Dream Stream Troutosaurus Rex!

October 2nd was an amazing day on the Dream Stream! The morning started out the same as every other morning we go on our family fishing adventures. Dragging a cranky sleep deprived toddler out of bed way before sunrise, making several stops on our way up the pass due to a lack of preparedness the night before, and arriving to our select fishing location with an "anything can happen" mindset.

Today anything did happen... Namely this!

Rick and Kristen with a monster from the deep!

This is Rick Bayley with a ginormous, huge, Dream Stream fish-of-a-lifetime brown trout, and Kristen doing the honor of holding the net for the photo. A few months ago Rick and a buddy of his spent a day with me as their guide on the Dream Stream, and I told him then that their trip with me would be a brutal lesson in playing big fish, and it was... The pair lost several large fish that day, a few of which could have been in this same trophy class. I literally spent the entire day yelling, "Get that rod tip up!" Well, I think he learned his lesson. 

Here's a photo of the fish he landed right before sore lipping his brutus that is similar to the fish they landed that fateful guide trip with me. A 16-18 inch fish like this is a great catch by anyone's standards.

But do the math...

It's such a cliche' thing to call a big fish a "fish-of-a-lifetime." To me every time you hook a fish, every fight,  and every unique experience you have makes each fish the fish of a lifetime. However, some experiences are more unique than others, and Rick may never catch a trout that large on the Dream Stream or anywhere else again. Neither will 95 percent of the anglers that fish here. Safe to say it made today very special for him, and for our little family!

This fish was so big it startled Bree when Rick brought it over to her, and the look on her face says it all!

What started out as a Kokanee salmon expedition, turned into a memory that we will never forget. Proof that anything can happen -especially on the South Platte river in Park County. The irony being that I was telling a story this very morning about how I ran into Rick at 11 Mile Canyon during a guide trip with a set of different clients where Rick hooked a nice rainbow from across the stream on a dry fly, and was quick to point out how he was holding the rod tip up. The first time I've ever had a client from a previous trip show by example what they had learned from me to my current clients. Safe to say he had their attention... Also a very cool experience!

Today though Rick wasn't my client, he was our fishing partner and an honorary member of our troutbum family. I saw on facebook the day before that he would be heading up to the spot to catch some kokes, and since our family had this fishing trip planned for a few days we decided we would surprise him and beat him to the punch. We saw his car pull into the parking area soon after we arrived, and an hour later when he hadn't made an appearance I decided to look for him and extend an invite. Turns out he wasn't far, and he just didn't want to bother me in case I was with a client. Great etiquette from a great guy!

I returned his kindness by giving him some flies that were working for us, and introduced him to Kristen and Bree. The flies I handed him were apricot glow bugs that I tie on razor sharp, wide gapped, barbless competition hooks. First cast he hooked and landed his first Dream Stream Kokanee! Afterwards, we spent the morning taking turns and rotating into the spot the salmon seemed to be concentrated, landing several nice fish.

As the sun got higher the fish seemed to change their color preference from orange to red; a fact made obvious by the decent brown I lost, followed by the landing of a decent salmon on a red worm pattern I tie that friend and fellow guide Dave Caraghar has dubbed the "Kleistodon." A name he came up with because every time I refer to a huge fish I usually use dinosaur terminology. Troutosaurus Rex being my favorite and most obvious.

So I handed one to Rick to tie on and immediately afterward he was back into salmon. Despite the fact that I had jumped a 10 lb brown before it broke me off prior to inviting Rick up earlier in the morning, none of us expected what would happen next. He would land that first brown, and a few drifts later he hooked something that made a wake that only a fish that size can make, and I knew immediately what he had on. 

I thought to myself that I should have grabbed the carp net, but it wasn't the time for those kind of thoughts! When you hook a fish like this time seems to stop and also move incomprehensibly fast. My guide instincts kick into high gear and I start shouting things like, "give it line if she takes off" and "be steady." Notice I didn't say keep the rod tip up?

To Rick's credit this was very much a team effort. I may have shown him how we were set up, and given him our flies to use, but he spotted the fish, fooled the fish, and was now playing the monster fish! He played it to perfection, managing to get it along the bank in calmer water right in position with me and the net. As I was approaching from down stream this giant fish, which Rick had only been playing for a couple of minutes, started doing massive violent head-shakes like a sleeping titan coming to life.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect because right as this was happening I scooped up the massive fish as Rick wisely let off a bit to allow the fish to settle towards me! Had the stars not aligned, and this fish had woken a few seconds sooner, Rick surely would have been in for the ride of his life, and this story could have had a very different ending. After a few quick photos and a release, we had time to calm down and I told Rick I couldn't help but feel like a proud papa! My only regret is that he didn't catch this fish while I was on the clock. Can you imagine the ransom these photos would have held?

Take a look at the rest of the photos from this trip!

Photo by Kristen

   

Bree has to kiss the fish before we release it for good luck!

A second look at Kristen's big kype jawed kokanee!

Tip up jk!

In case you smartasses were wondering yes I did land this fish with Bree's pink princess rod...

As always thank you everyone for following our site and for your support!  For questions concerning guided trips with me this fall shoot me an email to jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

Tight lines!

Windy Defeat On The Dream Stream

Here is a short clip of a day spent battling the wind chasing a particularly big cutbow followed by heartbreak, crying like a big baby, and pitching a fit in frustration. Like everyone keeps saying though, "it keeps us coming back". Very true... Sorry that the video quality isn't up to our standards, I had missed a few chances at this fish and nobody expected for an opportunity at strike 3. We just wanted to show everyone that these things happen, even to guys with a photo library of big fish who have been fishing for a long time. The river humbles all!

First Fishing Trip of the Year!

What an insanely gorgeous day it was! If you were stuck inside a cubical or a dusty old fly shop then you have my sympathies... No exaggeration, today was the most beautiful February we have spent in Elevenmile Canyon maybe ever! We only fished for 3 hours at Ed's Rock, and each landed and lost one fish a piece, but that's because most of the day was spent taking photos and battling snow blindness.

My goal going into today's trip was to just relax, try and catch a few fish, but more important I wanted to try and capture some decent photos of the ice formations that build along the bank, and to try and capture some of the beauty that most of us just glance at on our way to the fishing spot. Getting good landscape shots in the Canyon was a lot harder than I expected. You would think that because it's such a beautiful place it would be easy, but ironically that made it a little more difficult because we kept passing up opportunities.

Before we knew it we were towards the top and getting ready to fish, when the goal was to make frequent stops... It should come as no surprise that the most original shot (the one looking out from inside the tunnel) was Kristen's idea. All photos -except the one of that jackwagon standing in the tunnel- were taken by me, and of course my favorite is the fish shot with Kristen and Baby Bree! Here's what we got...

                                 -Jon Kleis

South Platte Fishing Report 10-4-2012

It's that time of year again when Colorado scenery is unmatched, temps are finally consistently cooler, brown trout are starting to run, and Pike and Lake Trout are searching the shallows looking for big bites before winter grabs us with it's icy grip.  The South Platte in spots is fishing very good.

Tricos are coming off later in the morning in both 11 Mile Canyon and the Dream Stream.  Look for Tricos to emerge starting around 8:30 a.m. with the spinner fall happening around 10:30-11 a.m. and lasting about an hour.  Fish are still feeding pretty heavily on Trico Spinners, but they are staying close to cover when up top.  So look for them tight against undercut banks and rocks, and in areas with overhanging bushes.  The cooler temps are killing off the weeds in both the canyon and the dream stream as well so be prepared to clean gunk off your flies every third or so drift if you're nymphing.

Flows are in the 140's c.f.s. for the Dream Stream, and in the mid 80's c.f.s. for 11 Mile Canyon.  Both are great flows, and as temps continue to cool we will start to see more browns moving in.  As for Cheesman Canyon and Deckers the flow is 92 c.f.s.  I haven't fished either area in months but I have heard reports that Deckers hasn't been fishing so hot which is typical for this time of year, and I haven't heard a single bad report about Cheesman all year.  In fact Cheesman is on the top of my list of spots to hit before the snow starts really falling.

Flies to have in your box for the entire South Platte Drainage are:  Barr's Emergers in a BWO flavor, Black Beauties, Eggs, Red San Juan Worms, Black and Olive RS-2's, Black and Olive Mojo Midges, Buckskins, Bubbleback Midges, Red Copper Johns, South Platte Brassies, Barr's Trico Vis-A-Dun, Pearl Butt Trico Spinners, and Matt's Midge in Black.

If interested in doing a guided trip with me this fall shoot me an email at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

Thanks and tight lines!

A Breath Of Fresh Water

The South Platte River is an amazing fishery with great variety and abundant challenges that keep anglers coming back.  One particular stretch of this river was devastated by a massive fire in 2002.  The Hayman fire was the largest and most destructive fire ever recorded in Colorado history. The debris and sediment from the fire that washed into the South Platte from Cheesman Reservoir down past the town of Deckers layed waste to what was once a healthy trout population that called this stretch home.  After the fire came flooding which added insult to injury by spilling tons more sediment into the river from Deckers down stream and fishermen of all types began to wonder if the once legendary fishing in this region would ever recover.

Hayman Fire burn area photo by Kristen Patrocky

Ask anybody fortunate enough to fish Deckers before all that destruction and they will tell you about the glory days when abundant plant life produced great beatis and trico hatches and the fishing was epic. Most experienced guides and fishermen like Colorado Springs resident and professional guide Rick Murphy who has seen Deckers in its prime agree that quote "it will never be the same river".  Anglers Covey shop manager Steve Gossage told me that he talked to a fishery biologist that said it would take at least 25 years for Deckers to make a complete recovery.

Hayman Fire burn area photo by Kristen Patrocky

Every single person that said Deckers will never be the same is still right.  Years later it isn't the same river but It has made some semblance of a recovery.  The water is a lot cleaner than it used to be and a lot of the vegetation and bug life that was prevalent before the Hayman fire has been replaced by gravel and wood debris.  The same gravel and wood debris that several different caddis flies use to make cases.

David Eggers a passionate angler and client of mine with a nice Deckers
 bow caught on a caddis larva.

In-fact the caddis hatch has become so thick above the town of Deckers in the spring that it rivals the famous "Mother's Day" hatch on the Arkansas River.  If your fishing a nymph rig and you hit bottom you have my 100 percent guarantee that you will come up with a caddis case every time... Just kidding.  Never trust a fishermen that claims he is good with numbers.  Especially when it comes to the measurement of inches and pounds.   You will notice that a good portion of the times your rig scrapes bottom you'll have either an empty or full caddis case attached to your hook.  In other words there is still great dry fly fishing to be had here if you fish in the spring or during a calm late summer/fall evening.

There are still sparse Blue Winged Olive mayfly hatches or "BWOs" as well.  However I haven't seen a single trico hatch anywhere lower than the family hole in lower Cheesman Canyon which is a few miles up river from Deckers past the Wigwam club.  The Wigwam club owns a private stretch of the S. Platte which is located between Deckers and Cheesman and is known for holding large browns and rainbows that will occasionally stray down or up river where there is public access.  Fish like this lit up rainbow landed is a common occurrence!

Last winter I went on a trip to Deckers and found beatis (BWOs) and midges with eager and respectable trout.  It was a gorgeous 45 degree day with no wind and lots of sun.  The kind of day most winter warriors dream of.  We put in at the first parking area above the bridge and worked our way up stream while throwing a combination of either a red SanJuan worm or an apricot Bling Bug followed by small red midges or a gray RS-2.

Jon Easdon owner of Blindside Ski and Snowboard and myself are not the only people aware of the fact that this place is still fishing great and due to its close proximity to Denver Deckers receives a lot of pressure from anglers, and even though there is a lot of fishable water most of these trout have first and last names and zip codes.  One of the things I have never minded as long as other anglers demonstrate proper fishing etiquette is the crowds.  Pressure on the fish means they will be tougher to catch and I enjoy the challenge.  As Jon Easdon said when I met up with him soon after he released a fish "I forgot how much fricken fun this is!".

It is common practice by guides and fishermen that live within reasonable driving distance during the peak of summer to not take trips or fish in the area if flows are low and water temps are high so as to give the trout the best possible chance for survival.  If the flows and temps are adequate casting a nymph rig with some form of PMD (like a pheasant tail nymph) with a midge dropper behind it (such as Murphy's Bubbleback midge) in faster pocket water can be deadly.  If your one of those guys that just wants to throw big beefy streamers looking for bigger fish then the summer months can be a great time for that as well.



Large stoneflies are in the river system year around and good nymph imitations are Prince nymphs or a Pat's Rubber Leg nymph.  Again when Im fishing these patterns it is usually during the warmer months or higher flows and Im typically looking for actively feeding fish in faster pocket water or I am dredging the bottom of deeper pools with a lot of weight on my leader in order to get down to bigger fish.  I haven't personally seen an actual stonefly hatch but it doesn't hurt to have adult imitations of the bug.  Good Patterns for adult "stone's" are Amy's Ants or Stimulator's.





Pat's Rubber Leg Stonefly photo by Jon Kleis

Yellow Stimulator photo by Jon Kleis

The warmer months are great for wet wading.  Waders are awesome for keeping you warm and dry, but when the high temperature for the day is in the nineties it feels great to walk around in a pair of shorts with an old pair of tennis shoes or a good pair of wet wading shoes and stand in the river to keep cool.  When you are wading be careful during higher flows.  Last year during spring run-off Deckers got well over a thousand c.f.s. (cubic feet per second) which is a very dangerous flow to wade and makes fishing a lot tougher as well.  Fish tend to stay close to the banks or they hang out in front of boulders where there is breaking water during high flows and playing a fish in fast water under those conditions with light leaders and tippet and small flies doesn't usually spell success.

One of my favorite pics of me playing a Cheesman Canyon bow
Photo by Daniel Zimmerman

Ideal flows for this region are from 150 c.f.s. to 250 c.f.s.  For stream flow reports go to the Colorado Division of Water Resources at http://www.dwr.state.co.us/SurfaceWater/Default.aspx.  As for gear during chilly conditions when its important to stay dry Simms sells quality breathable waders made with layered Gore-Tex that come with a great warranty and are extremely durable.  Orvis also has a new boot foot wader that has a cleated Bog boot that will keep winter anglers warm and dry.  Bring a 9 ft. 5 weight fly rod and 9 ft. 5x and 6x leaders and tippet and some split shot.

My Mojo Midge photo by Daniel Zimmerman

Flies to have in your box are: Elk Hair caddis size 14-18, Barr's Graphic caddis size 16-18, Buckskins size 18-20, Pat's rubber leg size 10, various Stimulators, Prince nymphs size 12-16, Apricot eggs size 16-18, San juan worms size12-16, Pheasant tail nymphs size 18-22,  RS-2's in black and gray size 20-24, South Platte Brassie's size 20-24, Murphy's Bubbleback Midge size 22, Kleis's Mojo midge size 22, Parachute adams size 20-26, Olive and Black Slumpbusters.

To set up a guided trip with me on the South Platte river shoot me an email at jonkleisflyfishing@yahoo.com

Jon Kleis Orvis endorsed guide, author, and Colorado native

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