March 17, 2020
Flows: 185 cfs
Water Temp: 40 @ 10a
Water clarity: Crystal clear
Air Temp: 32 @ 8:30a – high 50s @ 4p.
Hatches: Midges in the AM, BWOs in late morning to early afternoon.
A view of Pike Peak on the way to Deckers.
With all the craziness now going on it was great to get out on the river and fish. Beautiful scenery, crystal clear water flowing, and sunshine – quiet except for the flow of the water. And feeding fish! It took my mind off all of the stresses that we’re all now facing.
And the fishing was on!
The plan was to meet Brian at the Deckers Resort at 8:30a. Being responsible, we drove separately so that we would comply with the “social distancing” that is being asked for. Have to admit, it was my idea. Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a germaphobe! It felt weird – but I was just not comfortable sharing a ride. Just as worried about spreading something – as getting it.
Pine Creek Road - leading into Deckers.
Brian arrived earlier than me and was fishing in the Bridge Hole when I showed up. Once geared up, I went over to see how things were going and to help seine the river. From the seine we got the typical baetis, midge, and caddis nymphs and larva – and for the 1st time, a few small worms.
Notice the reddish color of the worms. May have been why the Disco Midge was so hot.
Baeits, midges, and caddis too.
Surprisingly the place was packed with fishermen – and there were a couple upstream from the Bridge Hole. So I left Brian and went downstream to “Between the Bridges Run”. I fished a few of the pockets and looked for fish feeding the runs between them. There was no one home. So I headed back up to the bridge to take a look into the river. From there I spotted a few fish feeding where Horse Creek feeds into the South Platte.
My rig was set up with a #20 Disco Midge leading, followed by a #24 Flashback Black Beauty and a #24 Purple Rojo Midge. After a few casts, I added a split shot to get my flies down to where the fish were feeding. Soon after making that change, I landed a nice 13” Brownie. Yes the Brownies are now active in the river – and they are noticeably more aggressive. After a few more casts I had 2 Rainbows on. One was a nice size - ~17” – but broke off just before the net. (I can count that one right? -- No.) Even though he was on for quite a while and definitely hooked up - we can only count the ones in the net. The other Rainbow that I did land was 14”. The Brownie hit the Disco Midge, the 14” Rainbow hit the Black Beauty, and the one that broke off was on the Rojo. Nice – I had 3 fish on my 3 different flies. A good start to the day!
My 1st Brownie of the year.
Things were slowing down for me – as you would expect after hooking up and fighting 3 fish in one spot. Then Brian hooked up a nice fish. I stopped to watch and it was clear he got into a pretty big fish. After watching for a bit, I decided to walk over and see if I could help with the net. This was not a short walk. I had to cross Horse Creek, then climb up a 15 foot embankment, then walk away from where Brian was, and circle back over a couple of bridges, then walk into the river to where he was. Jeez – the things you do to help out a buddy! Anyway, the point was that the fish was on for a good 10 minutes. That’s not a particularly good thing, as the longer the fish is in the water – the better chance he has of getting off. This is not to say Brian was doing anything wrong – it was just a big fish!! I was able to get there in time to net him – a nice 17” Rainbow. He hit a #22 Black Beauty.
Brian with a 17" Rainbow. The fish are definitely more aggressive - more fight in 'em now - than in the winter.
I then moved upstream into Ray’s Run. There were a few fishermen at the head and middle of the run, and I was at the tail end. There were fish feeding in a deep seam on the north side of the river. I waded into the middle of the river and fished back into the seam. This was the best way to get a good drift. I had to adjust my weight (taking some off this time) and depth to get the flies into the zone – and then landed two Brownies - 13” and 15”. They both hit the Disco Midge. Meanwhile, back downstream - Brian landed a 12” Brownie on a #20 Olive Zebra Midge.
Looking back towards the north side of Ray's Run.
Another Brownie - this one 15" - hitting the Disco Midge.
We then broke for lunch.
After lunch we checked the Between the Bridges Run and didn’t see anything. When we went up the bridge to scout – we saw a few fish back at the confluence of the Horse Creek. So we went back to how we started the day, with me at the mouth of Horse Creek and Brian in the Bridge Hole.
There were 2 nice size Rainbows feeding at the confluence. I was watching their movements and trying to get my drift into their lanes. As it was, I was watching the fish too much! On one of my casts – I took my eyes off the indicator to watch one of the fish – for what reason, I don’t know. Just at the end of the drift – a very nice Rainbow hit. I had him on – or he had himself on – for a split second. He came to the surface and shook his head and was gone. Ugh!
I then moved into the Bridge Hole to fish the south side – as Brian fished it from the north side. I could spot fish feeding and was able to land another 13” Brownie. He hit the Black Beauty. I continued to fish this section and was ready to give it a rest. As I walked downstream towards where Horse Creek feeds into the river – I continued to cast into the various pools along the way. In the last one, I had an aggressive hit – and I responded with an equally aggressive set. It worked beautifully - what a feeling! I could tell right away that this was a nice one – fighting it as it took me all the way back to Horse Creek. I actually had to cross the creek and eventually landed a 19” female Rainbow. Incredibly, she hit the Disco Midge!
19" female Rainbow. You can see the Disco Midge on her beat up lip - she's been hooked up a few times.
Brian had since move upstream of the Bridge Hole and missed the whole thing. I had to retie my rig. With all the thrashing around in my net, the fish got my flies into a big granny knot. When I was done retying my flies – there were 2 fishermen now in the hole! I wished them luck and walked back up to Ray’s Run.
Earlier in the day, I noticed a guy landing a couple of fish on the south side of the river. I never fished Ray's on this side and decided to check it out. I turns out this side has great pockets with seams in between. There were quite a few fish holding in both the seams and pockets. I was able to land another 15” Brownie on a #20 Pheasant Tail. This fly was in my “extra” fly box for some time. I think I picked it up from a guide on an earlier outing. It’s not a standard Pheasant Tail as it has long hackle feathers at the thorax. I’m going to tie some of these up.
While I was in Ray’s Run, Brian continued to fish the run leading into the Bridge Hole – and was getting into some nice fish. He landed a 16’ Rainbow on a #18 Black Tungsten Bead Zebra Midge, and 3 more Brownies in the 12’ to 14” range. They all hit the #20 Olive Zebra Midge.
So 14 fish in the net between us – that was a good day. Since it was St. Paddy’s Day – we celebrated with a couple of Black & Tans in the parking area - soaking in the sun.
Yep – it was a welcome respite of all the craziness!
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