Colorado Dreaming
Making the Adjustment
To be more effective in subsurface situations, you must adjust your tackle and technique to the water you are fishing. Two things you can control are the speed at which flies sink and their depth.
After a string of unsuccessful casts to a trout, don’t hesitate to make adjustments to your flies so they sink more quickly. Add or remove split-shot as you move from place to place, and adjust your leader length so that you reach the proper depth at the right time for as long as possible.
Equipment
I use 5- and 6-weight, fast-action rods for the Dream Stream. A 5-weight is light enough for a delicate presentation and still allows you to cast in the afternoon winds. A 6-weight is best for throwing streamers, especially when the wind is strong. A quality reel is also important. Dream Stream trout are strong because of their reservoir upbringing, and are equipped with big tails that supply powerful bursts of speed. A good fly line is a simple weight-forward floating line. Because the water is no deeper than 8 to 10 feet, you can get down using split-shot and weighted flies. Use fluorocarbon leaders and tippets—no lighter than 5X for nymphs, and 3X for streamers.
Getting There
To access the river go west on Highway 24 from Colorado Springs. It is an hour and 15 minutes to the South Park turnoff at County Road 59, which takes you to the river and reservoir access at Spinney. The river has four main parking areas, and three are free Division of Wildlife access sites. The parking lot directly below the reservoir costs $5 for the day. The reservoir also has a $5 day-use fee. There are three main parking lots at the north end of the reservoir, and two at the south end. There are boat launches located at the north and south ends of the reservoir.
Coming from Denver, take Highway 285 to Highway 24. This is a two-hour trip. From Summit County, connect to the west end of Highway 24.
Landon Mayer is a guide and author of How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life (Wild River Press, 2007). He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
Comments