Bear Creek April 8 2012

Easter Sunday morning I had a few hours to myself and took the opportunity to head back up to Bear Creek. I considered going to the South Platte up in Deckers but the area was on fire, literally (a small wild fire North of Deckers near Ox Yoke that I believe was extinguished fairly quickly).

Fishing was at first slower than usual, I wasn't quite sure why since the conditions haven't changed much since my last few visits. I started out with a Killer Bug and got some follows and bumps including a very aggressive strike of a rainbow trout but none of them were hooked enough to be landed. I switched to some sakasa kebaris with no interest, so I finally switched to my confidence flies, the CDC & Elk and RS2 dropper but fishing remained still fairly slow.

The first fish to hand was a little brown trout that fell of course for the RS2. Getting hungry, I started wrapping-up things just before 1pm and headed downstream towards the parking lot. Of course I got tempted to make a few casts in some of my favorite spots and was promptly rewarded with 5 more trout of which I landed 4, all within less than half an hour! 4 of them took the RS2 and one eager brown took the CDC & Elk.

 Who says the "one more cast" can't produce?

All said, it was nice to get out and spend some quality time on the river.

River Statistics:
Weather: nice & sunny, little wind
Air Temp: 46 @9am, 64F @1.30pm
Water Temp: n/a
Flow: 20cfs, clear water
Day on the water in 2012: 7
Fish: 13 hooked, landed 5
Equipment: TenkaraUSA Iwana 11ft, Tenkarabum 11ft hand-tied hi-vis fc line of

Couldn't buy...

... a bite today. Skunked. Nada. No love. Yes, this happens. When it does, it makes you appreciative of the days when fish are cooperative, rising and taking your flies eagerly. I don't want to start blaming this or that or over-analyzing it, at the end of the day it doesn't matter. I couldn't figure out how to adapt and the wind made things worse. So I decided to call it a half-day and drive home and take my daughter to the movies.

Today I focused on fishing with my Amago and the no.4 level hi-vis fluoro line from Tenkarabum. The level line made it easier to cast in the wind (until the wind became too much and blowing directly downriver). I am still trying to figure out how to properly fish without an indicator and I agree that the hi-vis line makes it much easier to follow the drift and probably to detect strikes (did I mention I had NO strikes yet?). The line was a bit kinked from being stored, but stretching it out while extending the rod took care of that. I remembered somewhere reading to keep a bit of kink in the last foot or so that would enable to detect strikes easier when the line became tight. I agree, I was very much able to detect immediately when I hung up on the bottom. I am sure it also works when a fish actually takes your fly, but, well, maybe I can confirm that next time when I actually get one to bite.

This was also the first time I took out my new waist pack (yes, some would call it a fanny pack) and I am so for very happy with it. Small and compact, it holds what I need, plus two granola bars should I become hungry. It also functions as a wading belt and my net and a bottle holder can be easily attached. It became a bit wet due to my lack of wading abilities (I slipped and was barely able to recover) and my inability to gauge water depth...

My rig consisted of a size 16 RS2 Sakasa Kebari, the one I tied for the swap mentioned in the previous blog entry, my go-to fly, a size 20 lazy RS2 mercury as a dropper as well as a 3rd dropper a size 20 Wire Bloodworm which I later changed for a size 20 souped-up Top Secret Midge.

RS2 Sakasa Kebari

Lazy RS2 mercury

Wire Bloodmidge

Top Secret Midge

No fish pix today, but some shots of the river:

River Notes:

South Platte River, somewhere below Deckers

Flow: 190cfs-ish

Water Temp: 38F (so I have been told. and which would explain to a certain extent lack of bites)

Air Temp: 23F @ 10am, 56F @1.30pm

Weather: Sunny, windy/breezy

RS2 Kebari, Hit List, Happy Thanksgiving and Good Bye

Ever since fishing Tenkara, I was thinking how I can modify my favorite and number one got-to pattern, a "lazy" mercury RS2, into a tenkara kebari.

I thought it shouldn't be too difficult, and a few modifications came to mind:

- increase size, from a 20 to 16 or 18
- use a heavy curved caddis hook, i.e. Tiemco 2488H, instead of of light wire straight eye dry fly hook
- use an antron collar instead of hackle
- add a tail/shuck like in the "original"
- placement of bead, in front of hackle or behind hackle
- body material, thread instead of dubbing

So I started playing around with the "hackle", thinking I'd figure out how to spin the white antron into a hackle collar just like dubbing, but alas, the result looked more than horrible. So bad that I don't even took a picture. Instead, I went back to the traditional forward slanting hackle which gives it a nice and clean look. I tied up a few with a gray saddle hackle and a baker's dozen for a swap with a English Partridge's breast feather. I like the soft hackle much better.

The end result is not spectacular but... I think I it'll do. It will definitively catch some fish. What do you think?

My "original" lazy RS2:


















Tenkara Sakasa Kebari offshoot:

 Baker's Dozen:

I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish all followers, readers and visitors of my blog a very Happy Thanksgiving! It boggles my mind that as of this writing, this blog has had over 2500 hits since launching less than 3 months ago!

I am thankful for my little family, that all of us are healthy, to have a job and be able to pay the bills. I am also thankful to have a very understanding wife sending me on mental health fishing trips, and of course, I am thankful for having discovered Tenkara this Summer. 

Last but not least, I also would like to send out lots of positive vibes to Naomi, our very good and dearest friend, and her family. Naomi is the godmother of my daughter and her dad, Lou, has passed away this morning. Our thoughts are with you and your family, Naomi.

Bear Creek Fall Notes

An unexpected and very welcome change in family schedule & plans allowed me to head out to Bear Creek  for bit more than a half day. I fished with my Iwana 12ft from about 10am to 3pm and it was a gorgeous Fall day on the Front Range. It was sunny and pretty mild if you stayed in the sun. I was not the only one who liked the sun, the trout were much more cooperative in sections of the river exposed to the sun. I forgot to bring my thermometer for the water, but to me it felt freezing, lol.

The action was pretty steady, I caught mostly browns with a few bows mixed in, the largest fish was just under 14", the smallest was a dink of maybe 3", pretty fish nevertheless.

Another day I barely changed flies unless I had to due to the tree fish breaking me off. I started out with a black size 16 Charlie Boy and a mercury RS2 as a dropper. Both fell victim to the tree fish, so I tied on a new CDC & Snowshoe (like CDC & Elk but Elk hair was replaced by Snowshoe Hare) that I was experimenting with. Most fish fell for the mercury RS2 but some still came quiet willingly to the surface and took the dry. I really didn't expect any risers though, I only tied the dry on in lieu of a strike indicator (I still need some visual help to detect underwater strikes).

Interesting that today, even with much if not all of the foliage gone, the tree fish were seriously teasing me all day long. For the first time I thought that a shorter rod would be handy. . A 10 or 10.5 footer might have been ideal today. Let's see of Daniel (of TenkaraUSA) will offer one soon.

River Notes:
flow: 18cfs
temp. air: 53-70 during my time on river, sunny, windy gusts
temp. water: really cold, my guess mid 40ies.

Amago in Cheesman

Yesterday, I headed out for a full day's fishing the Cheesman Canyon of the South Platte. This section is rated a Gold Medal water by the CDOW and artificial lures and catch and release only is allowed.

I picked Cheesman Canyon because I finally wanted to give my Amago a shot at some bigger fish than those I have caught during the season with my Iwana 12ft. Because of the above mentioned regulations and the constant supply of food, particularly midges, the trout grow big and fat and are used to see a lot of anglers all year long. I believe an average fish in the Canyon is somewhere in the 18" range.

Cheesman Canyon's fishing is outstanding but very "technical". Most of the time, you will be limited to fishing nymphs and midges, small sizes of 18 or 20 and smaller. There are of course days when you can trick them into taking dries and bigger patterns, but those days seem to me to be far and between.

Yesterday was another of those Colorado blue sky days, not a cloud and high 60ies - not bad for mid October. I met my new friend and Tenkara fellow Jason Klass of BackpackFlyfishing.com just before 8am at the trailhead of the Gill Trail which is the only way to access the Canyon. When I got out of the car, I was greeted by chilly 26F which made the change into my waders not really a pleasure.

We hiked in a bit, past Cow's Crossing, had a little snack, waited for the sun to crest the canyon ridge and setup our Amagos. I rigged my Amago first with a no. 3 level fc line from Tenkarabum, a size 18 copper john and a size 20 mercury RS2 (my lazy version of it) as the point fly. When I nymph, I always fish two flies; an attractor and a smaller imitative fly. Later that day I switched to a furled line yellow hi-vis 13ft line of StreamsideLeaders.

My lazy version of the mercury RS2:

Fishing was initially somewhat slow and it took a while for the sun to do it's work. I got a few hits but wasn't able able to set the hook properly or lost them right away. Finally, after a while, I landed the day's first Cheesman Canyon brown trout. Smaller than average, but hey, a trout landed is a trout landed.

I fished all day with the same two flies, loosing one RS2 only to rainbow that I would guess to be 16-17" that I hooked in pocket water adjacent to a nice ripping current. I was initially able to keep her away from the fast current but there is only so much you can do with an Amago. Once she hit the current, it took only seconds for her to head downstream and around one of the huge boulders that are typical for the Canyon. She's got now a nice little lip piercing.

The highlight of the day though, at least for me, was a pocket of water that really did not look like much and I almost passed up. Only because Jason was fishing just a bit ahead of me and I didn't want to pass him, I decided to fish the pocket.

I cast into the head of the pocket and was surprised when I saw my indicator (yes, I do use an indicator even with Tenkara...) DART away. I was hooked into a very nice fish, in the 15-16" range but alas, the hook dislodged and all I could say was "see you later...".  I recast into the same pocket and hooked another fish which I never saw, but by the feel of it, definitively smaller than the first one. Being the optimist - or opportunist - I cast again into the same pocket, let it drift and hooked the third fish out of the same pocket. This one was right on the seem where the slow/still pocket water met the faster current. I was very surprised by the weight I felt and when I saw the fish's flash I knew I was in trouble. The biggest fish so far fishing Tenkara... She didn't go crazy or went for a run, but kept changing positions from the slow water to the faster water, staying deep. She then let herself drift downstream with the current, still not running. In the shallower water I finally realized what I had on.... a beautifully colored rainbow trout, her purple flank flashed brilliantly in the sun light. She was, in my eyes, well over 20", my "educated" guess would be in the 21-23" range (I caught on regular fly fishing gear a few in the 21" range, measured, and this one seemed to be bigger than those) . I called out to Jason that I might need some help netting her. His comments was, quite dry: "She will not fit your net...". She still did not go crazy nor did she go for a strong run, so when we moved her (and Jason) into position to net her, she gave a shake with her head and the fly came off... I was so excited having caught her and coming so close to netting her, that I initially wasn't even bummed that she got off. Only later I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get a mug shot of her and me.

I was very pleased and happy how I was able play her with the Amago, but I think that she also did not really give her full 100%, maybe just 50% or so. Those big trout in the Canyon have been hooked more than once during the years it took to grow so large and I just can't shake off the feeling that she knew that she'll be let go, once more.

I continued fishing, picking up a fish here and there but by no means was the fishing hot in terms of numbers. Each fish was hard earned by placing good dead drifts, line management and depth control. Your usual fare fishing what people call "technical".

Towards the end of the day, I helped Jason to shoot a quick video for a product that he was testing and shortly thereafter we started to hike out. I gave that "special" hole another shot, this time with no success. I hooked another small fish on my way out, then changed to a dry (Snowshoe & Elk Caddis) since I saw several size 16 grey caddis flutter around. No risers, no hookups (I couldn't even see a fish), but I decided to blame it on the wind that made it difficult to cast and place the dry appropriately, lol.

Happy and exhausted I completed the hike out of the Canyon, drove back to home & family and a few cool ones.

I am extremely happy with the Amago, knowing what size of fish she can handle, with the day, the fishing and the company I had. This was a GREAT day of fishing.

Tight Lines, K


First trout of the day:

Jason at work:

Cheesman in October:

Snowshoe & Elk Caddis

Quick Trip with the Family

Went up with the family and very good friends up to Estes Park last Sunday and Monday. The weather was so-so with drizzle on Sunday but the most beautiful late Fall weather in the mountains.

I was able so squeeze maybe 45 mins to an hour of fishing downtown Estes Park behind the shops on the main drag. This is just after the Big Thompson merges with Fall River. It's really a cute piece of river, tucked away and out of sight. After doing some reconnaissance on Sunday I went back with my Iwana and a size 16 Yellow Sally Ishigaki 

and a size 20 mercury RS2 dropper.

Landed 5 or 6 trout with some more hookups on both the Ishigaka and the RS2, the nicest one was this brown trout.

I guess fishing "downtown" is not that bad after all.

Here are some late season Rocky Mountain National Park impressions:

A Day on the South Platte

Today I decided to take out my Iwana on the South Platte and see how how the it fishes at 150cfs, which is perfect for dries.

Took off early, heading towards the foot hills of the Front Range.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Leaving the house, the temperature was 60F. Arriving at the stream 40 mins later, it was brrrrrrrrrr 37F. I guess packing the fleece was a very good idea this time.

However, it was a beautiful Colorado day, blue sky everywhere you looked. I rigged up a new line I was tinkering with (7 ft no 4 fluor carbon, 5 ft no 3 fluor carbon plus 5 ft tippet) and tied on a rainbow warrior and a RS2. Realized I forgot my stick-on strike indicators, so I had to go back to the car and see if there was anywhere a strike indicator I could use. I was lucky enough to find a small size "thingy". Soon enough, I hooked up with nice 'bow that fell for the rainbow warrior and was reminded that those South Platte 'bows are quite spunky. I realized that I still have to work on my fish fighting technique with a Tenkara rod... sometimes I do miss that reel!

I switched to a sakasa kebari and but couldn't buy a strike - not sure if it was lack of technique of just wrong fly for the river. The South Platte is a tailwater fishery with small nymphs being typically the ticket but right now I would like to blame lack of success to lack of technique, lol. I also tried to fish with the fly only, no weight, no indicator, but again, years and years of using strike indicators left me a bit doubtful whether I do have the technique to fish without. This is certainly an area I will be focusing on more in the future and try to learn better and simpler fishing techniques.

As it was warming up, I switched to a yellow CDC & Elk, size 16. I figured it would be a good pattern to imitate both Caddis and Yellow Sallies. I also switched lines, using initially a "tapered" fluoro level line (yeah, tapered and level, what was I thinking?) and moving to the Tenkara USA furled tapered line. Had issues casting with that line at first, I was wondering if the fly was too fluffy, the leader too long (5ft) or just, again, lack of technique. It took only a few cast's though to "get" it, the line being wet and having more mass helped also a lot. The wind however did NOT help.

Had to move around quite a bit to find good water for dries since this is mostly a nymph fishing river, but I was able to coax 4 more beautiful bows into taking my flies, all fish were in the 13-15 inch range. This one was a particular beauty!

A few shots of the river today, before to rubber hatch started - I am so glad that Summer is over with no more float tubers on the river...

Fly of the Day: CDC & Elk, yellow, size 16:

Oh, one more thing. Did I mention that it was 90F by the time I got home?