Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Northwest Branch of Perkiomen Creek – 06/30/2006

Time: 9:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Forgedale

Northwest Branch of Perkiomen Creek 06/30/2006 Photo Album

I arrived at the stream by 9:00 AM, and the water was high but clear. I parked at the state game lands parking lot and hiked down Forgedale Road, until I saw a yellow posted sign, and here I entered the stream and began fishing upstream. I tied on a yellow Letort hopper with a beadhead hares ear dropper. It did not take long, before I started catching browns, some in the eleven to twelve inch range, and this surprised me.

Decent Brown

I prospected all the likely runs and pockets, and I ended my fishing at around 1:30PM in order to get back to Mom and Dad’s to take them to Cabela’s. I stopped just short of the deep hole referred to as The Rocks. I was quite pleased to land twenty-three trout, all browns. Five net dwellers took the hopper on top, and the remainder grabbed the beadhead hares ear nymph.

Fish Landed: 23

Close Up of Hopper

South Platte River – 06/25/2006

Time: 12:00PM – 3:00PM

Location: Dirt road below Nighthawk

South Platte River 06/25/2006 Photo Album 

Upstream from Parking Lot

I fished the area with a parking lot upstream from Whale Rock. The flow was at 235 cfs, and that was higher than previous trips to the South Platte. I landed three small trout. It was pretty slow, but the lack of action may have been attributable to the abundance of tubers disturbing the water.

Fish Landed: 3

More Floaters

South Platte River – 06/04/2006

Time: 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Below Whale Rock parking area

South Platte River 06/04/2006 Photo Album

Dan, Eric, and Wei Descend Bank to Start

Jane and I escorted Dan and his two friends, Eric and Wei, to the South Platte River. We fished from around 2:00 – 5:00PM, and then we grilled brats and a veggie burger and had a picnic dinner. Wei landed one trout, Dan caught two and landed one, and Eric hooked up on one but did not land it. June 4 was a beautiful day in Colorado.

Fish Landed: 0

Yum. Brats

South Platte River – 06/03/2006

Time: 3:00PM – 6:00PM

Location: Downstream from Parking Lot before Whale Rock Area

South Platte River 06/03/2006 Photo Album

View of Bend

After meeting with success on Memorial Day, I checked the flows, and the South Platte River below Cheesman Dam was 71CFS. This flow rate remained low and fishable compared to other streams that were under the influence of snow melt. Based on this information I headed to the Nighthawk area somewhat upstream from where I fished on Monday. I arrived and began fishing around 3PM until 6PM. I landed 5 trout, several of very nice size. Today I will be guiding Dan and friends in the stretch I fished on Monday.

Fish Landed: 5

Nice Brown on Beadhead Hares Ear

South Platte River – 05/29/2006

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Nighthawk

South Platte River 05/29/2006 Photo Album

I checked the flows, and most rivers were high and muddy with snow melt. The only real option near Denver was the South Platte River in the Deckers area, which was actually running relatively low at 52 CFS. I went for a run and took my time before arriving at the stream at around 11AM. I turned right at the bottom of Nighthawk hill and headed to the parking area near some very large boulders personally named Whale Rock. I knew there was some nice pocket and riffle water near this lot that does not typically receive much pressure. I had no information regarding fish density since the Heyman Fire, but this was an area I enjoyed in the pre-fire era.

Starting Stretch

I ate lunch first, and then hiked along the dirt road and cut down the steep bank, crossed to the other side and continued until I reached the white water drop off. There was a very nice deep pool just before the major spill over. I put a yellow Letort hopper on top with a beadhead pheasant tail below. The two fly combination generated flashes to the hopper but no take, and eventually I shifted my position, until I was directly downstream, where I could obtain better drifts and cover the water more effectively. With this shift in approach I began to catch fish. I caught 5 trout from the first pool; one or two on the hopper and the rest on the beadhead pheasant tail.

Brown Takes Caddis Pupa

Eventually I moved on and began prospecting with the combination in likely locations. I noticed a bunch of caddis flitting about, and the beadhead pheasant tail was not producing to my liking, so I tied on a beadhead bright green caddis pupa. This was the ticket. I caught nearly all my fish on this fly. Toward the end of the day it began to unravel. I had amazing luck in very shallow shelf lies where the water fanned out toward the bank. The river was very low compared to normal, but the fish did not seem to be exceptionally skittish.

Deep Hole Produced Five

Around 3PM as I worked my way to near the parking area, I began to spy yellowish mayflies floating above the water accompanied by sporadic rises. A pair of fishermen above me departed just as the hatch commenced. They left me two beautiful runs going into pools with rising fish. I was about to call it a day at twenty fish, but when I saw the mayflies, I absorbed a boost of interest. I nipped off the hopper and caddis pupa and tied on a size 16 PMD comparadun. This was a winner, and I experienced great fun over the next hour taking trout on the surface. After I rounded the bend, I caught one or two, but refusals became more prevalent, so at this point I called it a day.

Fish Landed: 26

Indicator Fly

 

Pecos River – 05/21/2006

Time: 10:00AM – 1:00PM

Location: Dalton Picnic Area

Pecos River 05/21/2006 Photo Album

Amy and Dan dropped me off at the Dalton day use parking lot along the Pecos River, around 45 minutes east of Santa Fe, NM. While I was gearing up to fish, Amy and Dan threw the Frisbee, and then they noticed we had a flat tire on the left rear tire. Dan changed the tire, and luckily it was a regular spare and not the temporary type since we faced a six hour drive back to Denver.

Amy and Dan Change Surprise Flat

Amy and Dan Change Surprise Flat

Once I knew the kids were OK, I began fishing upriver while they returned to Santa Fe to complete some loose ends on Amy’s move, and following that they went mountain bike riding.

Beautiful Pool Where I Start

Beautiful Pool Where I Start

I began at a beautiful bend pool and rigged up with a yellow Letort hopper and beadhead pheasant tail nymph on a dropper two feet below. I cast to the slack water in the arm pit of the bend with my first cast, but nothing took it. On the second cast I shot it closer to the faster run going into the pool, and a small brown rose and inhaled the hopper. I took a photo, released, dried the hopper and cast a foot closer to the run, and after a two foot drift, a larger brown sucked in the hopper. I repeated the routine, and my fourth cast went up farther and into the faster run, where another brown rose and took the hopper. At this point, I was convinced that I had some great fishing ahead of me. As it turned out, I did, but not quite this ridiculously easy.

First Fish, Second Cast

First Fish, Second Cast

I noticed quite a few black stoneflies lumbering about, and occasionally I spotted some other stoneflies that were not quite as large as the black versions. I later discovered the others were golden stoneflies, when I caught and photographed one. Apparently the fish were rising to the yellow Letort hopper as a golden stonefly imitation.

I caught another small brown on the trailing BHPT in one of the eddies on the far side of the run that yielded three, and then I moved upstream. There was a nice pool where the stream flowed out from under the bridge by the road, but a fisherman was on top of the embankment fishing down into the pool with a spinning rod, so I climbed the bank and went across the highway. I began working the dry/dropper combination methodically and covered the water through a nice pool and run. I received some refusals on the hopper. When I turned the bend, I encountered a couple more fishermen, and there was a fisheman access parking lot on the left. I exited the stream and hiked a worn path above the fishermen and then jumped back down to some shallower water with riffles. As it turned out, these types of stretches were not very productive, because the water was so low and clear, thus providing minimal cover.

Another Shot to Make Sure

Another Shot to Make Sure

I came to a nice deeper pool where the current swept along a large rock on the far side. I made quite a few drifts to no avail, and was about to move on, when the hopper paused, and I hooked up on the only rainbow of the day on the BHPT.

Bottom View of Live Golden Stone

Bottom View of Live Golden Stone

I encountered a couple of bait dunkers at the next hole and again circled above. It was around this time that I caught the golden stonefly and photographed it. I also was not getting much action on the BHPT, so I swapped it out for a beadhead hares ear. During the remainder of the morning, I worked the water fishing all the likely holding spots and picked up numerous browns. There was one stretch that I photographed with deeper pockets that produced quite well on the BHHE.

Riffle Section I Fished

Riffle Section I Fished

I stopped fishing around 12:45 so I could hike back down the road to meet Dan for the return trip. When I arrived at the parking lot, Dan was not there yet, so I tried a nice wide run across from the parking area. I flipped backhand casts to the top of the run, and noticed a pause on the hopper on the tenth cast, and landed a final brown, which I photographed in some cool fern-like vegetation on the bank.

Dan did not arrive until around 1:30, at which time I changed clothes, tossed everything in the van, and we were off on the return trip to Denver.

Fish Landed: 17

 

South Platte River – 05/07/2006

Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Cheesman Canyon

South Platte River 05/07/2006 Photo Album

With a beautiful spring day forecast; Amy, Jane and I hiked into Cheesman Canyon to enjoy the outdoors. I enjoyed a few hours of fishing and caught three beautiful trout. This may be our favorite Colorado location.

Fish Landed: 3

Rod in Deep Bend

A Second Brown Takes Huge Dry Fly

Arkansas River – 04/30/2006

Time: 10:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Salida Area – County Line

Arkansas River 04/30/2006 Photo Album

The Royal Gorge Angler report stated that the cold weather slowed the progression of the caddis hatch, and it was projected to be in the Salida area for the weekend. I passed on fishing Saturday due to unsettled weather and decided to give it a try on Sunday. With our new house on the north side of Denver, I checked the map, and it appeared to be closer from Stapleton to Salida via US 285 compared to going through Colorado Springs. The Springs route was my normal choice from Castle Rock or to access the lower Arkansas near Canon City. Also, there was much road construction on the north side of Colorado Springs, so I hoped to avoid this potential delay.

I left early, around 6:15AM and arrived at the river by 9AM. There was already a car in the pullout with three fishermen charging down the bank. I watched them, and when I was ready, I hiked down US 50 a ways to the point, where I can normally cross the river and fish around an island. I descended to the river and fished up from a large rock wall with no luck. I rigged up with a strike indicator, split shot, double bead caddis (Scott Sanchez book), and an emerald caddis pupa. Since there were fishermen above me, I decided to try and cross to the island, and then work down the far channel. But I progressed one-third of the way across and realized it was too risky and retreated. I then decided to reascend to the highway and continued down river below the large rock wall below me and the island to see whether a different crossing point emerged. Unfortunately there was no place to cross, so I fished back up to the rock wall. Along the way I had some significant tangles and tree hookups.

I was quite frustrated and feeling like I hardly fished, when I approached the downside to the run along the rock wall. I waded up around eight feet out to the head of the run, and I began to swing casts through the area. On one of the swings away from the wall I felt a tug and hooked up with the beautiful rainbow that is pictured in the associated photo album. Next I fished along the left bank of a long pool/riffle above the island, since the fishermen on my side moved on. I caught one small rainbow, and by 11AM, while one-third of the way up the long run, I decided to head back to the car and eat lunch early in case the caddis hatch occurred. Large numbers of caddis occupied the bushes and rocks, so I felt it was unlikely there would be an emergence.

Rare Arkansas Rainbow

After lunch, I returned to the spot where I ended, but I grew tired of nymphing, and decided to tie on a caddis dry. Perhaps fish along the edge in fairly shallow lies would be opportunistic and pounce on the caddis. The tactic did not produce, so after giving it a good try, I switched back to nymphs, and this time I tested a beadhead prince on top and beadhead hares ear on the end. I caught a fish on this combo and then eventually moved the beadhead hares ear to the top and tied on a size 18 grey sparkle caddis pupa that I produced a long time ago. It was the only one I had, but I caught several fish on the classic fly. I caught at least two while just holding the flies dangling below me (on purpose, not by luck as I’ve sometimes experienced). All this time there were strong gusts of wind, and several times I needed to stand sideways and hold my hat.

A Very Rare Ark Cutthroat

Around 3PM the wind subsided and caddis started dancing and dapping on the water. I spotted several sporadic rises, so I changed to a deer hair caddis dry. I started fishing where I spotted sporadic rises, and I was able to pick up another six fish. One of these was a surprise cutthroat. I caught some by prospecting in likely spots in addition to casting to observed rises. The last one I landed, a nice brown that I photographed, actually took the dry, when it sank at the end of its drift in front of a rock. When this happened, I thought the fish were tuned into egg laying adults, so I experimented with a prince nymph, which usually works in this situation, but it did not tempt any fish, so I decided to call it a day.

Fish Landed: 11

This One Didn’t Escape

 

Arkansas River – 04/22/2006

Time: 9:00AM – 5:30PM

Location: Pinnacle Rock Area

Arkansas River 04/22/2006 Photo Album

I got an early start in anticipation of crowds, as the Royal Gorge Angler report stated hatching began on the lower river around Canon City. I was cognizant that off days were not an option during the coming week, so I concluded that this was my only chance to meet the heavy spring caddis hatch on the Arkansas River.

Downstream from Pinnacle Rock

I parked slightly downstream from the Pinnacle Rock access area in the canyon section between Royal Gorge and Texas Creek The report suggested using caddis pupa until surface activity appeared, so I rigged a strike indicator, split shot and beadhead hares ear trailing a beadhead emerald caddis pupa. Initially action was absent, but when I approached a rocky wide stretch near Pinnacle Rock, I began to land fish. There was a gentleman fishing a pocket behind a rock above me, so I crossed over to the far bank and continued working upstream. I was catching trout mostly on the swing, with around 80% going for the pupa and 20% on the hares ear.

Beadhead Emerald Caddis

I noticed more fishermen above Pinnacle Rock, and it was 11:30, so I headed back to the car for lunch. I netted 10 browns by this time, and all were twelve inches or smaller. I ate my lunch overlooking the river on a high bank and watched a couple guys who waded into their waists, as they flailed the water. I took a couple photos of them, and then gathered my stuff and hiked back to where I ended the morning and resumed my upstream progression.

The Real Thing

Once again, because of other fishermen on the roadside bank, I crossed over to the far shore and hiked the railroad tracks for a while to get above a fisherman. In a stretch where the canyon narrowed along with the river, I landed two trout by stripping the pupa upstream along the bank streamer style. Generating strikes was more difficult, and extra searching and movement were required to entice fish. But I persisted and caught several on the swing in the wide tail next to where I typically park to fish the braided section above Pinnacle Rock.

Another Landed

I encountered some geese in this area, and then I moved up to the braided section and proceeded to fish the extreme right channel. Because the river splits, these channels carry less volume, so I switched over to my favorite technique of using a large attractor with a nymph dropper. I tied on a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead prince in case egg laying adults made their presence known. I worked the channel thoroughly all the way up to where it split from the main stem and caught four trout in the process. One was probably the biggest of the day, but not much more than 12 inches. One of the four surfaced and inhaled the Chernobyl. I ended up the day with 20-25 trout landed. I was disappointed that I did not meet the heavy dry fly action, but it was a good day nevetheless.

Fish Landed: 24

Juniper Close Up