Every summer Randy and I try set aside 10 days to two weeks for camping and fishing in the high country of Southern Colorado. Occasionally, the schedules don’t quite work out and conflicts can arise. This summer just such a conflict came up in the middle of our planned trip. I ended up with a meeting scheduled in Denver over the week-end smack-dab in the middle of our trip. In an attempt to salvage the trip, I suggested that this might be a good time for Randy to collect a Colorado Cutthroat Slam, like I had about three years earlier. He thought that would be a good idea.
We started our summer trip down in southern Colorado, native home of the Rio Grande Cutthroat. Most summers we catch quite a few of these fish since we tend to target them in the high country. This summer our plan was to try as much new water as possible including new cutthroat water. While the prospecting for new water was very successful—prospecting for new cutthroat water was not.
On our first day we four-wheeled for an hour and a half and hiked in 2 miles to try out this creek. In the Colorado DNR’s conservation plan, this creek was listed in a table that identified and summarized viable Rio Grande Cutthroat streams.
Based on the data in the table I thought this stream could be a “hidden gem” There is no trail to the creek. It is very small and so I hope it was overlooked. The thing about backcountry cutts is that it doesn’t take long, in a small stream to find them—if they are there. This stream was cascading down the mountain from plunge pool to plunge pool—ideal habitat but we couldn’t raise a fish. Nor did we see a fish. Eventually after we had given up and started walking out I saw a couple of small ones but by that time we were headed downhill to a larger, much more productive stream that featured good-sized browns. First attempt—FAIL.
The next day we concentrated again on going after browns in very fine water. Nice fishing.
Later in the day, I suggested we try again for a Rio Grande Cutthroat in the headwaters of the stream we had caught browns in the day before. We checked out the maps and followed miles of logging roads and 4-wheel roads back far enough upstream, we hoped above some falls. Again, we had reports from the DNR that this new water would hold Rio Grande Cutts. I’m guessing we didn’t go far enough upstream because we only found a couple of small browns and no cutts. Second attempt—FAIL.
Interestingly, on the way out we came across a family—2 adults males and about 4 kids ranging from 8-15 walking one of the logging roads. We stopped to ask them what they knew about the “falls” we had been trying to find. They didn’t know about the falls and it turns out they didn’t know where they were. They had walked the trail up the river and decided to save time by walking out on a road. It turns out that walking out by road would have added more than five miles to their return hike of 2 miles—if they made all the right turns. No compass, gps, or map. We showed them a map and convinced them that the smart thing would be to head back down the road to where they got on and return on the trail. Disconcerting to us for sure, and of course the adult males didn’t seem too keen on any help we offered to shuttle them. This was with about an hour of light left. They did have flashlights, at least and I’m sure that once they got back on the trail they were fine.
I was beginning to wonder about the goal of the slam. We were having a lot of trouble catching the one fish we thought would be easy. The next day we decided to head over to a creek that we had visited several times over the last couple of years. I’ve caught a lot of nice cutts. out of this stream but it does get some pressure since it is an easy walk in. GMAC knows of this stream.
With great confidence we headed to the stream and…..
arrived at the same time as a herd of about 100 cattle driven by 4 cowhands on horseback. Naturally, we thought we could get in front of the herd and get to the water but it turns out they had to move the herd right up our foot trail due to some changes in some right of way access. After talking to head honcho we decided to nix our trip to this water for the day. Third attempt—FAIL
We decided to let the cattle get settled in so we headed up to fish in Creede area. We did well fishing a meadow stream—catching small browns, brookies and decent sized cutthroats. The problem is that the cutts in this stream don’t make the cut from a genetic purity point of view. So by our totally made up standards—they didn’t count. Two days later we tried the cutthroat stream down south again. The cattle were settled and we saw no other fisher folks. And both of us caught fish. Nothing like we’ve caught before but a few nice Rio Grande Cutts.
Fourth attempt—Success. One down and two to go.
Randy got to keep fishing over the weekend and targeted the upper Arkansas while I was in downtown Denver at a hotel. He did fine on the upper Ark and my meetings were productive although my mind was often somewhere else. Randy picked me up on Sunday afternoon and we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park to attempt to complete the Randy’s cutthroat slam.
We arrived and set up camp in time to try a well known “Greenback” cutthroat stream that only requires a short hike of about 2 miles. I forgot that this stream is one of those that suffered a lot of damage from last years massive floods on the front range. I should have asked at the local fly shop but I was pretty confident—probably too confident. Almost all the stream side willows and vegetation had been scoured and bridges were washed out. It didn’t look good. We fished for about an hour without seeing a fish and were about to try another stream and lake the next day when I finally caught one in a very small bit of smooth pocket water. That perked us up and then Randy quickly caught one or two in the same general area. We didn’t catch any more nor did I take any photos but we were satisfied. I am sure it is going to be a while before that stream fully recovers. Randy had his “Greenback” so we decided to nix the trip to one of “Greenback” lakes we had planned. We decided we would head over the continental divide to see if we could get Randy a Colorado Cutthroat to finish out his slam.
We set our sights on a lake at the end of a 5 mile hike and 2000 ft. climb. We’d have to earn the final cuttthroat.
When we got there we saw a few rises. I sat on some lakeside boulders and rested before putting the fly rod together. I wasn’t long before I noticed a nice cutthroat working the shallow water between the boulders sipping midges. As I pointed him out to Randy who already had his equipment ready, I said I was going to catch that one. Naturally, Randy had other plans and with a big grin cast his fly right at my feet hoping to entice this particular cutt.
Apparently the stars weren’t aligned quite right and Randy just spooked the fish. He went on down the shore to try out other risers while I sat and watched as this fish cruised in and out of the various pools and channels between boulders. Eventually, I got rigged up and put on a Griffith’s Gnat to see if I could catch this fish. Site fishing like this is a blast. By this time I had the fish’s route and routine down. When the cutt went behind a rock, I put down a soft cast in the next channel where I expected the fish next. Sure enough. The fish cruised out from behind the rock, went directly to the Griffith Gnat and slurped it down. Fish on. In my excitement and to get back at Randy for spooking “my” fish, I might have loudly and obnoxiously let Randy (and all the hikers at the lake) know that I had a fish on….
And I might have done this for each of the next 4 fish I caught while Randy was having trouble even hooking the fish that were rising to his fly. Let’s say there might have been some frustration.
Eventually, of course Randy figured things out and caught several Colorado Cutts to complete his slam. And naturally, having flaunted my early success at the lake so unashamedly I got my comeuppance by getting skunked for the next two days fishing on the Colorado–while Randy continued to catch fish. Funny how things work out that way.
I am going to be haunted all winter by visions of cutts rising from the depths of the lake to take a #20 Griffith’s gnat. Great fun and I’m going to have to start including lakes as destinations on future trips.