Sunday, July 29, 2012

Colorado Trip

Just got back from an awesome trip in Colorado.  Over three fishing days I got to fish for brown, rainbow, brook, and cutthroat trout in the rivers and streams in the Denver area and Rocky Mountain National Park.  The weather was great, the streams were in great shape, and the fish were very aggressive. 

The first stop was Boulder Creek.  Fished in town and the canyon stretch.  Both sections produced a lot of fish on small streamers, nymphs, beatles, and hoppers. 






South Boulder Creek in Eldorado Canyon was the next creek I got to fish. The fish were very aggressive here also.  There were lots of other people out enjoying the park, but only 1 other person was fishing, so the fish weren't fished over much which made the catching a lot easier.  Fish were caught mostly on nymphs here, but also got some on buggers and hoppers too.  Even got the first rainbow of the trip here.





The next day was the trek up to Rocky Mountain National Park in search of my first cutthroat trout.  Fished the Roaring River above the Aluvial Fan waterfalls but didn't catch or even spook any fish.  It was still early in the morning so the fish might not of been that active yet.  By the time I got to the lower stretch it warmed up a bit and I eventually got into my first fish of the day, a wild native greenback cutthroat!  Also managed to get a couple more cutties and even a brookie. 








After lunch I fished the Big Thompson River, Lily Lake, and the North and South Saint Vrain Rivers.  Caught one beautiful wild rainbow in the Big Thompson and had lots of other rainbows and browns look at my flies but weren't interested in eating them.  Caught nothing in Lily Lake, but did see another fisherman hook a nice cutthroat.  Caught a few browns in the Saint Vrain Rivers in the park and in the downstream areas.  Didn't catch nearly as many fish this day, but the cutties and just visiting the RMNP made up for it. 






The last fishing destination of the trip was Clear Creek.  This creek didn't seem to hold a lot of fish compared to the other rivers I fished, but I still caught a bunch of energetic browns and a little rainbow. 



The scenery was spectacular along every stream I fished, saw a little bit of wildlife, and fish fish were plentiful and very colorful.  It was definitely a great trip and I can't wait to go back someday!