Christi's Dad, Jim, came to visit as he drove through from Antelope hunting in Wyoming. We decided to go hit a small lake in Estes Park in hopes of fooling a few on dry flies. Imitation ants, beetles, and hoppers were the name of the game. Sizes 14-20. Bright appendages seemed to work best. When cloud cover rolled over, the bite stopped. As soon as the clouds moved, the bite was back on. Wonderful weather and +35 native greenback cutthroat trout landed between Christi, Jim, and I. Awesome day! We were the only people on the water other than a family in a canoe. Made for an exceptional outing.
Beatle - size 12-14
Parachute Adams - Size 14-18
One of Christi's many catches
After lunch, we spent a couple hours nymphing on the famed Big Thompson river in Estes Park. Lots of deep pools and wide runs. Lots of large fish. We only had a few take, although it was a great stretch of water. There was a heavy hatch going on but I couldn't figure out what type of flies were hatching. They almost looked like small caddis. Next year we'll need to bring a siene.
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| Bathing ducks continued to challenge us as obstacles. I accidentally hooked one's leg with a dry fly and had to cut my line. |
Cigars make for better fishing.
Jim landed the largest fish on the Big Thompson that day. Too bad it was a CARP. =)
Don't catch brown trout that often. Cool colors
