Roaring Fork River – 07/09/2021

Time: 7:00AM – 1:15PM

Location: Basalt, CO to Carbondale, CO

Roaring Fork River 07/09/2021 Photo Album

Several weeks ago the Sylan fire launched the summer wildfire season in Colorado. Next, thunderstorms flushed Glenwood Canyon and caused half a dozen mudslides that blocked Interstate 70 for days. Record high temperatures exceeding 100 degrees became commonplace, as each summer seems to top the previous in the hot weather category. It was inevitable that this collection of heat related bad news would impact fly fishing, and right on schedule the Department of Wildlife announced closures on the Colorado River and Yampa River. All this, and the calendar remained in early July.

With this backdrop I tentatively looked forward to my fifth and final day of guided float fishing with Cutthroat Anglers. I elected to join my friend, Dave G., for five days in 2021, and July 9 was the fifth, having already enjoyed a day on the Eagle River and three days on the Rio Grande River. Cutthroat Anglers’ normal home water for drift fishing is the middle Colorado, but the closure announced in the first paragraph extended from Kremmling to Rifle, and that stretch encompassed the heart and soul of the shop’s guided float fishing water. What would we do? Dave G. was in contact with our guide, Reed, on Thursday, and he proposed a trip to the Roaring Fork River on Friday. He offered the alternative of the Eagle River, but the waterway along Interstate 70 was dropping and warming. Dave G. and I discussed our options, and we decided to try something different and chose the Roaring Fork River. Two downsides to the Roaring Fork were considered. In order to beat the competing boat traffic and beat the heat, Reed proposed meeting at 5:30AM in Eagle, CO. Another drawback was the potential for a localized thunderstorm that would create additional mudslides in Glenwood Canyon, and another closure would trap us on the western slope with few viable alternatives. The temperature for Friday in Carbondale was forecast to spike in the upper 80’s, and I was very concerned that the bright sun, lack of cloud cover and heat would put a significant damper on the trout’s appetite.

Poised for the Launch

On Thursday evening I made the drive from Denver to Eagle, CO and slept overnight at Dave G’s house. This positioned me for the early wake up, and after a very quick breakfast Dave G. drove us to our rendezvous point at the Eagle Rest Area, where we met up with Reed, his truck and the raft. The three of us passed through Glenwood Canyon without incident, and we arrived at a boat launch below Basalt by 6:30AM, and this enabled us to be on the water by 7:00AM.

Steep Narrow Boat Ramp

Let the Fun Begin

Dave G. graciously allotted me the forward position in the raft, and we began drifting the Roaring Fork River. The river in this middle section was narrower and faster than the lower stretch, and this dictated frequent cross overs, nimble boat maneuvering by Reed, and extra care when backcasting near overhanging branches and wires. Reed started me off with a size 12 parachute Adams, and I was very fortunate to nail two very fine fish in the early going. Number one was a brilliant pink hued rainbow, and the second was a medium sized brown trout. Dave G.’s flies, meanwhile, were being ignored from the trailing position, and we both suffered an extended lull after my first two catches. Reed began to tinker with the fly alignment, and he added a second fly to both our leaders.

Edna Nestled In

Eventually he hit upon some productive combinations. and I built the fish count to six before our 10:00AM lunch, and Dave G. attained a similar number of landed fish. We swapped positions more frequently than normal throughout the day, as Reed felt that the position in the boat was an important factor impacting fly fishing success. In my case, the popular flies were a parachute hares ear, purple haze and olive haze. Dave G. utilized similar flies with some slight variations.

Parachute Adams

After our early lunch we continued our float through some spectacular water with abundant braids, shoals and drop offs over cobble bottoms, and rocky bankside structure. I steadily incremented the fish counter and ended at 1:00PM with a cumulative total of thirteen. The catch rate was obviously slower than the Rio Grande, but given the high air temperatures and bright sky, we were more than happy with our level of success on Friday. In fact, the quality of the fish was outstanding, as seven of my netted fish were cutbows in the fifteen to eighteen inch range. The remaining six browns were slightly smaller in length, but all the trout exceeded twelve inches with several browns in the fifteen inch range. The brown trout made up for their slightly smaller size with head shaking and diving battles that strained my fish landing capabilities.

Narrowing Ahead

The Roaring Fork is famous for its green drake hatch, and our day on the river overlapped with this much anticipated event. Unfortunately, the hatch takes place in the evening, and our 7AM to 1PM float did not coincide with the main emergence. However, as I noted in previous posts, fish have long memories for green drakes, and we were certain that their awareness of  western green drake activity caused opportunistic feeding on our size 12 parachute imitations.

My favorite fish was a brown trout that sipped the parachute hares ear in the session prior to lunch. I was in the stern position and cast my double dry combination out the left side of the boat to a seam that ran eight feet out from the bank. The two flies bobbed along on the bubble line unmolested, when a large form emerged from the shadows and slowly cruised to the surface. It was almost a slow motion replay as the large brown’s mouth opened to engulf my fly, and after a slight pause I lifted the rod tip and set the hook. Reed and I exclaimed a shout of joy, and I managed to thwart the brown’s escape tactics and guided it to my net. Wow, writing this once again sent my heart rate to an elevated level.

Mt. Sopris Looms

In another instance we were once again casting left, and I was in the forward position. I angled a cast to ten o’clock and executed a large mend, so the line was uptream, and the flies floated with the tail fly in the forward position. In this example, we were fishing a series of pockets between large submerged rocks, and suddenly a trout’s entire body elevated above the water, and the mouth opened and closed on my fly on the downward arc. I have rarely seen such an eat, but I would not object to more frequent occurrences. This fish eventually rested in my net, and it was one of the fat cutbows in excess of fifteen inches. I can still feel the excitement.

Best Shot

Thirteen wild fish of above average size represented an excellent day of fly fishing. The early launch and fishing the more technical middle section paid dividends. Dave G. and I were challenged by the tighter conditions, but Reed maneuvered the boat in a professional manner and put us in advantageous positions to optimize the float. Hopefully I can continue to work around the hurdles that the weather and nature throw my way in 2021.

Fish Landed: 13

Eagle River – 07/06/2021

Time: 12:00PM – 4:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Eagle River 07/06/2021 Photo Album

As I mentioned in my 06/30/2021 post, on my last day on the Rio Grande River, I contracted a cold that began on Sunday and progressively advanced during my three day stay in the Creede, CO area. Fortunately it remained a sore throat, until it morphed into an annoying cough on Wednesday. My original plan called for a day of fishing on the Eagle River on Thursday, while Dave G. attended an all day town council retreat, but I abandoned those plans and rested at Dave G’s house in an attempt to curb the advancing respiratory virus. My efforts to stop the spread were minimally successful, and by the Fourth of July weekend I experienced persistent coughing, blocked ears and general head congestion. The inability to swallow and reading about the surging delta variant of COVID raised concerns that I somehow picked up the virus even though I was vaccinated, so I underwent a COVID test on Saturday morning.  A surprisingly quick turnaround of the test results relieved some of my anxiety, when a text message informed me of a negative result on Saturday evening.

On Monday the coughing subsided, and by Tuesday morning I was feeling improved with the aid of cold medicines. Since Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with commitments that precluded fly fishing, I decided to attempt a day on the river on Tuesday. The flows on the Eagle River remained in the 350 CFS range, and I guessed that pale morning duns, caddis and yellow sallies were still on the menu, so I made the Edwards Rest Area my destination. Because I slept late in my effort to overcome my summer cold, I got off to a late start and arrived at 11:30AM, and after I assembled my Sage four weight, I downed my lunch. I was perched on the edge of the river by noon, and I began casting a double dry fly arrangement that featured a hippie stomper and size 16 deer hair yellow sally. In a shadowed pocket along the left bank I hooked up temporarily with a twelve inch rainbow, but it shed the hook, and never made it to my net.

Water Still Fairly High

The dries did not seem to be attracting attention, so I converted to a dry/dropper featuring an iron sally and salvation nymph, as I worked my way up the river through some quality deep pockets. By 1:30PM the fish counter rested on two, and that included a very fine rainbow trout with a pink sheen and a quality brown trout of fourteen inches. I was thrilled to land two trout, but I covered a significant amount of quality water, and the action was very slow.

Nice Coloration

Early Afternoon Brown Trout

With another thirty yard section of quality pocket water ahead of me, I decided to modify my approach and returned to a double dry presentation. A hippie stomper assumed the point position, and below it I knotted a cinnamon size 16 pale morning dun. These two flies were ignored, as were the hippie stomper when paired with a size 14 olive stimulator. I also experimented with a size 14 purple haze trailing a size 16 gray deer hair caddis, but again the fish gave me a solid thumbs down.

Pocket Water Galore

I finally reached a point where the river widened into a section of shallow riffles, so I exited with the intention of circling the long run and pool across from the high bank, but the fisherman who occupied the downstream portion of the pool was exiting, so I cut to the river to investigate. A young mother with three kids was wrapping up a swimming session at the top of the run, so I made a few obligatory casts, but I was uncertain whether the swimmers had recently disturbed the water, so I migrated to the pocket water.

Reentry 2

I removed the purple haze and replaced it with a peacock hippie stomper and added a size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis on a twelve inch leader. This move proved to be my best decision of the day, and I increased the fish count from two to seven over the next 1.5 hours. Numbers three and four were small brown trout in the seven to eleven inch ranch, but the last three were fine trout that raised my rating of Tuesday from disappointing to decent. Two were bulldog brown trout in the fourteen to fifteen inch range and one was a chunky thirteen inch rainbow. The pocketwater feeders grabbed the trailing caddis, although I also suffered quite a few refusals to the size sixteen caddis. All the fish from the late afternoon pocket water section attacked the dry fly, as it drifted next to a seam bordering deep, fast water.

Brilliant

End of Day Surprise

The late afternoon flurry of action salvaged my day on the Eagle River. I took a stream temperature at 2PM, and it registered 62 degrees, so I felt that it was safe to continue fishing; however, I believe that the bright sun and high air temperatures definitely impacted the urge to feed of the Eagle River trout. An increase in cloud cover in the last 1.5 hours provoked increased caddis dapping activity, and this probably explained my improved success rate. A seven fish day under warm temperatures was appreciated and certainly preferred over remaining at home and nursing my cold.

Fish Landed: 7

Rio Grande River – 06/30/2021

Time: 9:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: South Fork to Hanah Lane

Rio Grande River 06/30/2021 Photo Album

Wednesday was our third day of guided float fishing with Brandon of Cutthroat Anglers. The weather forecast projected temperatures and precipitation similar to Monday and Tuesday, so I wore my waders on board the raft, but ultimately the day was warmer with no rain, and for the first time on the trip I fished with just my fishing shirt and no extra layers. The river on the stretch downstream from South Fork was larger and wider than the Monday and Tuesday beats, but it was very clear and perfect for fly fishing. I manned the bow position in the morning, and Dave G. and I switched positions at 1PM after a lunch break. During our drive to Creede on Sunday I noticed the symptoms of a sore throat, as swallowing created a catching feeling. On Wednesday afternoon I developed a persistent tickle in my throat that caused intermittent coughing. Fortunately the early stages of a cold progressed slowly, and the first two days of the trip elapsed mostly symptom free, but Wednesday signaled the onset of a more severe stage of a summer cold.

Wide Riffles

I was plagued by poor casting technique for much of the morning, as I was over zealous and failed to allow the double dry flies to extend enough on the backcast. This resulted in a significant number of snarls, where the leader on the trailing fly wrapped around the forward fly. The tangles were not severe, but I spent a significant amount of time unwinding the twisted leader, and this subtracted from the time my fly was on the water, when I held the advantageous forward position in the raft. In spite of this angler error, I landed fourteen trout by the time of our 1:00PM changeover. Similar to Tuesday most of the landed fish were vividly colored wild brown trout in the fifteen inch range. They battled valiantly, and Brandon warned me not to count them before they were secure in my net.

Showing Off

Because Wednesday was our last day, we planned an earlier end point in order to jump start our four plus hour return drive to Eagle, CO, and this explained the earlier than normal lunch time. At around 11:00AM a dense hatch of gray drakes commenced. This aquatic insect event caught the attention of the Rio Grande trout population. Brandon purchased a batch of gray drake cripples the previous evening based on the recommendation of some local guides, and these flies were close approximations of the naturals, because the trout crushed them. In fact, we agreed to eat only half of our lunches to take advantage of the long lasting emergence.

Gray Drake Cripple Rocked

Rising trout remained a sporadic occurrence in the afternoon, but our prospecting attracted interest on a regular basis. As we drifted past the heads of riffles, we encountered clouds of mating gray drakes, and they bounced off our faces and glasses. I mention this only to emphasize the abundance of gray drakes on the South Fork section.

After lunch the drake population waned a bit, but eager eaters remained, and we continued to pick off trout with regularity. I increased the fish count from fourteen to twenty-four from my rear position in the raft, and I concentrated on better casting form. This resulted in my flies spending more time on the water and less time in monofilament snarls. We fished double dries all day, and the gray drake cripple was far and away the top performer. During the afternoon time frame, Brandon switched us to purple hazes, and the size 12 parachute versions contributed additional netted fish.

Typical Scene

Wednesday was another excellent day on the Rio Grande. Steady action kept me focused, and most of the trout were hard fighting brown trout in the fifteen inch or greater range. Compared to the first two days, we caught more fish from bubble lines five feet or greater from the bank or wide riffle sections over cobble bottoms with a depth of two feet. The drop in flows and wider river bed clearly allowed the resident trout space to spread out and feed on the abundant quantity of mayflies, caddis and stoneflies.

Twenty Inch Beauty

My most vivid memory of the day and trip was created by a twenty inch bruiser that put a substantial sag in Brandon’s large net. We were casting to nice pockets tight to the left bank, and I was popping short casts into a stairstep series of pockets for short, quick drifts. On the sixth such flick, the cripple floated ahead of the point fly and crept in front of a large exposed boulder. Suddenly a large head and then body emerged from the shadow of the large rock, and the cripple disappeared. It was a very visual take and the highlight of my day. Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the Rio Grande River during our three day stay at the end of June 2021.

Fish Landed: 24

Friends Checking Us Out

Rio Grande River – 06/29/2021

Time: 9:30AM – 6:00PM

Location: Sneaky boat launch to below Deep Creek ramp near Creede, CO

Rio Grande River 06/29/2021 Photo Album

The weather on Tuesday was similar to Monday with highs in the low sixties. I wore my waders for the second day in a row, and I was comfortable all day. Between 1:00PM and 2:00PM some storm clouds gathered, and I wore an extra layer for thirty minutes, until the sun reappeared. For most of the day I wore a fleece and raincoat.

This Is a Boat Launch?

Could Be an Ad for a Toyota Truck

Once again our guide was Brandon from Cutthroat Anglers. The river was in fine condition, and we launched the inflatable raft at Sneaky Boat Launch, a crude rutted area that was barely more than a slanted meadow bank. This put in was upriver from Creede, CO, and consequently the river carried less volume.

Tuesday evolved into a day just as productive as Monday. My fish count was twenty-six, but the size of Tuesday’s catch was on average larger than Monday. Other than four brown trout barely above the counting threshold, the remainder of the netted fish were easily within the fourteen to eighteen inch range. I landed four hard charging rainbows, and the remainder were robust brown trout. These fish were dogged fighters, and they put a significant strain on my arm.

Zoomed in on the Purple Body

Fuzzy Wuzzy?

Dave G. and I registered at least three doubles, when we were both hooked up at the same time. The upper section was somewhat smaller than the day one stretch, and this created a more intimate feel. I manned the stern position in the morning and switched to the bow at 1:30PM. Sixteen of my landed fish were recorded in the morning, and ten reached my net in the afternoon. Arm and body fatigue played a significant role in my afternoon fishing experience.

Nice One

During the afternoon I connected with three very strong fish that streaked for logs and branches, and my efforts to prevent them from reaching their destination resulted in break offs. A thirty fish day was easily attainable with better luck and skill. Dave G. and I spent the entire day tossing dry flies. The most productive of these flies were a size 14 purple haze and a fuzzy wuzzy foam surface fly. The fuzzy wuzzy imitated both a grasshopper and stonefly. Twice during our drift I witnessed a lumbering egg laying stonefly, as it crash landed on the water. The egg laying proved short lived, as ravenous trout crushed the large morsels of meat in confident swirls.

Swallows Everywhere

Before lunch quite a few PMD’s, caddis, and drakes made an appearance, and I observed the most rises of my cumulative time on the Rio Grande. I spotted four or five green drakes, and I was tempted to try one of my parachute style flies, but I stuck with Brandon’s expert recommendations.

Another Prime Rainbow

Tuesday represented another outstanding day on the Rio Grande River. All the necessary elements of superb fly fishing were present; cool weather, cloud cover, clear water, large and hungry wild trout, insect hatches, productive flies, and expert guiding. Bring on day three.

Fish Landed: 26

Rio Grande River – 06/28/2021

Time: 9:30AM – 6:00PM

Location: Creede, CO to Palisade Campground

Rio Grande River 06/28/2021 Photo Album

My friend, Dave Gaboury, and I scheduled three days of guided float fishing with Cutthroat Anglers on the Rio Grande River in the Creede, CO area, and on Sunday, June 27 we completed the five hour drive from Denver. We arrived at The Grove in Creede on Sunday at around 6:00PM. MIchelle of Cutthroat Anglers was our chef for the three days, and she prepared our breakfasts and dinners at the modern cabin in addition to making box lunches for our daily float trips.

Monday Morning

We met our guide, Brandon, at 8:00AM on Monday morning, and we were on the river by 9:30AM. Monday was a cool day with a high in the low sixties after a decent amount of rain on Sunday night. I wore my waders and wading boots in case of afternoon thunderstorms, but they never materialized. Nevertheless, I was only a bit warm for a short window in the afternoon. The flows on the Rio Grande at Wagon Wheel Gap were 900 CFS, and the river was very clear. Conditions seemed perfect to this newbie to the Rio Grande River.

Some Whitewater

We began our morning with double dry flies, but this approach yielded no success, so we switched to dry/dropper rigs that featured a chubby Chernobyl and pheasant tail nymph on a jig hook. The move to dry/dropper paid dividends, and we began scoring fish with some regularity on the pheasant tail. By 11:00AM some pale morning duns appeared, and Brandon switched us back to double dries with a pale morning dun comparadun paired with a chubby Chernobyl. My fish count surged to twenty-one by the time we paused for lunch at 1:30PM at Wagon Wheel Gap.

PMD Comparadun

Chubby Chernobyl on the Point

After lunch Dave G. and I switched positions in the boat, and we continued presenting double dries. During this afternoon time frame the most productive fly was a size 12 parachute adams. The water type that delivered the most fish was tight to the bank with moderate depth and velocity. Casting to bank side pockets next to large rocky structure was particularly advantageous. All the trout landed were browns except for two rainbows. The standard size of the fish was 13 – 14 inches, but I also landed a decent number of trout in the fifteen to eighteen inch range, and Dave G boated an eighteen inch beauty.

Showing Off a Fine Brown Trout

A Double!

Monday was a blast, and a thirty-three fish day was certainly a healthy introduction to floating the Rio Grande River. As I curled under the blanket listening to the rain outside our modern cabin on Monday evening, I was filled with anticipation for what Tuesday might bring.

Fish Landed: 33

Entering More of a Canyon

Eagle River – 06/25/2021

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Edwards Rest Area

Eagle River 06/25/2021 Photo Album

Two unproductive outings on the Uncompahgre River this week introduced a severe case of self doubt to my mental state. I needed a solid day of success to restore my fly fishing confidence. Could Friday, June 25 be the turnaround?

A couple weeks ago an Instagram friend informed me that he returned to Colorado after a couple year transfer to another state. He had a week off, before he launched his new job and wanted to know, if I was interested in a day of fly fishing. I was already committed to our trip to Ridgway State Park from Sunday through Wednesday, and Theo Thursday was an ironclad and highly anticipated obligation for Thursday, so I replied that Friday was my one open date. My Instagram friend accepted Friday as our fishing day; however, on Thursday evening he realized that he scheduled dog training for his rescue dog at 10AM on Friday morning. I considered a half day scenario at a front range stream, but ultimately I replied and asked for a raincheck. I scheduled a full day of fishing, and I decided to follow through with my plan.

The destination that intrigued me was the Eagle River. Toward the end of my last outing there on June 17 I enjoyed decent success with a double dry fly presentation. Meanwhile, the fly shop reports cited heavy caddis activity and pale morning dun emergences, and my friend, Dave G, who lives in Eagle, CO informed me that he encountered a thick caddis presence on streamside vegetation during an evening visit. The flows remained at 380 CFS, and the high temperature for Friday was forecast to peak at 67 degrees. The confluence of hatches, cool temperatures, and cold, high flows convinced me that the Eagle River was the place to be on Friday.

Good Place to Start

Fatty

I made the trip in two hours and parked at the Edwards Rest Stop. I wadered up and fitted together the four sections of my Sage four weight rod, and I was positioned along the edge of the river ready to begin my day of fishing by 10:40AM. I was itching to try a double dry offering, but since deep pocket water was in my near term future, I chose a tan ice dub chubby Chernobyl and trailed a salvation nymph. On the very first cast to a narrow bankside pocket, a twelve inch rainbow snatched the salvation, and I was off and running. I persisted with the dry/dropper between 10:40AM and noon, and the fish count rested on two, after a very nice brown trout grabbed an emerald caddis pupa from a mid-river pocket. Two fish in 1.5 hours was not an outstanding catch rate, but it certainly surpassed five hours of zero success in the Ridgway area. Just before lunch I witnessed a couple refusals to the chubby Chernobyl, so I swapped it for a yellow Letort hopper (ignored) and then a size 10 classic Chernobyl ant. The Chernobyl attracted the interest of a decent fish, and I hooked it for a second or two before it eluded the penetration.

Before Lunch

Experimenting with the double dry approach remained foremost in my mind, and while I munched my sandwich, I noticed a wave of swallows, as they swooped across the river ingesting some sort of bug food. What could they be eating? I guessed that caddis were their target, and I removed the dry/dropper flies and knotted a peacock hippie stomper and size 16 deer hair caddis to my line. I felt confident that this combination would arouse the interest of the Eagle River trout, but after I covered seventy yards of pocket water, the fish count remained locked on two. I paused and observed, and a small pale morning dun floated skyward near my position. This emergence transpired right after a pair of refusals to the deer hair caddis, and I concluded that the fish were looking for upright wings and not down wings. I switched the caddis for a cinnamon size 18 comparadun, and in a short amount of time the fish count increased to three, after a spunky thirteen inch rainbow sipped the comparadun.

I Love the Background Color

For the next hour I moved steadily through a section of prime pocketwater and prospected with the hippie stomper and comparadun, although after getting blanked in a quality spot, I exchanged the cinnamon comparadun for a size 16 light gray version. The stomper and comparadun combination clicked with the Eagle River residents, and the fish counter climbed from three to seven in short order. Quite a few of the PMD chompers were nice rainbows in the twelve to fourteen inch range, and I was getting into the kind of nice rhythm that instilled confidence.

Nice Width

Of course, change is a constant, and after releasing number seven I heard some thunder and scanned the southwestern sky, where a large gray mass of moisture was gathering. I was on a roll, and I was not anxious to take a break to dig out my raincoat; but, of course, that was a mistake. The onset of rain was not gradual, and instead dumped from the sky in sheets. I scrambled to the shoreline and removed my frontpack and backpack and camera and dug out my raincoat, but my fishing shirt absorbed a fair amount of moisture in the process. I stood on the bank and watched the heavy rain descend on the river, but it only lasted for five minutes before a patch of blue sky in the west foretold another change.

I returned to the river and made a few more casts to the attractive pockets above me, and another rainbow sipped the comparadun to boost the catch total to eight. At this point I ran out of promising water, and a severe chill traveled up my spine, as the evaporation of the wet fishing shirt created a cooling effect. I decided to return to the Santa Fe for another layer. I marked my exit point, marched back to the parking lot, grabbed my hooded fleece, and returned to the path, where I exited. I skipped around the next section of wide and shallow riffles and turned on a well worn path to a long run and pool across from a high dirt bank. Generally this stretch of the river is occupied, but apparently the storm scared off the angling population. I made some casts along the left side of the long run, and this generated two refusals to the comparadun.

Produced

Lots of Pink on This One

My mind evaluated the situation, and I concluded that the storm brought an end to the pale morning dun hatch. The overcast sky and cloud cover suggested that I convert to the size 16 olive-brown caddis, and that is what I did. Caddis tend to become more active in low light conditions, and the afternoon gloom certainly fit that description. The change proved very effective, and the fish count surged from eight to fourteen over the last 1.5 hours, as I fished another very attractive section of deep pocket water, before I ended my day at 4PM. These late afternoon fish were special, as nearly all stretched the tape between twelve and fifteen inches. Brown trout became more prevalent in this section, and two beauties in the fifteen inch range were especially prized. A couple aggressive feeders attacked the hippie stomper, but the caddis was the favored dry fly for most of this productive period of time. In addition to the netted trout, several muscular chunks streaked about the river and shed my fly, before I could gain the upper hand.

Juicy Shelf Pool

Stunning Brown Trout

What a day! I landed fourteen robust trout in six hours of fishing. A pale morning dun hatch followed by caddis madness accelerated my enjoyment, and dry fly action is always the preferred technique. I suspect that the caddis and PMD magic will persist for another week or two and be joined by yellow sallies. If the flows remain in the 200 to 400 CFS range, I will likely consider a return after my trip to the Rio Grande. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 14

Gorgeous

West Fork of Cimmaron Creek – 06/22/2021

Time: 4:15PM – 5:00PM

Location: .5 mile from the turn off from Owl Creek Pass Road

West Fork of Cimmaron Creek 06/22/2021 Photo Album

West Fork

I spent forty-five minutes on the West Fork after getting blanked on the Middle Fork of Cimmaron Creek. It was a bit wider, slightly clearer, and a degree less gradient; but I experienced the same result. No fish. I exchanged the hippie stomper for a pool toy as the top fly for a different look and added a salvation nymph as the second nymph after the prince. This modification made no difference. Similar to the Middle Fork the gradient was steep; and, thus, at high flows the creek offered few, if any, slack water lies. The scenery was spectacular, and Jane and I enjoyed exploring a never before visited part of Colorado. The Uncompahgre River Valley humbled this fly fisherman.

Fish Landed: 0

Middle Fork of Cimmaron Creek – 06/22/2021

Time: 3:30PM – 4:00PM

Location: Upstream from the trailhead

Middle Fork of Cimmaron Creek 06/22/2021 Photo Album

I was frustrated by 3.5 hours of fishing on the Uncompahgre River, so Jane and I drove to Riggs Fly Shop in Ridgway, CO. We spoke to Heather, and I bought a tapered leader, five flies and a map of Ouray County. I asked Heather where I could go for some small stream fishing, and Heather suggested the three forks of Cimmaron Creek.

High Flows and High Gradient

Jane and I drove directly to the forks by way of Owl Creek Pass. It took us forty-five minutes on a dirt road that was reasonably improved. We checked out the West Fork first, but I was intrigued by the Middle Fork, because it was at the end of the road, and there was a hiking trail for Jane. We moved on to the Middle Fork.

Not Improving

The scenery in the area was spectacular, but the Middle Fork was still running high from snowmelt. It looked like a churning cascade over the entire distance that I fished with only an occasional marginal pocket along the bank. I cut my losses after thirty minutes, and we returned to the West Fork. I deployed a hippie stomper and prince nymph on the Middle Fork, but I never sniffed the sign of a fish.

Fish Landed: 0

Uncompahgre River – 06/22/2021

Time: 9:30AM – 11:30AM

Location: Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Loop H

Uncompahgre River 06/22/2021 Photo Album

Tuesday was my designated day to fish, and since we were within a few miles of the Uncompahgre River tailwater, I decided to give it another chance, although I was very apprehensive after Monday evening. I talked to several other anglers, and they all emphasized the need to fish deep and along the bottom in this temperamental river.

After Tuesday’s 1.5 hour skunking, I decided to change tactics on Tuesday morning. The bottom release water was extremely cold, and with minimal insect activity to bring fish to the surface, I concluded that fishing deep was the answer. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, other anglers confirmed this.

Tough River

I rigged my Sage One five weight with a New Zealand strike indicator and split shot and then attached a size 12 prince nymph as the upper fly. The prince remained in place over the entire two hours of fishing; however, the bottom fly rotated among a hares ear nymph, bright green caddis pupa, orange egg fly, super nova, pheasant tail nymph, sparkle wing RS2, salad spinner, and salvation nymph. The fly change circus was for naught, as the fish count remained locked on zero at 11:30AM. A guide and two clients came by and offered the unsolicited advice that a small brown mayfly nymph size 20-22 had been effective for them. This bit of information prompted the super nova, pheasant tail and sparkle wing RS2 trials on my line.

At 11:30PM I surrendered to the Uncompahgre River and sent Jane a text message with my satellite phone. She arrived within minutes, and I ended my torture session on the Ridgway State Park tailwater. Frustration ruled.

Fish Landed: 0

Uncompahgre River – 06/21/2021

Time: 7:00PM – 8:30PM

Location: Pa-Co-Chu-Puk area

Uncompahgre River 06/21/2021 Photo Album

In May Jane and I made some camping reservations at various Colorado state parks. Ridgeway State Park was one of these, and we chose the time period from June 20 through June 23. We were surprised to realize that June 20 arrived much sooner than expected.

We loaded the car with our camping, kayaking and fishing gear on Sunday morning and departed for the state park in southwestern Colorado. We visited the area in the 1990’s, when the kids were young, and we had favorable impressions of the experience. Before departing on the 5.5 hour drive, I downloaded an audiobook, Boundary Waters, by William Krueger Kent. This proved to be a solid choice, and we listened to the entire twelve hour novel during our road trip.

When we arrived at the state park on Sunday, we quickly sought our reserved campsite. My heart sank, when I realized that we reserved a walk-in site in the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk section. Jane and I parked and crossed the bridge and walked to our chosen site, and we were disappointed to discover it at the uphill tip of the walk-in loop. We estimated that it would take six to eight trips to lug our camping gear to the top of the hill, so we considered our options. We quickly decided to visit the park office to explain our dilemma with the hope that an alternative was available. We traveled south to the main office and visitor center at Dutch Charlie only to find that the office was closed, and the doors were locked. We turned away to walk to the car, when a woman opened the door to ask if she could help. We were overwhelmed by her kindness, and we entered the office and explained our situation. The park office employee quickly went on the reservation system and found us a site in the Dakota Terraces Campground. Since the campground was full, we guessed that the park reserved a spot for our type of situation. We paid an upcharge of $24, since site 23 had an electrical hookup. We were more than willing to pay this small fee to avoid the chore of lugging our car load of camping gear up a long hill. The site was devoid of any shade, but we had a canopy and were not in a position to be choosey.

Slack Water Along the Left Bank

On Monday Jane and I completed a very challenging six mile hike in the Uncompahgre Wilderness. When we returned to the campground, we enjoyed happy hour and dinner, and then I asked if I could fish for a few hours before dark in the tailwater at Pa-Co-Chu-Puk. Jane agreed, and we both made the drive to the northern area of the park along the river. The flows were in the 250 CFS range, and the water was clear, cold and a bit high. I wore my wet wading gear and rigged my Sage four weight for a few hours of fly fishing. The air temperature remained quite warm after a ninety degree day.

Pools Created by Stream Improvements

I fished the entire 1.5 hours with a chubby Chernobyl trailing an assortment of flies including a hares ear nymph, salvation nymph, bright green caddis pupa, pink San Juan worm, and a prince nymph. I never saw a fish or the sign of a fish.

We parked at the end of the G loop, and I cut perpendicular to the river from the parking area. I attempted to get close to the downstream border of the state park and away from the  heavily pressured area at the footbridge by H loop. I was a tough 1.5 hours.

Fish Landed: 0