I made the trip to the Kayak Parking Lot below Gross Reservoir on Monday morning. Thank you! Sign Up For the Latest News, Sales And Deals, 2023 Trouts Fly Fishing. I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my line under the assumption that it was close enough to a green drake, that it would attract attention, if western green drakes were still active. One small hurdle remained; however, before I could finalize my trip plans. I decided to take the risk of another day of bad weather and departed from Denver on Wednesday morning. So grab your favorite fly fishing rod and reel, and head out to South Boulder Creek. I considered other offerings in the early going, but I looked forward to fishing green drakes, so why not test the waters at the start? It flows east along the railroad tracks which run through the Moffat Tunnel (under A dirt road also follows most of the creek. Report Date Feb. 23, 2023 South Platte Deckers flows increased ~20 cfs last weekend and now sit at 127 cfs. I stripped down to my bare chest and attempted to sop up the perspiration on my upper body, before I snugged on my Under Armour layer. My first seven trout were mostly browns with a couple rainbows in the mix, and all inhaled the parachute green drake. Once again I considered a change, and this time I reverted to the parachute style fly. The river heads east through some public and private water before dumping into Eldorado Canyon State park. This combination accounted for a fish; but the warm air, bright sun and fruitless casting caused my confidence to wane. There is a very notable green drake and caddis emergence in late summer/early autumn. On public land above the Gross Reservoir and for most of the tailwater, anglers need only follow standard Colorado Division of Wildlife fishing regulations. Fly fishing SouthBoulder Creeknear Walk Ranch in Colorado. Given that it is a creek, you can expect comparatively narrow water as well as large boulders that create some amazing pocket water. Gross Reservoir's South Boulder Creek Trail is mainly for fishing access. Click on the sunk ant link to read more about my history with sunken ants, and you will also find the source of the pattern I choose to deploy. To reach the South Boulder Creek headwaters, head north on the 119 past Blackhawk until you get to Rollinsville. South; Carol South; Carol Sullivan; carolina moreno; Carpet; carpet care; carpet cleaning; Carrie Waeldin; . You cant go wrong with the dry dropper set-up. I was dissatisfied with the dry/dropper results, so I decided to revert to a dry fly approach. See 'Data Dictionary' below for definitions. The Denver Water managers seemed to have other ideas, as they sustained the flows at 180 CFS and above for all of July and early August. Before I paused for lunch, I recorded three additional brown trout to boost the fish count to six, and the prince attracted two of the three, while another greedy eater chomped the hippie stomper. This creek starts up in the Indian Peaks near the Moffat Tunnel and gains momentum on its journey towards the cool deep waters of Gross Reservoir. If you live in Black Canyon City you're less than 10 miles from Boulder Creek. This spooked me, because at the time of my decision on a fishing destination, the downward spiral on the graph was at 65 CFS, and I was uncertain how low it would go. Could this be a hot menu item? Explore full map. The catch rate slowed somewhat over the last hour, but how could the torrid pace continue? Fish are stocked annually by CPW at Gross Reservoir. Thick midge hatches will be present year-round. South Boulder Creek at Walker Ranch The roaring mountain stream at Walker Ranch feels far from the crowds of town and offers up plenty of trout for those willing to hike down the banks here. Its all public land from the stream gauge until you get to the reservoir. By noon my fish count rested on seven, and these fish were small and hard to come by. I was anxiously anticipating a green drake hatch, so why not go directly to a drake imitation? Four additional trout rested in my net including a pair of twelve inch brown trout, and they all savored the green drake comparadun. I put together my Orvis Access four weight and began my descent of the steep trail to the South Boulder Creek canyon. I knotted a size 14 parachute green drake to my line, and the fun escalated. During my hike back to the parking lot I stopped and cherry picked a few prime pools and supplemented the fish count with an additional five to reach fifty-two. View our maps and read detailed fishing reports from nearby anglers. The areas of Tomera Cove and th. Monday, August 30 developed into another solid day on South Boulder Creek. I was unfamiliar with the section, but my instincts paid off, when I entered the creek just above a no trespassing sign. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Boulder Creek Fishing Vest Mens 7XL Big Green Utility Multiple Pockets at the best online prices at eBay! This site, formerly known as Jumbo Mountain Picnic Ground, has interpretive signs about local history and new picnic tables. To access South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir, take Highway 93 (north from Golden or South from Boulder) until you reach Highway 72. On my return hike I paused at a spectacular pool, and as I gazed across the deep, smooth water, I noticed that it was boiling with rises. While the increase was small, flows are now back within the ideal range for this time of year. The best deals will most likely be flying into Denver and then driving out to Boulder or Golden for accommodations. The size of the trout that crushed the low floating parachute green drake was another fortuitous development, as brown trout and rainbow trout in the eleven to twelve inch range were fairly common. The estimated cost is $3.26 million against the maximum grant level of $3 million with a 25% match, or $750,000 as well as $260,000 needed to complete the project. I did not pay much attention, but within five minutes a young man clad in a navy blue uniform approached and asked to inspect my license. While you might not see much action on your stimulator dry fly, the entire set up will be more stealthy and spook fewer trout. This fly generated a couple of takes, but it was refused five times for each time a fish consumed it. With this fly on my tippet the fish count mounted to twenty-two. Location: Between Rollinsville and East Portal, South Boulder Creek 09/24/2020 Photo Album. backlog intangible asset; west metro fire union contract. South Boulder Creek Fishing Report - Minturn Anglers Minturn: (970) 827-9500 Denver: (720) 851-4665 Home Guide Trips Vail Valley Trips Wade Trips Float Trips Overnight Float Cast & Taste Horseback Fly Fishing Corporate Trips Kid's Camp Winter Wade Trips Winter Float Trips Menu Wade Trips Float Trips Overnight Float Cast & Taste This circumstance was probably more attributable to the waning hatch than my fly choice, but I persisted with the solitary green drake approach and boosted the fish count to twenty-four. I actually enjoyed double digit days in both instances, and this encouraged me to make the drive to South Boulder Creek on Friday morning. Fishing Pier to Forks Park (Big Tommy / Big T) IV(V+) 24cfs . Hopefully a few more encounters with green drake madness will greet my calendar in 2022 on South Boulder Creek. Perhaps my parachute version was not presenting the fuzzy profile of fluttering wings? By 2:30PM the parachute drake lost its magic. To fish Eldorado Canyon State Park, take Highway 93 North out of Golden until you get to Highway 170. There are an estimated 600 structures and 3,500 people in the South Boulder Creek floodplain within city limits. The fattened trout in the tailwater love shrimp! At one point another angler met up with me, since he parked at the Walker Ranch trailhead, but he cut to the stream quite a bit upstream of my chosen point of entry. Two of the double dry fly attracted trout slurped the hippie stomper and three grabbed the heavily hackled stimulator. Portions of the creek flow through forest lands. Species you might catch. During the 12:00PM to 2:30PM period I could nearly bank on a trout, if I cast to one of these stream structures. I once again swapped flies and replaced the ant with a size 16 deer hair yellow sally. This section is one of the more popular stretches and can be fished year-round. Toward the very end of my time on the creek I replaced the comparadun with a classic size 16 Adams, and that fly also accounted for four trout. The salvation nymph became the main producer, and the turbulent oxygenated water perhaps explained the disproportionate quantity of pink-stripped trout. I was perched along the edge of the creek at 10:45AM, and after I configured my line with a tan pool toy hopper, prince nymph, and salvation nymph; I was ready to cast at 10:50AM. I hiked to my chosen starting point and knotted a size 14 poly wing parachute green drake to my line. Feb 28, 2023 Updated 1 hr ago. The foam backed green drake imitation produced a couple trout, and then it became a refusal machine, so I switched to a size 12 parachute green drake with a turkey flat wing. In many cases the hippie stomper generated a look or refusal, but persistent casting eventually fooled a trout into snatching the nymph particularly at the tail of a pocket or pool or in a riffle with over two to three feet of depth. I quickly checked on South Boulder Creek, and I noted that the flows were recently adjusted to 86 CFS. Looking for more places to fish? Turn West on Hwy 72 to Gross Dam Road. . This is a must see! Snagging kokanee permitted Oct. 1 to Dec.1 only. Finally I connected with a pair of trout, but the catch rate lagged and refusals to the hopper became a commonplace occurrence. In several instances an above average trout attacked the ant, almost as soon as it entered the water, and this reaction always surprises me. Clearly a tumbling sunken terrestrial was not an uncommon occurrence in South Boulder Creek. Instead of a cheap temporary replacement rod, I lightened my wallet to procure the latest top of the line Sage rod. . Perhaps the low lying parachute with the long tail mimics the emerging green drakes early in the hatch? As mentioned earlier, I began probing the depths of the stream with a peacock hippie stomper, but gorgeous deep pools, that I was certain harbored trout, failed to deliver, so I paused to reload with a Jakes gulp beetle. I skipped my fishing shirt and went right to the down coat as my next layer, even though it displayed signs of sweat in several locations. Follow Gross Dam Road down towards the reservoir, when you see the park sign and map, turn right and head uphill, on your way up the South Boulder Trailhead will be on your right. I was hoping the hippie stomper mimicked adult green drakes, the prince covered the presence of green drake nymphs, and the salvation nymph imitated the nymph stage of pale morning duns. I began my day with an ice dub olive hippie stomper, prince nymph and salvation nymph. In the middle section of the creek I encountered three senior fishermen with backpacks, as they congregated along the path, and that was the extent of human presence on my inbound hike. It's more of a wife tail but always fun to recollect. If only the water managers would allow the flows to continue at the current levels. The move paid quick dividends, and I landed five more trout to elevate the fish count to ten, as I found a nice flat rock on the south bank and chowed down with my lunch. Flow 57 cfs; Wind 28 mph; Air Temp 26 F; Low/High 18/29; Rating 3/5. I broke the rod down to four segments and hiked back to the parking lot. Twenty-eight trout in 4.5 hours of fly fishing was appreciated by this avid angler. July 29 was a bit early for drakes, but I suspected some early emergers could be on the creek. . All the trout sported vivid and bright colors, and I thoroughly enjoyed my day. The wing portrayed more bulk, and the tail was apparently a significant keying characteristic, because the trout responded in a major way to the new parachute green drake. Below Gross Reservoir, South Boulder Creek becomes a great tailwater flowing through the Walker Ranch open space. A few to check out are listed below. It's only a 45-minute drive from Denver and is a dry fly fisher's paradise in the summer months. I spotted four or five natural green drakes in the 12:30PM to 1:30PM window, so the hatch was not very dense, but the South Boulder Creek trout never miss a shot at a large meal such as the western green drake. After the plunge pools of Eldorado, the creek mellows out upon entering the flats of Boulder and eventually joins Boulder Creek. 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