Rocky Mountain NP

[Brownie101]

Hey guys, just wanted to make a short photo-post about my first western trip to Rocky Mountain NP in Colorado. The majority of the fish caught were Browns and brookies, with a few rainbows, greenbacks and cutbows. Fished the Big Thompson, Glacier Creek, Roaring River, Falls Creek, Dream Lake, and Mills Lake. The trip was incredible, and I highly recommend RMNP to anyone looking for their first western destination. I threw together some of my best pictures from the trip here: http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/ryan268/library/Colorado?sort=3&page=1

Ryan

 

[streamerguy]

Nice!! Great photos.

I got the chance to fish that area a few years ago. Incredible is an understatement.

 

[Chaz]

Nice trip and great pics, thanks for sharing. I'm not sure there were any cuttbows in the pics. Maybe you could point one out?

 

[Brownie101]

Chaz, I think the only one in the pics is the first picture in the second section. You can't see it with the picture (my fault), but it had the cuts on its jaw, but otherwise looks like a normal rainbow.

 

[JackM]

This one?

 

[Brownie101]

Yeah, thanks Jack

 

[jay1963]

Wow I am heading there on friday night.
glad to see what to expect
I hope to see lots of fish.

 

[dsmith1427]

My wife and I were there at the end of April. It was a great time and she caught her first fish in Glacier Creek. It is a great time I would recommend it to anyone. Also, if you make your way a little North I would recommend the Cache La Poudre. Both places are great fishing with phenomenal views. We are planning to go again next spring. Our son lives in Fort Collins. I'll remember the other places you recommend when we go back. Thanks for sharing.

Don

 

[troutbert]

Did you have any issues with altitude sickness?

I enjoyed fishing in RMNP but the thin air at that altitude bothered me some. We hiked pretty far and were fishing at an altitude of over 10,000 feet.

The symptoms were mostly just feeling fatigued, short of breath, some headache.

After a few days I got somewhat acclimated and felt better, when we again went up and fished over 10,000 feet.

I didn't have any serious issues, but IMHO anyone planning to go fishing or hiking etc. at high altitude should do some reading about altitude sickness before they go.

 

[JackM]

Drink lots of water and breathe deeply and slowly.

 

[3wt7X]

Great pics brownie... Colorado is spectacular and I love the trout diversity out there. Some of those Browns were pretty cool with the heavy red dot patterns. They almost looked like those Italian Browns that get posted from time to time. Greenbacks have displaced brookies as the prettiest trout for me!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Brownie101]

dsmith - I loved Glacier. Lots of pockets and small pools, reminded me of a few high-gradient streams in PA.

TB- The only altitude sickness I had was the first day, just a minor headache. After that I was fine, but like Jack said, anyone going to high elevations should drink plenty of water. The highest elevation I was at was around 10,500 feet.

3wt - I loved the diversity of the trout there too, most of the streams had at least three species which I thought was awesome. My main goal out there was to catch a greenback, I was thrilled to catch my first one. For the most part they were eager to take dries too!

 

[sarce]

Awesome, Ryan! Just amazing fish and scenery in those pictures. And good timing - I'll be heading out to CO for the first time in mid Sept. Appreciate the comments about avoiding altitude sickness. I think I'll be staying under 10k feet but it is still a concern. I'll be in the San Juans in the southern part of the state.

Super, super jealous of the greenbacks!

Did you fly with your gear? If so, any tips? I've read a few past threads and sounds like it shouldn't be a problem as long as the rod is in a carry on sized tube.

 

[Brownie101]

PM sent

 

[Chaz]

JackM wrote:
This one?

It looks like a cutthroat to me, I've never caught a cut bow so please point out the markings you think make it a hybrid.

 

[Brownie101]

Every greenback I caught or saw pictures of out there had larger spots than that fish. The spot pattern does look like a greenbacks, but I'm almost certain this isn't a greenback. In general it just looks like a hybrid to me.

 

[dsmith1427]

Regarding altitude sickness, I was hit hard on the way into Estes park. I thought I was going to vomit a couple of times. After an hour or so I adapted and was fine the rest of the trip. +1 for the previous tips about slow deep breathing and plenty of water.