It was a long drive to the Rio Grande area of Colorado from where we initially set up to catch Colorado cutts the previous day. We had to drive through small mountain villages as we repositioned to South Fork, aptly named because we were now camping on the South Fork of the Rio Grande River. Once we arrived in South Fork we went to several of the fly shops that were in town. Wolf Creek Anglers were able to help us thanks to a guide that had just come in from a tiring day on the oars but was quite motivated to aid our quest! Again the information from Jim Kilpatrick helped us immensely as well!
The Rio Grande Cutthroat could be found in several high alpine lakes, and some rivers and creeks. We opted to head to a high mountain lake that was accessible thanks to a logging road that climbed almost 6000 feet in 12 miles. It was Fathers Day and the weather was not nice. It was cold, just above zero celsius and windy. The wild flowers were exploding all around the area which made the entire area, visually quite amazing!
After a short hike we arrived at a lake that had Rio Grande cutts and brookies. We set up with small midges and were into the cutts right away! Swallows on the water told us to try chironomids, small ones. Again we had success with red copper johns size 18, flashbacks and Glen's Leech (black size 12)!
The rain intensified and the cold made manipulating our set ups tough. We were fortunate to catch lots of Rio Grandes including a very large one that Leon brought to hand! In several cases, we could sight fish! That made the fly fishing quite fun!
Later in the afternoon we were all cold and we headed back to the camper to warm up and have a drink. Once we got back to South Fork, the weather was 30 degrees fahrenheit warmer! Thank goodness.
It was now time to get ready for a drive up the other side of the rocky mountains through Denver to Estes Park and see Rocky Mountain National Park where we hope to catch Greenback cutthroat trout!
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