April 18, 2024
The South Platte River – Deckers (The Campground Run and Between the Islands Run to Mark’s Run).
Flows: 131 cfs.
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent (1% illumination).
Water Temp: 38F @ 9a.
Water clarity: Crystal clear.
Air Temp: 31F @ 8:30a – 37F @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge: Tiny and grayish/cream colored in their larva stage. From 9a to late morning. BWOs: 1p to 4p.
Spawning: No redds observed and no rainbows seen spawning.
Flies: #16 Guide's Choice Hare’s Ear, #22 Black Bead Head Zebra Midge, #20 Grey WD40, #24 Cream Bling Midge, #24 Top Secret Midge, #18 Pheasant Tail, #18 Two Bit Hooker, #22 Black Manhattan Midge, #20 Parachute BWO, #22 Matthew’s Sparkle Dun BWO, #24 BWO Cripple, #20 Parachute BWO, #24 Matt’s Midge, #20 Black Pheasant Tail, #20 Silver Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, and #20 Mole Fly.
Top producers: Black Pheasant Tail, Silver Bead Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, Black Bead Head Zebra Midge, Grey WD-40, Sparkle Dun, #20 and #24 Cripple.
An eagle greeting us to the Camp Ground Hole.
Where should we go?
That was the question as Brain and I were pulling out of my ally way. Pueblo or Deckers. Those were our options.
The flows at the Tailwater in Pueblo were up pretty high – at 590 cfs – high enough to make wading in the river difficult at best. We didn’t think we’d even try to wade across the river – so we’d possibly have to pick one side of the river or the other. But the weather was forecasted to be mild in the high-50s.
On the other hand, the forecast for Deckers was calling for a high of 47 with the possibility of rain and/or snow showers. We both new that we couldn’t rely on the forecast – it’s always colder there than they call for.
It wasn't long before the rain/snow mix started. (Looking into the lower end of the Campground Run.)
After a short discussion Deckers won out. I had grabbed my heavier jacket just as I was leaving the house – just in case. And I was now happy that I did.
When we arrived in Deckers at 8:30a it was very cloudy with mist in the air and it was a cold 31F. With the dampness it felt colder. We parked on the road above the Between the Islands Run and weren’t too concerned as we walked over the hill toward the Campground Run. We were dressed for the weather with our rain jackets – me with my winter hat and gloves on.
The place was deserted. All the smart fishermen were home by the fire or hanging out in their hot tubs. It was that kind of day.
After wading across the river we were greeted to the run by a Bald Eagle. There were a bunch of black birds harassing him as he soared above us – then landing on a ledge on the granite wall that boarders one side of the run. It was quite a site, and I took it as good luck sign.
Brian quickly landed this rainbow in the Campground Run.
Brian Kenney.
As I stopped to take a picture of the majestic bird, Brian continued on and now was ahead of me. He had his rig already setup and began to cast into the riffles and pool at the upstream side of the run. I cautiously approached the run on the downstream side – wading in the water as close to the shore as I could while I peered into the shallow, slow water on the river-left side of the river.
We often find fish in the shallows and they’re easily spooked by clumsy splashes, movements, and even indicators.
I quickly spotted a rainbow feeding behind a small boulder submerged in the water. He would be hard to get though without spooking him. I had my dry fly rod and my nymphing rod with me. Even though he wasn’t feeding on the surface I decided to cast a couple of dries to him as I was sure my nymphing rig would be too heavy and would spook the fish. It was so damn cold – finger numbing cold – and I really didn’t want to change a fly unless I had to.
I hooked up my first fish of the day as Brian was fighting his just upstream from me.
My dry fly rig was setup as I left it last week – a #20 Parachute Adams leading followed by a #22 Black Sparkle Wing RS2. It was early and there wasn’t any BWOs in the air and I didn’t expect to see them until after noon, but the Parachute Adams pattern imitates both baetis and midges. Maybe he’d chase that one - you never know.
As my flies drifted to him then over him I watch his movements. He completely ignored my flies but I could see him eating insects in the column below the surface. A Dry/Dropper would be an ideal setup to get this guy. With that I bit the bullet and removed my Sparkle Dun, replacing it with a #22 Black Bead Head Zebra Midge. It’s not a very heavy fly, but the bead would provide enough weight to get it below the surface of the water.
It was difficult to tie on the Zebra Midge and by the time I was done my fingers were stinging. I wasn’t sure I wanted to catch a fish at this point. That would mean I’d have to get my hands wet to release him – getting them even colder.
But I went after him. My Zebra Midge was tied on about 6” below my Parachute Adams. On my first drift by him – he chased it before breaking off. Then on my second drift he made a sudden move and I set the hook.
BAM! Fish on.
A 20" rainbow Brian netted on the upstream side of the Campground Run.
It was a she – about 16” - and it was really satisfying to get that trout to hit given the circumstances. She was in crystal-clear, slow-moving water and I was able to get her before spooking her off – my tactic worked! The water behind the small, submerged boulder where she was lying was choppy from the current hitting up against the boulder and I think that helped me from a stealth perspective and fooling her into thinking my fly was a real insect.
Right before I hooked her up Brian called out from upstream. He had a fish on – and when mine hit, we then had doubled up. We were only there maybe twenty minutes at most and we had a double. I think spotting the eagle first thing in the morning was a sign of good luck to come!
After I released the rainbow I put my rod down and putzed around. Too cold for me. I helped spot for Brian who was moving downstream and was now in the middle of the run - checked the water temp trying to do something constructive while buying some time for my hands to warm up.
After a bit Brian was ready to head upstream and hiked along the bank to the next hole.
Brian got this brownie in the morning in the deep pool on the upstream side of the Campground Run.
Brian Kenney.
As I was putzing around I spotted a few more rainbows just upstream from the one I landed. They too were in the shallow, clear water and feeding in a trough. Once my hands warmed up sufficiently, I grabbed my dry fly rig and began to cast to them.
It got interesting as they completely ignored my flies – even after making several changes to my Dropper which was my target fly. Even though there were no midges in the air – at least that I could see, I knew they had to be in the water and that was what the trout were eating.
After a bit I took a break and stood on the bank watching the trout wondering what they were eating. Then Brian showed up and excitedly told me he had just landed a 20” rainbow near the boulder in the upper part of the Campground Hole. He came back to gather all his stuff to bring back upstream to the hole. He was going after more.
Brian covering the Campground Run before the snow started to fly.
While he was there I figured since I have a aquarium net – I should put it to use to see if I could use it as a seine to catch whatever insects it was that the trout were eating. Getting scientific, I went out to a foam line and after a several seconds I had some nice specimens in the net. They were tiny – probably in the #26 to #28 size range - grayish/cream-colored midges with a black head.
OK. So now I know what they are keying on – the next step was to pick a fly that would imitate it. My first choice was a #24 cream colored Bling Midge. It was the smallest midge pattern that I had and with it’s black head, it closely matched the live midges.
But it didn’t work.
Are you kidding me? After a few drifts with no interest I stood stream-side scratching my head. What could I use?
A tiny midge larva.
Then I remembered that I have some WD-40s that might work. I tied them in olive, grey, and black in sizes #20 and #22. I picked out a #22 Grey one hoping that it wasn’t too big and tied it on. The WD-40 is a fly that imitates both baetis and midges.
On about my third cast one of the rainbows chased the WD-40 downstream and hit. I missed him but was encouraged that the WD-40 finally did the trick.
There were still a few more rainbows in that trough but I couldn’t get them to take. Sometimes it seems that after you cast a fly several times in the same spot the trout either become aware – or desensitized to it – and ignore it. So I moved downstream to see if I could get another one.
One of the rainbows I got on the WD-40.
Then I saw a rainbow farther out along a seam of fast water. That trout hasn’t seen my fly yet – and I casted to him. On my second cast he came up and hit the WD-40. BAM – a nice 15” rainbow.
After releasing him I went back to the trough. With still no interest I moved downstream to see if I could spot any more rainbows. Not seeing any, I moved to the other side of the river to an eddie in a deep pool that is sided by the granite wall of the canyon. I’ve found some nice fish in there before sipping flies that get caught in the foam line of the eddie.
There was no one home though and I moved back to the other side of the river. As I was walking upstream back toward the trough, I spotted a nice rainbow holding in soft water behind a submerged boulder. In the same type of water where I caught the 1st one.
The upstream side of the Campground Hole.
On my third drift to him he made a sudden move – and I set the hook. BAM – I now had on a very surprised rainbow. He shot out to the middle of the river, jumping clear out of the water as he went. Wow – this is going to be fun! I fought him for a while until I got him into deep trough of slower water. There I netted him – a beauty of a 17” rainbow. He took what else -the WD-40.
Seining for those midges really paid off.
I was now ready to move upstream and join Brian. When I met up with him he was still near the boulder in the upper reaches of the Campground Run and he had landed another brownie and another rainbow a just before I arrived. I joined him and we covered the hole where we could see some nice size rainbows mid-river.
It was past lunchtime and we decided to break for lunch, alternating between one of us eating and the other fishing. We were targeting the big rainbows but couldn’t get them to take. I think they simply weren’t eating. That happens – more often that you’d realize.
Brian with another 20" rainbow. (Or was it the same one he landed earlier?)
At one point while I was casting to them, Brian moved to the top of the hole where the fast riffles flow into the pool where he had landed that 20” rainbow earlier. I heard an exclamation from Brian and when I looked up I saw a really nice rainbow midair. Then there was a loud splash. The fight was on!
Brian finally netted the bad boy – another 20” rainbow. Was it another one? Brian wasn’t sure – he thought it was the same one he caught earlier! You never know – it’s certainly not beyond the realm of possibility. Either way it was a nice fish.
A little later we had decided to head out – drive down to Fishermen’s Run where we thought we had a chance to catch some fish on dries during the BWO hatch. There’s a pool there along the bank where the water is slow and where flies drift by on the surface.
A 17" rainbow who also took the WD-40.
After hiking back to the car which was parked above the Between the Islands Run, we looked around and saw that it was open as was Mark’s Run. Both these spots are good places to get fish on dries during the afternoon BWO hatch. We thought, let’s give it a shot.
With the place empty, we had either run to ourselves. I took the Between the Islands Run and Brian headed to Mark’s.
When I got to the edge of the river I peered into all the pockets where I had gotten trout before. But they were empty. I began to wade upstream checking the small pools and pockets as I went. I was just about ready to give it up and move out of the run when I spotted a brownie in a shallow pool – a place where I haven’t seen them too many times in the past.
Baetis pupae and an annelid. Brian extracted these from the belly of one of his fish.
Brian Kenney.
I put my stuff down and grabbed my Dry/Dropper rig and began to cast to the brownie. The wind was blowing pretty hard by now and I had a couple of lazy casts that resulted in my flies landing hard on the surface spooking the brownie. He was gone.
Then I saw a rainbow farther out in the seam where the slow pool met the fast current. He came up a couple of times as I watched. The wind was making it hard to get an on-target cast and drift, but I got one and as my flies floated toward the fish I said to myself “that’s on the money – it’s a nice drift”. The rainbow agreed and came up and sipped my #22 Sparkle Dun BWO which I tied on since the BWOs were now hatching.
I would get another rainbow out of this small pool on my Sparkle Dun and then the brownie came back. I casted to him and as my flies drifted toward him he came up and casually sipped my Sparkle Dun. Just like it was another day in the park.
A brownie I got on my Sparkle Dun in a pocket in the Between the Islands Run.
And when he did – BAM! – I set the hook. Then he flew out of the water and went streaming toward the middle of the river. Then he came streaming back and few out of the water again. He’d do the same thing again before I was able to net him. One pissed of brownie he was.
After releasing him I gathered my stuff and headed to Mark’s Run to see how Brian was making out. He had caught a couple of rainbows while I was downstream. He was in the middle of the run and I asked if he saw any fish rising. He said no. But just then a fish came up very near him.
Encouraged, I went to the top of the run and began to work my way back downstream – looking for rising fish. Then I spotted one near the far bank river-left. It was in the pool by the downed tree – a spot where we find a lot of fish. As I moved into position I saw more fish rising.
This brownie took my BWO Cripple.
This was going to be a piece of cake. Trout just can’t resist my Sparkle Dun – it’s like magic.
Well – it wasn’t.
Then fish started to rise everywhere convincing Brian to change over to fishing dry flies. He was still in the middle of the run and I was about ¼ of the way upstream of him changing flies wondering what the heck was going on – and getting nowhere. We could readily see the BWOs on the surface but I couldn’t get them to hit any of my flies.
Meanwhile Brian landed a couple of rainbows – nice fat ones. After the second one I asked him what they were taking. A mole fly was his response. A mole fly – also known as a Cripple – is a fly tied to imitate an emerging fly that is stuck in his shuck. And as such, an easy target for the trout.
Brian bagged this nice brownie in Mark's Run.
Brian Kenney.
I’ve read – and talked to other fishermen – who have said that during a heavy hatch the trout will key on the naturals, the live flies and ignore the imitations. In those cases it best to select a fly that’s a little different – and a Mole Fly usually works wonders.
I was a little frustrated at the time. Everything just seemed to be fighting against me. The wind, my flies weren’t working – and I had forgotten about that advise. But Brian shook it out of me and I quickly tied on my #24 BWO Cripple.
It was like night and day. BANG – BANG! Fish on on about every third cast. The first one was a really nice brownie that I had been trying to get for what seemed like all afternoon. He hit – I set – then he proceeded to fly out of the water in what looked like a long jump. Then he spit my fly.
One of the rainbows who took my BWO Cripple in Mark's Run.
That was alright with me – the Cripple worked. Then I landed two rainbows – not the biggest – one 14” and the other 15”. Then I got a brownie about 16” in pretty quick succession.
I had lost track of time while I was out there concentrating on those trout and I didn’t realize that it was getting late. And I didn’t realize that I was getting tired either and I got lazy on one of my casts resulting on a wind-knot. My thought was “damn it – that fish are hitting and now I have to waste time untangling this”. And I would have to wade to the shore so I could set my rod down – more time wasted.
A bit pissed at myself and tired, I turned too quick and stumbled over one of the many boulders that line this run – and fell into the water! It went from bad to worse --- and that water was COLD!
1st fish of the day. (The Black Bead Head Zebra Midge in his lower lip.)
Not a good way to end the day – but it was a fun day. Cold and all.
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