Name: Steve Fitzgerald
Date Submitted: 5/20/2013
Dates Fished: May 19, 2013
Comments on A-16 North Fork of Big Thompson
11-5 pm, 50s/60s, overcast. Pond asleep on arrival, so I fished the creek first. Water clear but running quite high and hard. Fish hiding, but could be coaxed to take a bhpt or prince nymph if dropped where they were podding up for protection (behind rocks and slow water pockets).
Fished pond from 2-5, landed a dozen or so, about half on a midge on the surface, the others on a dropper (I found anything green would work, the fuzzier the better).
Not bad for runoff season and close to home.....
Name: Chris Wilper
Date Submitted: 5/19/2013
Dates Fished: 5/18/2013
Comments on A-12 Middle Michigan Creek
Started fishing about 9:30 with cloudy skies and temps in the mid 40s. The weather deteriorated through the day with high winds and temps dropping into the 30s. We caught 4 browns ranging in the 5-7 inch range and hooked one 20+ fish hiding under the bank. We tried dry dropper rigs with most of the hits on the dropper (BH prince nymph).
Name: Mike W
Date Submitted: 5/19/2013
Dates Fished: 5/17/13
Comments on A-4 Lake Fork
Challenging day on the Lake Fork. Wind was way up, same with flows at 15 cfs and water very murky. Probably only a foot of visibility in the river. Fished for almost 7 hours, about 10 takes and only 4 browns in the net, 3 11-13 inch healthy fish and one minnow. Tried almost everything in the fly box but think fish weren't cooperating with murky conditions. Only takes were on black zebra midge and San Juan worm. Also tried BWO Barrs Emerger, black and red juju midges, red copper john, poison tung midge and a purple by prince nymph. Nothing on any of them. Supposed to be a tail water but better to fish when flows are down some and water clearer.
Name: HW
Date Submitted: 5/19/2013
Dates Fished: 5/19/13
Comments on A-18 Empire Lake
I had a very nice day on Empire Lake. Don’t ask me why, but the first thing I tried was something called a Tubs Indispensable. It is a yellow wet fly that I tied several winters ago when I was bored and trying to fill a streamer box. I have never fished this fly before, but I caught a very nice rainbow right of the bat while I was trying to get settled in my float tube. I fished for the rest of the day, with the weather changing from sunny and warm to snowing and blowing, without ay luck; welcome to spring time in the Rockies. The fish may have been my first, last and only trout of the day, but it was also the biggest fish I have caught in the last three or four years. This is a great place to take your float tube and hangout for a day.
Name: HW
Date Submitted: 5/19/2013
Dates Fished: 5/17/13
Comments on C-45 Ranch Creek & Ponds
The ranch is beautiful; if it were not for the pine beetle one might even say gorgeous. There is a lot of fishable water and you could spend a summer trying to master the place. I brought a first time fly fisherman and I was very grateful that he hooked a brown by the upper boundary. I was hoping the fish would be a little more cooperative, but the stream flow and water color were a little less than ideal. A late rise on the pond made for a nice ending with a couple large rainbows. Under the right conditions in the summer this place would be a fisherman’s dream come true.