Recently I moved to Denver, Colorado for a new job. The main attraction for the move to Denver, other than a new position, was to take part in the many activities offered by the Rocky Mountains. When I arrived in mid-March, fly-fishing was the first on my list.
The Rocky Mountains are immense and offer thousands of miles of fishing throughout the state. The many options posed the first challenge of finding a place to catch fish without guidance. The online blogs and websites provided a great resource; however, they mostly have general information such as the name of the water and general location. Finding a place to actually get in the water with a chance to catch fish is much more difficult that reading about it and looking at pictures.
Trip 1 and 2
My first trip I went to the South Platte River because of its proximity to Denver and its reputation online. Before even arriving, I found it a struggle to get there due to the steep dirt roads and lack of cell service. I had no idea where I was going but I eventually found some water at the bottom of a valley. I am fairly certain I went to the wrong spot, but it looked pretty cool anyways. I ended up catching nothing and seeing nothing, but it was a good introduction to the watersheds of Colorado.
The second trip is when I started to get closer to catching a fish. I was guided by some acquaintances to the Deckers area, which is a famous portion of the South Platte. It was evident there would be fish due to the amount of people parked in pull offs and fishermen in the water. When I arrived however, I was slightly disappointed in the fishery. There were lots of fish that have become acclimated to high pressure and were very vulnerable to snagging. Within 10 minutes I noticed fish directly behind my feet and people trying to catch fish 1 ft behind them. To me that provides little challenge and is about as rewarding as going to the stocked ponds at a hatchery.
I ended up hiking a little way upstream and watched some gentlemen catch fish in some nice pockets of water without trying to snag them in the mouth, which was refreshing. Here, is when I realized these fish were eating much smaller flies than I had available. It was apparent I was not going to catch much with the box of flies I brought from catching lake run steelhead and browns in Upstate NY. On the drive home I was already ordering smaller patterns and getting ready for my next trip.
My Most Recent Trip
My most recent trip was about a week ago on a warm Sunday afternoon. I had received my box of small midges, sizes 18-20, and was hopeful to catch my first fish. I went to a new watershed called Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado. This creek is famous for running next to the Coors factory and providing the water for their beer production. It lies much closer to Denver than the Deckers area.
I was about 40 minutes upstream from the factory on Hwy 6. It is an interesting creek as it runs directly next to a major roadway. However, it provided me the ability to fish with only a few others around. After a couple hours, I was able to finally catch a few fish with my updated rig. I caught 3 wild browns and 1 rainbow. Confirming my YouTube research paid off.
4 Tips
There were 4 key actions I took that helped me finally catch fish.
- Learn a surgeon’s knot for long tag end off the tippet.
- Use an attractor fly on the tag end of a tandem rig.
- Start small with the bottom fly.
- Use a New Zealand Indicator
Doing this I caught fish on the bottom (or main) fly and the attractor fly while spooking less fish with a lighter indicator.
First Impression
Overall, I have a lot to learn about Colorado rivers and I am excited to explore more famous waterways known for their fly-fishing. It seems like it is going to take a lot more effort to find bigger fish with low fishing pressure. I am inclined to try some of the high-altitude lakes and their tributaries in search of some less pressured water. Hopefully, my next fishing blog will include some bigger more colorful fish.
Dual Waters 