November 3, 2021 – Pueblo Tailwater (The Hatchery Hole to the Double Tree Hole)
Flows: 174 cfs.
Water Temp: 42F @ 9a.
Water clarity: ~2’ – off color.
Air Temp: 32F @ 8:30a – 48 @ 4p.
Hatches: Trico 10a – 2p, Midge 11a – 4p.
Flies: #18 Desert Storm, #16 Chartreuse Copper John, #22 Pearl Rainbow Warrior, #24 Black Sparkle Wing RS2, #24 Mercury Beatis, #24 Bar Emerger, #22 Grey Sparkle Wing RS2, #20 Blood Midge, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #22 Grey RS2, #22 Grey WD40, #22 Top Secret Midge, #20 Black Beauty.
Top producers: Copper John, Black Sparkle Wing RS2, Chocolate Thunder, Desert Storm, Barr Emerger, Grey RS2, Grey WD40, Top Secret Midge, Black Beauty.
Beautiful fall day on the river. (The Tailwater in Pueblo. Fall last a little longer in southern Colorado.)
An interlude - Deckers, October 21, 2021
Ten to two. You hear this the context of work and fly fishing, among other references. If someone was working from 10a to 2p – and making a decent living – every working man envied that person. When fly fishing – a lot of instructors will say the casting motion is from the 10a position on a clock to the 2p position on it – then back to the 10a position.
For me over the past couple of weeks it’s been the time I targeted to go fishing. My destination both times was Deckers and I didn’t want to get there too early. The canyon walls block the rising sun so it doesn’t get warm and sunny till later in the day in most places. I planned on leaving early too. Didn’t want to work too hard!
The downside of arriving late is that most of the good spots – and it seemed all the sunny ones – were already taken. So I had to work around that. I also found out the sun sets early too – due to those same canyon walls. They start casting their shadow on the river at about 3p and it seems that almost all the fishermen call it day then.
My last time out I planned to fish Ray’s Run. I picked this spot not only because it’s a good spot to fish but also because I thought it would be sunny by 10a. I got there right at 10a and only half the river was in the sun. The canyon wall’s shadow was still cast over south side of the river to about the midway point. And there were fishermen all along the run.
Oh well.
I tried to fish in the shadow side of the river for a bit, but it wasn’t ideal and I decided to head downstream to Fishermen’s Run. It was open. I started on the north side of the run – the sunny side. Because of the low light and the reflection on the water – I could only see to where the glare stopped. So not too far into the river from where I was standing. Not conducive to sight fishing. So I began to work the deeper riffles midriver. On about my third cast I had a nice brownie on and after a brief struggle I had him in the net. A seventeen incher. Nice start!
A 17" male brownie - taken on the north side of Fishermen's Run.
I continued to fish the run from top to bottom for the next hour and a half or so - then it was time for lunch. I picked out a clump of grass along the river’s edge to eat. As I was sitting there eating I noticed a rainbow sipping dry flies. He was literally right in front of me about 3’ into the water. Then another one appeared doing the same thing. Then another. Wow!
With fish rising right in front of me, I finished my lunch a little quicker than planned. Tying up my dry flies without spooking the fish was a challenge. There wasn’t a whole lot of room to maneuver but I was able to get everything setup without spooking them. Casting to them and catching them though was a different ballgame.
The fish were so close to me that there wasn’t enough room for me to get a full cast. And getting the flies into the feeding lane was difficult. One of the fish moved out further and I began to target that one because now I could get the cast and drift that I wanted. But he like the other ones ignored my flies. I tied on a dropper behind my last dry fly thinking they may be eating the emergers caught in the film. But that didn’t do the trick either.
After a bit I gave up and went back to nyphing. They weren’t interested in the wet flies either so I moved on. After awhile I looked up and saw that Ray’s Run was now open. It was about 2p and people were starting to leave. By three – the shadows returned and I had the whole river down to the bridge to myself. And I could spot fish in the run.
A beautifully colored female 19" brownie. This one taken out of Ray's Run.
I spent the rest of the day moving up and down the run and was able to fool a few nice brownies but was able to net only about half of them. The fish were really skittish in the full sun but once the canyon walls began to cast their shadows on the river they became less so. They were now moving to the head of the run.
And they were feeding. On one occasion, I casted into a pod of them. My drift was clean and I didn’t see any fish movement toward my flies. My indicator didn’t wiggle, bobble, or otherwise give me any indication that a fish was taking one of my flies. But as I brought my rod up to recast there was a fish on. Without a proper hook set he quickly got off. It amazes me every time when it happens. How a fish can take a fly without the slightest indication is hard to fathom – for me anyway.
There was one fish that sat in front of one of the large boulders and fed on insects passing by. I tried to get him on more than a few trips up to the head of the run – but I couldn’t seem to get my flies in front of him. And he wasn’t moving too much out of his way to eat.
This male brownie took the Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail.
It was then approaching 4p – close to time to leave. I wanted to give it one more try fishing up to the front of the run. The same fish was still sitting in front of the boulder. Thinking that maybe my flies were too high in the column – I added a bit of weight. On my second cast I had him firmly hooked up. He gave me a good fight and I finally netted him. A nice 16” brownie.
A good way to end the day. If I left then I would be home a bit after 5p.
Dinner time.
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A river scene upstream from the Hatchery Hole on the Pueblo Tailwater.
This week Brian and I headed south to Pueblo. It’s a 3 hour drive – round trip. Best to plan to fish all day instead of 10 to 2. Or 10 to 4 as it may be. We left my house at 6:30a and would arrive at 8a. It was forecasted to be warmer in Pueblo than in the metro Denver – but it was only supposed to be 41F at 8a.
It was 34F when we parked. The weatherman was off a bit.
The sky was a solid grey and it was supposed to stay that way all day. Usually good fishing weather. Without the sun shine, the flies have to sit on the water longer for their wings to dry once they emerge. The fish take notice and become more active. It also provides good dry fly action as it’s common to see them rising to eat the adults. The fish are less skittish too because they don’t feel as exposed to predators.
With all that our hopes were up. We decided to start at Tom’s Run and the Double Tree hole area. Pueblo Reservoir which empties into this part of the river was turning over. It’s a process that happens twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. The cause is water temperature. As the water either begins to warm up – in the spring – or cool down in the fall, it caused the water in the reservoir to churn, otherwise known as an inversion. The result is cloudy water downstream. And that’s what we encountered.
Looking upstream from Tom's Run. Notice the milky grey sky.
We could only see about 1 foot maybe 2 into the river. Sight fishing was out. So we had to stick to using our experience and knowledge of the river to pick places to fish. Making this challenging though was higher water than usual. Even with the higher water, we still knew the river bottom structure and where fish normally feed. The higher water seemed to move the fish from their normal holding areas though. For the most part we found that they were close to some of the same spots – but in slightly different places.
Both Brian and I were able to land nice 18” rainbows within the first 30 minutes. We were even more encouraged! We got a couple of suckers too. There was also an abundance of small fish – in the 6” range. It seems that we run into them in the fall. Not sure why but they have been in the South Platte at Deckers and The Dream Stream, and here in the Arkansas the last time we were here, and now this time.
Brian with an 18" female rainbow. He got this one in the slow water below the Double Tree Hole.
They strike like lightning which is fun, but they become annoying as a lot of times they cause knots like you wouldn’t believe with all their wiggling around. Brian had one that caused such a granny knot that he had to cut off all his flies and retie them! This takes time that could have been used to fish. Afterall, you only catch fish when your flies are in the water! Needless to say we both caught a bucket full of them.
We usually find fish in Lower Tom’s Run. Big ones. As the morning wore on, we both seemed to migrate there. I was fishing it from the upstream side – where we typically do. Brian was on the downstream side. With the high water the fish weren’t on the upstream side as normal – but on the downstream side and Brian was able to fool a couple of them. One was 16” and the other one was 20”.
Brian with a 20" cutbow. This one was taken out of the downstream side of Lower Tom's Run.
Brian Kenney.
Yes 20”. It was a brightly colored cutbow. That’s what makes this section of the river so much fun to fish. We catch 20” fish in other rivers – but not as many or as often as here. And we take our share of 16” to 18” fish too. If I’ve said it once – I’ve said it a hundred times. This is an underrated fishery!
The fish also like to hang out in a deep pool on south side at the end of the run that’s formed by huge boulders. I usually don’t like to fish this spot because there are eddies – swirling water – and the drifts just don’t seem normal. A lot of times you indicator just sits in the same place. Not having any luck at the top of the run, I decided to give it a shot. After several casts into the pool I finally was able to fool a 13” rainbow. But that was it.
I got this 13" female rainbow in the pool at Lower Tom's Run.
We moved up to a spot just below the Bend Hole. There is a huge tree laying across the river and a bunch of huge boulders below it, making for a very fishy spot. In the past, we’ve spotted fish in it and fished it a few times without success.
It's on the way to the car where we were headed for lunch – so why not. The higher water made it even more “fishy”. Brian was able to hook up a nice fish – but it was able to break free. That was encouraging though. It’s always worth a try as we walk pass this spot all the time on the way to and from Tom’s Run and the Double Tree Hole. Getting a nice fish on the way would be a bonus.
A chubby 16" female rainbow. Brian got it in downstream side of Lower Tom's Run.
Brian Kenney.
After lunch we wanted to try the Hatchery Hole. It was open when we got there but with the high water only one of us could fish it properly. Brian was at the top of the hole fishing where the riffles drain into it where he quickly had a couple of fish on. I was downstream where I can usually wade into position to fish the seam on the south side. With the high flows the water was too deep to get to where I wanted to. After a few attempts I decided to move on while Brian continued to fish it.
I had stopped at the Valco Parking Lot Run. This is similar to the last hole we fished in the morning. It’s on the way from the Hatchery Hole to the Valco Ponds Run and we sometimes stop to fish it on the way. We’ve found that it’s hit or miss. As mentioned earlier – if you get one on the way it’s a bonus! Brian soon joined me and after spending some time without any action we headed to the Valco Ponds Run.
We only spotted a couple of other fishermen all morning – so we weren’t too concerned about it being open. But low and behold there was another guy fishing it when we arrived. He was on the south side of the run – where we normally fish it from. Position A.
An adult Trico. Hard to see - but this one is big for a Trico - about a size 20.
With that, I took up on the north side and fished above and below the sunken tree. There is not a lot of room to walk below the tree. Above it are the roundest, slipperiest, rocks known to man. So if you get hooked up in either place your mobility is limited. This makes fighting and landing a fish even more challenging.
Brian waded across the river and fished the south side of the run – downstream of the other fisherman. This is a long run with pronounced places to fish – so Brian wasn’t encroaching on the guy.
I got this 17" male rainbow below the sunken tree on the north side of the Valco Ponds Run.
There is a certain camaraderie among fishermen. We share a common interest that forms a bond. You will find some fishermen who are protective of their spot and some who aren’t so willing to share information – but they are the exception. Most often you’ll encounter fishermen who almost welcome you to join them – as long as you’re not intruding into their space. Then chatter begins. “I saw some rising over there”. “I’ve had good luck fishing that spot”. “I got some earlier on these types of flies”. On and on. It makes for an enjoyable time.
This guy was one that like to share and make conversation. He pointed out some spots on my side of the river where he saw some fish rising, shared what flies were working for him, and generally chatted both of us up. It wasn’t long and we found out he just retired and moved to Pueblo from Colorado Springs.
We spent the rest of the day along the run. We – Brian, me, and the other guy – swapped spots and fished the different places along the run. I spent most of my time on the north side casting toward the sunken tree and letting my flies drift into the pool and tailout below it.
Fall foliage on full display - just above the Hatchery Hole.
On one of my drifts, my indicator twitched just slightly – a very soft take - and I set the hook. I was actually surprised when I felt the tug of a fish on the other end of my line. It only took me a few seconds to realize he was a brute. The last time we fished this spot I had a big fish on – bigger than the “normal” big fish we catch – and he eventually broke my hook. I didn’t want to lose this one and was worried because I couldn’t move more than 2’ upstream or downstream. Not an ideal position to be in while fighting a big fish.
When you lose a fish it’s mostly when the fish gets downstream of you. When the fish gets downstream of you he naturally rises to the surface where the current is strongest. There’s too much tension on your line and the fish usually breaks free. So I always try to get below them – if I can - and force them to fight upstream. I couldn’t do that so I tried to coax him upstream and hoped that he wouldn’t go downstream. It had to take me a good 15 minutes to get him tired out and he did make a downstream run, but I was able to get him to net. He looked more like a salmon than a trout – in the 5 pound range, with beautiful pink coloration.
As I mentioned before – the Tailwater runs through Pueblo Reservoir State Park. As with many of the state parks in Colorado, this one has a wilderness feel. Lots of vegetation, large trees, birds, and wildlife. There are a lot of walking paths and it’s a popular place for people to walk along the river. We even encounter some regulars who show up every morning to walk their dogs.
As I was fighting this fish – a couple was walking by and stopped to watch the action. They even gave me an ovation once I netted him. The guy was a photography buff and took some pictures of me holding the fish – with his camera! I asked him to take one of me with my camera and he willingly obliged. You run into a lot of friendly people on this river.
Me with the 20" beauty. (The guy we met in the run is in the background fishing the south side of it.)
At one point, Brian was working the river upstream from me – above the sunken tree. There is a pool there and the trout like to hang out in it. He was able to hook up a few rather nice size ones, but they all were able to break off. We’ve all been there. It’s not fun, but you can take solace knowing that you had a good drift with a fly that fooled the fish.
Meanwhile, I was able to land a few more fish in the pool below the sunken tree. The other guy was fishing slightly below me from the other side of the river and was able to land a nice 18” rainbow. He got in on a Black Beauty modified with a foam back.
With a full day of fishing in, we all left at the same time - leaving the run to the fish.
Not a 10 to 2 day.
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