Nate, one of my long time friends, mentioned an opportunity to catch some nice Browns and Kokanee in the Blue River near his home. We met at the trailhead around 9:00 and the expectations were high. Nate had previously fished this stretch so we knew right where to go. We posted up on one hole below a beaver dam and you would not believe what we saw; a serious Kokanne pod just porposing left and right. With the river covered in red (a mini Alaska if you will), we knew this day was going to be epic.
The first cast was an immediate hook up. Somewhere within the pod of Kokanne a nice group of Brown Trout were eating their eggs. We continuously landed Brown after Brown without a break. Most were eating bright colored eggs, but some worms were working as well. We were wanted to hook up with some of the red colored beauties in the river, but they just werent having it.
Eventually, after setting the hook on the slightest movement ofthe indicator, the Kokanee was on. The first fish was buckwild; jump after jump. Once the first Salmon was taken, they turned on like a light switch. We hooked up nearly every cast. Most of the Salmon were eating red and pink worms, but some were taking large stoneflies and small red midges.
The fishing got techincal at the end, but were landing some of the bigger fish in the pod. It was a grab bag; Brown or Kokanee, which would it be? Just set the hook to find out.
The Kokanee averaged around 10-12″, and the Browns were only a little bigger. Our biggest fish of the day was a Brown Trout who measured 17″ on the tape (pictured above). With multiple doubles and sore arms, we headed to Boulder; a historic day in the books.
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