The Beauty of a Half Day

 

 

Those of us who live in or around Colorado Springs are lucky.  Within just about an hour drive, or maybe 90 minutes if you lengthen the radius a bit, we can be in any number of high quality fisheries.  From Deckers to the Dream Stream, Beaver Creek to Elevenmile Canyon, from small streams to stillwater, we can find the fish of a lifetime or the best fishing day ever.  And we can capture those great experiences in a half-day trip.

 

This past Wednesday, my wife and I headed to the Tomahawk stretch of the South Platte River.  We left our house around 7:15 a.m., made a pit stop at Hartsel, and were fishing by 8:45.  Three and a half hours later, we had lunch and talked about a pretty fun day on the river.  We fished for a bit longer before we headed home.

Although the water temps in our tailwaters have tapered a bit with bumped flows from Cheesman and Elevenmile Reservoirs, other areas still run the risk of reaching that crucial 68 degree mark.  It’s still smart to keep an eye on the water temperatures throughout the day.  Planning a half-day trip helps with that.  If you head out with the mindset of fishing for the morning only, you won’t have to be concerned with the rising temperatures in the afternoon.  

 

Another neglected destination but great for half-day outings are our local stillwaters.  North Catamount Reservoir is only twenty minutes from the shop (give or take — depending on if you hit the three stop lights). Spinney Reservoir is a little bit more of a drive, but mornings there in a kayak or belly boat are productive.  Usually the storms or at least the winds pick up in the early afternoon, so a morning trip is right on.  

And it is worth mentioning that when water temps are not an issue, a half-day trip in the evening is completely worth the drive.  Many of our tailwaters have great evening action with a caddis hatch at the dinner hour.  It’s always fun to be driving into Elevenmile Canyon when other anglers are driving out!  I’ve left Angler’s Covey at 3:30 and been fishing Deckers by 5:00 with three good hours of fishing to be had.  

 

We offer a variety of half-day guided fly fishing trips to several different fisheries in the Pikes Peak region.  Give the shop a call to check on availability and schedule your trip with one of our Orvis-endorsed guides.  Or swing by the shop on your way up and talk with one of our staff members about what patterns have been productive.  

 

Tight lines!