Puebo Tailwater - at the Hatchery Hole
January 20, 2021
Flows: 96 cfs
Water Temp: 36 @ 7a, 40F @ 2p.
Water clarity: ~4’
Air Temp: 18 @ 7a, 57 @ 4p.
Hatches: Midges – 11a to mid-afternoon
Moon Phase: First Quarter
Flies: #18 Red Copper John, #18 Red Midge Larva, #22 Mercury Black Beauty, #22 Zebra Jujubee Midge, #18 Desert Storm, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #24 Top Secret Midge, #22 Olive Foamback Emerger, #22 Parachute Midge, #22 Matt’s Midge, #20 & #22 Red Zebra Midge, #24 Griffiths Gnat, #22 Parachute Adams.
Top producers: Chocolate Thunder, Red Copper John, Red Zebra Midge, Griffith’s Gnat, Matt’s Midge.
A view of the Front Range. Taken along a walk in Lone Tree.
Brian really wanted to go back to the Tailwater and specifically to the Hatchery Hole. He was intent on getting there early to claim it – and then he would share it with me when I got there later. It sounded good to me. It’s a good spot.
So Brian got there early – 7a – and it was open. I was able to get myself together and out the door a little earlier too and arrived at about 8:30a. On my drive down to Pueblo I was thinking “I bet Mike (we later learned his name is really Mark!) would be there when I arrived. I don’t know why – but I just had that feeling. As I was walking to the river – sure enough there was Mark in the hole fishing with Brian! I got a good laugh out of that.
Later, I asked Brian if Mark had beat him to the hole. He said no, Mark arrived at 8a – and it only made sense for Brian to invite him to join in, as Mark did the same for Brian last week. And it turns out Mark is a nice guy and fun to fish with. So it all worked out.
When I arrived there was room for me in the deeper water below where they were fishing – but I decided to walk down to the Parking Lot Hole to give it a try. This is where I caught a 16” rainbow the week before. It was windy again – jeez! But not gusting like it was last week – and it was bearable. But this hole requires a long nymphing technique – in other words, you need to get a pretty long cast in. So after the wind blew my line into me and getting it tangled it in my net, I decided that was enough.
So I moved down to the Valco Ponds Run. The river is narrower there, requiring only a short cast. As I did last week – I concentrated on the deep area by the submerged boulders and the seam below them. I had one hit below the boulders – but I wasn’t able to get a good hook set and the fish was gone. That kept me in the area for a bit longer. After a while with no further action I moved to below the tree trunk. But there were no takers.
My 1st fish of the day.
I had spotted a fish upstream in front of the 1st boulder last week – so I thought I’d move there and cast toward it hoping that a fish was home. As I waded in that direction I spotted a fish in the braid to the near side of the boulder. The water flowing around the boulder formed this braid which is a trough about knee high in depth – maybe a little deeper – and about four feet wide. I have found that the fish like to hang out in it and feed.
I was really happy to spot him. I haven’t been able to sight fish pretty much all winter and this was the 1st time I’ve been able to do it that I can remember. I find it way more fun fishing to fish that you can see and know are feeding. It gives you a chance to really fine tune your approach. Do I have the right amount of weight? Are the flies at the right depth? Do I have the right flies on? And you can sometimes see them hitting the fly. So it really reinforces your technique. It’s a much better way to fish than blind casting into typical feeding areas not knowing if a fish was there or not.
And this fish was definitely feeding. I just caught sight of him – looked like a dark spot in the water. Then I saw him move – and then I saw the tell-tell sign of the red stripe on his side. Yes it was a fish! He was darting in the water and I wasn’t sure if I spooked him or not. But after several casts into the seam he hit. It was a nice 16” rainbow and he took my Red Copper John.
At the time, it was about 10:30a and having my first fish in the net I thought I’d walk up to see what Brian and Mark were up to. When I left them, Mark was sitting on a boulder mid-stream retying his rig and Brian was fishing the fast water leading into the hole. When I walked back up to them – they were doing exactly the same thing! It’s not surprising for Mark to be retying though – there is a lot of structure in the Tailwater to get snagged on. Believe me – I know from experience.
A 13 1/2" rainbow - caught in the Hatchery Hole.
This time I decided to give the deeper water a try. But after covering the area I got my line snagged on a boulder. There was no alternative other than break it off. Ugh – what did I just say? With that, I decided to take a lunch break. While I was getting set up, Brian spotted some bugs in the water upstream from him and came over to get my bug net. He came back with some adult midges then joined me for a streamside lunch. We got caught up on the morning activities. Brian said that he was able to get a couple rainbows in the 10” to 13” range on a Red Zebra pattern. Mark had only got a few too – so this spot was fishing slower than last week.
An adult midge. This image can really help when tying them.
While we were eating we also noticed several small fish rising in the same spot as last week. They were taking aggressively on the surface and Brian was wondering if they were eating adults or emerging nymphs. So he grabbed my bug net again and went to find out. They ended up being adult midges – same type that were hatching upstream from him before lunch.
Brian got these in the shallows.
After lunch, Mark was again on the boulder messing with his rig – so I gave the top of the hole a try. This is the honey spot – so to speak. It’s where the fast water drops into a deep hole. The fish usually sit in the deeper water and feed on the nymphs that float to them in the current. It didn’t take too much time and I was able to land a 13 ½” rainbow. Brian asked how I could be so specific without a tape measure. Well I’ve measured and marked my net. It happens to be exactly 13 ½” wide and the fish was too!
We all took turns fishing the top end – and Mark mentioned the same thing Brian did earlier. The fishing was off a bit from last week. It’s funny how this happens and I wish I knew why. I can’t explain it, but the river can and will fish different on any given day. I’ve experienced it. That’s part of the challenge for the fisherman! It makes it interesting – and keeps you on your toes.
At some point I went back into the deeper water. Earlier, when I retied my rig – I decided to include an emerger, a Chocolate Thunder - to see how it would work. I began by working the upper end right where Brian’s and Mark’s drifts would end. Then I moved downstream a bit at a time till I was across from where the hatchery feeds into the river. There I casted toward the hatchery inlet and let my drift go to the tailout of the run. At the end of the drift I began to let my line sit. This technique causes my flies to come to the surface, mimicking an emerging fly. This enticed a hit which I missed. Actually the fish missed – he didn’t hook himself! The next one did though - and I landed a 8” rainbow. He hit the Chocolate Thunder.
So I kept this up and on one of my ensuing drifts I felt a really hard take. This one hooked himself and I could tell he had some size. After a good fight I had him in the net and yes he was a nice sized, colorful rainbow. Ended up being 19” and a few pounds. Mark was nice enough to stop fishing while I fought the fish in and offered to take a picture – which I accepted!
A 19" bull rainbow - taken out of the Hatchery Hole.
Photo by Mark.
Meanwhile, as I was fishing the deep hole – Brian decided to go his car and get his 2-wieght rod and reel. He thought that would be a good setup to cast some dry flies to the small fish rising. So he did and landed a several of them on a Griffith’s Gnat.
Here's Brian fishing the shallow water for rising trout.
Low and behold – I got another snag and lost my entire rig. Again! By this time Brian gave up on the small fish and I decided to tie on dries and fish for them. After catching several of my own – mine were all on a Matt’s Midge – Brian suggested to move downstream.
So we gave it up and moved down – eventually stopping back at the Valco Ponds Run. I spotted another fish feeding in the braid – same place as where I caught the other one in the morning. So I fished this area while Brian fished the tailout. On one of my drifts, my line got caught on the bottom and spooked the fish I was after. So I had to let it sit for a while.
A pool leading into the Valco Ponds Run.
By then Brian had moved down to a deep hole below the submerged log and I moved into the tailout that he was just fishing. A short time later Brian called out that he had one on. Just as I looked over, the fish took a leap out of the water. It was a big fish and deeply colored. I set my rod and reel down so that I could go watch – and maybe help with the net. But just as soon as I did the fish broke free. Oh man!
Then a bit later, Brian had another nice one on. I came down to help with the net as he fought it. It took several runs and was tiring Brian out. Wait a minute – it's supposed to be the other way around! Anyway, he did get this one to tire out – and I was able to help net what was an 18” rainbow.
Brian with his 18" rainbow - caught just below the Valco Ponds Run.
After that I went back to the run where I spooked the fish earlier and saw that he was back. After several drifts into the seam he hit. I could tell he was a big fish and he was putting up a great fight. He swam right into the boulders and I thought for sure I would lose him. But I was able to get him out and he began to tire me out! Well when you have a big fish on – after a while your arms do get tired. Brian returned the favor and netted him for me. He hit the Chocolate Thunder - and he was big – 20” and at least a few pounds.
Last one of the day for me. A 20" rainbow taken out of the Valco Ponds Run.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
And that's how we ended it. We fished the same spots. Some places fished similar to last week – others did not. Another experience on the river.
Same place – different day.
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