July 16, 2020
Flows: 247 cfs
Water Temp: 60F @ 10a & 1p.
Water clarity: Clear with moss starting to grow.
Air Temp: mid-50s @ 9a – high 50s @ 2:30p (rain showers cooled things considerably).
Hatches: Healthy PMD 9a to 2p and spotty Caddis throughout the day. May have been some BWOs mixed in too.
A view towards Lake George as I was leaving the Canyon.
The drive to 11 Mile Canyon takes me west out of Colorado Springs on route 24 through the Pikes Peak Wilderness area, over Ute Pass, and into the canyon. Surrounded by beautiful scenery the whole way - despite the drive down I25 from Denver to Colorado Springs, which along the foothills is beautiful in it’s own right – especially in the morning. No matter how many times I go there, I feel lucky to live in such a place.
A rock formation in the Canyon.
Then there’s the fishing - truly world class. In my opinion the expression is overused, but it is appropriate for the fishing experience on the South Platte River. And 11 Mile Canyon is no exception. The Denver Water Board has been limiting the flows out of Cheesman Reservoir in order to fill it. So a lot of fishermen (Brian and I included) have been avoiding Deckers – which Cheesman flows into. So it’s been pretty crowded on the river in 11 Mile Canyon – especially in the 2 miles below the dam. It’s apparent that we all understand as everyone is willing to share space and respect each fly fisherman’s personal space – which is about 50 yards or so.
A deer feeding on the trees. It's not unusual to spot wildlife in the High Country. I must of spotted 8 deer and a herd of elk on this trip.
The water temperature is getting pretty high though – it was a consistent 60 degrees throughout the day – and some of the fish were definitely stressed when I landed them. The fly fishing advocates advize to quickly land the fish and immediately release them – to avoid taxing them, which could kill them. This is easier said than done. A few of the fish that I caught fought very hard making it a challenge to bring them in quickly – then they thrashed about in the net as I tried to get the fly out - which added a lot of time out of the water. I had to revive about 3 of them. But the rest seemed to be OK.
A 17" male rainbow taken from the Road Hole.
With the crowds – you had to pick a spot and hope for the best. Brian did a great job getting there early and picking a spot that was open and most importantly, where fish were feeding. So I met him at the Road Hole where Brian said he had already hooked up about seven fish – but was only able to land one of them. Yep this is the spot where they are hard to land. He said the fish that he landed took a #16 BWO Emerger pattern. A lot of the other ones were hitting his modified Black Beauty. Brian ties this one as usual, but adds emerger yarn to the top of the thorax. It’s seems to work very well for him!!
A 17" male rainbow. Brian's 1st catch of the day in the Road Hole.
Photo provided by Brian Kenney.
I started out upstream, in the riffles between the Road Hole and the Bend Hole. Since there were clouds of PMDs hatching, I started out with a #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear followed by a #20 Pheasant Tail PMD, and a #18 Barr Emerger PMD. There were some fish feeding along the bank, but I couldn’t get them to take. In fact after a couple of casts to them separately – I spooked them one by one, and they were gone. There were a couple of fishermen in the Bend Hole – so I went down below Brian to work the lower part of the Road Hole. After a few casts – I hooked up a nice rainbow, but after fighting him for awhile he broke off.
It’s no surprise that he was downstream from me when he did. When the fish get downstream from you – the current naturally pushes them toward the surface, which creates more tension. So not only are you fighting a fish – but more of the current too. It usually turns out bad. And that’s what happens a lot in this particular spot on the river – because there isn’t much room to move downstream to negate the effect of them being pushed to the surface. And if they get into the faster water – it’s pretty much all over.
But I did hook up and land my fair share in the morning. They were hitting my Pheasant Tail and Barr Emerger. I had one fish hit as I was distracted looking for where I laid my extra rod. I didn’t set the hook and the only indication I had that a fish was on - was tugging on my line as I was looking toward the bank. Surprised I turned and raised my rod – but he more than ample time to figure out how to get off. And he did. But it was a good morning with rainbows, brownies, and one Snake River Cutthroat too. They were in the 15” to 17” range and were strong as oxen!
A male Snake River Cutthroat. Taken from the Road Hole.
After lunch we decided to try a section downstream of the Beaver Run. It’s an area that neither Brian nor I have fished before, but we heard it was a good section. As we walked down, there were a bunch of fishy looking places, but I didn’t see any fish. Brian decided he’d like to try a run that was created by a small island. According to Pat Dorsey, this section of the river is called the Lower Road Hole and it’s adjacent to the Idlewild Picnic area.
So as Brian worked the run, I stood on the bank and searched the river to see if I could spot any feeding fish. Then I did. There was a nice rainbow feeding behind a large boulder near the bank and the seam it created on the river side. So I move upstream from the boulder and waded into the river so that I could cast back toward the bank and beside the boulder. After a few casts, the fish seemed to spook. He swam upstream into a riffle near the bank. So I casted up into the riffle and after a few cast – I hooked up and landed him - nice 17” rainbow who took the Barr Emerger.
After releasing him, I moved a little upstream and saw another rainbow feeding in a pocket behind another large boulder. I again used an upstream cast and was able to entice him to hit. He took the Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear. As I was releasing this fish, I saw another one right out in front of me – in a pocket feeding near the surface. I felt confident that my Barr Emerger would work as he was definitely feeding on emergers near the surface. And sure enough, after several tries he took the Barr Emerger -another nice rainbow.
An interesting rock formation along the river in the Canyon.
While I was working the pocket water – Brian hooked up three fish in the run below the island. In the pockets, the fish were not congregating. It seemed that there was only one fish to each pocket. So I moved downstream to see if I could spot some more fish.
As short distance downstream, sure enough I spotted another fish feed in another pocket. The pocket was located near the shore and the only cast was an upstream one. I would cast over the rocks that formed the pocket and let my flies float naturally into it. And again, after several tries he took the Pheasant Tail. It was a 15” brownie – that looked to me as one of the humpbacks that migrated out of the reservoir. Brian said it looks like just a fat brownie! The jury is still out on this one….
A 15" humpback female brownie. Or is it just a fat one??
I then spotted another fish in a seam about 15’ into the river. After quite a few attempts, I wasn’t sure if he was still there. Then on my next cast – the fish hit one of my flies coming up from beneath it – and didn’t stop. He just went sailing out of the water. I was shocked! He was a nice size fish – in the 20” range and when he was in the air, he shook like crazy and spit the hook. Wow – even though I didn’t land that one, it was an exciting experience. On my next cast I hooked up another 20” or so rainbow. I was able to get a good hook set, but after a brief battle – he came to the surface and shook free.
So I began to work another seam – closer in toward the bank. I had what I initially thought was a snag. But it wasn’t. It was a big brownie! I set the hook – and at first he didn’t move - which I took for a snag. Then he pulled back and his nose came to the surface and he shook free.
Ugh!! Three nice fish and they all spit the hook! But this was the most fun I’ve had in recent memory. Hunting for the fish in new water, finding them, and catching them. This is what fishing is all about!
Just then, it started to rain. And rain it did. It was a brief cloudburst. So after it quit – I decided to move upstream toward where Brian had gone earlier. I found him fishing the Beaver Run and I moved past him, up toward the head of the run. After a few casts – we had another cloudburst. So now I was totally soaked and cold!
With that I decided to call it a day. I looked around to see if I could spot Brian to tell him I was heading to the car. But I couldn’t find him. So I went to the car to wait for him. After about 10 minutes, he showed up and said he hooked up and netted an 18” brownie on his BWO emerger right before the cloudburst hit - and had to fight him during it. But it was worth it.
An 18" male brownie. Brian's last of the day.
Photo provided by Brian Kenney.
So that was that for the day. Brian put an exclamation point on it – with a nice finish!!
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