Bear Creek- 7/24/13

We're very fortunate to have such a fun little river right in our backyard.  Being able to escape the rush of the city, head up the canyon, and unwind for a few hours is something that has been very therapeutic for me.  Catching gorgeous, little Brown Trout is an added bonus.  Explored more of Bear Creek on Wednesday, and it seems every time you fish somewhere new, there is perfect little spot, filled with flying insects and rising fish.  Found one of those spots the other night, and although it might not be a secret to everyone, fishing it tonight, without anyone else in sight, I felt like I was a hundred miles away.  Although this little river (creek) doesn't produce real big fish, I find it almost magical.  The perfect place to wet a line for a few hours and forget about life.

 

 

 

Cheesman Canyon- 7/21/13

I love early mornings on the river, and today was one of those absolutely perfect mornings fishing Cheesman Canyon.  Perfect sunrise. Perfect company. Perfect river. Perfect fish.  One of those trips where it's just easier to let the pictures do the talking.  Huge shout out to Lacey and Mikey for all of these absolutely stunning photos, and for getting their first Cheesman fish under their belts. Made it look easy!  Looking at these pictures makes me feel that I really need to step up my photography game!  Thanks guys!!

Dream Stream- 7/13/13

It has been very seldom that I've been able to get my wife to go to the river with me, so when a group of friends planned a weekend at a cabin in South Park, I was so excited to take my wife to the Dream Stream with me to show her one of my favorite places.  The previous times I've taken her, either the fish or me (probably me) had not been cooperative.  During our honeymoon in Steamboat, I fished the Yampa through town by myself and hooked rising fish all afternoon, but the next day when I took her, I could not buy a fish.  I'm not saying I felt a lot of added pressure to actually hook some fish, but I really wanted to show her why I love this sport so much.

The Spinney Mountain section of the South Platte was looking absolutely amazing.  There were crazy amounts of insect activity around the river, with PMD's, Tricos, Midges, and Caddis flying everywhere.  I was mostly fishing a drowned Trico spinner below a Annelid, and the fish seemed to like it.  They were absolutely crushing the Trico.  You know those strikes where they take you fly with so much purpose that the strike indicator is 5 feet upstream before you even have time to set the hook.  With the higher flows, the fish seemed to be extremely healthy and powerful.  Caught two beautiful Cutthroats that were extremely feisty to get to the net.  It was nice to have a camera woman to take some action shots of me for once, and even better that I got to enjoy the day with my wife.  So in one trip, my wife went from my bad luck charm to my good luck charm, and I'm really looking forward to the next time I can get her on the river with me.

Deckers- 7/5/13

Bend Hole at Sunrise

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.  Our "home" river is the South Platte below Cheesman Canyon through Deckers.  No matter the new rivers I fish, I will always be drawn back to these Gold Medal waters.  There's just something about the drive down into Deckers that feels special.  Maybe it's because of the rich history of these fabled water that make you feel closer to this sport.  You know a river is special if it helped to create flies like the RS-2 and Brassie.  Whatever it is, I'm glad this river is coming back strong after the Heyman Fire.

Explored a few more areas on the South Platte today.  Early morning yielded the best results, but the fish seemed healthy and active all day.  The river looks absolutely amazing, with cold, clear water and green plants everywhere.  There were a lot of other outdoor entusiastists out today, making sharing the river a little more challenging, but it was a great day on the Platte.  No specific flies were the key, the fish seemed willing to move for any well presented nymph.

The "Rock Garden" above Deckers 

Nice Rainbow from Midge Pool

Brown in the "Rock Garden"