Time: 3:00PM – 4:30PM
Location: 15 Minute hike downstream on Lower Piney River Trail from Piney Crossing.
Fish Landed: 7
Piney River 10/05/2015 Photo Album
I lived in Colorado for twenty-five years, yet I still discover new places to fish and enjoy the outdoors. Monday was one of those days. Jane returned from golfing and mentioned that her golf friend completed a fun hike in the Piney Lake area north of Vail. This comment caused me to remember a trip to the Piney River that a co-worker from Saddleback Design and I planned in 2008. The trip never happened because the co-worker had a conflict, but I was now intrigued by the idea of resurrecting an exploratory trip to the area.
Jane and I unfolded our National Geographic topographic map of Vail and Idaho Springs, and we quickly found Piney Lake. A ten mile improved forest road connected Vail to the Upper Piney River trailhead at Piney Lake, and I also noticed that the Lower Piney River Trail followed the stream a mile downstream from the lake. Jane checked back with her friend who informed her that the road was manageable in a low clearance vehicle, and the Upper Piney River trail was moderate difficulty and provided spectacular scenery. With this bit of research behind us, we made plans to explore the Piney Lake area on Monday October 5. I committed to accompanying Jane on the five mile hike in exchange for an hour or two of fly fishing on Piney River. I also watched a YouTube video on fishing the Piney River and read a few fishing reports. One mentioned that the fishing was less pressured downstream from the lake, so this became my desired fishing destination.
Our Destination Is the End of the Valley
Happy When We Are Hiking
Jane and I left the house by 8:00AM, and this enabled us to pull into the Piney Lake Trailhead parking lot by 11AM. The ten mile gravel road turned out to be easily driven by the four wheel drive Santa Fe, but there were some rough washboard sections that made sure we remained awake. Several cars were present in the parking lot, and another arrived as we applied sunscreen and switched into our hiking boots. It was cool with a fair amount of cloud cover, so I began hiking with my fleece hoodie. This lasted no more than fifteen minutes before I removed it and tied it around my waist, as the exertion connected with a gradual climb at altitude created an excess of body heat. October 5 at 9,000 feet was beyond the peak aspen foliage time, but some yellow remained on the tips of the trees. Jane and I agreed that it was beautiful nonetheless, as we looked east at a wide valley bracketed by tall jagged rocky peaks with layers of evergreens, bare aspens and tall brown grass on all sides.
A Small Cascade and Chasm
By the time we completed the trip to a nice rock ledge next to the tumbling Piney River where we ate our lunch and returned to the car, it was 2:45. On our drive to the trailhead we crossed the Piney River, and I noticed there was a dirt parking area and signs for the Lower Piney River Trail, so this is where we headed once we stowed our gear. By now the sky was quite overcast with large dark clouds moving in from the west. Jane agreed that I could fish until 4:30, and she also decided to hike along the trail with me until I hit the water. My goal was to hike downtream far enough to escape the section of water that is likely highly pressured by summertime tourists and fishermen, so I suggested that we hike for fifteen minutes and then cut to the stream. I hesitate to call it a river, since it was no more than fifteen feet across at its widest points.
As Jane and I hiked down the narrow trail, raindrops began to descend upon us, but we were both prepared with rain gear. In fact the rain became quite steady during my last half hour of fishing. The air temperature meanwhile was in the low 50’s and dropped to the upper forties during my time on the stream. The trail seemed to veer away from the river, and the banks appeared to increase in steepness, so we found a relatively gradual spot and thrashed through the dead grass and low vegetation to the edge of the stream.
Aspen Leaves Collect in This Still Pool
Jane looked on while I tied a Jake’s gulp beetle with a dark purple body to my line, but with the increase in precipitation, she quickly bid me goodbye and hiked back to the car. The river was at very low fall levels, and this meant it was quite narrow and cascaded over huge rocks. I quickly learned that there were large and medium sized plunge pools linked by a narrow ribbon of rushing and cascading water, so it was rather easy to determine where the fish would be holding; the deep pools.
Typical Nice Pool
In the first ten minutes I spooked three fish including one that I spotted and fished over. I could observe its reaction in the low clear flow, and it did not exhibit a bit of interest via a tail wag or any sort of movement. Rather quickly I learned that a stealthy approach and staying back a sufficient distance were essential tactics to have a shot at hooking one of these high elevation small stream prizes.
Piney River Brown Savors Gulp Beetle
The complete lack of response from the third observed fish prompted me to add a beadhead BWO soft hackle emerger below the beetle, but this did not help. Eventually I gave up on the reluctant bottom hugger, and chased the recalcitrant fish. This proved to be a good strategy as it was not long before I found a ready taker in the form of a nine inch brown trout. From that point on I moved up the small stream with an abundance of plunge pools and continued plopping the beetle, and I found quite a few fish willing to gulp. There were some refusals, but more fish gobbled the foam terrestrial than rejected it.
Near the End of My Time on Piney River
I landed seven fish in 1.5 hours of fishing and most were 9-10 inch brown trout. Quite a few very juicy deep pools failed to produce, and actually the best spots were what would be characterized as secondary pools. These places had current and moderate depth, but they really appeared to be second class compared to some of the deep jewels that did not produce.
Monday afternoon proved to be a nice short exploratory expedition that surpassed my expectations. It was a new discovery for me, and I am already contemplating a return when I can devote an entire day. Such a trip would entail at least a one hour hike down Lower Piney Trail, so that I could reach a section that is certain to have escaped most of the fishing hordes. A ten mile drive on a moderately rough dirt road and a one mile hike are significant barriers to the average fisherman.