Fly Fishing Colorado

6/26

The beaver dam in Lair of the Bear park had held the water flow to a steady 44 CFS for almost two weeks.  A steady flow like this for Bear Creek should mean excellent fishing.  Throwing my gear in the car, I headed out for the Creek.  Arriving at the park about 9:30, I spotted a fellow fisherman gearing up for a run at the creek.  I watched him in his wading shorts, wading socks and boots with a Columbia wading shirt.  The ventilated mesh kind under a shoulder cape covering.  I introduced myself and spent about a half hour discussing the Creek, flies that were working and other fly fisherman talk.  Just before he left, he put one small fly box into a shirt pocket and off he went with rod in hand.  Here was a minimalist fisherman.  I could learn a lot from him.

After getting geared up, I headed off to take Bruin Bluff trail along the Creek down to Little Park in Idledale.  Arriving there about 15 minutes later, I carefully waded into casting postion in a likely looking pool with a nice run toward the far bank.  I put on a San Juan worm cluster on top and an #18 beadhead, gold ribbed hares ear on the bottom.  Some ten minutes later, the water came alive with hundreds of small gray or black midges hatching. And me with no Griffith Gnats to use for dry fly fishing.

Finally moving downstream one pool, I switched to a #16 GBGR hares ear on top and a #20 gray white wing rs2 emerger on bottom on 18 inches of 6X tippet.  Sure enough on the second drift, a scrappy brown about 10 inches long took my rs2.  This was an unusual brown with larger red spots than most of the browns I had seen in Bear Creek

In short order, I hooked and landed 3 or 4 more browns.  Working a cast some 6 inches off the far bank, the fly drifted into the faster water and headed down stream.  As it swung out toward the water fall at the tail of the pool, a good sized fish slammed the fly.  Then it headed toward cover under a rock at the far bank.  But I got it stopped and started to work it in when it jumped once and was gone.  About 15 inches, I estimated.  Over the course of the next 4 hours, I hooked that same fish 3 more times on the gray rs2 emerger and lost it. 

Heading back upstream, I found some nice pools and runs.  Hooked up with several more nice 10 to 12 inch browns in those runs.  And one lone 8 inch rainbow at the foot of a fast areated run.

Later after rest and lunch, I fished in O’Fallon park for a while.  Hooked a nice 10 to 12 inch brown in the Park.  Five o’clock and time to head for home.

As I rested in the car before heading out, I remember how my 7.5 foot T.L. Johnson 4pc 4wt had performed flawlessly during the day.  Delivering rollcasts on target.  Overhand casts upstream without snagging the trees.  And most of all, how alive the rod felt during casting or the play and landing of a fish.  A fly fishing show purchase for $139 for the rod and $128 for the reel.  A bargain indeed.

Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Marshall, Editor
www.fly-fishing-colorado.com
www.110flyfishingtips.com
www.troutadventures.com
Alaska Trout Fishing Information

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