brook trout. The brookies all fell within the six to nine inch range. One of the browns stretched to eleven inches to take the prize for largest fish of the day. I photographed a few of the brook trout that displayed especially vivid orange bellies.

Loved These Flowers

I quit at 3:30PM and marched back to the parking lot and discovered that my total penetration was around 1.3 miles. On my return hike I flushed a grouse, and I was startled by the loud sound of sudden wings flapping. On my drive home I saw a coyote trotting down the middle of the road without a care in the world. I thought about a photo, but it shuffled off into the woods and disappeared behind some shrubs.

Wide Body on a Short Fish

The fish were small, but I was nevertheless very engaged. The game on Wednesday was mostly about reading the water and executing accurate casts in tight quarters. I felt that I succeeded on both accounts. Another complication was selecting the best path for moving upstream. It reminded my of completing a difficult maze. I learned that hiking farther translates to better fishing, and I will remember that on my next visit.

Fish Landed: 28