Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Arkansas River – 07/12/2022

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Lower Browns Canyon

Arkansas River 07/12/2022 Photo Album

Tuesday, July 12, was the second day of my scheduled guided float trips with my friend, Dave G. Originally Dave G. and I were convinced that we would be drifting the middle section of the Colorado River; however, the water managers were holding back water in Dillon and Green Mountain Reservoirs, and this action in turn caused the Colorado River flows to shrink to the 600 CFS range. With high daytime temperatures across Colorado in the eighties, there was not enough volume to buffer the river from the heat, and afternoon temperatures climbed to unsafe levels for catching and handling fish.

Butterfly at Our Launch Point

Our guide, Reed, proposed altering our plans to float the upper Roaring Fork River or the Arkansas River. I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday morning, so I opted for the Arkansas River, as it posed fewer logistical problems for returning to Denver on Tuesday night after the float. Dave G. and I met Reed at a parking lot in Buena Vista, and he transported us the remainder of the way to our launch point.

Reed Prepares for a Float Trip

The Arkansas River flows were in the 700 CFS range and very clear. The natural volume of water was being augmented by releases from Twin Lakes to maintain favorable conditions for whitewater rafting and fishing. The high temperature on Tuesday was around eighty degrees, but decent cloud cover was present for most of our time on the river, and two brief thunderstorms cooled things down considerably.

Smooth Sailing

I manned the forward position in the raft during the morning and then switched to the back at 1:00PM, and then I switched back to the front for the final thirty minutes of our float. While I was in the front position, I fished a double dry that consisted of a tan size 12 parachute dry fly along with a rusty pale morning dun dry, and I built the fish count to eight by the time we switched positions. The first five fish landed were decent brown trout that sipped the trailing PMD.

PMD Imitation Worked All Day

After our position change at 1PM I stuck with the double dry and elevated the fish count to twelve by 2:30. At 2:30PM Reed noticed a greater density of pale morning duns fluttering up from the river’s surface. I was in the rear position, and upon Reed’s suggestion I switched to the five weight Scott with a dry/dropper rig, and the catch rate suddenly improved significantly, although it was pretty steady even before the switch.

Perhaps My Best of the Day

By the time we quit at 4:00PM, the count rested on twenty-five. Most of the afternoon fish latched on to a winged pale morning dun nymph with lots of flash. The iron sally never produced, and a pair of trout gulped the large parachute lead fly. During the 2:30 to 3:30PM time frame I enjoyed much success with lifting, jigging, and swinging the dry/dropper at the tail of runs, in front of rocks, and through riffles of moderate depth.

Picturesque

Our guide, Reed, worked hard to position the boat in favorable spots for the front and back fisherman. In addition, he paddled upstream in many promising spots to enable nose upstream drifts.

Tuesday was a fun and productive day on the Arkansas River. The average size of the trout was probably in the thirteen to fourteen inch range with a few smaller fish to round out the count. All but two of the landed fish were of the brown trout variety. The Arkansas River continues to be a productive destination in 2022, and I have plans to return next week.

Fish Landed: 25

Arkansas River – 07/06/2022

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Down river from Salida

Arkansas River 07/06/2022 Photo Album

In my effort to catch Colorado freestone rivers during their downward spiral in flows, I made the drive to the Arkansas River on Wednesday, July 6. I enjoyed a very successful day on 06/27/2022, when the flows were elevated at 1150 CFS, and I was anxious to sneak in another trip, before the river dropped to more normal levels. The ArkAnglers report for Monday, July 4 cited discoloration as a result of local thunderstorms, but it suggested that the river would clear by Tuesday, and I was making the trip on Wednesday. The middle section of the Arkansas was less affected by the rain, so I had a backup plan in case of too much turbidity.

Let the Fun Begin

I arrived at a dirt pullout along the Arkansas below Salida by 10:20AM, and this allowed me to be on the river ready to cast by 11:00AM. My travel time was affected significantly by some slow moving tractor/trailers from Trout Creek Pass until the turn off from US 285 to cut through Salida. I was not a happy driver. The air temperature was in the upper seventies, as I rigged Dave G.’s Scott five weight, and at least four to five feet of visibility existed along the banks  of the river. I decided to fish the section below Salida and forego a reversal to the middle section of the Arkansas River.

Three to Four Feet of Visibility

I began my quest for Arkansas River trout with a size 8 yellow fat Albert, a green-black Pat’s rubber legs, and a size 12 prince nymph. My starting point was one hundred yards down river from where I quit on Monday, June 27, and I began working my way upstream at a steady pace, while I probed all the likely fish holding locations. Between 11:00AM and noon I registered two trout including a small brown and another respectable brown trout in the fourteen inch range. The prince did not produce in the early going, so I swapped it for an iron sally and eventually a salvation nymph. The Pat’s rubber legs generated the larger of the two fish, and the salvation fooled the smaller cousin.

Early Beast

Just before lunch I set the hook on a virtual fish, and my excessive lift hurled the three fly dry/dropper into a tall tree behind me. I assessed the situation, and determined that I was unable to rescue the flies, so I exerted direct force on the line and snapped off all three. The reader would not wish to hear the string of expletives that gushed from my mouth. I used the three fly break off as an excuse to eat my lunch, and then I replaced the three flies with the same lineup. The fat Albert, Pat’s rubber legs, and salvation nymph remained on my line throughout the afternoon, and I gradually built the fish count from two to eleven. During this time the Pat’s rubber legs produced 60% of the landed trout, and the salvation nymph accounted for the remainder. My efforts during this time were plagued by a significant number of temporary hook ups, and I blamed them on the smaller salvation and the possibility of a dull hook point.

Next to the Rock

Seam Produced

Pleasant Surprise

By 2:30PM I was locked on eleven fish, and the catch rate slowed even more from an already average pace. I debated an early exit in order to jump start my long drive back to Denver, but I fell victim to the angler disease of “I will check out one more nice pool”. Some dark clouds moved in, and the temperature dropped, and I fished for another hour and experienced my best fishing of the day. I boosted the fish count to eighteen, before I quit, and the middle afternoon catch included two very fine rainbow trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range. These fish had beautiful coloration, and surprisingly they gulped the fat Albert.  The average size of the other fish landed during this time period was also superior to my results earlier in the day.

Ready to Run

Bank Pocket

Gorgeous Spot Pattern

Wednesday evolved into a successful day in terms of both quantity and quality. The average size of the fish lagged my June 27 outing somewhat; however, I was quite pleased with the five trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range. Between 2:00 and 2:30 PM a brief pale morning dun emergence developed, but it only lasted for twenty minutes, and I never observed a single rising fish. I did seem to enjoy more action with my salvation nymph during this time frame. and lifting and jigging seemed to generate more interest from the trout, particularly those that occupied the space in front of large subsurface and exposed rocks at the tail of a run. The Arkansas River treated me well this spring and early summer. I suspect my next visit will take me to the middle river in the Buena Vista area. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 18

Release

Eagle River – 07/05/2022

Time: 10:15AM – 3:30PM

Location: Downstream from Wolcott

Eagle River 07/05/2022 Photo Album

Jane and I celebrated the Fourth of July with a pickleball marathon in the morning and then relaxed a bit for a backyard cookout at my son and daughter-in-law’s house in Louisville, CO. With the Fourth holiday now behind me, I was anxious to resume my fly fishing blitz on Colorado freestone rivers, while the flows remained elevated yet clear. In the early part of the previous week I spent a day on the Arkansas River and another on the Eagle River. Both large freestones remained in an attractive range for my preferences, and I decided to begin my week on the Eagle River. My schedule contained commitments for Thursday and Friday, so Tuesday and Wednesday were my designated fly fishing days for the first week of July.

550 CFS

I arrived at my chosen pullout near the Eagle River by 9:45AM, and I quickly assembled my gear and fit together the Scott five weight that Dave G. loaned to me, while I waited for the broken tip on the Sage One to get repaired. Once I was properly equipped, I hiked to my favorite starting point and began my day of fly fishing. The air temperature was in the low seventies and the river was chugging along in the mid-500 CFS range. The flows were lower than my visit on the 06/28/2022, yet the river remained at an elevated level that dictated wading caution, and I was largely confined to tossing my flies within the twenty foot band of water along the bank. The sun remained bright until 1:30PM, when a series of large dark clouds moved in from the west. I never experienced rain, but the cloud cover held the temperature in check with the high probably in the upper seventies.

Shelf Pool

Salvation Nymph

My initial rig included an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, an iron sally and a salvation nymph. I progressed upriver along the left bank until 11:45AM, when I broke for lunch, and during this time I landed two fish. One was a small rainbow, and the other was a feisty rainbow that measured around thirteen inches, but it fought like a champion and tested my fish landing skills.

Iron Sally

I sat down to eat my lunch by a gorgeous long run, and as I munched my sandwich, a sparse emergence of pale morning duns advanced into a fairly dense hatch, and three or four trout appeared to pluck surface naturals. In addition, golden stoneflies and yellow sallies joined the party, and although the hatch was not as dense as the PMD’s, I was convinced that the stoneflies offered another viable food source for the river residents. I finished my sandwich and decided to stuff the rest of my lunch in my backpack for later consumption, as I did not wish to squander any more of the valuable hatch time.

Head on Home

Wide Body

I snipped off the chubby Chernobyl, iron sally and salvation nymph; and I selected a size 14 yellow stimulator to imitate the stoneflies and a size 16 cinnamon comparadun to mimic the pale morning duns. I carefully approached the long and deep run that showcased a number of feeding trout, and I began to flutter casts through the area. Initially I witnessed a few refusals to the yellow stimulator, but eventually the trout threw caution to the wind, and I hooked and landed three absolutely stunning rainbow trout. One of the netted trout stretched the tape to eighteen inches, and its girth suggested that weight watchers was in its future. The first two trout attacked the stimulator, but number three sipped the trailing comparadun. This was easily the hottest fishing of the day, and I enjoyed it immensely. In addition to the three robust rainbows, I hooked and failed to land two additional hot fish that managed to escape after relatively lengthy engagements. I’ve come to expect this relatively high lack of respect from the Eagle River residents.

Cannot Wait

I migrated upriver from the productive run and raised the count to seven, as I added another pair of thirteen to fourteen inch rainbows. These fish favored the the size 16 cinnamon comparadun, and I donated four comparaduns and three stimulators to the Eagle River environment during my double dry fly period. Several fly losses may have resulted from foul hooked fish that simply charged into the fast water, and I was unable to contain them from there.

Head Shot

Once I attained seven fish the sighting of pale morning duns ceased, and concurrently the presence of rising fish ended. A few stoneflies continued to make an appearance, so I retained the yellow stimulator, but I replaced the comparadun with a purple haze. The purple haze allowed me to add a couple medium sized fish to the tally for the day, and one was my first and only brown trout.

Beast

By 2:45PM I approached a series of ideal wide and deep runs that rushed between the bank and a strong main current. The band of water was approximately fifteen feet wide, and I knew from previous experience that the stretch harbored some large and freakishly powerful trout. The double dry no longer represented a desirable commodity, so I decided to revert to the dry/dropper approach that I deployed in the morning session. In previous years the dry/dropper method yielded some very memorable catches. I knotted another amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl to my line, and beneath it I dangled the iron sally and salvation nymph. Surely stonefly nymphs and pale morning dun nymphs continued to be a food source in the bottom of the water column.

Productive Water Type

Alas, the ploy was solid in my head, but apparently not what the trout had in mind. I spent the remainder of my time prospecting through some terrific water to no avail. When I arrived at some shallower riffles I took the time to switch back to the double dry with a gray stimulator and purple haze, but again there was no evidence of trout. I stripped in my line at 3:20PM and made the ten minute hike back to the car.

Once again the numbers were not overwhelming, but I landed at least five rainbow trout in the thirteen to eighteen inch range. These fish were terrific fighters and quite beefy for their length. I was very challenged to land them, and as documented, I failed to land an equal number of noble combatants. I managed to log another day of successful edge fishing, and hopefully I will report the same result for tomorrow after my planned trip to the Arkansas River.

Fish Landed: 9

 

Roaring Fork River – 06/29/2022

Time: 11:00AM – 6:30PM

Location: Carbondale to Glenwood Springs

Roaring Fork River 06/29/2022 Photo Album

My friend, Dave Gaboury, typically books ten guided float trips throughout the fly fishing season, and he invites me to join him on as many, as I choose to. For 2022 I selected two dates, and the first one arrived on Wednesday, June, 29, 2022. As you will note on my previous post, Dave G. invited me to meet him on Tuesday to fish the club water on the Eagle River. I stayed at Dave’s house in Eagle, CO on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday morning we met our guide, Reed, with Cutthroat Anglers at the Eagle rest area. We stowed our gear in Reed’s SUV, and he drove us to the boat launch just below the CO 133 bridge in Carbondale, where we launched the drift boat for a day of fly fishing.

Our Driftboat Ready to Launch

The temperature was in the seventies and very comfortable, as we began at 11:00AM. Two afternoon thunderstorms caused us to pull on our raincoats, and the sky was cloudy off and on for much of the afternoon. The flows on the Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs were 1700 CFS. The river was high but very clear and almost ideal for float fishing.

Wet Edna Joins Dave G.

We began our trip with Dave G. in the bow, while I manned the rear. We switched positions after a late lunch at 1:30PM. Our mode of operation for the day was pretty consistent. Reed set us up with relatively large dry flies, and we cast double dries to the banks. When we encountered a very attractive long pool and eddy, Reed rowed us into a nose up or rear forward position, so that one of us could shoot long casts upstream. This technique produced positive results quite often.

A Cripple Was on the Morning Menu

Parachute Hares Ear

We cycled through quite a few different flies, but the most productive was easily a size 14 or 12 purple haze. Other flies that delivered results during different time frames throughout the day were a parachute hares ear, rusty haze, parachute pale morning dun, and an extended body green drake.

A Respectable Brown Trout

A Quick Shot of a Rainbow

I landed ten fish from the rear position in the morning and early afternoon, and then I more than doubled the fish count to twenty-two by the end of the day from the forward spot. I estimate the mix of fish to have been five cutbows, five brown trout; and the remainder were rainbows. Roaring Fork River trout were a blast to catch, as most fell within the fourteen to eighteen inch range. The fish in this river were not weak, washed out stockers, but thick, wild fighters that featured streaking runs. My arm and back muscles were severely tested by all the fish on my line, and I was pleased to be using 3X tippet to prevent breakoffs.

The Roaring Fork and Mt. Sopris

Solid casting skills were definitely an advantage during this type of fast-paced bank fishing. The ability to cast forty feet to locations within a foot of the bank was quite valuable. In addition, reach casts and mending capability enhanced the probability of connecting with trout. My shoulder, neck and arm were very fatigued by the end of our Wednesday adventure.

A Convoy

My favorite moments were a pair of slow motion eats in relatively shallow and rocky lies near the bank. Seeing a large fish slowly close on a naturally drifting dry fly after executing an accurate cast is hard to beat. I have one more guided trip scheduled for July, and I am eagerly looking forward to it.

Fish Landed: 22

Eagle River – 06/28/2022

Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Club water above Eagle, CO

Eagle River 06/28/2022 Photo Album

I scheduled a guided float trip with my friend, Dave G., for June 29. Dave G. invited me to join him for a day of fishing on Tuesday, June 28 on some private water above Eagle, CO, and I readily accepted. I arrived at his house by 10:10AM, and I immediately pulled on my waders, and we traveled in his car to the crude parking area along the Eagle River.

Daisies Border the River

Tuesday was a sunny day, and the afternoon high temperature peaked in the seventies. The river was clipping along in the 700 CFS range, and most of my fishing was confined to the edge, although there were a few spots, where the river widened, where I was able to cast to mid-river locations.

Love the Edge

I rigged my Sage One five weight and began with a dry/dropper configuration that included a yellow size 8 fat Albert, olive-black Pat’s rubber Legs, and a salvation nymph. On the first cast I hooked a stick that was wedged between two rocks, and somehow in my effort to free it, I broke the rod tip six inches from the endpoint. I did not apply undue pressure to the rod, so I suspect that there was a nick or scar on the tip section. Dave G. offered his Scott five weight that he won in a raffle, and my backup rod remained in my car back at his house, so I took him up on the offer. I liked the rod quite a bit, as it had a bit more flex than my Sage One, but it was not too whippy.

A hour and a half of intense fishing yielded no fish, and after a torrid day on the Arkansas River on Monday, I was perplexed and disappointed. I exchanged the rubber legs for an iron sally and swapped the salvation for an emerald caddis pupa, but none of these changes reversed my bad karma.

After a brief lunch, I resumed tossing the dry/dropper, but then Dave G. pointed out some active fish six inches below the surface in a tight eddy at the top of a long shelf pool. I thought perhaps a pale morning dun would coax the fish to the surface, so I converted to a solo cinnamon comparadun, but that move failed to bring a fish to my net. We moved upstream a bit, and finally I saw some fish rising in a spot toward the center of the river, where two currents merged to form a V-shaped trough and another eddy. While this scene evolved, I began observing golden stoneflies, yellow sallies, caddis, pale morning duns, and blue winged olives. None of these emerged in dense quantities, but I decided to imitate the stoneflies and pale morning duns with a double dry consisting of a yellow size 14 stimulator and a size 16 light gray comparadun. The ploy worked temporarily, as a torpedo of a rainbow sipped the PMD. Unfortunately, after several mad dashes, the irate fish turned its head and slipped free from the small size 16 hook. I persisted in the central trough, as several fish continued to swirl periodically, but the strong current between me and the eddy made attaining a drag free drift nearly impossible. I surrendered and moved on.

Worthy Brown

We once again transitioned upriver a bit, and Dave G. was in a state of frustration over a large brown trout that broke him off, so he invited me to fish the attractive run that he vacated to reconfigure his line. I lobbed the double dry to the center of a twelve foot width run of moderate depth, and a mouth appeared, and the trailing comparadun disappeared. Initially I thought I connected with a twelve inch fish, but after a lengthy tussle I discovered a gorgeous sixteen inch brown trout resting in my net. Wow! Fish number one was worth the wait.

Width

I continued along the bank a bit farther, and while my flies drifted over a very small two foot depression between a large submerged rock and the bank, a fish swirled. I could clearly see a large rainbow trout, and my heartrate leaped precipitously. I made ten additional casts, and the target bow looked at three or four drifts, but I suspect it was focused on and rejecting the lead yellow stimulator. Meanwhile the picky fish continued grabbing naturals, so it was not spooked by my presence. Finally, on drift number eleven, the comparadun slid over the fish ahead of the stimulator, and the pale morning dun disappeared in a swirl. Now all bets were off, but I fought off several streaking runs and landed number two on the day; a spectacular eighteen inch rainbow trout.

In Front of the Exposed Rock

Set Me Free

I persisted with the double dry a bit longer, but the type of water was not conducive to dries, and the PMD hatch waned. I probably stuck with the surface approach too long, as Dave G. converted back to dry/dropper earlier and quickly increased his fish count. Eventually I absorbed the message and converted as well. In this instance I opted for a size 8 amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl accompanied by an iron sally and salvation nymph.

Displayed Just Above the Water

For the next hour I prospected my way upstream and pierced the lips of five additional trout to bring the daily total to seven. One additional brown visited my net, and it was a fifteen inch beauty that emerged from an extremely marginal, shallow riffle. My cast to the area was actually an afterthought to keep busy while progressing upstream.

Reentry

Of the four rainbows landed on the dry/dropper, all were rainbows, and three were very robust and energized trout that made landing them a risky proposition. I also experienced two long distance releases and two foul hooked fish during the afternoon time frame.

Dave G. in a Prime Spot

The quantity of fish was a bit below my expectations on Tuesday, but the quality was outstanding. I suspect that an earlier conversion to dry/dropper with the salvation would have produced more fish, but the dry fly eaters were two of my best fish of the day, and that counts for a lot.

Fish Landed: 7

Arkansas River – 06/27/2022

Time: 10:15AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Salida

Arkansas River 06/27/2022 Photo Album

Baby sitting and social commitments prevented me from revisiting a stream for five days after my wonderful outing on the South Fork of the Rio Grande on 06/21/2022. The flows on the major freestones were dropping rapidly, and I was concerned that I would miss out on my much revered edge fishing in 2022. Monday, June 27, represented a one day window to take advantage of the falling but clear conditions, and I elected to make the three hour drive to the Arkansas River. I previously committed to a trip to Eagle, CO to fish with my friend on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the drive to Salida represented back to back long journeys, but I was ready for a fly fishing blitz now that the conditions were settling into prime time.

Prime Brown Trout Habitat

The flows on the Arkansas River on Monday, June 27, were in the low 1100’s; however, the river was quite murky, perhaps due to recent rain. but I persisted, when I noted three feet of visibility along the edges. The air temperature ranged from the low sixties to the mid-seventies, and the sky was mostly clear and sunny, although there were periods of gusting wind to contend with. I planned to park at the county line along US 50, but a truck preceded me, so I jumped out of the car to scan the river, and I spotted another fisherman upriver from where I hoped to begin. After noting this circumstance I drove .3 mile back toward Salida and parked at the next wide gravel pullout.

Surprised with This Early Beauty

I strung my Sage One five weight, and once I was geared up, I walked downriver along the shoulder of the highway. When I arrived above the  place, where I originally intended to begin, I realized the truck and angler departed, so I dropped down the bank in compliance with my original plan. I began fly fishing with a size 8 amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl, olive and black Pat’s rubber leg, and a bright green go2 sparkle caddis pupa. These flies clicked, and I began landing robust brown trout almost immediately. I should say the Pat’s rubber leg clicked, because nearly all the early brown trout grabbed the weighted chenille stonefly imitation.

Another Fine Brown Trout

I slowly worked my way upstream and fished almost entirely in the ten foot corridor along the left bank. Deep rocky pockets, seams along faster deep slots, and moderate riffles were the main productive river structures that delivered positive results. By lunch at noon the fish count rested on thirteen, and the majority of the landed fish were brown trout within the twelve to fourteen inch range, and these fish were quite healthy and chunky.

Foam Line

Black Spotted Brown

In Front of the Log Jam Produced

After lunch the same approach continued, until I quit at 3:30 PM. I swapped the go2 caddis pupa for a size 14 prince nymph, and this move paid dividends, as five trout snared the prince. Most of the prince eaters reacted to a lift toward the end of the drift in front of a submerged boulder. At one point I dropped some casts at the head of a gorgeous deep shelf pool, and my first rainbow trout thrashed and fought, until I brought it to my net. During the early afternoon, rainbows became more prevalent, and I added three more chunky fighters in the fourteen to fifteen inch range. The rainbows seemed to hold in deeper water that bordered faster runs. At some point I foul hooked a rainbow, and as it raced to escape, it broke off all three of my flies including the chubby Chernobyl, Pat’s rubber leg, and prince nymph. I replaced the chubby with another version that displayed an orange body rather than the amber ice dub. The top fly was only serving as an indicator, so why risk losing my favorite ice dub models?

Wow. Great Stripe and Speckles

Money in the Bank

The chenille on the replacement Pat’s rubber leg unraveled after a couple fish, so I gambled and replaced it with a size 14 20 incher, and after spotting a sparse emergence of pale morning duns, I experimented with a salvation nymph in the end position. I also tested an iron sally for some period of time after observing a few golden stoneflies and yellow sallies in the air. The salvation nymph produced four trout, and I built the fish count to twenty-nine, before I called it quits.

20 Incher in the Mouth

Promising

On the day, I landed twenty-nine trout including five rainbows and twenty-four browns. Approximately five landed trout ate the prince nymph, four consumed the salvation nymph, and the remainder mashed the Pat’s rubber legs. Monday was easily the best day I ever enjoyed with the Pat’s rubber legs. Once it gets wet it looks like a green glob with bouncy appendages, but apparently the trout judge it to be an easy meal. Monday evolved into exactly the kind of day I expected, and that is a rarity. I confined my casting to the edges, and I stayed with a dry/dropper during my entire tenure on the river. The trout loved my rubber leg nymphs as well as the prince and salvation. I moved at a steady pace and executed three to five casts in all the likely spots, and quite often I was rewarded. I would guess that twenty of the landed trout were hardy battlers in the twelve to fifteen inch range. I love the feeling of confidence that grows from having the right flies and fishing productive spots. Edge fishing has begun in 2022.

Fish Landed: 29

South Fork of the Rio Grande – 06/20/2022

Time: 3:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Lake Fork Trailhead

South Fork of the Rio Grande River 06/20/2022 Photo Album

During the last week of June in 2021, I spent three days drifting the Rio Grande River with a guide in the vicinity of Creede and South Fork, Colorado. On June 30, 2021 we launched in the town of South Fork and drifted to Hanna Lane. As we waited for the guide to unload the raft, I noticed a small train station and a line of rail bikes, so I wandered over to the gentlemen fine tuning the bikes and asked them about their operation. The name of the business was Revolution Rails, and the company was based in the northeast with rail biking operations in New York and New Jersey. As it turned out, June 30 was their grand opening of the South Fork Revolution Rails section of track, I was intrigued by the concept, so I picked up a brochure, and when I returned home, I shared it with Jane and described the operation and my interest. Fast forward to Christmas 2021, and I received a gift certificate for a Revolution Rails trip in 2022. Jane and I went online in April and booked a Revolution Rails excursion for the morning of June 20, 2022. It was this booking that generated the trip from Denver to Creede on Sunday, June 19, and we arrived at the South Fork Rev Rail station early on Monday morning.

Dave and Jane Ready

The out and back ride of three plus miles was physically a breeze, and Jane and I both commented that we yearned for a longer trip. Nevertheless, there was something addictive about pedaling along in a light two person rail bike with no steering required. We agreed that another trip might be in our future.

Since we were bursting with excess energy, we stopped at the South Fork visitor center and asked the young man behind the counter for ideas for a five mile hike. He quickly unfolded a free map and highlighted a trail that was ten miles south of South Fork off the highway that ascends Wolf Creek Pass. Jane and I agreed to investigate the Lake Fork Trail, and rather than driving back to Creede, we stopped at a local grocery market and picked up some lunch snacks.

Exotic Wildflower

Jane drove south on CO 160, while I navigated, and eventually we found a wide paved pullout with a well marked crosswalk, and it was bordered on the west side by some large boulders. This fit the description provided at the visitor center, although we were unable to find a trail sign to confirm that it was the Lake Fork Trail. We trusted our directions and completed the out and back five miler and returned to the parking lot by 2:45PM. The hike was moderately challenging with several steep climbs, but the spectacular scenery spurred us on. We passed through a narrow valley, forested mountain sides, and open meadows sprinkled with wildflowers. Another section consisted of a toothpick forest with charred trees devoid of limbs. The trees were likely damaged in a past wildfire.

Toothpick Forest

When we returned to the parking lot, I told Jane that I would like to cross the highway to inspect the South Fork of the Rio Grande. Jane agreed and accompanied me to a very attractive pool directly across from the trailhead. We stood on some huge boulders fifteen feet above the river, and Jane spotted two large trout finning in the shelf pool on our side of the river. This sighting elevated my heartrate, and Jane suggested that I retrieve my rod and reel. Who was I to reject that idea? I crossed the highway and quickly pulled on my front pack, backpack and net; and I assembled my Sage four piece and returned to the South Fork. Jane remained at her perch high above the river, and she reported that the fish closest to the bank remained within view, and it was feeding periodically on something small.

I cautiously moved below the target trout and knotted a size 14 parachute green drake to my line. I knew drakes were present on the main stem of the Rio Grande and hoped that perhaps they also progressed up the South Fork. I made four casts, and the trout ignored each one, before it disappeared from view. I decided to downsize and attached a size 18 cinnamon comparadun to my tippet in place of the green drake. By the time I was ready to resume, the trout returned, but once again my offering was not to its liking. As this scene unfolded, I managed to hook a tree limb to my left and right on four separate occasions. This only reinforced Jane’s aversion to fly fishing, as she observed.

Amazing Pool

I gazed across the pool and noticed three or four decent fish, as they held their position in the slow moving shelf pool across the way. I moved upstream to a large exposed rock and executed quite a few long casts across the main current. Drag became an immediate concern, but a few short drifts suggested that the comparadun was not a favored food source. I resorted to a black size 18 parachute ant, and I managed a very brief connection in the deep eddy behind a group of boulders at the top of the pool. I eventually admitted that the long casts across the strong main current were too challenging, and I redirected my attention to some sporadic risers on my side of the river.

Jane remained as my guide high above on some large rocks, and she informed me that a fish returned to the spot that I initially targeted. In addition, a few splashy rises occurred along the near seam of the main current. I concluded that these were not ant sippers, and I spotted a size 16 mayfly in the air, so I switched to a size 16 light gray comparadun. I positioned myself tight to a large rock along the bank to hide, and I began lobbing downstream casts to the trout that Jane sighted. On the second drift the comparadun slowly moved above the trout, and the fish suddenly darted upward and sipped my fly. Jane saw the entire development and shouted, just as I lifted the rod and hooked a deeply colored twelve inch brown trout.

Worked Hard for This One

I ended the day with a single fish, but it was very satisfying after being rejected  earlier. I never expected to fish at all on Monday, so the South Fork brown was icing on the cake!

Fish Landed: 1

Davis Ponds – 06/14/2022

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Staunton State Park

Davis Ponds 06/14/2022 Photo Album

With the remainder of the week booked with babysitting and pickleball, I decided to take advantage of an open day on Tuesday to make back to back fly fishing trips. I spent Monday on the South Platte tailwater, and I decided to change it up with a visit to the Davis Ponds in Staunton State Park on Tuesday. Slightly less than a week ago I fished the ponds with decent success; however, my time on the water was limited after completing a long hike to Elk Falls. On Tuesday I devoted more time to the scenic ponds.

A Pair of Grazers

I departed from my home in Denver at 8:35, and this allowed me to arrive at the middle parking lot by 9:35AM. The air temperature was 60 degrees, and a large cloud blocked the sun, so I pulled on my raincoat for an extra layer of warmth. I fit together my Sage four weight and set out on the Davis Ponds loop for a day of fly fishing. I was .3 mile into my 1.1 mile hike, when the large cloud disappeared, and the sun emerged, and I was slightly overheated. When I arrived at the ponds, I chose the lower body of water, and I positioned myself on the rocky dam breast, as the northeast corner was occupied with several groups of anglers.

The Dam

I opted to begin with a pool toy hopper along with an ultra zug bug on a fairly long dropper, and I sprayed casts all along the southern shoreline. By the time I stopped for my lunch break at 12:30PM, the fish count rested on six. Most of the rainbow trout snatched the ultra zug bug, as I stripped the flies in; however, I also duped one on a size 14 caddis, when I switched to a double dry offering. In addition to the ultra zug bug, I cycled through a partridge and orange and a wiggle damsel nymph, before I eventually settled on a size 14 prince nymph. The prince seemed to cause the flies to drop faster, and this in turn resulted in more action, but the overwhelming trout favorite was the ultra zug bug. Six fish in an hour sounds respectable, but the successes were accompanied by many refusals, and I never seemed to develop a rhythm. I also swapped the pool toy hopper for a small grasshopper pattern that I purchased many years ago, and it accounted for one of the first six trout.

Silvery Sheen

View from the Northeast

After lunch the fishermen in the northeast corner deserted their honey hole, and this provided me with an opportunity to claim their spot. I remained on that section of the lake for the remainder of the afternoon and elevated the fish count from six to eighteen. I snapped off the prince and UZB on a bank of rocks on the north side of the lake, and I used the lost flies as an excuse to modify my offering. I switched the hopper for a size 8 hopper Juan and a bright green caddis pupa and the ultra zug bug. This combination was a clear winner, and most of the afternoon fish grabbed the ultra zug bug with a few locked in on the hopper Juan.

Decent Size for the Pond

During my first trip to the Davis Ponds on 05/23/2022, I settled on an approach that involved slowly stripping a double dry combination that featured a hippie stomper and caddis adult. On the abbreviated 06/08/2022 visit, I discovered that steadily stripping a hippie stomper trailing an ultra zug bug was the ticket. On Tuesday, June 14 yet another approach provided consistent action. I simply cast the large foam hopper along the shoreline or toward the middle of the pond and allowed it to rest for up to thirty seconds. Quite often the hopper disappeared below the surface, and I set the hook and found myself attached to a thrashing rainbow trout. Tuesday was quite windy, and I suspect that the wave action imparted just enough action to the trailing nymphs to interest the trout.

Another Fine Specimen

I once again had an abundance of fun at the Davis Ponds. Even though the trout were stocked, I was challenged by the problem of finding the right flies and tactics to fool trout consistently. Eighteen trout in five hours is not a spectacular catch rate, but I was pleased with the results nonetheless. For some reason the last forty-five minutes were fruitless, and I lost interest and stripped in my flies by 3:30PM. I suspect at least one more trip to these ponds is in my future.

Fish Landed: 18

South Platte River – 06/13/2022

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Eleven Mile Canyon

South Platte River 06/13/2022 Photo Album

After five days of pickleball and social gatherings I was anxious to return to fly fishing on Monday, 06/13/2022. The weather forecast predicted a high of 98 degrees in Denver, so cold water was high on my priority list for Monday. On Sunday I inventoried all my usual fly fishing destinations in Colorado, and I confirmed that all freestones and even some Front Range tailwaters were blown out; and, thus, not viable options for Monday. I experienced decent success on 06/08/2022 on the Davis Ponds, but I surmised that the hot weather might impact a stillwater fishery more than a tailwater. The DWR website displayed decent flows on the South Platte tailwater, and I quickly settled on the Eleven Mile Canyon section. The graph depicted a gradually declining flow curve with the current reading registering 87 CFS. I knew from historical experience that these flows were favorable for fly fishing.

Pocket Water Was Productive on This Hot Day

I arrived at my chosen pullout along the Eleven Mile Canyon road by 11:00AM, and after I assembled my Sage One five weight and pulled on my waders, I ambled upstream for .2 mile and then cut to the river on a steep path. I began fly fishing in a relatively narrow section that featured huge exposed boulders and deep runs and attractive pockets around the rocks. I tied a size 10 classic black Chernobyl ant to my line and then added a go2 bright green caddis pupa along with a salvation nymph. The combination clicked almost immediately, and four trout occupied my net over the first hour, before I took a lunch break at 12:30PM. What a midday! Two of the landed trout were marvelous rainbow and cutbow trout in the fourteen to fifteen inch range, and they were very healthy trout as evidenced by their chunky body type.

Near the Start

Cutbow Color Scheme

I ate my lunch next to my usual lunch pool, but I failed to notice any insect activity, so I continued with the dry/dropper approach. I worked my way up the river through some enticing pocket water, and three additional rainbows joined  the fish count. Two were small and in the nine to eleven inch range, but one was a very respectable rainbow of fourteen inches. Next I reached the attractive pool below Steve’s bend pool. I cast the dry/dropper for awhile, but then I observed some very splashy rises, and a couple fish actually leaped above the surface in an effort to grab an unidentifiable food source. As I continued watching, I noted a fairly large yellowish adult bug above the surface, and I speculated that the trout were chasing yellow sallies. Off went the Chernobyl ant and the trailing nymphs and on went a size 14 yellow stimulator with a size 18 parachute black ant trailing on a six inch leader.

I executed some downstream drifts through the vicinity of the aggressive rises, and on the tenth pass I noticed a subtle swirl behind the stimulator. I quickly reacted with a hook set and found myself attached to a hard fighting brown trout. After a brief battle I lifted the battler to my net, and just as it was about to settle over the rim, it wiggled free. It saved me the trouble of releasing it, and I added it to the count to bring the total to eight.

Nice Length

For the remainder of the afternoon I walked up the river to inspect my usual favorite haunts, as I reverted to the dry/dropper with a tan pool toy hopper, ultra zug bug and salvation nymph. The pools were glassy smooth and showed no signs of rising fish, so I circled around them and focused on the faster runs, where they entered the slow moving  pools. Another factor affecting my afternoon was the presence of other anglers. One occupied the pool next to the high vertical rock wall, and another was stationed in the next wide pool situated above a pair of ninety degree bends. Since I was targeting pocketwater on this hot late spring day, I was not bothered by the presence of these two fisherman. However, when I arrived at the long stretch of pocket water above a long and wide pool, another fisherman occupied a very desirable section. I circled around him and gave him adequate space and once again began to cast the dry/dropper flies to seams and pockets among the many exposed boulders. We played hopscotch a couple times, and the other angler migrated to the west side of the river.

Deep Run

Finally in a very nice deep run over a rocky bottom a fourteen inch rainbow nabbed the salvation nymph, and I quickly played it and released it to move the fish count to nine. I felt an acute desire to land number ten and thus accomplish double digits, but my nemesis was now thirty yards above me in a prime spot. I considered once again hopping around him, but my watch was moving toward 3:30PM, and I was frustrated by the presence of the other angler, so I climbed the steep bank and hiked .8 miles down the road to the car.

Pretty Fish

I considered June 13 to be a very successful day. Nine trout in the middle of June during snow melt was very respectable, and four were rainbows in the fourteen to sixteen inch range. I was a bit surprised that all the landed fish were rainbows or cutbows, except for the one brown that managed to slide free, before I could net it. I will keep my eye on Eleven Mile Canyon for additional opportunities during June.

Fish Landed: 9

Quite a View

Davis Ponds – 06/08/2022

Time: 2:30PM – 4:00PM

Location: Staunton State Park

Davis Ponds 06/08/2022 Photo Album

During my visit to Staunton State Park on 05/23/2022, I stopped at the visitor center to obtain a 2022 annual parks pass. While the park employees sorted through the process to issue a pass for someone who already paid, but the pass got lost in the mail, the young woman provided me with a map of the park and pointed out the extended road that now made hikes to the western side of the park more accessible. This aroused my curiosity, and on Wednesday, June 8, Jane and I completed the 7.2 mile out and back hike to Elk Falls. Staunton offers stunning scenery along the trails, and the spectacular Elk Falls at our turnaround put an exclamation point on our venture.

The Murky Corner

I underestimated the time required to complete the longer than expected hike, so when we returned to the car, I debated whether late afternoon fly fishing was worth the additional effort. Ultimately, I decided that I could add an additional 1.5 hours of fishing to my day, and Jane and I made the one mile hike to the ponds. Jane claimed a picnic table to read, while I descended to the lower pond. I hoped to position myself in the northeast corner, where I enjoyed significant success on  5/23/2022, but two pairs of anglers preceded me, so I defaulted the rocky dam breast to begin my pond fishing effort.

Decent for Davis Ponds

I began my fly fishing with a peacock body hippie stomper and a size 14 olive body deer hair caddis, but after twenty minutes of very focused casting the fish count rested on one, as an aggressive stocker attacked the hippie stomper. I also observed several looks and follows to the hippie stomper, and the caddis seemed to be totally ignored. With a limited amount of time remaining, I decided to implement a change, and I replaced the caddis with an ultra zug bug on a 2.5 foot dropper.

Grip

I began to cast the combination twenty-five to forty feet into the lake, and after a move along the shoreline, the catch rate improved. I landed three additional rainbow trout, as they snatched the ultra zug bug, when I executed short rapid strips to my line. I was feeling very confident, but the good vibes were interrupted, when I hooked a tall evergreen tree on a backcast. The snag was too high to reach, so I applied direct pressure and snapped off the stomper and UZB. I was not a happy camper, and I strolled over to the picnic table that Jane occupied and sat down to rig my line anew. As I did so, I sat on my net and broke the frame at a place that was already cracked. I was not happy.

The Last and Best

For the remainder of my time on the pond I continued with the hippie stomper and UZB dry/dropper approach along with the cast and strip routine, and I moved the count to seven, before I called it quits at 4:00PM. The two pairs of anglers left, and this enabled me to move along the eastern shoreline to the position that I originally targeted, and it seemed that the fish density improved in the area. Along the way I lost another hippie stomper, and I resorted to a Chernobyl ant as my top fly, and the fish did not seem to mind, as they were focused on the ultra zug bug.

Seven trout landed in 1.5 hours of fishing was a nice accomplishment, and it only peaked my appetite for more time on the Davis Ponds. Perhaps next week I will repeat the trip.

Fish Landed: 7