Pueblo Tailwater, February 23, 2021
Flows: 76 cfs
Water Temp: 38F
Water clarity: Crystal clear
Air Temp: 41 @ 8:30a, 67 @ 4p.
Hatches: Sparse midges – 9a to mid-afternoon
Flies: #14 Pine Squirrel Leech, #22 Mercury Red Zebra, #22 Black Rojo Midge, #18 Guides Choice Hares Ear, #24 Chocolate Thunder, #24 Red JuJubee Midge, #18 Frenchy, #22 Desert Storm.
Top producers: Desert Storm, Mercury Red Zebra, Leech, Chocolate Thunder.
After fishing Deckers yesterday, Brian and I were fortunate to get out on the Pueblo Tailwater for another day of fishing. The weather was forecasted to be in the 60s and we were hoping that the trout would begin to leave their winter lies and spread out into the runs and riffles. Out plan was to begin at the Plunge Hole or the Diver Hole – or the run between them.
The run between the Plunge Pool and the Diver Pool. (The Plunge Pool is just below the small waterfall).
I got the riverside at about 8:45a and found Brian in the Diver Hole and he already had landed an 18” rainbow. Yes – that’s was good news and I was hopeful the trout we ready for a spring feast. Surprisingly, the water was a cold 38F. It wasn’t really that cold, but I thought it would have warmed up from yesterday's high temps.
After rigging up I fished the tail end of the Diver Hole. Brian was at the top of it and neither of us could spot any trout. After working that area for a while I moved up to scout the long run that flows between the Diver and Plunge Holes. Fish do hang out in that run and if they’re there you can spot them in the clear water. But you have to be careful not to spook them.
Brian's 18" rainbow he took out of the Diver Hole.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
I didn’t see any fish so I continued on up to the Plunge Hole. When you look at this hole your thought is this is has to hold fish. And I can’t resist to fish it when it’s open. But between Brian and I – we probably have caught a fish or two in it over the past 3 years. Not sure what the deal is – but it’s not as productive as you’d think it would be.
Today was no different. I covered the whole hole with no hits and without seeing any fish. So I moved further upstream, first trying the run above the hole – then moving all the way up to the West Nature Center Run. I didn’t spot any fish and was still empty handed when I decided to move back to the Diver Hole to see how Brian was making out.
He didn’t have any more action and we still couldn’t spot any fish so we decided to move upstream. Our plan was to give the Flag Hole a try. We walked along the paved path to get there and checked a couple of likely spots to see if we could spot any fish. And we didn’t. Geez – I thought the fish were going to be spreading out, but so far they weren’t.
My 1st fish of the day - a 19" cutbow.
When we got to the Flag Hole there were two guys in it. So we moved on up to the Antenna Hole. There is a long, somewhat deep run that leads into it. Then a few large boulders create a seam that feeds into a deep pool. Brian fished the run above and I fished the deep pool. I like this spot and have caught a few fish here before. I especially like it in the winter because it provides a place for the trout to lie and feed without expending a lot of energy.
After covering the hole without any takes I added some weight. I noticed that my flies were swinging out and to the surface of the water and I wanted them to go deeper. After that adjustment and a few casts I had a noticeable hit. I set the hook and began fighting what felt like a nice size fish. It took me downstream a ways but I was finally able to tire him out and bring his head to the surface. I was being extra cognizant of how I was playing the fish and making sure that I didn’t pull back on my rod. I didn’t want to lose any fish like I did yesterday!
And it paid off as I netting a nice 19” cutbow. He took a #22 Mercury Red Zebra Midge. I was happy to have the 1st one in the net and I thought there had to be a few more in there. I continued to fish the hole – but there was no more action. Sometimes when you hook up and play a fish the spot becomes dry because the other fish bolt with all the action. After letting the spot sit awhile – the fish will come back. But they didn’t.
Here's another look at the cutbow.
Meanwhile Brian saw that the other guys had vacated the Flag Hole and he headed over to it. After a bit with no action I decided to join him. When I got there Brian was fishing the deep pool. Before the water drops into the deep part – there is fast water about 2 feet deep. A lot of times I see the fish in the faster water and right where the water drops off into the deep pool. And sure enough I spotted a nice size fish right there.
My cast was upstream about 3 feet in front of the deep water and let my flies float into the pool. After a few casts I decided to add even more weight. The water here is much faster than the Antenna Hole and as before I wanted my flies to get a little deeper. That worked!
I had another large fish on. He took me downstream into the deep pool and to the end of it where the water gets slower. I like that because I only have to fight the fish in the slower water – rather than fighting the fish and the current too. Being extra cautious with how I was playing this one too – I got him in the net. Another 19’ cutbow. Wow!
My 2nd one of the day. Another 19" cutbow.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
We fished this hole and the slower water below it into mid-afternoon. Brian got a nice one out of the deep pool. He decided to take his indicator off so that he could get his flies down deep and it worked. He got a 17” rainbow to take. As he was fighting it – I thought for sure it was even bigger than that. That’s one thing about the fish in this tailwater – they are very healthy and put up a great fight. All the more fun!
The wind started to pick up as we continued to work the area. Brian noticed fish coming up out of the deep pool and into the more shallow faster water upstream. We stood there observing and I saw two fish – it looked like one was chasing the other. Was it too early for the rainbow spawn? Brian thought so. If they weren’t spawning, what were they doing?
Brian with a 17" rainbow.
Well Brian can see the surface of the water way better than I can. On the other hand, it seems I can see into the water better than him. So it’s a nice compliment. Anyway, after a while Brian saw fingerlings, sculpins, or some other small fish jumping out of the water in front of the big rainbows that were prowling the water.
We each took turns trying to entice one of them to hit. I still had my leech on and it should have got their attention. After a bit I did get one of them to hit. It was right at the drop off – but he was able to spit the fly quickly. After that, I moved downstream while Brian continued to fish the hole.
The river gets wide downstream and the water slows considerably. As I walked along the bank I spotted a handful of fish feeding. I set my backpack down – kinda dropped it. I was at least 3 feet from the river and I was surprised that it actually spooked one of them. Just goes to show you how spooky they are. I fished this spot for a bit and did have a couple of takes – but no hook-ups.
Brian pumped this worm out of the 17' rainbow he caught.
Brian wasn’t having any more action in the pool so we decided to head back down to the Diver Pool. As we approached the river we saw two other fishermen in it. It was getting late in the afternoon and we didn’t want to hike too far so we fished a couple of holes downstream of the Diver Pool. There are a few spots that look very fishy, but we’ve never got a fish in them. And we didn’t that day either.
So we decided that we’d walk up to the Plunge Pool and give it another try. As we were walking along the river we were at the run between it and the Diver Pool, I spotted a fish. This is where that I thought they would be in earlier in the day. I guess as the day worn and the water warmed up they started to spread out.
This is a fun spot to fish - especially when the water is running clear. You can see the fish and there are usually nice size ones too. They are also extremely spooky. The wind was really blowing now – and I needed to cast about 10 to 15 yards in order to get my flies in their feeding lanes. The wind was blowing from upstream to downstream making an upstream cast very difficult, if not impossible at times. Not an easy task to get my flies in the lane.
My last one of the day - a 19" rainbow.
I finally got a good cast in and my flies were on target as they drifted down the river. My indicator stopped right in front of a fish and I set the hook – but I foul hooked him. The fish took off and streamed out about 30 yards of line. I was hoping that I could break off my flies without losing them. And luckily that’s what happened.
After a bit, I noticed that the fish were feeding just below the surface. It looked like they were hitting emerging pupae. I was fishing a Hare’s Ear followed by a Chocolate Thunder and had a small - #6 – split shot on my line. After seeing the fish eating near the surface, I took the weight off.
I worked that run for about an hour. Part way through Brian decided to call it a day. I kept chasing the fish upstream then back downstream. Again, I got a good cast in-between the gales and my flies were on target. As they floated toward a couple of fish my indicator just wiggled a bit and I set the hook. This fish took off just as the other one did. I thought for sure he hit the fly – but after he took off like that I wasn’t sure.
He ran all the way down into the middle of the Diver Hole – and I ran after him. Once I got him into the slow water behind the boulders I saw that he did indeed take the fly - my Chocolate Thunder. This was another nineteen incher – a rainbow.
By then it was getting late and it was time to head to the car. We ended up with five fish between us – one more than the day before. These ones were all big though and it seemed more fun for me.
I think it was because we were able to fish more area – as we searched for the trout.
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