July 30, 2024
The South Platte River – 11 Mile Canyon (The Upper Road Hole to the Bridge Run)
Flows: 169 cfs .
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent (22% illumination).
Water Temp: 64F @ 9a.
Water clarity: Clear to about 5’ or 6’.
Air Temp: 52F @ 8:15a – 81F @ 3:30p.
Hatches: Midge: 8a to 10a. Tricos: 8:30 to 10a. Caddis: Smaller tan variety consistent throughout the day. PMDs: Consistent from 8:30p to 3p. Yellow Sallies: Here and there after 1p.
Spawning: N/A.
Unknown fishermen covering the run downstream of the Upper Road Hole. (It was very crowded in the morning.)
Flies: #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #10 Dave’s Hopper, #20 Flashback Black Beauty, #20 Barr Emerger PMD, #18 Pheasant Tail PMD, #18 Beadhead Pheasant Tail, #20 Pheasant Tail, #22 Sparkle Dun Callibaetis, #20 Parachute Adams, #24 Matt’s Midge, #16 & #18 Olive Tabou Caddis, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #18 Two Bit Hooker, #16 Edwards Yellow Sally.
Top producers: #22 Sparkle Dun Callibaetis, Barr Emerger PMD, BH Pheasant Tail, Pheasant Tail, Chocolate Thunder, Edwards Yellow Sally.
Roman with a 19" brownie we caught in the Upper Road Hole.
The stream side willows and vegetation were so overgrown that I missed the path that we normally take from the road into the Upper Road Hole. I had to circle back to finally locate it. Then Roman and I had to literally fight through it, all the way to the edge of the river where it abruptly stopped giving way to the river.
Normally there would be room along the riverbank to lay our backpack and spare rod, and room for us to walk along it to survey the river. Not this time.
Once we got to the edge of the river I stopped before stepping down into it. From where I was standing I could see a pod of trout in the water about ten feet off the edge. I didn’t want to spook them and instructed Roman to very carefully follow me as I stepped into the river.
An excellent picture of a trico. (Notice the 3 tails- distinctive to the tricos and how their name was derived.)
Brian Kenney.
We had to lay our backpacks on the path that we followed to the river and I laid my spare rod across the willow branches. Then we watched the trout to see what they were doing. The water was crystal clear and low, and the pod of fish were lined up in a seam below the riffles feeding on emergers.
We arrived at the parking area just below the 11 Mile Reservoir dam at 8:15a. At this time of the day – and this time of the year at 11 Mile Canyon, you can count on seeing clouds of tricos as they dance in the air mating. Prior to our trip Roman and I did some research on expected hatches and the behavior of the specific insects. One of the insects were the tricos and I had mentioned to Roman that we would probably see them – and there they were right on time.
Roman standing in the Upper Road Hole with a beauty of a rainbow.
The fishing report that we read said that the water was unseasonably cold – 40F – and the cold water had knocked off the hatches. It’s very hard – if not impossible – to keep up with the instantly changing conditions on the river and fortunately for us we would find the opposite to be true.
There were a lot of fishermen out as we drove along the road in the canyon. The Upper Road Hole was our first choice to start, and we were surprised to see that it was open as we drove by it on the way to the parking area.
Brian was the first one on the river and he was standing on the opposite side of the river when Roman and I fought our way to the river’s edge. Roman has hip waders that limit how deep he can wade into the water and I had mentioned to Brian earlier that we would probably be bound to one side of the river. When I saw him on the other side of the river with a pod of fish in between us my first thought was that he intentionally walked pass them so that we could get to them – and I was grateful.
Brian releasing one of his rainbows back into the river.
Brian Kenney.
As I watched the fish and contemplated what to tie on – my first thought was tricos. They were hatching. But when I looked into the air I was surprised to see a bunch of Pale Morning Duns (PMDs). They weren’t supposed to be hatching this early. But there they were. As I stated just a few paragraphs prior – things change in an instant on the river!
With the low clear water I decided to go Hopper/Dropper and tied on my trusty #10 Chubby Chernobyl and followed it with a #22 Black Sparkle Wing RS2 and a #20 Barr Emerger PMD – thinking I had all the bases covered. I demonstrated the first few casts for Roman emphasizing the technique and target area to cast. Eventually we took turns casting the flies to the fish. Between us we had several on-target drifts but no hits.
The Sparkle Dun PMD.
At one point Brian asked me if I had seen any risers. Up to that point I had only seen one. Then there were a few more. Then there were enough for me to rig up my other rod with dries. There were caddis, PMDs, tricos, and midges in the air – a virtual smorgasbord for the trout to feed on. I picked PMDs – there were more of them than the others and rigged up a #20 Thorax PMD and a #20 Extended Body PMD.
The last time I fished during a PMD hatch the Thorax PMD seemed irresistible to the trout and I was expecting it to kill them this time too. After demonstrating a few casts and drifts I handed the rod to Roman and he began to cover the seam were the fish were. They were steadily rising and we could get our flies in front of five or six fish on a single drift.
But they didn't take!
Roman netting a fish in the Upper Road Hole.
“What were these guys eating?” – I called out to Brian. We then chatted back and forth. Were they eating PMDs? Tricos? Midges? We weren’t entirely sure but they sure weren’t eating the PMDs Roman and I were offering.
I wasn’t seeing any tricos at this time and tried a #24 Matt’s Midge. That didn’t work. I tried tying on a Barr Emerger PMD as a dropper – that didn’t work either. That’s when I decided to try a #22 Sparkle Dun Callibaetis. It was the closest thing I had to a PMD and it’s the one I used last week during a PMD hatch and it worked then.
We usually tie on two flies when fishing dries, but this time I only tied on the Sparkle Dun Callibaetis. I fished this rig while Roman fished the Hopper/Dropper. After a few casts I had a nice brownie hooked up. It was a casual take and he was giving me quite a fight as I brought him toward Roman who was waiting with the net. It’s not as easy as it seems with two men working to net a fish – one with the rod and the other with the net. It requires timing. When the guy with the rod gets the fish’s head out of the water he needs to guide the fish to the net and the guy with the net then puts the net right behind the fish.
Our timing was right and we had our first fish of the day – a nice 17” brownie.
Roman has a fish on in the Upper Road Hole. (Notice the dense streamside vegetation.)
We would have three more fish tight lined – all brownies – and would net one of them. The other two broke off. On one, I tried to pull the fish toward Roman and the tension got too tight and he broke free. On the other Roman missed with the net twice – and on the second attempt, he broke free. All but one took the Sparkle Dun and the other one took the #20 Barr Emerger.
Oh well – we’d get more opportunities.
It was time for lunch when the rising stopped. I usually have my pick of places to sit stream side and eat, but with the water level and the willows tight to the shore we had to search high and wide to find a place.
Brian netted this Snake River Cutthroat in the Upper Road Hole.
Brian Kenney.
We found one – it was right in front of the pool that makes up part of the Upper Road Hole. You can clearly see the fish in the pool and they were there as we ate.
Brian was still on the other side of the river and was casting into the fast water on the side of the pool. He wasn’t getting any takers and soon moved back upstream to the bend where we all were fishing earlier.
As we were eating we noticed that there were some nice fish rising in a small seam where the fast water meets the slow pool. Our plan was to move downstream when were done eating, but with fish rising in front of us we decided to give it a try. Why move on when fish are clearly feeding right in front of you!
Another rainbow in the net.
It wasn’t as easy as it seemed it would be. Since we were in a tight spot with limited room for casting, I did most of it. It was good experience for Roman and he tried several casts and had some right on target. After a bit I fooled another nice brownie measuring 19” - fat and healthy. I was using the Hopper/Dropper and he hit the Barr Emerger.
Not long after we got a 17” rainbow on the Sparkle Dun.
At one point Roman casted the Hopper/Dropper into the seam. It wasn’t in the middle of the seam – more toward the pool of slower water. As the flies slowly drifted downstream we saw a big rainbow’s snout appear out of the water. He had his whole mouth around the Chubby when I yelled “SET” to Roman. And he did – but the timing of my instruction was off. Just a bit too soon and the big rainbow bolted.
Roman standing in the Bridge Hole.
Oh man – that was a trill. I wish I had waited just a second more before telling Roman to set.
We soon picked up and moved farther downstream. My “Top Secret Hole” is where I wanted to go. It has a nice gravel bank with plenty of room to cast and we could walk up and down the run depending on where the fish were. That is if they were indeed there.
After walking back to the river through a less dense path we found the that “My Hole” was taken. And there was a guy in the Log Run – which was my next choice. That was OK – the Bridge Hole farther downstream usually holds fish and there is about 100 yards of walkable shoreline. If the fish are there we’d be able to see them – it’s a fun place to fish.
Brian with a healthy rainbow in hand.
Brian Kenney.
When we got to the Bridge Hole we only were able to spot one fish. After casting our flies to him several times he got spooked and left.
Now what?
In the middle of the Bridge Hole and the Log Hole the river takes a sharp turn to the right and just upstream of the bend and across the river there is a gravel island in lower flows that I like to fish from. I didn’t think we’d be able to cross the river to get to it because I thought the depth of the river was too high for Roman’s waders, but we took a walk up to see.
Roman with a Snake River Cut that he hooked up a the gravel bar.
At these flows the island was submerged and there was a guy standing in the now ankle-deep water fishing the run. And right at the bend we spotted several trout. Well this wasn’t the most ideal spot to cast to them from but my thought was “we may as well give it a shot” – and we did.
It was similar to the Upper Road Hole with a bunch of willow trees lining the bank making for tough casting. The roll cast would the most effective – if not the only cast. It was still difficult though as we had to cast the flies upstream over the fish in order to get a good presentation on the downstream drift.
We were there for some time – Roman casting the Hopper/Dropper rig – with no interest. Then the guy who was fishing on the gravel sandbar waded our way and came over to chat. He said we should give the spot a try. He had caught several trout on a #22 Chocolate Thunder. As he was showing me the fly he was using I explained that we’d like to but we were thinking the water was too deep for Roman’s waders.
A close up of the Snake River Cut Brian caught.
Brian Kenney.
After he left I asked Roman if he wanted to give it a try and he did. We waded out into the river with me leading trying to find the shallowest water that would get us there. We made it with no water leakage!
Standing on the sandbar there is a deep trough with riffled water leading into it on the river left side and shallower troughs in faster water on the river right side. I set Roman up with the Hopper/Dropper fishing the deep trough on the river left side as I fished the river right side.
At one point Roman calls out “I have one” and I looked over not sure if he had a fish or a snag. I saw his rod bent then I noticed the tell-tell sign of a fish on. I was in the middle of a fly change and quickly strung my flies to the rod and waded over to net the fish.
A close up of Roman's Snake River Cut.
It was a big fish and giving Roman all he could handle as I gave him instructions on how to play the fish. Finally he had the fish in position and I told him to bring his head up – which he did – and I netted the bad boy. It was a nice 18” rainbow who took the Edwards Yellow Sally. Roman and I tied this fly the day before improvising - since we didn’t have all the materials - to imitate a fly tied by Oliver Edwards. We were happy to see that it worked!
Later Roman would land a nice 15” Snake River Cutthroat. He got it on a #20 Barr Emerger PMD. Roman had asked the day before what we could catch in this section of the river, and we talked about the Snake River Cut and it being a special fish to catch. Before we released the fish back into the river we inspected it for its distinctive markings – the small black spots, orangish fins, lack of the reddish cheeks of a rainbow, and the most telling mark of all - the orange slash under his mouth. It truly is a beautiful trout.
While we were fishing this spot I was able to fool a couple of trout too. One was an 18” rainbow that I hooked up seconds after we released the 18” rainbow Roman had caught. I saw him just below the shallow riffles on the river left side of the river and casted my flies to him. I had tied on a #22 Chocolate Thunder and that’s what he took! I owe the guy who recommended it an assist.
I also landed a nice 17” rainbow in the troughs on the river-right side of the river. He took the Barr Emerger PMD.
Roman with an 18" rainbow that I hooked up at the gravel bar.
As we walked back to the car we found Brian where we had left him in the Upper Road Hole. It wasn’t late but the river was now deserted and Brian had the whole run to himself. The morning had been rough for Brian as he had four nice fish tight-lined but they were able to break off.
The afternoon was much better. He said he had tried a bunch of flies and finally tied on a #20 Pheasant Tail and as soon as he did he hooked up a 17” brownie. He didn’t miss this one. Then soon after he had an 18” rainbow in the net – also got that one on the Pheasant Tail. As the afternoon worn on he was able to net a 17” Snake River Cut, another 17” rainbow and an 18” cutbow. All had taken the Pheasant Tail.
Brian saw the one – the 18” cutbow – in the water. His mouth stuck out – an unusual whiteness around his mouth. When Brian netted him he found that the fish had taken a white #6 articulated streamer and had broken off the fly. It was now stuck in his mouth. Brian said he was a fat one – so luckily the streamer evidently didn’t hamper his ability to feed. After removing the streamer and his fly from the fish – the fish promptly jumped out of his hands and into the water. Probably happy to be free from that damn streamer!
That's me releasing a nice rainbow.
There were still fish to be had and the river was wide open, but it was time to go. Between Roman and I, we had caught each species of trout and so did Brian. We also got some on dries which is always fun.
They had a smorgasbord of flies to choose from on this day and were readily taking well presented flies.
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