I recently had the opportunity to renew my acquantance with the Colorado mountains. Our (me, wife, and 2-year-old child) first stop was 5 days camping at Dillon Reservoir along with my parents. For the first few days I attempted to fish the reservoir from the bank. While I had a few hits on streamers, I was not able to land anything. Things were getting a little discouraging, and it was obvious that belly boats and other craft would have been better for getting to where the fish were. The people in the next site allowed as how they had yet to see someone pulling out a fish from the particular cove in which we were camped. 
I did some reconnoitering and looked over the inlets and outlet of the reservoir. The most promising locations were the Blue river inlet and the Blue River below the reservoir. The lower portion of the Blue River is designated as "Gold Medal" by the Colorado Fish and Game people. These waters represent a good chance of angling success, as well as fairly large trout. They are not all stocked on a regular basis, and the Blue River downstream of the dam has not been stocked in 10 years, according to a local flyshop (The Gold Medal Flyshop, just north of Silverthorne). The employees of the Gold Medal shop were courteous and helpful, and suggested a number of things that I could consider based on the contraints on my activities. Since the next day was the last day I could fish in this area, I listened carefully, bought several flies, and resolved to fish the Blue River the next afternoon.
The water was cold (42 degrees), clear, and running about 125 cfs (according to local information). The rocky bottom was slippery and the smooth rocks had a tendency to shift underfoot, making wading a matter of careful concentration. Casting room was good, and there were a number of sheltering lies downstream of large rocks and logs. I began with a bead-head Prince nymph (#14) and worked it in and around areas where I thought fish might be holding. This was not productive, and although I was getting a lot of good casting practice, I decided to try a dry fly.
On the advice of an employee of the Gold Medal Flyshop, I had bought several Pale Evening Duns and Blue Wing Olives (with rust dubbing -- apparently the local flies are that color). Both flies were tied using CDC in place of the standard hackling. The BWO was not what the trout wanted, so I switched to the PED. I was unable to see any fish, but I targetted a holding lie just upstream and toward the western bank of the river. As the fly drifted into the lie, I felt a tug and the line went taut as the fish headed downstream. After it jumped a couple times, I gave some sideways pressure in the upstream direction, and the fish swam past me heading south. It was large enough that I seriously questioned whether I would get the chance to remove the hook for myself. After some more maneuvering, the trout came along side, and I lifted it out of the water to remove the hook.
The local information was that the Blue River had a lot of Browns and an occasional Rainbow. The fish I held in my hand was the "occasional Rainbow". I held it up to my rod and noted where its snout reached before I released it. I estimated its depth at 4 inches. Its color was brilliant, and it swam off with no discernable recovery time. After I got back to the flyshop, I took the butt section of my rod, and borrowed a tape measure. This trout was 18 inches long, and as far as I was concerned, it made up for the 4 previous days of nothing.
The next morning my parents and my family parted ways, and we proceeded up US 6 over Loveland Pass, headed east on I-70 and then headed north on US 40 over Berthoud Pass. We then picked up US 34 and entered Rocky Mountain National Park. We climbed up Trail Ridge Road and stopped at the summit of the third pass that day -- Milner Pass. 
About 50 yards north of the pass (and the Continental Divide) Poudre Lake (headwaters of the Cache La Poudre River) sits. It was clear and, according to RMNP literature, held fish. I decided to fish a while and see what I could come up with. As it turned out, nothing took my flies. After the wind died enough that the lake became smooth, I saw a number of brook trout in a group about 20 feet off shore. Since we were pressed for time, and I was already in the process of unrigging my rod, I reluctantly left and headed to the Moraine Park Campground, our home for the next three nights.
In the relatively short time available for fishing, I stopped at the Hidden Valley Creek Beaver Ponds, where catch-and-release fishing is open from August 1 to December 31. These ponds are one of the sites where the formerly endangered (now upgraded to "threatened") Greenback Cutthroat Trout have been reintroduced. Access to the ponds is via a boardwalk, and people are required to confine their activity to the walkways. These walkways are about 3 feet above the water in places, and with my height, that makes for a 9'5" fisherman to the trout swimming below. So much for stealth....but Cutthroats have a reputation for stupidity, don't they? So I dropped an Olive Quill (from the Estes Angler, another fine flyshop) in the path of the closest fish I could see. It adjusted its path accordingly, and headed away from me. OK....so they aren't stupid. I decided to wait and watch. After several minutes I saw where the trout headed once they had finished cruising near the walkway. I began to cast, and managed to lay an Olive Quill 30 feet away, just overhead of a cutthroat trout.
The trout sipped the fly off the surface, and rolled away, and the fight (such as it was) was on. It was a litle one-sided, and after a couple jumps and other token displays of defiance, the 12 inch Greenback Cutthroat was below the boardwalk. I gave slack, in hopes that the fish would release itself (barbless hooks are required), but it was unable to do so. Reluctantly I reached down, wet my hands, and lifted the trout up and removed the hook. It was beautiful -- large spots concentrated near the tail and a pinkish red tinge to the lower part of the body starting at the gill covers. I released it, and it slowly swam away.
My next, and final encounter with a trout was at Sprague Lake, in a short (50 foot) creek connecting a small pond with the main lake. Several Brookies were there, and I started casting using my 8wt rod due to the stiff breeze. I lost a couple BWOs due to my bad aim, and the fact that I was trying to drop the fly under some overhanging branches. I finally was able to gauge the wind properly and placed the fly in a position where a 10 inch brook trout took it. When I removed the hook I saw that this trout was deeply colored and quite healthy looking. In fact, after I took a closer look at the creek, I saw spawning behavior.
Ordinarily I might feel bad about catching spawning fish, but RMNP is "pushing" brook trout, giving a bonus limit of 10 additional fish if they are 8 inches or under. I chose to release this one, but the goals of the National Park Service in restoring native trout are admirable. To achieve this end, the Brook Trout have to be removed from the areas where the Greenback Cutthroat Trout are being reintroduced, and in general, they would probably like to see them disappear from the park. I have mixed feelings about this, as the Brook Trout ARE part of an established ecosystem, and are reproducing naturally. Unfortunately, they outcompete the native cutthroats, and they must be removed if a successful restoration is to happen.
All in all this was an enjoyable trip, even though I failed to achieve the "grand slam" of Colorado trout by not catching a Brown Trout this trip. I caught one the previous year, so I don't feel too bad. The three trout I released were each, in their own way, worth the trip, and I look forward to a repeat of my Colorado experience. Perhaps the Poudre River next year....
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