2025 Annual “Brookie Bash” Fishing Trip
2025 Attendees
The mighty Colorado River's headwaters present an entirely different character at about 8,800 feet before it transitions onto the flat, wide meadows crossing Kawuneeche Valley. Its early headwaters’ gentle reaches ascend through cool shadows cast by towering spruce and pine, and here its headwaters surround you with beautiful and exciting mystique. Each of its endless meanders holds a new challenge as the river gently surrenders elevation after its upper reaches pass through the historic Lulu City mining town’s ghostly remains several miles above, though still well below its 10,184’ LaPoudre Pass origin.
A short distance from our start…you might encounter a young family with children playing in the creek to cool off. Don’t worry, any fish they scare off will be back in a few minutes. One can’t wade these reaches without reflecting upon the history that unfolded along these same banks over a hundred years ago.
Then suddenly, behind you, just out of sight - there sounds thundering hoof beats that send chills up your spine …and you freeze in your tracks and turn your head to see a large moose hurrying off across yet another small meadow into the trees. He probably had been guardedly watching since several earlier turns when you noisily crossed the stream where it had narrowed. What a wonderland where every bend holds a new scene, a new allure, a new mystery that peaks your imagination.
Your rod-in-hand wading along these historic headwaters is easy, relaxing and never tiring. When afternoon shadows begin to lengthen and you wonder if you should probably turn around, there’s always another, and another, beautiful pool just ahead at the next bend…and the next…and so on. The beauty is magnetic, and I always hardly allow myself to turn around…but of course, I must, and I begin the quiet walk back downstream, revisiting and drinking in again the feelings I experience as I revisit so many of the familiar scenes that engulfed me on my first visit here about forty years ago.
This is my absolutely favorite stretch of pristine, Colorado mountain stream! For me it offers the essence of fly fishing. And you too can experience this almost out-of-body peacefulness. And “Oh, yes”, I almost forgot to mention…you can also sometimes have a 40 fish day! Not to mention all the spine-tingling misses that wriggled off your hook. Big fish? Very few; but many high-personality, mid-size, colorful brookies plus an occasional cutthroat. This is a perfect outing for experienced anglers to unwind and laugh at themselves a lot, and for new anglers to learn a lot of valuable, shared insights about how to read water and ‘fish a river’.
Watch for announcements for the 2025 Brookie Bash next spring.
— Article by Dennis Cook