Tour d'Colorado

We started our 'real' Trip from Denver on the 14th after taking care of some dog business there and in Colorado Springs. We headed down 285 to Buena Vista and then intended to cross Cottonwood Pass over to Taylor Park. Well, the weather had different ideas. By the time we got to the top of the pass, we were in a full blown blizzard. Not knowing what the dirt road was like on the other side, we decided to turn around a spend a few days on the east side of the pass. We settled in at Brown's Canyon near Hercla (sp?) on the Arkansas to not so awful weather (Tip- Do not stay at this campground unless you like trains). The Ark yielded a few browns in the 8-10" range, but nothing exciting. I only fished downstream from the campground, but oh what a beautiful stretch of river.

On the 16th, we crossed over to Taylor Park to much clearer weather and set up at the Dinner Station CG. The 'park' was occupied mostly by hunters who it seems prefer not to camp in the designated campgrounds. We were the only ones in the CG. According to the host, the river was pretty much fished out from the summer crowds, but I gave it a shot anyway. About two hours of fishing produced several browns in the 6-8" class, and a stocker rainbow of about a foot. What the river lacked in fish, it certainly made up for in scenery. This was one of the most beautiful areas I've fished in. I'd like to spend about a week exploring this area.

The next day, we did a little road trip west up Timber Creek and down Spring Creek. I fished Spring Creek not far from the headwaters for an hour or so, and landed a couple 8" rainbows. As we continued downstream this looked like quite an incredible river but I fished it no more.

Got a taste of the Taylor in the C&R section right below the dam, but by now, the temps were dropping and another storm was moving in. I didn't catch any fish here, but did see a few. The Browns were in spawning mode and made some leaps in front of me. I was in disbelief at the size of some of these fish. One of the browns would easily match in size any of the steelies we used to catch in Michigan. This mama had to go 10-15 lbs, no kidding. I guess that shows you what a steady diet of shrimp will do for ya. I'd like to know the guy who owns the next several miles downstream from the 1/4 mile C&R section. In fact, I'd like to BE that guy.

Returning to our camp site, we caught a radio report saying 3-6" on snow in the mountains, and decided to pack up. Our cheesy cabin tent wouldn't support that much weight. Headed down to Gunnison for the night.

The next day, the 18th, we made our way back towards Co Springs, knowing that we had to pick up one of our dogs in CS the next day. We drove up Eleven Mile Canyon to the CG at the dam. Man, what a georgeous canyon. I did not however get a chance to fish it. We set up the tent in a drizzle, and about 7 p.m., one of our dogs was going nuts. She would not settle down in the tent. Clawing at the door and pacing - she wanted out. Well, 5 minutes later, a thunder-snow storm rolled in with all its might. It took both me and my wife to hold up the tent and keep it from colapsing. The dog is now sitting in the middle of the tent shaking. She knew it was coming, but us humans were too stupid to understand. We waited for a break, took down the tent, and headed for a room in Manitou Springs.

The next day, we picked up our other dog and started to make our way back to NM, kind of. We spent the next two nights in Creede, on the Rio Grande, or 'Rio No Truchas' as one friend of mine likes to call it. Well, it lived up to its name. On the 20th, I fished hard for 4 hours in the wild fish area just upstream from the Marshall CG. Nothing, not even a strike - didn't even see a fish. Talked to a guy from Texas that was camping near us who said he caught 'a' fish a couple days earlier.