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A typical day at Elktrout begins with the smell of coffee wafting through the lodge as you make your way down to breakfast. You'll eat between 8 and 9am, then walk over to the wader room to meet your guide and plan the day. While you've been dining, the guides are busy loading lunches and meeting to "call water". Careful planning ensures every guest the full breadth of the Elktrout fishing experience. Because our water is so close, it's only a short ride wherever you end up fishing.
Each day is divided into three sessions. Most of the year we fish a morning and afternoon session, return to the lodge for an early dinner, then back out for the evening rise. In September, when the days grow shorter, we take advantage of the available daylight and fish all three sessions before returning for a late dinner. Each session provides a unique fishing challenge. Because of the quantity of private water available only to Elktrout guests, it is unlikely you will fish the same
water twice, or even see other guests on the water.
You might start the day on one of 18 spring-fed ponds sight casting to brown, rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout. This is Rocky Mountain flats fishing at its finest. Each pond has its own personality, its own cast of characters. Don't be surprised if a 7-10 lb. fish inhales your offering in full view. Erin Starks, Elktrout's Director of Fishing, credits the rich aquatic environment for these phenomenally large and fast-growing fish.
After loosening your casting muscles and taking the edge off at the ponds, venture up to Troublesome Creek for an experience that feels like your own personal home water. The creek meanders through pasture broken by willow-lined banks that demand accurate casting. The thin water deceives you by revealing 20-inch trout lurking under banks and waterfalls. Tie on a terrestrial or attractor pattern and maybe a bead-head dropper and you'll catch fish all day long. But there's other water to test.
We usually eat lunch on the water accompanied by the sights and sounds of Rocky Mountain wildlife. It's not unusual to see deer, eagles, beaver, or maybe an elk or even a bear. This is Colorado ranching country as well and you'll see plenty of horses, cattle and perhaps the local buffalo herd. After lunch, head over to the Colorado River for a shot at robust rainbows and beefy browns that just might be sipping dries. May and June bring stoneflies and caddis, then PMDs, Grey Drakes, Red Quills and Baetis. Tricos challenge you to present tiny flies to large fish who reward good casts with deliberate takes. If the fish aren't rising, nymphs and streamers will bend your rod all afternoon. These are strong, wild river fish that make you earn each hookup.
Evening might find you knee-deep in the Blue River watching in awe as enormous rainbows, browns and cutts gulp dries from the surface film. Multiple hatches throughout the season mean fish are often looking up. You can see why Fly Fisherman magazine called it "dry-fly fishing nirvana" and Orvis named it 1999 Lodge of the Year.
When the dinner bell beckons, hang up your rod and pick up a fork to savor our chef's creations in Elktrout's turn-of-the-century dining tent. Great food provides the exclamation point at the end of a perfect day: Slow Roasted Prime Rib, Baked Stuffed Shrimp, Ruby Red Trout, Filet Mignon - the mouth-watering list goes on and on. Finish with Crème Brule, Bananas Foster, or a Chocolate Éclair, and you'll fall into bed tired, happy and full.
Now you're ready for Day 2.
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