2010 Colorado Stream Reports

[DeeAre]

^I guess that's why Pat Dorsey says if you can catch fish in cheesman you can catch em anywhere in the world. Be proud you got some play, sounds like fun... in the same way that dry humping a girl was fun in 8th grade.

[sunpower]

Ok fished the Big T today caught a few browns on a stimmy casting close to the banks usally close to the willow bushes, then I tied on a GT tripple double caddis and dropped a tung bead head zebra midge and nailed a few big browns. Pounding the banks with dry flys seemed to be the most productive. Thinking about heading up to the north platte Walden/Saratoga area any recent info from there?

[brice618]

Anyone have good ideas to get my dad on fish somewhere between colorado springs and say, RMNP, or Ft Collins? This will be his only trip up to CO this season so I'd like to get him on some and I just haven't fished the front range enough to know.

I've heard Deckers is pretty fishy, but don't know much about access, camping, etc...

Thanks...

[TheRealPoop]

Yampa in steamboat is heating up, just as the tuber hatch (commercial tubing outfitters) started. Catching bows near the bank on dries (even a hoper) and with nymphs in the riffles. If you have never fished in steamboat I say you’re missing out; a paved bike trail runs along the Yampa in town and provides easy access to the rivers many holes and runs, all "improved water" that produces some great fishing. Not a wilderness experience but great to leave the house on bike and be fishing in <1 minute. almost all of the river is wadeable right now and it is before the seagrass is in which makes nymphing easier as you do not have to clean off your hook every cast.

[sunpower]

Awsome I will be going thru steamboat on my way to the Green the week after the fourth can you recomend a cool place to camp? Maybe even like free? still close to town?

[gretch6364]

Awsome I will be going thru steamboat on my way to the Green the week after the fourth can you recomend a cool place to camp? Maybe even like free? still close to town?

I am sure there are other other suggestions that may be better, but I have enjoyed camping on the upper elk river. Fun pocket water fishing. If the spots are full, drive to the top of the hill on the left up the off road trail and park and camp up there.

Have fun.

[TheRealPoop]

[QUOTE=sunpower;2907984]Awsome I will be going thru steamboat on my way to the Green the week after the fourth can you recomend a cool place to camp? Maybe even like free? still close to town?[/QUO

we are really surrounded by private land in steamboat. as far as being "in" town camping I think the ski area is your only hope, just go up burgess creek road to the slope maintenance shop then past the sign that says you cant drive there (you legally can by the way) just as long as your not camping in a lift shack you’ll be fine. other than that your looking at up rabbit ears or as mentioned north Routt (up 129) off seedhouse rd or around Hans peak there are lots of places to pitch a tent.

[JeffreyJim]

The fork is starting to fish HOT. Lots of dry action as of late.

Just throw a stimmy into a slowish riffle and wait...

[gretch6364]

hmmm...where to fish this weekend? So many options.

[ColMan]

Middle Fork of the S. Platte yesterday. Took me 20min to land him. One heck of a fighter. Princess nymph.



Released

[gretch6364]

Nice fish.

[gretch6364]

So I am heading up to the North Platte above Walden tomorrow for the weekend, leaving from Denver or Boulder between 4 or 5. I will be going through Laramie, WY so that I can stop at the Walmart and get a couple day fishing license.

Will be camping around six mile Friday night, then maybe closer to the border Saturday night...or back at six mile. My normal fishing buddy can't make it, so I have plenty of room in the FJ if anyone is interested in coming along. I am going either way, so...free ride...I have room for three....maggot mini?

Supposedly the fishing is hot up there right now.

[JeffreyJim]

Roaring Fork Report: Too hot. Too many boaters. Seems like the dry fly action of weeks past is gone. At least until temps drop again. Caught one nice brown on a streamer (brown bugger).

Frying Pan: Good. Even with the temps, you can tie one big green drake or yellowish #10-#12 fly and get ready for some fun. At least for now. Word is the "real" drake hatch is up higher near the dam but I've had good luck down low too.

Crystal: Only fished it for about an hour...hour and a half in the middle of the day. And it was very hot...but despite what conventional fishing wisdom might tell you, there was good fishing (dry fly nonetheless) to be had. Fly of choice=#14-16 yellow stimmy with some orange on it too.

[gretch6364]

Skunked again...fuck you Cheeseman Canyon and your very large and very smart fish!

[gretch6364]

Fished the St. Vrain Sunday evening in the canyon on 7. Such an amazingly beautiful stream.

Anyhow...the hoppers were all over the place, but the fish were not interested...there was also a decidedly unusual lack of any bugs in the air or hatch. Caught about a dozen small guys on a tan elk hair...nothing over 10 inches.

[gretch6364]

So here is a pic from St. Vrain on Sunday:





Fished clear creek last night above Idaho Springs...just an FYI...the one bridge is out...so we could not park where we normally do...the creek was still a little high to cross where we were, but I am sure there were places.

Anyhow, go there late due my fishing partner's tardiness and traffic...started fishing about 7:15...only fished for maybe 20 minutes becuase it started raining really hard and his wife was with us and she wanted to go drink beers.

Anyhow, landed two on an orange stimulator...missed two, and had about 6 rejections...should of switched to a caddis, but anyhow. Here is a pic of the first fish of the night, he was HUGE:



The second fish was about 2 inches longer. It was still a little hard to fish the deep holes and visability was poor, but the fish were biting.

[gretch6364]

Anyone have any good suggestions for chasing some greenbacks in RMNP on Sunday? I have never fished up there and have not caught a greenback before, so I thought it would be a good mission.

Thanks

[Chowda]

Anyone have any good suggestions for chasing some greenbacks in RMNP on Sunday? I have never fished up there and have not caught a greenback before, so I thought it would be a good mission.

Thanks

The Roaring River from the alluvial fan on up is a good place to get into greenbacks, and I think its safe that nobody is going to get pissed at me for hot spotting. The steep falls section from the valley floor up to the hanging valley holds fish in the tiny plunge pools, and is fun for as long as you can stand to dab and high-stick a nymph through small pockets for 4"-6" cutts.

The fish get bigger, up to at least 12" once the valley starts to flatten out, but it fished more technical then I expected when I was there this time last year. I also remember being told on that trip (in mid July) "that the fish were just moving off the reds and beginning to actively feed again". It caught me by surprise that the spawn was so late, so watch your step.

[gretch6364]

Thanks for the help.

[DeeAre]

Hopper fishing on Sat on S.Platte was just silly good. Sight fishing foam flies to fat trout. So good. I only landed like 10 fish, but my buddy landed at least twice that. He's a fucking stick, and i'm a hack, so go figure. Numerous fish over 18 inches with a few 20+ inchers. Casting to fish you can actually see is just ridiculous, feels like you're always in the action. Several more weeks of hopper fishing.
Hoping water temps will drop after they quit fucking with the dam, the bows tended to be a little sluggish.

[DeeAre]

Sight fishing is just crazy good on the s.platte, but the river feels like bathwater and the fish don't seem to be eating much. Got an eat from a 25+ incher yesterday. green amys ant. Took about a half a second for him to snap my 6x. Whatever, I was hooting and hollering