Jurassic Park 21Jul13

Trundled into Jurassic Park on the Blue River. Arrived late ~10am but had a blast all day. I went further (probably >2mi) than previously and enjoyed fruits of the brutal trail downstream. Pools, pockets and runs... with the former being best holding spots. Flow was ~100cfs and the environment sublime. Best performing flies were the green drake #12 dry (woohoo) mid day and the black ice #20 BH mayfly nymph. Landed many fish using the new Sage One 5wt including a number of 16" rainbows and a couple awesome big browns, including the feature 19"er and a smidge smaller brute.

I was fishing and so was the snake, who landed a nice sculpin! I also braved a cliff climb to score a nice net lost by a fisherman earlier... I guess there is conservation of fishing gear in this canyon as I recovered this net but lost all my flourocarbon previously on a visit. Colorado is so cool.

Eagle River & Gore Creek 20Jul13

The Eagle did not land. On this day, near Minturn, at the concrete bridge and downstream at the Whiskey Access I caught only a small brown wading mid-day despite my casting brilliance with the new weapon. Maybe I didn't have the bugs or skills but I did consult Minturn Anglers, who were cool. Hoping for a beer and pizza to blunt the AM's dismal performance, I headed back to Minturn. I wasn't waited on in 15 min despite engaging the waitress with my normal snappy repartee. Cliff bar then off to Gore Ck, a little POed. Ominous beginning and I will eschew further attacks on the Eagle.

Much higher water than when I fished this Gore Ck Gold Medal run last time. I was interrupted with a score of IMs and eMails regarding work but still managed a decent afternoon on Gore Ck (recovering the dismal Eagle experience). I caught a half doz browns with 2 nice ones ~12-14" but no pics of those as I dropped both before getting the evidence; enclosed is a smaller one. Here the ticket was a #14 tan caddis trailing an olive tiny or flashy micro-mayfly. The Winston 4 wt was perfect for flicking the dries to the right spots along shore. The fishing definitely was picky but improved past 5pm.  I will return to Gore Ck in the fall when I can read the holding spots more clearly.

Tomahawk SWA @ Better Flow 19Jul13

Hit the Middle Fk of So Platte on the way to Silverthorne on Fri PM. Flows were strong yet I was able to land many smaller browns and rainbows. The storms were rolling in a spit on me a bit but still the trip was worthwhile.

Tomahawk SWA on Middle Fk of So Platte 03Jul13

The water was raging. My normal tactic using smallish electric stimulator and olive/chartreuse dropper was challenged due to flows. Nonetheless we ultimately turned the corner on this intimate brown trout haven (caught rainbows too). They're tiny but plentiful and fun.

Green Mtn Rez Tailwater of Blue 03Jul13

Till the freestones subside I love tailwaters. When in Silverthorne during summer I don't fight crowds on the Dillon Rez tailwater of the Blue, I head north to the 2nd great tailwater of the Blue... the effluent of the Green Mtn Rez. Mayfly nymphs led by stonefly nymphs were the combo that yielded these 17" trout. The river yields about 1/2 brown and 50% rainbow or so and has great bugs in the afternoon. Most productive fly was a black ice mayfly nymph this day... a number were taken without the spooky indicator. This is a fierce canyon lined by a goat path so get ready to work it if you go... you know from the start as a the entry trail is steep and sketchy. If you find my tippet let me know... jostling around dislodged my holder from my vest and I lost a bunch of fluorocarbon.

Arkansas River BHSC In Summertime 07Jul13

Hit  BHSC of the Arki this morning for several hours and did OK. The "lower" Arkansas is great as you match the fly to  the season... chartreuse in spring, yellow in summer, and orange/red in fall. I was in lower BHSC so landed all 10"-14" browns this day. Deadliest fly was the lead, foam "yellow" stone/sally beast... they all hit it hard. The PMD emerger dropper was a gold BH flashy ice thing which yielded just one. Framing the fish is an issue since going solely to phone's camera.

Grape Ck Fishing Boys 15Jun13

Though the Royal Gorge fire raged nearby and the Black Forrest fire threatened friends' homes and our normal rivers were swollen with runoff, it was again time to fish. We hit Grape Ck @ Bear Gulch, a tailwater of DeWeese Rez and part of the Arkansas River system. Grape Ck drains the Wet Mtns and is accessed west of Canon City and other spots. The winning rig was made of attractor dries and BH mayfly droppers. Sometimes you dredge the deep holes, but I prefer the top water action. Oodles of fish this warm day in June.