Glacier Creek, below Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
That’s exactly what we did last weekend. We rented a cabin at YMCA of the Rockies near
Estes Park (a familiar haunt), loaded up our SUV (complete with a cargo
platform riding caboose), and headed north.
I could feel the mental baggage falling away as we drove into the fading
light.
Along with some long overdue family relaxation at the cabin
and some sightseeing in Rocky Mountain National Park, I was able to sneak out
for most of a day of tenkara in the park itself. In light of the recent government shutdown, we really lucked out. We had planned this trip for a couple of months, and were worried that we wouldn't be able to visit the park. However, just in time, the park reopened at noon on the Saturday of our our trip! This time of year the park isn’t nearly as
occupied by people as it is during the summer.
Most folks are there to watch and listen to the elk, and much to my
surprise, none of those folks seem to be interested in all in trout.
Because of the recent flooding in the Estes Park area
earlier this fall, I was curious as to the fishability of the eastern watersheds
of Rocky Mountain National Park. I was
pleasantly surprised by the condition of both Glacier Creek and the upper Big
Thompson River. I fished both with my
12’ Iwana by Tenkara USA, and had good luck catching browns and greenbacks with
my self-tied Killer Kebari, a wonderful pattern from Chris Stewart, aka, the
Tenkara Bum. I was also testing a new product we’ve developed at RIGS Fly Shop, and I was pleased with the results. I’ll be posting much more information on this
later this fall, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what
we’ve put together.
It was cold and snowy on Glacier Creek, but the fishing was great!
Big Thompson River, Rocky Mountain National Park
YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park Center