June 01, 2011
Flow: 87 CFS
Water Temp: 46 Degrees
Clarity: Gin Clear

Matt and I made it up to Boulder Creek yesterday.  The river is in phenomenal shape and fished lights out!  We began on the upper river, right below Barker Reservoir.  The flows are still super low and the fish are easy to find.  They are a bit spooky and you need to sneak up on them, keeping your distance.  After a couple hours we had a slam under our belt, a rainbow, brookie and lots of browns.  Matt even saw a fish that he swears was a Grayling.  Grayling were stocked in the reservoir upstream and I am sure fish flush out the bottom from time to time.

 

 

In this stretch of river, you must look EVERYWHERE.  Don’t just look in the holes, the fish were also sitting in the shallow runs and pockets.  The fish were very happy and looking for dries.  Most of the fish we caught were on terrestrials, beetles and ants.  Through out the day, we covered a lot of water and never saw another angler.  We had miles of river to ourselves, which really shocked me.  I figured we would see someone…anyone.   It was kind of nice not having to worrying about if there would be someone around the next bend or fishing in a hole.  On the South Platte, a typical day I would run into a dozen anglers.  This was a nice change of pace.

The rainbows in Boulder Creek are beautiful.  I have never seen such prime specimens.  The colors, spotting and par marks are stunning.  Every single bow were caught was the perfect ideal fish.  Most of the fish we landed were browns and very aggressive browns.  We were able to catch browns on ants, beetle, pheasant tails, slumpbusters and adams.  They did not seem to be very selective, just wary of your presence.

After we had enough of the upper creek, we headed down into town for some urban fishing.  I did not know what to expect in town.  Matt has fished in town for several years and has always told me the fishing can be quite good, and it was.  The water in town is a little higher, but not out of control.  It is at the level is should be, right at it’s banks.  The water was clear and the holes had plenty of depth to them.  In town, the fish average is much larger and they eat a smorgasbord of flies.  I had no idea you could feel so secluded right in the heart of Boulder.  Giant trees and shrubs shield you from the craziness of streets and highways.  I felt like I was in a fishing paradise.  Every hole where there should have been a fish, there was and they were more than willing to eat your fly.  Granted….there were people walking, riding bikes, studying for class and smoking the sticky icky, but that is everyday activity in Boulder.  And once again, not a single angler in sight.  We must have fished a mile of creek, which is a lot of water for Boulder Creek, and never ran into anyone fishing.

The fish in town were not picky.  7.5 foot 4x leader to a San Juan Worm and a pheasant tail was the rig of choice.  After I had caught several fish, I began to experiment with Rubberlegs, Slumpbusters, and Possie Buggers.  All of which were eaten with no remorse and clobbered by hungry browns.  The fish were more than willing to eat what ever floated by, as long as your drift was decent.  Most of the fish in town averaged 10-16″, but the sheer numbers keep you entertained.  In a couple of the runs, we were able to pull out 4-6 fish in a matter of minutes.

List of gear you need for Boulder Creek:
#08 Rubberlegs
#10 Slumpbusters
#10-14 San Juan Worm Red and Brown
#12 Possie Bugger
#16 Pheasant Tails
#14-16 Beetles
#16-18 Foam Ants
Medium Thingamabobbers
Palsa Indicators
7.5 Foot 4x Mono Leader
4x-5x Fluorocarbon Tippet
#1 and #4 Split Shot

Good luck and have fun!

-James