NM

Great stuff!

Awesome cutthroat

I'm really intrigued by the idea of packing a Tenkara rod on hikes! Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about them. Which one do you use/recommend?

Man I'm jealous. Great pics. Creede is a great spot. Brookie heaven in those high mountain streams

MAROON said:

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Man I'm jealous. Great pics. Creede is a great spot. Brookie heaven in those high mountain streams

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You have a specific stream you like? Only good to be there a couple of days the. Moving to Salida for a few days.

i have a friend who has a house there. So I've fished there a few times - haven't been in two or three years though.

Places I can remember.%A0

Rita Hondo creek that flows into Rita Hondo reservoir. We drove around the reservoir and parked where the stream flows into the lake and walked up the stream catching a lot of brookies.

Rat Creek above town on Forest Road 504 1B - you probably need four wheel drive for this. %A0You want to go here early before the thunderstorms fire up - its high up,

Rambouillet Creek where it crosses hwy 149, just past Oleo Ranch (if you are coming from Lake City) it forms a little pond by the hwy, but a few hundred yards past the pond (towards Lake City) is a dirt road you can pull off and drive back a bit then hike to the creek. Our boys caught limits of brookies for the fryer one afternoon while the dads sat on the tailgate an smoked cigars and drank beer.

Those are just three spots I remember - there are a lot of small streams all over the map up there.

Plus the headwaters of the Rio Grande are there if you want to try that.

There is plenty of public access to the Rio Grande between South Fork and Creede. Its about 15 miles along 149. There are rarely more than a handful of people fishing that stretch even this time of year. Above Creede starting at Marshall Park campground is easy access too. There are numerous 10-14" browns in the river. Larger browns are there and also occasional rainbow up to about 20" but require much more skill to catch. There are still a few stone flies around. Dry flies work all summer.
If you want to hike you can go up Squaw Creek from 30 mile campground, Ivy creek from the trailhead at Ivy creek campground or Deep Creek from the trailhead off Middle Creek road (busiest).
You are not likely to see people more than 1/2 mile from any trailhead that is off limits to ATV's.

We spent some time camping on Pool Table mtn outside of Creede. No cell/ internet but will post some trip reports in the next day or two. Ivy Creek was the bomb! Bumming around Salida for a few days then off to the Gunnison/ Almont area for 4-5 days.

LRHF said:

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We spent some time camping on Pool Table mtn outside of Creede. No cell/ internet but will post some trip reports in the next day or two. Ivy Creek was the bomb! Bumming around Salida for a few days then off to the Gunnison/ Almont area for 4-5 days.

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I live across the Rio Grande from Pool Table road. Plenty of unoccupied fishing space around here. Ivy Creek is a good one.

Hodor said:

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I'm really intrigued by the idea of packing a Tenkara rod on hikes! Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about them. Which one do you use/recommend?

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The one we have is from Tenkara USA and is 11 or 12' in length.

Ikanizer said:

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LRHF said:

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We spent some time camping on Pool Table mtn outside of Creede. No cell/ internet but will post some trip reports in the next day or two. Ivy Creek was the bomb! Bumming around Salida for a few days then off to the Gunnison/ Almont area for 4-5 days.

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I live across the Rio Grande from Pool Table road. Plenty of unoccupied fishing space around here. Ivy Creek is a good one.

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We appreciate the recommendation and will post some pics tomorrow from our adventure. Wouldn't have made this trip without your recommendation, many thanks!

LRHF, I'm really jealous of your fishing adventures.

LRHF is definitely living the dream!

Awesome pics.

Agreed, really enjoy the trip reports. Keep it coming LRHF and thanks for the mention about Ivy Creek/Creede. Will be fishing the Conejos if the weather holds up over the holiday weekend and I may give it a go on the way out. Thanks!

Appreciate the compliment AC! I've been surprised it took this long for a fellow Renegade to comment AC and I are members of a Facebook group that would make his comments about Tenkara on TA look kind!

My wife is learning some tough lessons on small streams fly rod vs Tenkara. When we fished the Ivy, my 8' 6" 4 wt was a huge advantage (a 6-7' 3 wt would have been better) vs the much longer Tenkara. I followed behind her and the results were very different.

For wider small streams, I still enjoy throwing a Tenkara rod in my backpack. So much faster that stringing together a rod when not on a fishing trip.

I don't mind posting pics and info about Tenkara because it's a fun way to fish and with a coiled sighter and heavy nymphs, it can be deadly on smaller water. I watched a guy on Silver Creek a few years ago murder the fish with small dry flies (size 22-24). He had some shoulder issues and switched for mobility issues. His Tenkara rod was +/- 20' long.

LRHF

LRHF said:

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His Tenkara modified cane pole rod was +/- 20' long.

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FIFY

LRHF said:

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Hodor said:

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I'm really intrigued by the idea of packing a Tenkara rod on hikes! Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about them. Which one do you use/recommend?

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The one we have is from Tenkara USA and is 11 or 12' in length.

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Thanks! I was thinking it looked like a Sako based on the color combo. They're having a hard time keeping it in stock right now,though.

I currently have a 9' 5 wt fly rod that I enjoy messing around with. I've been debating getting a tenkara or shorter, lighter weight rod. I'll probably end up getting both at some point, to be honest.

Last TR for Creede, CO

We took a short drive and fished the South Fork of the Rio Grande downstream of Big Meadow Reservoir. Fun angling on another small stream prior to moving to Salida, CO.

Had a quick chat with friends in AK last night, looks like we are on for a salmon fishing adventure in about a week!

Tight lines,
LRHF

We are camping out at a friends place near Taylor Park Reservoir. Had a good day of fishing for Cutthroat today and this was the sunset!

Should get a couple of hours in the water tomorrow afternoon. Not expecting great things after the holiday weekend, cause I'm sure it got hot hard.

I did pick up a Tibor Tail Water w/ spare spool for a song and a prayer on eBay Saturday. I'm going to be having wet dreams about putting it on my Radian until it gets here.

Manage to get about 45 minutes of fishing in this afternoon. Managed a couple of rainbows and a small cutty. Missed a couple of other fish, but was really fighting the wind with my 4wt.

This has been my go-to fly up here on the Thompson River. The dark color is hard to see at time, but I've been tying a little fluff of white calf tail into the wings and it's been producing really well.

Took a 30 minute break and hit one hole this afternoon. Caught a few small cutthroat and a couple of small, but gorgeous brookies.

Got this spooled up last night. Headed out once my daughter is down for a nap.

Let us know how you like that Tibor. I don't own one yet but it's on my list. What wt line did you put on it?