Tag Archives: cutthroat trout streams

light intensity hatch

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“Before I speak, I have something important to say” — Groucho Marx

drake mayfly

Generic hatch charts suggest Green Drakes, small and large in size, start to hatch moderately when a stream tempetature reaches 52-54F (11-12C). The sweet spot is noted to be 54-58F (12-15C) for the most prolific hatches. Yet, there is one stream I fish where I see Drakes at 46F (8C). That’s several degrees cooler. I’ve noticed the key to the hatch on this specific flow is direct sunlight flooding the river bed/bottom. Once solar exposure happens it seems the nymphs are “ready to go”; ready to emerge. And it is not because the water temperature increased significantly in sunlight. On a sunny day I have seen it climb only 3 degrees by late afternoon.

cutthroat on a drake dry

So hatches can be river specific. This particular hatch appears synchronized to the valley’s lighting conditions once water temperatures pass 45F (around 8C). Once light floods the river I start looking for drifting Drakes and hopefully a response from the trout. Cloudy cooler days are never as good. Late afternoon mountain shadows seem to squelch the hatch. The trigger appears to be sunlight.

cutthroat on beetle prospecting

Speaking of hatches…there have been few dry fly opportunities this summer in my region, at least on the dozen or so rivers that I have visited. Bug life has been on the decline for years and this year it seems to have dropped off a cliff; it has “tanked” on most rivers…even on the generally reliable local tailwaters. Hopefully it will improve somewhat before the end of the season. If you are a visiting angler and want to be successful, you’ll have to be versatile in your angling methods.

life ignites

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AT MY LATITUDE DAYS are noticeably getting shorter. Mornings cooler. The sun archs lower. Shadows are longer late afternoon. Some trees are coloring and shedding their leaves. September has arrived in the Rocky Mountains.

It was 46f (water temperature) at 11:30 am on a nearby mountain stream the other day. It always runs cold. It’s cold in July. It’s cold in August. Same in September. By mid afternoon the creek probably was a few degrees warmer. Maybe it hit the 50f mark, probably not. Some hatches especially the larger Drakes are only suppose to emerge when the water temperature climbs above 50f and into the mid fifties. In the stream I was on Drakes can pop below 50f, some of the large ones and definitely the smaller, Flavs (Flavilinea Drunella). In my experience it just takes sunlight to flood the river bottom. That seems to be the trigger. That’s the spark that gets a really good hatch going in a frigid flow. With the mid-day sunlight the submerged rock clinging nymphs then let go and make their way to the surface. And trout wake-up and begin chasing their ascent, and start feeding on those riding on the surface. The river comes alive. Witnessing it is always special as is searching for the best that the stream has to offer when life ignites…

pierre

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“We fish for hours only to hold a trout for seconds”– Unknown

RECENTLY FRIENDS FROM the Montreal area visited the region. Pierre had experience fishing lakes but never trout streams in the Rocky Mountains. We spent four days combing a few freestone rivers. He said he did not have a lot of experience casting a fly rod. With some basic tips, however, within one-half of a day he was able to consistently get the fly where he wanted to and in front of trout. He even threw tight loops into the wind. In short order he became a natural at casting, wading rivers and reading the water. His athleticism and calm, patient manner and positive attitude were a real advantage. And with all of that came great success. Some beautiful Cutthroat trout were caught on dry flies, admired and released. It was an easy and enjoyable hosting/guiding experience for me. It was a breeze. A great guy to spend a day with on the river. I hope he returns to visit again. Some images captured on our outings…

The Originals

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Original: “Present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest”.

COOL FOR AUGUST. Overall a cool summer here. And a fair amount of rain. That’s bad for campers. That’s good for trout. Everywhere else in the northern hemisphere it seems to be cooking.

Stream banks, intact ones, great spot to search for trout

I visited a local stream up in the mountains. Clear water up there. Water like air. I was hoping for a hatch. I’m always hoping for a hatch. The conditions looked perfect. It never happened. Just a few Drakes. More as the day progressed. The odd rise. I would have got skunked if I didn’t know the river section I was on well. I walked more than I fished. Last time I was on the river it was late spring, early summer. Today I connected with a few good ones. My reel sang. I believe a reel with a good sound helps me play/ land fish. It’s the feedback.

I casted barbless dry flies. Makes for an easy release on the native trout. A couple of beautiful ones came to hand. Cutthroats with a strong, pronounced slash. The originals…”existing from the beginning”.

Slight undercut

creek walking

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“YOU WILL NEVER GET THE TRUTH out of a narcissist,. The closest you will come is a story that either makes them the victim or the hero, but never the villain”. — Shannon L. Adler

CREEK WALKING. NO TROUT ROD IN HAND. Out scouting the upper reaches of a mountain stream for next (angling) season. Harper and I discover that some rolling stones do gather moss…

creek

mountain spring

Standing in a River Waving a Stick

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“I’m an instinctive caster and use whatever elements of the formal casts I need to get a good drift. I think it’s best to be inventive and flexible…I’ll cast upstream, downstream or sideways; whichever direction gets me the drift I want.”– John Gierach, Author, Trout Bum

SOME NIGHTS HAVE BEEN COLD. I HEAR the furnace kicking-in in the wee hours. Rivers are cooling down. There are fewer late afternoon rising fish. They are retreating. Bottom hugging. The big sleep is coming. I just read John Gierach passed away. A big loss. If you are a fly fisher you know whom I talking about.

A few season end images. It has been a good one. Glad I covered a lot of moving water. Glad I stood in a river and waved a stick….