Fly Fishing Colorado
Flyfishing Colorado Stream Report
7/28/06
Today, I caught over 100 trout on a twenty-five year old Orvis Fly Rod.
Yes it is true. Using my 25 or 28 year old Orvis "Golden Eagle"; 2 pc; 6 1/2 foot; 4 wt line; full flex; fiberglass fly rod, I hooked and released over 120 trout from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Bear Creek west of Denver, Colorado. Air temperature was in the 80's and hot by 10 a.m.
In the morning I hooked and released one 15 inch brown and one 13 or 14 inch rainbow in Bar Pool plus several small 8 or 10" browns. Fishing was slow in the morning. The water was running 36 CFS and murky. Visibility was only some 2 to 3 feet. I don't know the cause of the murkiness but murky water means bead head nymphing for me.
Most of my morning fishing was with a three nymph rig. Number 14 bead head, flashback, gold ribbed hares ear on top, a number 16 bh gr pheasant tail middle and a number 18 female Adams wet fly on the bottom. I caught most of the morning fish on the Adams female.
The leader system was a 7 1/2 foot RIO leader tapered to 5X, then a 9 inch piece of 6x to the 2nd fly and a 9 inch piece of 7X to the tail fly.
As I said morning fishing was slow. After eating lunch and resting, I fished the east end of O'Fallon park for an hour. About 2 p.m., I was back at Big Rock Pool at the middle picnic area. Generally this is not a productive area for me. Some 15 minutes into fishing this pool, my rig snagged up and I lost the bottom two flies. Tying on a number 16 GR FB BH hares ear top and a number 16 Tellico nymph as a bottom fly, I went back to fishing a two nymph rig.
The Tellico was the success story. In my first cast to the far feeder run, I hooked a feisty little 10 inch rainbow who released himself a moment later. High sticking for the first part of the drift. Then lowering the rod tip to the water and following the drift to the end produced several more bows on the swing end of the drift. After some 30 casts, the fish were on to my flies.
So I moved to a little sand bar and pool that divided the main current into two feeder runs. Standing in this little pool I fished the smaller feeder run that runs into the large round rock in the middle of the pool. On almost every cast down this smaller run, I would hook up with an 8 to 10 inch rainbow. The trick was lowering the rod tip to just above the water and following the drift. This produced a very natural drag free drift. At the end of the drift, I would use a "Leisenring" Lift to simulate a caddis hatching. This action produced a trout on every cast. Also holding the rod tip high with line and leader off the water and "skittering" the flies back and forth would often produce a vicious strike.
Standing in this one little pool and fishing back and forth between the two feeder runs, I caught and released over 35 small rainbows. Some other 20 fish caught and released themselves due to my inability to react fast enough.
In the Lair Of The Bear Park, I used some traditional upstream nymphing in several larger pools and would catch an occasional rainbow on the hares ear. But the consistent producer was the Tellico Nymph fished wet style with a "Leisenring" Lift at the end of the drift. Proving again presentation of the fly is every thing to a trout.
Total fish hooked and released in the afternoon was over 100 which is a new first for me. They were not all big but were a blast to catch.
| Location | Bear Creek at O'Fallon Park and Lair of the Bear Park |
| Date | Friday 7/28/2006 |
| CFS | 36.2 CFS and dropping |
| Water Temps | Unknown -- did not take it. |
| Water Clarity | Very murky for this time of year -- about 2 to 3 feet. |
| Weather | Air Temps mid 80s most of day and hot. Skies were clear and sunny. Another great day to be outside flyfishing Colorado. |
| Hatches | Several small grey midge hatches size about 34 or 36. |
| Patterns Used | Morning -- #14 GR FB BH hares ear point fly. #16 BH GR pheasant tail in middle and a #18 gray Adams female emerger wet fly as a tail fly on 7X tippet. In afternoon and early evening, a number 16 BH GR FB hares ear point fly and a number 16 Tellico Nymph tail fly. The Tellico was the fish getter. Over 100 trout. Almost all small rainbows but fun to catch. |
| Techniques | Morning was dead drifts without any indicator using a number 8 or number 6 Dinsmore egg shot depending on current flow. Afternoon -- no weights just the two nymph rig. With dead drifts to even with me then lower the rod tip to the water and follow the line to produce a drag free drift. Letting the line swing out straight at the end of the drift would usually produce a good strike or a hooked fish. If not the "Leisingring" Lift to simulate a rising caddis or skittering the flies back and forth would often produce a solid strike. |
| Overall Fishing Rating | Outstanding and awesome. This was the best day fishing I have ever had. The fish were not large but fun and had to be fooled same as larger trout. |
| Fishing Forecast | Fishing was good and should remain so while flows are over 20 CFS. Below 20 CFS, I won't fish Bear Creek. The pressure on the fish is too intense. Precise casting into small pockets behind rocks will generally produce one fish. Don't neglect any run that has a depth of 1 foot or more. The aerated water and a medium rock bottom will hide some rainbows and the occasional brown. Try using a number 16 or number 18 Tellico nymph in the afternoon and late evening. Bear Creek often has a good caddis hatch in the late afternoon and evening. |
| Comments | |
| Reported By | Marshall, Editor Fly Fishing Colorado |
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