Category Archives: Fishing Reports

Fishing Reports

Arkansas River – 07/12/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: From bridge on dirt road two miles south of Hayden Meadows parking lot upstream for one mile.

Arkansas River 07/12/2016 Photo Album

Unlike most of my fishing ventures, I was totally unfamiliar with the Hayden Meadows area. I drove by it several times, and I recalled a parking area on the northern edge of the area by a lake, but I also remembered passing other sections with access downstream. As I drove south of US 24, I crossed the river and noted that it was only slightly larger than the Eagle River at normal summer flows. On the left appeared the aforementioned lake and a parking area occupied by quite a few vehicles, which no doubt belonged to the throngs of fishermen lining the banks of the small lake. Stopping among this crowd did not appeal to me, so I continued south for two miles, and here I spotted a brown sign that pointed to More Arkansas River Ranch.

I turned left on a dirt road, and after .2 miles I crossed the river and parked in a small lot on the right side of the road. A Jeep Wrangler was already in place, and the related fisherman wearing a floppy hat with a neck protector was in motion toward the river. It appeared that fishing access was available both upstream and downstream from the bridge, and I was curious which way the other fisherman would choose. Since I drove from Halfmoon with my waders on, and my rod remained strung, it did not take long before I was eagerly on my way to the bridge.

When I reached the bridge, I glanced downstream and spotted the young owner of the Jeep Wrangler waded into a long riffle. This was not water I would have chosen to start my day, but perhaps he had inside information. Rather than play tag with another fisherman, I elected to fish upstream. The area was absolutely breathtaking. Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive loomed to the west, and the river was fifty feet wide and crystal clear. Given my lack of familiarity, I guessed that the flows remained a bit high compared to average summer levels. The banks were lined with potentilla and willows, and the cold current meandered through the high elevation landscape.

This Eddy Was Home to First Fish on the Day

Just above the bridge a large deep eddy appeared where a small side channel merged with the main branch of the river. This is where I chose to begin. A size 14 gray stimulator remained on my line from Halfmoon, so why not test it on these new waters? I carefully stepped down the bank and lobbed a cast to the middle of the calm space in the middle of the eddy, but it sat there unmolested for what seemed like minutes. I picked up the fly and dropped it closer to the bank so that it drifted upstream toward the northern edge of the eddy, and suddenly a fish rose and refused my fly! I was actually pleased to see a refusal after a morning of fruitless casting.

Nice Close Up of First Fish

I made a couple more drifts to the area of the rise, but as is usually the case, the fish was averse to expending more energy on a recently detected fraud. I shifted my attention to other sections of the eddy, but the stimulator was treated like a cottonwood fuzzy and completely ignored. Before vacating the area, I decided to feed my fly to the scene of the earlier refusal, and smack! A fourteen inch brown trout shocked me by aggressively chomping on the gray hackled floater. A brief battle ensued, and I managed to net the buttery yellow combatant and position it for some photographs. It was a great start to my initial visit to Arkansas River Ranch/Hayden Meadows.

Between 11 and 11:30 I fished from the bridge along the left bank and managed to land a second smaller brown trout on the stimulator. Several stream improvement structures jutted into the river from the bank, and these created interesting shelf pools and runs. After continuing for fifteen minutes through the attractive areas with no success, I decided to change my approach. I removed the stimulator and attached a size 8 Chernobyl ant, a beadhead hares ear, and a salvation nymph. An abundance of caddis were present on the shrubs that bordered the river, so the hares ear was intended to represent the subsurface form of these aquatic insects. The salvation was present in case pale morning duns made an early afternoon appearance.

By 11:30 a headwind began to gust at ridiculous velocities, and I was struggling to punch the large foam fly and bead-weighted nymphs into the wind using my light Orvis Access. Since I remained reasonably close to the Santa Fe, I followed the path back to the road and then to the parking lot and swapped rods. I chose my Sage four weight since it offered a stiffer backbone with which to chuck the three flies into the gusting wind. Once I returned to my exit point, I fished for another fifteen minutes, and then I found a nice grassy location on the bank and munched my lunch.

Wide Shallow Fast Water Exemplified the First .5 Mile at Hayden Meadows

Salvation Nymph Tempted This Fighter

In the first hour after lunch I covered quite a distance as the river was wide and shallow and offered very few decent holding spots for fish. I managed to land two additional small brown trout, and then I approached a place where the main current angled toward the far bank and flowed around a couple large boulders. This structure created a nice deep eight foot wide run next to the bank with some dense overhanging brush. I drifted the dry/dropper rig along the current seam closest to me, and the Chernobyl dipped, and I lifted and felt myself connected to a hard fighting fish. The embattled trout raced up and down the pool and then headed downstream quite a distance forcing me to follow. Eventually side pressure brought the fifteen inch salvation chomping brown to my net, and I announced that it may have been the hardest fighting fifteen inch fish I ever landed.

The Area Above and Below the Rocks Was Superb

I positioned myself in the same place, and I was surprised to view a second fish rise closer to the bank. Once again I began drifting the three flies through the area, and a second splash occurred near my Chernobyl. Two more passes went unmolested, but the next resulted in a tug, a hook set, and another tough fight. This fish was also a brown trout, and it measured fourteen inches and possessed gorgeous deep coloration.

As I turned to wade upstream to the next sweet spot, I noticed two large olive-gray colored mayflies, as they slowly fluttered up from the river. Could the second brown that I just landed have been chowing down on green drakes? I assumed that the large flies were green drakes, but subsequently I read an ArkAnglers Hayden Meadows fishing report that mentioned gray drakes. At the time, however, I pinched myself to make sure I was not dreaming. I never expected to encounter the green drake tour on Tuesday, but there was no mistaking the large olive-gray mayflies in the air in front of me. What a serendipitous turn of events!

I moved on a diagonal to the next attractive area along the left bank. Here a strong current flowed rapidly tight to the bank and then fanned out into a deep run and then a wide, although short, pool. The right side of the river was a broad slow moving shelf pool, and as I evaluated my approach, I observed a rise in the pool area and another at the tailout of the run. I made some token casts with the dry/dropper flies hoping that perhaps the fish would grab the trailing salvation or hares ear, but they were having none of it, so I removed the threesome and knotted a size 12 parachute green drake to my line. On the first drift the fish at the tailout rose and turned away at the last second. How could this fish refuse my expertly tied green drake?

I paused and scanned the water and spotted another drake (gray, although I believed it to be green), as it thrashed on the surface in an effort to become airborne. Upon closer study it appeared to be a size smaller, so I examined my fly box and selected one of the Harrop deer hair green drakes that I tied during the winter. I cast this beauty to the site of the refusal, but no response was forthcoming. Next I shot some long casts to the pooled area, and this prompted another refusal. What now? I opened the fly box and chose a size 14 green drake comparadun and put this creation on trial, but it could not even entice a refusal. I decided to return to the deer hair drake since it resembled the active tumbling image of an emerger, and I also decided to abandon the jaded denizens of the run in front of me. However before moving on, I launched a long cast between gusts of wind to the inner edge of the current seam five feet out from the bank. The drake drifted only a foot before it was molested by a thirteen inch brown trout, and I celebrated landing my first fish on the newly created Harrop deer hair drake.

Over the next hour I proceeded upstream and prospected with the size twelve green drake and managed to land two additional 12-13 inch brown trout. Pound for pound the Hayden Meadows fish fight as hard as any I have been privileged to hook. By 1:30 I ceased observing gray drakes, but the structure of the river improved dramatically. Perhaps I was now in the area that received stream improvements, but regardless of the reason, many more attractive places presented themselves, and it seemed the fish density improved. I began to experience a greater number of refusals to the size 12 green drake, so I found a size 12 stimulator in my box that was shorter, and I put it on my line. This fly failed to create looks or refusals, so I downsized to the size 14 gray stimulator that I began with.

After reading that gray drakes are present at Hayden Meadows, I now realize why the gray stimulator proved to be a successful fly choice. Although it did not have the classic mayfly upwing, it was close in size and color to the natural gray drakes present on the river. Between 1:30 and 4:00 I covered a substantial amount of water and landed five additional brown trout. Several of the middle to late afternoon catches were spunky thirteen inch beauties. I also discovered that the fish were spread out in fairly fast riffles of moderate depth, and several fish rose to smash the stimulator in this type of water. Normally brown trout prefer slower moving water with depth along the bank or next to significant structure, but that was not the case on Tuesday.

This Flat Delivered a Nice Fish

At 3:30 I reached a place where the main river merged with a small side channel, and a wide shallow riffle ran just below the merge point. I flipped the stimulator so it drifted along the strong current seam closest to me, and suddenly there was a swirl. I reacted with a swift hook set, and I was shocked to find myself connected to a fifteen inch brown trout. My surprised state stemmed from the size of the fish relative to the shallow depth of the water. At the top of the riffle another fish swirled but refused the stimulator, so I tried a size 16 and then 18 caddis but the trout was apparently wise to my presence. A period of high wind caused me to make a last ditch effort with a Jake’s gulp beetle, but that also failed, so I reeled up my line and called it quits.

Late Afternoon Stimulator Fan

As stated earlier I was unfamiliar with the area, and I now faced the lack of an exit strategy. As I drove south on US 24 I noted that a sturdy barbed wire fence separated the area I was fishing from the railroad tracks and highway. I did not know where I was in relation to the northern parking area, but I decided to head north anyway. In order to better acclimate myself with my position, I cut left toward the fence, and after .2 miles I spotted a gate with a sign. The sign was facing the highway, so I decided to approach and examine. In a stroke of good fortune, I discovered that the gate was not padlocked, and I simply unhooked the linked chain and unraveled it in order to swing it open and allow easy passage. The sign stated that access was only at designated entry points, but it was unclear if this was one of them. At any rate I wrapped the chain and hooked it once again, and proceeded to hike approximately one mile along the narrow shoulder of the busy highway until I was safely back at my car.

What a day! I did indeed salvage a fun day after a frustrating start. The Hayden Meadows/Arkansas River Ranch proved to be interesting water with very nice brown trout. The gray drake hatch and abundant caddis proved to be a nice bonus, and I was stimulated by the task of solving the riddle of catching trout in a new environment. I will definitely return to Hayden Meadows again in the near future.

Fish Landed: 14

Halfmoon Creek – 07/12/2016

Time: 9:00AM – 10:00AM

Location: Upstream from day use parking lot across from West Halfmoon Campground

Halfmoon Creek 07/12/2016 Photo Album

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This old saying applies perfectly to my morning on July 12, 2016. I fell into a rut of fishing the same Colorado rivers repeatedly at the same time of the year, and I yearned to try something different. A former co-worker at Air Products mentioned Halfmoon Creek to me several years ago, and this small tributary of the Arkansas River was listed on the DWR surface water table, so I decided to explore it. After battling above average currents of larger rivers over the previous two weeks, I anxiously anticipated a small stream and less selective trout. I envisioned working my way upstream while tossing a large foam attractor, and wild unpressured trout responded to my offerings by slurping my flies with total confidence. That was my vision.

I attempted to do some online research prior to departing on my two day one night camping trip, but information on fishing Halfmoon Creek was scarce. I did uncover an article that said there were more fire pits per mile along Halfmoon Road than anywhere else in Colorado. This bit of trivia was explained by the location of the stream near the trailheads to Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. This concerned me, as I feared that all the camping and hiking enthusiasts might also pack fishing gear.

Frost on July 12, 2016 at Hornsilver Campground

I woke up at 6AM at the Hornsilver Campground and decided to get a jump on my day, but when I emerged from my tent, I was shocked to discover frost on the tablecloth, camp stove and rainfly. How could it be 91 degrees in Denver and freezing near Minturn? Colorado is a land of temperature contrasts. I efficiently ate my breakfast and broke camp before 8AM, and when I glanced at the digital thermometer on the dashboard, it registered 35 degrees. Brrr!

I began driving south on US 24 toward Leadville, and I passed a place where a controlled burn converted the vegetation into a black charred landscape. From my peripheral vision I caught a glimpse of some dark large animals, and at first I assumed they were horses. But then my mind rebooted, and I realized that the large bodies I just passed were moose calves. I found a wide shoulder and executed a U-turn and then pulled over on the shoulder across from the young creatures. Initially they were spooked and retreated up the hillside a bit, but after a brief wait, they returned to the charred remains of weeds and began browsing. I have seen bighorn sheep chomping on charred firewood in a campground, and now I witnessed moose eating charred grass. I am not sure what drives this appetite for burned residue.

Siblings Love Burnt Grass

Mt. Massive

Frost on July 12 and a couple of moose along the highway. My fishing adventure to a new spot was off to an exciting start. When I reached Leadville I parked at the Visitor Information Center that had not yet opened and called Jane to check in. Afterward I found the turn off to Halfmoon Road, and since I had never been there before, I drove the gravel and dirt road until I reached the parking area at the trailhead to Mt. Elbert. As the web site described, I passed numerous cars and tents scattered in unofficial pullouts along the road. The creek ran mostly on my right, and I attempted to identify a good stretch to fish. Two choices were obvious. One was located near the gauging station on the lower portion of the creek, and the other was a day use parking lot across from West Halfmoon Campground.

The creek seemed to move away from the road after both entry points, and where possible I seek places that require a bit more effort than just pulling off the road right next to the stream. The day use lot option concerned me a bit due to its proximity to a campground, but I guessed this negative was offset by the extra distance from the road. This became my choice. I pulled on my new Hodgman waders and assembled my Orvis Access four weight and walked a short distance to the edge of the stream. The water was crystal clear and the flows were a bit high, but relatively easy to wade.

Halfmoon Creek Beginning Point

I began fishing with a size 8 Chernobyl ant and a beadhead hares ear dropper. What fish could ignore this classic productive duo? My starting point looked very interesting as the creek split around a tiny island and created some deep water along the bank. Unfortunately my flies did not interest any fish. I quickly moved on, and it became apparent that the stream presented very few attractive holding areas for fish. Initially I prospected any place that might harbor a fish including quite marginal riffles and pockets, but after ample experimentation, I decided to move fast and seek prime spots. I did not observe any competing fishermen, so why not cover an extensive amount of water and cherry pick the juicy holes?

I did this, and during a one hour period from 9-10AM, I failed to land a fish. In fact I never saw a fish, and I covered a mile of Halfmoon Creek and frankly encountered only two places that I would label as above average fish holding locales. Tuesday morning on Halfmoon Creek was the exact opposite of my vision of fun small stream fishing, so I decided to cut my losses and climbed a steep hill through the forest until I intersected with one of the many side lanes, which I followed back to the dirt road and eventually to my car.

Antelope Family

What now? I had given some thought to this eventuality, so I attempted to salvage the day by traveling south to the Hayden Meadows area of the upper Arkansas River. I read an article in the Denver Post a year or two ago that described extensive stream improvement work, so I replaced Halfmoon Creek with the upper Arkansas as my new water for Tuesday. As I drove back toward US 24, two bounding forms crossed the intersection of Lake County 11 and CO 300. I approached slowly, and when I made the right hand turn three antelope paused in the field and stared back at me. Although the fishing was lacking on Tuesday morning, the wildlife viewing was first rate.

Fish Landed: 0

Eagle River – 07/11/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 5:00PM

Location: Edwards rest area; Eagle River below Minturn

Eagle River 07/11/2016 Photo Album

No green drakes!

When I endured surgery in January, it made me realize that the fuse of life is getting shorter. This in turn prompted me to set some goals for the 2016 fishing season, and devoting time to edge fishing was one of them. I enjoyed successful and in some cases spectacular days fishing the Yampa, Eagle and Arkansas Rivers during the two week time period from June 23 through July 8, so I checked off one of my main commitments.

While recovering and tying flies during February, I added two additional pledges. I planned to eliminate commitments in July and keep the calendar open for frequent fishing and camping trips. July is the prime month for insect hatches in Colorado, and in 2016 I hoped to be on the stream participating, not voicing the “wait until next year” utterance.

My favorite western hatch is the green drake, and I spent quite a few hours during the winter tying and planning for this event. Another dream for July is to do the green drake tour. I hope to meet and fish to as many green drake hatches as possible. I flipped through one of my Colorado fishing books and reviewed all the hatch charts and made a list of all the drainages that support green drake hatches.

With this background, I set out on a new fishing adventure on Monday morning, July 11. My destination for Monday was the Eagle River with an overnight stay at Hornsilver Campground south of Minturn in the plan as well for Monday night. I spent some time packing the car for camping in the morning, and consequently I left the house by 8:30 and thus arrived at the Edwards rest area parking lot by 10:30. The temperature was cooler than the previous couple days with the mercury rising to the upper seventies and low eighties. The flows in Edwards were in the 550 cfs range, and these levels remain above the summer norm, so in some ways Monday was an extension of the edge fishing phase of my summer.

Lovely Pocket Water

I began my quest for trout below the bridge that is downstream from the rest area, and I fitted my line with a fat Albert, copper john, and beadhead hares ear, as I launched my fishing adventure. In the one hour before lunch I landed two decent browns with the largest and first being thirteen inches. Both fish grabbed the hares ear nymph, and I was quite pleased with the start of my two day fishing trip. I returned to the car to grab my lunch bag and water bottle, and then I followed the path to the edge of the river to eat. While munching my sandwich I noted a fair number of caddis resting on the branches of the shrubs and dapping on the surface of the river.

Beast

After lunch I returned to the stretch of the river just above the bridge, and I fished the narrow pockets next to a high bank until I was unable to progress farther up the left side. This period was action packed as I landed five trout including a fourteen inch brown before moving on at 1:15. Three of the five were small rainbows, and the salvation nymph was responsible for all the fish that reached my net. At 1:15 the high bank forced me to retreat back to the bridge to intersect with the trail, and I stopped at the car to stuff my raincoat in my backpack in case of adverse weather, although the sky suggested that rain was unlikely.

Left Edge Produced

After my visit to the car I followed the trail across from the parking lot to its downstream termination, and here I fished some nice pockets in the rest area section with a size 8 Chernobyl as the top fly, and a bright green caddis paired with a salvation nymph. This area in past years typically produced several nice fish, but on July 11 my efforts were futile, and I failed to add to the fish count. Again I retreated to the trail, and I skipped around a large segment of marginal water, until I reached the long pool. Amazingly no one else occupied the long pool, so I paused to prospect the top one-third. The dry/dropper approach failed to attract any fish, but while I was casting, I noticed a fish rise twice in the cushion in front of a submerged rock.

There were many caddis dapping in this area, so I patiently converted to a solitary size 16 light gray deer hair caddis adult. This fly failed to attract the riser, but I continued presenting it for the remainder of my time at the rest area, and it enabled me to land an additional six fish. Several of the six fish were decent catches in the hefty thirteen inch range. I covered quite a bit of territory during this time frame including the pockets above long pool, the small braid around the first island, the left bank above the island, and the side of the island that faces highway six.

Deep Mossy Colored Brown

At the upper end of the pockets above the long pool, a hot fish (it appeared to be a rainbow) peeled out a significant amount of line as it streaked upstream, and unfortunately when it executed a leap above the water, it freed itself. I was unable to maintain line pressure with the great amount of line between me and the fish. In another disappointing incident, a weighty brown trout broke off the caddis with a violent head twist in the area along the bank above the island.

Another Eagle River Beauty

At 4PM I hiked back to the car, but I stayed in my waders in case I decided to test the Eagle River between Minturn and interstate 70. As I exited the interstate and traveled along the river above the confluence with Gore Creek, I was intrigued by the glistening flows next to me, so I crossed the cement bridge and parked and then pushed my way through the bushes to the river. Alas I discovered that the river was dead between 4:30 and 5:00, at least by my definition. I tried the caddis and a dry/dropper arrangement and never spotted as much as a refusal. I closed the book on the Eagle River and drove south and paid for campsite 3 at Hornsilver Campground.

No. 3 at Hornsilver

Monday was a solid day on the Eagle River, as I enjoyed quite a bit of success on the caddis dry fly. The higher than normal water level forced me to focus mainly on the edge, and I adapted and netted a decent number of nice fish. The two escapees were probably my best shots at fifteen inches plus, however, I felt the tug of quite a few brown trout in the 13-14 inch range.

Fish Landed: 13

Arkansas River – 07/08/2016

Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Lunch rock and then upstream almost to the county line.

Arkansas River 07/08/2016 Photo Album

After spending a day with Jane hiking and biking in the Monarch Pass area, I scheduled another day of fishing for Friday July 8. I hoped for another day of edge fishing and the concentrated population of hungry trout that found large foam attractor patterns irresistible. Since I spent Wednesday in the Smyth Lease section above Salida, I chose to visit the stretch of the river downstream from the Fremont-Chafee county line on Friday. The river between Salida and Wellsville is my favorite, and I believe that it harbors more and larger fish than any other portion of the Arkansas River. Could I capture the magic of edge fishing one more time?

As I documented in my post of July 6, I was frustrated by my inability to land fish that chomped on the large foam attractors such as the Chernobyl ant and fat Albert, and I planned to test the idea of using a single large fly without any trailing leader that might affect the willingness of a fish to commit. Since Jane and I camped at Angel of Shavano Campground on Thursday night, I was able to reach the Lunch Rock pullout along the Arkansas River by 9:30 on Friday morning. Once again the air temperature was warm at 9:30, and as the day evolved, the thermometer reached ninety degrees. I did not check the stream flows beforehand, however, upon my return to Denver I discovered that they were in the 1200 cfs range on Friday. In an effort to rest my arm and shoulder somewhat I selected my Sage four weight for a day of constant casting.

1200 CFS

 

Given my desire to test the single dry concept, I began the morning by tying a yellow Letort hopper to my line. I gave this fly and approach ample opportunity to convince me that it was the solution to long distance releases, but the fish never showed interest. I could not convince myself to spend a day casting 100% dry flies, so I added a beadhead hares ear beneath the hopper, and this move allowed me to land a small brown trout on the nymph. Perhaps the Letort hopper was not the correct choice for my unscientific experiment? I clipped off both flies after a reasonable trial period and knotted a size 8 Chernobyl ant to my line by itself. After all, this was the very fly that failed to hold three decent trout on Wednesday. The Chernboyl offering represented some progress, as a refusal resulted. My standard first response to a refusal is to downsize, and I followed the script by replacing the size 8 with a size 10 Chernobyl, but this fly created no interest.

I had now fished for over an hour, and I was convinced that the fish were not recklessly looking to the surface for large morsels of food, so I defaulted to my most productive technique…dry/dropper. I attached a fat Albert to my line and then added an iron Sally and salvation as droppers, and this combination of flies enabled me to increment the fish count to four by the time I broke for lunch at 11:45. All three of the landed fish were small browns that chowed down on the salvation nymph.

Gripped Above the River

I packed my lunch in my backpack, so after a brief break along the river, I resumed my upstream quest for trout. I prospected all the attractive edge locations, but nothing seemed to be working. At one point I observed quite a few yellow Sallies above the surface of the river, and the iron Sally seemed too large to imitate the nymphal form of the small stoneflies, so I exchanged for a hares ear. This move was soundly ignored, and by 1PM I paused to assess. It was very warm and the river seemed dead with no obvious food source present. I began to write off Friday and reprimanded myself for choosing to fish on the Arkansas River again. These early July days were too valuable to waste on an unproductive major river.

As these thoughts were passing through my brain, I spotted two pale morning duns fluttering up from the water, and then shortly thereafter I saw a fish flash near the surface in the hydraulic cushion in front of a large submerged rock. Could the fish be tuning into pale morning duns? I already had a salvation nymph in my lineup, and it normally serves as a solid representation of a PMD nymph, so I drifted my flies near the spot where the fish flashed four or five times, but I saw no evidence of interest from the fish. I tried a dead drift and a lift, but none of these techniques were effective.

Handsome Fish

I now reconsidered my options. Despite the lack of rising fish, would they recognize a pale morning dun dry fly and respond? Given the lack of action, I decided I had nothing to lose, and I converted to a size 16 cinnamon comparadun. I am happy to report that this ploy was a winner, and I landed four additional brown trout between one and two o’clock. All the fish were in the 12-14 inch range, and I celebrated my persistence and willingness to adjust to stream conditions.

Set Me Free

At two o’clock the hatch seemed to wane, but I observed another wave of yellow Sallies, so I knotted a size 16 yellow stonefly to my line. I cast the new offering to a riffled area at the beginning of a small pool and a twelve inch brown responded and took my fish count to nine. Perhaps I had another winner in the yellow Sally? Unfortunately I moved on, and the neighboring trout of the Arkansas did not recognize the yellow Sally as a tasty menu item.

Nice Stretch Here

I desperately wanted to reach double digits, but I was skeptical that I could reach this goal in the face of the high sun, warm temperatures, and the absence of PMD’s. It was at this moment that I arrived at a large rock that was similar to Lunch Rock. The main current swept down the center of the river and passed the point of the large rock that jutted into the river for twenty feet. Once the heavy run passed the rock it curled toward my bank and then slid back to the nook of the eddy directly behind the protruding rock. I carefully positioned myself on the angled rock near the nexus of the eddy, and I could readily observe three nice fish hovering a foot or two below the surface, as they occasionally plucked an unknown form of food from the area were the multiple currents converged.

Would these fish respond to a yellow Sally? I made multiple drifts, but the small yellow stonefly imitation was soundly ignored. Were the fish continuing to feed on a stealth pale morning dun hatch? There was only one way to find out. I tied my cinnamon comparadun back on my line and flipped it into the eddy. On the sixth dangle one of the hovering fish slowly approached my fake PMD and sucked it in! I instantly set the hook and Mr. Trout was not happy. It streaked down the river like a silver missile and quickly reached some fast current. This act continued for thirty yards, as I simply allowed my reel to zing at a high pitch. Eventually the torpedo stopped, and I began to reel line. I thought I felt throbbing from the fish, but it could have just as easily been the current pushing against my long length of unspooled line. Was I still connected to this freight train?

In order to gain line more rapidly I began to strip in a hand over hand manner, and quickly I realized that the weary trout was still attached to my comparadun. I managed to slide the net beneath a sixteen inch rainbow, and I silently celebrated my good fortune. I was most proud of allowing the rainbow to streak and pull line without any interference on my part. I paused to photograph my prize and then I released it to test other fishermen in the future. After this exhilarating episode I inspected the eddy once more, but the commotion put down the remaining fish.

Not Happy in Net

I resumed my upstream progression while prospecting with the size 16 comparadun, and I added three more browns to my count before I called it quits at 3:30. On the day I landed thirteen fish, and amazingly nine responded to dry flies. These results are quite unusual for the Arkansas River, but I was very pleased with my fun day. I expected to edge fish to dumb starved run off fish that viewed big foam attractors as a nourishing source of food. Instead I adjusted to the conditions and used some subtle clues to salvage the day by prospecting with a small pale morning dun comparadun despite the absence of rising fish. Fly fishing is certainly a thinking man’s game.

Fish Landed: 13

 

 

Arkansas River – 07/06/2016

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Smyth Lease

Arkansas River 07/06/2016 Photo Album

The final box to be checked off on my edge fishing goal list was the Arkansas River. On Wednesday July 6 I took steps to complete the remaining challenge. I planned to drive to the Arkansas River and fish on Wednesday. After a day of fishing I would continue on to Angel of Shavano Campground to secure a campsite, and then Jane would make the trip after some morning tennis and join me for two nights of camping.

I departed Denver at 8AM, but unfortunately a normal 2.5 hour trip developed into three hours as a result of three sections of road construction on US 285 between the junction with US 24 and Johnson Village. I survived the frustrating delays and pulled into the pullout next to the bridge that crosses the Arkansas River on CO 291 by 11AM. I targeted the Smyth Lease for my day of edge fishing, since I enjoyed some great action in this area previously during similar river conditions.

1500 CFS

It was a hot and sunny day with temperatures reaching eighty degrees. The flows were in the 1400 – 1500 cfs range, and this was nearly ideal for the edge fishing that I anxiously anticipated. I assembled my Scott six weight rod, since I expected big water, plenty of wind and larger than average fish, and then I climbed over the wooden stairs provided to avoid damaging the ranch fence. Another fisherman arrived after me, so I decided to hike quite a distance downstream to avoid interference. Eventually I arrived at a place where a rough path angled down the steep bank to the river, and I descended using small baby steps to avoid sliding in the loose gravel and shale. I was on high alert for snakes having encountered a large bull species on one of my previous visits. My starting point was just above the area that can be accessed via the southern approach to the Smyth Lease, and it was 11: 30 when I stepped into the river.

Prime Edge Water Ahead

I paused to assess the river, and it was in prime condition. The water was cold and crystal clear and high, yet it was low enough to allow reasonable wading along the edge. I tied a size eight Chernobyl ant to my line and then added a bright green caddis pupa and beadhead hares ear, and I was primed for action. The Arkansas River is rich in caddis species thus the bet on the caddis pupa. I plopped the Chernobyl to likely spots for fifteen minutes with not response, so I exchanged the caddis pupa for a salvation nymph since that performed admirably on the Eagle River, and the fly shop reports noted the presence of pale morning duns. I rearranged the flies so that the hares ear was the top nymph, and the salvation was in the end position.

Salvation Nymph Lover

When I resumed, a fish finally boiled but refused the Chernobyl ant, so I was reassured that fish existed along the edge, but I was troubled by the refusal. Fortunately after the refusal, brown trout began to notice the salvation nymph, and I notched up the fish counter by four relatively small fish before I stopped to eat lunch at 12:30.

Gear Stashed Among Wildflowers for Lunch

I learned in the first hour that the bigger fish occupied the deep holes and shelf pools along the bank, whereas smaller fish could be caught from the shallow riffles and runs that produce bigger fish later in the season. Based on this observation I spent more casts on the prime areas and only allocated a couple token drifts to the secondary places. Another productive structure was the deep area and cushion in front of large boulders.

The Only Rainbow Was This Beauty

I used these observations to drive my fishing strategy after lunch, and the perfect laboratory presented itself. I approached an area where three very large submerged rounded boulders were clumped and surrounded by deep water. I made ten drifts through the area with no results, and I was baffled by this lack of success in prime structure. Before moving on, however, I lobbed a cast farther out along a swift current seam, and connected with a hard charging rainbow. I paused to photograph my first decent fish, and then when I resumed fishing, I tossed a token cast back in the deep area around the boulders. Inexplicably a gorgeous brown trout sucked in the salvation in the very area where numerous earlier presentations failed.

Slipping Away

The period from 1 – 3 PM was my best. I moved the fish count from four to eleven, and this included a couple additional browns in the 13-14 inch range. Most of the trout were grabbing the salvation nymph with a minority succumbing to the hares ear. One of my frustrations throughout the day was my inability to land fish that struck the Chernobyl ant. I hooked at least three fish that felt relatively substantial that eventually eluded my bent rod. After giving it some thought, I theorized that the 4X tippet coming off the bend of the hook deflected the bite in some way? During the run off fishing I opted to utilize 4X where I normally apply 5X. As an experiment on Friday I hope to fish a lone foam attractor to test whether the dropper arrangement has an impact on the ability of the hook to hold fish.

Toward the end of the 1-3PM time period I decided to experiment with my old standby yellow Letort hopper with a salvation nymph dropper. Since the Letort hopper is not constructed with foam and therefore less buoyant, I generally limit the dropper to one beadhead nymph. The hopper/dropper combination delivered three additional fish including a fifteen inch brown trout that smacked the Letort hopper and represented my best fish on the day. The two fish that inhaled the salvation nymph on the lift were decent 12-13 inch fish.

Zoomed In for Spots

By 3 o’clock the action slowed to inaction, so I converted back to the hares ear plus salvation combination, and deploying two nymphs caused me to try a yellow fat Albert as the top fly. One more medium size brown trout nabbed the salvation, and then a small brown slurped the fat Albert. Once again a fish hooked on the foam top fly managed to shake loose, and the energy from the rod catapulted the flies into a tree high above my head. I uttered some nasty phrases and paused to evaluate my dilemma. I gazed at the tree and realized that the branches were dead, and this led to the thought that I could rescue the flies by breaking off the branch.

First I tried tugging rapidly on the line, but this broke off the fat Albert and a small twig. I recovered the largest and hardest to tie fly, but the two nymphs still dangled high above me. In addition to the dead branch, an invasive vine plant was entwined around much of the limb in the area. Again I paused to consider options, and I spotted an eighteen foot long dead branch lying along the river at the base of the tree. Could this be the key? I picked it up and hoisted it toward the dangling flies and then allowed the end to drop on top of the branch gripping the flies and the vine. Miraculously the line and flies hooked into the eighteen foot long natural jousting pole that I was wielding, and once I dropped it to the ground, I recovered my nymphs.

A Split Level

I reattached the flies to my line and resumed fishing, but the sun was bright and the air was quite warm and the small amount of hatching activity disappeared. I worked my way along the bank and some thick vegetation until I reached the bridge, and when I glanced at my watch I realized it was 3:30. I concluded it was time to quit and find a campsite, and I ended my fishing day.

Happy Hour Is Here

Wednesday completed my goal of edge fishing three large freestone rivers in Colorado during run off. I landed fifteen fish including some fine brown trout and one rainbow in the 12-15 inch range. Once again the weather was pleasant, the water was cold and clear, and I enjoyed steady action in the ten foot band along the bank. I expected more success on the large foam top fly, but four long distance releases was part of the challenge. Colorado Rivers are now falling to prime levels, so the best fishing for 2016 lies just ahead.

Fish Landed: 15

Eagle River – 07/05/2016

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Eagle Lease, western end

Eagle River 07/05/2016 Photo Album

My goal for 2016 was to experience prime edge fishing conditions on the Yampa River, Eagle River and Arkansas River. All three of these rivers are essentially freestone rivers, and each offers excellent action as the high run off volume of water recedes. Under these conditions, the hungry trout are forced to seek relief from the high velocity by migrating to the banks and places with large rocks or logs. A fly fisherman can enjoy hot fishing by seeking out the locations where the fish are forced to congregate.

In 2016 I checked off the Yampa River, as I enjoyed superb days on June 23 and June 28 by focusing my efforts solely on the thin band of water within eight feet of the bank. I was rewarded with a decent quantity of larger than average healthy hard fighting fish. The Eagle River was next on my list, but unfortunately Saturday July 2 proved to be very challenging. The weather was uncooperative, hatches failed to materialize, and the flows elevated to very difficult levels between 1500 – 1600 cfs. The Arkansas River was on my to do list, but flows on that large river remained in the 1500 level. The same storm system that hammered the Eagle River affected clarity and levels on the Arkansas River, so I designated that as a near future destination.

The Eagle River remained foremost on my mind as an unfulfilled edge fishing goal, and the window was quickly closing. Jane and I planned to undertake a camping and fishing trip to the Arkansas River on July 5-8, but the impact of rain reported above caused me to reconsider. I decided to insert a day trip to the Eagle River on Tuesday July 5 and delayed the Arkansas venture to July 6 – 9.

Jane and I dropped Dan off at the Central Park light rail station on Tuesday morning, so I was up extra early, and this enabled me to depart the house by 6:15. I avoided rush hour traffic and made great time. I decided to return to the western end of the Eagle Lease if the water was clear, and once I passed Wolcott and drove along the river on route six, I realized that water clarity was perfect. I quickly pulled on my new waders and stuffed my lunch and raincoat in my backpack and strode down the shoulder of the road to the designated entry point to the lease. The raincoat turned out to be only a safety net, as the weather was perfect for my entire day on the river. The high temperature reached the upper seventies, but long periods of cloud cover permitted shirt sleeve comfort.

High and Clear, Around 1000 CFS

Because of my difficult day on Saturday, I began fishing with a strike indicator, split shot, beadhead hares ear and 20 incher. I assumed that I needed to fish deep given the elevated flows, although it was obvious that the water was lower than my previous venture to this same spot on Saturday. In the first juicy shelf pool I was unable to interest any fish, and the next stretch of water was more conducive to dry/dropper, so I made the conversion. I began with a yellow fat Albert and trailed a beadhead hares ear and emerald caddis pupa.

These flies also failed to arouse interest in the next couple attractive areas characterized by slower moving water, so I once again made a change and placed my fortunes with an ultra zug bug instead of the emerald caddis. Again I was stifled in my attempt to catch a fish. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was 10:30, so I gambled that the fish would be tuned into pale morning dun nymphs. I moved the hares ear to the top fly and added a salvation nymph to imitate the nymph state of the PMD.

First Fish Was This Gorgeous Rainbow Trout

Success. Between 10:30 and 11:30 I landed four trout, and three were absolutely stunning and powerful 15-16 inch rainbows. Each of these fish put up an intense battle before I was fortunate enough to slide it into my net. Given the hot action on the salvation, I was fairly certain that an emergence would transpire, so I sat on a log and munched my small lunch at 11:45.

Just a Beautiful Fish

Sure enough after lunch the population of adult PMD’s intensified, but I only spotted one or two rises. I removed my three flies and tried a size 18 cinnamon comparadun for a bit, but the fish did not respond, so I changed back to the dry/dropper configuration. The next phase of my day was one of frustration, as I hooked but failed to land at least four very nice fish and remained entrenched on a fish count of four for quite awhile.

Salvation Nymph Piercing

I Landed Four from These Flats on a PMD Comparadun

Finally I approached some nice riffles and runs of moderate depth, and I succeeded in landing three additional fish to bring my total to seven. Two were relatively small, but one was another powerful rainbow trout that forced me to employ my best fish landing skills. By this point I progressed farther up the river than any of my previous ventures to the western edge of the lease, and I arrived at a gorgeous section of flats. The water in this area was relatively smooth, and the depth was only two to three feet. I could see three or four fish working in the surface film, so I paused and once again removed my dry/dropper lineup and pinned my hopes on the cinnamon comparadun.

Lowered for Release

The move paid off handsomely, as I landed four additional trout including another rocket fueled rainbow that streaked up and down the flats, until I finally pressured it into my net. What a thrill it was to catch a chunky fifteen inch rainbow on a size 18 dry fly. I moved up into the flats to get a closer look at the riffle at the head beneath a tree limb, and sure enough I saw a decent fish feeding fairly aggressively. On the fourth cast my heart jumped, when the fish turned its head and sipped my dun. I fought this brown for a minute or two, and then it escaped my hook.

Very Nice Powerful Rainbow

I now had a bit of confidence in fishing the small comparadun solo, so I continued with the approach, and I was surprised to witness another slurp when I prospected a long slick behind an exposed rock. This was another quality rainbow and brought the fish counter to twelve on the day. I attempted to continue with the comparadun, but the water type changed into faster deeper flows. A small fish actually refused the PMD near the bank, so I swapped it for a light gray caddis because quite a few adults were dapping on the surface. The small picky eater rejected this fly as well.

I decided to forget about the little guy and moved to the next section, but this water was more conducive to dry/dropper, so I once again invested time to make the change. This time I used a Chernobyl ant as the top fly along with the standard hares ear and salvation combination. I tossed the trio of flies directly upstream to a nice deep run within three feet of the bank. As the flies drifted back toward me, the Chernobyl dipped, and I set the hook and found myself attached to a brute of a brown trout. I am sure this fish was in excess of fifteen inches. I battled the angry brown for a couple minutes and then for some unknown reason the hook released. Adding insult to injury, the pent up energy in my bowed fly rod caused the three flies to lurch high into the air, and they landed in a willow tree behind me. It was impossible to reach the flies, so I grabbed the line and tugged forcefully, and the flies broke at the knot that attached the Chernobyl ant. The foam ant dangled two feet below the tree limb and mocked me for attempting to match my strength with the big brown.

I sat on a log and grieved my bad luck for a few minutes, and then I replaced the three flies, but I only lasted for another fifteen minutes before I noticed it was 3:30, and I was not sure what my exit strategy was. I climbed a steep bank and then paralleled the river for a bit until I saw a rope fence. I walked along the fence for twenty yards and then found a dirt path that eventually led me to the road.

I achieved my goal of successfully edge fishing the Eagle River in 2016, and I landed quite a few large powerful rainbows that caused me to apply my best fish fighting skills. Unfortunately I lost the battle at least six times, but that is what makes fly fishing so interesting. Another negative for the day was the loss of five salvation nymphs. I am consuming them at a rapid pace, and the bulk of the best fishing lies ahead, but then again, that is why I tied a large quantity of them during the winter. It was a fun day in beautiful weather catching lots of hefty energized trout. That is what edge fishing is all about.

On to the Arkansas River.

Fish Landed: 12

Yampa River – 07/03/2016

Time: 5:00PM – 7:00PM

Location: Emerald Park

Yampa River 07/03/2016 Photo Album

Steve and I agreed to resume the pursuit of Yampa River trout in the evening on July 3, and our wives approved our plan. Initially we attempted to fish from Rotary Park, which is a short distance from the condo, but we were unable to obtain a parking space due to the congestion created by float tubers. We were forced to select option number two, which was the Emerald Park area that we fished in the morning.

Steve read on the Steamboat Flyfisher web site that caddis and green drakes were hatching in the evening, so our true motive for the evening excursion was to ascertain the validity of this report. We both began our evening outing at Steve’s favorite spot near the bench across from the ball fields. Steve chose the top half of the long riffle, while I began at the bottom. Almost immediately Steve hooked and landed two small brown trout that rose to his size sixteen brown caddis. Initially I rigged with nymphs, but after witnessing Steve’s success, I switched to a size 16 deer hair caddis. I followed Steve’s lead in the morning, and it led to success, so why not continue my education?

For me, however, the caddis failed to excite the fish, and this lack of action continued in the next couple of upstream areas that I explored. The small caddis was very difficult to follow in the mixed shade and sunlight, so I added a size 14 gray stimulator and fished it in front of the caddis. The double dry was not the solution, and I remained fishless.

At this point I lost confidence in the dry flies due to the high flows (although lower than the morning), so I converted to a nymph system once again. Hoping to at least repeat my morning success, I once again opted for a 20 incher and copper john, and I began bouncing these flies through likely fish shelters. This approach also failed me, as I fished all the best spots until I arrived at the pipe hole where I caught the sixteen inch brown in the morning.

Caddis Fooled This Beauty

Here I paused to exchange the copper john for a dark cahill wet fly, but again nothing to report. I inched to the middle of the shelf pool and began hooking casts around a protruding branch to the top riffle section. As I was doing this, I spotted a single rise below the branch. This one sign of surface feeding provoked me to once again make a big change, and I switched back to the gray stimulator. In the area where I observed the rise, I landed a tiny rainbow trout that was too small to count. At least I knew that the trout would go for the stimulator.

Ugly Underwater Pipe in Background

Once again I moved up a bit so I could better cover the area above the branch, and on the third drift I noticed a decent fish, as it swirled to look at my fly, but it rejected the stimulator. This really increased my level of interest, and I decided to downsize to a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. My first response to a refusal is generally to use a smaller version of the same fly. In this case, my rule paid dividends. On the third drift a sixteen inch rainbow turned and nabbed the caddis, and after a tough fight I coaxed it into my net. The surface feeding rainbow was a great ending to a tough two hours of evening fishing on the Yampa River.

Fish Landed: 1

Yampa River – 07/03/2016

Time: 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Location: Emerald Park area east of Steamboat Springs

Yampa River 07/03/2016 Photo Album

Our friends Judy and Steve Supple graciously invited us to join them at their condo in Steamboat Springs for the Fourth of July holiday. I detoured to the Eagle River on Saturday on my way to Steamboat and weathered some heavy rain and high water to land three small brown trout. During 2016 I enjoyed three solid days on the Yampa, but the last outing on June 29 sent me signals that the hot edge fishing was in the past. Flows dropped to 450 cfs, and the dense pale morning dun hatch appeared to move up the river. These two factors combined with an explosion of holiday water tubing enthusiasts, suggested fishing would be difficult.

My host, Steve, was recovering from shoulder surgery and therefore missed much of the early season, so he was quite anxious to spend time on the water on Sunday July 3. As a guest in his condo, who was I to turn down this invitation to join him on the Yampa River? We set out on Sunday morning relatively early in order to exercise our arms and fly rods before the flotilla of rafts and flotation devices interfered with our pursuit of trout. We parked by the ball fields at Emerald Park, and by the time we pulled on our waders and assembled our rods, we were in the water fishing by 9:30.

Heavy rains in the area combined with increased releases from Stagecoach Reservoir increased the flows back to the 670 cfs level. I was surprised by this circumstance, and I considered the possibility that a second wave of edge fishing might result. The higher flows limited the locations where fish might hold without expending excessive energy, but I was new to the stretch of water. I began my quest for Yampa River trout with a hopper Juan trailing a hares ear nymph and a salvation nymph, and I began casting to areas where I suspected fish might hold, but the fish counter remained locked on zero for quite awhile.

I did experience an adrenaline releasing episode halfway through my morning however. I made an upstream cast and misjudged the clearance resulting in the fat Albert and two nymphs snagged in a willow branch. The flies were out of my reach, so I gave them a slow steady tug, and this action caused the line to break off below the fat Albert. I cursed my luck, and I could see the two nymphs dangling from the branch. They appeared to be taunting me, so I waded as close as I could and reach as high as possible, and the lowest fly remained six inches beyond my fingertips. If only I had a stick to pull the branch back toward me. I looked around, and then I thought of my wading staff floating at my side. I raised it to put against the branch, but it was tethered to my belt. My quick solution was to unhook the stick, and this enabled me to steadily push the branch back within reach.

I needed both hands to untangle the flies, so I let go of the wading stick with my right hand and grabbed the branch and flies with both hands and broke off the tip. At this point I remembered that the wading staff was no longer attached to my belt, and I glanced down the river in time to see it floating twenty yards downstream. Without giving the matter further thought, I dropped the rescued sprig of willow with two tangled flies on a log, and as quickly as possible I dashed to the path and then downstream to the next fisherman path that cut back to the river.

When I reached the bank, I glanced at the river and saw my stick floating by. I was too late to wade eight feet into the river, as it was already passing my position. Undeterred I half ran back to the main path and covered twice the distance as my previous wader sprint, and once again used a crude path to access the river. This time my $5 staff was not in view, so I waited thirty seconds, and then it appeared. I attempted to gauge where the bobbing piece of wood would pass me, and I edged farther into the current. Within seconds it arrived, and I snatched it and clutched it firmly until I was back on land, where upon I clamped it to my belt. This then was my first catch of the day, although I did not include it on my fish counter.

I returned to the scene of my near disaster, and then I moved upstream a bit and found Steve in a delicious deep shelf pool where a metal pipe apparently drew water from the river. Steve informed me that he caught three trout including a fourteen inch rainbow, and a copper john was generating all his action. I was trying to avoid nymphing, but upon hearing this news, I added a strike indicator, split shot, 20 incher, and copper john to my line. Steve added that he temporarily hooked up on a fish that felt very decent in the pool that he presently occupied, but he now vacated and intended to move back to his favorite spot across from the ball field parking lot.

With the shelf pool now open, I moved in. I began drifting my nymphs from the midsection to the tail, and on the fifth such pass, the indicator paused, and I set the hook. Wham! A strong heavy tug bent my rod, and I then held tight as the weight on my line dove and shook its head and attempted a variety of maneuvers to free itself from my fly. It did not work, and eventually I slid my net beneath a spotted deeply colored sixteen inch brown trout. Thank you Steve for the valuable information.

Spots

I continued fishing upstream with the nymph rig and managed to land a nine inch rainbow in a fairly fast deep run. When I got close to the point of an island, I decided to return to Steve’s favorite spot near the bench across from the parking lot. Steve was absent, so I stepped in and began covering the nice wide run and riffle with my nymphs. The bottom half proved fruitless, so I waded to the middle and began to spray casts from left to right, until I drifted the flies tight to the heavy fast water that marked the western edge of the riffle.

Set Free

Once again the thingamabobber dipped, and I was engaged in a battle with a rainbow trout that probably approached or exceeded fifteen inches. I do not know for sure because after two minutes of releasing and retrieving line, the fly broke free, and I failed to land the tough fighter. I left the sweet spot and once again progressed upstream where I met Steve at 11:30. We agreed to fish for another thirty minutes and then quit, since the river traffic was becoming an issue.

I decided to explore downstream and found a worn narrow path that followed the top of the bank along the river. Unfortunately the section of the river that bordered the path was marginal in the higher flows with relatively few holding locations. I bashed through the brush and down the steep bank at one point and managed to land a small brown trout on the copper john to reach a count of three on the morning. It would be interesting to visit this hard to access stretch in lower water conditions.

At noon we returned to the car and chatted with a gentleman named Tracy Echoles from Jackson, MS. He was visiting his son who played for the Steamboat Springs team in a college baseball league based in Colorado. Tracy was a colorful character, and we enjoyed our fifteen minute conversation before we returned to the condominium for lunch.

Fish Landed: 3

Eagle River – 07/02/2016

Time: 11:00AM – 3:00PM

Location: Eagle Lease between Eagle and Wolcott and then the Edwards Rest Area

Eagle River 07/02/2016 Photo Album

After a two week period of hot weather with highs in the upper 80’s and low to mid 90’s, some cooler weather moved through Colorado. I anxiously monitored the stream flows as I attempted to visit Colorado freestone rivers during the window of opportunity when the flows are dropping and the clarity is decent; however, the fish are forced to dwell along the edges where they can find relief from the continued strong river velocity. I enjoyed some hot fishing on the Yampa River during these exact conditions, and now I had my eye on the Eagle River and the Arkansas River. Each were racing toward my targeted levels, and I was fearful that I would miss out.

I generally avoid fishing on weekends since my retirement status enables me to fish during weekdays when crowds are down and traffic is light. Jane and I accepted an invitation to stay with our friends the Supples in Steamboat Springs over the Fourth of July weekend, so I suggested that we drive separately on Saturday, and this allowed me to travel by way of Wolcott, CO and the Eagle River. I violated my desire to avoid weekends in an effort to capture the magic of edge fishing the Eagle River.

The cool weather was accompanied by moisture, and I noted that the Eagle River flows actually leveled out and increased a bit on Thursday and Friday. The monitor in Avon registered nearly 1200 cfs while the station farther downstream near Milk Creek read 1600 cfs. In previous years I enjoyed success when the Avon gauge showed readings in the 900 cfs range. Since I was not sure when another opportunity would become available to fish the Eagle River, I gambled that conditions would improve. The fly shop reports indicated that caddis and pale morning duns were hatching and that edge fishing was prime.

Unfortunately as I departed on Saturday morning, the skies opened and rain descended on my car as I drove west from Denver. The periods of rain continued off and on for my entire trip, and I was very concerned that the river below Milk Creek would be quite murky. This lower portion is my favorite stretch early in the season, and in past years I landed many above average rainbows and browns while edge fishing at 900 cfs. Amazingly as I drove route 6 along the river beyond the confluence with Milk Creek, I observed nearly clear water conditions.

I found a parking space near the western edge of the last lease section before the town of Eagle, and I pulled on my new Hodgman 5H waders along with my New Zealand hat and rain coat. The weather conditions presented a stiff test to my waders and rain protection, and I am happy to report that I remained dry despite several periods of drenching downpours. The air temperature was in the low 60’s, so I added a fleece layer under my raincoat for the morning session. I strung my Scott six weight and climbed the metal stairs over the fence and descended to the edge of the river anxiously anticipating a day of edge fishing action.

The Eagle River Was Wet and Raging

The flows were indeed higher than that which I experienced in previous years, and the conditions severely limited the number of locations where fish could hold to avoid expending excessive energy. I began with a fat Albert, bright green caddis pupa, and a salvation nymph. I managed one momentary hook up and a refusal to the fat Albert between 11 and 1:30, but that was the extent of my success. In one particularly attractive segment of water, I switched to a deep nymphing approach, but this change rendered no impact on my fishing fortunes. I switched flies often and cycled through a Chernobyl ant, ultra zug bug, hares ear, iron Sally and a flesh colored San Juan worm. None of these normally productive flies pried open the locked jaws of the Eagle River trout.

At 1:30 I decided to move to the upper Eagle River at the Edwards Rest Area. This section of the river was above several tributaries and therefore carried a lower volume of water. When I arrived I sat on the curb and ate my small lunch, as luckily it was one of the periods between rain. After lunch I hiked down the path from the parking lot to the river, and then I turned right and reached the end of the path, where I cut to the left and approached the river. This portion of the Eagle River was not as high as the lower area, yet it was rushing by at a higher flow than I had ever witnessed previously.

I pondered my options and decided to go “old school” and tied on a yellow Letort hopper with a beadhead hares ear nymph. This combination of flies was my favorite offering when I first began deploying the dry/dropper with excellent success. The water that was available to fish effectively was a narrow strand right along the bank, and I began tossing the two fly combination to this area wherever I could reach it. Finally after a couple fishless hours on the Eagle River, I managed to land a seven inch brown trout that snatched the trailing beadhead hares ear. I was never so happy to see such a small fish in my net.

Typical Holding Location

I persisted and worked my way upstream with great difficulty, as there were many places where the swift nature of the current along the bank made it impossible to wade. In these situations I climbed the bank and struggled through thick trees and brush in order to re-enter the river. Through hard work I managed to land two more brown trout before I quit at 3PM. Each fish that I landed was a bit larger than the previous, with the third brown reaching twelve inches. Just before I quite I experienced a momentary hook up with a yellow bellied brown trout that smacked the Letort hopper. Two of the landed fish fell for the hares ear, and one rose to gobble the hopper.

Best Fish on Saturday

Saturday was tough fishing. I battled swift currents and adverse wading conditions to land three relatively small trout. My new waders survived a severe test, and I remained mostly dry despite several periods of heavy rainfall. I believe the prime window for edge fishing on the Eagle River lies in the future. Despite fly shop reports to the contrary, insect hatches were absent from the Eagle River on Saturday July 2, and this added to the challenging conditions.

Fish Landed: 3

Yampa River – 06/29/2016

Time: 9:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Morning and early afternoon in Steamboat Springs and then 3:00 until 4:30 at Stagecoach tailwater

Yampa River 06/29/2016 Photo Album

After enjoying perhaps the best day of the year so far, how could Wednesday be anything but outstanding? Remember that change is constant in fly fishing.

I relaxed in pleasant slumber at the McKinley Loop at Stagecoach Reservoir State Park on Tuesday night, and I was anxious to get an early start on Wednesday. After a quick breakfast at campsite 86, I packed up my tent and all the camping gear, and I was on my way back to the Steamboat Springs section of the Yampa River. Thursday June 23 was a fun day, and Tuesday surpassed it with numerous large brown trout in the 13 – 18 inch range. I arrived at the ice rink parking lot and prepared to fish using my Scott six weight rod. After losing two brown trout in excess of twenty inches on Tuesday, I desired the advantage of a heavier rod to better control large fish.

I forgot that the Scott six weight was still rigged with a custom leader that Jake Chutz constructed for my day of streamer fishing on the Elk River, but I decided to keep it in place and try some deep nymph fishing in the morning before hatches commenced. I cut back the tippet until a very thick section of leader occupied the end segment, and then I knotted a slumpbuster to the line. Next I extended a foot of 4X and added an iron sally, since this fly was a hot producer during the previous day. Surely some stonefly nymphs were still available to the trout given their abundant emergence on Tuesday.

I began fishing thirty yards below the Fifth Street bridge and worked my way toward that landmark in the morning, but the fish were not paying attention to my offerings. I dead drifted, allowed the flies to swing, and stripped them back toward me at different rates of speed; but none of my efforts aroused attention from the resident fish. Flows were down slightly from Tuesday, so I covered more attractive slots and pockets away from the bank, but nothing seemed to interest the fish.

I passed under the Fifth Street bridge, and given the lack of success, I decided to revert to my Tuesday approach with a dry/dropper arrangement. Unfortunately the custom leader was built for slinging streamers and was not conducive to casting a dry/dropper rig, so I returned to the car at the ice rink parking lot, and spent some time converting the leader. I replaced the streamer construction with a standard tapered leader, and then I configured it with a Charlie boy hopper, beadhead hares ear, and salvation nymph. I returned to the river above the bridge and worked my way upstream fishing in the same style that produced numerous large fish for me the previous day. Alas change is constant in fly fishing, and what works one day, seldom works the next.

By the time I reached the island, I accumulated two small fish on the fish counter, and I exchanged the Charlie boy hopper for a fat Albert. In similar fashion, the hares ear was swapped for the star of Tuesday, the iron sally. None of these moves changed the interest of the fish. My last spot was the downstream point of the island, and here I began to see a decent number of pale morning duns, as they slowly floated upward from the surface of the river. I was not sure how long the hatch would last, but I hoped to explore the right braid along the island, so I walked back across the bridge and found the railroad tracks. The initial water along the right side of the island was wide and shallow and fast, so I skipped it, until I approached a very deep pool beneath the railroad bridge.

Above the bridge an appealing segment of water appeared, and I paused to look for rising fish, but none appeared, and only one or two mayflies hovered over the river. I glanced at my watch and noted that it was 12:20, and I desired to be on better water in case another decent pale morning dun hatch developed. I quickly reversed my direction and hiked back downstream past the ice rink, rodeo, and Howelsen Hill parking area until I reached the skate park, and here I cut across some weeds to the railroad tracks. I used the crushed rock bed as a thruway and strode quickly until I was just above the hot springs. I could smell the pungent aroma of sulfur in the warm air, as I carefully descended a steep bank to the edge of the river.

Best Fish on Wednesday in Steamboat Springs

On the second cast as I lifted the flies to recast, I felt weight and held tight as a thirteen inch rainbow trout thrashed on my line until I led it into my net. This fish proved to be my best on June 29 in the Yampa section within the town of Steamboat. I continued working my way upstream along the right bank and eventually covered some of the same water that entertained me on Tuesday morning. This portion of my fishing day yielded four trout and incremented the fish counter to six, but the hatch was brief and the size of the fish paled in comparison to the robust specimens that attacked my flies on Tuesday. Most of the fish landed in town attacked the salvation nymph, and I somehow managed to lose at least three salvations and three iron sallies. I was not pleased with this circumstance.

At 2:30 I approached a wide shallow area, and the hatch appeared to diminish, and the number of inflatable water craft exploded. I was not encouraged by my prospects given these conditions combined with the high hot sun, so I fought through the bushes and returned to the car. I decided to pay a visit to the Yampa tailwater below Stagecoach Reservoir. I utilized this ploy in 2015, and on several occasions I encountered pale morning dun hatches in the afternoon. Could I repeat a similar fortuitous turn of events?

The Stagecoach Tailwater on Wednesday Afternoon

I arrived at the parking lot already attired in my waders, so it did not take long for me to assemble my Sage four weight and quickly descended the path to the river. I began prospecting with the dry/dropper approach that consisted of the fat Albert, beadhead hares ear, and salvation nymph. In the first thirty minutes I failed to land three fish that momentarily nipped my flies as they drifted along the edge of some faster currents. Unfortunately these opportunities proved to be some of my best chances to optimize my time on the tailwater.

After accepting that I was thwarted by the Yampa trout, I moved to an attractive shelf pool, but this area generated only fruitless casting even though I could see some sizable fish lurking in the depths. Another fisherman occupied the next of a nice series of stair step pools, so I circled around on the opposite side and approached a long pool where the main current flowed tight to the opposite bank. I launched some casts from the tail, but I could see some large fish totally ignore my flies as they passed overhead. Clearly my flies lost their magic, so I decided to change things up. In previous years I encountered pale morning duns, so I switched to a size 16 cinnamon comparadun. I fluttered some long casts to the midsection of the pool, where I spotted a couple sporadic rises, and once again I managed to prick a fish with a momentary hook up.

Again the visible fish ignored my fly, but occasionally a fish would rise, so it was clear they were looking for some type of food on the surface. Some small caddis randomly fluttered about, so I exchanged the PMD for a light gray caddis. I flicked this fly to the general area where fish rose, and suddenly a fish gulped the caddis. I quickly netted a nine inch brook trout and congratulated myself on finally landing a fish in the tailwater.

Next I moved to the middle of the pool so I could observe the upper half. The main current curled near the middle and then eddied back to the head of the run, and four or five nice fish hovered in front of me facing downstream. I stood motionless for a bit and observed several fish as they moved side to side to snag minute morsels of food from the drift, and then suddenly a long rainbow drifted to the surface and sipped something from the film. Since the caddis remained on my line, I lofted a couple casts to the turning point in the current and watched as it slowly crept back toward the nook of the eddy. My heart stopped as a sizable trout finned to the surface and then calmly turned away.

What should I do now? In the past I resorted to a small fur ant in these encounters with picky trout, so I knotted a size 18 black parachute ant to my line and presented it to the educated fish in front of me. I wish I could report that my choice of last resort solved the riddle, but it did not. The fish did not even inspect it, so I pondered the situation some more. While analyzing the puzzle, another rainbow sipped a mystery substance from the surface. A few midges buzzed above the river, and the targeted food source was minute, so I opted to try a griffiths gnat. I carry these size 22 generic midge imitations at all times but rarely resort to such a tiny fly.

Nice Catch

Magically on the fifth drift from the turning point in the current to a place directly across from me, a rainbow lifted its nose and sipped my griffiths gnat. I landed bigger fish and harder fighting fish on Tuesday, but somehow this rainbow established itself as my most gratifying catch of the two days fishing on the Yampa River. I netted the crimson beauty, estimated its length at fourteen inches, photographed it as proof of my persistence, and then released it to frustrate future anglers.

Wednesday was a disappointment compared to my previous two visits to the Yampa River, but I enjoyed a nice early summer day in the Colorado outdoors, and I was thankful for that. New adventures await as the prime period of the 2016 fishing season approaches.

Fish Landed: 8