Big Thompson River (Big T, Mr. T), Rocky Mountain National Park
Got up to the Park yesterday morning with Pops (Lee) and headed for the Big T. It was a beautiful morning and the place was quiet for a change with a good portion of the summer vacationing crowd being absent. We headed up to a spot that is usually slow with not too much pressure, and today was no exception. We saw one angler, well downstream, on our way in.
We suited up and headed out. I started by throwing a size 18 Royal Wulff. After 2 holes and no bites I quickly switched up. I tied on a size 18 Amy's Ant and almost immediately I received 3 quick bites, one of which I really should have had. Lee started out with a orange stimulator and was receiving very little action. Meanwhile, right when he ties on a Amy's Ant as well, on my recommendation, it completely goes quiet. We fished another few holes and moved on. As I was watching Lee cast into a hole, I checked the water temp. A very cold fifty degrees!
Immediately I cut my line and tied on a Blue Poison Tung with a new pattern that I have recently been tying, an olive Pheasant Tail. I stuck on an indicator and got to throwing. Soon thereafter, fish on. The prettiest 2" brook trout was on the end of my line. Not quite what I had in mind but it got the skunk off. I caught one more and then Lee tied on with the same rig. He started receiving some bites as well.
We worked our way upstream and then headed south to this little fork in the stream. It is a great little hole that harbors a few nicer size trout. The last time up here, I had a client go 1-on-1 with this hole. He wasn't getting bites on the fly that was working everywhere else so we gave him a tiny little midge and mayfly pattern. I told him he would need the perfect cast and sure enough on the first cast, a huge strike. He ended up missing him but the client left feeling like he had gone to war with this trout and at least got him to come out and fight.
So now, approaching it again, I wanted my dad to go finish the job. We approached quietly, almost stealth, and he started casting. Within a few casts he received a few 'so subtle you couldn't hardly tell' bites. The kind where your indicator barely moves and once you set the hook you just the fish swim away. Real light takes. So we kept working and working. I suggested that he cast to the far side of this boulder on the top side of the hole and he did. After a few casts, not only fish on, but a nice little fighter. Ended up being a real pretty 9"-10" brook. A healthy brook for this section indeed. He worked the hole some more and ended up landing another one, smaller this time. It was a victory for sure.
Meanwhile, I was having a real problem cracking the 2" barrier. Awesome, right? Well we kept working the stream and eventually a found a real nice run that harbored a ton of little guys. I caught a few more and suggested Lee throw in as well. He got a couple of bites and we then decided we better get going for I had to be back in town. On the way back I decide that we should both take 2 more holes. So we do.
The hole I pick had the first actual visible cruising trout I had seen all day. I start re-tying frantically as I knew we were short on time and it appeared that the water was warming up enough for trout to start moving around. Just a bit earlier, I had taken a second reading revealing that the temp was 54 degrees, so that made sense for trout to start waking up a little bit.
As I'm re-tying Lee comes up and says he is good for the day. I tell him that I finally saw some trout movement and that I am tying on a stimulator; the same one he started with actually. I throw the fly and some line on to the water, in preparation for the perfect first cast. I then bring my rod back with one stroke and then forward, placing my fly right where I wanted it. I thought it was the ticket. As it got right above the money, I see a trout, the further left and healthier looking of the two I have seen, swim right over. Right when I think my stimmy has passed his hold, I lose sight of him. Almost immediately thereafter, I realize why. Because he is about one inch below my fly and looking at it real hungry like. Right then, slurp time!!! Put up a short fight, but compared to the 2" barrier I was having trouble with, this near 12" brown put quite the smile on my face. That was just what I needed on my way out.
It definitely appears as if fall is in near full effect in the Park. The crowds have left, the hatches are diminishing and the temps, both the air and water, are dropping quickly. Just two weeks ago, this same section was 60 degrees in the late afternoon. Trout were eating almost any properly presented dry, and the sight fishing was great. Not the story any more now, but this is when us die hard anglers come out. We come for the big browns and if there is one thing I 'felt' today, it was the fact in knowing that those big browns are coming. Maybe that is why my day ended the way it did. A foreshadow of sorts.
Well, it was a great day fishing. Get out there. It's not too late. The Park is spectacular right now, and the fishing isn't bad either.
Tip of the day: Check the water temperature early and often.
Tight Lines
Side note-I got a new camera!!! Actually, a new used camera but yeah! So look for the quality of the pics to go up. And look for the date on my camera to get fixed too. Whoops!
No comments:
Post a Comment