August 14, 2024
The South Platte River – 11 Mile Canyon (The Dam Hole to the Beaver Run)
Flows: Between 224 cfs and 231 cfs .
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (71% illumination).
Water Temp: 66F @ 11a.
Water clarity: Very clear to about 5’ or 6’.
Air Temp: 52F @ 8:15a – low to mid 70sF @ 3:30p.
Hatches: Midge: 8a to 10a. Trico: 8a to 10a (clouds of them). Caddis – a smattering throughout the day (Smaller tan variety). PMD: 8:30a to 3p (A few coming off in the morning – then consistent from 1p to 3p.
Spawning: N/A.
Flies: #10 Chubby Chernobyl, #20 & #22 Barr Emerger PMD, #18 Pheasant Tail PMD, #22 Sparkle Dun PMD, #20 Parachute Adams, #22 & #24 Mole Fly Callibaets, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #18 Olive Foamback Emerger, #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear, #22 Parachute Trico, #22 Black Sparkle Wing RS2, #22 Black Beauty, #20 Mercury Pheasant Tail.
Top producers: Mole Fly, Sparkle Dun PMD, Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear.
Canyon walls overlooking the #2 Bend Hole.
It was about 8:30a as we drove into the canyon. As we got close to the dam there were clouds of them. They were kinda bunched together. We’d see one cloud of them – then another, and another – and so on.
The trico hatch was in full bore. It’s almost expected this time of year in the upper reaches of 11 Mile Canyon.
Fly fishers flock to this part of the South Platte River just to fish the hatch. Others have called it the “The White-Wing Curse”. This is because at times the fish become very selective when the tricos are hatching. My experience has been hit or miss.
There have been times – memorable times - when I casted a #22 Parachute Trico and had a hook up on about every third cast. Then there have been times – frustrating times - when they just ignored everything I offered.
This trip leaned more toward the frustrating times. And it wasn’t just the trico hatch. At various times throughout the day there were midges, caddis, and PMDs hatching, and those picky fish mostly refused to take my flies. Brian’s experience was similar although we both had our opportunities.
On days like this you have to take advantage of every opportunity – because they’re few and far between.
Looking downstream into the Upper Road Hole. (Just beyond the bush on the right is the small trough I like to fish.)
Like many of our trips into 11 Mile, we started at the Upper Road Hole. We have kind of a cadence – start at the Upper Road Hole then move downstream to the Top Secret Hole, the Log Run, the Bridge Run and/or the Beaver Run. The timing of our movements and the holes we hit are dependent on the success we’re having and what is open.
When I plowed my way through the thick willows to the river’s edge I found a guy already fishing the upper part of the hole. He was actually standing in a spot where Brian and I have hooked up many a fish!
Brian was farther upstream at the #2 Bend Hole. There was some open water between the two of them and I began to explore it. It’s mostly flat, riffled water and I’ve found at least a fish or two along it in the past. Sometimes more.
I didn’t spot any and I began to move downstream toward the road. There is a spot that I like – river right at the bend where the river meets the road. There is a hip deep trough there and more times than not, I’ve found a bunch of trout in it. In the morning they’re usually feeding on the surface. My kind of place.
As I walked that way, I about to ask the guy if he would mind me sliding into that spot but before I did he was reeling in and said he was going to move on. I asked him if he had gotten any hook ups and he said “No. This spot doesn’t produce much in the morning. Just the afternoon”.
In the Log Run - looking upstream.
Hmm – I found that interesting and proceeded to wade along the shore toward the trough. When you approach it from upstream there’s a good chance that you will spook a few fish. I’ve done it many times, but they seem to come right back and get in line. The chow line.
When I got into position I quickly spotted several trout feeding just below the surface. I picked my Hopper/Dropper setup and began to cast to them. It was rigged with my #10 Chubby Chernobyl followed by a #18 Pheasant Tail PMD and a #20 Barr Emerger PMD.
Along with the tricos, there were a few PMDs in the air and I thought they may be interested in a bigger meal – and I didn’t really have anything to lose trying that setup. After casting several times into the trough I noticed that a few fish were taking some bugs off the surface so I switched to my Dry Fly setup.
It was rigged as I had left it last week with a #22 Sparkle Dun PMD followed by a #22 Callibaetis Mole Fly. On my first cast and drift in the trough a nice rainbow came to the surface and sipped my Mole Fly.
BAM!
I was stoked! I had that bad boy tight-lined as I worked him toward the middle of the trough. He was fighting to go downstream – which was to my right. I like to move downstream and work the fish back upstream and guide them to my left – my net hand. I may not have played this one enough before trying to guide him over and he broke off.
Oh – jeez! That was a really a poor display of how to fight a fish to the net.
Looking into the Log Run from my lunch spot.
After that – nothing. What the heck – I was thinking to myself “if that one trout hit the mole, others should too”. But they didn’t.
So I began to wonder what they were eating – they clearly were eating something. Maybe tricos. Maybe trico spinners. The final mutation of mayflies such as tricos – is the spinner stage. In that stage they are able to reproduce and after mating they die. When this occurs you usually will be able to see them on the surface of the water. As they float downstream they get sucked under the surface and you will find the trout eating them on the surface of just below it.
I didn’t see any on the surface – but maybe they had been sucked under it. Or maybe they were on the surface and I just couldn’t see them. First I tried a #22 Parachute Trico – a fly that they have devoured in the past. Eventually I tied on a #22 Trico Spinner to see if that was it. It wasn’t.
After many more tries with different flies I pulled up stakes and headed downstream. The Top Secret Hole was where I was headed. It takes some effort to get into this hole. First I had to cross the river and climb out. Then follow a path to below the hole. Then wade back across the river and up to the hole.
My rendition of a Mole Fly. I dubbed it the Canyon Cripple.
I found some trout as I waded up to it and in the run itself , but they were very skittish and wouldn’t take anything. I found a lot of “boot lickers” but no willing trout so I headed back downstream. I had left my pack and spare rod on the other side of the river and waded over to them. It was about 11a – early for lunch, but with not much going on I decided to eat.
I ate sitting stream-side on the bank of the Log Run watching the water as I did. This run holds a lot of fish – but they’re hard to fool. You have to be very stealthy and the presentation has to be spot on. As I surveyed the river the various logs that lay in it – giving the run it’s name – I was thinking there had to be trout in the soft water behind them.
The only question that I had was which one did I want to start with. The one just downstream of me looked the best and I headed that way. The water is pretty flat along this run with troughs of varying depths. It had a lot of kelp and a few spots where I could see the gavel on the bottom of the river.
As I approached the partially submerged log I could see trout suspended in the water above the kelp. Really nice trout! That got my juices flowing. They were between me and the log and I casted to them. Something was off though and they soon bolted.
What a beauty! My 1st - and would be my only - fish in the net.
I wasn’t sure if they went into the seam of water below the log or not, but I continued to wade toward it. Once in position I casted to the soft spot just below the log. I couldn’t tell if I was spotting fish or if it was the tail end of the kelp floating just below the surface.
I was casting my Hopper/Dropper rig. Before going in I changed the Dropper. Wanting to get my flies down more I chose a #16 Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear and I had a #22 Barr Emerger following it. Once I was in the water I was a little concerned about the kelp, thinking my flies may get down to far and get hung up in it.
That did happen a couple of times but for the most part I was getting good drifts. On the forth cast or so behind the log my Chubby paused. I wasn’t sure if it was the kelp or a fish and I set the hook.
BAM!
Fish on – check that – BIG FISH on!
Yeah baby.
One of the logs that are scattered about in the Log Run.
The fight was on and I could feel the weight of this big trout. He took me all over the place and at times I was concerned that he’d get me down into the kelp and I’d get tied up in it. He did drag me trough it a couple of times but my line didn’t get hung up in it and I was finally able to net the bad boy.
On my first attempt he was trashing about on the surface of the water and I either closed my eyes – hope that wasn’t the case - or the splashing blinded me. Not sure which – but I missed him. After missing him there was a feeling of dread. This was too nice of a fish to lose.
I got him on the second attempt. An 18”, FAT rainbow. He took the Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear. I could barely get my hand around his girth, and he felt like he weighed between 7 and 10 pounds. A nice one indeed!
After a bit I drifted down to the gravel island. The same place where Roman and I hooked up some nice fish a couple of weeks ago. There I found a bunch of boot lickers. They’re frustrating. They follow you around eating whatever is kicked up from the river bottom by your boots. It seems like as soon as they detect that you’re nearby in the water – they leave their lies and flock to position themselves downstream of you.
My Guide's Choice Hare's Ear in the jaw of the rainbow.
As I was fishing that spot, Brian showed up and was covering the bend just below me. Eventually we met up and he said he covered the Bridge Run a bit earlier and hooked up a couple, but they broke off.
We then decided to head downstream to the Beaver Run. We’ve finished many a day in this run and have netted a lot of trout – rainbows, cutbows, browns, and snake river cutthroat. Really nice ones. It’s a fun run to fish and a lot of times we find trout rising in the slack water on the opposite side – the river right side – of the river. There is also a lot of pockets and troughs where we’ve hooked them up on nymphs.
Not this day. A few more boot lickers – but no willing trout.
After giving it some time I decided to head back upstream to the Upper Road Hole. Come hell or high water, I was determined to get a fish out of there!
You can barely make out the submerged log near the rock outcropping in the Log Run.
I found the run open, but didn’t spot any fish in it. I had walked up to the run with purpose and though Brian was right behind me. But he never made it into the river with me. I wasn’t sure where he went, but I climbed back out of the river and headed to the Dam Hole.
The Dam Hole is the first fishable water below the dam. I haven’t fished it much in the past few years but have found some lunkers in it. The pickings were slim. Fishermen manned just about every hole, but I found one spot open. And there were a couple of those lunkers sitting behind a partially submerged log.
On one of my drifts – my flies had drift past them, then BAM. Line started streaming out of my reel.
Wow!
You guessed it - another log in the Log Run.
It must have been another lunker that I didn’t see. This guy was big and a fighter – and just as the fish I netted earlier, he splashed all about when I had him right in front of the net. And I missed him. Boy I sure hope I didn’t close my eyes!
This time I only had that one chance. He broke off before I could get another.
That action had attracted the attention of one of the fishermen who was close by and before I knew it he had taken my spot! Back downstream I went an ended up back at the Upper Road Hole – still intent on getting a fish out of it.
I spotted one fish. He was at the top of the trough where the riffled water flows into it. On my second drift through the run I was thinking to myself, “Is he going to take one of my flies”. As they drifted toward him I saw him move laterally and I wasn’t sure if he got spooked or what. Then as my flies drifted into the middle of the trough my indicator bounced and I set the hook.
BAM - fish on!
It was a nice brownie and he had taken my Barr Emerger PMD - I could see it as I fought him to my net. Eventually I had him in the same place in the trough as the rainbow that I hooked up in the morning. It was almost like a replay. He was to my right and I was bringing him over to my left where I could net him - and he broke off!
Now that was disgusting. Enough to piss off a saint!
That was the last opportunity.
A close up of the rainbow.
Later Brian would tell me he had six fish hooked up and lost them all!
Jeez. Even though they were few and far between - we had our opportunities with these picky fish - and we let them off the hook. Except for one.
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