Beating The Crowds

Well it has been over a week since I last put up a report. The end of last week thru to the beginning of next week will have kept me on the water so I wanted to get something up before the end of this long guiding stretch. Anyways, the crowds have been nothing short of crazy both out in South Park and closer to Denver on the South Platte. Fish are really starting to feel the pressure. We are now beginning to swing into the "Dog Days" of August as water temps are rising and fish are starting to become much more wary. The big fish are there, but they are much more difficult to trick than they were at the beginning of the summer. Light tippets and sight fishing are critical in getting these fish to eat. That being said, the smaller fish are there and are somewhat more willing to eat a fly. Hatches to match on most sections of the Platte include the morning Tricos, PMD's, small stoneflies, and on cloudy days, BWO's have been thick. Anyways, over the past week I had the pleasure of guiding and spending the day with some great people and we caught some great fish. Whether it was on the South Platte or the private High Mountain Lakes, fish were eating and we caught some great ones. Below are some pictures of some great fish caught over the last week.

Great Weekend Fishing

The past weekend I had several trips and all went very well.  We fished public water on the South Platte in both South Park and another section closer to Denver.  We also fished some private high mountain lakes as well and caught some very colorful fish.  The South Platte is fishing very well.  In fact, my trip closer to the front range ended up being one of the best big fish days that I have seen over the last few years.  Big Rainbows and Browns were feeding very aggressively on nymphs as Tricos, Yellow Sallies, and PMDs are some of the main bugs right now.  The same goes for the Platte out in South Park as well.  We are very lucky to have some of the best water flows in the state right now and the fish are very happy about that.  Below are some pictures from the past few trips.

Fun Day Up North

Well taking advantage of having a couple days off in a row, yesterday I got new tires on the car and relaxed, and today up at 3:30am to meet my fishing buddy Doug for a day on a cool stretch of water that will remain unnamed.  The bonus about today was that we got to fish both public and private wate and catch some beautiful wild trout that are becoming more and more pressured.  I want to thank Doug for taking me down there and spending the day on the water with me.  The colors on the fish we got into today were nothing short of amazing.  Its fun sight nymphing to a pod of fish instead of just a single.  Below are some of the colorful specimens we got into today.

Another Day with Good Fishing

Well I have the next couple days off before a string of trips towards the end of the week so I thought I would just through one more update up after today's trip.  Today we had another great day with plenty of big fish.  We landed well over 20 fish and had many more fish that never found their way to the net.  With a great mix of Browns, Rainbows, Cutthroats and Cuttbows, nymphing continues to produce great results.  Caddis, PMDs, Tricos, and midges are all showing up during the day and the fish are feeding hard on each.  Below are a few pictures from another great day of sight fishing on the South Platte River.

Tough to beat the South Platte River

The past few days I have had trips on the South Platte River both out in South Park and closer to Denver.  My clients and myself had some great fishing over the past couple days.  Some really great fish being caught in both locations.  The river in South Park has finally cleared up and sight fishing is producing excellent results.  However, crowds have been heavy on both sections.  That being said, the higher flows has spread out the fish and kept them away from a lot of anglers.  Finding and sight fishing to these fish is a big key to success as a variety of nymphs have been working on these big fish.  Closer to Denver, the Platte is fishing well with both nymphs and dries, and some of the fish being caught are incredibly colored up.  Below are just a few of the great fish that we have caught over the last few days.  Looking forward to another great week on the water.  If you would like to learn more about sight fishing to these big fish, call myself or Colorado Trout Hunters and book a trip.  Blind fishing will get you into fish, but catching these big guys becomes much easier when you can see them. 

When Paying Your Dues Pays Off

This week, I had several guide trips to both the South Platte River in South Park and a smaller creek closer to the front range.  First, the flow at the Dream Stream was bumped yet again this week.  On top of that, the big rains have turned the river a nice gray color, providing very little visibility.  When the water turns this color, paying your dues and spending as much time as I have over the past years can truly payoff in finding these big fish and knowing where they are at.  We did not sight fish for any of these fish this week.  We had some great trips out there this week and some great fish were caught on both nymphs and streamers.  On a different note, some of the smaller creeks closer to the metro areas, are fishing great.  The water is low and clear and Dry Dropper rigs are producing great numbers of these beautifully colored little Browns and Rainbows.   Below are just a handful of pictures of the many fish we caught this last week in both settings.

Bump in Flows and Continued Good Fishing

The past week was another great one on the South Platte River.  I want to say thank you to all of those who I had the pleasure of fishing with over the past week.  Whether it was the public water in South Park or the Private Water on the North Fork, fishing has continued to be good.  Out in South Park, the flows were increased and the fish responded very well. Nymphs and streamers have been taking good amounts of fish.  With a higher flow, it is important to use slightly heavier leader and tippets, as well as using some bigger flies.  Anyone can find fish in 100 cfs or lower, but with the added water, hiring a guide can really help you get into some of the big fish that call the South Platte home.  Likewise, the private water on the North Fork has also continued to produce in both great size and quantity.  The North Fork offers even an inexperienced angler the opportunity to hone skills through repetition and offers great rewards.  Consider the private option when booking your next trip.  For anyone that has not seen, my second article has been published in the current (July/August) issue of American Angler Magazine.  Check it out and learn how to find fish where ever and whenever you are fishing.  Below are a few pictures from just a couple of the week's trips.

In Spite of Fire, Great Fishing Continues

Well first and foremost I want to thank my friend Eric Pitcher for letting me stay with him from Sunday to Sunday while I was evacuated from my apartment. Its always good to have friends you can count on.  Secondly, I want to thank all the firefighters and their families for the work they are doing across the state.  Finally, I wish all the best to those who lost homes in the Waldo Canyon fire.  I had a good friend lose a home and it is nothing short of tragic what has happened over the last week.   Now to the fishing.  Despite the fire last week, the week of guide trips went outstanding.  I will post additional pictures once a couple get emailed to me.  However, the ones below will show some of the great fish that were caught on two different sections of public water on the South Platte River.  Both in South Park and closer to Denver, the public South Fork and Private sections of the North Fork produced both big numbers and big fish over the last week.  Nymphs and Dries took there fair amount of fish and over the past week we landed 4 doubles! That is LANDED, we had many more doubles on last week as the fish ate voraciously. Below are a couple pictures from public water trips, and as mentioned before, I will post more when I get them emailed to me.  Thank you everyone for the well wishes and thank you to my clients over the past week for coming fishing with me.