Fly Fishing on Clear Creek Near Golden, CO

I had a chance to get to Clear Creek this past weekend, and had no problem finding a few fish.  I fished from Golden up through the canyon, primarily with a dry-dropper and caught a fair share of fish.  The best part about Golden is it’s proximity to Parker (45 minutes) and the amount of fish that are in the lower canyon and through the town! What a great place to kill an afternoon with the 3 weight!

Fishing pocket water with a dry-dropper took most fish.  Puterbaugh Caddis, PMXs, and Amy’s Ant from size #14-16 took the fish on the surface.  Dropping off Prince Nymphs, Guide’s Choice Hares Ear, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail, and BH Pheasant  Tails in size #14-18 took fish subsurface.  Run a bigger dry with a tungsten or beadhead nymph about 24″ below it and fish any likely water.

At the end of the day, I decided to strip streamers and I really cleaned up some fish.  #8-10 Slumpbusters in black and natural seemed to be the ticket.  The browns are spawning and have a ton of great color! They are aggressive and more than willing to eat a streamer.

Go get em!

-Matt

What you need for Clear Creek:
7.5ft 3x and 4x Leaders
4x Tippet
PMX #14-16
Amy’s Ant #14
Puterbaugh Caddis #14-16
Baby Boy Hopper #14
BH Pheasant Tail #14-18
Soft Hackle PT #14-16
Guide’s Choice Hares Ear #14-16
Prince Nymph #14-18
Dry Shake