March 11, 2020
Flows: 140 cfs
Water Temp: 36 @ 9:15a
Water clarity: Crystal clear
Air Temp: 32 @ 9a – 50s @ 5p.
Hatches: Sparse BWO – 10:30a to early afternoon.
Not only was it a sure sign of spring approaching, with the forecast of a high of 50 in Lake George – but great to be back in the mountains of Colorado.
The route to 11 Mile Canyon from my place is south on I25 to Colorado Springs (traffic not withstanding – it's a beautiful drive along the front range – especially at sun rise), then west on 24 to Lake George. Route 24 takes you from the Garden of the Gods at its’ base, past Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak wilderness area –through some mountain meadows, and then it’s a leisurely drive to Lake George. From Lake George, it’s 8 miles up the canyon - with the South Platte River flowing beside the road the whole way. You know you’re in the wilderness when there is a “beware of bears in the area” sign at the entrance to the canyon.
A view along the road in 11 Mile Canyon.
Even with the temperate weather for late winter – the canyon can still be cold - as the canyon walls block the sun until mid-day. It can also be windy (and it was yesterday) – so the wind chill can make it feel about 10 degrees colder than it is. But the scenery and the fishing make it worthwhile.
Brian met a guy named Dale a few months ago when fishing the Tailwater in Pueblo. We’ve run into him several time since – and he is always willing to share some insight to good fishing spots, flies that are working, and even shared some of his flies with Brian. At one time he mentioned that he like to fish “between the bridges” in 11 Mile Canyon. So that’s where Brian and I started out for the day.
We seined the river before starting and I was surprised as there were not as many nymphs as we've seen in Deckers and Pueblo.
Baeits, caddis, and a few midges.
The bridges in this case are the last 2 before the road ends at the 11 Mile Reservoir Dam. We have fished a couple of holes directly above the last bridge and a couple below it in the past – but have not gone all the way downstream to the other bridge. There’s a few parking areas around the last bridge – and they were pretty packed when we arrived at 9a. So we had some company on the river and the holes near the bridge were already taken. So we went farther downstream. The canyon walls in this section rise on the southeast side of the river and block the sun in the morning. So it was a bit chillier than the sunny spots and you couldn’t see into the water. So sight fishing was out – which is my preferred method.
After covering several holes, pockets, and runs – I decided to head upstream to the Road Hole. I new the sun would be hitting this spot – and it’s one of my favorite spots to fish in the canyon. As I walked up the road – which sits higher than the river enabling clear views into the water - I checked the river along the way to the Road Hole. I was encouraged, as I spotted fish actively feeding in the hole and a couple of spots downstream of it. Best of all - no one was in any of them!! My plan was to begin on the downstream side of the river so that I didn’t spook any of the fish upstream – and then work my way into my original destination - the Road Hole. With visions of several fish in the net!
Looking downstream from the Road Hole. (Road on the right side).
As I was working one of the downstream holes – a fisherman appeared out of the brush on the north side of the river and went into the Road Hole. Ugh! I was thinking to myself – I should have just gone there in the 1st place. Then the next thought was maybe the guy doesn’t know there are fish feeding right in front of him. This could be so, because you can’t see into the water as clearly from that side of the river as you can from the road.
I didn’t have any luck in my spot – I think I spooked the fish that I saw – and the guy in the Road Hole didn’t either, and he left pretty quickly. So I waded up to the hole just a quickly and began to fish it. It’s a tricky area to fish – especially with nymphs. You need to fish it from the north side of the river (opposite from the road). This area has a pretty fast run right in the middle of the river and in front of slow swirling water on the road side – which creates an eddy downstream from it. The fish feed in the seam of the fast water, in the hole of slow swirling water, the eddy leading into it, and in a tail out just below. When fishing nymphs, I have found it best to fish the seam and the tail out. Getting a good drift into the eddy or the slow swirling water is very difficult – unless you’re fishing dries. But I tried all of them anyway – and finally landed a nice 15” rainbow in the seam. He hit my #24 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty – one of my favorite flies.
15" male taken on a #24 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty in the Road Hole.
After several more casts I decided to move upstream to the #1 Bend Hole – where I’ve had a lot of success in the past. As I arrived, I spotted a nice size rainbow feeding in the back side of the hole. After several drifts - my indicator was kind of swirling in the current – and something told me to set the hook. But I hesitated and by the time I did – it was too late – the big rainbow quickly broke off. I have to keep reminding myself of advice from Pat Dorsey in his Fly Fishing Guide to the South Platte River, where he says “envision that there are no rocks, twigs, or anything that could snag your line. And set on any disturbance to your indicator”. Or as Brian says, “all sets are free”. It was now a little past noon, so I decided to break for lunch – meeting up with Brian on the way.
Looking downstream from the #1 Bend Hole into the Road Hole.
After lunch we hit the Lower Canyon Run, which is just upstream from the bridge. I sighted one fish near the bank and pointed it out to Brian. He enticed it to hit – but it broke off. So we went up to scout the Road Hole as I did earlier. We did see some fish – but most of them were in the slow swirling water. As I mentioned earlier – it is very difficult to get a good drift into it with nymphs – and they weren’t rising. So I wasn’t too excited about fishing it – and suggested that we head up to the #1 Bend Hole.
There were quite a few fish feeding in the hole and the run on the east side of it. We spent most of the afternoon there and I was able to land 2 nice rainbows – one 16” and the other 17”. They were feeding in the hole and the tail out below it. One hit a #20 Mercury Red Midge Larva - which was my lead fly. And the other hit a #24 Top Secret Midge - which was my trailing fly. Several times in the past I’ve witnessed a fish hitting my fly without my indicator moving – and it always amazes me. That’s exactly what happened when the 17” rainbow hit. I saw his mouth swing and the red stripe of his midsection turn in the water. I new my flies were in the general area – so I set the hook - even though my indicator did nothing to indicate a hit. And there he was - amazes me every time!
After a while we moved up to the Rock Hole where I spotted a couple of fish in the middle of the river. They weren’t moving much – so I’m not sure if they were feeding. It’s a weird place to be resting – but that’s what they may have been doing. Brian had some nice drifts right on point with no hits – so I’m inclined to think they were just resting and not feeding.
The Tailout of the Rock Hole.
It was getting late and the fishing was dying down - so we decided to call it a day. Not a ton of fish in the net – but a great day to be out in the mountains of Colorado and fishing on a beautiful river!
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