About the North Park Anglers Fly Fishing Club

June 2019

Private lake for NPAFFC members.

  Have you ever experienced complete solitude on the water? No one breathing down your neck waiting to take your spot, being able to move freely on the river and not being stuck to one hole all day, and not having to wake up at 3:30 in the morning just to get a spot in the parking lot. How about fishing techniques? Do you dream of throwing articulated streamers on 0x tippet and size #16-#8 nymphs on 3x tippet? What about watching a rising fish destroy a size #8 hopper on 3x tippet? There are very few places in Colorado where you can make these dreams a reality, however by joining the North Park Anglers Fly Fishing Club all of these dreams and more can be your reality. 

NPAFFC member with a brown most can only dream of.

The North Park Anglers Fly Fishing Club is an exclusive fly fishing club located in North Park, Colorado. When joining the club, members get access to over 75 miles of private streams and 7 private lakes. Membership is currently capped at 65 members, which allows ample rest for the waters and for members to be able to spread out across the properties. The NPAFFC provides exclusive access on stretches of the North Platte, Roaring Fork, North Fork, Illinois, Michigan, Canadian, Big Creek, Hell Creek and more.

Lunchtime on a float trip offered exclusively to NPAFFC members.

In addition to exclusive access on private waters, members also get exclusive discounted pricing on guide trips, lodging, and purchases made in the shop. Members also get access to specific guide trips not available to the public. Discounted lodging is available at Sportsman’s Retreat, Headwaters Cabin, and stays at the Buffalo Creek Ranch, as well as free lodging nights at our rustic stream-side cabins. All purchases made in shop get an exclusive club member discount applied to it, whether it’s flies or a new fly rod.

The North Park Anglers Fly Fishing Club is a fly fisher’s paradise and dream made a reality. Enjoy complete solitude, exclusive access, top-notch service and complete tranquility by becoming a member. Membership availability is limited, so don’t wait. If you are interested in becoming a member, please visit our NPAFFC website at http://www.coloradoflyfishingclub.com/ , call the shop at 970-723-4215, or email info@northparkanglers.com with questions or for more information. Your fly fishing dream awaits.   

The Headwaters Cabin; one of the lodging options available to club members at a discounted rate.

Summer 2019 Property Upgrades

Be sure to look for some great additions we have made to our properties this year! 

We have added new picnic tables to the Headwaters Reservoir, Norris Cabin, Richards Cabin, Mace Cabin, North Fork 4, and Dodge Lake. Feel free to use these tables fo rigging up and down, getting dressed/undressed with your waders and boots, as well as for lunch! 

New picnic table at Norris Cabin. 

New picnic table and shelter at the Headwaters Reservoir.

Also be sure to check out the new shelter we built at the Headwaters Reservoir. We built this to be a lunch sport for our members, as well as a resource to help you guys get out of the harsh elements and bugs when you are ready for a break. 

New shelter at the Headwaters Reservoir.

Table and chairs inside the new shelter. Perfect for lunch and telling stories about the one that got away during the rainstorm.

Buffalo Creek Ranch Non-Guided Stay

New for Summer 2019!

We are now offering NON-GUIDED stays at our Buffalo Creek Lodge. Many of you expressed that you would like to stay at the Buffalo Creek Lodge with all the luxury lodging and private chef cooking, but did not want or need a guide for your stay. We heard you, and we have created an option available only for our club members. 

The Buffalo Creek Lodge

North Park Anglers Fly Fishing Club members may now stay at the Buffalo Creek Lodge and with all of the amenities and comforts of the lodge, including the personal chef without having to pay for guiding during the days. Meals include a hot breakfast, a to-go lunch, and a hot dinner. This opportunity would be perfect for a family vacation, a boys weekend, a girls trip, or anything in between. 

Pricing is as followed:

$325 per person, per night.

Minimum of 4 guests per night.

Minimum of two nights.

This amazing opportunity is currently available in the month of July and August. If you have any questions or would like to book your stay, please call us at 970-723-4215.

Kimmons Lake Dam

May 20, 2019

Valued Club Members, 

We are very excited for the upcoming season and what looks like is going to be a very good water year. We have been out and about on the club properties, trying to make them more clear and accessible for our members. 

As some of you may have seen already, we have put in new parking posts at many of our properties including Kimmons Lake. You will see that the parking post at Kimmons Lake asks that you do not drive across the dam…PLEASE respect that. We are working towards making improvements to the fisheries and the structural soundness of them and would greatly appreciate your support in our efforts.

As always, if you see something out of the ordinary or have questions or  suggestions about anything regarding the club, please don’t hesitate to tell us. We appreciate your cooperation and loyalty and are looking forward to a great year.

Fish On!

Parking post at Kimmons Lake

Kimmons Lake

Beaver Creek Fire

Fishing the North Fork of the North Platte with the Beaver Creek Fire in the background.

As many of you know there’s a large forest fire burning 25 miles Northwest of Walden.  The “Beaver Creek Fire” originated near Twisty Park which is just a few miles Northwest of Big Creek Lakes.  So far the fire has burned close to 26,000 acres and is doing more good than harm.  The fire is located in an area that is highly concentrated in beetle killed timber.  With the overwhelming amount of fuel for this fire we expect this to burn until the snow arrives.  To date the fire and smoke is not effecting any fishing in the valley.  Our prevailing winds blow out of the Southwest which is blowing the smoke Northeast towards Laramie, WY.  The only closures are Independence mountain, Big Creek lakes, and the Upper Encampment on the Colorado side.  There’s a ton of up-to-date information on the following web site which is updated daily by the federal government.  You can find this info at the following web site http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4797/.  Get up here and go Fishing!

Dallas Safari Club Show Jan 7-10, 2016

We’re headed to Dallas, TX. to set up a booth at the Dallas Safari Club Convention.  The show starts Thursday January 7th and runs through Sunday the 10th.  For nearly three decades, Dallas Safari Club’s annual convention has set the standard for sporting enthusiasts from around the world. This year’s Traditions promises to be the most successful convention yet.

More than 30,000 outdoors-men and women will attend our four-day exposition Jan. 7-10 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and Omni Hotel Dallas. While here, they’ll bid in our silent and live auctions for the world’s finest wilderness experiences and sporting equipment, marvel at our wildlife displays, and visit the booths of hundreds of exhibitors from local shops to African hunting lodges.

Best of all, Traditions will raise thousands to benefit wildlife conservation and DSC and Dallas Ecological Foundation’s education programs. Plan to be here!

Show Hours

January 7-10, 2016

• Thursday 9 am – 5:30 pm
• Friday 9 am – 5:30 pm
• Saturday 9 am – 5:30 pm
• Sunday 9 am – 3 pm

Location

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center

650 S Griffin St Dallas, TX 75202-5098 (214) 939-2700

For more information visit there website at: biggame.org/convention/

Fly Fishing Show Denver, CO. 2015

The “Fly Fishing Show” is coming to Colorado this weekend in Denver at the Merchandise Mart.  The show starts Friday January 9th at 10:00 am.  We’re setting up a booth and representing everything North Park has to offer. Below we’ve listed info on location, show hours, and tickets.  Fish On!  NPA

Show Hours

Friday (Jan 9) 10am – 6pm

Saturday (Jan 10) 9am – 5:30

Sunday (Jan 11) 9am – 4:30

Location:

The Denver Mart is located 10 minutes north of downtown Denver, Colorado, at I-25 and 58th Avenue, Exit #215, and is 30 minutes from Denver International Airport (DIA)

The Show is held in the Pavilion Building of the Mart.

Tickets:

Adult
$15 for one day,
$25 for two-day pass,
$35 for three-day pass;
     Children under 5 free, under 12: $2
     Scouts under 16 in uniform: free
     Active Military with ID: $10

For more info about the Fly Fishing Show check out there website at: http://flyfishingshow.com/denver-co

Fish Stocking

Fish Stocking? Do we do it? Where do we do it?  How and why we do it?  These questions are always coming up and we wanted to share with you, our valued members, what our stocking practice is and how we manage our fisheries.  First of all yes we do stock.  With that being said, we don’t stock all the waters, we only stock the lakes and few different stretches of river where we feel the systems can support more fish.  Since our lakes are not self-sustaining fisheries we have to supplementally stock fish each year.  The fish we stock in the lakes and streams are small 10-14 inches and will generally live 4-6 years in our waters.  Our strategy with stocking is simple.  We want to introduce fish into our waters when they are small so they can grow up and learn to survive by eating the natural foods that are available to them.  We do not stock “Big Fish”.  Our big fish are generally wild browns or rainbows that have been in the waters for 6 plus years.  Most of the streams on the property are left alone and are wild brown and rainbow trout fisheries.

All of our fish come from the same hatchery in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  We have built a relationship with a small operation that grows fish in ponds that are spring fed and 38 degrees year round.  The fish are very healthy and eat bugs from birth which is a great advantage to us when stocking them in our waters.  We have constructed our own stocking truck so we can drive out to the hatchery to load fish then bring them back and stock them ourselves.  This has been a great advantage for us because we are hands on stocking fish making sure they get to the correct waters and that all the fish are released properly.  Our truck is much lighter and better equipped to get to some of the remote lakes and streams that we have on the club property making it possible for us to keep expanding our fisheries.  Each year we pay close attention the health and quality of our fisheries and we’ll keep working hard to make this fishing club great for our members.

Club Update April 2014

Hello Members,

Welcome to another great season in North Park at the fishing club.  We have a bumper Snow pack providing great water for the coming summer.  We expect to have a great float season on the North Platte as well as awesome flows on the surrounding streams.  With big snow comes big run off and we’re excited to see our streams get a nice scrub from the high water providing a cleaner streambed for the fish and the bugs.  usually high water years support better hatches and bigger fish.  It should be a great year!

We have added three new streamside cabins this year.  They’re all located on the Canadian ranch.  The “Lodge”, “Bunkhouse”, and “Schoolhouse” will all be great additions to the membership.  Soon we’ll add pictures to the website and FB page for you to view.  Remember the streamside cabins are a lot like camping.  They do not have running water or bathrooms.  they do have beds, electricity, and heat but you must bring your own sleeping bags and water to ensure a comfortable stay.  The cabins are all located streamside and offer the most stunning views of the different mountain ranges surrounding the park.

The new membership books are almost done.  The new books will have waterproof maps of all the properties along with a ton of information regarding the club and the valley.  We expect to get a new book to each member by May 1st.

It’s going to be a great year and we can’t wait to see all of you up here enjoying the club.  Fish On! NPAFFC

Blue Wing Olive’s

It’s a pretty good sign that fall’s approaching when we start thinking about Blue Winged Olives.  The BWO (Blue Winged Olive) is one of our favorite bugs.  BWO’s are many species that are squeezed into three mayfly genera, Baetis, Pseudocloeon, and Diphetor.   Snooty fly fishermen and wise entomologist are very particular about this but for the simple reason that tactics and appearance for the different species are nearly the same, we’ll lump them all into one group called BWO.

The BWO’s are tiny mayflies that are rarely absent from the stream and can’t be found in lakes.  Hatches in North Park along the North Platte River and some of its tributaries can begin as early as March and continue through May, then start up again in September and last until the end of October or early November.

Nymphs live in all sections of the stream and seem to hatch in riffles and runs but the slower moving water holds the largest populations of nymphs. Because these nymphs like to eat “all day, everyday” they often drift short distances in the current trying to find a new homes making subsurface fishing a very effective tactic even while the hatch is not happening.  Most nymphs will do this early and late in the day or anytime there in cloud cover and tough weather.

Hatches generally start early in the afternoon around 1-2pm and are best on cloudy/ rainy days.  If conditions are right hatches can last for 3-4 hours.  Wind can be tough on the bugs making it hard for them to get back to the water to lay eggs thus hard for fish to eat them.  A cool cloudy/rainy day with light winds is the recipe for an epic BWO hatch. 

After mating the female spinners will return to the water to lay eggs.  The different species have different methods of laying eggs making a plethora of fishing tactics work.  The most common forms of BWO’s laying eggs can be described in two simple ways.  The first form of BWO will dive into the water like a Caddis swimming to the bottom of the stream to clinch onto rocks and deposit eggs.  Before entering the water they will fill their wings with gasses that will propel them back to the surface after they lay eggs.  The second form of BWO crawls just below the surface and deposit their eggs on the downstream side of rocks, sticks, or logs.  Both forms stimulate great subsurface fishing that can best be imitated by swinging a wet fly either just under the surface or weighted a few feet below.   

During a BWO hatch it’s definitely most fun to fish a Dun or cripple high on the water giving the angler a super cool visual when the fish takes.  However, as the hatch gets into full swing a wet fly imitation will probably always put more fish in the net.

A few Patterns we like: 

Duns:  BWO Ext Body#16-20, Para BWO #16-20

Cripple: Last Chance BWO #16-20, BWO Cripple #16-20

Soft Hackles: Hare’s Ear #16-20, Ph Tail #16-20