Category Archives: Colorado Trout

Deckin’ Em at Deckers

April 1, 2015 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

Colorado in the summer. Snowing four inches one morning, 75 at noon, chilly rain at night…Yeah, that’s predictable. However, one constant does remain – there are always fish to be caught. On this early June day, I got off of work a couple of hours early and decided to hit Deckers and see if my local honey holes would be holding any big rainbows or browns.

It was the end of a week cold spell, and the last two days had been warm and in the sixties, but not abnormally hot. However, in waters that are highly pressured by fisherman year round, there are two rules to go by when fishing the summer time with no specific hatch going on:

1. The smaller, the better.
2. Deep pools are home.

With the sun up, and no hatch going on, I tied on a size 20 flashback pheasant tail along with a mercury midge, and deep nymphed two pools (to be unnamed). The end result: three great bows, and countless suckers. The rainbows were keying in on the midge, and it became difficult in the afternoon to get a drift into the rainbows without hooking a sucker. But for three hours on the water, I’ll take it any day of the week.

Colorado Trout

Deep Winter Rainbows

December 28, 2013 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

Although the winter may keep many fishermen indoors and cuddled up on the couch, I personally love fishing this time of year. Not only is the fishing pressure at a minimum, but the fish can get HUGE in the winter.

On this late December day, I took a trip to Deckers in Colorado in hopes of finding some monster fish. Although no monster fish were there for my dad and I, we still crushed the rainbows ranging from the 10-14 inch range. Photo below is just a typical “Joe” picture while winter time fly fishing.

Colorado Trout

The Best Rainbows of the South Platte

November 10, 2013 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

Although I have been fly fishing the South Platte River near Littleton for almost three years now, I thought it would be cool to make a post with some of the best and most memorable fish that I have pulled out. This post is specifically for the rainbows – to see the monster brown of the South Platte, see the specific post.

As my buddy Justin and I have shared many times, “If you can catch trout in the South Platte, you can catch trout anywhere.” Although this statement may sound a little harsh, it is nothing but the truth. This river, especially in urban scenarios, makes fly fishermen work for every fish they catch. These fish below have tricked me in countless ways, but over the years of experience, I now have several spots on the South Platte where I can catch fish.

Older men will ask me what flies I use to catch these awesome fish, and my answer is pretty simple: any type of midge, RS2, or flashback pheasant tail that is at most a size 18. These fish need small flies and unnoticeable tippet to be caught. Side note: for those just looking to get the “skunk” off the table, a neon pink san juan worm crushes the fish in murky water.

Don’t be surprised to catch random species as well: I have caught countless smallmouth, carp, and the occasional walleye in the South Platte.

Colorado Trout

Nymphing for Pre-Winter Trout

October 20, 2013 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

During fall break, I decided to take a morning trip to one of my favorite “big trout” spots in Colorado: Deckers. On this late October day, I woke up at 5AM, and headed towards Deckers with size 22-24 RS2s and Top Secret Midges. Having vast experience in this fishery, I knew that this time of year can either be really hit or miss. Luckily for me, the day was a huge hit.

After drinking a cup of hot chocolate in my Jeep, I waded up, tied on a double-nymph rig (RS2 and TSM), and headed to my favorite hole. Immediately, I saw fish rising at the surface, which immediately made me want to change my rig. However, as I have learned from fly fishing in Colorado, a lightly weighted nymph rig can end up being the most effective method to catching rising fish.

The morning consisted of 8 fish: a couple of good browns and six beautiful rainbows. One of the bows became my personal best at Deckers being 24 inches (picture below). To my surprise, this fish actually took a size 22 soft hackle emerger, and made this fall break worth noting.

Colorado Trout

Floating the Roaring Fork

June 26, 2013 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

With year two of college around the corner, my dad and I decided to go up to Glenwood Springs and float the Roaring Fork, in hopes of pounding some brownies and ‘bows with some dry dropper setups.

After the three hour drive, we arrived in beautiful Glenwood Springs – but – mother nature clearly was having a bad day. With rain and slight wind, we knew the fish would be moving, and we crushed it. Whether this be with big foam hoppers, or huge caddis patterns, the fish were hitting dries all day long. The afternoon definitely seemed to be favor our droppers (flashback pheasant tails, prince nymphs, anatomays), and we managed to catch some great fish.

Always love floating the Roaring Fork and the Colorado – perfect way to end the summer.

Colorado Trout

Monster Brown on the South Platte

May 13, 2013 tcujsp303 Leave a comment

On this late May day, I found myself getting up early on a Wednesday morning in hopes of being able to hit the South Platte waters in suburban Littleton, CO. After checking the flows online, I knew that there would be some monster trout lurking in some of my secret holes. Thus, I went to the garage, tied on my double nymph rig (flashback pheasant tail and RS2), and set off towards my honey holes.

Although it was May, these spots at the South Platte hold some of the spookiest trout that I have ever seen, thus I still was throwing size 18-22 flies. In addition to this, 6X tippet is a necessity, and no bigger than a 5X leader can be used. Although 5X is considered to be strong, when you are dealing with 24+ inch browns and the occasional rainbow, 5X can be puppy line.

I unloaded my bike from my jeep and immediately took off to my favorite big fish spot on the entire South Platte. The water looked perfect – a small BWO hatch seemed to be coming off, and the sun was not glaring to drastically – making it easier to sneak up on these huge trout.

So I began casting upstream and letting my double-nymph rig come down towards me. Working every seam, I was about to change spots in that I hadn’t seen or hooked any fish. However, I kept casting in a deep riffle right along the bank (probably 5 feet off), and BOOM! A monster brown hit the flashback pheasant tail and took off downstream.

I immediately was fighting this fish on the reel, and bolted downstream in order to keep proper tension with the fish. The fish bulldogged, flew, and jolted all in one fight – it was unusual because I find that you either have the “jumping” fish or the “dogging” fish. But, this fish had the whole package.

After a 15 minute fight or so, I finally got the fish in the net, and let out a scream that the people on the interstate nearby could probably hear. A monster 25 inch brown was in the net – giving me a new personal best for Colorado. Being by myself, I did my best to take some pictures, and luckily for me, they turned out great.