Fly Fishing Colorado

Colorado is perfect for a fly fishing vacation with over 2,000 lakes plus 6,000 stream miles. Recently I ran across a ranch where you can fly fish for 18 different species of trout.

Trout included are:

1. Brown Trout
2. Rainbow Trout
3. Cutthroat
4. Cutbow
5. Cameloop Rainbow
6. Donaldson Trout
7. Donaldson Rainbow
8. Eastern Brook Trout
9. German Brown Trout
10. Greenback Cutthroat (Colorado State Fish)
11. Tasmanian Rainbow
12. Tasmanian Cutbow
13. Tiger Brown Trout
14. Snakeriver Trout
15. Steelhead Trout
16. Wild Brook Trout
17. Montana Brook Trout
18. Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

The fish are contained in small ponds and lakes. Fly fishing is only allowed from the shore and is all catch and release. No wading or boats. Some of these trout are large enough to snap 3X leaders so don’t fool yourself into thinking they are lightweights.

Other activities at the ranch include hunting and snowmobiling in the winter. The scenery is spectacular and just watching is ok too. The BAR ZX ranch can be reached from Delta or from Glenwood Colorado. Driving Directions

Accomodations – The Ranch has a 12 guest lodge with basic amenities. view pictures of the Bar ZX Ranch Lodge

As with most good things, there is a cost to stay at the Ranch. Hunting Fees  Fishing Fees A Colorado Fishing License is required. Rates are on the fishing fees page. Fishing season is roughly 6/1 through 9/30. 

Dean and Family are the type of down home folks you would expect to find on a ranch. If you want to really get away and relax the BAR ZX is one place for quiet plus good fishing.  (See slideshow in the right sidebar. Shows tiger trout, large rainbow, ponds are handicapped accessable. And Don a High Plains Drifters member with an 18 inch brook trout. Don is the one in the cowboy hat.)

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
Everything you need for fly fishing
The Stores at Fly Fishing Colorado
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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Friday 5/29 was an interesting day on Bear Creek. The flow had come down to around 65 CFS from 80+ due to rains in the area earlier in the week. Water color of light coffee and I could not see bottom at 2 feet depth.

Air temp was in high 70s and sky clear much of the day. No hatch activity in the morning. Light caddis hatchs in the afternoon around 2 pm. I started at bar pool in O’Fallon park. There was work going on and the pool yielded no strikes on my czech nymph rig. I had a Vladi woven brown nymph on bottom and a 16 beadhead, goldribbed, flashback hares ear on dropper. The hares ear is one of my favorite flies about anywhere in Colorado. It can represent a caddis, a mayfly or a stonefly depending on color and how it is tied.

Fish it rolling along the bottom and let the current bring it to the surface, then swing gently in to the bank for a stone fly. Same process but hold the fly on the surface and twitch the rod tip gently for motion before pick up. This will often cause an impluse strike. Same drift and to let current bring to surface. Hold momentarily then a lob cast upstream. The abrupt pickup can imitate a caddis taking off and cause a strike.

In any case O’Fallon only yielded 4 dinks during the morning. So I moved upstream to fish the Episcopal Church property on east edge of Evergreen. With the water up, there are some interesting holes and runs on this stretch. I had changed out my Vladi nymph for a green caddis with a black head. The hole by the bridge which leads to the tunnel gave up a dozen fish in the 4 to 10 inch class. Then I wrapped my flies around two branches with an errant cast.

During my fishing here, I had started adding a slight rod tremble during the drift and rise. For me this is starting to come naturally. The result was a bit more action to the flies and more fish. After losing my flies, I rerigged with a pink body and a gray throax czech nymph on bottom and another 16 GBGRFB hares ear on top. So far the hares ear was producing about 3 to 1 for the czech nymph.

Downstream, I fished some fast runs catching a few small bows and browns before losing my bottom nymph in the rocks. Another $2.50 down the stream. I rerigged with a #14 ugly commercial gold ribbed purple flashback hares ear with white goose biot tails and weight above and below the dropper. The purple flashback is a really weird fly. But it started producing fish the rest of the day. I have never had it work well anyplace but Bear Creek.

Then I moved back to the pool by the bridge where I lost my flies. After a few casts, I looked across at the bush to spot the place I had lost my flies. Sure enough with my new Smith Optics sunglasses, I spotted the gold bead on the 16 GB hares ear among the leaves. So I put my gear in the car and went to retrieve my flies.

Moving around a couple of bends into Evergreen, I fished some holes that have always produced for me. Wading out to water over my knees, I started dropping casts into a near seam. The weighted nymph rig sank quickly to the bottom. Some six casts later, I was fast to a good fish. One of the head shaking kind. After a nice fight, a fat 15 inch brown emerged on the surface. I was able to hold him for 3 quick pictures before removing the hook. I revived him using my upstream leg as a water break which was pretty cool.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, I hooked and released 5 more fish between 10 and 13 inches. All fat and healthy.  Then I drove down to Little Park in Idledale to finish my day. Caught a few more small fish before heading home. Tired, sweaty and happy. A great day on stream with some 20+ fish and some ideas for a new fly to try out.

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
Everything you need for fly fishing
The Stores at Fly Fishing Colorado
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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The 2009 "Montana Fly Fishing" season is here!

Fishing and water conditions are looking great for the entire season!

Five Rivers Lodge is located in southwest Montana’s Beaverhead and Big Hole watersheds. Precipitation in our local mountains is fantastic with the snowpack sitting above 120%. This means we’ll have floatable, super-charged rivers all season. In the past, lower water conditions and warmer temperatures sometimes have diminished insect hatches. This year we expect the ample water supply will yield tremendous hatches which should produce exceptional fishing.

Spring fishing this year has been off the charts and we feel it’s going to do nothing but get better. The Mothers’ Day Caddis hatch was crazy as the cooler temps have the Big Hole River at the perfect level and clarity. And next. . .the 747s of the bug world, Salmon Flies. We’re already catching fish on large Stone Flies, so the bottom must have a ton of them for the trout to munch on. Then, it’s on to July, August, September, and into October with some of the best Hopper fishing in the world, along with May Flies, Caddis, Spruce Moths, and Tricos.

The Beaverhead River, as always, is going to be excellent. With the reservoir filling with snowmelt, the flow rates will be consistent and the Yellow Sally, Pale Morning Duns, Caddis, Crane Flies, Blue Wing Olives, and Terrestials will flourish. This in turn, will produce some of the best fishing in North America. According to Montana state fish biologists, recent shocking shows the most trout in the 3 to 4 year old range since they have been keeping records. This means an abundance of 18" fish.

With the great water conditions, the Ruby, Jefferson, and Madison Rivers also should build on last year’s great fishing and fish better than they have in many years.

Photo ops of fish could be at an all time high. We hope you can take advantage of this outstanding season and our booking special to come spend some time with us at Five Rivers Lodge.

Please download the PDF file for the
Five Rivers Lodge booking specials.

We are offering a one of a kind opportunity
to pick up some cool gear for FREE

If the Five Rivers Lodge asks where you saw this special, tell them on fly-fishing-colorado blog.

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
Everything you need for fly fishing
The Stores at Fly Fishing Colorado
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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The High Plains Drifters Federation of Fly Fishers annual Kid’s Day event will be coming up on Jun 20th. Kid’s Day is for kids age 6 or 7 to 14 to learn about fly fishing. We still have room for about 10 more kids. All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to the event, the enrollment fee is $15 which includes lunch, who to contact and other information is available from the Kids Day 2009 link below. (Pat Dorsey local expert guide, fly fisherman, and author will be teaching the kids about fly fishing. FFF certified  fly casting instructors will be teaching the students casting)

 Jun 20th Kids Day – HPD members and local experts help kids learn about fly fishing. Events include fish identification, bug / entomology/ fly tying demonstrations / casting basics / practice casting with fly rods / fishing for trout, bluegill, bass or other pan fish / and the best part Lunch.  The event is held at the Kassler Environmental Education Center with fishing at nearby Lake Lehow. The 2008 Kids Day was a great success. Let’s make Kids Day 2009 even better. Down load the poster for Kids Day 2009  (PDF format- requires the Adobe PDF reader) and start circulating it to your friends with kids that don’t yet fly fish.
 

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
Everything you need for fly fishing
The Stores at Fly Fishing Colorado
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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5/28/09

Tuesday 5/19/09 set a record high here in Denver. Lots of sunshine all day. But a great day for fishing Bear Creek.

I was all tricked out with my new Smith Optics prescription sunglasses, new double zinger and a new hook threader plus a tippet post with floatant holder. After taking a half hour to get the tippet post apart, set up and reassembled I was ready to hit the stream. With all this great new gear, I just had to catch fish.

Flow was about 77 CFS with the water more murky than on 5/14/09. Hard to see the bottom. I rigged up a czech nymph outfit with a #12 Gray body – Pink Thorax tung bead weighted scud on bottom and a #14 Greg’s Emerger on the dropper. I tied the dropper with 5X coming off the 3X main leader using a blood knot with one 5X leg about 10 inches longer than the 3X leg.

This rig worked well in the first hole I fished with the czech nymph bouncing on the bottom.  The nymph hooked a nice fish on the 3rd or 4th drift. But I lost it by horsing too much. Some 8 or 10 drifts went by before the Greg’s Emerger produced a small 6 inch brown. Then the nymph caught a nice fat 10 inch brownie. Several more browns came to the czech nymph or the Greg’s emerger, then action died. Moving to the next pool up stream, I hooked a scrappy 11 inch brown on the emerger. That was it for that pool except for a couple of missed strikes.

Fishing pretty much died around 12:30 as it so often does in Colorado. Lunch and a brief nap. Then back to it at old Dam hole. One of the big trees had split from one of the last snowstorms and fallen into the Creek. This changed the whole structure of the pool by directing more water against the opposite bank with sand / dirt being deposited behind the tree. I worked the pool from tail toward the fast riffles at the head. This is a big pool about 200 feet long. Caught several dink browns on the emerger and on a #20 gray RS2 I had tied to the bend of the nymph. (3 Nymph rig now)

Probably caught about 8 fish in this hole, some 8 more out of a couple of deep runs upstream including a double hook up. Six inch brown on the czech nymph and an 8 inch brown on the emerger dropper. Moving on downstream to Corwina Park East, I hooked 4 to 7 inch browns for over an hour before fishing died off. Total for the day was 27 fish. Pretty good day.

Does Czech Nymphing work (or short line weighted nymphing) ? You bet it does.

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
Everything you need for fly fishing
The Stores at Fly Fishing Colorado
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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