May 27, 2021 - Deckers (Between the Bridges & Between the Islands) & The Taylor River (Avalanche Hole)
Flows: Deckers 105 cfs. The Taylor 196 cfs.
Water Temp: 54F (Deckers)
Water clarity: Deckers - Murky - ~2' below Horse Creek, crystal clear above it. Taylor - Crystal clear.
Air Temp: Deckers - 51 @ 8:30a, 71 @ 4p.
Hatches: Deckers - Midge – 9a to 11a, BWO – 12N - 4p, Caddis 10a – 4p.
Flies: Deckers - #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #18 Olive/Black Rubber Leg Copper John, #24 Miracle Midge, #24 Black Zebra Midge, #24 Top Secret Midge, #24 Purple Jujubee Midge, #20 Mercury Pheasant Tail, #24 Grey Sparkle Wing RS2, #22 Stalcup Beatis, #24 Olive Juju Beatis, #18 Caddis Pupae.
Top producers: Deckers - JuJu Beatis, Jujubee Midge, Sparkle Wing RS2, Chubby Chernobyl. Taylor River - Black Bubbletop Midge,Black RS2.
A view of the South Platte River from the top of the hill at the end of the day. A lone fisherman in the run leading into the mini-canyon.
Late spring affords a small window of opportunity to explore different mountain rivers. The weather warms up enough to melt the snow and ice – but at the same time it triggers runoff. As in most other things – timing is everything.
With that in mind, our plan for this week was to try the Middle Section of the Arkansas River. It’s about an hour and half trip from Denver. Not too far and the flows were expected to be manageable. We were looking forward to getting into some decent water and exploring a new part of the Ark. That was before we had rain over the weekend. The southern part of the state got hit hard.
On Monday morning I called Ark Anglers in Salida to get an update on the river. The report wasn’t what I was looking for. The middle section of the Ark – as locals call it –has a lot of creeks and streams that feed into it above where we were planning to go. And they were all flowing heavy from the rain – bringing muddy water into the river and essentially blowing it out. The recommendation was to fish the Upper Section of the river – near Buena Vista. There we may find some clear, fishable water.
"May" was the operative word - and I didn't want to drive 2 hours and maybe get into some fishable water. We had to find another spot.
When I called Brian – ready to share the bad news – he said he had a change of plans and was going to be in Crested Butte this week to visit family. He invited me to join him and fish the Taylor River. The Taylor is one of my favorite places to fish and I normally would have jumped at the chance, but I had plans in Denver during the week. As tempted as I was – I had to decline.
My 1st fish of the day - a 14" brownie - taken out of the small pool at the end of the island in the Between the Bridges Run.
With all that was going on with the rivers within a couple hours drive from Denver – I was back to the South Platte in the Deckers area. Now that’s not a bad thing at all – it is a renown river and people travel from out of state to fish it. But I was really looking forward to trying something different - hopefully more secluded.
But that wasn’t in the cards. So I thought I’d try a different place on the South Platte – Trumbull. Trumbull is a small hamlet about 2 miles north of Deckers. I’ve fished it many times in the past and had success. There’s a stretch of river – about ½ mile that I like. It begins upstream of the bridge and meanders by houses that sit beside the river and ends downstream at the bend along the road. Lot’s of nice size rainbows and brownies hang out in the riffles, runs, and pools.
But as I approached Trumbull I could see fishermen all along that stretch of river. It would be impossible for me to get in. So I decided to head into Deckers and fish between the bridges. This is another area where I’ve had success in the past and I haven’t fished it in a while. I like it because it has a lot of pocket water and seams. You can usually sight fish – my preferred method.
A cutbow caught later in the day in the Between the Islands Run.
I parked at the Resort and after gearing up I went to explore the river. Appropriately, this section is referred to as “Between the Bridges”. The water was a bit off color due to the heavy flow out of Horse Creek which flows into the South Platte about 30 yards upstream of the upper bridge. So I thought I’d check upstream – above Horse Creek – where the water was clear. Ray’s Run. One of my favorite spots to fish.
I walked into the river at the upper part of the Bridge Hole and waded up the ¼ mile to Ray’s Run. I couldn’t spot any fish along the way. But there they were – in Ray’s Run. The top of the run had a few redds – and the rainbows were still spawning. Jeez – it seems late for this activity. But there were also fish in the trough below the redds.
Last week I splurged and bought new waders, and a new rod and reel. My old waders had lasted me a good 15 to 20 years and it was time for new ones. The rod and reel? Well let’s say they were a luxury. I wanted a heavier – 6 weight – kit to help give me an edge when fighting big fish and for casting on windy days. The fish in mind were like the ones we ran into in Wyoming – and the ones I was planning to run into on the Taylor. The Taylor was – and still is – on our list of places to fish. So anyway – I splurged on the rod and reel and wanted to give them and my new waders a spin.
So I rigged up the 6-weight with a HCD rig. I thought this would be perfect for the slow, clear water that I was now fishing in. After taking several trips up and down the trough – I finally had a fish on. But he was able to quickly free himself. Jeez – that would have been my 1st fish on my new kit.
After a bit, it seemed that I wasn’t getting my flies down deep enough so I rigged my spare – 4 weight – with a standard nymph rig. Again, moving up and down the trough I had a fish on. But I was late on the set and he got off. It was a nice size one to boot.
After spending about 3 hours in Ray’s Run I finally gave it up. I was bound and determined to crack the code – but enough is enough. I’ve had that experience before. Seeing fish in the seam – they have to be eating. Why else would they be expanding that amount of energy? But as in other times – these ones just wouldn’t hit. Even after changes flies, fly size, fly color, weight, depth – they still wouldn’t hit.
A view from my streamside lunch below the upper bridge
The hell with them! It was lunchtime and I was ready to move on. So I gathered my stuff and walked down to below the bridge – where I was planning to start. I surveyed the river as I sat on the bank and ate. The water was now a bit off color and I couldn’t spot any fish.
Done with my lunch, I decided to hit the pockets, small pools, and seams even though I couldn’t see any fish. As I worked my way downstream I decided to try the spoke of river that flows on the other side of a small island. After wading across the river and crossing the island I found the water level to be very low. But at the end of the island there is a downed tree that sits across the river – almost to the island. It looked promising – so I waded down to it. I was fishing my nymph rig – which I changed to beatis. I still had a midge – a Jujubee midge – on too.
And low and behold – after a few cast upstream of the downed tree and drifting my flies almost into it – I had a fish on. This one didn’t get away. It was a 14”, hungry brown. He took the purple Jujubee midge. When he hit, I actually thought I got hung up on the tree. My flies were probably beneath it when the fish hit.
As I was fighting the brownie, I saw another one chasing after him. So I continued to fish that small pocket for a bit. But with no more action, I decided to move further downstream. By the time I made that decision, a few other anglers arrived and proceeded to fish the couple of spots I had planned to hit. Undeterred, I crossed the river and moved to a hole further downstream from them.
A view of the Between the Bridges Run just below the island. I fished the pool in the middle - it had a bunch of hungry rainbows and brownies.
The hole was fed by fast water and bent to right - forming a nice pool. There had to be fish in it - and there was. The first one I hooked up was in the faster water at the top of the hole. He was able to break free after a short fight. Jeez --- I was thinking to myself “what is the deal today”? Anyway I stayed in the hole for a while and landed a handful of 14” or so rainbows and brownies. Also lost about the same amount!
They all fought like 19 inchers, jumping out of the water, head shaking – doing all they could to break free. In the middle of all this I was thinking – “this is fun”! Much better than the struggles I had in the morning at Ray’s Run. The hell with those fish!
My plan was to leave this stretch of the river at 2p or 2:30p and head up to Mark’s Run or the Lower Island Run. It seems that everyone leaves there about that time and the fish don't feel as pressured - leading to good fishing. So open water and hungry fish – and usually rising fish. Yes that’s what I was after.
A 14" rainbow caught in the Between the Bridges Run.
So at 2:30p I gathered my stuff and walked to the car. It only took a few minutes and I was parking on the hill overlooking the river. There were only two other cars parked in the whole place and I could only spot one angler. He was in Mark’s Run. There was still room for me – if I wanted to head that way. But the Lower Island Run was open and so was the Between the Islands Run.
I like solitude – so I headed toward the Lower Island Run. You have to pass the Between the Islands Run to get there and I just couldn’t pass it up. I redid my new rod/reel with beatis – still using a hybrid-HCD. I had my Chubby as the Hopper and used a caddis pupae instead of a Dropper, and followed that with my target flies - a grey Sparkle Wing RS2 an olive Juju Beatis. Both target flies were small - #24s – so I had to use light 6x tippet.
My 1st fish - a 17" brownie - caught with my new 6-weight rod & reel.
On about my second cast I had a fish on. It was a small brownie who jumped clear out of the water and promptly spit my fly! Are you kidding me? What is going on with my new rig? Is it jinxed? I actually laughed out loud to myself.
On my next cast, I promptly had on a much bigger fish. He ran across the river and downstream ----- and broke off. I didn’t laugh at this one. Rather I was pissed. How in the heck did he break free? And he manhandled me. Something I was hoping wouldn’t happen with my heavier weight rod and reel. So I adjusted my drag a little tighter. I couldn’t go too tight though because of the light tippet I was using.
A 18" rainbow in the net. The bite was on in the Between the Islands Run later in the day.
Then a few casts later – I had another brownie on. This one was a nice 17’ brownie and I didn’t want to lose him. And I didn’t. As I netted him – I was thinking “the jinx is over- forget about it”! And I kept catching them - sometimes on consecutive casts – sometimes on every third cast. They were aggressively hitting the Juju Beatis and the RS2. It was a blast.
At one point as my flies drifted down the stream a rainbow came up and hit my Chubby. I thought to myself “did that fish actually just hit my Chubby”? The Chubby is an imitation of a terrestrial, like a grasshopper or an ant. An insect that lives on land and gets blown into the water or falls into the water. The fish love the big meal - but this usually happens later in the year – mid-to-late summer till early fall. I was using my Chubby as an indicator not expecting a fish to hit it.
The 1st rainbow caught on my Chubby Chernobyl. It was a loud, slashy take - when she hit it.
Then a short while later another trout – a rainbow – came up and hit it again. Just smacked it! I didn’t miss this time. One bad thing about the fish hitting the Hopper – the trailing flies usually get all tangled up due to the fish jumping, thrashing and twisting trying to break free. And this was the case. So I had to cut off all my flies and rety them. But it was still worth it. Catching fish on a dry – especially when they hit it aggressively – is at the top of my list!
I continued to catch fish until yet another rainbow smacked my Chubby. Again? Yes – and I didn’t miss this one either. I don’t think I really could have. And this time my flies were destroyed. My Chubby had a missing leg and had some kind of gunky soot all over him. My other flies looked the same. It was 4p by then and I debated retying flies or calling it a day. I was getting hungry and if I left then – I’d be home for dinner at about 5:30p. Good time to leave.
Releasing a rainbow caught in the Between the Islands Run.
As I was walking out of the river – I actually said “wow” out loud! That’s how much fun it was. I
I had to search for that perfect spot on the river – and I found it!
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Meanwhile, Brian was fishing on the Taylor River. Lucky duck - one of my favorite rivers in Colorado. When we left the Fremont Canyon in Wyoming I told Brian that it reminded me of the Taylor. Both beautiful mountain rivers, scenic - with very large fish.
The Taylor Reservoir has resident mysis shrimp that flow out of it over the dam. The fish in the river below feed ferociously on them and grow very large, their bright coloration attesting to their health. There are three reservoirs in Colorado that have Mysis shrimp in them: the Taylor, Ruedi, and the Dillon. I’ve fished below the Taylor and the Ruedi and they both have rainbows and brownies that can get into the 30”range and there are a lot in the 20”s. I haven’t fished the Blue River which is below the Dillon Reservoir - but I hear there are nice size fish there too.
A brightly colored brownie taken out of the Avalanche Hole by Brian.
Brian Kenney.
I had the Taylor River – specifically - in mind when I bought my new kit. As mentioned earlier, we were working on a trip there and may still be able to in early June. If not then, then definitely in July – and also in the fall. The only problem with the June/July timing is the crowds. Fishermen come out of the woodwork to fish it – taking advantage of the nice, temperate weather and hoping to land a trophy trout.
There is about a ½ mile stretch of public water below the dam. It’s referred to as the C&R. The catch and release section. Noted fishing spots along this stretch are the Road Hole, the Avalanche Hole, and the Hog Trough. There is also a section above the Hog Trough called the Trophy Run. It begins at the "No Fishing Cable" which marks the beginning of public water. This run was hit with an avalanche too a few of years ago. All of them have fish in good numbers – and the big ones too.
I’ve talked up the Taylor with Brian but this was his first chance to fish it. He set up in the Avalanche Hole and only had a couple of hours to fish. I don’t know what’s going on there – but I’m not asking!!
Brian got this 20" rainbow in the Avalanche Hole.
Brian Kenney.
Anyway, in that short amount of time he was able to land four nice size fish. One 20” rainbow and three brownies 17” to 18”s. He caught them on small flies – a #24 Black RS2 and a #22 Black Bubbletop Midge. That’s the thing about this section. It’s a tailwater – so you have to use small flies. Which means lighter tippet – making it a huge challenge to land those lunkers. But what fun it is!
The last thing Brian said to me was “we have to plan a trip back up here to the Taylor”. Like me – and a lot of other anglers – he's hooked on the Taylor River!
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