North Fork Greenhorn
Date: 8/16/2008Fish Caught: Cuts CutBows Brooks
Location: North Fork Greenhorn
Weather Condition: Rain and Fog
Tony Marostica and I decided we would brave the elements and head up the mountain to catch some wild cutthroats and brookies. The greenhorn is a great place to catch the infamous Greenback Cutthroat. Once believed to be extinct, they were found to still be alive in the Wet Mountain drainage system. We headed up the mountain around 5:40am and reached our drop off point around 7:00am. We checked our supplies and got ready for the days hike. We knew it would be an all day adventure as it would be 9 miles of wilderness before we reached our vehicles at the bottom.
We hiked about a mile downhill before reaching the beginning of the North Fork. As soon as we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun come out. We began fishing and instantly was rewarded with catching some nice Cutthroats. We moved downstream and it seemed like very pool contained an eager fish or two. In short time it started to rain, but the fish seemed to bite more eagerly. Maybe they were less wary of their choice of food with the disturbance of the rain on the water. As we moved further down we began to see a few Brookies mixed in. And it short order the brookies were the fish caught most. Also we caught a few Cut-Bows. We fished for awhile leapfrogging our way down the stream. Also as we moved down the terrain got more difficult and the rain did not let up. The rocks and downed trees were slippery, and in some places it was very difficult to make it down the drops. It was a challenge in getting through a lot of the terrain. We did skip a lot of pools where fish were destined to be, but we wanted to make sure and make it out before dark, and let those fish grow a little before heading back for them. After hours of climbing boulders and wet logs we eventually made it to the confluence of the main fork of the greenhorn. And then made it to the greenhorn trail which compared to what we had just gone through, was a nice stroll the remaining 3 miles out.
We stopped to fish the main stream about a mile before the vehicles, but at the lower section the water was high and muddy. We hoped to get a few browns to complete the Greenhorn Grand Slam, but another day I guess. It was a hard but fun trip and we caught a lot of beautiful fish. I would definitely do it again.
