Sadly coming back from Colorado but what an amazing trip (updated with pics)

I'm sure a lot have already read a bit about day one and two. With photo bucket wasn't able to do much mbarker told me of another site and the test run worked. This was just hands down an amazing trip. The Ol rio grande lived up to its gold medal status day 1. Almost caught a grand slam day two in the same pool of a tiny creek in almost ten cast. I lost the rio right at the hand. Set on trying to get a single day slam again we went way up high for the afternoon. Found a rio cutthroat restoration project. About the third cast fly gets smashed. To my odd and pleasant surprise I pull up the biggest snake river cutthroat (fine spotted) I've ever caught. Finished up a slam for sure! I guess there was some mixup with the restoration. Looking around never saw a rio at all. Day three started off a bit slow the water was a bit off color from the rains and the bite from day one slowed substantially. I mean day one was just on fire with fish averaging. 14-18 inches. We tried to thing about what to do as it was still really early. That's when the thunder started we were in the side by side a great distance from the truck. We decided to turn and run from the rain and load up to find something else. We drive about ten yards after turning around stop again and said heck with it we are already this far back. So we turn around again lol hoping to find clearer water higher up on the big river. This was the best decision we could have ever made and we never got wet. There were no real hatches the first to days and a purple pheasant tail followed by a rainbow warrior or batis nymph had ruled the water. The high water we find was clear but looked like a creek full of small fish. I started off subsurface and was changing the bottom fly when the sun broke and I started seeing a few green drakes coming off. Then I hear a subtle splash looking up to see several rises. I quickly cut the nymphs off got splitshot and indicator off and tied on a green drake emerger. Waded out to the furthest fish down from the rises. It was a very complex current even mending while the cast was in the air I figured I'd get about three second of good drift. First cast I land two inches in front of the fish. It is pounded immediately I set the hook and was shocked as the fish started shaking and going down river it looked at least at the 20" mark as it changed directions the hook just pulled. After a stent of words I can't repeat I got set up again on the run. I wait to see a rise and two cast later the second the fly starts to drag I see a red flash and set the hook. A missle shoots out the water and does a double back flip and torpedoes again as soon as it lands a second time. By the time this happens in running behind the fish down two more pools tring to yell at my buddy around the bend to give me a hand. I thought I was blind but it looked like a cutthroat shaped like a steel head when I first saw it. I finally take control and beach the biggest rio I've ever seen period. I didn't have my tape as my bag was up river where I was changing flys. I knew it was over 20 for sure I marked my rod and cut a pc of tippet I had in my pocket. When we got back I measure both 21 3/4" I should have gotten the girth as well but was in a hurry to release I did get some good underwater shots in the pic I'm still holding the fish by the tail and you can't see my hand the middle finger wouldn't touch the thumb she was a real tank. She held in slow water for a bit then slid over into the current. Now that that's over my buddy shows up and ask if I had another emerger I had two more. I could have got a pretty penny for it I think haha. Now he steps up where they were rising and gets a take on one of the first few cast. We can tell it's another big fish. He had hooked into multiple really good fish so far this trip but suffered from break offs. He was determined to get this one in. We finally get the fish into slower water turns out being the biggest brown he had ever caught. A few pools later I get into a bow that looked to be around 19" and broke me off one emerger left. Bono fly hooked into two more before breaking off his. I got in four more fish all 16" plus before breakin off another big fish but decided it wasn't a small fish creek lol. After this start our last day was any good it would top off an epic trip! As Bono fly had had his struggles we went to my cutthroat stream. We couldn't take the side by side to it as it is foot traffic only. The walk to water almost killed him but the fish made up for it big time. It was any dry you wanted to throw and we caught fish in almost every pool going up and back down. This river was killed out of all other fish and pure rios reestablished they get big for the small creek and are brilliantly colored. The fish count on the last day was off the charts and we had an absolute blast. Sad part is we are on the road back now. As I'm trying a new pic posting platform I'm putting up the txt now so I don't lose it I'll start adding pics now I've got so many trying to figure out what to leave out and many are on video I'll have to deal with later.

Looks like a great trip Robert. Now you know why I stay up there from May- October, just awesome!

Day one where you can see it















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Wow, lucky you !! Thanks for sharing the Picts too ! Next time I go to Colorado I hope I'm able to do some fishing !

Cuttzilla was all I needed to post day three

I couldn't pass right by my favorite hole on the conejo and not make a cast or two. After a day full of rios I topped it off with a cookie cutter conejo brown on a big foam hopper. Amazing trip!!

Great pics, as they say, trout truly do live in beautiful places!

cutzilla no doubt. wow. what town was your home camp?

NICE! Looks like an amazing time! I'm heading up to the Conejos middle of August with my brothers and can't wait. This just added to the anxiety!

Had a couple of subscribers send me photos from the Rockies in the last couple of weeks! Nothing quite like a Rocky Mountain high, fly fishing high that is.

Yes, it is the leaving to come home that is so hard. How I miss the trips I used to take. Also love the write up. Thank You. I hope we do get the same from the Wyoming trip
Tio in Paradise on the Rio

Solid Post with solid fish. Good job Robert!

Good deal Robert! I need to get out and catch some trout soon!

Excellent write-up Robert and congratulations to you and Bono Fly on an amazing trip! Kind of makes you want to quit your job, sell your stuff and live out of a tent, don't it?

I'm going to Colorado for the first time in September and I'm having a hard time thinking about anything else. Sort of like a small kid a few days before Christmas. I'm bringing the wife and so far I haven't been able to convince her to start fly fishing, so I won't be fishing as hard as you and Bono Fly, but I will get in at least a solid half day if not a little more. Heck, after seeing your pics I might wait 'til she falls asleep then sneak out of the hotel to do a little night fishing!

Great pics, great write-up.

One "AWESOME POST"! It just don't get any better!

Purple pheasant tails! Had no idea. Great post Robert!

Wow, what an incredible trip and outstanding post Robert

Thanks guys was an amazing run for sure. Yes smurfs Purple pheasant tails lol. They do great at broken bow as well. Only problem you really need to go natural if the clouds are out flash looks unnatural in the shade. I think any midge dropper would have worked but baites and rainbow warriors both sz 20 were working real well. The fish were almost all on the second fly till about 11 when bigger bugs started showing up. I really should have just been 2 phesant tails then.

Smurfs I had no idea you were up there that long much less now. I would have had you join us for sure! Shoot me a on with your number and I'll give you a shout my make another short run coming up:)

Great pics Robert. Love seeing all the different species, Cutts sure are cool looking.



I love this photo. At first your "Never Skunkt" (thought to be appropriate name to fly rod) looked like a pipeline going over the creek to me lol. Anyway... this picture shows how pretty trout and their whereabouts are.

Lmao it does look like a pipe and would be a very appropriate name for that rod. I also just noticed I didn't get the brookie posted from the grand slam day with the new platform. The grand slam day was all on a small stream except the surprise snake rivers. The slam most 3/4 small fish stream but cool to do it in a day. The small stream really fun all the same.

I just noticed you had the GoPro chesty on! you gotta make a video man!

Brendan yes I have a bunch of the fish in videos it was hard to figure out what to leave out. Several of the bigger rainbows I didn't get stills of I got video of them kicking my butt getting the hook out lol. Got a bunch of great dry fly takes on film as well. I need to upgrade my computer though it's not running fast enough to suit me. I've just recovered enough today to start looking at video.

You know if one wanted to get into bigger fish and solitude I've always packed in on foot. The further you get from parking areas for cars the better the fishing gets. And I'm not talking you have to walk all day the fishing improves almost double probably every half a mile away from the parking lot in most cases. This was a very fun run this year though having the side-by-side as we were able to get on trails that did allow ATVs and get way further before we headed out on foot than normal. In most years I would have gotten there but I would have spent more time walking then we did this year. If you look at some of the roads we were on in the pictures that is hell you get to fish that have never seen a fly walking or not you absolutely have to get off the beaten path. @ Texas9 we were sandwiched between Alamosa,South Fork, Pagosa Springs,and creed. There is a myriad and maze of feeder Creek's,major tributaries, and main rivers all within an hour and a half. You can be in the San Juan and rio grand side in the same day.

Beautiful Browns, beautiful bows, but I sure am a sucker for those high country brookies and cutthroats.

Thanks McKinney good to see you around here!!

That would make a killer title for a book, Robert.

Yes I tend to stay away from places you can just fall out of the truck into the river. So often is the case if you go up stream from the last parking area crowds die quickly. Just walking in as little as a mile before starting to fish will find all day solitude. The further you go chances are you may be casting a fly to fish that have never seen one. Finding these special places leads to high fish populations and generally much bigger average size. Not to mention when you get back there the surrounding are simply breathtaking. I think we saw every kind of wild life minus bear,lion,moose,and elk. We saw bald eagle,bighorn sheep,grouse,marmot,chipmunk,ground and grey squirls, and also what looked to be a peregrine falcon. One medeow we fished looking around you felt like you were in a bowl because the river had made a turn so it looked as if we were surrounded by Mnts. with no exit.

Wow, sounds like an awesome trip. Colorado is a nice change of pace from Texas fishing. Brings back memories of of the last time I fished Colorado. I was down there for a wedding and barely had any time to fish, but ended up making a pit stop on the Roaring Fork. Hooked up with some solid Browns while my wife was reading a book in the car!

Yes I like to get up there around July nice split of the Texas heat. Some of those unexpected stops are the best ones. Formula 462 was thinking redfish this fall but now thinking about a fall run to Colorado. The surrounding are just so surreal and amazing up there.

its a tough choice..still cant decide

More great pictures , thanks for sharing !

WOW....what a great trip you had!!!

I am going to definitely take your advice and hike in - prepared to hike in and camp if needed! I am brand new to fly fishing outside of the float trips in Alaska.

We are staying in Vallecito area and I hope to catch a few...no doubt I will be trying!

Thanks for all the awesome pics and inspiration.