2010 Colorado Stream Reports

[gretch6364]

So I fished the lower Blue on memorial day...sorry no pics. I fished from probably 10 am to 4 pm...I know I know...should of been their earlier or stayed later.

There were not as many people out as I expected, but it was still more crowded then I would of like. There was a sporadic Caddis hatch (very dark adults) and some midges. I caught I couple beautiful cuttthroat...I mean really really vibrant...just awesome fish in the 14 to 18 inch range....caught on RS-2's and bright green caddis beadhead nymphs.

I did not catch as many fish as I would of liked, and did not really talk to anyone else that caught a bunch. I saw two other fish caught. I talked to a guide from Breck fishing on his day off. Nice guy...said he was killing it....must of been a way better fisherman then me.

Visibility was so so with the water being really green. Not sure how long the flows will stay in the 200 range. The upper blue was RAGING this weekend. Anyhow...got to find somewhere to go this weekend...maybe the Yampa.

Peace

[JeffreyJim]

Fished the Pan on Monday from 7:30 till a little past 9.

No action until 8:45 and then it started getting good. Full moon probably hurt my chances more than anything. Stimmy/copper john seemed to both get play.

[gretch6364]

How crowded was it? Wouldn't mind maybe heading down there this weekend.

[DeeAre]

Caddis were going off yesterday around Deckers. Flows around 270, great clarity, 75ish degrees. Worked the banks and had a ton of success w/ elk hairs, partrides, small parachutes. Wundie nymph & beads also saw some action. Beautiful day.

This thread needs more pics... but since I drowned my camera last winter, I won't be supplying them. If anyone has waterproof camera/housing rec's, I'm all ears.

[JeffreyJim]

I'm not one to comment on the Pan crowds because I never fish the "go to" spots. I usually fish lower down where the flows are a bit higher, the access is a bit harder and the fish usually not-as-smart.

[gretch6364]

any thoughts for front range fishing this weekend? I guess it will all depend on how flows end up over the next two days. I was kind of thinking about 11 mile, and finding a thawed out lake in RMNP.

Derider, you interested? We have room for another person or two in the car. How is the knee?

[ColMan]

Hit up Bear Creek for an hour or so today during lunch. Water is high and slightly off color but managed to land three fish. All on dries.

[gretch6364]

good job ColMan...Caddis?

[ColMan]

#12 and #14 stimi's - figured I needed to go bigger w/ the off color water. Biggest was a 13" bow just above little park.

[DeeAre]

Derider, you interested? We have room for another person or two in the car. How is the knee?

Knee's not quite mint yet, but it's good to go for trout slaying! I'm def interested... gotta run it by the boss, she might have plans. What were you thinking? I'd say Deckers but she's pretty much blown, ~700 cfs. PM me.

[gretch6364]

I am going to the shop to get a new line on my reel tonight...I will talk with them and see what there thoughts are...I will PM you when I have some ideas.

[gretch6364]

So it looks like fishing is back on for the summer. Flows are dropping and the weather is fine.

I fished Bear Creek in the Canyon Thursday, Saturday an Sunday. Caught a ton of brookies...nothing bigger than about 10 inches. The flows were still a little high at around 100, 85, and 80 for the three days...which seemed to keep the browns off the surfice. Caught then on some psycho nymphs and various adult caddis on the surface, and then on orange stimulators in the fast current.

Got out of work early yesterday after a golf tourney and went and fished the Big T at the spillway in Estes. Caught several really nice bows and one big brown. Caught on sow bugs from about 5 till 7, then 7 till about 8:30 they were jumping...like full fish out of the water...the BWOs were coming off in the evening, so various emergers, no hackles, and a size 26 parachute adam's were productive for me.

Lastly, these past four times I have been fishing a new line, the SA Sharkskin in trout taper 4 wt....and I must say, I love it...rocking line.

[sunpower]

I have been fishing the Poudre last 3 nights the river is in good shape and fishing really well a little fast and off color but this has made the fishing better, it is clearing up daily I have seen some caddis and a few spinners mostley from pingree down. I have been rolling a girddle bug in rust and black with flossy legs and dropping a san juan if the water is dirty fish dirty (for the san jaun haters). I started to see rising fish tonight so they are looking up now. I rolled some rocks and there are some huge stoneflys like 2-3 inches golden, and a dark rust colored. Might go hit the Thompson here in the next few days.

[gretch6364]

Fished Bear Creek again tonight after work. The caddis hatch was pretty nice and there was what looked like large red quill hatching.

Caught a couple brookies on caddis, then switched to an orange stimulater and just killed it on good sized browns between 8 and 13 inches. The browns are feeding in the seams and riffles. Also caught a nice rainbow. The water has continued to drop and is nice and clear right now.

[DeeAre]

Question... I don't know the Blue very well. It looks like it's ripping right now, ~770 cfs, well above average for June 24. Is it even fishable? Any other options for around silverthorne? I'm headed up there tonight and have a wedding tomorrow, so I'm looking to wet a line tomorrow AM before the wedding.
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[gretch6364]

You could try the Blue above the resevoir just outside of Breck or maybe the fishing around Keystone Resort (not sure the name of the stream). I have fished both, but don't recall the water levels when I fished them. Right now the blue is at 256 in Dillion, which seems a little high based on the size of the stream, but I don't really have a good idea.

I would give the guys at Cuttthroat Angler's a call, they have always been really nice everytime I go in there.

Here is their website:

http://www.fishcolorado.com/

The lakes above Breck are also good fishing....I would think they would be ice free by now...but not sure.

[DeeAre]

Thx gretch. Sounds like the blue isn't fishing too bad. Worth a shot, since we'll be right there.
U wanna try & hit up deckers next wknd? Should be going off.

[gretch6364]

You know I would love to...but I am back in Pittsburgh from July 2nd through the 12th. I will be fishing somewhere this Sunday...but other than that, I am out for two weekends. Let me know if you go down the weekends after I get back. I will be in for sure.

[DeeAre]

wrd. should be about hopper time by then

[Donkey Punch]

Fished the Thompson below the damn this afternoon. Landed two and missed a bunch. I could never get totally dialed in on what they where eating though. The water was on the low end of high, and was just off color, but plenty fishable. I was the most fish I have ever seen in this section including a couple PIGS, but got no love from them.

[Pow4Brains]

Not really a stream, but fished Spinney res today and between 3 of us boated ~75 fish. The biggest one being a 24" brown. We where fishing to the west of Pelican point in 12 feet of water droping Slump Busters and callibaetis nymphs size 12-14 ~6 feet down. Super fun, the place was on FIRE!

[Donkey Punch]

Also not a stream/rover but my wife and I headed to Rocky Mountain Arsenal this morning. I landed three pike the biggest being 27-28 and the smallest being 18ish. They are finally putting on weight and getting fat. My wife had a fish on but he tossed the hook half way to her. For any Colorado mags, I would highly recommend taking a day away from trouting and head to RMA, its well worth your time.

[brice618]

I fished the Weminuche Creek on Friday, and caught 40 or so brookies, biggest being 12 or so inches. If you enjoy a little hike, that area is ridiculously beautiful and great fishing to be had.

[sunpower]

Finally fished the Thompson today! fished below the dam it was a little crowded but not bad I have seen worse, Pulled a few nice browns off the banks with a yellow stiimmyy and a a black rubber leg ant about size 12-14, then migrated down river found a slow/fast riffle and threw stiimmyy's to the banks and nailed like 6-8 browns in shallow water there are a lot of fish in that river very very nice to see. Heading back up on Tuesday any mags in the canyon stop by say hello I got a red toyota with Cali tags and lot's of fishing stickers, oh yeah and a black dog!! C-Ya

[gretch6364]

Good to hear things are starting to fish well. Try throwing some sow bugs on the Big T.

I fished the S. Platte in Cheeseman Canyon yesterday. Got there a little late due to some issues, and then I took a swim, so I left a little early. There was a sporadic caddis hatch and bugs in the air the entire day, but I had no luck with any of the caddis nymphs I tried.

I hooked in to about 5 PIGS on size 24 to 26 midge patterns (brassies and pearl jams). I forgot to bring my rolls of tippet and had to grab some I had in the car and left my net in the car as well. Needless to say, all five fish broke me off...I think the old tippet may have been a little bad, plus my lack of a net did not help.

I hooked all rainbows in the riffles from next to submerged rocks. I saw each fish in the air or up close, and they were all nice fish...there are some big fish down there and they like to run downstream.

This one damn fish, I hooked three times. First, he runs about 15 yards downstream, jumps twice and throws my size 26 brassie out of his mouth. Second time I hook him about 15 minutes later from the exact same spot, he dives around a rock and breaks me off above my first fly. The third time, that fucker ran 20 yards down stream through a riffle, jumped 3 times to show me how fat he was, and then proceeds to take another 50 or 60 yards of my line further down this long as rifle....around another rock and broke me off again.

I was standing on a big rock in the middle of the river between two really long riffles, and I just couldn't get down into the water fast enough to follow him. The third fight lasted about 5 minutes...my reel was SCREAMING. He was out of the hole after that...but I will be back to get him...that fucker!

My own little S. Platte Moby Dick...those were the biggest fish I have ever hooked in fast moving shallow pocket water. It is hard to muscle them on the 6x, but you have to try and not let them run to far and they will get you hung up on all the damned rocks on the bottom of that river....toughest place I have ever fished...especially when you hook into a big one....just tought to land with my skill level....I will be back to practice that is for sure.