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Trout Fishery a Cut Above

By BOB HOOD Fort Worth Star-Telegram Staff Writer Tom Evenson, left, and Ray Kemper show off a cutbow trout caught on a stretch of the Rio Grande on Broadacres Ranch in Colorado. STAR-TELEGRAM/BOB HOOD. Tom Evenson, left, and Ray Kemper show off a cutbow trout caught on a stretch of the Rio Grande on Broadacres Ranch in Colorado. More photos CREEDE, Colo. -- It was like a scene from A River Runs Through It. Ray Kemper slowly splashed through the clear waters of the Rio Grande, fly rod held high and line taunt, following the big trout he had hooked as it moved with the current downstream. Within minutes, as Kemper worked the fish from an elevated position on mid-stream rocks, Dave Marlin scooped it out of the water with a landing net. A few yards downstream, Tom Evenson battled another trout, soon landing it, then gently releasing it. Kemper's trout, a cutbow, was the largest, measuring about 26 inches. A cutbow is a hybrid cross between a cutthroat and a rainbow trout. Most fly anglers dream of such exciting action, but Marlin, Kemper and Evenson see it often on this stretch of the Rio Grande on Broadacres Ranch in southeast Colorado. Broadacres, owned by Charles Nearburg of Dallas, has achieved the status of being one of about 40 Orvis-endorsed fly fishing resorts. And places don't earn an Orvis endorsement simply for luxury accommodations. Marlin, manager of Broadacres, and Kemper, one of the ranch's top fly fishing guides and instructors, have seen the area change from a good trout fishery to an excellent one. "The reason the trout fishing is so great here can be credited to the stream habitat management work Broadacres has done," said Evenson, western field director for Orvis. "They have added rocks to the river to create better habitat for the fish and the insects they feed on, and they have planted trees along the banks of the creeks for shade." Some would call those "rocks" boulders. Broadacres also has used its stream management on nearby Shallow Creek and in the ranch's private lake. "It isn't just important to improve the waters for the trout; it's also important to provide places for the insects to hatch," Marlin said. "We have an incredible abundance and variety of insects that rely on the river, too, and they are the main food source for the trout." Some of the best fishing here is from June through September, when the warming waters attract swarms of insects that lay their eggs in the water. As the larvae mature and begin to rise from the water and take flight, trout can be seen rising, too, picking off the tiny creatures at the surface. That's when larger fishing flies, like those simulating the stone fly, bring strikes from many of the larger trout. Before the insects' rise, wet flies are the rule. Broadacres guides, who work one-on-one with guests, often use a "dropper" to take advantage of both the trout that are rising to take an insect off the surface or those inclined to take a smaller wet fly below the surface. The setup often includes an imitation stone fly on the surface with a smaller wet fly on a leader drifting below it. In just a few hours of fishing, the Rio Grande yielded several cutbows measuring 18-26 inches, along with several brown and rainbows. Broadacres offers other activities -- including float trips, horseback riding, mountain biking, four-wheel drives and photography -- but fly fishing is the main attraction. Access to the Rio Grande is simply a matter of walking the banks or wading the shallows. For those who desire a more challenging trout adventure, there are high-country excursions in the Rio Grande National Forest. Access to Clear Creek's upper reaches for the best trout fishing can be achieved only after a rigorous scramble across a mountainside covered with rocks and boulders. Kemper and I made the journey one morning, and the action began as soon as we sent our first flies to the surface. Within four hours, we caught numerous cutthroats and several brook trout, which gave us the Colorado "Grand Slam" for catching all of the state's trout species -- rainbows, cutthroats, browns and brooks, plus the hybrids. "It's all here for whatever level you want to bring yourself to," Kemper said. "And we are doing everything we can to make it even better."