July 21, 2020
Flows: 240 cfs
Water Temp: 60F @ 1p.
Water clarity: Clear with moss starting to grow.
Air Temp: 59 @ 9a – 56 @ 4p (rain showers again cooled things considerably).
Hatches: Healthy PMD 9a to 4p and spotty Caddis throughout the day. Midges - ~2p after a healthy rain/hail storm.
The plan was for Brian and I to meet at the Dream Stream yesterday. But Brian had a commitment come up so he couldn’t make it. Then I had a late start and began to rethink where I wanted to go. My initial thought was just hit Deckers – it’s close. And even with the low flows (at ~85 cfs) it should still fish well. But I was worried about the water temperature. With the low flows and the 90 degree temps we’ve had the past couple of weeks, the water temperature could approach the mid-60s – which isn’t good for the fish - or for catching them. Then I thought of last week at the Lower Road Hole on Eleven Mile – and the fun I had stalking fish there. So I ended up going back to Eleven Mile.
A little background on The Dream Stream – which for some reason Brian calls the Miracle Mile . I don't know where he came up with that - but it cracks me up everytime he says it! It’s a 5 mile or so stretch of the South Platte river that runs between Spinney Mountain Reservoir and Eleven Mile Reservoir. It’s known for big brownies and rainbows (in the 15 lb range) that migrate into the river from Eleven Mile Reservoir during their respective annual spawning runs. It is also know to have brownies, rainbows and cutbows in the 17” to 20” range year round – and for it’s technical fishing. Thus requiring small flies - like size #22s and #24s - which makes landing them a little more difficult.
It’s on my list of places to go – but not high on it. People come from all over the country to fish it – so it can get crowded. And with all the traffic, the fish are very spooky. It also requires a good walk through what seems like a cow pasture to get to the river from the parking area. So if you’ve got any foot or walking issues – like I’m just recovering from – it could be tricky. But it’s the challenge and the chance to catch a trophy trout that keeps me coming back. So I’ll have to give it a try some other time in the near future.
Idelwild Picnic area in 11 Mile Canyon.
So three great choices – and none of them bad! I arrived at Eleven Mile at about 8:45a and was in the river at 9a. The parking at Idelwild Picnic area is about a 40 yard walk to the Lower Road Hole. So it’s very accessible and close in case it rains - like it did last week! There are little chutes – paths through the willows – that lead from the road to the river. They are only about 3 feet long, but are steep and muddy. So you have be careful so you don’t slide right into the river and scare away any fish that may be feeding near the bank.
The chute I choose was no different and there were a couple of nice rainbows feeding near the bank. I did my best to approach in a stealthy manner – but did scare off one of them. There was a good PMD hatch taking place and I saw a few Caddis flying around, so I rigged up with #16 Caddis Larva followed by a #20 Pheasant Tail PMD and a #20 Barr Emerger PMD.
I was careful to not spook the other fish as I did so – and had him on with my 2nd cast. But he spit the fly as soon I as set it. As I mentioned in a previous post – sometime you can’t detect when a fish hits. So this time, I lifted my rod after I thought my flies moved past him. Only they didn’t – and he had one of them in his mouth. So my lifting of the rod to recast – not setting – allowed him to quickly spit the fly out.
There were fishermen all along the run and not a lot of holes to fish. And there were not a lot of fish in each hole , so catching the fish that you spot was a necessity. So I missed that one and was lucky enough to be able to try another pocket a short distance upstream. There was a fish in that one too. I had him on with a decent set – but he got off! Jeez. I was thinking “I can’t be wasting these chances”. There were 3 pockets with a few seams each that I could fish that covered about 40 yards of stream total. In the next pocket, I spotted a nice rainbow and after a few casts – I foul hooked him – and he broke off. So was this the way my day was going to go?
As I progressively worked the 3 pockets and their seams, I was able to hook up and land two 18” rainbows. One hit the Barr Emerger and the other took the Caddis Larva. That was the 1st fish that I’ve caught on the Caddis Larva and was happy that it worked - as I can now add that one to the list of successful flies!
18" male rainbow taken on a #16 Caddis Larva.
One of the rainbows was feeding in a seam about 10 feet from me. I was perplexed after making several on target casts - with no strikes. I was thinking maybe this one is selectively feeding on something else. Then I took a look at my indicator. It had slid down my line and was only about a foot above my #6 split shot. So after making my second adjustment to it (moving it higher up to offer more depth) – I had the fish on!
Another 18" male rainbow. This one took a #20 Barr Emerger PMD.
Can’t remember if I netted another fish before lunch, but during the morning I had at least 6 that were hooked up, but not landed. One of them was a 20” plus rainbow. It hit the Barr Emerger in a pocket that was about calf height in depth. Once a I set the hook, he immediately shot across the river – at light speed. I thought “Oh man, I must’ve foul hooked him”. I mean this thing was down river about 100 yards before I could blink. But I kept with him. First, I slightly increased my drag – and this stopped him from running further. Then I walked downstream as far as I could – then I crossed the river. Long story short – I had him in the mouth for sure. I could tell because I had the fish’s head up out of the water and he was just out of the reach of my net when he broke off. Man I was pissed!!
After lunch the place cleared up as some of the fishermen left. I could see fish feeding in a deeper seam a little downstream from where I normally set up and I was able to land a few of them. One of them was another 20” plus rainbow. I got this one to the net – but only after quite a struggle. After setting the hook, he immediately went downstream, but I had my drag set a little tighter and he couldn’t run like the other one did. But he did go downstream quite away and I had to cross the river again. But I got him into the slower water near the opposite bank and just wore him out! He was 21” and took the Pheasant Tail.
Catch of the day! 21" male rainbow taken on a #20 Pheasant Tail PMD.
During the afternoon I netted several more fish – and lost about five additional ones. One of the fish took my entire rig when he broke my line. So I tied on a #18 Black Beauty followed by a #16 Graphic Caddis and another #20 Barr Emerger PMD. The Barr Emerger was the fly of the afternoon, as I caught all of them on that. They ranged in size from 15” to 17” - one was a cutbow and the rest rainbows. They were all pretty thick and fought like hell. I did have a nice brownie on – but he was one of the ones that broke off.
17" female cutbow taken on a #20 Barr Emerger PMD.
At about 2p there was a lot of close lightning and claps of thunder. Since I was close to the car, I decided to head that way to avoid getting soaked like I did last week. And as soon as I got there all hell broke loose. Flashes of lightning – ground shaking thunder - followed by giant raindrops, then BB size hail. It lasted about 15 or 20 minutes and really cooled things off. When I went back to the river – I had it all to myself! What a treat. I was able to work about ¼ mile of the river and had a blast landing a handful more fish.
A view of the thunderstorm.
Brightly colored 17" female rainbow taken on a #20 Barr Emerger PMD.
It’s great to have so many choices to fly fish here in Colorado. And none of them bad!
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