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Denver to Breckenridge

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  sboro 
#1 ·
Just booked a flight for some skiing with my dad out west mid-December. Will have one day to make it up the mountain (hwy 70 from DIA to Breckenridge) because of flight pricing and plan to fish and hike a little on the way up.

I was wondering if anyone had fished this area and in the winter?
Will the small tributary creeks not be worth looking at if accessible?
Any tippet/leader advice for 20+" fish ? will probably be using 4wt with 4-6x tippet
Any recommended shops?

My general plan (and research) has been mostly tailwaters and dam areas on the major rivers on the way up.
-Clear Creek: off 70 in Silver Plume area and other
-Blue River: in Silverthorne in the Gold Medal waters (outlet malls) and also in Breckenridge

I have never really fished a winter in NC let alone at 10,000+ft, but plan to use midges, small nymphs, eggs, and mysis shrimp imitations.

Any advice is welcome, winter fishing or otherwise. Also not opposed to smallmouth or walleye too, just trying to enjoy the areas before skiing.

Thanks for anything
 
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#2 ·
In general, if you expect to encounter fish over 20", I would use the heaviest tippet that fits easily through the eye of the hook. Light tippet tends to be sporty rather than sporting, and safely landing a large trout quickly on 6 or 7X tippet requires experience and, ideally, more specialized equipment than a standard 9' 4 or 5wt.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the input!

I haven't had much experience with larger trout but was basing the tippet size off the hook size. I have struggled to get 6x tippet in #22 hook eyes, and have read I'll be using #22 hooks at the largest so I assume I would be going lighter tippet. Further research shows 4-6X is typical.

As for gear, my rod is a "trout classic" so there is nothing specialized about it, but that's what I got. You make a good point about setups for, and angling large fish, especially considering the possibility of colder, harsher conditions for the fish. I will plan to research more into handling and angling fish of this size.

I do plan to his some dam tailwaters. There are two in the areas listed above both being known for larger fish. weather dependent these might be the only places I will hit.
 
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