Hiking the High Country in Search of Giant Cutthroat Trout (Fly Fishing Colorado)

Join me as I venture into the high country in search of a no name lake that is rumored to hold giant cutthroat trout.
-Tim

[@JairusCampbell]

Any hint on where this might be 👀

[@garyrafferty7625]

Great video! So overall ... spanning all your trips ... do have a few favorite flies to recommend for alpine Cutts?

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Can't go wrong with a partridge wing caddis, a foam hopper, and foam flying ant for dries. For subsurface, balanced leach (olive & black) and green and/or black snow cone chironomids. -Tim

[@puprilla]

I found some beautiful cutts up fourth of July pass

[@CombatFlyFishing]

That's a great area. Lots of lakes. -Tim

[@scottcarney699]

Great Video. You keep it REAL...thanks for that! Like to fish with you sometime.

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Thanks, Scott. I appreciate the kind words. Maybe I'll see you on the water one of these days. -Tim

[@holdthematers]

Thanks for the video. Bill hiked up to that lake again last week and took me with him. Also a tough day with a number of cruisers but very little action on the surface. Lots of looks but no takers for me. One other fisherman on the lake and he managed to land one using a dark woolly bugger on the surface. Maybe fishing it like a dry? Really nice sized fish in the lake with lots of color. Would be very fun to hit on a productive day. The hike and scenery are A1.

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Wow! What a small world. You’ll have to tell Bill hi for me. I’m planning another trip soon now that the days are getting shorter and the weather a bit cooler. Hopefully the threat of winter looming will make the fish a bit less selective and more apt to take. -Tim

[@TheHighlands111]

Have you ever fished Cataract lake at the top of Pole Creek🤷🏼‍♂️great vid’s🤙

[@CombatFlyFishing]

No I haven't. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the tip. -Tim

[@paultiplea]

Love the video. Gotta say I do feel conflicted at times with all the secrecy. On one hand I feel selfish for gatekeeping public land as if it belongs to me, but on the other hand I hate the thought of potentially burning a good spot. It's a constant internal battle lol

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Thanks, Paul. I feel conflicted too. On one hand the more people that invest in this sport the bigger voice we have to pressure the decision makers to open water access, agree to minimum tailwater flows, promote waterway conservation efforts, and harsher penalties for those that purposefully damage resources. On the other hand, I feel there are certain places that should be selfishly kept secret. -Tim

[@paultiplea]

@@CombatFlyFishing 100%

[@DewightBatt]

@@CombatFlyFishing By the trails leading to these lakes they are obviously know to many others. So they are not some secret lake that only you and God know about. You millennials are truly self serving . BTW I'm 73

[@MrTonkacat]

You might try some mini leech patterns weighted. Typically cutts will swim in one direction around a lake 1 to 15 feet out cruising for a meal. The trick is to have your fly in the the water when they go by. Clear water they can see you and your leader. Fished the high lakes since 1980, knees are shot so I miss it but lots of memories. Ive seen October Caddis in their cases at 12,000 ft in lakes. Bees are another go to dry. I could go on for weeks about high lakes, but that would take the fun and mystery out of it, and lets not sugar coat it ,its always a mystery. PS horrible weather= great action at high altitude lakes with cutts...

[@CombatFlyFishing]

That’s great advice! I’m gonna head back up there soon. I’ll implement your technique with the leech for sure. Thanks. I really appreciate your post. -Tim

[@MrTonkacat]

@@CombatFlyFishing I appreciate your videos. As fat as that cutt was I think theres a good chance of leeches in that series of lakes. I only hit a few lakes at over 10,000 ft that are close to a road now and a mini marabou leech has got me attached to some ridiculous cutthroats. Think black with gold flash in the tail, brown with gold or Olive and green and white with red. Just 4 or 5 strands of crystal flash is enough. Sparse is the key with mini leeches. Jig head hooks are an advantage #14 . Be super careful up there Ive been caught in some BIBLICAL weather up there. Could have died. Your videos are off the hook. Oh and I fish that leech with no indicator, rod low and sometimes in the water at an angle to the fly ,direct connection to the fly twitch and pause 2" at a time .....hang on they will kamakazi it.

[@CombatFlyFishing]

@@MrTonkacat thanks for the tip. I’m heading back up there tomorrow. I’ll give it a shot and let you know how it goes. I appreciate it, my friend. -Tim

[@bb-hr9dg]

There's nothing like the alpines. Wonderful views. Lakes all to yourself. Amazing

[@ryanmaffioli1024]

Appreciate the super honest video. Can't always reel in a ton of them. But hey the hike and adventure is just as much fun.

[@daveclark1904]

Ohhh the lengths we go for even one fish! Thanks for bringing us along with ya, and that one cutty you got was worth it! Good job man!

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Thanks, Dave! I always appreciate your comments. -Tim

[@TheeSett]

Wow!! Those mountains are amazing! Id love to fish there!

[@CombatFlyFishing]

It’s an amazing place. -Tim

[@rockymountaintrout2689]

Just the type of video I've been waiting for

[@bigbriontheflysouthwestren6949]

NIce catch, one is better than a skunk, which happens at these type of lakes. There's a couple up above Telluride/Silverton area that are similiar

[@netrekk2305]

Nice Video! I notice you use a ski pole for hiking stability and a net for catch & release. You might like NETrekk for safe & sustainable fishing. It was designed with you in mind. Fish On!

[@CombatFlyFishing]

I’ll check out your website. -Tim

[@tomconley8476]

The scenery is truly amazing and great video. And that lake is no joke to get to! I didn't have any luck in the third lake, but I did catch a few in the second lake.

[@christopherpittman2881]

Great video. Very realistic as fishing high alpine lakes isn’t always about slamming a ton of cut throats. Glad to see the scenery is still green. Most of the high alpine lakes I fish in the Sangres are all surrounded by beetle kill. I’m interested in your chironomid setup. Why use a slip indicator? Where did you put the split shot? What is the total length of that setup? I get lucky most of the time and just fish dries up at alpine lakes. But maybe I’ll try your setup if I see no surface action.

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Well, I use a slip strike indicator due to the distance of line between the indicator and the fly. In this video it was about 15'. In this case, I put just a little split shot just above the snow cone emerger. You can also drop a tag off your bottom fly, put a knot at the end and place your weight above that knot. The total length of the setup I was fishing was roughly 20' of leader with about 20" of space between each fly. I also attached a link of a How-to video I did on slip strike indicators which explains the use a little better than I did in this video. I hope this helps and thanks for the kind comments about my video. I'm grateful you enjoyed it. -Tim kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHSXdaalgcelbKs

[@christopherpittman2881]

@@CombatFlyFishingPerfect. Thank you.

[@lucianosilvestri8561]

what flies were you useing!!!

[@CombatFlyFishing]

A litany of dries that weren't working. The one fly that did catch my one an only fish was an olive chironomid buzzer. -Tim

[@lucianosilvestri8561]

@@CombatFlyFishing what strain of cutthroat is it???....it's a little hard to see fromt he water glare

[@CombatFlyFishing]

@@lucianosilvestri8561 Colorado Cutthroat.

[@rex7lee]

Great video!

[@bigwig7111]

Can you DM me this hike location?

[@TheHighlands111]

Have you ever fished Cataract lake at the top of Pole Creek?nice vids🤙

[@CombatFlyFishing]

No, I haven't fished there. I'll look into it though. Thanks for the tip. -Tim

[@dryfly2000]

Make you a deal for next season.

[@dryfly2000]

Oh, come on spills the beans on where. At least the trailhead. I'm 70 soon I need a Birthday present,

[@dryfly2000]

I can't stand it. LOL for sure.

[@bobvisser8689]

try blue lake off independence pass double digit cuts above timber line or pearl lake above homesteak reservoir biggggg cuts and look for tim kelly's hunting and fishing guid book for co @ wyoming fo fo f off

[@CombatFlyFishing]

Thanks for the tip, Bob. I’ll be sure to check it out. -Tim