It would be easy to call the 63 Ranch State Wildlife Area obscure, except that its western edge borders U.S. Highway 285. Countless anglers on their way home from fishing trips farther to the west pass it heading back to the Front Range. The signs that designate the off-highway parking areas that provide access to the South Fork of the South Platte River which runs through the “63” come up quickly. It’s not hard to drive past one which will require you to turn around and head back to it.

Most weekdays, you’ll have the parking area to yourself, except in October when more fishermen arrive in hopes of landing one of the large brown trout that migrate upriver from Antero Reservoir. When and if the “tugboats” arrive, as my friend Kent Brekke described them to me many years ago, varies and always carries a measure of mystery.

I intentionally took my time getting to the “63” last week, because I know it takes a little time for a higher elevation stream to warm up and come alive this time of year. The weather report for South Park predicted overnight temperatures in the 30s but a sunny warm day by 10 a.m. This left time for a leisurely drive and the rubber-necking required to see every pronghorn on the way. Simply put, this is a great time of year for fishing and loafing around.

In terms of the fishing, I didn’t have much of a plan other than to catch a trout if possible. I’m on a jag where I’m minimizing the fishing tackle I carry, especially on small streams. My intention is to do the same on larger rivers and tailwaters once I get the hang of it. I see it as a natural progression from my years of guiding fly fishers where my fishing vest was loaded to capacity with fly boxes. Eventually, I realized that on an average day of guiding, I probably used a maximum of five or six different fly patterns. Some of that was just my style. I knew other guides who were constantly changing their clients’ fly patterns. I had one client who loved tying flies and would fill his vest with fly boxes and wear a hip pack full of more fly boxes. Eventually, he started wearing a medium size backpack full of fly boxes, too. In my case, all I can say is carrying all those fly boxes while guiding was all about confidence. I knew I wouldn’t use many flies, but I carried them anyway just in case.

For the “63” I was carrying a single small box of flies. It included mostly well-tested dry flies such as the Elk Hair Caddis, Stimulators, grasshoppers, a few other terrestrials and some beadhead nymphs for dry fly/dropper rigs. My new reasoning is, if I use up all the dry flies that I’m carrying of one type, I’ll improvise with something else in my fly box. I carry extra tippet material, fly floatant and nippers in my shirt pockets or cargo pants pockets.

I have several rules for fishing South Park streams. Always assume it will be windy and carry a fly rod that can handle it. I fished a classic 4-weight Sage Light Line graphite rod, which has plenty of power if you figure you’ll be down on the stream, which is usually protected to some degree from the gusts by its willow-lined banks. Nowadays, I use hip waders for most small streams. There was a time when I wet-waded much more often until my physician mentioned that the years of wet-wading may have something to do with the arthritis and neuropathy that bothers me now.

Another rule is that after gearing up at the truck, I walk upstream until I see fewer or no boot prints on the sandbars. It’s surprising how little other anglers are willing to walk before they start fishing. I have no doubt that making my way to sections of the stream that receive a little less pressure increases my chances of catching fish.

My fishing report is encouraging. I caught both rainbow and brown trout of the size you would expect in a small stream. Most of those trout were caught in the deeper holes on a beadhead nymph I trailed from an Elk Hair Caddis. There were fewer fish in the riffles than I expected, and the ones that were there were quite small.

All in all, it was one of those great days on the river that you get this time of year. Sure, I could have done with less wind, but I managed, and yes, I would have liked to have seen one of the big brown trout migrating upstream to spawn, but there’s still time for that.

Also, I didn’t see another person the entire day, or to paraphrase author William Kittredge, “I owned it all.”