Eventually I adopted a double dry presentation with an olive stimulator behind the stomper. I broke the rod down to four segments and hiked back to the parking lot. Hatch activity has been fairly consistent with midges making a regular appearance in the late morning and afternoon. When I shifted my grip back toward the handle, the top of the rod elevated, and the current grabbed the reel and butt end and forced them beneath the branch, and before I could release, the rod snapped in the second section below the tip. Given that it is a creek, you can expect comparatively narrow water as well as large boulders that create some amazing pocket water. Looking for more places to fish? The dry spell was temporarily broken, when a twelve inch rainbow snapped up the super nova, but this proved to be an aberration, and eventually I returned to a dry fly approach with a moodah poodah and a pheasant tail on a short eighteen inch dropper. For the remainder of the day I progressed upstream with the dry/dropper combination and boosted the fish count from ten to thirty-four. This is a must see! South Boulder Creek is a stream located just 3.2 miles from Boulder, in Gilpin County, in the state of Colorado, United States. By 1:30 I began seeing a few natural green drakes in the air above the creek, and the hippie stomper began to generate an increased number of refusals, and a couple of fish actually ate the attractor dry fly. This small tailwater located below Gross reservoir provides great year-round fishing. 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 knotted the same fly to my line that produced twenty-two fish on Friday, and the fun began. After lunch I decided to revert to the poly wing parachute that yielded ten trout in the morning, and this move proved to be a winner. For tailwater angling, take Highway 72 West from 93 North of the city of Golden, then take the exit/turnoff for Gross Reservoir. 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. Below the reservoir, all the way to Eldorado Canyon lies the South Boulder Creek tailwater. I elected to use my Orvis Access four weight since the flows were lower, and the shorter lighter rod was less taxing on my casting arm. Explore full map. When I observed the stream from high above on the road, I feared that it was quite low, but this assessment proved deceiving, as the flows were decent for late September. 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 lobbed ten casts with my hippie stomper and Adams, but they were totally ignored by the ravenous feeders. Four additional trout rested in my net including a pair of twelve inch brown trout, and they all savored the green drake comparadun. I returned to the hippie stomper after the green drake experiment, and it accounted for four eats, but the real star of the show was the sunk ant. Friday was a bittersweet day. In several instances an above average trout attacked the ant, almost as soon as it entered the water, and this reaction always surprises me. Check out our interactive map of over 30,000 of the best places to fly fish in the US. The shrunken number of trout lairs caused me to advance up the stream more rapidly than usual, but the two flies clicked reasonably well, and the fish count elevated to nine. I was dissatisfied with the dry/dropper results, so I decided to revert to a dry fly approach. Carol J. Elevation: 3710 ft. TRS: T28R10E SEC5 Center: 47.944404, -121.547562 . South; Carol South; Carol Sullivan; carolina moreno; Carpet; carpet care; carpet cleaning; Carrie Waeldin; . Thick midge hatches will be present year-round. To access South Boulder Creek below Gross Reservoir, take Highway 93 (north from Golden or South from Boulder) until you reach Highway 72. It instantly felt better. South Boulder Creek is a tributary of Boulder Creek in central Colorado in the United States. I did not pay much attention, but within five minutes a young man clad in a navy blue uniform approached and asked to inspect my license. Having finally recovered from an intense but enjoyable four days in the Flattops area, I once again set my sights on a day of fly fishing along the Front Range. Whether you're fly fishing or otherwise your chances of getting a bite here are good. South Boulder Creek 08/13/2021 Photo Album. I filed this for future reference and hiked back to the car. I surmised that perhaps beetles were the answer, but another drought developed, and I decided to call it quits at 2:30PM. 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. It's more of a wife tail but always fun to recollect. I passed two anglers in the upper section and a pair of hikers walking a dog. If only the water managers would allow the flows to continue at the current levels. This area is the most popular section of the creek due to the great hatches and consistent flows through the summer months. In many cases the hippie stomper generated a look or refusal, but persistent casting eventually fooled a trout into snatching the nymph particularly at the tail of a pocket or pool or in a riffle with over two to three feet of depth. Gorgeous old growth timbered property steeped in Bitterroot history. Hopefully the flows will remain near the current level or slightly lower, and I plan to take advantage with another trip or two next week. The South Boulder Creek headwaters and stretch of river above the Gross Reservoir has some solid fishing that may be a bit less pressured than other areas. . South Boulder Creek at Walker Ranch The roaring mountain stream at Walker Ranch feels far from the crowds of town and offers up plenty of trout for those willing to hike down the banks here. Boulder, Colorado February 28 2023 Start Your Free Trial . Weather, however, was the one negative, as high temperatures for Pinecliffe were projected to be 55 degrees, and rain was an increasing likelihood from 2:00PM on. I was very anxious to pay a visit to the small tailwater northwest of Denver, but the water managers closed the taps to a trickle of 5 CFS for several weeks in October. My confidence was low, and I was frustrated by my inability to generate interest in spite of casting to quality water with careful presentations. Nestled amidst the foothills of the Colorado Front Range, South Boulder Creek offers some fantastic fishing for anglers who dont mind doing a little driving from point to point or doing a little hiking.The headwaters of South Boulder Creek form up west of Rollinsville, CO and from there follow the railroad tracks east all the way through Moffat Tunnel to the Gross Reservoir. I was still seeing the occasional natural, so I decided to cycle through a few more of my green drake styles. Even though it was cooler than Denver, it was clearly going to be a warm day even in the shaded canyon tailwater. NEAR BOULDER, CO - USGS Water Data for the Nation. One angler dressed in shorts departed with his dog, before I was prepared to do the same. I spotted my first natural western green drake at 12:35PM, and their sporadic emergence continued until 3:00PM, when I reached my intended exit point. Clearly they were locked into something very small. A guide and two customers were gathered behind one of the cars, so I hustled to beat them to the trail. My license was in my backpack, and I had not yet pulled it on, so I removed it from the middle pocket and showed it to the Boulder County wildlife officer. Between 1:30PM and 3:00PM I was supremely confident in the green drake imitation. When I arrived at the kayak parking lot four other vehicles occupied spaces. South Boulder Creek 08/12/2022 Photo Album. In this instance I returned the parachute green drake to my fly box and replaced it with a size 14 user friendly. I was concerned that the fish would gravitate to the large surface offerings and ignore the small ant, but this was not the case. The best time of year to fish South Boulder Creek is the summer and fall. I was a soggy piece of toast by the time I unlocked the tailgate. All Rights Reserved. By same fly, I mean the same type of fly and the same physical fly. High gray clouds blocked the sun throughout the morning, and when a breeze commenced, I felt very uncomfortable. This was enough to spur this fisherman to dust off the fly rod. First I tested a May break, which is a type of green drake cripple. Six cars besides mine occupied space in the parking lot, so I was concerned about competition and pressure, as I began the descent of the steep trail to the creek. Why the beetle? 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. South Boulder Creek has to be one of the most scenic rivers within a half hour of downtown Boulder. Best of all, the South St. Vrain offers the greatest variety of challenges for anglers, and the nearby lakes also offer . However, it is most known for its brown and rainbow trout. Boulder Creek Fishing Vest Mens 7XL Big Green Utility Multiple Pockets | Sporting Goods, Fishing, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories | eBay! 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. The trout continued to inspect it, but most turned away in the last second in a rude lack of respect for my offering. We were waiting for a visit from our new HVAC guy, and he suggested that he could stop by in the 8:00AM 10:30AM window on Friday. Fishing pressure decreases as you travel further downstream. 1The 20th Judicial District has started the process of replacing Boulder County Judge Kristy Martinez, who died last week. If one does the math, that is sixteen trout over two hours of fishing. 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. I was anxiously anticipating a green drake hatch, so why not go directly to a drake imitation? I slid my four piece Sage four weight together and hiked downstream along the dirt road, until I found a more gradual path for my descent. As my morning evolved, I spotted five yellow sallies, as they slowly glided skyward toward the streamside trees. During this time a second poly wing parachute joined its cousin in the retired fly patch, as the hackle climbed up the wing post. I photographed and released number nine, since it was my best brown trout of the day, and during this process the two dry flies twisted around the tip of my Sage fly rod. 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. The morning fishing experience was a huge deviation from two earlier days on South Boulder Creek, when green drakes enticed a trout to eat on nearly every cast. Suddenly ice cold water ran down my legs and created a soggy foot bed for my woolen socks. As this fantastic fly fishing was transpiring, both my feet slid out from under me on a long angled and slippery submerged rock. Monday, August 30 developed into another solid day on South Boulder Creek. 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