High Water July 2

Took Friday off to hit the Big Thompson.  After checking the stream flows at 5:30 am during breakfast, the chart said about 200 cfs, which is still a little high but had been steady and the reports claimed it to be very fishable.  After entering the canyon on Route 34 around 6:45 I saw a sign about bighorn sheep in the area.   Almost on cue, a few seconds later I saw a young ram clinging to the steep rocky ledges eating his breakfast.  Further up the road there were three rams on the side of the road.

The stream itself seemed very rough and tumbling - a lot of white water.  Hmmm, interesting I thought.   I decided to drive upstream of where the tributaries came together and found a wide run that looked a lot more calm.  After getting in the river and trying to cross, the water felt very strong even though I was only in knee deep.  There was no way I could make it to the other side.  Strange, I thought.  Something seemed wrong.

So I went further upstream to where the dam is.  Still a strong current with a little spilling over the banks.   I did catch one very small brown by casting to the far side while standing on the bank. Enough was enough.  I was not having fun and the fishing was not productive so I decided to drive up into Rocky Mtn National Park. 

On the way up I stopped at Kirk's Flyshop to see what's up.   He promptly informed me that there was a storm last night and the river shot up form 200cfs to over 500cfs.  After returning home and checking the water charts, indeed I saw the spike.  But it occurred after I left home and before I got to the river - in about an hour!  Two thoughts crossed my mind.  First, I was right in my earlier hunches that something did not make sense.  Second, good thing I was not on the other side of the river as the river rose!

In the Park, I was going to hike into Dream Lake which is a bit over a mile uphill from the nearest trail head.   On the drive up, I saw a nice stream so parked and fished it a bit.  No go, as that river, though wadeable, had been on the rise and the fish were weird.  I almost stepped on a snake, and saw some PMD dries coming off around 1:30 once it got cloudy.