Good Stuff in South Park

The water has receeded and the fishing is only getting better.  This past week I had numerous trips out on the South Platte River in South Park as well as some great trips on some of the Private High Mountain Lakes.  The river in South Park is fishing well but is also receiving a lot of pressure. There are lots of hatches coming off throughout the day and fish can be taken on dries and nymphs.  The lakes are fishing great too, and there is still snow up on the peaks which makes for a great scenic place to spend the day. 

Larger fish were hooked during the day, yet this great Brown found its way to the net.

Great High Mountain Lake Cutthroat

Water is coming down and fishing is good

I had the priviledge of fishing with a few gentleman from Oklahoma today out in South Park and the fishing was good.  The water has finally started to come down and there are a lot of big fish to be had.  These big guys can be had on nymphs, dries, and streamers as there are numerous hatches happening.  Tricos, Caddis, Yellow Sallies, Midges and others were all over the water.  Below is a picture of one of the big fish we got into today out in South Park.

Yea, I was that Guy!

With runoff still in full force on the Platte drainage I decided to take a day and leave the rods at home and substitute a little raft in their place.  With the Dream Stream flowing through South Park at over 500 cfs, I decided to take a leisurely float.  However, even with the high water, the fishing has still been good.  Fishing the edges and side channels has been productive.  These fish are strong and know how to use the current to their advantage so be ready to chase them down river once you have hooked one of these large Dream Stream hogs. 

Great Day on South Platte Private Water

PJ, Chad, and Eason came out from Texas for a day of fishing with me today.  Chad and PJ had asked to see if we could target some bigger fish, and we were able to do so.  Throughout the day all three were hooked up and we even had a couple of doubles!  Most fish were in 18 to 20 inch mark and there was one hooked that jumped out of the water and we were able to see what appeared to be a 26+ inch fat rainbow.  Nymphing was the way to go today.  We fished with bigger nymphs since the water was very off color in the morning due to lots of rain in the area the last couple of days.  I want to say thank you to Chad, PJ and Eason for making the trip out again this year. 

This was a super fat bow

21 in Bow

Double!

Snapped a pic before this sweet bow flopped back into the water

Runoff Finally Hits Platte Drainage

Runoff has finally come to the South Platte drainage.  Deckers and Cheesman are well over 700 cfs, Dream Stream is at 550, and the North Fork is above 500 as well.  However, the rivers are still fishing well.  Fishing the egdes and soft areas with big flies are producing great results.  Joey, Roger, and Barry came out for a trip on some of our private water and the guys did great.  While most fish came on large nymphs, there were also fish taken with streamers, and even one on a dry fly! The guys landed a ton of fish and to end the day were able to get a picture of a sweet double.