[HandlineTuna]

I moved to Colorado last fall. This summer I am planning on doing weekend camping and fishing trips. I live in Denver and have noticed on the fishing atlas that there is a ton of fishing nearby for day trips as well.

My fishing experience is limited to some interisland fishing by hand line in Hawai'i (where I grew up) and fishing in the Puget Sound for salmon on spin gear. I am quite comfortable with spin gear so that's what I am thinking.

I primarily I want to fish for trout but maybe also some warm water stuff in Denver to pass time during the week.

I am looking at travel rods and am thinking the light version of:
http://www.basspro.com/St-Croix-Triumph-Travel-Spinning-Rods-with-Rod-Case/product/103661/
Should I be concerned with this rod breaking on crappie or bass stocked in a lot of places near Denver?

I like the idea of braided line with a mono leader and using small spin setups, or a bubble and fly on rivers and such.

I am not sure on which reel I want to go with, something in the $50-80.

Are there any places that people would recommend for getting started for both pond fishing and river fishing? I was thinking South Platte River on either side of Chatfield and Chatfield itself. (Though I don't have waders, should I get some?)

Any recommendations would be great. Ideas on where to go to get started fishing location wise, good lures and flies to start out with.

Thanks!

 

[HandlineTuna]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I doubt you will break it on those fish, but I would go with the medium-light model. It would be more versatile. I would probably also opt for a 2 piece instead of the 4-piece pack rod, unless you intend to do a lot of backpacking in the mountains. Cheaper, more sensitive and a bit lighter. Welcome to the site!

I do plan to do a bunch of backpacking in the mountains this summer. Would a 2 piece get snagged while walking or should I not worry too much about that?

I do intend to focus mostly on trout in streams and ponds/lakes in the mountains. However, with so many stocked warm water ponds stuff so close to me I may break down and have some fun there. So the versatility of the medium light would probably be the right call. I am tempted to get a light rod 4 piece AND a medium rod 2 piece for in town just incase I do want to do some catfish/bass that would be a bit heavy for it.

Searched Clear Creek Browns: Right in Golden seems like a great spot to go do a little fishing. It seems like just about every creek/stream/pond has some fish in it.

I am pretty excited to get out there. When is too early? I would imagine clear creek is good right now but about when should the ice thaw in the mountains? I have no idea when the white stuff goes away coming from a tropical climate...

 

[HandlineTuna]

Hobiecat: Have you tried that rod by anychance? I was at Basspro fondling some rods and I noticed that the 4 piece st Croix was quite a bit stiffer than the 2 pieces. is that loss in sensitivity going with more segments going to be significant for trout or should I not worry?

JW: For the trout rig you would suggest straight mono rather than a braid/leader? I suppose that makes things easier as you don't have to tie the two lines together. Though I was thinking about using a swivel at that point. Is having the high visibility braid worth having for casting in streams and ponds?

Have any of you tried the Fenwick EliteTech River Runner series? That rod really felt good. But possibly a bit long to be backpacking with if its about 40 inches when in two pieces.

 

[HandlineTuna]

Are the fish in Clear Creek safe to eat? I know that in the past the river was polluted from the mines is this still the case or did the superfund cleanup work help substantially?

 

[HandlineTuna]

Do you have a recommended lure/color pattern for the area? I ended up getting a gold super duper with a gold tip in 1/16oz and some rooster tails, and a blue fox in 1/8 oz. I am stopping buy Sportsman's Warehouse and can grab a few more if you have any advice before I go out this weekend.

Also I ended up getting a 4 piece travel rod with 6lb test. That should be enough rod and a strong enough line right?

 

[HandlineTuna]

Am I going to need waders or will I be able to fish from the bank on rocks/boulders fairly effectively?

Is most of the the riverbank private along the river or will there be signs notifying if its private?

 

[HandlineTuna]

I am just looking to have some fun fishing on my days off and enjoy the Colorado spring/summer. I don't need a trophy fish. Just looking for some that want to come and play, maybe take a big one home every once and a while.

However, when/if I go backpacking with friends I may end up keeping a few for dinner.

I am certainly not afraid of getting a little wet I just imagine that river is about 33 degrees from the snowmelt and I don't want to freeze my feet off.

On a side note, I was reading some of your posts about urban fishing. Do you have any places you would recommend here in town that would be easy to go to without a half hour drive up 6? No specific fish in mind just some to catch and throw back and practice my casting and accuracy.

 

[HandlineTuna]

There's fish in them hills!

Great Day on Clear Creek! Landed 3 Rainbows for catch and release. Had lots of bites and 2 jumped the hook right as I was about ready to pull the hook out! Thanks for all the help! yes that is a Super Duper with a red tip. The Kastmaster almost brought one in too. The rooster tails didn't seem to work, though I lost my rainbow one after 3-4 casts (the pool was too deep to walk into), and the yellow one didn't seem to have any love. I am looking forward to getting out fishing again soon.

 

[HandlineTuna]

LOL well I am terrible at identifying. They had red dots down the side so I guess brown is right. Good call. My first ever trout so I was pretty excited.