Tyler Kendrick stalked the water slowly in front of me, about 40 feet ahead in clear shallow water. His lime-colored fly line trailed behind like a tail.
I squinted against the hot sun and scanned the far bank looking for tails and fish. They were there; we just had to find them. Tyler suddenly stopped and stood dead still. His body language, like a cat stalking a mouse, indicated he spotted a fish. He stripped out a few more feet of line and took a half step forward.
It was going to be a longshot. Tyler made two powerful back casts and punched his cast to the right into the faster current moving downstream.
The fly line swung to the left for a few seconds, and Tyler set the hook. The fly line came tight and bounced taught off the water.
Then, just as quickly, the line fell flat against the surface. The fish came unbuttoned. Tyler’s shoulders dropped, his head shook slowly side to side.
For any seasoned fly-angler who has stalked skittish fish in shallow saltwaters, this type of close-quarters drama is all too familiar. I have seen it played out in the warm shallow waters of Mosquito Lagoon, Fla., for redfish, the flats of Belize for permit, and in the mangroves of the Bahamas for giant bonefish.
But we were not outside the borders of Colorado or even the United States. We stood in the cool clear waters of the South Platte River, just 5 miles from downtown Denver.
Kendrick and I had teamed up for Denver Trout Unlimited’s fifth annual Carp Slam, a fishing tournament created to raise money for improvements on the battered and bruised metro section of the South Platte. Sixteen amateurs and 16 professionals competed last month and raised more than $30,000 for projects intended to improve the river as a fishery and a recreational waterway.
Flyfishing for carp in the South Platte is not easy. Sight fishing for actively feeding carp takes a bit of skill, a little luck, clear water and a fundamental understanding of this species’ finicky behavior. Once thought of as only a trash fish, carp have developed a cult-like following on the South Platte, from Chatfield Reservoir to Commerce City. Carp are a challenging species, but the river they inhabit in Denver has problems like few others.
“The South Platte River from Chatfield downstream through the city of Denver and even beyond doesn’t always have adequate flows to provide optimum amounts of water for sport fish,” said Paul Winkle, aquatic biologist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Even so, populations of fish are thriving. With every new trip to the water, the carp and other species caught by steadfast anglers are proof of the river’s potential as a healthy, sustainable fishery. One reason there is such belief in this section of the South Platte is because of the numbers produced each year at the carp tourney. In addition to the 16 carp landed by different teams (and numerous others that broke off light tippet or spit improperly set hooks), a number of trout also were caught and released, including a 22-inch rainbow.
“We want to expose people to angling opportunities close to home and provide an opportunity for youth to take the first cast,” said Todd Fehr, president of Denver Trout Unlimited. “First-time casters grow up to be future conservationists and stewards of our state’s water resources.”
The first of such restoration projects focused on the uppermost section near the Chatfield Dam, to remove sediment deposits and add physical structure to support a sustainable sport fish population. This includes high- and low-flow channels to give fish protection during the radically dynamic water releases from the dam. There are plans for improvements near Overland Park between Dartmouth and Alameda avenues.
In addition to a thriving carp population and pockets of healthy trout, anglers have reported increasing numbers of smallmouth bass. During this year’s carp slam, for the second year in a row, another frequently caught species was smallmouth bass. Smalleys can sustain higher water temperatures than other sport fish such as rainbows or browns, and they have a higher chance of survival and natural reproduction. Not to mention that smallmouth are a blast to watch chasing a streamer or exploding on a popper.
“For the smallmouth, Chatfield Reservoir and Bear Creek Reservoir are the main sources of those fish,” Winkle said, “but there may be some natural reproduction in the South Platte.”
With the recent activity and attention being paid to the South Platte, having a sport fishing species, such as the smallmouth, shows that populations can be supported in a natural fashion and is hopeful news.
“I think the next five years will bring more fishermen to the river,” Fehr said. “These people that come will experience the fishery that we already have. As people begin to believe in the possibilities . . . they will begin to see and seize the opportunity we have before us: 20 miles of fishable water right outside our own backyard.”
