I have personally been on a search for the illusive Kokanee Salmon for the past month or so. I have been unsuccessful in my efforts, but I am also starting to realize I may be “jumping the gun”. My friend, Nate, and I headed to the famed “Dream Stream” this past weekend because we heard there was some Salmon in the river. We knew the crowds had been frequenting this section of the South Platte River, so we knew we had to get their early. We left Breckenridge at 4 am and headed to the parking lot closest to the bridge. We were the first people to arrive, but we knew that would not be the case for long. As the sun beautifully broke over the horizon, we headed to an “old faithful” hole that we heard had some Kokanee and big Snake River Cuts. As we arrived at the infamous hole, we noticed some Salmon were porpoising in the back eddy. (My cousin recently told me those are spawning fish coming to the surface for oxygen.) We threw everything we had at these Salmon hoping to hook up; we had no luck.
As Nate was re-tying, I went to the riffle section above the Kokanee. I set the hook on a huge algae fish and he fought like all Hell (if limp dishrags originate from Hell). Right after that, I set the hook as my indicator went down; thinking it was algae again. As it turned out, it was a huge Cutbow that was really pissed off. This fish gave me three large runs and made my friend Nate nearly poop himself as he tried to get a net around her body. As we took the fish out of the net, we realized we had officially caught the ugliest fish in the river. This fish not only had a horn on the top of his head, but he also had a “turkey gobbler” unsurpassed by any fish in “Dream Stream” history.
After the hideous fish experience, we headed upriver with a goal for Nate to catch the biggest fish of his fly fishing career. We chased a couple fish into a big hole, and after a long reverse drift, Nate laid into one of the most gorgeous Rainbows I have ever seen. The fish really gave him a run for his money; the fish ran up and down the river, shaking his head, and barrel rolling left and right. After nearly losing the fish twice, I eventually jumped in the river (water rushing over my waders) and netted the beauty of nature. Nate was shaking and his adrenaline was rushing; he now knew why fishing was my obsession.
After our successful morning, we really went into a slump. There were so many people it was hard to believe. Every corner was stacked with people and people were not very nice either. Nate and I ate lunch (stream side), enjoyed an adult beverage, and got ready to set out on our afternoon excursion. Unfortunately, with the crowds and fish that had seen every fly under the sun, we had no luck in the afternoon.
Nate headed back to the car and had enough for the day. I was targeting a big fish and was not giving up. I finally decided the fish was smarter than me, and I headed back to the car. I did, however, tie on an egg-sucking leech before I left and decided to swing it near every undercut bank as I walked the trail. I took my eyes off the water for one minute to take in the beauty of the “Dream Stream”, and when I looked back down there was a nice Snake River Cut following my leech. As soon as my leech changed direction, “SMACK”, he was hooked and tail-walking all over the place. I gave him some “heat” and brought him to the net as I watched Nate walk over the ridge.
Feeling much better about the afternoon, I headed back to the car. I still had not gotten my Kokanee but figured maybe I would get a shot as November rolled around. I turned to head on the trail back to the car when I saw a “lone wolf” Kokanee sitting in the shallows. I took one cast with my leech and he ate it. The fight was “sub par”, but I finally got the fish I had been searching for.
