Time: 10:00AM – 1:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Fish Landed: 10

Eagle River 07/05/2013 Photo Album

Beth and Dave Gaboury invited us to join them at their house in Eagle, CO for the Fourth of July weekend so I anxiously tracked the flows on the Eagle River in the week and days leading up to the Fourth. Everything appeared to be indicating ideal timing as the flows dropped from 600 cfs to 400 cfs in the days just prior to our visit. Historically I have found that there is a window of time on the Eagle when fishing can be absolutely fabulous with chunky browns gobbling dropper nymphs in the deep pockets or even smashing hoppers or green drakes or caddis or pale morning duns on the surface. The trick is timing as the flows can drop rapidly through the prime zone, and when the water level gets into the 200’s the water temperature rises quickly and the fish stop feeding, or perhaps convert to night time feeders.

Jane and I packed up the Santa Fe on Thursday morning and departed by 9:30AM. I forgot about the construction at the small tunnel just before Idaho Springs, or I probably would have added more urgency to my packing. Fortunately the back up wasn’t too bad and we arrived in Eagle just past noon. Dave G. greeted us as we jumped out of the car still attired in his fishing waders. Apparently he had a fun morning on Brush Creek before our arrival. Since I was planning to fish Friday and Saturday and had just spent Tuesday and Wednesday on the water, I elected to chat and socialize on the Fourth of July. We had a great cookout for dinner and then moved our folding chairs to the alley behind the house and watched an entertaining fireworks display put on by the town of Eagle.

Dave and I made our fishing plans for the next two days to include a session on the Eagle River from 10AM until 2PM and then early evening action on lower Brush Creek above the confluence with the Eagle River on Friday. Dave G. planned to call the owners of the private water and reserve some time to fish Brush Creek there on Saturday. We also discussed making the drive to Sylvan Lake State Park and fishing the East Fork of Brush Creek while Jane and Beth hiked around Sylvan Lake.

When I awoke on Friday morning I discovered that it was overcast and raining. We prepared a quick breakfast and loaded Dave’s 4 Runner with our fishing gear and set off for Edwards and the Eagle River. The girls agreed to meet us at 2:30PM at a deli in Edwards where we would buy lunch and then move on to the Crazy Mountain brew pub. As we drove east on interstate 70 gray clouds continued to obscure the sun, yet the air temperature was quite comfortable. I was getting quite excited about the prospects for some good fishing. Dave G. parked the 4 Runner along route 6 just east of the Edwards rest area, and then we hiked back through the condominiums to the pedestrian bridge. I suggested that Dave G. fish the right bank above the pedestrian bridge as I experienced great success there in previous years. I warned that it is difficult fishing and required backhand casts and climbing over and around a lot of rocks and logs since there is a steep bank right next to the river. Dave G. and I agreed to rendezvous at 11:30AM to check our satisfaction with the fishing and compare notes on successful flies.

Meanwhile I continued across the foot bridge and then turned and advanced up along the left side of the river opposite Dave G. I tied on a Chernobyl ant and salvation nymph and began prospecting the more attractive pockets, but no action was occuring so I switched the salvation for a beadhead hares ear. The sky continued to be quite overcast as I worked over only the prime spots very quickly and rounded the bend and proceeded to the nice run below the small island. In the run where the currents of the river merged downstream from the island I picked up a small brown on the hares ear. Roughly 30 minutes had now passed and I began to notice some very small cream colored mayflies, so I added a RS2 as a third fly beneath the hares ear. I was now poised to fish up the smaller left channel next to the island where historically I’ve landed some very nice trout.

One of My Favorite Spots on the Eagle River

The first sweet spot didn’t produce and in the next nice deeper section I could spot a fish that wiggled its fin and looked at the Chernobyl, but no take was forthcoming. I made quite a few casts and added some lift in an effort to provoke a take, but it was all to no avail. I decided to concede and shot a cast to the very top of this section where some faster water curled into the deeper run and the Chernobyl paused and I set the hook and eventually landed a fine 14 inch brown. When I released the fish I discovered that it had the diminutive RS2 in its lip.

Fine Eagle River Brown Landed on Friday Morning

I continued fishing up the left channel through a couple more nice spots that historically produced fish, but Friday was not going to be one of those days. At the top of the island I moved along the left bank and continued prospecting with the Chernobyl, BHHE, and RS2. After covering 10-15 yards I came to a nice spot where two parallel four foot deep runs were ahead of me. I cast to the run that was closer to the middle of the river and toward the tail the Chernobyl dipped and I set the hook and played a fat feisty 15 inch brown trout to my net. This fish had also fallen for the RS2 so I was feeling pretty good about the effectiveness of the small gray fly in the midst of the mayfly hatch. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was 11:22 so I hustled back down past the island to the bend and discovered Dave G. across from me. He raised one finger, and I could see some building frustration in his demeanor. I asked if he’d seen the small mayflies and suggested he give an RS2 a try. He mentioned caddis, and in fact as I looked around me, there were quite a few caddis buzzing around and dapping the water. We agreed to once again meet in another hour to recheck status.

Very Nice Brown Landed Above Island

As I returned toward the island I decided to try the nice deep run on the left side just around the large 90 degree bend since I’d now discovered that the RS2 was being recognized as food. It was quite overcast and there were caddis everywhere and small cream colored mayflies rode the surface film and popped into the air in dense numbers. The river level and the cloud cover and the insect activity were all converging into prime fishing conditions. The deep run did not produce so I exited the river and circled back to the merged currents just below the island. I decided to give this section another try but from a different angle, so I waded across the current much further down and then cast to the top of the angled riffles and let my flies drift across and then down the larger current seam. In short order this produced two small rainbows and a surprising nine inch brook trout on the RS2.

With the density of emerging mayflies and no surface activity I decided to try a Craven soft hackle emerger instead of the RS2 which is more of a nymph that is active prior to emergence. Emergence was clearly already in progress. I moved to the right side of the island, a stretch of water I rarely explore and began prospecting near the bottom. In a short amount of time I hooked a fish at the bottom of the island near the bank, but it escaped before I could net it. I was still seeing a large quantity of caddis so I replaced the hares ear with an emerald caddis pupa, but kept the Craven soft hackle emerger. In a very small nondescript pocket at the very tip of the island the Chernobyl suddenly stopped and I set the hook and entered a battle with a 15 inch brown. After a brief fight I worked the fish upstream and applied side pressure and netted the fine specimen. It was very gratifying to be rewarded for prospecting a marginal spot and for switching to an emerald caddis.

Eagle Brown Deep in the Net

Once I reached the top of the island I returned to the left bank of the river and landed another twelve inch brown on the emerger. By now it was approaching 12:30 so I once again hustled back to meet Dave G. We conversed across the river and Dave G. indicated there was no improvement in his success, so I made the long horseshoe shaped walk back to the pedestrian bridge and then back through the condos and up along route 6 to the point where Dave G. was now fishing. Dave G. indicated he was demoralized and I tried to talk him out of his funk, but he was beyond recovering any optimism for fishing the Eagle River so he returned to the car. I dropped down to the water and fished for another 30 minutes up along the right bank paralleling the highway. By now there were also some larger mayflies emerging and I guessed these were pale morning duns, so I exchanged the emerald caddis pupa for a beadhead pheasant tail. In a nice large run and pocket next to the bank I landed a twelve inch brown on the emerger and then began working a nice slot right next to the bank. On a fourth or fifth drift within inches of the grassy bank a fish darted out and grabbed one of the nymphs. Judging from the momentary weight on my rod, I’m guessing it was a decent fish, but it quickly released itself and I moved up the river a bit.

Some difficult wading over slippery rocks and through some strong current delivered me to another nice stretch of water, and it was the last accessible location before a spot where a strong current ran along the bank with thick overhanging branches and vegetation that would force an exit to continue. In this area I experienced a nice swirl and another split second hook up, but that was it, and I waded back down the river along the bank and returned to the car where Dave G. was embarking on a brief nap. We quickly called the girls and changed our plans to meet in Eagle at the Grand Avenue Grill for lunch. Dave G. needed some time to get over his frustration, and a nice lunch and a later date with Brush Creek was just what the doctor ordered.

Time: 2:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Across from confluence of Eagle River and Brush Creek and upstream

Fish Landed: 5

Eagle River 10/29/2011 Photo Album

After lunch Dave G. and I threw our rods and gear in his rental car and decided to drive to the Eagle River and give it a try. Dave G. felt we needed more volume in order to use nymphs as the fish were hugging the bottom of runs and riffles in depths of three to four feet. Dave G. suggested trying the water below the Eagle County Fairgrounds across from the confluence with Brush Creek, and I agreed as it would be fun to try water that I’d never fished before. We parked in a large dirt oval parking lot beyond the fairground parking and hiked down to the river. Some high slate clouds moved in from the west and the wind kicked up, and I was wishing I’d worn another layer.

When we arrived at the river, we noticed another fisherman on the opposite bank positioned to fish the sweet riffle below where Brush Creek entered. Dave G. called out to ask how he was doing, and he replied that he was having great action drifting nymphs slowly along the bottom. He recommended a Prince nymph and jujubaetis and invited us to fish the riffles on our side of the river across from him. Dave G. seemed interested in doing that as he was already set up with a strike indicator and nymphs, so I told Dave I’d work my way upstream along the bank.

Brown Caught Along Left Bank Here

I began casting the parachute hopper and trailing BHHE upstream along the bank and to attractive slots and pockets behind boulders within ten to fifteen feet of the left bank. I approached a nice run that tumbled between some boulders that left a nice slack area along the bank that was approximately ten feet wide and flicked a twenty foot cast to the lower end of the side pool and within a couple feet of the bank. All of a sudden the hopper dipped and I set the hook and played and landed a nice brown that extended beyond the length of my net. This was quite a surprise after the lackluster experience on Brush Creek.

Long Brown from Eagle River

Now feeling re-energized by the recent action, I moved up along the left bank with increased focus and intensity and sure enough landed four more browns, all on the trailing beadhead hares ear. All the fish were taken in long pockets and riffles with three to four feet of water depth. I was feeling quite chilled by the wind, but as long as I was having success, I could ignore the discomfort. I now reached a spot where the river divided around a small island, and landed my fifth Eagle River fish from a nice slot where two currents merged below the island. As I played and released the fish, Dave G. approached and inquired about my success and what was working. After filling him in, he retreated downstream below me forty yards or so and I waded to the point of the lower end of the island and began fishing a nice deep run on the larger south channel.

Another Late Season Chunky Brown

I didn’t have any success but there was a sweet deeper run on the opposite side of the strong mid current and after I’d covered it with some long casts using the hopper/dropper I decided to prospect with a streamer. I tied on the orange and black woolly bugger and on one of the sweeps along the far bank a fish bumped the fly and I set the hook and felt the throbbing of a fish. I played the relatively small fish for a bit and it got free. Next I decided to try going deep with a strike indicator and tied on a prince nymph and a split shot. Before I could add a second fly and indicator, Dave G. began calling to me and was walking up along the bank. I couldn’t hear him over the rushing water next to me, so I retreated toward the shore where he stood. He was pointing down toward his feet, and I soon discovered he was pointing to his wet fleece vest, and he had stumbled and went in the river over his waders.

Given the cold overcast sky and the wind, we quickly hiked up to the car and turned the heater on and returned to the house for hot tea and a hot shower.

Time: 9:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Fish Landed: 17

Eagle River 07/30/2011 Photo Album

The flows on the Eagle River declined to the 680 cfs range, and based on previous experience the Eagle gets pretty tough below 500 cfs. Not knowing when I’d have another opportunity, I decided to make the 2 hour trip even though 680 is still pretty much volume. It was forecast to be a bright sunny hot day, so that would make things difficult as well. I got off to a nice early start around 7AM and was on the river fishing by 9:30AM.

Another fisherman arrived while I was getting my stuff together, but I beat him out of the lot. I planned to hit the juicy spots based on prior experience and not dwell on less productive water. This would prove to be a winning strategy over the course of the day. I made a beeline for the nice long deep run first, but unfortunately as I arrived at the water and pulled my line through the rod guides I saw another fisherman waving his line above me in the middle of the run. I traced back over my path and went further up the river to the pocket water above the long run. The river was indeed running along at a fast clip and I could only work the pockets along the edge, some of which were among the willows that are normally on dry land.

I tied on a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear and managed to land a small brown and then a pretty decent specimen around 13 inches long and fat. Both took the Letort hopper on the surface. Once I’d fished the edge of the pocket water, I skirted the large bend pool and crossed the pedestrian bridge and then came down from the other side to the pool. I cast my dry/dropper in the shallower edge water and tail out, but had no success. I spotted a fish angled into the faster current, so I decided to switch to a strike indicator and split shot. I covered the water where I spotted the fish, but had no luck. Next I decided to try the stack mending technique so I walked to the top of the run and cast to the faster water, did a big mend, and then stack mended and fed out line. I got some great drifts through the heart of the hole, but still no takes. Perhaps I wasn’t getting deep enough. I added another split shot and tried again, but on the second or third drift the indicator dipped and I set the hook, but I was hung up on the bottom. All I could do was apply direct pressure, and I ended up tearing off one of the split shot and both flies.

Right Bank Above Bridge Was Productive

Frustrated with the lack of action in the nice pool, I walked back under the footbridge and then out to the river underneath it. There was a nice area here where I could fish ten feet or so out from the bank. I landed one nice brown here that grabbed the beadhead emerald caddis in a fairly shallow spot along the bank under some overhanging branches. I also foul hooked another fish that took me down the river a bit before I could control it and release. I also had a momentary hookup.

It was close to 11:30 so I decided to hike back to the car for lunch before going further up the river along the right side facing upstream as it is difficult to exit if one gets too far above the bridge. I returned to the car and grabbed my lunch and walked down the path to the river near where my car was parked at the rest area. I sat on a fallen log and ate my lunch and noticed a sparse hatch of small mayflies and many swallows were snatching them from the air above the river. The area before me was pretty nice with numerous pockets so I decided to fish out this area after lunch before returning to the right bank above the bridge.

When I returned with my rod and wading stick, as I was walking down the muddy path to the river at the bottom of the pocket water stretch, my feet slid out from under me on some slick moss and I fell backward with my back landing on the pointy gnawed off stump of a narrow tree. It felt like I got stabbed and I checked for a wound or blood, but feeling none I moved out in the river and began fishing. At the bottom of the stretch and out toward the middle I hooked two fish on the hopper at the very tail of some pockets. I landed one nice fish comparable to two of the morning fish, but lost the other one in the ensuing fight in the swift pocket water below.

Check the Spots on This Beauty

I continued fishing upstream hitting all the nice slots and pockets, but didn’t have any additional action so I exited and hiked back on the road and then across the bridge and then down to the river under the bridge again. Over the next two and a half hours I fought the current and the willows and made left handed and backhanded casts into the narrow pockets along the right bank and landed eight fish. I also had numerous hook ups that didn’t result in landed fish and broke off two sets of flies when the fish ran downstream in the heavy current and wrapped me around sticks. The action was not as hot as other times I’d been there, but considering the blue sky and high air temperatures still rather acceptable.

Small Side Pockets Were the Ticket

Tough Fishing Right Along the Edge

When I reached the bend where the river curves to the east and runs along route 6, I debated what to do. I like the small braid that runs on the north side of the island just ahead, but it was higher than normal and a woman was sitting on the bank enjoying the serenity so I didn’t want to infringe on her moment. In addition I would have to walk all the way around to the bridge and then up the other side. I climbed up the bank to the highway and walked east a bit until I saw a path down to the river just below where it forked around the island. I went down to this area and ran a few casts through the slack water. Then I noticed some more slack water below me so I cast to the current seam and did some stack mends, and I was startled to see a fish rise to the hopper. I set the hook and had a momentary hook up, but it got off rather quickly. I tried the stack mend thing again and as the flies drifted beyond the previous rise, the hopper slowly dipped and I belatedly set the hook and felt momentary weight. Apparently a fish had taken the pheasant tail, and I was late again.

I couldn’t move up the river due to the heavy current and brush, so I once again retreated to the highway and walked up the shoulder to a point above the island adjacent to some churning pocket water. I found a path to the river and covered some nice pockets along the bank for the next 1.5 hours and landed another five brown trout. Several were similar in size to the morning browns. I spotted one fish when it moved toward my hopper but didn’t take it. The fish appeared to be of decent size and it did a couple more refusals, but on a later drift it spotted the trailing pheasant tail and grabbed it. That was a gratifying catch.

There were limited spots where I could get through the dense vegetation and climb the bank to the road, so when I saw one at around 5PM, I took my exit route and hiked down the road, through the condos to the pedestrian bridge, across the bridge, and then the bike path back to the rest area. It was a taxing day, but successful nonetheless.

Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Edwards Bridge to long run/pool then from island upstream quite a ways

Fish Landed: 3

Eagle River 07/14/2010 Photo Album

I was itching to return to the Eagle River after some decent action the previous Friday near the rest area above the pedestrian bridge. Denver was in a heat wave and escaping to the mountains was an additional appeal. I decided to pack the van with camping gear and fish the Eagle Wednesday and Thursday and camp at Hornsilver high above Minturn. I got off to a reasonably early start and arrived at Hornsilver around noon. The campground was empty, so I grabbed site 4 and paid my fee, ate lunch and then headed to the Eagle. I arrived and was on the stream at around noon. I hiked downstream to the auto bridge next to the entrance to the rest area and began working the pockets tight to the left bank facing upstream. I picked up a small brown near the start, but that was all I’d catch over the entire stretch from the bridge to the long run/pool above the rest area.

It was a very hot day with temperatures in the 80’s and clear, blue skies. I skipped past the stretch of water I’d fished the previous Friday and hiked behind the condos on the left around the bend with the pedestrian bridge and then beyond the next 90 degree bend near route 6. I began fishing again below the island and up the left smaller channel. I had been using a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear, the combination that produced so well on Friday, but it wasn’t working on this day. I decided to experiment with some alternatives. Part way up the left channel I tied on a lime green trude and two-thirds of the way up the channel a nice 15 inch brown sipped it in. I battled the brown and landed it and photographed. I moved on to the top of the island and fished the nice pockets along the left bank and caught one more small brown on the lime green trude.

That would be my count for the day, two small browns and one very nice fifteen inch fish. I was very disappointed. I had changed out my tapered leader at the start of the day, so decided to stop at the Alpine River fly show in Riverwalk and purchase a new one. I asked the gentleman behind the counter what happened to the fishing, and he said that fishing in the middle of the day when it is hot, is generally not productive. He suggested morning or evening and going deep with nymphs if I wanted to fish in the afternoon.

Time: 1:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Lease water between red rocks canyon and Eagle, CO

Fish Landed: 2

Eagle River 07/10/2010 Photo Album

Jane, Beth, Dave G, and I did a walking tour of Eagle, CO and had lunch at the Grand Avenue Grill on Saturday morning. After lunch we returned to the house and prepared to fish. Dave G and I decided to check out the clarity of the water on the lower Eagle River above Eagle, CO. It looked good as we drove along the east side of the river in Eagle, so we decided to give it a chance. We parked at a narrow pullout at one of the access points roughly midway through the state lease.

Near where we began there was a small side channel around 5-8 feet wide on our side of the river. I headed up the small channel while Dave G stayed along the main river. I spotted a deep spot in the channel with an area covered with foam around five feet long and four feet wide. As I watched the foam I could see some movement and then a fin poking above the foam. Next I spotted occasional dimples in the foam, but the foam was so thick that I couldn’t really see what kind of fish it was or what it was eating. The foam looked like half inch thick shaving cream. I was able to see that the fish was facing downstream, but apparently the foam was blocking its vision of me.

I had a yellow Letort hopper and a beadhead hares ear, and began casting into the foam. I could barely see the hopper in the foam. On perhaps the tenth cast I spotted a dimple in the vicinity of where I thought my fly was, and set the hook. Immediately the fish shot upstream a short distance then turned and raced past me, down the channel and into some fast water in the Eagle River main stem. I allowed the fly line to rip off the reel as there was no turning this fish in its current state of rage. I decided I needed to follow this fish to have any chance at it, but as I pivoted to face downstream, my foot slipped and in the instant when I raised my arms to catch my balance, the line popped and the foam fish disappeared.

I was almost shaking after this encounter, and was feeling rather optimistic about the afternoon. I returned to the main river and walked upstream a bit to an area of nice pockets and long slots. Dave was above me at this point. As I fished a particularly nice long slot behind a rock that was four feet deep or so, I began to notice small mayflies emerging. They were small size 16 pale morning duns and as the minutes passed the intensity increased. A decent imitation of PMD nymphs is the pheasant tail nymph, so I tied one on below the hopper. After numerous casts, the hopper went sideways and I set the hook and was attached to a decent rainbow for a split second. I could see the bow turn sideways and slip the hook. Would this fish fall for a fly again? The section looked so attractive that I felt there had to be more fish there so I continued working to the left and above where I’d seen the fish. As I did so, I once again saw the rainbow occasionally move out from its lie to snatch insects. Several times it grabbed a fly near the surface.

Could I tempt the rainbow with a dry? I clipped off both my flies and went to the trouble of tying on a light gray size 16 comparadun that worked well for me on the Colorado River PMD hatch. Sure enough, on around the third drift, the rainbow finned up and sipped the comparadun. The fish shot downstream and below me toward the heavy current, but I applied side pressure and coaxed it back to the soft water below. After several shorter runs, I overcame the rainbow’s resistance and netted a beautiful fat 16 inch fish.

I released the beauty and continued fishing upstream with the comparadun, but when I reached a beautiful deep junction pool at a bend in the river, there didn’t appear to be any more mayflies hatching and casting the size 16 fly in the big water seemed futile. I tied the hopper back on and attached a beadhead pheasant tail. It was now getting late in the afternoon, and Dave G and I wanted to fish some nice pocket water that had yielded many nice fish to us many years ago so we moved quickly to that area.

Dave G took the tail of the pockets where the river fanned out over rocks with water perhaps three feet deep and landed several fish. I worked up along the left side fishing the attractive pockets, slots and seams for a 50 yard stretch. I managed one nice 12 inch rainbow on the beadhead pheasant tail in this area. As I neared the top of the targeted stretch, Dave approached from below, and we found our way out of the lease and walked back down route 6 to the car.

Time: 1:30PM – 4:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Fish Landed: 11

Eagle River 07/09/2010 Photo Album

After lunch we hopped in Dave G’s rental car and drove to the rest area in Edwards, CO. We hiked along the fisherman path upstream from the parking lot to a point where a long pool is fed by an attractive deep run. Here Dave hooked and landed a decent brown to start his afternoon. I moved beyond Dave and fished the attractive pockets between the long pool and the pedestrian bridge. In one of the lower pockets a decent brown smashed and inhaled my yellow hopper. The area around the rest area represents my favorite stretch of the Eagle River, and I was very optimistic at this point.

Dave G. moved past me and fished the pockets along the left bank. He finished covering the pocket water and moved beyond the pedestrian bridge and out of sight, while I continued prospecting the pockets, but trying to cover water a bit beyond what he had just covered. I didn’t have any luck, and perhaps the fish became wary due to Dave G’s presence along the bank.

After finishing the pockets, I moved quickly up to the pedestrian bridge and crossed to the south side of the river. A fisherman (wearing shorts but a fishing vest) stopped and asked me why I went around the nice deep pool at the bend just below the bridge. I showed him how I was set up for dry/dropper fishing which requires fishing shallower water and not very effective in the deep pools. He nodded and I moved on. I dropped down just below the bridge, waded under it, and then began fishing the pockets along the right bank. I knew from previous trips that this stretch contains many nice fish, and I feel it doesn’t get the degree of pressure as the left bank because it is difficult to get to, tough to wade, and requires backhand casts.

Sure enough, I started hooking fish. The sky clouded up some, but I didn’t see much hatching or surface feeding, so I stuck with a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear. I landed eleven additional trout in the 100 yards or so of water along the west/south side of the river. Many were fat spunky browns in the 13-15 inch range. I was catching half on the hopper and the other half on the beadhead hares ear. I used the same hopper throughout the afternoon, and it held up quite well until losing a bunch of deer hair near the end. There was one sweet area where the river curled against the bank then flowed back out between some rocks and fanned into a wider pool/pocket. I landed at least four beauties from this spot and had some additional hookups that I didn’t land. In fact, in addition to the eleven landed fish, I probably had another 5-6 refusals and momentary hookups.

At around 4PM I reached the top of the pocket water area where the river makes a 90 degree turn and parallels route 6. Dave G appeared on the opposite bank and I could see he was fishing half heartedly, so knew it was time to go.

Time: 10:00AM – 5:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Eagle River 07/22/2006 Photo Album

Having recovered somewhat from a nasty cold and with a weekend free to fish, I decided to return to the Eagle River, where I had great success on July 12.

Above Pedestrian Bridge

I parked at the rest area and hiked the bike path on the north side of the river to the pedestrian bridge, and then I crossed to the south side and began fishing along the right bank. Most of my fishing during the entire day was within ten feet of the bank. The flows were around 300 cfs, 200 less than July 12 but still fairly stiff, and the fish continued holding tight to the bank. I decided to use a gray body parahopper on top with beadhead pheasant tail nymph trailing. The beadhead peasant tail produced exceptionally well in the afternoon during my earlier visit. In short order I landed a fat thirteen inch brown on the trailing pheasant tail. I noticed another fisherman above me on the right side, but he was close to the bend along route 6 and probably 100 yards or so upstream. I estimated  that I could work along the bank until lunch and not reach him, and this assumption proved correct. I cast the parahopper/beadhead pheasant tail combination in all the likely runs and pockets. I landed six additional brown trout, before I retreated to the car for lunch. Four of the seven fish that I caught in the AM were quite nice, as three of the seven inhaled the parahopper, and the rest preferred the nymph. 

Beadhead Pheasant Tail Worked

After lunch I decided to circle around the other fisherman, so I crossed the main bridge and then followed the bike trail up to the pedestrian bridge, where I made a right and skirted the apartments and turned left on route six. I ended upstream from the other fisherman and crossed the river to position myself to fish the smaller left channel around a small island, but when I turned to survey the channel, I saw two other fishermen already there! As a fallback I decided to fish along the south side of the small island in the right channel. At the point of the island in some very shallow water where the river deflected to the right, I landed a beautiful brown, that took the beadhead pheasant tail almost immediately after it hit the water.

Royal Stimulator

I was now above the two fishermen I saw previously, so I covered the north bank for the remainder of the afternoon and caught another ten trout. Quite a few were very nice 14-15 inch fish, and many were feisty and in the 12-13 inch range. At one point in mid-afternoon I endured a refusal on the parahopper, so I clipped the combo off and tied on a tan body deer hair caddis. On the first cast with the caddis the same fish that refused the hopper slurped down the new offering. On another occasion the same thing happened, and I once again switched to the caddis, and I landed two fine trout in short order. In late afternoon the parahopper stopped producing, so I tied on a royal stimulator that produced on my first trip to the Eagle River. I landed two trout on this fly, and in the last 1.5 hour I hooked up on some very nice fish, but failed to land (long distance release) them. One wrapped my flies around a rock, and the others slipped free of the hook. 

All in all it was a great day. 

Fish Landed: 18

Time: 10:00AM – 5:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Eagle River 07/12/2006 Photo Album

At the last minute I decided to use a vacation day in the midst of budget preparation at work to make a trip to the Eagle River. I committed to driving to Santa Fe over the weekend and was, therefore, locked out of fishing during that time frame. I read that flows dropped to 514 cfs. From historical experience I knew that when flows drop after snow melt, the Eagle can be a hot fishery.

From Rest Area Toward Bridge

I arrived at the Edwards rest area around 9:45AM, and by the time I put on my waders and strung my line, it was 10AM. I walked across the road and worked my way along the north shoreline for quite a distance, before I started. I tied on a light yellow Letort hopper with a beadhead pheasant tail dropper. I was not seeing much action, so I switched out the dropper for a bright green beadhead caddis pupa. Still no takes resulted, and I noticed quite few small caddis flitting about, so I changed to a smaller beadhead emerald caddis pupa. This worked, and I caught a nice brown on the emerald caddis and then two beautiful brown trout on the hopper. The flows were strong but clear, and the fish were hugging submerged rocks at the tails of pockets and slots. I caught one more brown before lunch on the caddis pupa. All the browns were in the 13-16 inch range, and this would prove to be the case for the remainder of the day except for four or five in the ten to twelve inch range.

Length of Net

After lunch I hiked back down to the bridge and began fishing upstream from there along the north bank. My fishing was confined to the ten feet of water next to the bank except for a stretch directly across from the rest area parking area, where the river widened, and the flow dispersed over a broader area. I picked up another four trout tight to the bank upstream from the bridge on the emerald caddis after lunch. When I reached an area above where a small side brook entered, I experienced a refusal at the tail of the run on the hopper. I moved farther out in the current to cover some mid-stream pockets; and when I was above the run where I witnessed the refusal, I saw the fish rise to a natural. There were small mayflies emerging at this point in time, so I tied on a parachute pale morning dun. The fish gave this fly a look but did not eat it, so I next tried a CDC olive. On about the fourth drift the fish rose and inhaled the olive, and this success was very rewarding.

Next I began spotting green drakes, as they took flight quite sporadically. A western green drake is a large lumbering mayfly on the water that does not typically go unnoticed by trout. I knotted a green drake cripple to my leader and worked the water thoroughly for an hour with this imitation. This change in approach yielded two smaller browns close to shore.

Inhaled a Hopper Imitation

I did no see many mayflies emerging after 3PM, so I tied on a large attractor fly that I made from the Scott Sanchez book (peacock and red floss body with white calftail wing) and a beadhead pheasant tail dropper. I was now above the long pool with a nice run entering upstream of the rest area. The area above the long pool is characterized by thirty yards of pocket water. The Sanchez convertible combined with the pheasant tail proved to be very effective. I landed four or five very nice browns, as most consumed the beadhead pheasant tail, but one or two crushed the large attractor. After landing the four or five fish, I connected with perhaps the largest brown of the day. I know this, because it jumped out of the water and broke off both flies. I did not have any more of the large attractors in my front pack, and did not want to pause to search my backpack, so I tied on a royal stimulator fly with a peacock and red body. I added the beadhead pheasant tail dropper and landed another four trout. Two chomped the nymph and two smacked the royal stimulator. All the fish caught in the pocket stretch after 3PM were beautiful specimens in the fourteen to seventeen inch range.

Fish Landed: 20

Productive Stretch

John Downstream

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Edward Rest Area

Eagle River 09/17/2005 Photo Album

John Broadbent and I headed to the Eagle River. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70’s. We started fishing at the BLM recreation area west of Wolcott, and we hiked across the railroad bridge and fished along the north side of the river. John had a parahopper with gray body trailing a copper john. I started with a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead pheasant tail, and then I switched to beadhead hares ear. We had no luck, so we quit around 11:30 and headed back to the car.

Brought to Net

In our pursuit of success we drove back east on I70 to the Edwards rest stop, where we ate our lunch. The river was exceptionally low with many boulders that were submerged earlier in the season, but they now extended halfway above the water. We went below the bridge to some pocket water and began working back up toward the bridge. John split off and went downstream. I worked back upstream and spotted some small BWO size mayflies emerging. I added a WD40 with glass bead to the end of the hares ear. I finally hooked up with a decent brown in the frothy water at the head of a pocket, but the brown trout quickly freed itself. I continued working the hopper with two nymphs and hooked and landed two browns on the beadhead WD40. That was the extent of the success. John waded back upstream to where I was, and we walked under the bridge. John had a fish flash at the hopper on the east side of the bridge, but it never touched the hook.

Late in the Day

We worked our way up the left bank, and then eventually went on the path to the long deep run that is popular. Unfortunately several fishermen beat us to the sought-after spot, so I guided John on some pockets upstream, but we had no success and called it a day.

Fish Landed: 2

Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Stop

Eagle River 07/23/2005 Photo Album

The river was running a bit high, but clear and looked to be in great shape for fishing. I prepared my equipment, and then I hiked across the bridge by the rest stop and waded downstream. Shortly I encountered another fisherman, so I decided to give him space and turned around and began fishing back upstream toward the bridge. I tied on a yellow Maddam X and then a Copper John dropper. I caught five nice browns, as I worked my way back up to the rest area. All the trout were caught along the left side in pockets or along the rocks on the bank. One rose to the Madam X, but most took the Copper John.

Eagle River Brown

Lunch Spot

I took off my gear and went back to the car for my lunch, and then I returned and ate by the river. It was getting very warm. High temperatures in Denver surpassed 100 for the sixth day in a row. After lunch I began fishing upstream from where I ended. I tied on a yellow Letort Hopper to get more flotation and a beadhead hares ear. Eventually I added a beadhead pheasant tail, when I saw what appeared to be pale morning duns emerging, but the hatch was not heavy enough to bring on surface feeding. I was unaware that some Hispanic guys were sitting on a large boulder next to the river, and as they watched, I hooked my largest brown of the day. One of the guys moved down the bank to watch me play the fish and land it, and I snapped a quick photo for memory’s sake.

Brown No. 3

I moved upriver and covered more water in the afternoon. I got very warm. I caught a couple brown trout in the pocket water above the nice pool, when I was forced to circle around, as a guide was directing two female clients. I did not catch anything from the pedestrian bridge all the way around the next bend, but I did manage one last brown in the small braid around the next bend. Most of the afternoon fish took the beadhead hares ear nymph.