On Labor Day weekend last year, we camped for a few days at Long Draw Reservoir in northern Colorado [10,180 ft.]. The camping was cold but the fishing was hot which led us to take another day trip from Estes Park in our search for big cutthroat trout. We took the short cut down the Big Thompson Canyon and through Masonville to Stove Prairie and up the Poudre from there. So, yesterday [Labor Day] we headed up the Poudre River as apparently every RV in Colorado was coming down.

We arrived around noon and fished from the dam for 2 hours before a picnic lunch. After lunch, we dropped down below the dam and fished the pool below the cascade from the lake. Both spots held the same big cutthroats we remembered though it seemed there weren’t as many fish wanting to play. Grasshoppers and flying ants were the best flies this trip, just like last year.The biting flies were out in force and not bothered by DEET as they landed…fangs first!

Kimball caught one last cutthroat and we left to enjoy a late dinner at El Burrito restaurant in Ft. Collins on the way home. Their unique chile verde is something everyone that enjoys Mexican cuisine should try. Locals have enjoyed this Godinez family recipe, unchanged, since 1960.