Suggested packing list for a trip to a Colorado trout river over the next few weeks: stout rod, flies or lures, wading boots, both warm- and cold- weather gear, up-link to The Weather Channel, Ouija board and prayer beads. And don’t forget to keep your favorite fishing shop on speed dial.
Now is a time of grand opportunity for stream fishermen, a window in which to relieve all that pent-up angling energy while gaining a shot at a very special trout. The period before runoff often affords the best chance for a serious photo fish, either a love-sick brute on a spawn run or some bad boy with a major hunger from sulking in some deep hole.
But the flip side often can be disappointment. No other season presents more variables than spring in the Colorado high country. Radical weather swings range from sunburn to blizzard in a matter of minutes.
The same holds true for water conditions. A dry-fly hatch can end in a sudden flush of brown water. What seemed certain to be perfect conditions when you left home can turn nasty before you arrive.
Take the example of three anglers who left Denver in darkness last week with hearts set on a banquet of nymph fishing on the Colorado River between Radium and State Bridge. Their strategy seemed sound enough. Warm sunshine would add a delightful element to the day and they’d arrive very early, before low-elevation melt-out added too much color to the water.
Ice still coated roadside puddles when they arrived, but what they found in the river came as a shock. An ugly rush the color of chocolate milkshake flowed bank to bank, very likely a product of a seasonal blowout from nettlesome Sheephorn Creek, which joins the big river at Radium.
Retreating to the Eagle River near Wolcott, they found a much more amenable flow, a bit cloudy but with visibility past two feet – just about right for successful nymphing. Yet another aspect of spring angling is that appearance sometimes doesn’t jibe with substance.
Reality arrived in the form of an involuntary shiver upon wading in past the knees. Air temperature may have been surging toward 60, but the thermometer John Haile thrust beneath the surface recorded a frigid 41 degrees – not exactly a condition that causes trout to perform jumping jacks.
What ensued was a sort of cold-water shuffle that caused each of us to ponder his short- comings on the long ride home: Five trout hooked, none landed. Several missed strikes. Enough self-doubt to last until a better experience washes the memory clean.
“I think I should have put the weight at the bottom of my leader and removed the indicator,” Haile postulated. “I think I got a lot of strikes I failed to detect.”
While speculating, he might have included changing rivers, time of day, fly selection, even the set of his jaw. Such are the nuances of stream fishing in March. Heck, he might even have broken out the prayer beads.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
