Summer Weekend (Part 2: Trout)

If there is a polar opposite to carp fishing...it would be fishing for wild cutthroat trout on an untouched, pristine stream somewhere up in the high country. Carping is contagious, as is some of the muck you will often run into and wade through when chasing carp. The best mud flats are in urban areas and, at best, smell like a farmers ditch. At worst, an open sewer. Sometimes the best antidote to--or more properly phrased--best chaser to a hard day of carp fishing is to cleanse ones soul and wet-wading shoes in the pure waters of a trout stream...

So, that was the obvious choice in destination for day two of our fishing weekend. The flavor of today would be trout. More specifically...Greenback Cutthroat Trout. The state fish. The only native of Colorado. 

Erin, Eva and myself met up with our friend, Tom Ziegler at one of the trailheads in the Rocky Mountain National Park at 8:00 in the morning. Gear was gathered, salami and sandwiches packed and rods accounted for...

Then, into the remoteness we all bounded. The water was clear enough to allow you to see to the bottom of the stream even without the aid of polarized fishing lenses. But having the glasses on made you feel as though you could read a book sunk to the bottom.

You could not always see the trout that were living in the ripples or at the bottom of the pools, though...not always. Sometimes they would spring out of nowhere to take your dry fly. But usually you knew it was coming. The run or pocket was just too good not to hold a hungry cutthroat or brookie...

The farther we went upstream the tighter it got and the more difficult it became to get a fly onto the water, but if we got in and did the work and took the chances...we were rewarded every time. Amazing gems of trout life that, each time where so amazing you had to hold them for a moment longer just to marvel...

Wild Basin (A St. Vrain Report)

The stream flows in the St. Vrain through the Wild Basin area are not high, but there is enough water coming down to make wading challenging. If you intend to fish it this week you will most likely land a few brown trout, but be prepared to work hard for each fish. The trout are not being ultra-selective, but the water is still cold enough to keep them from being glutinous. There are lots of bugs coming off, however...caddis, blue-winged olive mayflies as well as large crainflies. Good luck and have fun if you go!

Fat Stacks of Greenbacks

I have fished Lily Lake for many years. Done well, most of the time…but regardless of the quality of fishing that particular day, I invariably lusted after the middle of the lake. There just had to be more and larger trout out deep. Just had to be. So, I have always promised myself to one day get out there in the middle. Belly boat. Canoe. Hell…one day just tie a streamer onto my ankle with 3x and swim out there! But, I did not have to strip down and swim. Not today. Erin Block and I lashed a canoe to the roof of her Toyota and made haste to the lake. Was a beautiful day, not too much wind and, unlike our last trip to Lily Lake, there was not eight inches of ice covering the entire surface. Lily is slightly less than 9000 feet, so it will usually be one of the first high cutthroat lakes to ice off. It is also relatively shallow, so the water tends to get warm fast. It is already up to 64 degrees, making the fish a tad sluggish after even a short fight—the main reason to fish this lake early and then leave it alone for the rest of the summer.

Lily Lake also happens to be the most accessible lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park (along Highway 7 several miles south of Estes Park) so we were expecting not to be alone. And were right…there were maybe a dozen other anglers. About half spin fishermen (having no luck) one hapless, ill-advised old man with a Tenkara pole—it’s from Japan, he told us—and the other half wielding fly rods. All were shore-bound. Erin and I shared the middle of the lake only with a small inflatable raft being paddled around by four or five underdressed college girls. Row row row your boat… They would all try to sing in unison, then smack the water with their paddles and continue a high-pitched blather about dating some boy. Poor boy…hope it was worth it.

We saw no fish rising, but did see some midges around and two larger (when compared to the midges!) callibaetis mayfly adults on the surface. So, we rigged black leeches with skinny tan callibaetis nymphs behind them. When the wind was pushing us around we would set the rods down and troll, only picking them up to cast during the moments of calm. And we caught greenbacks. Not many, though. Ironically, it took us beaching the canoe and casting from shore before we really got into the fat stacks! Blind casting was delivering nothing, either. We found the most productive approach was stalking the bank and sight cast to cruising fish with one of Erin’s micro-streamers. Lily Buggers, we took to calling them…

Colorado Greenback Cutthroat Trout (A Fisherman's Guide)

When this book came out many of my friends (who spend a lot of time fishing the high lakes) were pissed off. They were upset because many of their favorite cutthroat lakes and the hiking routes were mentioned. This told me one thing: I needed a copy! And, now...that I do own a copy, I am a bit nervous about it. My favorite lakes are mentioned, too. But, here is the final analysis...it is a great book. And every fly fisherman who lives in Colorado and hasn't had hip replacement surgery yet... should own this book. It is as close to a "must have" book as you are gonna find. Perfect bound book, only $19.95 new...full of information and notes. All the good, pertinent stuff for those of us who have fallen in love with the Colorado high country. There is something about being above treeline...makes my blood thicken and my heart race! And, to get back to my friends...and their hurt feelings. This book does not "hot spot" anything. It outlines every spot here in the state of Colorado were we can find our only native trout. A magnificently beautiful fish. Stunning. The book does not give any one particular lake more attention than any other. As I sit here indoors in December...staring at the front cover, I already have two or three overnight trips planned for next summer. Damn! Can't wait!


Colorado Greenback Cutthroat Trout (A Fisherman's Guide). Jim Rubingh & Richard Fritz. Frank Amato Publications, Inc. Buy A Copy Amazon.Com Or, better yet, stop into your local fly shop and get yerself a copy!

Fall River Triple Threat

Richard Vann (a friend from Lafayette, CO) stopped into the shop and said he was headed up to fish the Fall River in the Rocky Mountain Natianal Park.







I asked him to send me a report...so, guess the fishing was good! Caught plenty of fish. Got cuts, browns and brookies and never saw another fisherman!

Fall River Revisited

The Fall River is more of a creek, really. You can get there easily from the North entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park and the

Old Fall River Road

follows it almost entirely. You all have seen it (probably when you were looking for a place to park on the way to fish the Roaring River) and there is a good chance you have accidentally even fished it. As streams in the Park go it may be the Rodney Dangerfield—it gets no respect and gets no attention. I know that it is quirky enough to withstand me “hot spotting” it in this blog. The water is as clear and the gradient is much lower than most of the other streams in the area. And, although the meadow stretch is long, awesome and beautiful the headwaters are where I have always spent most of my time. It twists and turns, has old beaver dams and is thick with rod-high trees and brush. Every time I fish the upper stretches I am reminded of an old Richard Brautigan story were he describes the act of fishing one of these tight small streams as fishing in a row of 12,845 telephone booths.

The Allure of Virginal Creeks

I have had many, memorable love affairs with small creeks. Larger rivers are intoxicating creatures, I’ll grant you and they live much louder, vivacious existences…but we have all seen their tasteless centerfolds in Fly Fisherman magazine—laid out in the buff, wearing nothing but a weak, forced smile for every sloppy, hack fisherman to ogle at and pin up over his dirty work bench. Have a wonderful, get-away weekend on a well-known trout river here in Colorado and dare to tell your romantic antic dotes to your fishing buddies and they will immediately launch into a story about the last time they had their way with that very river. But when they were there the water was much clearer…and the rainbows were willing to come up for big dries. She didn’t do that for you, did she? But those tiny, out-of-the-way creeks that no one has ever heard of (let alone fished) are always out there, going about their business without any fanfare. They are as sexy and intriguing as the single woman from down the street. You don’t know her name yet, but you did get a smile and a “hi” out of her the last time the two of you passed on the sidewalk. The trout in these little-known creeks are not large like in the famous rivers…but they are wild and amazing. And, yes, they are always real!

The other day a friend and I were heading back down from fishing a high alpine lake and we crossed over an old wooden bridge. It was a well worn trail and I have crossed over this particular bridge many, many times. I have always at least slowed down long enough to peer over the railing to get a look at the miniature stream flowing below—but never taken the obvious opportunity to cast a fly. This time was different, though. We dropped our packs and took time to admire the tiny body of water more thoroughly. Although the gradient was steep, there was plenty of great holding water. The pockets were small, but deep and dark and inviting. We were not originally planning to stay long enough to fish (we had already had a great day up on the lake) just long enough to speculate on what species of trout lived there. The sure money was on brook trout, but I went with cutthroats just to take the long odds. Then we noticed the freshly hatched drake mayflies clinging to the lush green moss beside the water. We absolutely had no choice but to fish. And there was a brookie or two in every pocket willing to take a dry fly. Darkly colored, wild fish…spunky and probably never before been caught. And I wouldn’t stop fishing until I finally caught a cutthroat…

Read Another Story?

Ultra selective back country cutthroat (Fly fishing for greenbacks in RMNP)

Yes...the caption is a joke. Some of the many joys of back country fly fishing are untouched streams, no other people and plentiful, naive trout. Maybe the most fun, but overlooked perk of a long hike into the bush is your wide open fly selection. I tied a few dozen of the most bazaar and/or ugly dry flies I have ever seen in preparation for our overnight trip into the Rocky Mountain National Park the other day. I caught so many cutthroat I lost count!

Fly Fishing the Rocky Mountain National Park

September is the month I always find time to fish the Rocky Mountain National Park...all the headwater creeks are low and clear, the resident trout are hungry and eager to get fat before the looming winter. The Park is such a great place to spend a day or afternoon, but I always take a few days in the late summer/early fall to get a back country permit and hike into somewhere really cool and remote! I got some great footage for your entertainment! ENJOY!

Watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foTItkmk6wo