June 11, 2011 Colorado Trout Hunters Colorado Fly Fishing Trip Report

Date: June 11, 2011

Location: High Mountain Lakes (Private)Call 303-325-5515 for guide trip bookings

Number of Anglers: 3

Weather: Very nice.

Lake Condition: Gin Clear

Report:
Today was a great family fly fishing trip. Juan introduced his sons Alex and Adam to the adventures of fly fishing. What a first day it was!
Spring is coming late this year to the high country, and today was just about the first time anyone was able to fish this set of lakes. The
weather was beautiful, and the fish were eager after the long winter at 10,000 feet.

After some rigging and a quick casting lesson everyone was into fish right away. We caught some nice rainbows, cutthroats, and brown
trout, as well as dozens of eager brook trout.

The fish were feeding in the shallows and were very aggressive. Some would take a dry fly, while many more would take subsurface patterns.

In the afternoon, we witnessed something rather unusual! As we caught a large brook trout and I noticed he was “losing his lunch”, we
took the opportunity to see what types of insects he had been eating. There were tons of scuds (no surprise there) but there were also two surprisingly large freshwater snails. I was not aware snails even existed as a food source in these lakes. This was definitely a very cool teaching moment for me and the clients. Who knows–I might have a snail fly in my box for later in the season!

In Trout News:
There is a lot of water in Colorado this season. With most West Slope waters high and unable to be fished. We have been lucky on the front range. There are some streams with very high water, but there are also some tailwaters in our area that have been low, clear and fishing great! Some of the private areas have been fishing surprisingly well, even with high water. Besides the lakes, there are still good stream options not to be overlooked. Look for water to peak and start clearing and coming down on the front range in the next 7-10 days.