First time on the North Fork

Had the day off so my buddy Mark and I headed up to the Cache La Poudre River to try our luck.  The weather was overcast but warm with just a hint of wind.  To start the day we headed up to Marks favorite spot which was further up canyon than the North Fork of the Poudre where we were to spend the middle portion of the day, before finishing up in the lower canyon.

So we get to Marks spot and start working our way upstream.  I start below Mark and follow him up after ten or fifteen minutes trying more or less the same spots he had.  I am getting no action but do manage to see a couple fish over the coarse of my walk upstream.  With Mark having the same luck as me, we decide to head downstream and try out the North Fork.

I have never fished the North Fork before and Mark has only fished it once with not much luck.  That being said, we try our luck on the advice of Doug Heggart, who was nice enough to give me the down low on an area he has been fishing this winter.   I start in an area that has a nice run and a Big pool behind a boulder on the far side.  I cast through the run on the near side when I spot a couple of fish sitting at the bottom of the big pool.  Second cast in, I see the fish swim up to the egg but turn away.  Then it swims up to it again, but turns away one more time.  Still dead drifting the fly, the fish swims to the fly a third time and finally takes it.  After a short fight I have landed a nice 12" Rainbow for my first fish of the day.  Not two minutes later I see Mark land his first fish of the day just upstream from where I at.  I still see the other trout at the bottom of the big pool and start casting back through the pool.  A number of casts in the other rainbow finally takes the red midge on the back end of my setup, and have another 12" fish in hand after about ten minutes.  I work my way upstream and manage to catch a 9" brown in a little pool on the side before meeting up with Mark and taking a little break.  After our break, Mark heads downstream and manages to catch one more, while I head upstream  fishing the runs above the bridge and the cliff pool.  I hook into a couple of fish in the runs upstream of the bridge but one shakes loose and the other snaps my fly off.  I move up to the inlet of the cliff pool and cast to the far edge and hook into another good size rainbow for my third fish of the day.  I meet up with Mark and we fish one more pool before picking up and heading back to the car and driving downstream to finish the day off.

We try a pullout Marks fished before and he heads upstream while I head downstream.  I fish through a couple runs and a few pools with no luck as I walk upstream.  I get to a skinny section of water with shallow pools and cast through them.  After a number of casts I finally hook into a little brown that manages to shake loose after about ten seconds of fighting.  With that denial I call it a day and head back to the car to meet up with Mark.

Didn't have much luck on the Poudre but the North Fork treated me just fine for the majority of the day.  Great to be out fishing with my buddy Mark again on a beautiful Colorado day in early March!

Rod:  Iwana 12' 6/4
Line:  Riggs Floating Line 12'
Flies that Worked:  Egg, Red Midge Nymph,