Recently a group of FATC Brothers – Mike Bisaga, Mike Oldani, Dan Staggenborg & Matt McClure headed out to Colorado to spend a week of fellowship and world-class fishing. Our home base for the week was a nicely appointed VRBO in Woodland Park, CO. The focus was to concentrate on fishing the many tailwaters and stillwater that make up the South Platte River. We were very fortunate to have Landon Mayer guide us several of the days during our trip.
It was exciting to see Mike B., Dan S., & Mike O net their all-time largest trout to date. Beautiful quality brownies, rainbows and splakes were caught. Several of us landed a couple of rare species. The Loch Leven Brown Trout strain and Splakes, which are the result of a Lake Trout and a Brook Trout breeding. Most brownies in the US hail from a german strain. The Loch Leven strain originated in Central Scotland.
We all set out on the first day to fish the beautiful Eleven Mile Canyon. Flows were on the low side which made fishing a little challenging however we all were able to land a few cutbows and rainbows. Fishing was tough and technical. Size 18 to 22 nymphs were the ticket. The second day was scheduled where Mike B & Matt were to fish with Landon on Antero Reservoir in anticipation of catching pre-spawn trout cruising the shallow shoreline and Mike O and Dan S headed to the Night Hawk section of the South Platte located not far from Deckers, CO. Unfortunately we had to call an audible as Landon (our guide) hit a deer and was subsequently rear- ended by another driver on his way to meet us. Thanks be to God that nobody was hurt. So Mike and Matt called an audible to check out the Dream Stream knowing that we would also be able to move onto Eleven Mile Canyon if necessary. Flows were very low in the Dream with a sizable amount of moss. Due to the inlet of Eleven Mile Reservoir being substantially silted due to flooding it has created a big problem for the Kokanee and Browns to migrate up the stream to spawn. In fact very few fish had migrated. Mike B was able to land his first Dream Stream trout but that is all we landed. After several hours we headed onto Eleven Mile where the pace picked up. Matt made a decision to tie on a Fruit Roll-up streamer and immediately had some nice action netting 5 quality fish in a very short time. Mike B headed down the river using the same. Many hits and several on but challenging to net. Mike O and Dan ended up netting several trout in the Deckers area but reported that it was tough fishing. The South Platte is known as one of the most challenging and technical rivers in the US so catching just a few can be a rewarding experience. One thing is for sure no matter what section of the South Platte you fish it is hard to find more beautiful scenery.
Based on missing the first guided day with Landon due to his accident we took his advice and all four of us met up with him and fished Antero Reservoir and had a phenomenal day with most catching their all-time largest trout. Between the four of us we netted 19 fish. 15 of them were over 20″. Wow!! Each of us also missed several hookups or had multiple fish outsmart us and shake off before we were able to land. It was a jammed-packed day of excitement.
The next two days we ended up scheduling the same with Landon. Instead of going 2 per day with Landon, we decided that all four of us would go in order for everyone to have quality time with Landon fishing and most importantly learning. Although we didn’t net as many fish on the subsequent days I would say we had close to the same amount of opportunities and many of us had fish that got away. These fish are all wild and are very strong.
The last fishing day Mike O, Dan & Mike B went back to the Deckers area to enjoy a relaxing day on the river. (Matt headed home day early). The report at Deckers was similar to earlier in the week with several fish caught but very tough, technical conditions.
Prior to heading home before returning to the airport, the guys took a trip up the famous Pikes Peak Mountain to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the special donuts and coffee they serve at the top. Well, all went well except when they went back to their car to make the trip back down they noticed they had a flat tire. Oh no!! Would they be late for their flight? Fortunately, they were able to change tires utilizing the spare and made it back to the airport in the nick of time.
In closing, I would like to thank all the guys for their wonderful fellowship and friendship. This was the first time that many of us had been on a trip together and I can truly say it’s not all about the fishing. Our friendships strengthened and I am proud to call these gentlemen my brothers. I encourage all to put a trip like this on your bucket list.
Regardless of how good the fishing is, the true treasure is the people you get to know and the fellowship and bonding that occurs. If you’re interested in coordinating a trip then I encourage you to not wait any longer. There are many brothers in the FATC that have experience organizing and would be willing to help you through the process of putting a trip together.
Matt M
