10/09/12 Clear Creek at Georgetown

10/09/12
Clear Creek at Georgetown
4:00 - 6:00 PM

Cooler temps means fall is in the air!  And as the cooler temps settle in, the browns start staging for their spawning run!

Clear Creek is my go to place to catch fall browns.  They move up out of the Georgetown Lake and into Clear Creek and tend to congregate here for spawning activity.

Last year, I made it here much earlier than this year so I was happy to see lots of browns stacked up under the bridge and up in the deep pool behind the apartments.  The water is way lower than it was last year, but I don't think that has stopped the browns from making their run up.  Numbers look to be about the same as last year, but that's just from eyeballing and I have no empirical data to back that.

It was relatively busy; I saw 3 cars in the parking lot, but this short little stretch can get fished out quickly when you have a fisherman at every bend and run.  Luckily, there wasn't anybody at the deep pool when I arrived, but 2 guys were fishing under the bridge and another downstream.

I rigged up with a 4 mm orange bead egg, followed by a hare's ear and red copper john.

I had hits on all three patterns, with most taking either the bead egg or copper john.  Weird since the hare's ear was the preferred pattern last year.  No need for a lot of weight, just a little to get your rig down if you aren't running tungsten beadheads.

Lots of fish were between the 12-16 in. range with one or 2 pushing 17 and maybe a  long and skinny 18 incher.

Be careful of the redds, fish are already starting to stake their spots on the gravel beds in preparation for spawning.  Avoid walking through them

Also, be careful and try not to snag the fish.  They are stacked in there tight, and they are eating aggressively so watch your indicator carefully and look for true takes and not the slight wiggle from your flies and tippet brushing up against the fish.

09/15/12 Clear Creek Golden to Blackhawk

09/15/12
Clear Creek Above Golden
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

I only had a few hours so I thought I'd run up and see how Clear Creek has been doing!  I hadn't been there in a while, and the last time I was there, I only fished between tunnel 1 and 2.  This time, I decided to head up further and try to fish past tunnel 3.

I'm glad I did, since almost every parking spot and pull out was full of cars!  I didn't really see anybody fishing, but lots of people were hiking or climbing in the canyon.

I decided to give my new Scott A4 4 weight 10 ft rod a try since it would be the perfect rod to get some good drifts since Clear Creek isn't very wide.  I rigged up a 3 fly rig with soft hackle pheasant tail, a hare's ear, and a WD40.

2 casts in, and fish on!

A nice little brownie that took my hare's ear.  I managed to catch fish on all 3 flies and they were all brownies except for 1 rainbow that managed to squirm out of my hand before I could snap a picture.

Nothing super big, but still fun nonetheless.  After making my way upstream, I decided to switch up my flies and try a dry dropper rig.  Fish still continued to take the hare's ear and WD40, but none wanted anything to do with a stimulator, foam hopper, or even an elk hair caddis.  It probably didn't help that I was fishing during the hottest part of the day!

In any case, it was a fun few hours and not a bad drive to catch a good dozen fish.  Lots of hungry fish and flows are low and clear!

Clear Creek at Georgetown 11/07/11

No solid lid of ice yet, and there is still open water at the inlet with good fishing available...

Fishing is still good with nymphs and egg patterns. Size of the fish has dropped, I suspect that people have been taking the larger fish.

I know fishing to spawning fish is quite controversial, so please practice catch and release and there is no need to play the fish to exhaustion. I fish with a 5x leader and 6x tippet and I've had no problem bringing fish in quickly and releasing them.

When I arrived today at noon, there was nobody there, but people started filling up the parking area by 2:00. EVERYBODY was fishing close to the bridge and quite a few people were snagging. One guy even had the nerve to show me what he was using to catch fish...2 bare lead head jig hook. He asked me how the fishing was upstream and I replied good...I should have said terrible because he made his way up there to snag some more fish and run them back to his car. He only caught two and moved back to the bridge saying it was easier to fish off the bridge.

Anyways...it's going to happen at most fisheries with close access to Denver and decent fishing... do what you can to educate others and if someone is knowingly breaking the law, call the DOW's operation game theft line.

No pictures, since I just got a go pro and was playing with that, enjoy the little video! I know the resolution is terrible...I gotta figure out a way to make the editing software to save in high res.



I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it back to Georgetown before it all ices up, but I'll be fishing the Arkansas below Pueblo around Thanksgiving as well as the Blue River in Silverthorne. Keep your eyes peeled for those fishing reports.

10/15/11 - 10/16/11 Weekend on Clear Creek

I had a hall pass for the weekend to get out a fish! I wasn't going to waste the chance so I decided to hit up Clear Creek again. The browns are running strong now and stacked up in every pool from the inlet, all the way upstream. They are especially stacked along the sandbar at the inlet as well, looking for their opportunity to make it upstream to spawn.

I know I've been fishing Clear Creek in Georgetown a lot recently, but with how good the fishing is, why not? I do like exploring new waters and fishing in different places, but considering the relatively short drive, I'd rather be catching than fishing. So, I think I'll continue to fish here until the spawning run ends and I start visiting my winter haunts. (Arkansas below Pueblo, Blue River) Also, since we have a newborn in the house, it's hard to find time to schedule trips to places further away so I think sticking to what's working makes my fishing trips worthwhile!



The browns were again, very eager to eat. You can see in the picture below the fly that this one took. A hare's ear, size 16. This was the favorite of the brownie's, I ended up going through 3 of them on Saturday since they were getting so beat up.



Copper john's were also a consistent producer. I think size is more important than color. They seem to like the copper colors a lot, but I even caught quite a few on green and reds as well. Another gentleman that was fishing there was also using a blue body prince nymph that was also producing for him, but again, I think it's more the size rather than color or variety. Just about any nymph will work, but stick to a size 16 or 18.



The bows were also hitting, but not as much as the brownies were. The lake was stocked 2 weeks ago, and there are still plenty of stocker bows around munching on eggs and the occasional nymph. But they really haven't made their way upstream. If you are looking for stocker bows, fish the sandbar and bridge hole.





Brookies are also in there, I lost a huge one trying to land it, but I managed another a few casts later...no where near the size of the other, but it was cool getting a Clear Creek Grand Slam again.



Egg patterns are still the to go to and it's the lead fly in my rig. To be honest, all different colors are working, pink, orange, cerise, and yellow. One of the female brownies decided to let loose with some eggs on me and when I saw their color, I switched to a yellow egg that also produced.



Although I like using a an egg pattern like otter eggs, regular egg patterns are also producing. Vary the size and color a bit until you find what they are keying in on. It does change quite a bit, and there are periods where they will ignore eggs completely, but change it up and you will start catching fish again.

This weekend was the busiest that I've seen it. People are everywhere so please use a bit if etiquette when fishing; I had a lady cross my line 3 times as she saw that I was catching fish in my hole when she could have cast upstream to fish a great hole just in front if her! I was polite as I untangled or lines, and I think she was new to fishing so a little compassion was warranted, but if you see someone fishing a hole or run, give them some space; or ask if you can fish above or below them. There isn't much room to fish, but there are plenty of runs and holes that the fish are stacked up in. Just be polite, say hello and talk to your fellow fishermen, and don't just fish the same hole that someone else is fishing. Not only is it rude, but it's a hassle untangling lines. There's lots of fish in there! Just find your spot!