Winter Fishing - Estes Park - Tail water

Big Thompson River, tailwater out of Lake Estes in Estes Park, CO

Mike Hobbs and I parked off the road on the North Side of the tailwater near the dam. Mike claimed he saved me $6. We walked down to the tailwater and there were 6 cars in the $6 lot on the South Side of the river. Mike just sat on this hole about 200 yards down stream and managed two nice browns and some foul hooked rainbows. Flow was a low 26cfs, water temperature 40 degrees. Air temp probably 50.

The fish in this catch and release stretch ( about 3/4 mile) see a LOT of pressure and are not spooked by shadows of fishermen up on the bank. On the other hand, like all fishing in "popular" tailwaters, they are well fed, well schooled on trout flies, and extremely hard to entice into a hit. It takes stealth and correct fly selection. From Mike it was a size 20 zebra midge.

For me it was a peeking caddis, size 18.  These fish are BIG and healthy. I saw no fatalities from bad releases and no scared or sick fish. The Dream Stream near Eleven Mile Canyon often has damaged fish. 

We saw hundreds of fish. Can you find any in these photos?

Ok, here is one in plain view. Notice his shadow on the bottom.

This is more fun than fishing behind the shops in town but I'll bet it is very crowded here on weekends.

Winter Fishing in Colorado

Winter Fly Fishing 40 minutes from Denver Colorado

If you want this kind of experience, you have to make your way on a less traveled path. The fish are smaller, the hiking is tougher, the roads are dirt, but the outdoor experience is breathtaking. 

A day after the foothills near Denver got a foot of snow I headed up Coal Creek Canyon Road (RT 72), turned right on Crescent Drive, then right on Gross Dam road (dirt) to an unplowed pulloff just past Gross Dam. 

 Down a couple hundred feet on a trail, carefully avoiding the cougars to South Boulder Creek that was running at a respectable 106 cfs for the past 10 days. Water temperature was 40 degrees at 1:00PM.  I dropped a bead egg below a pheasant tail and worked the far side of this pool slow and deep.

A little patience and this nice rainbow fell for the egg.

 

Striking when the trout hits the egg will pull the barbless size 20 hook into a nice spot even a studded goth chick wouldn't mind. 

 A little while later, in the same pool, this rainbow also chose to ignore the pheasant tail and went after the egg. Both hook-ups were very clean outside the jaw, as predicted by Clint Packo who taught us how to rig this egg pattern.  It's not easy to entice trout at 40 degrees but the quiet beauty of a healthy Colorado stream in the winter is reward enough.

San Diego - Fish B4U Fly - Crystal Pier

San Diego - Crystal Pier - Fish Before You Fly

      San Diego is a favorite conference spot and no wonder. It has great facilities, restaurants, beaches, weather, airport, and museums. But it also has a chance for some fly fishing before you get back to the grind.
     Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, a short hop north on I-5 has a bait and tackle that makes it easy.

You'll be fishing with a spinning rod but Jimmy Barrick, 858-568-3025 will fix you up with a pre-rigged set of 6 of these flies for the ever present Walleye Surfperch.

I tied the rig to the swivel with a good old Duncan knot.

And what do you know, Jimmy was right. For a complete breakdown, get the $1 iGuidepro.com guide for San Diego - Crystal Pier from the iTunes store.