Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Down river from Cotopaxi in the morning and then Vallie Bridge and upstream in the PM.

Fish Landed: 6

Arkansas River 04/26/2016 Photo Album

After rallying to land eleven fish late on Monday afternoon including a fifteen inch brown, the largest brown trout of the 2016 season, one would assume that I was pleased and prepared to spend another day between Parkdale and Texas Creek. But one would be mistaken. The allure of finding the leading edge of the hatch gnawed at my brain, and additionally I did not wish to spend another morning and early afternoon wading and casting with no results to justify my activity.

My Five Points Campsite

I camped at Five Points on Monday night along with two other crazy early season enthusiasts. One of the other campground inhabitants had the comfort of a RV, but the other fellow was toughing it out in a tent. After I snuggled up in my sleeping bag at 9PM, light rain began to patter on the rain fly. I read for a while before dozing off, and I remember hearing the wind and rain as I entered my dream world.

Frozen Water Droplets on My Rainfly on Tuesday Morning

I planned to pack everything up in the morning before I embarked on another fishing adventure, so I was concerned that the rain fly would be wet and delay my departure. As I climbed out of the tent on Tuesday morning, I immediately inspected for moisture, and except for some large scattered drops along the top seam, it appeared that the wind had taken care of most of the rain. Upon closer review I was surprised to learn that the large raindrops were actually frozen! What happened to the forecast lows of 42 degrees? I suppose that was Canon City, and I was ten miles farther west, although I guessed that it was a combination of a missed forecast and a different location.

When I left the river on Monday, I vowed to return to Royal Gorge Anglers to obtain some local insight. The fishing in the morning was less than spectacular anyway, so why not invest an extra hour to obtain some professional direction? In addition I needed to replace the retractor for my nippers, as the cord snapped during a fishing trip the previous week.

I was pleased to discover that Taylor Edrington, the owner, was present in the fly shop, so I asked him for advice. He informed me that I was below the leading edge of the advancing hatch, and this explained my lack of success on caddis pupa as well as the late action on the adult dry. The fish were tuned into egg laying adults in the late afternoon and evening, so I caught the early portion of this activity. Taylor went on to note that his guides and clients encountered a decent emergence in Cotopaxi on Monday, and he suggested that I migrate to that area or even as far up river as Vallie Bridge, if I hoped to fish to emerging brachycentrus.

I mentioned that I had success with an RS2 in the middle of the afternoon, and he politely dismissed the RS2 as being too slender to imitate emergers, and he sold me some CDC folded wing emergers. Taylor is a persuasive salesperson. Armed with five new flies, a new retractor, and confidence that I would meet the caddis hatch below Cotopaxi; I departed and returned to the campground and took down my by now dry tent. In my absence the sun peaked over the ridge to the east, and the combination of the sun and wind removed any remaining ice and water.

In a supercharged state of anticipation I continued west on route 50 until I reached a nice wide pullout .3 miles below the Cotopaxi bridge. After I rigged my Sage One five weight, I walked back along the highway to the bend and then followed a path half way around the curve, before I dropped to a section of river that was narrow with swift currents in the center. The edge closest to me featured some nice shelf pools, so I tied on a bright green diamond braid caddis (Go2 Caddis) as my top fly and added one of the newly purchased CDC BWO nymphs as the bottom fly on an indicator nymphing system.

Another Pretty Brown Trout

Between 10:30 and 11:30 I worked the most attractive runs and pockets along the edge of the river and landed three trout. Two were respectable thirteen inch browns, and the third was a small fish barely over the six inch minimum. I was pleased with this late morning production, and I remained confident that Taylor’s advice would lead me to caddis hatch nirvana. Meanwhile the air temperature was in the low fifties and the wind was stronger than Monday but tolerable. Some large dark gray clouds were building in the distant western sky. I decided to break for lunch early, as I was roughly fifty yards below the car.

I climbed the steep bank to the car and gathered my water and lunch bag and returned to the edge of the river as I am apt to do, so I could observe any insect activity while eating. I can report that I saw no evidence of blue winged olives and only a couple small caddis dapping on the water. In fact when I brushed the trees and willows, far fewer caddis scattered compared to when I executed similar actions on Monday farther to the east.

After lunch I resumed from my exit point and fished intensely from 12 – 1PM, at which point I was getting close to the town of Cotopaxi. I landed a fourth brown during this time period, and this one was around twelve inches. In addition I had a chubby brown hooked for a split second, but it shed the fly when it leaped high above the water. This bit of action transpired early on, and then I went through a fish catching drought despite casting to some exceptionally attractive water. The sun was shining brightly at this time, and I concluded that the fish should have been responding to the caddis pupa, if they were staging for an emergence in the early afternoon. Based on this logic I guessed that a leading edge emergence was not ilikely, so I decided to move farther upstream in search of the elusive hatch.

Unfortunately there is minimal public water between Cotopaxi and Vallie Bridge, and the section that is open was occupied by two groups of fishermen. I continued westward to Vallie Bridge and parked at the boat launch, and then I crossed to the south side of the river above the bridge. Here there is a long deep pool and a huge eddy where the water cycles back upstream and creates a large foam slick.

Back in the Net Big Guy

I covered this water thoroughly with no action, and then I retreated to the downstream side of the bridge. I began fishing just above the point where a small channel forks away from the main river. I made an obligatory half-hearted cast thirty-five feet across and allowed the bright green caddis pupa and soft hackle emerger to drift to the tail. Much to my surprise as the flies began to swing, the indicator paused, and I set the hook and found myself attached to a significant weight. The angry fish on the end of my line made several speedy and abrupt attempts to free itself, but I allowed line to escape and then eventually recovered and guided a fifteen inch brown trout into my net. What a surprise! This was the type of featureless water that I typically skip, but perhaps I need to reevaluate my approach.

I fished upstream through some more appealing deep water along the current seam below the bridge, but this proved fruitless. Next I crossed back to the car and drove to the lease water two or three miles to the west on the north side of the river. I parked, and in short order I hiked down river along the railroad tracks and eventually cut to the river. I discovered that I was above another fisherman by thirty yards, so I began my upstream migration at this point. The water above me was relatively unattractive, but after my surprise below the bridge, I dutifully cast upstream to the narrow six foot band of slower moving water next to the bank.

This time, however, my hunch was correct, and I simply exercised my arm. I moved rather quickly with only one or two casts to each section, and then I approached a much more interesting wide shelf pool where the river merged after splitting around a small gravel island. I worked this twenty-five yard segment of water thoroughly and drifted the flies along the current seam numerous times, but again I was disappointed.

When I reached the top, I noticed there was a deep trough just above the point where the currents merged. I lobbed several casts to the top of the trough, and on the third drift, as the indicator passed through the merge point, it dipped, and I intuitively reacted with a solid hook set. The fight was on. Once again I released line a few times to compensate for a strong run, but again I was able to scoop a fifteen inch brown trout into my net. This brown was actually not as long as the previous catch, but it was much heftier. I snapped quite a few photos and then released the brute.

Impressive Width on This Guy

The rest of the afternoon was consumed by moving quite a distance upstream along the right bank. I skipped huge amounts of stream real estate, as the river is relatively wide with many sections of shallow riffles or wide smooth water of moderate depth. The latter may actually harbor a decent amount of fish, but without any rocks or logs or current breaks, I am intimidated by the prospect of prospecting this type of water without some sign of fish such as a rise.

Near the end of my progression, I encountered two fishermen on opposite sides of the river. I was fifty yards below them in some very attractive deep runs below some exposed boulders. The sky grew extremely dark, and the wind kicked up, and a large quantity of dainty blue winged olives emerged and tumbled across the surface. Just prior to this point in time I swapped the soft hackle emerger for a CDC emerger that I purchased from Taylor, and I was certain that the trout would attack my subsurface imitation given the large population of olives on the surface.

Nothing. The fish never rose to feed on the surface because the wind blew the adults away before they could react, and my wet fly was totally ignored. This rude rejection of my offerings caused me to reel up my line, and then I scaled the steep bank until I reached the railroad tracks and hiked back to the car. Along the way I spotted a single rise in the lower end of the wide nondescript pool, so I slid down the bank and switched to a double dry setup with a size 16 olive brown caddis and a size 20 CDC BWO. I cast to the vicinity of the rise and on the tenth drift, just when I looked away for a split second, I heard the sound of a rise and instinctively set the hook. I felt some momentary weight and then the fish was off. I don’t know if the fish refused one of the flies, and I grazed it with the trailer, because I reacted to the sound, and never saw what happened.

That was the end of my Tuesday, and I returned to the car and made the long return trip to Denver. I spent two days on the Arkansas River in pursuit of the elusive 2016 caddis emergence, and never sniffed it. Of course I second guessed my decision to leave Cotopaxi, and I imagined waves of caddis popping from the green tinged surface of the river, while swallows criss-crossed overhead, and hungry trout slurped skittering emergers. I will never know if this was the case. I convinced myself that the emergence occurred in the long segment of water between Cotopaxi and Vallie Bridge, and only a short section is open to the public. Land ownership is my excuse for not finding the caddis sweet spot on April 25 and 26.

I am not done. Cool rainy weather is forecast for the rest of this week, so the progression will likely stall. This means I may have another shot at the caddis emergence in the vicinity of Salida early next week. Stay tuned.

Time: 10:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: From 10:30 until 11:30 at Five Points and then the afternoon in the braided area above Pinnacle Rock

Fish Landed: 11

Arkansas River 04/25/2016 Photo Album

It has become an annual ritual that I follow every spring. I did it practically every year since I moved to Colorado in 1990, yet the successful intersection of my regular pursuit and the sought after fishing experience has only occurred three or four times. The event that I am describing is the caddis hatch on the Arkansas River.

A couple times in the 1990’s I stumbled into the leading edge of the fabled brachycentrus emergence, and it was an experience I will never forget. Swarms of caddis skittered across the water and bounced and fluttered, and the trout slashed at them in gluttonous hunger. Poor casting skills and the dreaded drag were the fly fisherman’s best friend, as these presentation attributes best imitated the active skittering emergence of thousands of caddis.

My most recent encounter with the Arkansas River caddis hatch occurred in early May 2010; May 4 and May 14 to be exact. If you read these reports, you will understand my obsession with chasing this elusive hatch. A period of mild weather entered the forecast for Colorado following the heavy wet spring snowstorm during the weekend of April 16 and 17, and I estimated that by Monday most of the low level snow melt on freestone streams had passed. The last report on the caddis emergence indicated that they stalled in the lower canyon before the storm, and the local experts predicted that the progression would resume on Friday April 22 with the advent of warmer temperatures.

Based on this information I planned a fishing/camping venture to the lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon area for Monday and Tuesday. One of the advantages of retirement is the ability to make these sort of spur of the minute decisions. The low temperature for Monday night was projected to be 42 degrees, thus my intention to camp. I camped several times in the fall when temperatures dropped below the freezing mark.

Upstream from Five Points with a Cholla in the Foreground

On Monday morning I departed at 7:20, and traffic was reasonable thus allowing me to pull into the parking area at the Arkansas Headwaters Five Points access area by 10AM. This is where I planned to camp, so I made a quick circle to scope out the campsites, and only two of eighteen sites were occupied. Clearly there was not a groundswell of campers on Monday April 25 in lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon. I brought the car to a halt across from the campground and pulled on my waders and assembled my Sage One five weight rod. The weather forecast called for twenty-four mile per hour winds, so I needed a long stiff rod in the event that this prediction was accurate.

I had no idea how far the caddis progressed, and I probably should have stopped at Royal Gorge Anglers for information, but I pressed on in my desire to get back on the river after the snowstorm. When I approached the water I noticed that it was murky, but decent visibility existed along the edges. The weather was partly sunny, and the wind was not a significant factor at 10:30.

I began with a nymph rig that included a bright green caddis pupa and a prince nymph. The caddis prepared me for emergers and the prince covered egg laying adults. Unfortunately shortly after beginning my caddis hunt, I broke off both flies, and I tied on another bright green caddis pupa and then replaced the prince with a second brighter green caddis pupa. The body of the second one was constructed with bright geen diamond braid, and it is named Tak’s Go2 Caddis.

These flies produced a momentary hook up, and I also observed the flash of the side of a brown, as it inspected my drifting flies, but I was unable to begin my fish count. I was disappointed with the lack of interest in my flies so I went through a series of changes that featured a slumpbuster, emerald caddis pupa, and ultra zug bug. At another point roughly halfway through the morning I foul hooked a fish on the green caddis pupa. When I brushed the willows along the stream, a cloud of caddis took flight in an obvious response to my rude interruption of their streamside relaxation.

By 11:30 I decided to get an early start on lunch, and based on the quantity of adult caddis on the vegetation, I assumed that the hatch progressed farther upstream. I drove farther west on route 50 until I was less than a mile below Texas Creek, and here I parked and descended to the river, where I brushed some willows and shrubs. Based on this unscientific experiment I concluded that the caddis were not as thick below Texas Creek, so I turned around and retreated to the section where the river splits into numerous side channels. It was clear that I should have stopped at Royal Gorge Anglers, and I was now shooting in the dark, but I was weary of driving and decided to make my stand.

I grabbed my lunch and found a perch next to the channel closest to the road and observed the river intently for signs of insect activity, and I was rewarded with the vision of two sporadic rises. When I resumed fishing, I fished the southern most channel first, but to no avail. Next I crossed the nearest channels and bushwhacked to the bottom of the northern branch where it entered the main stem of the reunited river. The sky became progressively more cloudy, and as usually is the case in Colorado, this spawned increased wind velocity. Finally at around 2:30 I landed my first fish, and despite its small size, I snapped a photo as I was unsure that any additional fish would find my net.

The North Braid

Normally if an intense caddis hatch is in the offing, it commences by 2PM, so I was fairly convinced that I would not meet my objective on Monday. Fortunately a fine blue winged olive emergence overlaps with the caddis hatch, and these tiny mayflies enjoy cold overcast blustery conditions. Between 2:30 and 3:30 the state of the weather did in fact conspire to create BWO activity, and this development saved my day. I landed eight brown trout during this period after I reconfigured my line with the go2 caddis as the top fly and a size 20 beadhead RS2 as the bottom food imitation.

15″ Brown Sporting a Tiny RS2 Lip Piercing

I worked my way upstream on the northern branch of the river and cast the nymphs to all the likely places. I imparted quite a bit of movement by making downstream mends to accelerate the flies as well as lifting and dropping the flies in a jigging motion. Most of the landed trout chased the RS2 on the swing, but two justified the presence of the go2 caddis on my line. One very nice pool farther up the braid than I normally progress yielded a fifteen inch brown that clobbered the RS2, and this represented my best brown trout on the season so far. Quite a few of the netted fish were chunky twelve and thirteen inch wild specimens, and I was thrilled with the turn of events.

Pretty Chunky Fellow

Eventually I reached the point where the north channel split off from the main river. My ability to move back down to the crossing point required some very cautious wading among large round boulders and deep pockets next to the brushy bank, but I endured. I crossed the two intervening channels, and then I hiked back down along the highway until I was next to some large attractive shelf pools below where the river was reunified as one channel. I managed to add a small brown to my fish count to reach nine, but as the sky clouded up again, some very spaced out splashy rises began to appear.

Bank Pockets

I was near the end of the day, and my success level dropped considerably, so I felt I had little to lose. I converted to a single size 16 gray deer hair caddis, and I began prospecting it tight to the rocks along the bank. Wham! I saw something suck down the caddis in a swirl, and I set the hook instantly. Unfortunately the stabbed trout streaked to the heavy nearby main current and snapped off my caddis in an instant. I was quite disappointed to miss my opportunity to reach double digits, but I persisted and knotted a new size 16 olive brown deer hair caddis to my tippet.

I Like the Arch

I continued scrambling my way over large boulders and added two more brown trout to my count. Of course this made me second guess whether I should have prospected the edge all day in search of opportunistic feeders that pounced on unaware dapping adult caddis. Fortunately I had another day on Tuesday, and perhaps I could employ this strategy and catch some fish earlier in the day.

In summary it turned out to be a decent day with eleven fish landed, and quite a few were in the 12-15 inch range. On the negative side, I fished for nearly four hours before I landed a fish, and I once again failed to locate the adrenaline producing main emergence of the Arkansas River caddis. I resolved to drive back to Royal Gorge Anglers in the AM to gain some insight on the best chance to meet the elusive leading edge hatch.

Looking for More Privacy

Time: 10:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Between Salt Lick and Pinnacle Rock and then upstream from Pinnacle Rock to the braided area.

Fish Landed: 11

Arkansas River 04/15/2016 Photo Album

Friday April 15 on the Arkansas River proved to be a good day, but it had the potential to be spectacular. The most notable accomplishment, however, was overcoming the various forms of adversity sent my way. As one would expect, fly fishing was a taxing venture on tax day.

The weather forecasts indicated that a major winter storm was bearing down on Colorado, and this caused Jane and I to postpone our plans to ski at Vail. An abundance of snow is one thing, but warm temperatures and rain at the base were more than we were willing to contend with. When I checked the weather in Canon City, I was pleased to discover that high temperatures were forecast to be 64 degrees with cloudy skies in the afternoon. 64 degrees was more comfortable than the low 50’s projected for Denver, and the highs in the higher elevations streams would be roughly ten degrees colder. Cloudy afternoon skies portended a blue winged olive hatch, so I was drawn to the lower Arkansas River as a destination where I could sneak in a day of fishing before the storm precluded further attempts.

Following an uneventful trip I arrived at a small pullout along route 50 at 10AM a mile above the Salt Lick access. I intended to continue my progress along the river from where I ended on Sunday, April 10. The temperature was 54 degrees, but it was moderately windy so I pulled on my fleece layer as well as my raincoat to serve as a windbreaker. I grabbed my five weight Sage One rod and walked back along the shoulder until I found a reasonably safe place to cautiously scramble down a boulder field to the river. This placed me just above a nice long deep slow moving shelf pool, so I stayed back from the river and moved to the tail of the attractive location. I began my day with a strike indicator, split shot, green caddis pupa, and salad spinner.

Salad Spinner Produces

I was rather excited when the indicator paused at the top of the shelf pool, and I connected with a twelve inch brown trout that inhaled the salad spinner. The generic midge imitation created by my friend Danny Ryan continues to impress. After I set the wild brown free, I resumed my progress, but I was unable to land additional fish over the remainder of my first hour of fishing. I did experience one split second hook up and saw a fish flash as it looked at my flies, but no additional trout found my net.

My Kind of Water

At 11:30 I climbed the steep bank and hiked back to the Santa Fe. I surveyed the river between where I was parked and Pinnacle Rock prior to parking upon my arrival at 10AM, and I was not pleased with the structure of the next segment, so I drove west until I reached a nice wide pullout .2 miles above Pinnacle Rock. I hoped to consume my lunch while overlooking the river, but the wind now accelerated to gale force status. I opened the front passenger door to retrieve my lunch, and my ball cap was instantly swept five feet from the car. I moved to the tailgate to remove my sun gloves, and one of them was uplifted and deposited ten feet away. Needless to say the wind became a significant factor, so I sat in the car and munched my sandwich and carrots while listening to the Rockies vs Cubs pregame show.

After lunch I swapped my wide brimmed hat for my billed cap with ear flaps, and I quickly snugged it tightly on my head. This hat was warmer and tighter fitting in light of the gusting wind. I slid down an angled path to the river and began lobbing the nymph rig to the likely deep pockets and runs along the left bank. The salad spinner was being shunned, so I exchanged it for a RS2, as the time of the day when baetis nymphs become active was approaching. I fished the nymphs in a dead drift presentation as well as with active movement. I covered some areas with moderate depth until I approached the stretch where the river narrowed, and this created smaller but deeper pockets and runs along the roadside of the river.

The wind continued to be ridiculously offensive, but I was able to power casts upstream due to the weight of the indicator and split shot, and finally I enjoyed some action. Between noon and 1PM I moved the fish count total to five with the average size of the fish greater than the landed fish in my previous visits to the Arkansas River. At one point my flies wedged beneath a large boulder, and the water was too fast and deep to rescue them, so I snapped both off along with the split shot. I replaced the shiny bright green caddis pupa with a bright green sparkle pupa tied Lafontaine style, and this fly produced two of the brown trout, while the RS2 accounted for the other two.

After this flurry of action I approached a pair of nice deep slow shelf pools, and I was certain that these locations would yield several fish each. I paused at the tail of the first one to observe, and some dark clouds moved above me, and this seemed to signal the wind to blast at greater velocity. For the first time I spied some tiny mayflies clinging to the surface of the water, and then a flurry of subtle rises caught my attention in the current seam at the tail of the pool. What was I to do? I made some casts hoping that the fish were aware of subsurface and surface food, but the RS2 did not attract interest. I resigned myself to convert to a dry fly approach, but I knew that this would take some time. Have you ever attempted to change your fishing setup while forty MPH winds shoot down the canyon? It was not easy.

Adding to my woes was a troublesome split shot. It was the type with no fins that can be squeezed to separate the opposite side. I struggled with the obstinate piece of lead for at least five minutes, but I could not open the slot to slide out my leader, so I did what any frustrated fisherman would do; I clipped off the line on both sides of the shot and reconnected it with a surgeon’s knot. Finally I was ready to configure my line with the BWO imitation, but for the sake of visibility, I first knotted a size 14 stimulator to my tippet and then tied on a size 22 CDC olive. Finally I was set to cast to the feeders in front of me.

Rainbow Lair

Of course you can probably guess what happened. The wind became such a force, that it blew the tiny olives off the water before the fish had a chance to eat them. I watched for a few minutes, and no signs of surface feeding fish remained. Perhaps they were still there looking for surface food? I threw some casts at a forty-five degree angle, but this proved to be futile. In fact the very act of getting a drift over the target area became a massive challenge, and the flies were nearly impossible to follow due to the constant wind-created riffle and my inability to follow the path of my cast. I pursued this exercise in frustration for five or ten minutes until I realized that the weather conditions were not going to enable me to fish dry flies on Friday April 15.

Fifteen Inch Rainbow Holds the Prize for 2016 So Far

I sat down on a rock and reverted to the bright green caddis pupa and RS2, and these were supplemented with a split shot (with tabs) and a strike indicator. I resumed my progression, and I landed a nice brown trout and a fifteen inch rainbow. Both fish consumed the RS2, and the rainbow trout was a huge surprise. I cast to the very top of the second shelf pool where a narrow deep slot passed a large submerged boulder. Just as the indicator passed five feet beyond the boulder, it dipped, and I reacted with a swift hook set. The victim of the penetrating hook point immediately went into escape mode, and this featured several streaking charges downstream. I managed to release and gain line while maintaining pressure and eventually guided the beautiful rainbow into my net. This fish proved to be the largest of the 2016 season, and I was ecstatic with my ability to land it.

River Divides into Four Channels Ahead

I was now just below the point where three or four braids of the Arkansas River merge. This is perhaps my favorite segment of the lower Arkansas, since one can fish the small channels similar to a small stream, yet they are connected to the much larger main river. The small braids allow easier wading and better sight fishing similar to smaller streams in other parts of Colorado. I quickly moved up along the left bank until I found a place where I could cross the closest two channels, and this placed me near the bottom of the northern most channel of the river. This is my favorite as it carries the largest volume of the water of the four.

Perhaps Best Brown Trout of 2016 So Far

Much to my surprise the wind subsided somewhat to occasional strong gusts, but the sky was slate gray, and the temperature probably dropped into the upper 40’s. I had the entire section of the river to myself, so I began casting the nymphs to the standard fish holding spots. For some reason I replaced the RS2 with a beadhead soft hackle emerger prior to embarking on this expedition up the side channel. None of the places that historically produced fish for me delivered on this day in April, until I approached a nice area about two-thirds of the way from the river to the place where two channels merge.

A Caddis Pupa Fan

For some inexplicable reason, my flies suddenly caught fire. During the remainder of my day in this area I landed four additional fish, but it could have just as easily been eight. This is just a guess, but I suspect I experienced at least six long distance releases, and I blame this phenomena on the small size 22 soft hackle emerger. At the very top of the long run and riffle area there was a very narrow long slot. I estimate the structure described ran for forty feet, but it was no wider than eight feet. This one spot produced at least six hookups, as the fish grabbed the soft hackle emerger as it tumbled tight to the current seam on the far side of the narrow trough. Fortunately I managed to land a fourteen inch brown trout and another rainbow from this area before reeling up my line and calling it quits. My heart beat elevated during this time period as a result of the wind, the fast water and the rapid pace of hooking fish.

A Second Gorgeous Rainbow Trout

In summary I landed eleven fish and the average size was definitely a notch above any of my previous fishing outings in 2016. Had I been able to convert more of my hook ups to the net, my fish count could have easily reached fifteen, and this would have elevated the day to outstanding. Of course all this was accomplished while overcoming wind that almost blew me off the water after lunch. The stubborn split shot only added to my woes, and the one minute of teasing rises put me through a twenty minute knot tying practice session. I continue to me amazed by the value of persistence in fly fishing. On this day tenacity was rewarded.

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Salt Lick river access area and then upstream.

Fish Landed: 15

Arkansas River 04/10/2016 Photo Album

On Friday Jane and I enjoyed a day of skiing at Vail Ski Resort, and one of our favorite runs was Cloud 9. Because of the surrounding trees, the snow did not get as soft and slushy as the runs in the bowls that were exposed to direct sunlight. The name of this run reminded me of Cloud Nine, a song by the Temptations that was popular in 1969. I checked the weather forecast for Canon City, CO for Sunday April 10, and my app indicated that the sky would be overcast and cloudy on the lower Arkansas River. Could all the references to clouds be a harbinger of cloudy conditions that would yield a productive baetis hatch on one of my favorite rivers?

I announced to Jane that I was making the drive to lower Big Horn Sheep Canyon on Sunday, and she elected to accompany me. We departed Denver a few minutes before 8AM and arrived at the Salt Lick river access area a bit after 10. The temperature was 63 degrees, and there was a slight breeze, but nothing compared to the gales that I endured in previous trips to the Arkansas River. I assembled my Sage One five weight and marched to the edge of the river next to the wide gravel beach that is used to slide rafts into the rushing water.

Up the River from Salt Lick

To begin I used a strike indicator with a split shot and an ultra zug bug and emerald caddis pupa. I worked my way up the left bank of the river during the first hour, and I was disappointed by a total lack of interest in my flies. I decided that a change was in order, and I exchanged the emerald caddis pupa for a bright green caddis pupa. This imitation displayed a shiny diamond braid body, and I hoped that it would be a fish attractor. I approached a huge vertical rock wall that would halt my upstream migration, but a nice run of moderate depth angled from the bank back toward the main river. I cast the flies above the riffle and allowed them to tumble through the run, and as they swept past a medium sized square submerged rock, the indicator dipped, and I quickly set the hook. I was attached to an eleven inch brown trout for a short time, and then it figured out how to slide free. I continued fishing for a bit until my path was obstructed by the rock wall, and when I reeled up my flies, I discovered that the bright green caddis was no longer attached. Apparently a bad knot enabled the thrashing fish to break off the tippet and fly.

First Fish Took Ultra Zug Bug

I decided to turn around and return to Jane and the car for lunch, as I was at a point where farther progress required a steep climb to the highway to circle around the rock barrier. It was 11:30, which is a bit early for lunch, but it was convenient to eat before continuing above the rocks. I replaced the green caddis with another one, and as I returned to the boat launch, I stopped at the location where I hooked the evasive fish. I ran the nymphs through the same run, and on the second drift, the indicator paused, and I landed my first trout of the day. It was an eleven inch brown, and I pondered whether this was the same fish that stole my fly earlier.

Streamside Lunch

After lunch I hiked along the shoulder of the highway until I was beyond the barrier, and then I scrambled down a boulder field to the edge of the river. Between noon and 2PM I worked my way along the left bank of the wide river and fished only the pockets and runs next to the steep rocks. I spent roughly half of my time rock climbing and the other half casting, but I managed to land three additional brown trout. Unfortunately I covered quite a bit of water to register this tally, so the fishing was not the heated affair I imagined. In addition the sky remained mostly blue with occasional puffy white clouds. This also was not the cloud cover that the weather app predicted.

Bright Green Caddis Fooled This Nice Brown Trout

I was beginning to resign myself to another moral victory, meaning great weather in a beautiful setting with a modest fish count, when some dark clouds appeared above the peaks to the southwest. The impact of this weather event on my fishing fortunes was almost immediate. Suddenly a few small gray mayflies made an appearance, and I spotted several fluttering up from the surface of the river. I responded to this sign from nature, and I tied a beadhead RS2 to my line and moved the bright green caddis to the top position. I executed both dead drift presentations and active movement, but I quickly discovered that the fish preferred action. Between 2 and 2:45 I experienced the hottest fishing action of the 2016 season.

Great Spot Pattern

The best results came near the tail of deep pockets and runs when I lifted the flies. In many cases this provoked a response. Less effective, but still productive, was a jigging action that I imparted to the flies when I cast directly upstream. My fish count advanced from four to twelve during this forty-five minute period, and I was quite pleased that I finally settled into a rhythm that produced hungry fish and positive results. After 2:45 the action slowed a bit, but my catch rate remained above average, as I landed another three fish. It was during this time that my indicator darted in a fairly fast run over some large submerged boulders. I quickly reacted and fought a feisty fourteen inch rainbow to my net. This was the only rainbow on the day, and it was likely my best fish of the 2016 season.

Only Rainbow Was Best Fish of 2016 So Far

Sunday evolved into the kind of fishing outing that I looked forward to in the spring of 2016. The key factors merged and produced some fast action. The heavy cloud cover and warming water temperatures activated the blue winged olives, and this food source in turn caused the fish to assume their feeding stations. I expected to catch most of my fish on the RS2, but interestingly the two-thirds of the fish that I landed chomped the bright green caddis. This probably indicates that drifting caddis larva and pupa are becoming more prevalent in the flows of the lower Arkansas River. With this successful excursion to the Arkansas under my belt, I am already anticipating another journey during the coming weeks. Cloud 9 skiing, Cloud Nine the song, and fishing under cloudy skies are all fun in the eyes of this fisherman.

Lots of Attractive Pockets and Runs Ahead