January 16, 2020
Flows: 138 cfs
Water Temp: 30 @ 9a
Water clarity: ~2’ (water was gin clear, but due to low light and moss – could only see about 2’ in front of you)
Air Temp: 23 @ 9a - 48 @ 4:30.
Hatches: Sparse BWOs starting at about 11:15a till about 1:30p.
Yes – believe it or not - you can find solitude in Deckers. Usually the weather has to cooperate – that is, it has to be a bit nasty. That was the case yesterday when I went out. The wind was really gusting in Lone Tree the night before and it was cold in the morning – and I was having second thoughts myself on whether to go or not. Fighting the wind in the afternoon on my last trip to Pueblo was in the back of my mind. But I there was no wind in the forecast for Deckers – so decided to give it a try.
Here is a nice 20+” Rainbow taken out of Mark’s Run. He hit a #20 Beadhead Pheasant Tail w/full flash.
I started the day in Trumbull – a few miles north of the Deckers Resort. I really wanted to avoid the crowds that you usually find in the Deckers area and the Trumbull parking area was empty as I drove up. I’ve had good luck here in the winter before, so I decided to give it a try. I starting with midge nymphs - #20 Desert Storm followed by a #24 Black Beauty and a #24 Top Secret Midge – in the soft water at the tail out of the Bridge Hole. After about 15 minutes, I had what felt like a legitimate hit - then it seemed like I got snagged on the bottom. I was thinking in mind that that sure felt like a fish – and just then as I was pulling up on the rod – I felt a fish wiggling. My first thought then was that this was a nice Brownie, but to my displeasure it was a 16” Sucker!! He hit the Black Beauty. Something good did come out of it - as I reached for my net to land the fish – I realized I left it in the car. So I went to retrieve it – as it will definitely be needed to land a trout.
After that I worked the river from about ¼ mile upstream of the bridge to about ½ mile below it - retracing a few runs and holes a few times. Some fish were spotted in the Bridge Hole, but were holding right up under the bridge on the downstream side. Getting a good cast and drift to them was impossible – but I tried anyway and ended up spooking them.
I moved upstream with the thought of coming back after resting the hole. I didn’t spot any fish in the pool at the bend above the bridge – or along the way - and I didn’t get any hits. It’s really hard to sight fish in the winter as the bottom has a lot of green moss on the rocks and the light is low. You can only see in the water about 2’ in front of you - even though the water itself is very clear – after that, the water is inky black.
Anyway I worked my way back down to the bridge and tried casting from the upstream side and letting my nymphs drift under the bridge to the hole on the other side. This didn’t work as my line kept getting caught in the moss before it made it to the hole. So I then tried a Pine Squirrel Leach with no added weight. This worked as far as the drift was concerned, but I had no takers. After giving this several attempts, I went on the bridge to check the hole, and there were no fish in it! Must have spooked them pretty good earlier.
As I worked downstream to the Trumbull Road Hole, I noticed that BWOs were coming off. It was about 11:15a. So I redid my rig with a #20 Beadhead Pheasant Tail with full flash, followed by a #22 Stalcup Baetis and a #24 Chocolate Thunder. Surprisingly, I had the same result – no fish sighted and no hits. All in all, this took about 3 ½ hours – and I broke for lunch. The only thing I had to show for my work was a 16” Sucker –pretty disappointing. On the good side, I only saw 3 other fishermen – and 2 of them were walking past me on the bank. The other one, was a good ¼ from where I was fishing. So I did get some solitude! I even had a dog escorting me around for awhile – which as a dog lover – I enjoyed.
After lunch, I drove down to Deckers – and as expected - there were more fishermen along the way. The typical holes and runs – from the Bridge Hole, to Ray’s Run and the Bend Hole, and the pocket water in-between were already taken. That was OK by me though, as I wanted to hit the Between the Islands Run. This is where I hooked up – but didn’t land - a couple of nice Rainbows the last time I was in Deckers. To my surprise, the water was open from Mark’s Run to the Crossing Island – and there were no fishermen to be seen. Yes – this is what I was after!!
Mark’s Run is one of my favorite spots to fish – and there was no way I wasn’t going to give it a shot to start. Just as earlier, it was very difficult to sight fish – but I was able to spot one feeding in a seam about 2’ deep in the middle of the river. After several cast with the same baetis nymph rig, I landed him – a nice 15” Rainbow - he hit the #22 Stalcup Baetis.
After releasing him, I went back out to see if I could spot any more. There was another one – in the same spot as the one I just landed! I was thinking that couldn’t be the same fish – and I’m sure it wasn’t. In fact it probably wasn’t in exactly the same spot – but very close to it. I lost track of this one and wasn’t sure where he went. As I was standing there looking – I decided to cast to another feeding lane. This one was closer to the far bank and I couldn’t see into the water from where I was standing – but it looked like a similar feeding lane, so why not. On my second cast into the lane, I hooked up a beautiful 20+” Rainbow. It took awhile to land him as he took several runs with vigorous head shakes and dashes – and he was very heavy when I tried to pull him into the net. It took a few tries, but I finally netted him. All this while, I had an unexpected audience – as there was a group of 3 fishermen standing on the bank watching. They even gave me an ovation when I netted this bad boy! It’s a little embarrassing for me to have and audience and an ovation – but it does make you feel good. One of the guys was nice enough to offer to take pictures.
This is the 20+" Rainbow with the #20 Beadhead Pheasant Tail.
After that, I went down to the Between the Islands Run to see if any of those big Rainbows were in it. It’s very difficult to fish this area, as there a ton of big rocks that constantly trip you up. After more than several cast into the lower part of the run, I hooked up a nice fish. The fish hit after I left the drift sit awhile at the end of the drift. Same as last time! He immediately took me into the fast water and somehow spit the hook. Dang it!
I only landed 2 fish – well 3 if you count the Sucker. Not a lot in numbers – but the big Rainbow made my day! And even though it was a cold and cloudy day with a bit of wind – it turned out to be a really relaxing day that had a calming effect. That’s what fishing is all about!
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