Dec 7, 2020
Flows: Bouncing between 93 & 100 cfs
Water Temp: 40F @ 9a.
Water clarity: 3’
Air Temp: 37 @ 9a, 55 @ 4p
Hatches: Midges - couple of different species - 10a to (time I left). Tricos 11a to 3:30p.
Flies: #16 Red Copper John, #20 Blood Red Midge, #24 Zebra Jujubee Midge, #18 BH Red Midge Larva, #24 Mercury Red Zebra Midge, #18 Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail, #22 Disco Midge, #20 Black Flashback RS2, #24 Mercury Beatis, #22 Parachute Trico, #24 Matt’s Midge, #20 BH Walt's Worm, #22 Red Pure Midge Larva, #20 Parachute Adams.
Top producers: Disco Midge, Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail, Jujubee Midge, Matt’s Midge, Parachute Adams, Walt's Worm, Pure Midge Larva.
A lightly colored rainbow.
It was Monday and I was back on the river for more – with Brian this time. We chatted about the different options of places to go over the weekend. With the temperate weather - everything was in play. It came down to flows. And the Pueblo Tailwater seemed to be at the best level and more importantly, had the most consistent flows.
So it was back to the Pueblo Tailwater.
We decided to start out at the Nature Center – where I was a few days prior. Brian got there about an hour before me and fished the Diver and Plunge Pools, and the water in between. He was retying his rig when I walked up to meet him on the river. This was because a rather big fish just broke his line and took all his flies. Was there more – or was this a repeat of my experience in the same place - just a few days before?
As Brian covered the hole seeing if there were more – I looked around, took the water temp, checked for a hatch (there was none), and watched Brian. The water clarity was the same as a few days ago – off color and a bit murky. You could see into about 3’ of water if the light was right, but that was it. So we couldn’t see any fish in the hole to target. All you can do in this case is cover the water – and that’s what Brian was doing. But as was my experience the other day – there were no more takers.
We had some visitors on the river.
So we moved downstream planning to meet at the Gate Hole. After that our plan was to move upstream and cover the various runs, pockets, and holes along the way. Brian was just upstream from me when I finally got rigged up and started to fish the the Gate Hole. There was now a midge hatch in progress.
The morning midge hatch.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
With sight fishing out of the equation, I covered the hole based on past experience. I started at the top of the hole and moved downstream. At the tailout of the hole I finally had a fish on. It was about a 14” rainbow – it somehow wiggled free right in front of the net! Ugh. He hit the Zebra Jujubee Midge.
Soon after – I lost my entire rig. This is not an uncommon experience at the Tailwater. Awhile back various groups got together to improve the fish habitat on the entire Pueblo Tailwater fishery. This included building rock weirs and putting large boulders, tree stumps, and it seems like other large debris in the water to provide holding areas for the trout. It definitely worked – but you are bound to get a lot of snags and good ones at that – ones that require breakoffs to free.
Brian's 1st one of the day.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
Brian walked down to meet me after I got everything back together. He had just landed a 15” rainbow on a Walt’s Worm in a dug out area upstream and proceeded to pump the fishes stomach. This provided our 1st surprise of the day. The rainbow had a bunch of green hydropsyche caddis larva in his stomach.
Caddis larva and an egg.
There were no caddis hatching and I doubt that they will be until next year. But why / how was this trout feeding on these larva then? I have read that caddis larva are active in the morning and evening throughout the year – and in doing so some become dislodged and float in the current – becoming susceptible to the trout. When this occurs, it’s called behavior drift. Also, they can become dislodged in water with flows that have been recently increased and/or are flowing high. In this case when the larva gets dislodged it's referred to as catastrophic drift. In both cases they are available for the trout to eat – and they feed on them. The Arkansas River is noted for the prolific amount of caddis so this makes sense. We took mental notes of that – and plan to incorporate those patterns in our repertoire in the future - especially early in the morning.
After working the various pockets and holes in this part of the river we were ready to move upstream. But Brian just got his line snagged – what a surprise – and had to retie his flies. While he was doing this I figured I may as well try the small dug out area that he had caught the 15 incher in earlier. It’s not a large spot – just a small impression below shallow riffles. But it holds fish.
My 1st one of the day. (Notice the Sawyer's style Pheasant Tail in her lip).
After several casts I hooked up a nice 16” rainbow. It took the Sawyer's Pheasant Tail. I was surprised at it’s size as I wouldn’t think that such a little depression in the water would hold such nice size fish. But it did! After Brian got everything back together – he hit the spot one more time. Just to see. But there were no more left. So we moved upstream heading for the Flagpole Hole.
It was getting warmer and my thought was that the trout would start to spread out and we were likely to find some in the riffles, pockets and holes along the way. So we hit every one of them as we moved upstream. We were back at the Diver Pool at about 11a and we saw beatis hatching. They seemed to be pretty big ones and we couldn’t ID them in the air. So I caught a couple of them. And we were surprised again. They were Tricos!
A Trico dun in December - very unusual!
You can look at any hatch cart for rivers in Colorado and I’ll bet you will not see Tricos hatching in December anywhere in the state. The latest you’ll find them on a hatch chart is October. It made me think – are they all wrong? Then it donned on me. I asked myself - is this normal? I doubt it. Should the angler plan for a Trico hatch in December – on the Ark or anywhere else in Colorado? Probably not. That’s why you won’t see them on a hatch chart. The charts are designed to guide the angler toward what they can usually expect and what normally occurs. This way they are better prepared for the trip. But it just goes to show you – you never know what you’ll find for sure until you get on the river. And you should plan for the unexpected.
As we continued to move upstream, I finally found a few trout just above of the #1 Plunge Pool. It’s another area that is dug out from the stream bending to the left as it moves downstream. But this one is larger, more pronounced, and seems to be a more natural place to hold trout. And I’ve caught a few brownies in it before. This time they were rainbows. Small ones – 6”, 8”, and 12”. Two hit the Disco Midge and one hit the Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail.
After that we broke for lunch. When we were done and ready to head back to the river – we grabbed our dry fly rigs. The plan was to head to the Flagpole Hole – but we would check the Blue Heron Hole first to see if there were any fish rising. As we approached the hole, we spotted several just above the Blue Heron Hole and in it too. Very nice!
Brian took the upstream hole and I took the downstream one. These fish are not easily fooled in the slow water and they’re easily spooked too. After a bit and no takers, Brian moved on to the Flagpole Hole. I was more persistent and kept at it. I had several refusals and was beginning to doubt my fly selection – a #22 Parachute Trico and a #24 Matt’s Midge. But then I fooled one – a nice 15” rainbow and a bit later a got another one – 16 inches. They both took the Matt’s Midge.
This one took a Matt's Midge in slow water.
The fish suddenly stopped rising. So I collected my stuff and headed for the Flagpole Hole. Brian had moved out of it a while ago so I thought I’d give it a shot. After covering the entire run, I finally got a 15” rainbow to take. And that was it.
Beautiful coloration on this 15" rainbow.
My next stop was the Tire Hole. On the way I ran into Brian. He had fished it earlier with no takers, but found some rising trout upstream from it behind one of the weirs. This time he was able to fool a couple of them with a Parachute Adams. I figured that the Tire Hole had now been rested and I’d give it a shot. Brian was on his way out and was going to fish a couple of spots on the way.
One of Brian's rainbows. (Notice the light coloration compared to some of the others).
Photo by Brian Kenney.
Brian got a couple more trout in the run just upstream from the #1 Plunge Pool on his way out. He got them on a Top Secret Midge. A good choice since the afternoon midge hatch was on. I was not as fortunate.
It was about 2:30p and there was yet another type of midge hatching. It seemed to be a larger one, but after I caught a few of them – they weren’t really that big. Their wings made them look big in flight. And the Tricos were still hatching. You’d think the trout would be very active – but they weren’t.
The Tricos finally stopped hatching at about 3:30p and I decided to call it a day soon after.
Sandstone cliffs near the Nature Center parking area.
For the fly fisherman – there is nothing like being out on the river. It will surprise you. And make you better prepared for when you come back for more.
Comments