Fly Fishing Colorado

3/1/08

The morning of Saturday March 1 was one of those Colorado days where the weather was trying to make up its mind to be warm or not.  A gray overcast covered most of the Denver metro area.  But the weather gurus had promised a day in the high 60’s or low 70’s air temperatures.  However, there was a front coming in later in the afternoon with blustery winds and snow starting in the evening through Sunday.  And they were right on.  Sunday has been close to blizzard conditions in the metro area.  On the plains I-70 is closed in both directions.  I-70 westbound is closed at Lookout Mountain just west of the metro area.

By 10 AM, Saturday morning was glorious.  Sunshine temperatures in mid 60’s and rising.  No major winds.  A great day to check out the South Platter River south of Chatfield Reservoir in the southwest corner of the metro area. I was looking forward to seeing how the river looked and fished because I had not been on this stretch in some 30 years.

I parked in the South Platte River parking lot in the south end of the park.  After getting geared up, I talked to several fly fishermen that tried the river on Friday and Saturday morning.  They had not seen a fish, no rises, no hatches and no one had caught any thing.  Some of the spin fishermen I talked to said they had not even had a strike.

Ah but not to worry, I was there to try out a new Orvis Clearwater II fly rod, the Thingamabobber strike indicators and take stream pictures to include in the Real World Fly Fishing pc game.  The day was beautiful.  Just the chance to wade in a stream was worth the drive.

Water Flow = 60 CFS low but fishable
Water Temp = 40 degrees Farenheit
Water Clarity = Excellent 3+ feet with bottom structure visible
Insect Activity = none - no hatches and no underwater activity either.  The stream bottom everywhere except in runs was coated with a fine silt.  I did see some 1/2 inch analid worms attached to the top of rocks and a couple of rock caddis cases attached to the sides of fist sized rocks.
Fish Activity = None — None spotted, no rises forms, no flashes nothing.  But I suspect in a couple of weeks that will be different.  When flows get to 120 consistently, I expect to see some fish moving up from the reservoir.

About a stream mile from the bridge near the parking lot is a beaver dam.  The beaver has built his overflow by a downed big log.  The water is fast and narrow with a nice pool on the far side of the outlet.  Just downstream is a large pool that is some 3 feet deep at 60 CFS.  When we hit runoff, that pool will be about 8 feet deep. Several large rocks and some medium ones on the bottom offer pretty good fish shelter.

If we do get a runoff of 800 or 900 CFS for a couple of months this year, the beaver dam will be out in the lake.  Then the Park Rangers will not have to remove it.  Also the fish will have an easier time moving up the stream in the summer and fall.

I did get some great stream shots of pretty water that should hold fish later this year.  All in all a nice morning to be out.  Oh yes, the Clearwater II rod casts like a dream.

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