11-7-14 Clear creek fishing report

Unfortunately, the beaver ponds/ small stream area of the clear creek above Georgetown are frozen, but Georgetown lake and the river inlet is fishing alright.  The trout are packed tight in the inlet and are biting sporadically on nymphs, eggs, and big streamers.  The best advice is to to fish under a bobber.  ANGLERS BEWARE!!!  THIS FISHING SPOT GETS CROWDED!!!! If you are looking for somewhere peaceful and quite,,, this is not the right place.  I would recommend coming  on a weekday.

Fish caught: 5

Brown trout: 4

Rainbow trout: 1


Nymphs and eggs:  size 16-20 pheasant tail, 6mm red, chartruese, or pink egg fly, 16-20 black copper john.

Streamers:  Olive/ black sex dungeon, black/ olive sculpzilla, black woolly bugger.


Dries:  Small midges and mayflies (size 18-22)

Colorado River fishing report 11-1-14

Slow... Fish were jumping, but not for anything that we had on.  Fish the spots around rocks.  Make sure to hit the banks, some fish will hide in the shallow ripples close to shore.  Fish a double or triple nymph rig.  The stretch we fished was the canyon area to the Pumphouse.

nymphs:  2-bit emerger 16-18, olive and mottled brown pat's rubber legs 8-10, egg fly

Streamers: Nothing

Dry: Nothing

Fish caught: One, 16 inch whitefish on an olive pat's rubber leg size 8

eagle river fishing report 10-19-2014

Fishing was not bad, but not great.  Use small mayfly nymphs and streamers.  Fish the slow pools and the ripples.  Be careful when wading around; the fish are skiddish.


Fish caught: 4               Average length:  10"                              Largest fish:  18"


3 on streamers,  1 on nymph



Flies of importance:  Juju baetis 18-20,  Brown 2-bit hooker 18, Olive sculpzilla 6-8.

top streamer flies for colorado

  Sculpzilla

The sculpzilla catches all sizes and sorts of trout.  This fly
can be productive on all sizes of water.

Woolly Bugger

The Wooley Bugger fly is useful because it can represent many different things.

On a dead drift, it can look like a hellgrammite or a stonefly.  Put some movement

on it, and it looks like a minnow.

Bunny leach

The bunny leach is one of the most effective flies in lakes and
tail-water fish.  A leech is a large meal for a trout, and 
a hungry fish wont miss the an opportunity to eat one.  

  Zonker

The zonker is a great fly to use for spawning browns.  The zonker has everything needed

to be effective: flash and some red in it.  The zonker is a simple tie and is effective

yearround. 

South platte south fork 10-4-14

Knight Ilmer/ ranch 63 south platte south fork is fishing slower than usual, bug life has slowed significantly.  Small fish are coming up occasionally.  Best way to fish is a hopper dropper in slow, deep pools.  There stemmed to be less fish then last week.

Flies to use: 16 parachute Adams, 12 409 Yeager hopper,  16 shot glass nymph, 18-20 two-bit hooker

top 5 flies for south Platte middle fork

1.  copper john 16-18.  This is my go to dropper for the Middle fork.  Smaller browns love the red copper john.  

2.  PMX 12-14.  The PMX is a great fly to use in midsummer to November.  The PMX represents larger caddis and grasshoppers.  I find the most effective body color is something dark, such as black and dark olive.  

3.  flashback Hares ear 14-18.  The hares ear is deadly on the middle fork.  This represents some mayflies and caddis nymphs.  When using size 14, use beadless hares ear.  This fly works best in summer and early fall months.

4.  black bodied elk hair caddis 14.  This fly will get the attention of all trout on the middle fork.  For whatever reason, the black bodied caddis will get more hits than the tan on the middle fork.  Fish this dry fly for best results in July-November.  

5.  zebra midge 18-22.  This midge is great at fooling picky trout.  When the fishing is slow on the middle fork, use this fly.  This fly is best fished during spring, late summer and fall.

top 5 flies for colorado's high alpine lakes

1.  Parachute Adams/ parawulf  16-25 grey and olive, fish from spring to fall,  the colder the weather, the smaller the fly

2.  red egg fly 4-6mm   Fish this year roud, but is most effective in early spring and the start of fall.  Brookies love this fly

3 elk hair caddis 14-18  great fly in the summer, this fly gets aggressive strikes.

4.  pheasant tail 16-22  Great fly in general, fish this in smaller sizes in smaller for high alpine lakes.

5.  zebra midge 16-24 most effective in early spring and mid-fall, fish this in larger sizes in the summer.

On the ordinary day on a high alpine lake I will fish a 6mm red egg under a size 18 grey parachute Adams.


My favorite high alpine lake is Mohawk and lower Mohawk lake

south platte fishing maps

South Platte middle fork fishing map

One of my favorite locations here is the tomahawk area.  Tomahawk is a great place to beat the crowds and still get some fish.




Enlarged south plate fishing map  http://www.andrews4.com/co/south_park_area/south-park-fishing-map.jpg

A great secret spot I have is called Knight Ilmer and ranch 63 located around number.  Both these places have some decent sized fish and still have no crowds.  Ask your local fly shop about these areas.

South Platte hatch chart and flies of importance

best midge patterns include: black zebra midge 18-22, Mercury midge 18-24, wd40 16-22, sprout midge, 18-22

best BWO: Pheasant tail 16-22,  copper john 16-22, hares ear 14-18,  mayhem emerger 16-20,  parachute adams 14-18, catskill bwo 16-18,  mosquito fly 14-16

best caddis: Hares ear 14-18, prince nymph 16-18, graphic caddis 14-18,  Andersen's bird of prey 16,  Elk hair caddis 12-16, PMX 10-16, Goddard sedge 14-16.

best stonefly patters:  Pats rubber legs 6-12, 20 incher 8-14, Prince nymph 12-18,  Glint nymph 14-18

Best Pmd patterns:  Pheasant tail 16-22,  copper john 16-22, hares ear 14-18,  mayhem emerger 16-20,  parachute adams 14-18,  light cahil 16-18, PMD hackle stacker 16-18.

Best Terrestrials: foam Beetle, Dave's hopper 10-14 , Yeager 409 10-14,  PMX 10-14, chubby Chernobyl 10-14

best trico: trico spinner 

Best streamer: black sculpzilla, bunny leach

Other important flies:  6mm egg patterns during fall and spring, San Juan worm 12-14 during spring runoff

link to flyshack.com

Fly

Size

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Midges (various)

24 - 28

Blue Winged Olive

16 - 20

Caddis (various)

10 - 18

Golden Stonefly

8 - 10

Pale Morning Dun

16 - 20

Terrestrials (various)

6 - 18

Trico

20 - 24

Blue Winged Olive

20 - 24

Knight Imler brown trout.

Caught this 23 inch brown trout using a black sculpzilla and parachute Adams rig at Knight Imler.  These large browns are hiding in the undercut banks and require something big to get them to move.  A large hoppper or a streamer is your best bet.

top ten flies for trout in Colorado

Top ten flies for Colorado

No fly will guarantee fish but these give you the best shot

1. pheasant tail nymph

The Pheasant tail nymph has produced me more fish than any other fly.

I can use it in any river in Colorado and produce fish.  This fly is a quick

tie and it is most effective in size 16.

2. Parachute Adams

The Parachute Adams is my favorite dry fly.  The parachute Adams is easy to see and it floats
 relatively well.  This fly is effective in sizes 10-26, and can represent almost any hatch.
If you are a novice fly fisherman, this would be the fly to use.



3.  copper John

The copper John nymph is easily on the top ten list.  This nymph can represent everything

in the water.  The copper John sinks like a rock to where the fish feed.  The copper john

can be tied in all sorts of colors,  the most effective in Colorado being copper, orange, red, 

and black.  

4. Red egg fly

The Egg fly is undeniably effected against trout.  I prefer a rubber egg over a 

fuzz egg because a rubber egg will sink.  This fly is effective year round, but 

in Colorado,  This fly does the best during fall and spring months.  The egg fly is

 always in my fly box and it is one of my most used flies.  I found that the most effective

egg fly is a 6mm egg.

5.  mayhem emerger fly

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite mayfly imitations.  This is now my

go to fly when mayflies are hatching but the trout are picky.  The mayhem emerger

doesn't float but doesn't sink all the way down.  The strip of foam on top suspends 

the fly, and makes it look like an emerging mayfly.  This fly is best fished in red, olive, black or brown.  Fish the Mayhem in smaller sizes, such as 16-20.  

6.  San Juan worm.

The San Juan worm is a fly I cannot leave off this list.  The San Juan worm

is one of the best flies during Colorado's spring runoff.  I love using this fly in lakes and ponds 

because this fly gets such aggressive strikes.  This fly is best weighted with a bead

and in sizes 12-14.

7. zebra midge.

NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THIS FLY!!!  This is by far my

favorite midge imitation.  When all else fails, use this fly.  This is a year round 

fly, but is most effective during early spring, fall, and winter.  This is my favorite fly

to fish during winter because it produces results.  The zebra midge is best fished in 

sizes 18-26 using curved hooks.  This midge is seen in red, black, purple, and cream.  My 

favorite way to fish this is under a bobber in size 20, black.  

8. Elk hair caddis

Like many other anglers, this is my favorite caddis fly pattern.  The elk hair caddis 

fishing well whenever caddis are hatching (usually summer).  This caddis floats

well and is relatively easy to spot on the river. The Elk hair caddis works the best in sizes 

12-16 and in colors olive, black, and brown.  

9. Sculpzila

If you want to catch monster browns, there is no better way than to use

this fly.  I LOVE using streamers, and this is my favorite and most effective.  

It has excellent action when stripped through the water.  Its heavy cone-head 

causes this fly to sink quickly to the big fish.  This fly is a great attractor, and I often 

put a nymph or emerger above it.  Just recently, I caught a 24 inch brown on the 

south fork of the South Platte using this rig.  Fish this pattern in a jerk strip motion in a

a smaller size.  The best colors are white, black, olive, and grey.

10.  Mosquito fly

The Mosquito fly is a great dry fly because it represent 3 bug species at a time: a mayfly, 

a mosquito, and an adult midge.  This fly pattern can be used year round and is most 

effective in sizes 16-20.  If you let this fly sink, it represent a variety of emerging 

bugs.  This fly works great on high alpine lakes and smaller streams and rivers.

Honorable mentions:

Prince Nymph.  Although a great pattern, I find that it doesn't work as well on

small waters. Best in sizes 12-18

Hares Ear:  This fly is a great caddis imitation, but missed the cut because, from my experience, doesn't yield as many large fish. Best in sizes 14-18.

Woolly Bugger:  This fly pattern represents stoneflies and minnows, but in 

my opinion, if you want to go big, use a sculpzilla. Best in sizes 4-10, in the colors black, brown, or olive.

Feel free to post your favorite flies,  I might have missed one or two

South Platte Middle fork 9-20-14 report (tomahawk)

Middle Fork report 9-20-14

         As of 9-20-14,  the middle fork is fishing alright.  Their are a couple of large spawning browns hiding in the undercut banks. Fish seam to be looking up for dry flies. The best way to catch fish right now is to do a dry dropper rig.  The average fish here is an 8 inch brown. 

Dry flies:  size 12-14 dark bodied PMX, size 12-14 black bodied elk hair caddis

droppers:  size 18-22 zebra midge, size 16-18 2 bit hooker, size 18 copper john.

streamers:  white black sculpzilla,  black marabou leech

clear creek 8-28-14

Clear creek fishing report

        As of 8-28-14,  clear creek is fishing great.  The best place to go at this time of year is the inlet to Georgetown lake.  The trout there are spawning and many are willing to eat.  The riverbed is covered with fish.  Small mayflies are hatching and some smaller fish are rising.  Fish a parachute Adams and a red egg or a worm

 Dry flies:  size 14-18 parachute Adams,  size 14-16 purple haze

 Droppers:  San Juan worm,  red egg,  size 20-22 mercury and zebra midges,  size 18-20 purple zebra midge.

For bigger fish, throw streamers:  white or black sculpzilla,  bunny leach.

south Platte knight imler fishing report 9-27-14

Knight imler

                Knight imler is now one of my favorite places to fish this time of year.  Knight imler is a part of the South Platte river (south fork) that is located above Antero Reservoir.  Hatches are thick until the winter.  The South Platte at Knight imler is narrow and has many bends within it.  Fish the Undercut banks and the slow water.  Knight imler is a great place to beat the crowds.

As of 9-27-14, the fish are in the undercut banks, deep bends, and behind rocks and logs.

dry flies:  size 16-18 pmd dry fly,  size 14-16 parachute adams,  size 16-18 mosquito, size 12-14 black bodied caddis

nymphs:  size 16-20 mayhem emerger,  size 18-22 mercury and zebra midge

For big fish, Streamers:  white and black sculpzilla