Overnight In The Snowy Range

Saturday morning Floyd, his trusty sidekick Dakota, and I headed into the back country for a camping and fly fishing trip. With a couple moose sightings on the way up, we then headed to a remote lake at about 10,800 feet that is off the beaten path. Camp was set up on a level and forested bluff overlooking the lake and it was time to fish! Brook trout riseforms pockmarked the surface in a consistent fashion and we spent the evening working the lake in peaceful solitude. Trout were rising to my beetle pattern preferring it over the trailing mayfly. Eventually the beetle was shredded and we both thought dinner sounded like a good plan. I fired up the Jetboil for a little dehydrated sustenance and then in the approaching evening dusk threw a black bugger to some more consistent action. A nice campfire and some Old Chub ales to end the night and we were off to slumber for more trout to come on Sunday. After listening to coyote howls and a few elk bugles throughout the night and early morning, we got up and had breakfast then worked the water some more with fish falling for buggers early on and then moving to nice big hoppers on the surface. Midday arrive and we packed up and headed to two more lakes that were on the way out to the trailhead. Both proved fruitful with additional brookies pounding the hoppers and the final lake producing some of the largest trout of the trip. After arriving back at the car we realized how lucky we were to be able to spend the night in the back country in total seclusion. The storm clouds and rain were just starting to form as we headed back down the highway to town... perfect timing.

After Dinner Brook Trout

After a nice dinner I loaded the three weight in the car and up the hill it carried me to find a few brook trout rising and chasing a stripped para adams. They really seemed most interested in seeing it in motion just below the surface. A few violent attacks and a couple found their way to my feet where they seemed to know it was time to be released. Very pretty little fish in a lake that was alive with midges and trout taking them with no subtlety at all.

Moon over the lake


The sunset as evening expired

Rainy Cutthroats

In to the mountains this evening, a nice night to be out. I watched the temperature drop from the valley floor at 75 degrees to 46 degrees at the parking area to start the walk to the lake. Upon arrival, the rain began and quickly turned to a very cold hail/rain mix. I worked top water with a para adams and did well finding a splake to start the evening and a nice selection of recently added cutthroats. This should bode well for the coming years. They do well at other lakes at this altitude and this one has a lot of depth and surface area. It was nice to see so many of them in here. I watched an osprey take advantage of the bonanza as well smashing a trout in the middle of the rain storm. Moving on later in the evening, I tried to find some brook trout at another lake but the few strikes I had either missed the fly entirely or were too small to take the fly in their mouth. As the temperature dropped I headed out and stopped to watch the resident pair of bull moose for a short while. They have been causing many moose jams this summer as they tend to prefer a particular willow patch right along the road.

Finding The Cutthroats

Searching out new cutthroat water is something I really enjoy. I have a love affair with these trout and the places they reside. I just never tire of these beautiful fish. When I discovered some information on a relatively close piece of water that supposedly holds cutthroats, I jumped at the chance to hike in and test it out. The hike in was not an easy one by any means. The first mile of trail is approximately a 1000 foot gain in elevation and I was having flashbacks to the week before when following in the footsteps of Shoe. At least this was a well established trail and did not require any bushwacking. After arriving at the lake, there were a few sporadic rises. A good omen when scanning new water. I opted for a hopper with a trailing adams as my searching setup and was immediately getting those slow rising cutthroat strikes. The fish were beautifully colored and seemed to be of two varieties, greenback cutthroat trout and snake river finespotted cutthroat trout. The snake rivers really light up in the fighting department. They are noticeably stronger and also seemed to be heavier and of an older age class than the greenbacks I was landing. A hail storm ran me off the water to cover for a little while but it quickly passed as I enjoyed a late lunch. Afterward, there were some more rising fish but eventually they subsided. I went to a midge indicator setup and landed another nice snake river cutthroat to end the day and head back down the trail. Beautiful fish and scenery combined to make this a trip I will have to take again this fall.

South Park Goodness

I headed into South Park for a shot at some big reservoir rainbows and to test out my new waders. With an early start, I was on the water in the calm of the morning and started working with a callibaetis and midge indicator set up. There wasn't much going on for the first hour or so but the waders tested out well and there were no problems on that front. At this point a boat approaches and it's MW and SP up for the morning fishing and they are into fish as is usually the case. They invited me aboard and whisked me across the lake to a hot location that seemed to be chocked full of healthy rainbows with a few cutthroats mixed in as well. These two guys have this place down to a science and it was a real treat to watch them work the water. I learned a ton about this place just listening to them and observing. They also had a great private reserve of fine beers along with lunch that they readily shared with me. I can't thank them enough for such a fun outing. It was quite luxurious compared to my normal day of wade fishing. Scott had the fish of the day, a beautiful rainbow which he lovingly romanced through the art of dance. Definitely a great day on the water that I will always remember. Thanks guys once again for showing me the ropes and a great day out. The only strange thing that happened was having my Midarbor reel fail after putting a trout on it. I am not sure what happened but the drag gave up the ghost after landing the fish and the reel will have to go back to Orvis for repair or replacement.

On the way home I stopped at Florissant Fossil Beds and hiked the Petrified Forest Loop trail as well as checked out the visitor center. It is quite a place with the giant petrified redwood stumps and the story behind their formation. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend stopping and checking it out.

The Rainbow Dance


Pictures from the day