Ten days at Eleven Mile State Park…
Camped at Eleven Mile State Park
I made the move from Pueblo to Eleven Mile by myself. Arleen was up in Montana visiting her mom. The move went smoothly, but took twice as long without Arleen’s expert help.
Eleven Mile State Park is in the scenic South Park of Colorado. South Park is a huge open bowl tucked in the Rockies with an average elevation above 9,000 feet. A good chunk of South Park sits in the “rain shadow” of the Mosquito Range Mountains which makes it like a high desert. And similar to a desert, the winds blow and blow.
A beautiful morning in South Park Colorado
South Park has all kinds of fishing and trails. We came to fish! Our base camp at Eleven Mile State Park allowed us to fish three great lakes: Eleven Mile, Spinney, and Antero. I also spent a little time fishing the South Platte River between Spinney and Eleven Mile which is also known as the “Dream Stream”. It earned the name for having outstanding fishing and being a perfect river to fish. However, the “Dream Stream” trout are educated and the fishing can be tough. These fish outsmarted me…I was skunked!
The “Dream Stream” between Spinney and Eleven Mile
My fishing buddy from Alaska, Brian, kept me company for two days. He even schooled me at Spinney as I broke off fish after fish and he nailed them!
Brian and Maggie at the Donut Mill in Woodland Park
Eleven Mile…This is the largest and deepest lake in South Park. It is known for its trout, northern pike, and kokanee salmon fishing.
The trout were hanging out a little deep in 10-15 feet of water. The only way I could get to them was from the kayak. However, I never launched the kayak at Eleven Mile. Due to the incessant winds, it was much more enjoyable to wade fish along the bank. Carp…Tons of big carp were hanging out in the shallows on the west end. I targeted them for a couple of hours two different days and only managed to hook two out of the hundreds that I saw. They are very skittish and didn’t care for my offering. I hooked one on a damsel fly nymph and the other on a small crayfish fly. Site fishing for huge carp is exciting. Hopefully I’ll get more opportunities and figure out how to catch them! Trout…I only managed to catch one 15 inch cutthroat trout. I was wade fishing near Stoll Mountain and got it in 4-5 feet of water. It hit a size 10 olive and black lake leach. Northern Pike…They are just starting to move into the shallows. I got a 28 incher in the cove south of Coyote Ridge. I was wade fishing in 4-5 feet of water and it hit the size 10 olive and black lake leach. I also a got an impressive 36 incher! I was fishing the west end in about 3 feet of water. It nailed a 3 inch long red and white bunny fly. The heavy fish took off twice, nearly making it into my backing both times…it was a great fight! Pike fishing the shallows at Eleven Mile will likely peak late June or early July as the water temperature rises to their liking.
15 pound carp 36 inch northern pike!
28 inch northern pike
Antero…This is a large and shallow lake with cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout. The deepest part is only 20 feet. With tons of area less than 10 feet deep, weeds grow rapidly that harbor a plethora of insects. The place is a food factory for trout! The fish grow an inch a month during the summer months. They average 16-18 inches and are fat. Anglers have a good chance of hooking a trophy 20-24 inch trout in Antero. You can keep two trout, any size.
Arleen and I fished it for a few hours one morning. We wasted much of our time hiking out to a spot that wasn’t too fishable. Then we ended up by the south side of the dam and fished for about an hour before the notorious winds kicked up. I caught four healthy and strong trout and missed a few others. They hit size 12 or 14 olive damsel flies and a size 14 or 16 red chironomid. We kept an 18 inch brown trout for dinner…it was very tasty!
Fishing Antero with the pretty Mosquito Range in the background
18 inch brown for dinner! Fat 16 inch rainbow
Spinney…My favorite! Spinney is also large and relatively shallow. It is also a food factory for trout. Only artificial flies and lures are allowed and the limit is one trout over 20 inches. The average fish is 16-18 inches and there are a bunch! Spinney also has quite a few trout in the 20-24 inch range.
We fished Spinney the most. We got the kayaks on the lake twice, but the winds made it tough. It was much more enjoyable and just as productive to wade fish along the bank. We discovered a point on the south side that we really enjoyed fishing. We liked it so much we named it “Brian’s Point”! Brian caught more than his share on his point! The famous fishing hole was just over a mile from the parking area. We stood in knee deep water and cast over the drop off that was around 10 feet deep. Every day from 10:00am to noon, there was a callibaetis mayfly hatch. Our most productive fly was a size 14 or 16 mayfly nymph. Initially we would fish it fairly deep and slow. As the hatch picked up, we fished them shallow and a little quicker. We also caught quite a few fish on a size 14 or 16 red chironomid. I caught one brown trout and the rest were rainbows. They averaged 16-19 inches. We caught four “keepers” 20-21 inches long. We fished from roughly 8:00am to 1:00pm each day and each of us would catch 5-15 trout. The fish were strong! Most of them hit hard and took off quick, often stripping out 50-100 feet of line. As they neared the sand bar we stood on, they’d take off again. The San Juan River trout in New Mexico are near and dear to my heart, but these Spinney trout could tow them around!
Brian with an average 18 inch rainbow Fighting a strong one from the kayak
Arleen fighting a trout at Spinney A very healthy and colorful 19 incher
A 21 inch rainbow trout Releasing a typical 19 incher
A nearly 21 inch rainbow trout
Birds…
The large, shallow lakes in South Park attract a bunch of birds. The families of geese and American White Pelicans were especially interesting. The huge white pelicans looked like B-52 bombers soaring above the lakes. I found it amazing that these birds hang out at 9,000 feet elevation and soar in the thin air another 1,000 feet above the lake.
American White Pelicans
Families of geese
Arleen’s trip to Montana…
I left Shawn in Pueblo and drove off to Montana in a rental car. I have driven the route from Denver to Montana many, many times. It is a pleasant drive through Colorado and from northern Wyoming into Montana. But the view from Cheyenne to Casper has not changed, that is to say, it is still barren. My Mom lives in Roundup, Montana and I went to spend some time with her and take care of several things she had on her 'to do' list - things she really needs help with. We got into closets and cleaned out areas in the garage to gather items for the Pro Life garage sale which is a very important cause for my mom. We also cleaned up her computer and set up a new filing system.
We took a day trip up to Red Lodge, Montana, which has always been one of my favorite towns. We did a lovely hike up the West Fork of Rock Creek to see some water falls. Run off was in full swing so the falls were exceptionally pretty. The area was impacted by the Cascade Fire in 2008 which burned over 10,000 acres. It is recovering nicely with wild flowers, baby ponderosas, and unobstructed views of the Bear Mountains.
I took time while there to visit with my friends Kathy, Charlotte, Sondi, Anne, and Ardie. I do not get to see them often enough, but after a week it was time to return to Colorado and my man.
Next we go to Westcliffe CO for nearly two weeks. We’ll do a bunch of tough hiking in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The goal for many of the hikes will be timberline lakes surrounded by rugged peaks and loaded with gorgeous cutthroat trout.
Our happy hund and a pretty South Park sunset
31F on 11 June…brrrr!
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