[The Drifter]

I flew down to Denver last month and our flight path took us over this awesome piece of water. I've been meaning to go check it out so today I grabbed the Gazetteer and went scouting. Yeah, this place is pretty much paradise.

Most of the lower section was pocket water and shallow riffles. It looked tempting but I kept moving upstream.

About 5 miles up it opens up into one of the prettiest meadows I've ever seen. The water reminded me of Soda Butte.

The mtns also looked fun. Could be a cool winter ski adventure.

But back to fishing. Well defined shelves, cut banks, nervous water, foam lines...plenty of good holding water for trout.

Most of the banks had at least one rising fish so I was able to head hunt. I fished a purple haze, para wulff, and ant pattern pretty much all day. Fish were small, in the 10-12" range, but plenty enough to put a nice bend in the 4 wt.

I continued working upstream and came up on this awesome feature. This thing was full of big fish including a 17" brown that I hooked and fought for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately as I was playing him I was also fooling around with some gear that was hanging off my pack and he came unbuttoned. Rookie move and a heartbreaker...but I will be back.

Hoppers will be awesome here in another couple of weeks.

 

[meh.meh.meh.meh.meh.]

Damn that does look good. I didn't realize you owned a 4wt.

 

[Sportsman]

Very nice.....it does looks like paradise....fly over a creek and then fish it later....how cool is that! W. Wa. has always been and probably always will be home, but my soul is captured in those pictures. One more year of work......fish around there during the week and sleep on the weekends. It's been 30+ years since my 'Bride to be' took me to see her family in Kalispell....visited for a day, fished the next 6 and have been trying to figure out how to live ( and make a living there ) ever since. The first part never happened, but it looks like the second will.

 

[Blood Knot]

Beautiful! I love the whole sequence of photos, I wanna go right now.

 

[spadebit]

Sweet looking water...those little "waterfalls" are awesome.

 

[freestoneangler]

That does indeed look like nice water. Colorado Gazetteer?

 

[shotgunner]

Juicy looking water for sure. Splits are always good.. that particular one set's a new bar though. Wow..

 

[The Drifter]

Damn that does look good. I didn't realize you owned a 4wt.

Every once and a while I like to throw a curveball.

Still kicking myself over that brown. The lesson is to give the fish your complete focus until you get 'em in the net. I hate it when one of my friends gets a nice fish and before we've landed it he is barking "get the camera."

Total jinx. NEVER say that!

Back out today with some buddies to try and fish up some cutties on dries. Gonna be stellar weather.

 

[shotgunner]

I continued working upstream and came up on this awesome feature. This thing was full of big fish including a 17" brown that I hooked and fought for about 30 seconds.

Now my fresh green cool desktop..

 

[JasonG]

Damn that looks Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing

 

[generic]

Wow...

Those are the places you fish now and then, where you can't decide whether to fish...or just stand total awe of the surroundings.

Oh who am I kidding....fish on!



Cool pics man, thanks.

 

[creekx]

First Kyle and now you uncovered one of my gems! The first time I saw that meadow I had a similar reaction - and no one else was around! Saw fresh griz tracks in there once. Great primitive camping spots for miles upstream too.

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/media/creek-x-montana-style.13595/

The cool thing about that drainage is that no matter how small the water, you can be surprised by a nice brown on any cast. Not many of them, but the ones that linger in tribs through summer are usually big.