Is It Possible to Catch Too Many Fish?
Trevor Phipps
Growing up in Colorado, I have been fishing my whole life in a variety of the state’s waterways.
But after taking a few years off from the sport, I decided to embark on the new challenging adventure of fly fishing.
My friend and new fishing companion, Brett Voeller, first started taking me on some trips around the region to show me the ropes of this outdoor challenge I had barely dabbled in before. However, weather and slow fishing conditions made the learning process difficult for the first few trips.
After being skunked a few times in a row, Voeller decided that we needed to go out on a guided fishing trip provided by the local South Platte Fly Shop. Since I grew up in the region, I never had considered going on a guided trip before as I thought I already knew the best places to fish in the area.
Boy was I wrong. Shortly before the trip, Voeller gave me a crash course in fly fishing casting techniques at the pond at Memorial Park in Woodland Park. After that, I felt ready.
We headed out to the Dream Stream at 7 a.m. and for those who don’t know it is the section of the South Platte River that runs between Spinney and 11 Mile Reservoirs. Even though the flows were lower than normal, the fishing proved to be red hot right off the bat.
In fact, my guide accidentally hooked a small trout while he was showing me proper casting techniques. But once I got it down, it was my turn. It felt like my first real cast when I figured out the technique, instantly landed me a monster.
And then it didn’t stop, I felt like I was hooking a massive trout every time my line was in the water. Throughout the day, Voeller and I ended up catching (and releasing) probably 30 fish ranging from 12 to 19 inches. We landed almost every fish that can be found in that section of the river including brown trout, rainbow trout and cut bows which are a cross between a cutthroat trout and a rainbow trout.
We opted for the full day trip, which gave us a lengthy six hours out on the water raking in river monsters. Not only did I learn a lot and get to practice, the guide let us in on a few of his secret hotspots on the river.
The experience was amazing and the good part of the trip was that I didn’t take a fall like I have in the past mostly thanks to assistance from our guide Rick Davis.
South Platte Fly Shop
The South Platte Fly Shop, located on Hwy. 24 in Woodland Park, is currently in its 13th season. It provides the area with everything one needs to embark on a fly fishing adventure. “One thing we are known for is that we have a really great fly selection,” our fishing guide Davis said. “We have one of the largest ones out of all the shops in the area at typically a better price than all of them too. Like I think we have something like a quarter million flies in these bins over here.”
Along with supplying all of the necessary equipment like poles, flies, bags, nets, waders and boots, the shop also offers half day and full day fly fishing trips on two different sections of the South Platte River: the Dream Stream (along with other sections around South Park) and Deckers. For those who would rather try their luck on a lake, the shop also provides those tours. According to Davis, the shop offers shore fishing trips on 11 Mile Reservoir, and Spinney Reservoir as well as private lakes like those found at Rainbow Falls north of Woodland Park.
Davis spent most of his life in the Army Special Forces where he was stationed in Fort Carson, and has lived in Woodland Park since 2009. He has been fly fishing his entire life. For Davis, fly fishing is part of a family tradition He had two uncles and a grandfather who were all fishing guides. Once Davis retired from the military, he decided to work as a guide. This will mark his seventh season holding the reins as a head fishing guide and outdoor advisor.
Davis said that there are many benefits to going on a guided fishing trip, even for people who grew up fishing in the area. “Because the nature of these rivers that have big trout, small bugs and lots of hatches, they are what we call very technical sections of the South Platte,” Davis explained. “So, they are not the easiest to fish on your own especially for a beginner. So, what a guide really provides at the beginning is instruction on the techniques we use to catch this kind of picky tail water fish, the entomology of the bugs, and learning how to cast. What we tell people all the time when they are curious about guided fishing trips and the classes we offer is that they will cut your learning curve down by months if not years.”
Davis said that he took a couple out that had tried fly fishing on their own for almost a year and hadn’t caught a fish. Once they went out with Davis, they caught a fish within 10 minutes.
“People that live in this area that don’t fish may not realize that within an hour of the Woodland Park/Cripple Creek area, you’ve got four different gold medal sections of the South Platte,” Davis said. “Spinney Mountain Reservoir is one of the only Gold Medal reservoirs in the state. There are only three in Colorado and Spinney is one of them. So, we have a lifetime of opportunity within an hour of here if people aren’t used to getting out and trying fishing.”
