Touring Middle Park

I met up with Doug Hensel today and we decided to run up to Middle Park.  We started out below Green Mountain Reservoir and fish for about an hour.  The water was very low and fish were very spooky.  We were still able to find a few fish that were not very cooperative. After hooking a couple fish we decided to move down stream a little bit.  We got into several great fish and even got some to eat dries.  Caddis and Blue Wing Olives are really starting to get going.  After finishing up on the Blue, we headed over to the Colorado around Parshall and were able to get into some really cool looking Brown Trout on Stonefly Nymphs.  Again, the BWO nymphs and adults were everywhere. Below are a few pictures of our day in Middle Park.

Metro Smallies

The South Platte River in metro Denver has been getting a lot more press lately.  Trout fishing seems to get better every year, and the carp fishing secret is out.  However, today I decided to target one of the other species that is prolific on the metro Platte.  Smallmouth Bass!!  The smallies seemed to be everywhere today.  Whether it was nymphing the slower runs or stripping streamers, the were on the feed.  I was able to land many and below are a couple of pictures.  As stated above, carp on the South Platte in town is becoming a staple so I could not just forget about them.  I was able to get into a few of them today as well, and saw one that was easily pushing the 30 lb mark.  As far as the trout are concerned in the high country, fishing is outstanding.  The South Platte, Blue, Taylor, Colorado, and pretty much anywhere else is all producing.  We have slipped past Spring and are into the beginning of summer.  Get out and fish.  Better yet, hire a guide, whether myself or someone else and let us show you the ropes. 

South Park: The Run is Done

Friday, Fred Gray and myself had a 4 person trip with a group of fun guys out for an annual Colorado fishing trip.  We headed out to South Park to see if there were any good lake fish still moving around.  While the fishing was still very good and the numbers were plentiful, the extra large Rainbows and Cutthroats had for the most part headed back to the lake.  In the afternoon we headed up above Spinney hoping that some big fish may still be around up there as well. Our fortunes were same.  On a personal trip yesterday, the middle and upper sections do have a good number of bigger fish eating well.  Midges and Blue Wing patterns are producing, as well as worm, leech, and scud patterns.  Below are a couple of pictures of some real nice Cutthroats Tim and Tom landed in the lower stretch of the Dream Stream. 

Back to the Roots

Fellow fly fisherman, Doug Hensel, shot me a text this afternoon asking me to meet him at one of the Denver area stillwaters.  Within 20 minutes I met up with Doug who was already working the water.  I only had a little time before the Rangers/Sens game 7 started and I really did not care what I caught.  While there were some Largemouth Bass in their prespawn moving around, I decided to take it back to the roots of fishing and catch as many Sunfish as I could. I probably have not caught a Bluegill since I was 11 or 12 years old and watching them come up and slam a dry fly sounded fun.  I think that it is important to remember what fishing meant to us as a little kid.  The pure fascination of dealing with something that lives in an underwater world is what drives us as beginner anglers.  While fishing for trophy trout and helping others do the same will always be my passion, remembering where it all started was a fun way to spend the afternoon.  Below are a few pictures of these little guys.  What they lack in size, I think they make up for it in their colors, fight, and how aggressive they attack a fly.  Oh, and Go Rangers!

Metro Carping

Today I had an a little time to kill and decided to go fishing here in Denver. After driving around trying to decide where I wanted to fish, I just decided to see if I could get into a Carp or two on the South Platte.  I chose a spot that usually holds a lot of carp, as well as trout, and begin walking the river.  With the flows being quite low, the fish were easy to see, but made them very spooky.  After several refusals to a streamer, I decided to try and put a San Juan and an egg right in there faces.  Finally, I got a couple fish to eat the worm.  After landing a couple of these Rocky Mtn Bonefish, I called it a day and came home.  In trout news, the fishing around the state is amazing right now.  The South Platte continues to see strong midge and BWO hatches.  Pheasant Tails and Barr Emerges are taking their fair share of fish.  The Caddis are really getting going on the Lower Arkansas, and Golden Stones are really starting to get moving around pretty much everywhere.  Take advantage of the nice weather and go fishing.  If you need a little help, hire a guide and help us get you into some fish and get a little instruction.  Below is a picture of one of the Carp I got into today. 

Blue Skies and Blue Wings

The last couple of days I have had a couple of trips down to some public water on the South Platte River.  The fishing continues to be good to very good, and on many days, excellent!  Today, Fred, Chris and myself guided a big 8 person bachelor party.  The fish were feeding very good on little BWO nymphs and stonefly nymphs.  There are a lot of bugs moving around right now and the fish are enjoying the feast.  We were also able to get a couple of fish to eat dries today.  All in all the entire South Platte continues to fish well.  The South Fork in South Park is still fishing very good, and a friend of mine has been fishing the Middle Fork with some great results.  Get out and go fishing...or better yet hire a guide and let us help put you on fish and fine tune your skills. Here are some pictures from today.

Stellar Day North Fork Private Water

Well today was a day to remember.  I would like to thank Doug for not only fishing with me today, but for serving our country overseas.  Doug and I had a great day today.  Right from the start Doug was hooking fish, and big ones!  We got into a ton real quality fish today, some over 25 or 26 inches.  However, these big guys managed to escape the net.  While nymphs produced incredibly well, we crushed them on big streamers as well.  After a great day, we ended with a couple of great fish and a tank of Brown Trout.  Thank you again Doug for a great, look forward to fishing with you again soon.  Below are some pictures of some great fish from today.