Summer Fishing
So much has happened in the last 30 days. We've got wheels again. Saving up for the right vehicle instead of just jumping into anything was a good idea. We've been making up for lost time fishing, and I probably won't mention every place because the joy of discovery is as good as anything. Let's start with the first few weeks and places I'm willing to reveal....
1. Poage Lake - For Durangoans, this is quite a haul, but we were already in the area east of Wolf Creek for a few nights camping. Our goal was to catch Rio Grande Cutthroat, a species I'd never caught. In the area we fished some really fun and difficult "Curtis Creek" kind of Brookie streams where you had to dap dry flies over the edge from your hands and knees to not spook the fish who were the spookiest fish I've ever seen. On to Poage lake, you see by the sign at the trailhead (a very well used trail) that it is a special water situation with Brook Trout and Rio Grande Cutthroat. The bag limit is 2 fish of 12" or less. This policy must be working because the lake is infested with Rio Grande Cutthroat. We used dry flies and had a great time. On our second visit to this lake, we found that with the sun directly over head the fish were very tippet aware. That day we used ants and beetles and had a great time. What a fantastic lake! We were looking for a few fish to put on the campfire, so we weren't hunting for monsters, but there's gotta be some in there.
2. Priest Lake - In case you didn't know, Trout Lake near Telluride is closed for the 2014 season and has been drained quite a bit for dam repairs. We didn't know either, we were meeting family from Montrose so it seemed like a nice inbetween point, however when it was closed we headed down to Priest Lake nearby. It was low and full of algae, but there were Brookies in there, very tricky to catch, which made it kind of fun. I ended up dropping a very small mayfly nymph from a dry fly to catch them.
3. Hermosa Creek - Since the Rotenone application years ago, the fish have grown. The last time I'd fished this creek (by the backside chairlifts at Purgatory) it was full of very small fish. They seem to have grown and I caught a few near 8" but nothing spectacular.
4. Vallecito - The Smallmouth Bass are back in the rip-rap and boy are they fun to catch. You can't go wrong fishing for smallies this time of year. We haven't been out for Kokanee, however I did see a picture of quite a monster from Doc's Marina, over 16" long and very slabby. That is GOOD news!
Ahhh, the miracle of having a vehicle once again. Sorry for the lag in posts, but as any fisherman knows, there are times when life gets in the way of fishing and sometimes we just have to wait out the storm. Tight lines!
1. Poage Lake - For Durangoans, this is quite a haul, but we were already in the area east of Wolf Creek for a few nights camping. Our goal was to catch Rio Grande Cutthroat, a species I'd never caught. In the area we fished some really fun and difficult "Curtis Creek" kind of Brookie streams where you had to dap dry flies over the edge from your hands and knees to not spook the fish who were the spookiest fish I've ever seen. On to Poage lake, you see by the sign at the trailhead (a very well used trail) that it is a special water situation with Brook Trout and Rio Grande Cutthroat. The bag limit is 2 fish of 12" or less. This policy must be working because the lake is infested with Rio Grande Cutthroat. We used dry flies and had a great time. On our second visit to this lake, we found that with the sun directly over head the fish were very tippet aware. That day we used ants and beetles and had a great time. What a fantastic lake! We were looking for a few fish to put on the campfire, so we weren't hunting for monsters, but there's gotta be some in there.
2. Priest Lake - In case you didn't know, Trout Lake near Telluride is closed for the 2014 season and has been drained quite a bit for dam repairs. We didn't know either, we were meeting family from Montrose so it seemed like a nice inbetween point, however when it was closed we headed down to Priest Lake nearby. It was low and full of algae, but there were Brookies in there, very tricky to catch, which made it kind of fun. I ended up dropping a very small mayfly nymph from a dry fly to catch them.
Ahhh, the miracle of having a vehicle once again. Sorry for the lag in posts, but as any fisherman knows, there are times when life gets in the way of fishing and sometimes we just have to wait out the storm. Tight lines!
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