I’m not an entomologist but I think this is gonna be a buggy summer. I’m on the banks of the South Platte just north of downtown and there is a storm of caddis moving around. Not unusual but I think that this more gradual spring is going to allow for larger bugs. The theory is the more gradual increase in temps is allowing more maturity time.
I’ve also noticed a good quantity of hoppers in my yard. Small ones appeared weeks ago and the ones yesterday were bigger. This is surprising but it may also be that I’m putting more time into the lawn and gardens this spring and noticing this for the first time.

I need to make it to Bear Creek for some hopper dropper fishing. Maybe I can get out for a couple this Sunday- there’s also a great BBQ joint on the way home.

The tailwater in 2009

We almost didn’t go, the reports of flooding in town made me hesitate, but we still went. As far as the fishing, I couldn’t tell ya how it was, I never made it to the river. The trip was planned weeks before my wife broke her thumb- a random accident involving a dog that is always under foot. I have since been able to double my chores around the house and really take on the Mr. Mom role.

Back to Steamboat. I was ready to hit the water for at least a few hours but broken digits can make you cranky and an energetic toddler takes two if not three hands to manage. Fishing- not gonna happen. Totally bummed.

As for the good part of the trip, we had a great Easter egg hunt at Steamboat Lake State Park. It was a pancake breakfast followed by the hunt held by some local group as a school fundraiser. The kiddo had a blast and didn’t stop talking about the Easter bunny.

These are all worth a look.

Colorado Fly Fishing Reports

The Hopper Juan

Poudre Canyon Chronicles by Midge Man

I recently became the proud owner of a great storage solution- a DeBourgh Manufacturing locker. It’s made in Colorado from all American steel. The construction is unbelievably solid- every non-moving part is welded and it’s made from 18 gauge steel with a powder coated finish. This will last a lifetime. It was a sample so it has a mix of latch styles, doors and metal options but the thing is bomber. The tall side is fully vented with hooks to hang my waders and to dry my boots and the other compartments hold my packs, jackets and other gear.

DeBourgh recently launched their Basecamp Series targeted specifically to outdoor sportsmen. They aren’t cheap but either is the gear your gonna put in them, so it’s worth the investment.

Last time I landed my fair share and missed many more. I blame the lost ones on too small of a net so no excuses this year cause a new larger net is ready to go. The flies of choice last year were  mercury black beauties and what I call an mercury black beauty emerger. Same as the BB but with emerging wings made from white antron.

The first time there after getting skunked, an old timer in the parking lot shared that a Serendipity was his winner.  Throughout the following season, I refined my technique of tying and fishing with the BB emerger and it has since become one of my go-to patterns. So that’s what I used the last time at the ‘coach and it did not disappoint. I didn’t really think about it then but my BB emerger is very similar to a Serendipity but with a more realistic slim profile. I have a ton of Serendipities in several colors and sizes if anybody wants them.

So last night I spent some time to stock up the BBs a a few other nymph patterns. I’m also gonna tie up some Clown Shoe Caddis to resemble small stones or to use as an indicator.

mercury black beauties

Hot Spot Midges

So here we are, well into spring and runoff isn’t far. I had a fun hour on Clear Creek yesterday. I overheard my wife on the phone making plans for someone to come over to play date with the little ones. I took about 20 seconds for me to put the plan together- grab my shit and hit the road- simple enough. I haven’t been out a ton yet this year, too much going on with too many things so my gear was in a bit of disarray. For the most part it was all together since I installed a new gear storage locker last weekend. Gear was in the truck, grab the dog, kiss the baby and wife and I’m out.

Flows in Golden were 64 CFS with clarity around 24″. I was on the water around 3:30 at tunnel #1 and there were only a few rock climbers messing around. The wind was rocking and almost sent me packing but I was only gonna be out for an hour + anyway. First up was an 8″ brown on a PT, then a 6″ on hot spot merc black beauty the a decent 12″ brown on a black copper john. Then I got a text that the play date was over and dinner was next o the agenda. Good enough. Luna was ready to head home too.

I came up with this pattern after a long not-so-productive day on the South Platte River. I was having a few problems that day- first, my weight kept sliding down to the hook and second, I kept snagging the bottom. Snagging the bottom wasn’t that big of a deal because it was were I wanted to be and it provided the inspiration for this killer. I would have to clean my hook after every snag and most of the time a cased caddis was on there, so this represents the larvae peeking out of the case.

The pattern was designed to do two things- be a more stealthy weight for the smart trout around Deckers and attract a little attention to the fly below it. I always run a dropper off of the eye, usually a small midge pattern. And as it turns out, it also catches the well educated South Platte trout. 

The last thing the pattern needed was a good name. So it’s named after the Neil Young song, “Cortez the Killer”. Here’s the ingredients to tie your own.

• Hook TMC 3761
• black thread
• Tungsten bead
• lead wire-  wrap it behind the bead to help build the taper
• Ice peacock dubbing or peacock herl- dubbing has been my choice lately
• brown hackle- doesn’t matter what size, just wrap it close and then trim it off when the fly is done. This adds texture
• copper wire
• chartreuse ice dubbing- this is the caddis larvae, you can try any color

Made it up to Clear Creek again and had a great time. Explored a little more and found some great stretches. It’s hard to spot fish so I had to use my favorite searching pattern to find them. And once you do, you’ll catch a few pretty darn quickly. The flow was a bit lower, around 60 cfs in Golden. 

Clear Creek Canyon offers miles of public access.

I made it out to Clear Creek yesterday afternoon and fished the canyon. It was my first time fishing it and had a good time. The weather was sunny and warm, around 50 degrees with a bit of wind. The water was as clear as it probably gets, cold and flowing around 70 CFS at Golden.

I hit the water around 2:30 and fished for 2 hours. Clear Creek is a great choice for a quick trip when your looking for something a little bigger than Bear Creek. I landed  a small brown on a red midge pattern and then decided to try some streamer fishing. Right away, 2 larger fish maybe 12″-15″, were on the chase. I need to practice fishing streamers. I should have had those two.

I them drove up stream to another good looking stretch. I have to say, it is steep down to the water with loose dirt- be careful. I kept with the streamer but nothing so I switched to an emerging midge weighted with about 5 lbs of tungsten. I moved around a little and was thinking that it was great that I didn’t see any other anglers and just then a dude was just down stream from me. I stayed put at a nice tail-out and worked it. Just as the guy was walking past me I landed a decent brown and then two casts later a 11″ rainbow. The dude was just staring. I said “Hey.” but no reply.

It’s been four years since I started fly fishing and have really come a long way. I remember getting skunked all the time and seeing other dudes land fish left and right as I struggled to untangle my line. Not any more, my friends. There isn’t many things better than going to new water and landing fish in flies you tied. Love it.