|
Spring
According to Ranch guide Greg Sheets, writing in “Trout
Tales” published by Bob’s Fly Shop in Loveland,
the Big Thompson River in April “can
be a very good month. Winter’s ice has finally
melted away, run-off has yet to occur, and the first
real hatch of the season begins. The blue-winged olive
mayfly is surely welcome to both the fish and the fisherman
as it is the first time we’ve seen those little
"sailboats" since last October! A good choice
for a pattern is the good old Adams in a #18. There
are other more up-dated patterns around, but a regular
or parachute Adams will catch the wild browns and rainbows
of the River. Best places to look for a hatch depends
on the weather conditions (watch out for those freak
spring snow storms!) and the water temperature.”
May can be a very good time or it can be a very
bad time depending on the amount of run-off there is
and the late spring weather. The first two weeks should
produce some fine nymphing using large (#8) golden stonefly
nymphs. The bugs are starting their annual migration
towards the shore so that they can crawl out of their
shucks and fly off to produce another generation. Not
all of the 'stones will be of the golden variety as
there are good numbers of brown and black ones moving.
I just seem to have more luck with the golden patterns,
but then again, that's the one that I use the most.
Go figure! There will also be a pretty good BWO hatch
this month, but fish it early. Once the water starts
to come up in earnest it will be hard to find a trout
willing to bust up through the raging water to take
your #18 parachute Adams.”
The Spring runoff can occur any time between
mid-May and late June. During this time the river is
still fishable, but usually from the banks along the
sides. By mid-July you can usually count on a normal
flow. The spring-fed lakes are unaffected by runoff.
The Big
Valley Lakes are boiling with activity in late March,
April and May. This is the period for the big chironomid
midge hatches In late April and May, the callibaetis
mayflies emerge in small but constant numbers. Based
on two years worth of fishing reports of 75 anglers,
Mother Lake yielded 362 trout during the April-May period.
The most successful flies included the giant midge emerger
(also called bow-tie buzzer), the Parachute Adams size
16 or 18, and size 8 or 6 woolly buggers (usually olive)
and leeches (purple). Muddlers and copper muddlers also
took fish.
Summer
The Big Valley Lakes are all full of water and
the trout are actively feeding. June is the period for
continuing midge hatches, increasing callibaetis mayfly
activity and the beginning of damselfly activity Based
on two years worth of fishing reports of 85 anglers,
Mother Lake yielded 546 trout during the June-July period.
The most successful flies included damsel drys, damsel
nymphs, woolly buggers and rabbit leeches in olive,
black and purple colors, the Parachute Adams size 16
or 18. Crayfish imitations also took fish. July-August
is the period for prime damselfly activity. Based on
two years worth of fishing reports of 107 anglers, during
the July-August period, Mother Lake yielded 563 trout.
The most popular dry fly during this period, by a wide
margin, was the damsel adult, followed, in order, by
hoppers (tied madam X style), beetles, ants, and callibaetis
duns and spinners (a Parachute Adams with white tails,
size 16, is a good imitation). Under the surface, the
most successful fly was the damsel nymph (imitated by
a small olive woolly bugger, size 12 or 10), along with
the usual assortment of olive, black and purple woolly
buggers and zonkers. Small nymphs and midges size 20
also caught fish.
The Big Thompson River. By mig-July the runoff usually
subsides and the River flowing through the Ranch grounds
becomes transformed into its beautiful, clear, sparkling,
wadeable self. Caddis hatches are phenomenal, with
clouds of the little tent-moths swarming around tree
limbs along the River. The trout resume their usual
feeding positions and start charging after dries. During
the 5 PM to dusk feeding frenzy period, they take almost
anything you throw at them. The average size river
fish is 13 inches, but sixteen inchers are fairly common
common. Occassionaly a 25-inch brown is landed. On
July 22 I was wading upstream with my two-fly rig dangling
in the water behind me when a 14-inch brown grabbed
the bottom fly, a size 14 sparkle caddis emerger. I
decided to fish the riffle back downstream, holding
the rod tip high, dragging the dropper through the
water and bouncing my upper fly, a big size 10 Royal
Trude, along the surface. The trout went crazy launching
themselves at this moving target, like a bunch of addicts
who know it's wrong but just can't help themselves.
Most of them missed, but by the end of the hour I landed
six nice trout between 13 and 16 inches, half browns
and half rainbows. What fun!
Fall
The Big Thompson River runs low and clear (and very
wadeable) in the fall. This means spectacular dry fly
fishing. I often rig a dry fly (a size 16 elk-hair caddis,
a 14 royal trude, or a 16 parachute adams pattern) as
a strike indicator, with a light-weight nymph or wet
fly (an old-fashioned size 14 blue quill wet is great)
as a dropper.
The Big Valley Lakes are ready for hoppers and beetles.
Ants, drowned or floating, now come into their own.
Based on two years worth of fishing reports of 87 anglers,
Mother Lake yielded 348 trout during the August-September
period. The most successful dry flies, in order, included
X-legged hoppers (which also caught the biggest trout),
damsel drys, ants, beetles, callibaetis spinners, and
parachute adams. The most successful sub-surface flies
included woolly buggers, especially olive-colored)
damsel nymphs, leeches, especially olive, and size
20 midges fished as droppers. Pheasant tail nymphs,
crayfish and shrimp imitations also took fish.
Winter
Although many Colorado anglers hand up their gear when
winter hits, our mild foothills climate and constant
temperature spring water keeps our trophy lakes fishable
most of the year.
The Big Valley Lakes continue to be fishable
through part of the winter months of December, January
and February. The springs keep parts of the lakes unfrozen
on many days. On December 13 several years ago, Brad
Bischoff of Ft. Collins landed 15 rainbows between 18
and 22 inches, and one 26-inch monster rainbow, on an
olive leech with a full sinking line in Mother Lake.
Winter anglers most frequently mentioned the following
most effective flies in order of importance: Woolly
buggers and rabbit leeches, especially olive colored,
also black and purple mentioned; small midge emergers
(size 18-24); small nymphs, including prince, pheasant
tail, hare’s ear and bead head hare’s ear.
According to fishing permit forms turned in, the lakes
were visited a total of 46 times in March a two-year
period, and some 113 trout were landed. The most effective
flies during this month were olive or black woolly buggers,
black and purple leeches, and various small nymphs,
especially pheasant tails, hare’s ear and prince
nymphs. Midges, both adults and emergers, were also
mentioned frequently.
The Big Thompson River. The Big Thompson River fishes
well through the first big snow and freeze, then the
water dwindles in flow and the trout head for the deep
holes. According to Ranch guide Greg Sheets, writing
in Trout Tales newsletter produced by Bob’s Fly
Shop, “October can be a very special time on
the Big Thompson. Fall is in full swing and the colors
of the turning leaves are an added bonus to the usually
excellent fishing. We have a second Baetis hatch that
reaches it's climax in the middle of the month that
gets the fish "looking up" for the last time
of the season. A parachute Adams, Comparadun or a CDC
dun is almost a sure bet for some excellent dry fly
fishing. The water level will be low, so use 6x or
even 7x tippets. The fish have "seen it all" by
now, which means that a careful approach and good presentation
is a must. Fishing like this will be good practice
for the winter midging just around the corner.” In
March, the river starts to open up and the midges begin
showing up in numbers significant enough to kick the
trout into a surface feeding display. Perhaps my favorite
adult (dry fly) pattern is the Griffith’s Gnat.
It's a very easy pattern to tie and is so effective
when you encounter rising fish this month that it is
one of those "confidence flies" that makes
you smile when you tie it on. You just KNOW you'll
catch fish!
|
