Gore Creek is underrated. This lovely little gem nestled in the center of Vail proper is a small creek fisherman's delight. With big and small fish throughout, Gore Creek is a great spot to test your pro tiny stream tactics and take inexperienced guests alike. The Gore can be covered quickly or slowly depending on your fishing style and approach - dry fly or drowned fly.
Richard (ERO Eagle River fly fishing guide) and I had two couples in town from the midwest looking to try their luck for the first time on Gore Creek. Though a busy day on the trail because of the Vail Farmers Market, the fishermen must have been at church because fishing pressure was minimal. The day started with fluttering caddis and a few quick bites before a dog and his stick took over our first hole and my guests and I had to move along. The nice thing about Gore Creek is when you are forced to share a public creek with the non-fishing community, you can always bump up to the next spot! We passed Richard and his clients, walked way up, and hit our stride behind The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Vail Valley. With a steady emergence of small mayflies coming off the Creek, my ERO clients had a power hour moving up and down the stream with nymphs and dries hooking eager Gore Creek rainbow trout and brown trout. Most were nice enough to come to the net and provided great excitement towards the middle of our trip and added to our growing catch numbers. Even though it was low and clear, the trout ate around us as we threw emergers at them. They were eagerly rising to the surface and munching mayfly nymphs below the surface. Our day was made.
We popped down below to check on the rest of our party and met them with ear-to-ear grins. They caught the same baetis hatch and were having fun themselves! We finished the day near our friends with a few last-minute Gore Creek trout hooked, and we walked back to the vehicle, victorious. It helps to stumble upon a good hatch, but these trout can be coerced even on a slower day with a stealthy approach and a delicate cast. Get your butt to Gore Creek if you love throwing light rods to spooky fish or deep nymphing the deep pocket pools that Gore Creek has to offer. We'll see you out there!
Dave
