Fly Fishing The Taylor River

This was my first time on the Taylor River. This time of year, the most productive fishing area was right near the dam in what the locals called the “pig trough”. The fish here are big and there are lots of them. My friend Tom and I fished Saturday. The winds were a bit high and the temperature was in the mid-40s with a water temperature of about 39 degrees. We caught a few nice ones (15 to 18 inches) on mysis and hooked up with a few larger trout that liked to break off quickly and swim away laughing. The only real complaint that I had about the area was the crowds and the lack of fishing etiquette. It was elbow to elbow for most of the day with many guys having no issue dropping in right on top of you and attempting to cast into the same run, presumably between each of your casts… annoying! I had a few words with one guy that came down and stood less than 4 feet from me, yet he seemed confused as to why I had an issue with it. Next time, I will certainly plan to be there on a weekday so I can avoid those types of issues. Overall, it was a productive day as we caught about 10 trout between the two of us. I look forward to this summer as I have already booked a camping trip on the Taylor for July. Oh yeah, those camp days will be during the week...

Here are a few pictures of the trout we caught that day -

Fly Fishing Eleven Mile Canyon

Canyon fishing was on fire this weekend.  I headed down there mid-morning and fished from about 11:30am to 4:00pm.  I could see a lot of small browns surfacing taking BWOs, however; the real action was deep within the countless pools that lay along that section the South Platte.  I started nymphing with a prince (size 14) and jujubaetis (size 18) casting into the riffles and allowing the rig to drop into the center of the pools… Strike after strike after strike! J I hooked up with some really nice fish Saturday, the largest of which was a 17 inch rainbow.  What was even more fun that day was watching Alyssa connect with a few trout herself.  Fishing with her is always entertaining because shortly after the hook-set comes frantic screaming and confusion as to what to do next.  She’s getting better, and with every new trout on her line, so does her interest in fly fishing!   

Fly Fishing the Big Thompson

Conditions were marginal today, but getting on the river before the front hit the area was the right thing to do.  Right away, the trout were in a frenzy as they appeared to strike at anything that may have even seemed slightly edible.  I was fishing with BWOs, pheasant tails, caddis, and baetis patterns, and all worked just fine.  We arrived around 9:30am, while it was still 60 degrees, and fished well into the temperature drop to 30.  While most of the activity did drop off as the snowfall thickened, we still got a few nice browns to the net before we determined that a cold beer and a plate of Texas brisket was becoming a bit more interesting than standing in the middle of an ice cold river.  Overall, we both had a great time and look forward to the summer months of fly fishing!