The Rock That Has the Art of a Fly Fisher on It Located in Meeker Co

Fly-Fishing Trappers Lake --
A Apartment Tops Care for

by Ron Belak
Photos and captions past Al Marlowe

Trappers Lake, the crown jewel of Colorado's high lake fisheries, offers spectacular fishing experiences that most fly-fishers bypass. Special fishing regulations, like shooting fish in a barrel admission, and prolific hatches create some of the land'due south all-time stillwater fly line-fishing for larger wild cutthroat trout. The lake'southward relative isolation and a lesser involvement in lake fishing result in thinner crowds than on near major Western rivers.

Nestled among dense pine, spruce, and fir, Trappers Lake lies at an elevation of 9,627 feet in the Flat Tops Wilderness of northwestern Colorado. Immense stone walls composed of repetitive lava flows tower ane,500 anxiety loftier and form a spectacularly scenic backdrop. These cliffs were carved over 10,000 years ago by an alpine glacier whose meltwater filled the lake to about its nowadays 180-foot depth. With a expanse of 320 acres, Trappers is one of Colorado's largest natural lakes.

Trappers Lake is home to a cocky-sustaining population of Colorado River cutthroats. Since 1914, the Colorado Sectionalization of Wildlife has stripped eggs and sperm from the bound spawners and raised the resulting fry in its hatcheries. Fingerling trout are then planted into more 140 of Colorado'southward high country lakes.

Because of special fishing regulations, this population has thrived in recent years. Cutthroat are abundant and boilerplate 12 to 15 inches but occasionally exceed xviii inches. Angling is restricted to artificial flies and lures, and any cutthroat over 10 inches must be returned to the water immediately. Up to viii cutts 10 inches or less tin can be kept. Angling is prohibited in all inlets and upstream for one half mile, in the outlet and downstream to the falls, and within 100 anxiety of inlet and outlet streams. At that place is no bag limit on brook trout equally their propensity to overpopulate threatens the cutthroat population.

Wild cutthroat from Trappers Lake taken by Ron Belak. East shoreline fishing is best in the forenoon. Photograph by Al Marlowe

Before dashing-off to this excellent fishery, ane needs to secure the proper equipment to assure a successful outing. Considering of the ever-nowadays possibility of strong wind, I prefer to fish Trappers with a five or 6 weight rod. I fish dries and nymphs with a floating line, but I also comport a full-sinking line for trolling or line-fishing streamers.

Considering of dumbo willows lining the shore, you need to enter the h2o to backcast, and this can be achieved either by wading or floating. For wading, I recommend breast-loftier neoprene or breathable waders. Wet-wading is not advised considering water temperatures seldom exceed 60 degrees. Wading allows you lot to scout the most shoreline in the to the lowest degree corporeality of time, and yous tin spot more fish considering of your greater height above the water. However, wading restricts yous to fishing the shore, and some trout always ascent beyond casting range. Your float tube or a rented rowboat or canoe can provide admission to deeper water farther offshore. Motors are not allowed on Trappers Lake.

Trappers unremarkably thaws around the first of June, but can open up 2 weeks before or later depending on weather. Fishing is expert during the 2 weeks post-obit thawing, as hungry cutthroat cruise the shallows. Black Marabou Leeches and Wooly Buggers or orangish soft hackles are effective when fished on full-sinking lines, and midges offer some early dry out wing fishing. After this two-week ice-out menstruation, line-fishing slows down equally the cutthroat migrate into the streams to spawn. Nevertheless, the line-fishing actually heats-upwardly again when surface h2o temperatures climb in a higher place 52 degrees, terminating the spawn and initiating many of the hatches for which Trappers is famous.

The outlet of Trappers Lake is a practiced place to fish to rising cutthroats. Photograph by Al Marlowe

The cardinal to successfully fly-fishing Trappers Lake is a two-part procedure. First, one must locate trout. Second, i needs to properly present a wing that will entice a strike.

The best place to locate trout in Trappers Lake is northward of a line drawn from Scott's Bay to Cabin Creek. Cutthroat concentrate here because this is the home of their prime food supply -- bottom-abode invertebrates. These invertebrates, consisting primarily of scuds, mayflies, midges, and caddis, are largely confined to the littoral zone -- that portion of the lake extending from shore to the deepest depth of rooted plants. In Trapper's Lake, this depth is about twenty feet. This relatively modest northern portion of the lake has a gently dipping, easily wadable shelf and a well-worn trail that hugs the shoreline. However, good line-fishing can exist found in shallow areas anywhere effectually the lake. Ambush and steep terrain make the south cease difficult to admission, but it offers both practiced fishing and solitude.

Although Trappers is thermally stratified from the terminate of June into October, temperature is not a major gene controlling cutthroat distribution. Only when about-shore water temperatures exceed 65 degrees practise fewer trout cruise the shallows. Similarly, oxygen is abundant in all merely the lake'due south deepest waters and does not appear to influence cutthroat distribution during the open water season.

Trout cruise the shallows in schools, and in the absence of directly seeing them, wait for rise forms. However, trout attempt to conceal themselves with any bachelor cover, such as overhanging willows, shadows, the shelf border, or weed beds. Trout are less wary and occur in greater numbers in the shallows during morning and evening when the sun is off the water. This is when the fishing is mostly all-time, and these times coincide with the amend insect hatches and least corporeality of wind. Mid-24-hour interval is a slow time for line-fishing unless there is considerable cloud encompass.

Wind produces a rippled surface, making trout difficult to spot. Wind also terminates many hatches, only trout ofttimes venture closer to shore nether the protective cover of a rippled surface. When the wind blows hard, look for surface-feeding trout in the glassy water on the leeward side of bays.

When trout cannot be seen, you can still locate them by blindly casting sure flies into areas containing embrace. When wading, my favorite wing is a No. 14 Gilt Ribbed Hare's Ear tied slim and with calorie-free tan dubbing. I fish this fly unweighted on a floating line with 4X tippet and strip it vigorously like a streamer. Trout hit this fly hard and hook themselves. I as well use an Elk Hair Caddis because of its superior visibility and floatation. Both of these flies will entice a strike even on the choppiest of surfaces. If you troll, I recommend pulling the Hare's Ear or a No. xvi Renegade in the surface moving picture.

If you visually locate trout merely take not even so enticed a strike, you demand to determine their dining preference. Search the water's surface carefully for insects, and if trout rise, observe the nature of their rising form. Be aware, however, as multiple hatches may occur, and fish may only key on one insect.

Midges appear near the west shoreline equally evening shadows pitter-patter across the lake. Ron Belak nets a cutt that took his tiny midge imitation. Photo past Al Marlowe

Midges comprise the staff of life and butter of the cutthroats' food supply at Trappers Lake. Because midges hatch whenever there is open water, they are particularly important during early spring and belatedly fall when the water is too common cold for mayflies and caddis to sally. Midges hatch at Trappers primarily during early morning and belatedly evening. Their hatch is signaled past telltale dimple rise forms, made when trout gently suck pupae suspended merely below the h2o's surface. Trout gorge themselves so selectively on the tiny pupae that their rise forms often resemble rain. Notwithstanding information technology may be maddeningly difficult to entice a strike because of the midge's small size, relative stillness, and overwhelming abundance. They also tend to hatch in deeper water beyond the casting range of the shore fly fisher.

Midges at Trappers are predominantly black, canteen green, cream, and light tan. These various colors can be fished successfully to differing degrees. For instance, the black midge, which offset hatches early after ice-out, is perhaps the easiest of the midges to fish because of its large size. Its pupae are successfully imitated with No. 20 Black Midge Pupa or Grayness RS2s. Use floating line with 6X tippet, and retrieve slowly. Adult imitations, such equally No. 18 Black Gnats or No. 22 Blackness Parachutes, also accept trout consistently during the hatch. Similarly, the green midge is imitated with olive midge pupae or No. 22 Bluish Winged Olive Parachutes. I have trivial luck with cream and tan midges because of their incredibly small size.

Nonetheless, 1 can also ignore the midge matching routine during the evenings and simply fish with a No. 12 Bead Head Orangish Asher as a point fly affixed with a trailing No. xx Andy'southward Flash Pupa. This latter wing has a head consisting of peacock herl and a twist of brown soft hackle, a body of Krystal flash ribbed with fine gold wire, and a long tail of Krystal flash. Almost xv inches of 5X tippet should separate the 2 flies. Boarding one's bladder tube and stripping this duo in the picture produces vehement strikes and converts what can be a frustrating experience into a highly productive adventure.

Also, when trout are surface feeding in the shallows, but you cannot see what they are taking, they are probably sipping adult midges. I am extremely successful hooking these cutts on No. 22 Black Parachutes, but yous can too stalk these trout successfully with No. 16 Orange Ashers.

If you discover mayflies, information technology's probably the genus Callibaetis. Trappers is famous for this hatch. The large, chocolate duns and spinners have speckled wings and light gray underbellies. They first appear at the end of June or start of July and hatch into September. However, an algal bloom in early Baronial converts Trappers Lake into a green soupy mix, making this hatch all simply impossible to fish for the remainder of the year. The Callibaetis nymphs reside in weed patches just beyond the shelf break, and it is hither that the duns emerge, near enthusiastically during the evening. Strong winds, however, preclude their emergence. If y'all see tails or dorsal fins of trout breaking the surface, they are probably treating themselves to Callibaetis nymphs. These nymphs are effectively imitated with the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear or No. xvi Pheasant Tails. Vigorously strip these flies on a floating line. Fish can periodically exist taken throughout the hatch on dun imitations -- No. xiv or sixteen Adams, Mosquitoes, Bluish Duns, or Light Cahills.

During the late morning and early on afternoon, you may observe clouds of Callibaetis spinners completing their mating ritual. Clouds form closer to shore and are therefore more accessible to wading. A gentle breeze commonly blows individuals onto the h2o, females touch down to deposit eggs, or spent individuals may simply fall. You lot tin can fish the aforementioned dun imitations without worrying well-nigh spent wings. At times, cutts feed so enthusiastically on Callibaetis spinners that most whatever No. 12 to 16 dry out fly is effective. The best patterns, notwithstanding, include the Mosquito, Adams, Quill Gordon, Blue Dun, and White Quill.

Caddis are also important at Trappers Lake, and they first announced in spring at the aforementioned fourth dimension as Callibaetis. Caddis seldom form extensive hatches except under overhanging willows right up confronting shore; so trout seldom feed selectively upon them. The cutts, however, will take adult caddis whenever available, and caddis become more important when the Callibaetisare non hatching. Adult caddis are best imitated with No. 16 or 18 Elk Hair Caddis. They often ascent to this fly on the choppiest of surfaces, and sometimes a sunk fly entices more than strikes.

During late July and Baronial, you may encounter cutts vigorously feeding on flight ants. The heavy-bodied inexperienced aviators frequently notice themselves blown onto the water'south surface where they are chop-chop devoured. These trout treats are hands imitated with No. 16 Renegades or No. 14 Flight Ants, fashioned from dark chocolate dubbing and mallard quill.

The most overlooked food source at Trappers is the crustacean Gammarus, commonly known as the scud. The Division of Wild fauna establish scuds in 37 percent of stomach samples examined. Scuds at Trappers are greenish gray and well-nigh abundant in sizes No. eighteen and 20. Scuds should exist retrieved erratically on a sinking line along the margins of weed beds or dangled in front of trout cruising the shallows. The take is often subtle, and you lot volition demand to gear up the hook.

Cruising trout that refuse dries tin be tempted with diverse nymphs. By walking the banks, fifty-fifty during midday, yous can often observe trout cruising in equally little every bit 1 foot of water. I catch many of these fish by dangling a No. 12 Bead Head Caddis tied with light tan dubbing. The light color is easy to see even through a rippled surface, and the bead gets the fly down without the employ of split shot. The trout do not strike hard, but avoid using indicators as they spook many fish. Other flies effective on cruisers include Hares Ears, Pheasant Tails, Scuds, and San Juan Worms.

Undoubtedly, the more than you fish Trappers Lake, the more than yous will larn of its secrets. Possibly you volition discover a hatch of mayflies blown off an inlet stream, experience a profusion of beetles struggling helplessly on the water, or meet a number of leeches squirming forth the substrate. The more than y'all learn, the more than you will enjoy this Flat Tops treat.

Access and Accommodations:

To attain Trappers Lake, drive Routt County 17--the scenic byway over Dunkley and Ripple Creek Passes--from Yampa 41 miles west to Trappers Lake Route. Proceed south for viii miles to the trailhead parking lot. From Meeker, accept Rio Blanco County 8 41 miles e to Trappers Lake Road. At that place are over 100 maintained Wood Service campsites available on a first come basis within 2 miles of the lake. Cabins, meals, and boats are available at Trappers Lake Society.

Resource:

Read another story about fishing Trapper's Lake and the Flat Tops The Apartment Tops and Trappers Lake - a photograph essay

Al has written a book, "Fly Fishing the Flat Tops". You lot tin can order a paperback re-create through Barnes and Noble, or Amazon. This book gives descriptions and locations of almost every angling opportunity in the Apartment Tops.

Al has another book, "The Hiking and Camping ground Guide to Colorado'southward Flat Tops Wilderness" . You lot can order a paperback or ebook copy through Barnes and Noble, or Amazon. This book describes trails and includes maps to brand your Flat Tops trip more easy to plan and enjoy.

This article first appeared in the 1995 annual fishing guide issue of Colorado Outdoors magazine. The commodity is copyrighted by the author, then unauthorized reproduction of this article is not allowed. All photos are copyrighted by Al Marlowe. No reproduction, linking, or copying without permission.

---

ledesmatorrisheacer.blogspot.com

Source: https://coloradofishing.net/ft_belak.htm