K.C. Cochran
Intro | Bugs & Calendar | Little Poudre Rivers | Big Thompson
The Cache la Poudre River (above) is one of Colorado's most accessbile trout streams. The river runs from inside Rocky Mountain National Park and along Highway 14 to Fort Collins.
The snow-covered mountaintops of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Never Summer Wilderness drain their water east toward Colorado's dry grasslands through two sister rivers that lie in similar canyons about 25 miles apart. These two canyons-geological cracks in Northern Colorado's Front Range-hold the only east-west highways through the mountains and the best two wild trout streams in this part of the state.
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THREAD: Tan 8/0.
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HEAD: Small gunmetal or peacock glass bead.
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WINGPADS: Brown Antron. |
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LEGS: Mini Tan Tarantu Legs. |
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THORAX: Tan UV Ice Dub.
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The highways that run along the Cache la Poudre and Big Thompson rivers give anglers more than 60 miles of river access because in most cases the state owns the narrow stretch of land between the road and the river. In a state where access is restricted along many of the best trout streams, these two gems are like a breath of fresh air.
Cache la Poudre
While caught in a fierce snowstorm in the 1820s, French fur trappers moving along the Front Range lightened their load by stashing kegs of gunpowder along a riverbank. "Cache" means hiding place and "Poudre" is French for powder. The Cache la Poudre River is the larger of the two Front Range trout streams and one of the few remaining freestoners in the state.
Like the nearby Big Thompson River, the Poudre begins its descent in Rocky Mountain National Park, but the Poudre runs approximately 14 miles north to Highway 14, and then turns east, while the Big Thompson generally flows east to west along Highway 34 for its entire course.
The upper north-flowing section of the Poudre is known as Big South Fork. It isn't really a fork of the river at all but when you drive west upstream along the river for over 40 miles from Fort Collins and the river turns sharply away from the road, coming from the south, that's the Big South.
A foot trail follows the Big South through this roadless area as it winds down a canyon and gains momentum from several reservoirs and creeks. The reservoirs don't dam the Big South they only feed it. While the average fish in this stretch is smaller than the lower reaches of the Poudre, it is a great place for a Colorado Grand Slam: greenback cutthroats (the indigenous trout are making a comeback), rainbows, browns, and brook trout. All you need for a day of awesome fishing on the Big South is a box of #14 Royal Wulffs, Lime Trudes, or Yellow Humpys.
Once the river meets Highway 14, anglers find primarily brown trout. Whirling disease severely decreased the rainbow population on the Poudre through the 1990s. Where rainbows and browns once lived harmoniously, browns now dominate. According to Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) biologist Kenny Kehmeier, about 90 percent of the river's trout population is now brown trout. Despite losing the rainbows, biomass is at an all-time high.
Kehmeier disagrees with anglers who say, "The Poudre ain't as good as it used to be."
Biomass records dating back to the '40s show the fish are larger and more numerous than ever. "Browns have just moved into a new niche," Kehmeier said. "Most people fish the runs and the feeding zones where they used to catch rainbows. But to get the browns you need to fish the shallows and get your fly as far under an overhanging tree as possible-right up next to the bank."
Kehmeier estimates there are 2,900 fish per mile in some sections of the Poudre. The high in 1996 was only 1,627 fish per mile and the numbers back to the 1940s trickle down from there.
The Poudre is a relatively small and shallow river most of the year-although in the spring it is a paradise for whitewater rafters and kayakers. There are long riffles, fast pocket-water sections, deep canyon pools, and long flats through the meadows. There are 54 miles of fishable water and a majority of the river is open to the public. Even on weekends you can find plenty of elbow room and the type of water you prefer.
The most popular locations for fly anglers are the two trophy-trout areas designated fly-or-lure-only "Wild Trout Waters." The lower wild-trout area begins at Pingree Park Bridge 20 miles up from the head of the canyon and ends near the town of Rustic. In the middle of this reach is Indian Meadows, one of the few places where the Poudre winds away from the road for any length. If you don't like the background hum of highway traffic, this is the place for you.
The upper wild trout area begins at Black Hollow Creek and continues upstream to the Big Bend campground. The most prominent landmark in this area is a state fish hatchery. Discharge from the hatchery keeps the river ice-free most of the winter, and the water is extremely fertile with heavier hatches, and in particular more midges, than the rest of the river.
Both the special-regulation areas have a lower gradient than the rest of the river, which means they are not as popular with rafters, easier to wade, and easier to fish. Between the two sections, there are nearly eight miles of regulated water for wild trout.
Of course, the rest of the river also has plenty of trout-sometimes you catch more trout outside the special-regulation areas because the trout don't see as many flies, are not caught and released as often, and since the water is generally swifter than Indian Meadows or the fish hatchery area, the trout have less opportunity to inspect and refuse your flies.
K. C. Cochran lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. This article originally appeared in the September 2004 issue of FFM.
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