February 14, 2023
The Tailwater: (The Diver Pool to the #1 Plunge Pool, the Tire Hole, and Valco Ponds Run).
Flows: 139 cfs. (Below the hatchery)
Water Temp: 42F @ 10:30a.
Water clarity: Very clear – visibility ~4’.
Air Temp: Low 52F @ 9:30a – high ~55F @ 12N. (42F when I left at 3:30p).
Hatches: Midge: 10:30 – Fuzzy adults, heaviest between 11a and 1:30p - lasting the rest of the day.
Flies: #22 Black Rojo Midge, #22 Top Secret Midge, #16 Guides Choice Hare’s Ear, #22 Stalcup Baetis, #22 Chocolate Thunder.
Top producers: Chocolate Thunder, Top Secret Midge.
A storm approaching as I looked downstream from the Valco Ponds Run.
When I got to the river’s edge, I scanned the river. I could see about ½ mile in one direction and ¼ mile in the other. There wasn’t a person is site.
Perfect!
I think it was the wind. It was blowing pretty hard making the 50-degree temperature feel more like 35. Aside from making it feel much colder – the wind would play havoc with anyone attempting to fly fish too. It was that kind of wind.
I was second guessing my decision as I drove along Pueblo Boulevard dodging tumbleweed blowing across the road as dust storms swirled around rocking the car. But I decided to stay the course. Not sense turning around now.
Fish in the net! My 1st one - an 18" rainbow.
Figuring that there wouldn’t be a lot of fishermen out in this kind of weather, I parked in the lot nearest the Nature Center. It’s a pay lot. I chose that one rather than the one Brian and I normally use down the dirt road from there. Because I anticipated a very sparse crowd, I was worried about someone breaking into my car. Sadly, you have to take that into consideration when fishing the Tailwater. I’ve heard the whispers in the fly-fishing community. Park where there is activity – and if it’s a pay lot, all the better.
So there I was – alone on the river. As I approached it as stealthily as I could , I was thinking of unpressured fish with their guard down. Sneak in and slip them a few flies and it’s all over.
Easy stuff.
If you could get a good cast and drift in the wind. And if the fish are there.
I was at the Diver Hole and chose my nymph rig to start. The flies from last week were still tied on it – the #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear, #22 Stalcup Baetis, and a #22 Top Secret Midge. The Stalcup Baetis - so effective last week - was chewed up pretty good and I needed to change it out. I chose a #22 Black Rojo Midge. There were a few of them flying around. Midges that is – the fuzzy ones.
Clouds starting to build at the Tire Hole around noon.
Next I peered into the river looking for fish. The water is getting clear enough to see them. Looking first along the bank – then deeper into the river near the submerged boulders. There was one in front of the middle boulder and I went after him. The flow feeding into where the fish was lying was slow and being in front of the boulder made it even slower.
I wasn’t sure how much weight to use and went with what I already had on. It was too much. As my flies floated toward the fish they got caught up on a rock in front of him and he bolted.
Wading deeper into the water I thought I saw a few fish beyond the boulders. The wind was creating waves on the surface of the water and it made it hard to tell the difference between rocks on river bottom and fish. I found that they were rocks.
Not spotting any fish, I began to cover the river from memory. Picking out place where the fish usually hang out in this section – covering it and moving on. Upstream was the direction I was heading. After covering all the usual places all the way up to – and including - the #1 Plunge Pool without seeing any fish or getting a hit, I decided to move on.
Releasing one of my rainbows in the Valco Ponds Run.
I was thinking to myself “even the best fly fisherman in the world can’t catch a fish if there aren’t any there”. And I was convinced that there weren’t any there. I needed to find fish. The most recent success I’ve had on this section of the river was the Tire Hole. I had a feeling that they’d still be there.
I’ve read a lot of fly fishing articles written by experts on the subject that encourage you to fish different spots. They say the experience helps you hone your skills and become a more complete angler. I believe that to be true and I try to do that as much as possible. Besides the skill part – it’s fun to try new places. At the same time, I was here to catch fish and I thought about fishing areas that weren’t holding fish. If they’re not there – I can’t catch them.
So the hell with it. I picked up my stuff and headed to the Tire Hole even though I’ve fished it a few times in the recent past.
A beauty. Caught her in the Valco Ponds Run.
My hope that it was open was buoyed as I walked upstream. No one in sight! I passed over other spots and as I walked up toward the Tire Hole I saw the only other fisherman I would see that morning. Luckily, he was walking past the hole toward me. We chatted briefly – slow morning, neither of us having any success, windy, etc, etc etc.
My not having success lasted until about my fourth cast into the Tire Hole.
I was walking my flies downstream of the deep pool. I like to do that if the flows are about the pace of me wading in the water. It’s proven to be successful for me. I think you get a really good, drag free drift doing it. As I waded downstream my indicator paused. I set the hook as it did – in perfect rhythm.
Bang-it-ty BANG!
My 1st fish just before releasing him.
It was about 10:30a and I had my first fish of the day in the net and it was a nice one. An eighteen-inch rainbow who took the Top Secret Midge. As I was releasing the fish, I was thinking about Zooplankton. Were the fish still gouging themselves on it? I wouldn’t know. I don’t have a stomach pump. Later, my suspicion was that those microbes are still out there.
It was a while later and I had another one on. It hit in the slower water on the opposite side of the river near the trees that overhang the bank. This guy was not a big as my first one but fought a lot harder. Once I had him up near the surface I could see him. He looked to be about 16” – maybe 17” – and silvery. I didn’t see the red-orangish coloration that make the rainbows here so beautiful. He had taken the Top Secret too.
For some reason I decided to get aggressive with him – not play him as much. I brought him up in the current above me – his head still under the water – and let him drift toward me. I usually wait until I tire the fish more and can get his head out of the water before doing that – but not this time. I misjudged the depth as I attempted to net him and missed. He then swam downstream of me and as I attempted to pull him back up to me – he broke off.
I cussed at myself a few times for being so careless.
One of the 18" rainbows that I caught.
It was about an hour between those two fish – that’s why I became suspicious that the Zooplankton was still in the water and the fish were still gorging themselves on them. The other though that occurred to me was were the fish laying down because of the storm? Not sure – but I would have expected more action.
After lunch I changed my flies up. There were still some midges flying about and no sign of BWOs. Even though I chose a #22 Stalcup Baetis and a #22 Chocolate Thunder to replace my Rojo and Top Secret – leaving the Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear as my lead. The Chocolate Thunder is supposed to imitate a BWO, but I’ve found them successful during midge hatches too. I tied on the Stalcup just because.
I then gave the run a couple more attempts. With no further action, I was plotting my next move. I had a lot of options. I could fish my way downstream – all the holes were open. I wasn’t too optimistic that the fish would be there though. I just had a feeling. I’ve found that if you’re not confident – it makes it harder to catch fish.
Another option was to go back to the car and drive upstream to the Valco Ponds Run. I fished it last week with success. I felt more confident in that run and if I left now, I would be at the run in 20 minutes or so. It would be about 2p and I could fish for another hour and half there.
Releasing the 17" rainbow back into Valco Ponds Run.
I liked that idea and started to walk that way. The pull of a couple of the holes along the way was too much though and I stopped to give them a try. The weir above the Flag Hole and the Flag Hole itself. I just had to give them a try – even if just a brief one. But there were no takers.
I walked along the river’s edge as I continued toward the path that leads to the car. The water below the Flag Hole gets slow and shallow and I’ve seen and caught many fish along it in the past. I was careful to watch my step because I’ve found the fish along this part to be the spookiest of anywhere on the river. I’ve scared them off just by dropping my backpack down on the path before.
Right at the end of the run there is a deep pool – the water hardly moving into it. And wouldn’t you know it – there was a big, rainbow sitting in the middle of it clearly feeding on something. It would be difficult to get that guy out of there without spooking him – but I had to try it.
I was able to get maybe five drifts to him – and he even gave one of them a deep inspection before breaking off. I thought he left, then I spotted him again back in the pool. As I lifted my line to cast to him, he bolted. Trout can see almost a full 360 degrees and they can certainly see above them. I knew that, but there wasn’t much I could do though. I had to cast.
Now I was really heading to the car – thinking that I I’d be later than 2.
You can see here how thickly built these rainbows are.
Even though I stopped a few times on the way – I was surprised that it was just before 2p when I walked up to the run. I saw the second fisherman of the day as I did. He was above the run on the opposite side of the river. Valco Ponds Run was completely open.
I had my first hook up pretty quickly – I’m guessing right about 2p! Again, I was walking my flies downstream. I wanted to cover the area where I spotted the sunken log on the riverbed last week. I never made it. Indicator pause, hook set, fish on!
This guy wasn’t coming in without a good fight – making run after run. I was just as determined not to lose him. Not after the lackluster effort on my last one in the Tire Hole. I finally got him to net, another nice one. An 18” - thickly built - rainbow.
I would get a couple more out of the run before it was time to leave – both rainbows. One 18” and the other 17”. I had another one hit as I lifted my flies to recast – but wasn’t able to get a hook firmly into him. I got these - and the one earlier - on the #22 Chocolate Thunder.
Even though the wind played havoc throughout the day – I only had two wind knots. One easily untangled – and one not so easy. The biggest problem was slapping my flies on the water. This happened more times than I would have liked – but at times it was really hard to avoid.
The storm was coming in from the east - and it was time to go.
All in all, it was a good day. Not huge numbers – but some nice fish.
If the fish are there – you can catch them!
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