Hike to Fish

I don't fish enough high mountain lakes.  Although I fish quite often, you need more time in order to hike several miles, fish for a few hours and then hike back.  Most anglers (like myself) are not willing to devote that many hours (and steps) when we know reliable fishing spots an hour from Denver that hold trout over 20 inches.

Since the beginning of September I have been hiking more and learning that the joy is in the journey.  I have hiked to at least four new lakes and fished three of them. (One was barren of trout).  The trails to these lakes are just like rivers; they're all different.  There is something magical about that.  I've also gotten in better shape trudging up these trails with my vest and fly rod in tow.  

All Trails is a great app and by reading through the comments you can really get a feel for exactly what you're going to encounter on the trail.  I will then google the lake and make sure there are trout there. (This sounds obvious, but it cost me during a longer hike and it was a bummer to not fish).  

The woods are magical.  The sounds, the wildlife, and the changing of the seasons are all reasons that hikers hike.  I'm a fisherman so the goal is to earn the view of a high mountain lake, but then cast away.

A few years ago my brother-in-law and I hiked up to Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park and that was the first high mountain lake that I fished for cutthroat trout.  I remember fishing the inlet and outlet of that lake with some success.  Lake fishing is different than fishing Cheeman Canyon or the Roaring Fork so a little research (or informative blog posts) can make a huge difference.

Some people fish with an indicator, some people throw dry flies (!) and some people use a tandem rig.  I have done the latter lately, but I also caught some nice cutties with ant patterns when I saw fish near the shore or if I saw a rise.

Most high mountain lakes in Colorado hold chironomids.  I indicator fish a lot so during my lake trips this fall I have been fishing a streamer trailed by a chironomid or a midge pattern.  The streamer acts as the attractor, but the majority of fish I have hooked and landed have been on the chironomid.  I use a streamer with a tungsten bead head (especially in the deeper areas) in order to get my flies down quickly and hopefully draw the attention of the fish.  This strategy has been effective the past few weeks.

I have caught some decent Cutthroat trout out of streams and lakes here in Colorado, but in one day I had two personal bests on consecutive casts.  It pays to hike and fish.

This Cutty fell for a chironomid trailed behind a black wooly bugger.

After hooking and landing this fish (without a net because mine is too big to put in my pack) I saw some even bigger fish feeding.  I got my flies back in the water and changed up my retrieve until I hooked one of the biggies.  The water was freezing so I did my best to keep my feet dry, but this Cutty will go down as my best to date and one of my favorite fish of all time.

What a toad!

This hike has two lakes so after beaching this beast and getting the best photo I could, (my hiking partner hiked up above the lake during my encounter) I dried my feet off, ate a sandwich and headed down to the lower lake, which was more sheltered from the wind.

Trout in high mountain lakes are opportunistic eaters.  There are bugs that hatch, but they will at least swim over to look at almost anything on the surface of the water when they are cruising the shoreline looking for an easy meal.

Anabatic winds blow ants over the continental divide and the fish recognize them as food.  If you are ever fishing dries at a lake and you're getting refusals, put on an ant pattern.  I have a YouTube Channel called Mayfly Musings, but I have not created a fly tying tutorial for an ant pattern.  

Tim Flagler is a friend of mine who did a video some years back called Ken's Crazy Ant and it is the most effective ant pattern I have fished.  It floats like a cork and in my opinion, it's a lot of fun to tie!

This fish fell for Ken's Crazy Ant.

As the fall is quickly turning to winter in the high country it has been more difficult to dry fly fish.  So, in turn, I have fished the streamer/nymph rig because I have been able to cast that streamer more easily through the wind.  

Hiking to fish always leads to some stunning scenery.

Here's a cool shot of me fishing Kroenke Lake, which is near Buena Vista.  It was a stunning hike through the snow and although it was windy, the fish were hungry.

A clean Cutty that fell for a chironomid.

We also fished a couple of lakes in the shadow of Mt. Sopris near Basalt.  Fall is a great time to hike and fish and the scenery below Sopris was absolutely stunning.

Another beautiful shot from another beautiful lake.

Remember to always bring layers if you're hiking to high mountain lakes (even in the summer) and bring a variety of different flies just in case the fish are picky.

Be safe out there and until next time, tight lines!

P.S.  Check out my YouTube Channel and my Instagram page.