But from here on out I promise to keep up on it. In the end it will only benefit me more, and it will also keep everyone excited about getting back out there.
So I will go ahead and cheat today because if I did a full report on every trip then we would just never get caught up. I will give you my "halfway though the summer (kind of) highlights".
Primarily I have been guiding/fishing 3 areas: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Big T, and Boulder Creek; with a few other random spots thrown in.
Rocky Mountain National Park:
Loch Vale-early June.
What a great day. Great hike and a great lake. Caught several beautiful cutthroat on griffith's gnats and a couple fat alberts along the banks. Had the lake to myself primarily. Get up there if you can. Great fishing and easy wading.
Ouzel Creek-
Another solid day where I was catching brook trout by the handful. Several holes yielded up to 8-10 brook alone. Fun time. Planned on fishing the lake but too busy catching in creek on the way up!
Pictures of Ouzel and the hike up. Pretty Land.
Glacier Creek-Took a guest there and man did he nail it. He nailed the rainbows, the browns, the brooks, and then...with about ten minutes before departure...he nailed the cutt! Amazing day. I think the funnest thing about this day was having a guest enjoy it just as much as I do. I couldn't have been prouder when I saw that. The best thing-we tied on a Stimulator and Rainbow Warrior at the beginning of the day and we never retied. It was that great all day. What a blast....
Roaring River-
I have had two great days here. One with the brother and one with a guest. Both days were poppin. First day we had to change it up quite often to keep up with em', second day we used two rods and never changed our set ups once. Pheasant Tails and green and black wire BH Prince Nymphs are money here. Try some attractor dries for some easy to spot dry fly fishing.
Fall River-
Nice trout in there but man are they spooky. I like the technical "predator" fishing but man, those trout spook easily. I would still recommend it. You can go ahead and feel a small sense of accomplishment here if you catch one. (Don't be surprised to see me out there when September and October get here).
Big T (Below Olympus Dam to Caddis Flats)-
Nothing too memorable that sticks out although I will say I really appreciate the variety of fishable flies in this river and also the quality of the trout. One item of note about the Big T this year. I have never in my life seen so many trout consistently take off downstream once caught. The bigger ones present a decent challenge..."The tug's the drug"
Also, did get the Pops out for a day on the water. His first in a while. That was a lot of fun and my treat. I think we got em' hooked again.
Boulder Creek
Living true to my slogan, it is one of the most underrated streams on the front range. Quality fishing every time and never too much of a crowd. I really love that Roger's Park section for guests. Easy to wade, good holes, a lot of variety on stream structure; riffles, pockets, big still holes. Good teaching spot.
My random spot (for now)-South St. Vrain.
The North sure does seem slow this year, including below Button Rock Preserve. I have never spent too much time on the South but finally one day I went to the North after the big week of rain and it was moving. Although I gave it a shot, I left empty handed. I moved on to the South and what fun fishing. Usually when I check this place out it is either too high or too low. Just perfect. Ended up losing 2 and missing another. Walked home with a big white stripe smelling of skunk.
Went back 2 days later for revenge and got it. Could not stop catching for a couple hour period. Real redeeming, and a lot of fun.
Well that is about it for now. As I said I will update sooner from here on out and maybe even post a real report.
Tight Lines