When I arrived at the Kayak Parking Lot only one vehicle was present, and while I prepared to fish another car arrived. I suspect that I will never make the drive to western South Boulder Creek again, but it was fun to experience a new stretch of the stream. Dave of Charlies Fly Box was a good salesman. 2018 Front Range Anglers. The air temperature was warmer on Wednesday compared to the previous Friday, and I was curious how that might affect the timing of the green drake hatch. I replaced the parachute with a comparadun with a large deer hair wing profile, and suddenly the trout began to grab the size 14 fraud. If only the water managers would allow the flows to continue at the current levels. It's only a 45-minute drive from Denver and is a dry fly fisher's paradise in the summer months. This fly was difficult to track, and it never produced as much as a look, so it was quickly returned to the green drake fly box. Explore this 2.5-mile out-and-back trail near Boulder, Colorado. The creek is one of the hidden gems in the front range and right out our back door. The star of my fly fishing outing on September 10, 2021 on South Boulder Creek was the sunk ant. It seemed that the hatch reached a crescendo by 2:30PM and then abruptly reverted to the sporadic emergence that characterized the early afternoon time frame. During my hike back to the parking lot I stopped and cherry picked a few prime pools and supplemented the fish count with an additional five to reach fifty-two. South Boulder Creek 08/03/2022 Photo Album. By 2:30PM the parachute drake lost its magic. When the flies were free and separated, I reversed the hand over hand process to resume gripping the rod at the cork handle, but unbeknownst to me, the reel and butt end of the rod had dipped below the surface of the creek behind a large branch that was wedged between several large rocks. I was unfamiliar with the section, but my instincts paid off, when I entered the creek just above a no trespassing sign. The tailwater is home to a variety of trout species. That said, you can still manage to catch fish during this time. South Platte Area Rivers South Platte Explore river levels and compare water years. Possession limits may apply. I knotted a peacock hippie stomper to my line under the assumption that it was close enough to a green drake, that it would attract attention, if western green drakes were still active. South Boulder Creek Trail (#900) Length: East Portal Trailhead (TH) to: Heart Lake - 4.2 miles; Rogers Pass - 4.6 miles. While the increase was small, flows are now back within the ideal range for this time of year. Unfortunately the easy dry fly fishing did not endure, and I suffered through an extended dry spell. Gun Shy to Jasper Creek (The . Regardless, you'll want to focus on getting your nymphs into the deepest water column while targeting the deep and slow pools, runs and pockets as this is where the highest concentration of trout will be. Check out our DIY Guide to the Best Fly Fishing Gear for recommendations. The fish were all wild gems with brilliant and vivid coloration. July 29 was a bit early for drakes, but I suspected some early emergers could be on the creek. Winter fishing is possible, but the intense cold and frozen river flow in places may be too much for some. Each green drake produced a few trout, but the South Boulder Creek cold water trout were not locked into green drakes with the same fervor that they displayed on my three prior trips. This was enough to spur this fisherman to dust off the fly rod. Looking for more places to fish? Its all public land from the stream gauge until you get to the reservoir. The higher than ideal flows reduced the number of viable trout holding locations, and I was largely reduced to short drifts in bank side pockets, as I ignored the rapidly cascading flows in the middle of the creek. Five cars were ahead of me in the kayak lot. See current fishing conditions, free Colorado hatch chart and blog with our best fishing tips from local guides. On Wednesday, August 3, 2022 I found myself once again perched along South Boulder Creek, but in this case I was gripping a brand new Sage nine foot, four weight R8 rod. Two of the double dry fly attracted trout slurped the hippie stomper and three grabbed the heavily hackled stimulator. South Boulder Creek, below Gross Reservoir, is fishing comparatively well for this time of year and while the lower stretches are prone to ice, the water nearest the dam is generally a safe bet. Although I continued to fish very attractive spots with no results, I did hook and land three small trout on the prince. I concluded that I could generate refusals just as easily with the more buoyant peacock hippie stomper, so I swapped out the parachute green drake, and as I was performing this transition, I noted a small stonefly and a couple small pale morning duns. I decided it was time to convert to a green drake. My streak of catching a fish in each month of the calendar year remained alive; however, December will certainly be a challenge for this fair weather angler. By 12:30PM I spied a pair of natural green drakes, so in spite of enjoying a decent catch rate, I took the plunge and removed the dry/dropper arrangement and migrated to a parachute green drake. I replaced the prince with a salvation nymph with the hope that a pale morning dun nymph imitation might kick start some action, and similar to the prince, it generated a few small fish, but it did not seem to be a prevalent food source. The creek is one of the hidden gems in the front range and right out our back door. Friday was a bittersweet day. That being said, much of the river freezes over in the winter leaving fewer fishable locations. I suspect this may have been some sort of record for this long time angler. Between 12:15PM and 2:00PM I benefitted from my layer rearrangement, and I was at my peak level of comfort for the day, although I was not basking in a glow of satisfying warmth. The stomper did not generate action in a couple of prime pools, so I added a one foot leader and attached a size 14 gray stimulator for a double dry offering. The stream flows to a confluence with Boulder Creek in northeast Boulder. It seemed that one out of every five looks resulted in a landed fish, with the others categorized as refusals. I decided that the profile was too narrow, and I dug in my green drake box and extracted one of the new ones, that I tied last week. Once I gathered myself and took stock of the impact of the near dunking, I was ready to resume casting, but at this point I discovered that my lucky parachute green drake was MIA. I regard 80 CFS as perfect, but 105 CFS is quite favorable. This period of inaction convinced me to convert to a dry/dropper approach, and I aligned my lineup with a tan pool toy hopper, pheasant tail nymph and hares ear nymph. The trout density was amazing, and a first cast to prime water nearly always elicited a strike. Toggle navigation. During this time a second poly wing parachute joined its cousin in the retired fly patch, as the hackle climbed up the wing post. We take a number of different data points to make our fishing recommendation. Its source is near Rogers Pass on the Continental Divide. The salvation nymph became the main producer, and the turbulent oxygenated water perhaps explained the disproportionate quantity of pink-stripped trout. I was weary and faced more hiking, so I abandoned the goal of fifty and marched back to the parking lot. Click on the sunk ant link to read more about my history with sunken ants, and you will also find the source of the pattern I choose to deploy. I am proud to claim South Boulder Creek as my home water. I noted a couple of natural green drakes shortly after lunch, so I decided to migrate directly to my ace in the hole parachute green drake. Monitoring location 06730200 is associated with a STREAM in BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO. Sign Up For the Latest News, Sales And Deals, 2023 Trouts Fly Fishing. Fridays success required adjustments, as the day progressed. A nice fall day and manageable flows were all I needed to make the drive to the kayak parking lot high above the creek and near the dam. Of course I needed to respond to the conditions a few times, as I rotated through my green drake styles, but the solution to the puzzle was rather apparent. I estimate that two rainbows and three brown trout stretched to the twelve to thirteen inch range, and the remainder were beneath the one foot cut off. On Thursday evening I searched through my South Boulder Creek blog reports on this site, and I found two from October 2017 that described my experience, when the flows trickled at 9.3 CFS and 10.5 CFS. Free up-to-date fly fishing reports for Colorado public waters. Anyone interested in fishing South Boulder Creek or waters within the wider area around Boulder should . The Grillos user friendly contains two layers of thin foam, and I was hoping for improved floatation. In one of the larger pockets I plopped the beetle (moodah poodah), and a brown trout shot across the small pool to inhale the foam terrestrial and raised the fish count to thirteen. That's the closest . what was the louvre before it was a museum. Anglers should also be aware that walking along the train tracks is considered trespassing on Amtrak land, and passenger and freight trains pass by throughout the day. This creek starts up in the Indian Peaks near the Moffat Tunnel and gains momentum on its journey towards the cool deep waters of Gross Reservoir. As mentioned earlier, I began probing the depths of the stream with a peacock hippie stomper, but gorgeous deep pools, that I was certain harbored trout, failed to deliver, so I paused to reload with a Jakes gulp beetle. On August 13 my early efforts with a parachute green drake and peacock hippie stomper were not effective, thus, I chose a dry/dropper combination with a pair of heavy nymphs. Friday was another hot day in Colorado, and the air temperature in South Boulder Creek Canyon probably peaked around 80 degrees. For my final layer I pulled on my rain shell. Its less so about the direction but the cause for the . On July 29 I sensed that I was on the cusp of a spectacular day, and August 3 pretty much confirmed that my intuition was correct. A few random rises appeared, and I interpreted these as a sign to tie on a PMD comparadun. SOUTH PLATTE BASIN Fishing Report View Report. I was still seeing the occasional natural, so I decided to cycle through a few more of my green drake styles. As my morning evolved, I spotted five yellow sallies, as they slowly glided skyward toward the streamside trees. South Boulder Creek Fishing Reports There are a number of area fly shops and on-line retailers that publish South Boulder Creek fly fishing reports. I plan to take advantage of the nice fall weather to undertake a few more fishing outings over the remainder of this first week in November. Far and away the typical landed brown trout was in the nine to eleven inch range. Would the trout and green drakes cooperate? Prepare for success with accurate data about the type of fish that are caugh in South Boulder Creek, learn what baits are used, and fish smarter with weather forecasts. I sensed I was on the verge of a stellar outing, as a few mayflies made an appearance above the creek, and a couple were likely green drakes. The access to this section is fairly easy taking visitors up and over Flagstaff Mountain, onto a dirt road, and into the wilderness. I recognized that I was at a high risk of overheating on my inbound hike, but I did not have a proper place to stow my light down coat. Boulder, Colorado February 28 2023 Start Your Free Trial . I made many more casts to each prospective holding lie, and many quality spots failed to produce, but if I persisted, I could dupe a trout here and there. The size of the trout that crushed the low floating parachute green drake was another fortuitous development, as brown trout and rainbow trout in the eleven to twelve inch range were fairly common. One angler dressed in shorts departed with his dog, before I was prepared to do the same. The temperatures gradually warmed into highs in the sixties on Saturday and Sunday, and the long range forecast for Monday, November 2 through Friday was very encouraging with highs touching the seventies. By now it was 2:30PM, and the bright sun warmed the atmosphere to the upper seventies. I checked the flows upon our return from camping early in the week, and the releases dropped the outflow from 125 CFS to 105 CFS. I examined my box closely and decided to try a comparadun with a large and dark deer hair wing. Thursday was another adventure on heretofore never fished water in Colorado. While the creek above the reservoir presents some decent fishing and offers a number of public access points, for the sake of this report, well be focused on the section below the Gross Reservoir. Water data back to 1986 are available online. During higher water, heavier nymph rigs or the tight-line approach will help get your bugs down. Access to the tailwater section is via the Walker Ranch Open Space. South Boulder Creek 07/29/2022 Photo Album. Based on previous experience, I knew that this level is high in the narrow canyon; however, I have enjoyed decent success at these levels particularly when green drakes and pale morning duns are active. These are simply my own theories and not based on any scientific research. A wildlife paradise with reports of Deer, Elk, Bear, and Moose. Weeds are starting to emerge. All the prime locations produced fish, and the browns and infrequent rainbows inhaled the impostor with confidence. Once again moderate riffles and the tail of pockets and pools were the home to trout feeders. I visited the relatively close tailwater on 8/13/2021 and 08/18/2021 and enjoyed much success. South Boulder Creek SOUTH PLATTE BASIN Fishing Report Weather @SOUTH PLATTE BASIN - Updated February 08, 2023 - 3:35am by OpenWeather Current River Flow Updates Historical River Flow River Information This small tailwater located below Gross reservoir provides great year-round fishing. Flows on August 18 remained at 102 CFS, and I took advantage. If you live in Black Canyon City you're less than 10 miles from Boulder Creek. I broke the rod down to four segments and hiked back to the parking lot. Whether you're fly fishing or otherwise your chances of getting a bite here are good. When I returned home, I immediately filed a repair claim with Far Bank (the company that now owns Sage), and then I printed the QR code and address and packed up the broken rod to ship for repair. Subscribe to fly fishing's most informative email list and receive news, events and special offers! NEAR BOULDER, CO - USGS Water Data for the Nation. CPW issues hunting and fishing licenses, conducts research to improve wildlife management activities, protects high priority wildlife . Stonefly and mayfly nymphs are also common. Current conditions of DISCHARGE and GAGE HEIGHT are available. Every year anglers routinely catch browns in excess of 18 inches. 11.1 CFS dictates cautious approaches and long delicate casts, but Friday proved that success can be found at relatively low flows, and sunken ants were part of the equation. After lunch I replaced the hares ear with a pheasant tail and eventually a salvation nymph, and the salvation accounted for a single fish, while the prince and hippie stomper chipped in one each. Durable, green drake number two proved to be a fragile version of the pattern. Perhaps my parachute version was not presenting the fuzzy profile of fluttering wings? Discharge can vary here- from very skinny (~10CFS) to fairly turbulent (200+ CFS). I decided to make the trip on Friday, July 29, 2022. Fish With Us. 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