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Author: Tom P.
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Colorado has a new State Wildlife Area (SWA) named Collard Ranch SWA. It’s comprised of about 1,800 acres, with a section of the Tarryall Creek running through it.
There is a great Colorado Sun article that is worth reading, no need to repeat all that info here.
One of the beautiful things of living in the mountains is the possibility to visit these areas on the way from running errands or seeing doctors on the Front Range. I was driving back from Denver in the early afternoon and decided to go explore a bit of this new SWA.
Collard Ranch SWA is recent enough that there isn’t a lot of information online about it. CPW’s “SWA Finder” online index doesn’t have it listed yet. I decided to share a few tips to make it easier for other chapter members to get there. The Colorado Sun article (linked above) has a map showing a few access points, but I found them to be somewhat inaccurate. I used the GaiaGPS mobile app to mark those access points, but still had to be some sleuthing once I got to them. I relied on the “Private Land” and “Satellite” map layers in that app, but some of the roads marked weren’t exactly where I expected them, others were fenced off. Hopefully this will provide information that’s easier to use.
Access
There seem to be two main access points to the SWA, let’s call them “north” and “south”. The north access is near the Cline ranch and Hwy 285. I wanted to start further downstream and used the south access instead.
To get to the south access, turn off Hwy 285 onto Packer Lane (39°20’26.5″N 105°51’08.0″W, google maps link). It’s a dirt road, traffic on 285 always moves fast, so set your turn signal well in advance. Packer Lane is graded well. Take it south for about 3 miles, and you will reach the SWA entrance sign (39°19’07.8″N 105°47’42.7″W, google maps link).
Drive through that parking area, and follow the obvious road that leads into the valley:
None of the roads required 4WD when I went, but I imagine rains would make a big difference. After a mile or so, driving mostly along the boundary fence, you’ll reach the end of the road and the angler parking area.
The creek is not visible from this area. It’s roughly a 1/4 mile walk to reach the water. There aren’t any clear trails, and I used satellite imagery combined with private land boundaries to figure it out. On the way back I found a simpler way — follow the electric line posts into the valley. When you get to the fencing that runs along it, cross when you can. Continue going along the fencing until you get to the creek. My path gave me more water access, but a lot of it was walking through knee-high grass on tussocked land with tons of holes.
Fishing
I fished about a half mile of the creek, moving upstream. I only caught brown trout, in the 8-12″ range. The takes were often explosive, the fish aggressive. Not sure if it’s the time of the year, if it’s the lack of exposure to anglers, if it’s because of hopper season.
The main issue with the aggressive takes was that the fish took the hooks deeper into their mouth, and unhooking them wasn’t just the easy matter of grasping a barbless hook and twisting it off. I had to use hemostats quite a few times. After a half dozen fish I opened up the hook gape as to be able to better long-distance-release them — I didn’t want to bring them all to hand.
If you do use hemostats or another tool, remember to keep your hands wet and the fish in the water.
I used the typical small creek strategy — light casts, a single dry fly, on my knees, hiding my silhouette in shadows or willows. I used a 9′ tenkara rod with a 12′ line, but any 2-3-4wt rod would work fine too. The fish are in the spots you’d expect them to be, but the creek is small enough that I never pulled more than one fish from a spot.
The creek offered great fishing, but the fish are spread out, and the creek sections are shallow between the bends. Yet another reason to take the utmost care to keep the fish wet at all times.
The fly I chose was a #12 foam hopper. I tied it with a tail of few pheasant tail fibers, orange dubbing body, gray 2mm foam folded over it, and a yellow 2mm foam on top for visibility. You can tell from the photo below of what it looked like after some 15 fish:
Fishing season
I was happy to see that this SWA was made for wildlife and not for recreationists. The fishing season runs from May 1 through September 30. There is a hunting season as well, but I believe the area is closed to humans from January 1 through end of April.
