June 16, 2021 – Cheesman Canyon (Between the Emerald Pool and the Family Hole)
Flows: 203 cfs
Water Temp: 49F
Water clarity: Gin Clear.
Air Temp: ~62F @ 8:30a, 87 @ 5p.
Hatches: Midge: 9a to 11a, BWO: 11:30a - 4p, Caddis: Sporadic 9a – 2p.
Flies: #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #22 Mercury Pheasant Tail, #22 Stalcup Beatis, #24 Purple Jujubee Midge, #24 Black Flashback RS2, #18 Hare’s Ear, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #24 White Bling Midge, #24 Flashback Black Beauty, #22 Parachute BWO, #22 Sparkle Dun, #22 Grey Mercury RS2, #22 Rojo Midge, #22 Top Secret Midge.
Top producers: Chubby Chernobyl, Chocolate Thunder, Pheasant Tail, Mercury RS2, Rojo Midge, Top Secret Midge.
A beautifully colored rainbow - typical of bows in The Canyon. This one caught by Brian.
Brian Kenney.
There are more canyons in Colorado than I can count. But when your talking fly fishing on the Front Range of Colorado and you mention The Canyon – there is only one. Cheesman.
It’s noted for a beautiful setting, large, picky rainbow and brown trout, and very technical fishing. Brian and I are lucky to be able to fish it at least a few times a year.
Getting to the river requires a 20 minute hike through a spruce forest– that’s to where the trail drops down a steep slope the closest fishing hole. Before dropping down, the trail veers right and the path follows high above the river. Add another hour or so to get to the dam.
The trail can be very treacherous. There are tiny granite pebbles on the trail and sometimes you are walking on pebbles that are on top of granite rocks. It’s a bad combination – like walking on marbles - and it’s very easy to lose your footing. And don’t forget – you’re walking along a canyon!
Looking downstream from the Emerald Pool.
Unfortunately, I have experience in this matter. Once – a while back while walking along the path I came to a spot that had granite stepping stones put in place to combat erosion. I slipped on the pebbles - feet out in front of me, fully off the ground– and landed on the boulders sideways. Then continued to tumble down the side of the hill about 15’ to 20’. Luckily, I wasn’t in a spot that had a shear canyon wall. And wouldn’t you know it – there was a large guided group of fishermen on the other side of the river witnessing all this. I only suffered some minor bruises and some embarrassment.
When taking care of what you’re stepping on and where you’re stepping - the hike is less adventurous. Although getting out of the canyon requires quite a bit of physical exertion. There are a couple of paths that are less steep and a couple that lead to a very steep climb. Our plan was to be in a spot at the end of the day so that we could take one of the less steep paths out. Somehow, we miscalculated.
There are two options when you hike into the Canyon for a day of fishing. You can either gear up in the parking lot at the trailhead – or you can put all your gear in a backpack and then gear up streamside. Brian prefers to gear up at the trailhead and I like to gear up streamside – especially in hot weather. I used to gear up at the trailhead. On one trip many years ago on a hot day – I got so hot and sweaty hiking out of the canyon that I thought my waders where leaking! So ever since, I’ve packed my gear in. The downside of that is that I have a 15 to 20 pound pack on my back.
A 14" brownie taken out of the Number 2 Rock hole by Brian.
Brian Kenney.
That pack felt more like 50 pounds as I scaled the steep incline out of the canyon. I was thinking to myself “we’ve got to do a better job of planning”. Anyway, it wasn’t too bad. Most important, both Brian and I made it into the canyon and out without any injuries – a major achievement!
You might be thinking “is it really worth all this”? The answer is YES. When the flows are right – the fishing, although challenging, is fun and rewarding. The water is gin clear and the rainbows have a distinct, bright coloration. Sight fishing at it’s best.
The fishing can be frustrating. These fish see a lot of traffic – and it’s said they have a PHD in fishing! I’ve found that if you keep moving you’ll eventually find fish that are willing to take your offering. The frustrating part is when you find fish that are obviously feeding – but for some reason they won’t take what you’re offering. Even after making all the usual adjustments and changing flies. That’s when you know it’s time to move on.
A rainbow Brian caught in the Number 2 Rock hole.
Brian Kenney.
The water is so clear that it’s hard to tell the depth. You need to be very careful not to wade into water that is too deep. Another thing to be aware of is those little granite pebbles. They have made it into the river too. So there are shelves of these pebbles that lead to steep drop offs – especially around the large boulders that are scattered about in the river. If you find yourself on one of these shelves near the steep drop offs – the pebbles begin to give way. And they generally lead into a deep pool!
Yes – unfortunately, I have experience in this matter too! Imagine trying to run up a steep slope that keeps giving way to a deep pool below --- against current --- with waders and wading boots on. It’s downright scary! So when wading in the Canyon you need to be aware of your surroundings and use extreme caution – especially when near those huge boulders.
Brian casting into the Steel Riffles.
We began at the Steel Riffles. This run usually holds browns and rainbows in the various troughs and pockets that are found along the run. Since Brian was already geared up – he fished it while I was getting my stuff together. By the time I was ready, Brian had already began to move upstream. I waded into the water to see if I could spot any fish. After covering the entire run without any sightings – I waded out and walked upstream to meet Brian.
Our next stop was the Emerald Pool. Over time, someone named the various pools and runs all along this 3 mile stretch of river. I started out in the proper Emerald Pool – while Brian began downstream of me. We were both fishing with nymph rigs. After a bit, I decided to move upstream.
Brian caught this 19" rainbow in the Emerald Pool.
Brian Kenney.
The sun was up to the east of us and it’s glare made it hard to see into the water. So as I moved upstream, I waded to the other side. This section of the river – which to my knowledge hasn’t been named – is wide and the water was slow moving. There where many deep troughs and I could see fish in them. But I couldn’t entice a hit. Another fisherman was upstream from me fishing a deep hole. He said he could see a bunch of fish but couldn’t get them to hit (that sounds familiar!) and invited me to join him. He wanted to see if I could.
Well I couldn’t either. After a bit he left and I had the whole hole to myself. So there I was. Trying all sorts of adjustments – different flies, smaller ones - more depth, less depth - more weight, less weight. Nothing! Then Brian came up and we both tried that hole and a couple of others nearby. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime and no fish in the net for me. A frustrating morning!
A view of the river from our streamside lunch site.
Brian had landed a nice 19” rainbow earlier while fishing the Emerald Pool. At least he had some success – but it was a slow morning.
After eating – and trying a few more spots in the same area (yes I’m stubborn) we began to move downstream. We were headed to the Family Hole but stopped along the way at the Number 2 Rock. There’s not a whole lot of room in this hole – but we started out with Brian fishing the top part in the riffles leading into the hole and me downstream in the hole.
After covering the hole with no hits – and no fish sighted – I moved further downstream to the other side of the “Rock”. This rock is huge to say the least. It’s got to be at least 12’ high and 12’ wide. Anyway, Brian stayed put and was able to land a handful of fish between 14" and 16".
Looking upstream from the Ice Box toward the Number 2 Rock hole. (The path along the riverbed is not treacherous - like the one high up along the canyon walls).
He pumped the stomachs of a couple of them and they were loaded with beatis nymphs. They were black and were bigger than what we've seen in the past. After seeing this - it didn't take me long to tie on some beatis nymphs!
I could see fish feeding in the upper column where I was. It wasn’t long after I made an adjustment to my depth when I had my first fish of the day in the net. A 12” brownie. Hurray!
Just about that time we had our first brief rainstorm. While it rained - and afterwards too – the fish began to rise. It’s always fun to catch them on dries – so I changed my rig and began to fish dry flies. On some of the rises you could see the fish's snouts. Others were just below the surface of the water indicating that they were eating adults and emergers. So I tied a beatis emerger off my last dry fly.
My 1st one of the day. A 12" brownie taken just downstream from the Number 2 Rock.
The fish were rising among some boulders near the bank. Getting a good drift to the fish was tricky as the rocks formed eddies that flowed back against the current and I couldn’t entice a hit. By then Brian had given up on his spot and was walking downstream and stopped to watch me.
The rising was dying down, but he pointed out a spot where the fish were still coming up. I spruced up my flies and added a bit of floatant and casted to the spot. On my first cast – a fish came up to sip one of my flies. As he did I set the hook and had a nice 18” rainbow on. After releasing him, both Brian and I walked a bit downstream and we saw more fish rising.
This run is called the Ice Box and is a spot know for it's dry fly fishing. So we both began to cast dries to rising fish. The rises were scattered and sporadic and I wouldn’t usually try for them in this scenario – but I thought why not give it some time. I did get a couple fish to hit, but missed them both. Dang it!
The fish were feeding ferociously on beatis.
Brian Kenney.
The rising soon stopped and we headed to the Family Hole. Brian started at the top end – at the tailout of some riffles. I moved downstream trying to spot some fish. I finally did. They were near the bank in shallow water. About 5 or 6 rainbows.
I sat on the bank and redid my rig – changing it to an HCD. I had my Chubby followed by a Hare’s Ear with a Mercury Pheasant Tail and Black Flashback RS2 as my target flies. This is when it began to get really fun. I had a fish hit my Pheasant Tail and just run with it. He was streaking across the river before I new what happened! I didn’t even need to set the hook. It was a 16” rainbow that fought like a 20” one – and took me downstream about 40 yards.
Brian caught this 14" sucker just below the Number 2 Rock. His granddaughter - Ashley - likes suckers. She thinks they're pretty!
After releasing him, I went back up to the shallow water to try to get another one. I got a handful more over the next hour and half or so. Some would hit very subtly and other would hit very aggressively – like the one I described above. They all put up a great fight and some of the head shakes were the fiercest I can remember.
One of the aggressive hits was on my Chubby - which floats on the water. Most of the time you will see the fish come up and hit it. Brian asked me if I did – and the answer was no. The fish hit so quickly I wasn’t even sure what he hit. The fish was thrashing around as he fought to get loose and got tangled up in my 3 trailing flies. I thought I foul hooked him as I brought him in. But when I got him in – he had the Chubby stuffed in his mouth!
This one took the Pheasant Tail and ran like a bat out of hell!
It was getting late – about 4p – and Brian asked if I was ready to head out. I had just cleaned up my flies and there were a couple of nice rainbows in the shallow water no more than 10’ off the shore. I asked him to give me a few minutes to see if I could get one of them. On my second or third cast I got one of them to hit.
It was fun to watch. He took my Pheasant Tail and it was a subtle take. My Chubby just twitched a bit and I set the hook. The fish opened his mouth as the fly was embedded in his lip and he took off. Brian – net in hand – waded into the water downstream of me. I had the fish’s head out of the water and brought him to Brian’s net. As soon as he saw it – he took off on another run. But I got him back and this time he floated into the net. It was a 20” rainbow.
The last one of the day. A 20" bull rainbow taken out of the shallow water above the Family Hole.
Brian Kenney.
A good end to another great day in the Canyon!
Comments