Craig Dull, Craig’s friend, Rich Ward, and I (Jim Franke) embarked on a fishing trip to Colorado, September 10 -14. Arriving at the Denver Airport on Monday afternoon we were anxious to get on the water and vowed to fish that afternoon, if only for a few hours. We stopped in the “Flies and Lies” fly shop in Deckers to find out about the water conditions and get some tips on where to fish nearby on the South Platte River. Armed with an assortment of size 20 flies and not much more, we set out on the river at Trumbull, about two miles north of Deckers. Fishing in mid afternoon was slow to say the least. Then just as the sun began to fade, I landed a nice Rainbow on an Elk Hair Caddis. We weren’t able to stay for the evening hatch as we needed to get to Woodland Park to meet up with Rich. Still we viewed this single rising Rainbow as a sign our luck would change in the morning.
The next morning the three of us met up with our Landon Mayer supplied guide, Ian Harpe, to fish the Dream Stream. Ian provided a primer on “sight fishing” and proceeded to get each of us on fish, although landing them proved to be a challenge. All told we netted four or five nice Rainbows, Browns and one Cutbow, and lost as many as we landed. These fish are feisty and you really need to know when to walk or run with them, down, up, and down river again, and when to wind the reel and when to let ‘em run.
The next day we set out for the upper section of Eleven Mile Canyon. The morning air was crisp and fish could be seen in the water everywhere. Craig and I each landed nice Rainbows within minutes. Wow, this was going to be easy! The next few hours proved that to be wrong. As the sun hit the water, the fish disappeared, presumably to deep pools. Unable to sight fish, we landed a few more in the deep pools and riffles. Rich had landed four nice Rainbows that day and, even though we didn’t land a lot of fish, the ones we got were all in the 16” – 17” range, not to mention that in the early morning, this place had been nothing short of magical. Accordingly, we readily agreed to return to the same spot the next day. The next morning the fish were rising and there was a hatch that, at times, looked like snow. They were Tricos. After trying several small dries unsuccessfully, I finally tried what I had always heard, but had never seen – “match the hatch”. I tied on a Trico Spinner and made several casts. At first, nothing, but then, just as I was about to give up in despair, the water splashed and the fight was on. I landed a nice Rainbow! With my new found confidence, I proceeded to hook four more, casting the Trico Spinner, just as Ian had instructed, five feet above the fish. Of the four more I hooked, I was only able to land two – still this was awesome – I had learned to sight fish and match the hatch! We all had a great time and are looking forward to another Colorado trip!
