Dream Lake

[Kayser]

The biologists told them they'd have to take at least a couple thousand bass out of the lake each year, and over ten thousand bluegill, to get and keep the lake in a healthy balance.

Al, I think the solution here is to put about 100 flathead catfish in the lake, maybe more. In addition to bluegill, they really like bullheads and green sunfish and can put a hurt on a big hurt on stunted fish populations. Also, how much vegetation is there in the lake? It seems like bluegill health is more related to aquatic vegetation and insect population than anything else.

[Al Agnew]

Ness, point is about CO that there are far too many miles of streams that ARE private water. Sure, you can find some nice public water here and there, and the small streams in Rocky Mountain NP are fantastic. But it just burns my toast to try to fish a river like the Frying Pan and see little half mile segments of public water interspersed with miles and miles of water you will be arrested if you get on. I have to admit that segments like that would be dream water if you COULD get on it and few others could, though. But like the hypothetical dream lake, if it's too easy I'd get tired of it after a while. Nice place to go once in a while, but it's like the old joke...

The fly fisherman dies and discovers himself on a gorgeous piece of river, with big trout rising steadily. He has an expensive fly rod and reel, and a vest filled with one fly pattern, but it happens to match the hatch that's going on perfectly. With shaking hands he ties on a fly, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that he made it to Heaven, because he wasn't sure he would. First cast, perfect drift, a huge rainbow takes the fly, a good 24 inch fish. He plays it expertly and lands it, releasing it quickly. Next cast, same thing. Another beautiful 24 inch rainbow. This goes on for a couple of hours, every cast, a 24 inch rainbow. Finally he spies what he thinks is an angel on the bank. "Hey," he shouts. "This is terrific fishing, but is there somewhere else I can go and maybe catch some different size fish?"

"No...what are you complaining about anyway?" Isn't this just what you would have wanted back on earth?"

"Well, yeah...but I gotta admit that I thought Heaven would be a little less boring and have a little more variety."

"Who told you this is Heaven?"

[Greasy B]

Yeah, that would be my idea of hell for sure. There is one lake at Busch W L that I have been fishing for about 35 years. Every time I'm on it I imagine my dream home on the gentle bank over looking it, All mine. Well that will never happen and you know what, I'm fine with that. I still consider it my dream lake I just have to share it.

[ness]

Ness, point is about CO that there are far too many miles of streams that ARE private water. Sure, you can find some nice public water here and there, and the small streams in Rocky Mountain NP are fantastic. But it just burns my toast to try to fish a river like the Frying Pan and see little half mile segments of public water interspersed with miles and miles of water you will be arrested if you get on. I have to admit that segments like that would be dream water if you COULD get on it and few others could, though. But like the hypothetical dream lake, if it's too easy I'd get tired of it after a while. Nice place to go once in a while, but it's like the old joke...

The Frying Pan is a big-name river. It's gonna be crowded between the public accesses and the sports have bought up the rest. 'Here and there' doesn't really describe the overall availability in CO, it describes what you encounter when you focus on places like that. For me, fishing the 'destinations' ranks pretty low on the scale, and big fish or big numbers don't matter much to me either. So I leave that for the rest.

[ness]

You know River Angler Man, owning that pond or lake sounds great at first, but whenever I think about buying a place of my own, I think I'd get bored with it pretty quickly. Or wish I didn't have to worry about the things that go along with owning something. A lot of what I like to do is find a new place, or explore a little deeper in places I've been before. So I rent.

I joined a group and we've got access to 15+/- strip pits south of KC. I figure that'll keep me interested for a while, and they're much more doable than trips to the Ozarks are for me. My scouting down that way shows a few people, and a ton of great water. No jet skis, bass boats, or the other annoyances I encounter at the local reservoirs. Tons of tree-lined shores to keep out of the direct sun. When I get tired of all that, I suppose I'll go find something else. My fee, which includes a bozillion other places to fish and hunt, is less than a year's taxes would be on a small place of my own.

[Al Agnew]

Well, I guess I have the dream place if you're a trout fisherman. I just got off the river right next to the house. I walked down there for an hour or so of fishing after supper tonight. The side channel running against the yard is now low enough to wade across easily, and the riffle on the main channel has improved from last year. Perfect riffle corner, soft current seam running for more than a hundred yards downstream, deep run out in the main current, then another drop-off and a big eddy before you get to the next riffle. And over on the side channel, a long run of fairly deep moving water below some nice riffles. Tonight there was a lot of smoke in the air from fires in Idaho, and a thunderstorm off to the southwest, so the light was fairly low, and I decided to take the streamer rod--I've got three rods rigged and hanging in the garage at all times, one with dry flies, one with nymphs, and one with a streamer.

I waded across the side channel and over to the riffle. Briefly hooked a big brown right at the bottom of the riffle--I felt the strike and saw the fish turn its side, felt it momentarily when I lifted the rod, and then it was off. Waded down the run fishing the current seam, and hooked another big fish down at the top of the next eddy. This one struck like a ton of bricks, and shot downstream in a screaming run. When it turned and started back upstream the hook came out. I saw the swirl when it hit in about two feet of water, and it looked big, but I never actually saw the fish. Then I walked back over to the side channel as it was getting dark, and caught a nice 15 inch rainbow. I started to wade on down the side channel to where the best part of it was, but the lightning was flashing a bit and I thought, "I don't have to fish that tonight...it'll still be here tomorrow evening."

That's a dream situation. Living right next to a big, natural river that changes every year and actually every week as the water level and the weather change. If I get bored with the half mile or so of water I can fish from the house, I just put the little raft in and float four miles down to the next access, or have Mary run me up to the bridge above town and float eight miles down to the house. Or call the shuttle service and have them move my car if I want to float anywhere on more than 50 miles of river above and below the house. Sure, the river gets pounded mercilessly all summer. But that just makes the fishing challenging.

[Tim Smith]

I was just pokin' all the folks that say there's no access in CO, and when there is it's too crowded anyway.

Anyhoo -- that's a nice spot. I've fished several locales around RMNP, and people have never been an issue.

The fishing is great there, but you're more optimistic than me.

You'll almost never be the first person to present a fly to fish on the Big Thompson on a given day in season but the fish seem reasonably willing despite that. I don't notice many people fishing Dream Lake when I go that way, but the Loch gets high pressure and Lily Lake is just plain ridiculous....like fishing in a parking lot.

But yes, there are plenty of locations up the trails in RMNP where you won't find many anglers.

[ness]

The fishing is great there, but you're more optimistic than me.

You'll almost never be the first person to present a fly to fish on the Big Thompson on a given day in season but the fish seem reasonably willing despite that. I don't notice many people fishing Dream Lake when I go that way, but the Loch gets high pressure and Lily Lake is just plain ridiculous....like fishing in a parking lot.

But yes, there are plenty of locations up the trails in RMNP where you won't find many anglers.

With Lily Lake right on the highway, a large parking lot, a handicap-accessible loop trail, and every piece of park literature touting it as full of greenbacks -- guess what? But, one of the most exciting fishing experiences I've ever had was in a canoe on Lily Lake one evening with a massive spinner fall going on -- surrounded by cruising, slurping cutthroats. You'd try to figure out the fish's trajectory, and lay a fly in it's path. I'm sure I didn't have the place to myself, but I don't recall anybody else being out there. And it certainly wasn't fishing in a parking lot.

To each his own, I guess. I've found that being willing to get up a little earlier, stay out a little later or walk a little farther will help you avoid folks.

[Bird Watcher]

You know what they say about Dream Lakes, "no matter how good they look, there's always some guy that's tired of fishing her."

[Tim Smith]

With Lily Lake right on the highway, a large parking lot, a handicap-accessible loop trail, and every piece of park literature touting it as full of greenbacks -- guess what? But, one of the most exciting fishing experiences I've ever had was in a canoe on Lily Lake one evening with a massive spinner fall going on -- surrounded by cruising, slurping cutthroats. You'd try to figure out the fish's trajectory, and lay a fly in it's path. I'm sure I didn't have the place to myself, but I don't recall anybody else being out there. And it certainly wasn't fishing in a parking lot.

To each his own, I guess. I've found that being willing to get up a little earlier, stay out a little later or walk a little farther will help you avoid folks.

I have to admit I did pretty well there too...and I think the key was being in a canoe. All the fish I saw caught when I was there were from a boat, not the shore.

The walking strategy you mention here and avoiding well known spots seems to be the best strategy I've seen...

...and to that end I almost started posting here with a complete denial that there were any fish in CO at all. Fame is a death knell for a fishery.