Nov 19, 2020
Flows: 80 cfs
Water Temp: 46F @ 9a.
Water clarity: 4’
Air Temp: 40 @ 8:30a, 52 @ 4p
Hatches: Midge – 8:30a into mid-afternoon, BWOs 11a into late-afternoon
Flies: #18 Red Midge Larva, #24 Mercury Midge, #24 Top Secret, #22 Black RS2, #22 Mercury Beatis, #24 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty, #24 JujuBee Midge, #20 Bead Head Pheasant Tail, #24 Black Sparkle Wing RS2, #24 Gray Sparkle Wing RS2.
Top producers: Red Midge Larva, Mercury Midge, Black RS2, Black Beauty.
Brian and I were taking advantage of the mild November weather here in Colorado and got in another double last week. We initially planned to go to Deckers on Thursday and try the Bend Hole again. It was my pick. I guess I was looking for something easy. Then Brian called me on Wednesday night and suggested that instead we should hike into Cheesman Canyon. His thinking was the mild weather might not last much longer – so this could be our last chance this year to get into "The Canyon". And it would be a welcomed change of pace. All good reasons.
The Family Hole.
(The steep climb into and out of the canyon is to my back in this picture).
We agreed to meet at the trailhead at 8a. Our destination was the Family Hole. It’s been a hot spot for us in the past and it’s the shortest hike from the trailhead - about 20 minutes one way. Not a bad hike in – but coming out is another story. The canyon wall is pretty steep it approaches the river's edge. Going down is no so much of a problem, but climbing back up is – at least for me.
The locals refer to Cheesman Canyon only as “The Canyon”. It’s about a 5 ½ mile stretch of river from the dam to the private water of the Wigwam Club. It’s renown for plentiful, brightly colored rainbow and brown trout and it’s rugged beauty. The trout are picky, extremely wary and with the gin clear water, they’re hard to fool. Technical fishing is required. It’s said that if you can catch trout in The Canyon, you can catch them anywhere else in the world.
Looking downstream from the Family Hole. Notice one of the cabins at the Wigwam Club to the left.
The hike in and out tends to limit the crowds – but not on this day. The parking lot was almost completely full when I arrived and I was not optimistic. But there is a lot of fishable water and we had the whole Family Hole and the run leading into it to ourselves for a good part of the morning. Even later when a few other fishermen showed up – we still had plenty of water to fish.
Brian has a Rod Vault. It’s a rod carrier that is connected to the roof rails on his SUV. It saves him lots of time to get into and out of the water as he doesn’t have to tear down his rig after a day of fishing. And he doesn’t have to re-rig it for the next one either. So when we got to the river, Brian dropped his backpack and was fishing within a few minutes. Meanwhile, I was checking the river to see what was active and getting ready to rig up my rod.
Brian getting the jump into the Family Hole.
As I was doing this, Brian hooked up a beautiful brightly colored rainbow in the 19” range. It put up quite a fight and I grabbed my net to see if I could help land him. At one point the fish was within about a foot of my net, then took another run. Brian worked him back in towards me – and then I heard a snap. And the fish was gone! It was a beauty and even though it broke off, it was a good way to start the day.
I was wondering if it was a prelude to the rest of the day. And it was!
There was a pretty decent midge hatch in progress and the fish were active. Some were rising and we saw some feeding just below the surface. We both started out fishing the hole, then after awhile I moved up to the riffle that feeds into it. I quickly spotted a couple of rainbows feeding beside and behind a boulder. The riverbed was clear of moss in that area and with their bright coloration, they stood out.
A 19" rainbow taken out of the riffles leading into the Family Hole.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
Per their reputation, these fish were not easily fooled and were very picky. But I kept at it, trying to get a perfect drift with the flies as close to their noses as possible. It finally paid off – as I hooked up and landed a husky 20” rainbow. And yes – it had the bright coloration that they’re noted for. I brought it over to show Brian saying “you’ve got to see this fish”. Not long after, I was able to land a 19” rainbow, a 19” brownie, and a handful more of each in the 15” to 17” range.
Here's the 20" husky brightly colored rainbow.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
Brian had his stomach pump with him and we pumped a few of the fish. They all had small yellow eggs in their stomachs. As Brian moved up to fish the riffles, he noticed a few of the brownies spawning. It’s pretty late in the season for that, but in this section of the river it was still going on. A few of the brownies released sperm on the redd (the spawning area) and he could see the resulting cloud in the water. It was evident that a lot of fish were sitting below the redd and feeding on brownie eggs that were dislodged and floating in the current.
Interestingly, after seeing that I alternately tied on a couple different egg patterns one smaller than the other – and got no takers on either of them. Sometimes these fish just cause you to shake your head and wonder what the heck is going on. None the less they would hit a fly pattern. These seemed to work best in the faster, deeper riffles.
A 19" brownie. This one put up quite a fight!
Photo by Brian Kenney.
After a very active morning, we took a break to eat our lunch on the riverbank. While sitting there soaking in the scenery – we noticed that BWOs were hatching. And there were smaller flies hatching too, but initially we didn’t know what they were. After we caught a few in my bug net – it was clear that along with the BWOs, it was midges that were hatching. And we could see fish sporadically rising for them.
After lunch, Brian switched to dry flies and began to work the hole. First on the near side then on the far side. Even with good drifts into clear feeding zones, he got no hits. Yes, these fish are very finicky!
I moved back to the riffles at the top of the hole and quickly caught 2 brownies and a rainbow. They were hitting the Mercury Midge. Then all of a sudden – as happens frequently – the action stopped. Where did the fish go? Beats me. But it’s a phenomenon that happens pretty often.
One of the brownies from the afternoon.
As I moved further upstream, I could see rainbows feeding in the pockets formed by the boulders in the river and also feeding near the kelp lines. The water was a little slower and gin clear in this section and the rainbows were extremely wary and would bolt upon seeing the indicator or the flash from a casting motion. Some of these rainbows where nice sized ones and I definitely wanted to land one of them. I noticed that if they got spooked, they would bolt then come back to their feeding lies.
Releasing a brownie.
This is where I spent the rest of the afternoon. It was a bit frustrating as the wind would blow and cause a cast to land directly on top of the fish and spook them. Or something else would happen causing them to bolt. After spending a lot of time go after them I finally had two of them hooked up – but they quickly broke free. It was a disappointment – as I had worked hard to get them. But at the same time it was rewarding to know that I had fooled a couple of them and provided encouragement for the next trip.
While I was working that section, Brian moved back to the top of the hole and was back to fishing nymphs. He was working that area just as hard as I was working the slower water upstream and was rewarded for his efforts by hooking up and landing a nice brownie at the top of the hole. He fooled him with a Black RS2.
Here's Brian with the brownie he took at the head of the Family Hole.
Even with the slower afternoon, it was another fantastic day in The Canyon.
The tail-end of the Family Hole.
Then there was the hike out. Oh man – I’ve got to get into better shape!
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