Spring in South Park

Today, I fished with Dustin from Austin, TX.  We elected to head out to South Park and see if we could find some big fish moving up into the rivers.  The crowds were very heavy and some of my favorite spots had multiple people fishing them.  However, we were able to get into a lot of fish and have a great day.  We also managed to get into some great fish, including an incredible 26" hen Rainbow and a 24" male.  Nymphing was the way to go today, however, streamers are also producing as these lake fish are used to eating larger morsels and are more aggressive during the spawn.  This is the case on many Colorado rivers this time of year.  Regardless of where you fish, be sure you are careful not to walk through or on top of any redds, as these are the spawing beds containing the future of each fishery.  Below are a couple pics from our trip today. 

Great Time at the Taylor with Old Fishing Buddy

Today and yesterday, I went fishing with one of my long time fishing buddies Tyler.  We headed down to the Taylor River for a couple days looking for some monster fish.  What we found as a big number of good fish and a very small number of large fish.  I large with reservation here, large for the Taylor is different than large for many other places.  What we also found were more crowds trying to get out and enjoy the great weather, while testing their skills against some of the most beautifully colored fish anywhere.  While nymphing with Mysis and Midge patterns produced most of the fish, streamers were very effective as well.   My feeling is that the crowds kept most of the biggest fish in hiding until dark, so I would be interested to here a report of night fishing.  Anyways, below are some pictures of our fun trip to the Taylor.

Chunker from the Platte

Today I guided a great father and son combo of Mike and Blake.  The crowds have been close to insane out in South Park so we opted to fish another public section of the South Platte River a little closer to Denver.  The day started out strong, with several fish eating our bugs.  However, we were not able to bring them to hand.  Throughout the day this would continue to happen, but we were able to land some real quality rainbow and brown trout.  Blake even landed an absolute slab, which was one of the bigger fish I have seen down there in a long time.  The weather was great until the wind picked up but overall it was a beautiful.  I look forward to fishing with these two again in the future. 

Great Spring Fishing on South Platte River

I had the pleasure of fishing with Jack today on a public stretch of the South Platte River.  All through the drainage, fishing is getting better and better.  Lots of great fish are being taken on nymphs and streamers as the fish continue to get close to the spawn being in full swing.  Egg patterns have been productive as well as midges, BWO patterns, and stoneflies.  As with recent trips, we had a great day with lots of hookups and some great fish brought to hand.  With the warm weather, look for crowds to remain steady.  On that note, with crowds heavy be sure to give other anglers plenty of room. There are a lot of fish to be caught and you do not need to fish the same exact run from the other side of the river.  I am looking forward to a trip to the Taylor this week with long time fishing buddy Tyler.  I hope everyone enjoys the great fishing and the great weather that Spring is bringing us. Below are a few pics from our trip today.

Lahontan Cutts at Pyramid Lake

This week I had the great opportunity to fish with few great friends in an absolutely incredible place.  Landon, Angus, Jeff, Larry, and I ventured to Pyramid Lake, north of Reno Nevada on a search for big Lahontan Cutthroats.  Upon arrival Monday, it became clear that the fishing was going to be much tougher than expected.  Water levels being high, a lack of storms churning the lake, and more importantly, cold water temps were the conditions we were facing.  Every take became intense, in that we did not know if we would have another during the day.  We were definitly there a little early this year based on conditions.  However, we pushed on and everyone got into some great fish.  The scenery and company alone made the trip worthwhile.    I imagine that starting next week, reports of bigger fish and bigger number days will start.  That being said, I want to thank the guys I went with for an absolutely awesome experience. Below are some pictures of both the amazing Lahontan and scenic shots of the lake itself.

Good Fishing on South Platte

I had a great half day trip with Ed from San Antonio and his brother in law Eric who lives here in Denver.  We decided to go ahead and fish a public section of the South Platte River near Denver.  The day started off great and three casts in, we had an awesome 24 inch Rainbow brought to the net.  The rest of the day brought many hookups and some more great fish landed.  Nymphs were the name of the game, as the fish were fairly grabby if presented with a good drift.  All in all it was another great guide trip to the South Platte.

News From the Miracle Mile

My buddy Cody Smith went up to the Miracle Mile this past weekend with his dad and I asked him to write a report for me.  This is what he had to say! 

"This past weekend the weather was surprisingly nice for this time of year!   So my dad and a long time family friend decided to head up to Wyoming to fish the Mile.  It was there first time up there, so needless to say, they were pretty excited.  We couldn't have aske for a nicer weekend as far as weather goes with temps in the low 50's and very little wind.  Be prepared for windy conditions if you go, but hope you will get lucky like we did.  The fishing wasn't great but we were able to get into quite a few fish, some of which being very quality.  The water was pretty cold and flows were steady, hovering around 1000 cfs.   The best fishing came on nymphs.  Fish big stuff!  The streamer bite was slow for this time of year and flow.  Stick with nymphs is your going up there and want to catch numbers of fish.  Good luck to ya!"

Thanks Cody!  I would recommend taking Cody's advice on fishing big nymphs.  Stuff like San Juans, Leeches, Stoneflies, Scuds, and Egg Patterns are great patterns for the Mile this time of year.   Here are some pictures from Cody's weekend up on the Mile.

Great First Trip of the Season

 Today I had the pleasure of guiding my first trip of the season with Ron and Phil down on the South Platte River around Deckers.  Ron runs the website bitemyworm.com so be sure to check out the site.  It is kind of like the facebook of fishing.  All in all a very cool site.  Anyways, the day on the water was great.  The weather was perfect and the fishing was pretty good too.  We got a lot of fish to eat nymphs like stones, eggs, and midges.  Several of big fish were hooked today but only two of the big guys were landed, including a 21" bow that ate a size 20 midge pattern.  On another note, the rainbows are spawning so be carefull as you walk through the riffles to avoid any redds that you way see.  Lots of great weather and great fish made for an awesome day.

Early Spring Fishing at the Dream Stream

Well as Spring is making its way into the Colorado Rockies, the fishing is beginning to heat up.  Many anglers expected to see a large surge of fish moving from Elevenmile Resevoir up into the Dream Stream with the recent bump in flow. I have yet to make it down there, however, my buddy Tanner fished it a couple days this week and said there were a decent number of fish in the river, but not anything to write home about as far as the lake monsters.  The best bet right now is to wait a little longer before heading out to South Park.  The majority of the fish being caught and that are in the water are the cookie cutter 12-16 inch Cutties.  As April approaches, look for more fish in the 20+ inch range to move into the river. If you would like to book a trip targeting these big lake fish, give myself or Colorado Trout Hunters a call. Below are some pictures that Tanner emailed me.  Tomorrow, I have my first guide trip of the season down in the Deckers area and will post tomorrow evening with a report.