Flow: 48
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
The fall spawning season is just starting. The browns have started to stack up at the inlet at Georgetown Lake and are starting to make redds in Clear Creek.
*Please don't fish or walk on the redds. Let these fish do their thing so we can have more fish to catch in the future!*
With the browns stacking up, the bows are following. Georgetown Lake is stocked regularly with 8-12 in bows. Being a put and take fishery you don't see a lot of larger fish around the creek but you can definitely find bigger fish in the lake. But for this trip, I wasn't looking to dunk bait or bring home dinner, I just wanted to catch some fish!
I brought two rods with me, my 3 wt strung up with a parachute adams and a matt's midge. My 5 wt was set up for nymphing with an egg up top and a hare's ear below.
I started fishing at the foot bridge at the inlet. Lots of fish were stacked up, but anytime someone tried to watch them from the bridge, they would spook and it would take a while for them to get back in the current. There were only 4 browns that I could see, and they weren't hungry. But thankfully the bows were! I caught quite a few cookie cutters with the nymphing rig. They were taking both the egg and the hare's ear equally well. The patterns worked so well, I didn't need to change it all day. I moved upstream from there on the south side of the creek passing up two good holes since a father and son team were fishing it. They didn't seem to be having as much luck as I was, but after a quick chit chat, I convinced them to ditch the caddis and san juans and try some eggs. The son hooked up right away which convinced the dad to give them a shot too. I think they caught 2 each while I was watching them. I made my way to the pipe hole and ended up getting a few nice fish through there as well, with the biggest being a decent brownie close to 16 in.
At around 3, I noticed fish were rising, but I couldn't really see anything coming off the water. I also didn't really see any thing floating around but if the fish were rising, I was switching to dries. Besides, I needed the practice. The majority of the year I'm nymphing. But I love the summer when I can get out some big foam hoppers and try to catch some rising fish. There's nothing more fun that watching a fish rise to your fly, give it a look and swipe at it or sip it in slowly...
Even though my technique is brutish with my flies crashing on the water, I still managed to get plenty of takes but only 3 to the net. I think I get too excited and I tend to set the hook too early. Once I slowed down and gave the fish a second to take the fly, my hook ups increased.
All in all, a great day to get out to clear creek and Georgetown Lake. The drive isn't too bad from Denver and even though I went on a weekend, the crowds were mostly concentrated around the lake. For a quick trip to get your fill of some fish this fall, this is a great option that is close to Denver.
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