Most people don’t realize…..there are some big Bass along Colorado’s front range!!!
Kiss My Bass
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Moraine Park; Big Thompson Headwaters
In Rocky Mountain National Park, there is a lush valley with unobstructed views of nearby Long’s Peak. This lush valley was carved by the glaciers millions of years ago and now serves as a backdrop of beauty for Colorado fly fisherman. The stream meanders through the grassy open space with undercuts banks that leave you wondering how far back they actually go. The best way to fish this stream is with big grasshoppers in August. Since it is not yet August, I decided to swing streamers under those natural banks and it ended up working really well.
The fish in Rocky Mountain National Park never really get that big, but they make up for it in beauty. The best fish of the day was this busty Brown Trout that came out from one of those luscious undercuts. Next time you’re on Colroado’s front range, you have to check it out.
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Private Water Brown Trout
This Summer I have been guiding fly fishing trips in Estes Park and it has it’s perks. Early in the season, I was given the chance to fish a private pond, called Adrian Lake, with a few of the guides. We caught a few big fish, but one was particularly big. This fish measured out at 22″ and faught like all hell.
Come to find………………………….. private waters and stocked fish can be really awesome.
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Backpacking In Breck
My friend Nate called me recently and said he heard about some great fishing at a high mountain lake near his house in Breckenridge. There was only one catch; the lake was 5.5 miles up the trail and gained 3,000 feet of elevation. After talking about beef jerkey, strippers, poker, and beer (like real men), we convinced ourselves we could make it if it were a “man trip”. We grew some balls and planned to start our journey that Friday.
We started out after a night of car camping and it was grueling. The first 3 miles were STRAIGHT uphill, and the last 2.5 were not downhill either. Once we got a glimpse of the lake it was pure heaven. There are truly only a few things more beautiful than a high mountain lake that is rarely visited. When we got to the inlet (where we were going to be camping), the altitude sickness kicked in. Some of us fought it off with Whiskey and others did not. I was one of the Whiskey guys, and it paid off. The fishing was phenomenal and a day of 100+ fish between three anglers was something I had waited for all summer.
We caught mostly Brookies in the two lakes, but there were a few Greenback Cutthroats mixed in. Throwing a #12 Green Stimulator seemed to be the ticket, and a pink San Juan worm also worked well. There is nothing like catching trout on big dry flies; watching a fish come up from the sand and smack the top of the water is breathtaking.
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Big Pike
The other day Adam had invited me to fish a local lake that hasn’t seen much fishing pressure in the last few years and I couldn’t pass up the offer. Adam and a few others arrived at the spot before I did and were getting into fish every few casts. When I got there Adam had just released a 40” pike. He said he saw the wake of the fish charging toward his fly from 15 ft away before it inhaled his 6” long streamer.
I anxiously started casting away and it didn’t take long before a big largemouth hit my huge chuck and duck streamer. Baitfish and bunny leech flies were consistently getting bites. I figured if the fish were this aggressive they couldn’t refuse topwater flies, so I tied on a frog popper and caught a couple more bass. All the bass in this lake seemed to be pigs. Average size fish was in the 2-4 lb range. I needed a day like that. My past few outings I’ve had little or no luck, so having a bent rod really brought my spirits back up. Thanks again Adam!
One Mans Trash is Another Mans Treasure
Some say that carp are garbage fish, others say they’re the most under-rated game fish in fresh water. Fly fisherman often compare them to bonefish for their long, reel screaming runs. Also, much like bonefish, they feed off the bottom on shallow flats where you’ll see their tails sticking out of the water while their face is in the mud sucking food from the bottom. This feeding behavior is referred to as “tailing” among anglers. When you see a carp tailing, it’s a sure thing that it’s feeding, and if you can put a fly in front of it without spooking it, most likely the fish will suck the fly right up.
Lately, my buddy Adam and I have been curious to find out for ourselves what the carp hype is all about. In the last couple weeks we’ve tried some local ponds hoping to connect a line with the golden bonefish. I managed only one fish in a pond full of tailing carp. It was much harder than I had expected; these fish are SPOOKY! The one fish I caught was only a couple pounds, and when I set the hook the fish made a 100 yard run without stopping! Adam also had some luck at a different local pond, and from the way he described it, I think he enjoyed it. Fly fishing for carp is becoming more and more popular, and I can see why. The other perk to carp fishing is that they’re in almost every pond, lake, and river just about everywhere. No matter where you live, most likely there are carp near you.
Here is Adam with his first carp on a fly rod.
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