3wt7X
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 667
I took my first trip west of the Mississippi River finally, and I went out to Buena Vista, Colorado. It was an very important trip for me because it was the first vacation that my family has taken together, since the loss of my sister in Afghanistan. Upon arriving in Colorado Springs, I was awstruck, as the Mountains that make up the continental divide rose up from the landscape. The drive to Buena Vista was nothing short of breathtaking, as we travelled past the Garden of the Gods and through Wilkerson Pass. We travelled for a short time along the South Platte, and my fly fishing itch was activated, as I witnessed the beautiful Platte snaking through the meadows.
Upon arriving at Buena Vista, I did not even get a chance to fully unpack before leaving to fish the Arkansas River, which ran a stones-throw away from the ranch that we stayed at. The Arkansas is a good sized freestone stream, which was just returning to normal levels after the spring run off. The caddis hatch was very impressive, and I was greeted the first evening, with opportunistic brown trout. I took several little guys and one about thirteen inches, which just fired me up more for day two.
On day two, I fished Hayden's Ranch, which is a stretch on the Arkansas that sits above two significant feeder streams. I chose this stretch because the flows were a managable 202 cfs, and the water looked very inviting. My eagerness caused me to arrive too early, and the fishing was slow for the first hour an a half. The caddis started in earnest at about 9am and the fish really turned on. It was easy to see that the wild browns were thankful that the runoff period was over, as they took the opportunity to smash any well presented caddis immitation. Most of them were small, around 8-10 inches with the occasional 14 incher thrown in. I did miss my opportunity with two rather large trout, one of which took my elk hair caddis and promptly returned to his undercut and broke me off in a tangle, and the other was only attached for a headshake or two, before throwing the fly back in my direction. Regardless, the naivity of these fish was refreshing and I was in heaven. Here are some pictures from Haydens and the Arkansas River, with another fishing trip to follow.
Upon arriving at Buena Vista, I did not even get a chance to fully unpack before leaving to fish the Arkansas River, which ran a stones-throw away from the ranch that we stayed at. The Arkansas is a good sized freestone stream, which was just returning to normal levels after the spring run off. The caddis hatch was very impressive, and I was greeted the first evening, with opportunistic brown trout. I took several little guys and one about thirteen inches, which just fired me up more for day two.
On day two, I fished Hayden's Ranch, which is a stretch on the Arkansas that sits above two significant feeder streams. I chose this stretch because the flows were a managable 202 cfs, and the water looked very inviting. My eagerness caused me to arrive too early, and the fishing was slow for the first hour an a half. The caddis started in earnest at about 9am and the fish really turned on. It was easy to see that the wild browns were thankful that the runoff period was over, as they took the opportunity to smash any well presented caddis immitation. Most of them were small, around 8-10 inches with the occasional 14 incher thrown in. I did miss my opportunity with two rather large trout, one of which took my elk hair caddis and promptly returned to his undercut and broke me off in a tangle, and the other was only attached for a headshake or two, before throwing the fly back in my direction. Regardless, the naivity of these fish was refreshing and I was in heaven. Here are some pictures from Haydens and the Arkansas River, with another fishing trip to follow.
