Time: 10:30AM – 3:15PM Location: National Forest land Willow Creek 07/17/2024 Photo Album Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities. A friend of mine from college asked me to mentor his grandson, who displayed a new interest in fly fishing. My friend’s sixteen year old grandson, Ben, lives in Golden, CO, and he recently took up fly fishing. I eagerly agreed to the proposal, as I am a proponent of introducing young folks to m ..read more

Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM Location: West of Frisco, CO North Fork of Ten Mile Creek 07/16/2024 Photo Album If you read my last report, you know that I dipped into my bag of good fortune, when I recovered my lost wading staff on Bear Creek. Apparently I used up my good luck. Let me explain. For Tuesday I planned a trip to a new stream that I never fished previously. I prepared my lunch on Monday and allowed my gear to remain in the car from Monday’s trip. I woke up earlier than normal, and these actions paid off, when I departed from the garage at 7:00AM. My destination required a two hour drive a ..read more

Time: 10:30AM – 2:30PM Location: Between Morrison and Evergreen Bear Creek 07/15/2024 Photo Album I had a commitment which required me to leave our house in Denver by 5:00PM, and additionally I needed time for a shower, a change of clothes and time to pick up dinner. In order to complete this timeline, I needed to quit fishing no later than 3:00PM. This constraint, in turn, dictated that my fly fishing outing on Monday needed to be nearby. With high temperatures projected to reach 95 degrees, the Front Range offered few good alternatives. My friend, Nate, provided some positive reports on Bear ..read more

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM Location: National Forest Willow Creek 07/12/2024 Photo Album Note: In order to protect small high country streams, I have chosen to change the name for a few. This particular creek happens to be one of them. Excessive exposure could lead to crowding and lower fish densities. Start of Lower Gradient Section A high of 102 degrees was predicted for Denver on Friday, July 12, 2024, so I sought a fly fishing destination at high elevation. My friend, Nate, told me about one such place, so I decided to make the trip. I love exploring new fly fishing destinations, and visiting ..read more

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM Location: Between Avon and Eagle, Colorado Eagle River 07/09/2024 Photo Album My camping experience launched with a tough start, when I was unable to screw the regulator from the camp stove into the neck of the propane canisters. I tried four different containers with the same result, and my wrist and fingers were on the brink of injury as a result of all the pushing and twisting. I was forced to drive back to Minturn for a BBQ dinner at the Kirby Cosmos eatery, so glamping was gradually replacing camping. Surely my one night camping outing could not get any worse. I ret ..read more

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM Location: West of Wolcott Eagle River 07/08/2024 Photo Album I was mostly over my cold, and with the Fourth of July week in the rear view mirror, I decided to do my first fly fishing/camping venture of the year. I departed Denver by 8:30AM, and this enabled me to reach my chosen destination on the Eagle River by 10:45AM. The dashboard registered 72 degrees and the flows were in the 700 -800 CFS range. I love edge fishing the Eagle River, and the conditions were nearly perfect for that approach. For the most part I confined my casts to the twenty feet of river that border ..read more

Time: 12:30PM – 3:30PM Location: Near Copper Mountain Curtain Ponds 07/02/2024 Photo Album Tuesday, July 2, 2024 was my first of two scheduled days of float fishing during 2024 with a guide from Cutthroat Anglers. I drove to Eagle, CO on Monday evening and stayed with my friend Dave G. and his wife, Beth. Dave G. sets up multiple guided float trips each summer, and I join for a few of them. On Monday evening Dave G. communicated with our guide, Reed, and we agreed to meet at the Eagle rest stop at 9:00AM on Tuesday. All went as planned. We arrived at the parking lot at the rest stop on time, a ..read more

Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM Location: Two of the many ponds Curtain Ponds 06/28/2024 Photo Album My day on Hermosa Creek and the East Fork whet my appetite for stream fishing; however, when I reviewed the flows on Thursday evening, I determined that river and stream options along the Front Range and within a couple hours were limited. The Yampa River within the town of Steamboat Sprints dropped to the 900 CFS range, and I love edge fishing at that level, but the drive was more than six hours round trip, and I was unable to plan a Friday night stayover. Friday kicked off the Fourth of July week, and ..read more

Time: 1:30PM – 3:30PM Location: Below the confluence of the East and West Forks of Hermosa Creek Hermosa Creek 06/23/2024 Photo Album I found the Hermosa Trail parking lot, and I was surprised by the presence of quite a few vehicles. I quickly learned that the Hermosa Creek Trail was popular with mountain bikers. I was already suited up with my waders, and my rod was rigged, so I quickly departed. My goal was to fish below the confluence of the two forks in order to find higher flows and more forgiveness for my casts. High and Tinged with Color Early Catch I hiked for .8 mile, and I reached th ..read more

Time: 10:45AM – 12:15PM Location: Meadow section two miles above confluence with West Fork East Fork of Hermosa Creek 06/23/2024 Photo Album Upon our arrival in Durango, I visited Duranglers to suck up local information on fly fishing conditions. I follow Duranglers on Instagram, thus the connection. In exchange for information I bought a spool of Rio 5X tippet, but I must confess that I was shocked at the price. The young man who helped me find the tippet rack suggested three stream options for me to consider. After enduring heavy rain on Thursday and Friday in southwestern Colorado, I was fa ..read more