The Winter Equinox

Dec 21, 2020

Flows: 98 cfs

Water Temp: 38F @ 9a.

Water clarity: 3’

Air Temp: 47 @ 9a, 55 @ 4p

Hatches: Midges – sporadic late morning to early afternoon. Beatis – mid-to-late afternoon.

Flies: #16 Green Caddis Larva, #22 Mercury Blood Midge, #24 Flashback Black Beauty, #18 Guides Choice Hare’s Ear, #24 Mercury Beatis, #22 Chocolate Thunder.

Top producers: Mercury Blood Midge, Chocolate Thunder, Mercury Beatis, Guides Choice Hare’s Ear.

The pool at the top of the Tree Hole.

After taking a week off, Brian and I were looking forward to getting back out on the river. Last week was a cold one – one we probably would have gone out and fished in the past. Apparently we’re getting more selective. The week was productive for me as I spent it tying a bunch of flies! The weather forecast improved at the beginning of this week. Sunny and in the 50s on Monday – the first day of winter - and we took advantage of it.

The first time we fished the Pueblo Tailwater a couple of years ago – we parked at the Nature Center parking area. Not knowing the river – we set out walking along a dirt roadway toward the dam. We were looking for the Valco Ponds as a landmark to locate the place on the river to start fishing. After a bit we could clearly see the dam, but the road was taking us away from the river and then we came upon a large pond – or small lake – which was between us and the river. As it turned out – it wasn’t one of the Valco Ponds we were looking for. Not knowing that, we thought this must be the place and decided to cross the wooded area and walk around the lake to get on the river. The woods were thick with a lot of tall cottonwood trees – both standing and downed – and brush.

When we finally came out of the woods – we were above a couple of guys who were fishing in a hole that is marked by one of the large cottonwood trees. We started out fishing above them and not long after they called out that they were leaving the hole and we should give it a try. They said they had caught some nice fish in it but had to move on. So we fished it and also landed quite a few fish – some of them in the 18” to 20” range. From then on it was called the Tree Hole – and we’ve fished it on and off since.

The Tree Hole has been somewhat out of the way from all the parking places so it wasn’t one of the regular areas that we fished. But it was always on the list and in the back of our minds. So when the park built a new parking lot this year in a spot that seemed to provide quick access to the hole, we thought we’d give it a try. It was Brian’s idea and we agreed to park there and meet on the river at the Tree Hole.

I got there about an hour after Brian and after gearing up, set out toward the river. I could see water from where I was parked, and at first I thought it was the river. Wow, this is easy access I thought to myself. But once I got closer I could see that it wasn’t the river. It was the middle Valco Pond instead and the parking lot was adjacent to about the middle of it. So when I got there I had to decide, should I go left or right? I chose to go right.

A view from the parking lot with the middle Valco Pond barely visable.

The Valco Ponds are not little and it was a pretty decent hike to get to the end of this one. From there it was thick woods again toward the river. I was following what appeared to be a deer trail and it was not the easiest hike. I was thinking to myself – there is no way I’m going to find Brian this time. The woods had thicket up to about 15 feet of the river's edge – and when I literally broke through it – there was Brian!

I was amazed - I came out a bit downstream of the Tree Hole and there was Brian fishing it. What were the chances of that? There was also a guy just downstream from Brian fishing the tailout of the hole – but there was enough room in the Tree Hole for Brian and I.

Just as I arrived, Brain landed a 14” rainbow. He used his stomach pump to see what the fish was eating, and we were surprised to find only a couple of eggs. With the spawning season well over, the only explanation that I could come up with is that they must have been dislodged in the current. There was also a small midge but that was it. In the winter the trout’s metabolism goes way down and they eat sparingly, but only two eggs? Interesting.

A couple of eggs and a tiny midge - not much nurishment!

We took turns, alternating between fishing the top of the hole and the middle of it. There is a spot just at the end of the hole and the beginning of the tailout that I like to fish, but couldn’t because I would infringe on the guy below us. There is also a rock weir above the hole that creates a small pool that leads into the hole. We’ve fish that spot too in the past and have had limited success.

So after covering the hole several times with no takers – I decided to give the small pool a shot. It was a good decision. After covering the various seams in the pool I had nice rainbow on. It was just below the boulders in the deeper part of the hole where the water was aerated. It took a Flashback Black Beauty.

An 18" male.

In the winter, the fish are a little lethargic and most of their hits are subtle – as was this one. I thought at first I had a small fish on. But I soon saw him and he was good size. After a good fight that took me all the way down to the bottom of the hole, I netted him.

There were fish rising below us and the guy fishing the tailout was having pretty good success. But the fish were not in the Tree Hole this time. So after landing my fish we decided to take a break for lunch.

After lunch, we went the other way around the middle Valco Pond, which leads to a bridge and the Bridge Hole. That was where we were headed. We’ve fished this spot in the past and had good success. It holds some nice size trout too. I took one side of the hole and Brian took the other. But there were no takers. I was thinking to myself, “what is going on here”?

So we moved upstream. I haven’t mentioned yet, but the place was packed. There were anglers in every hole along the way. There was even one in the Bridge Hole when we arrived, but he was in the tailout and we were able to fish the top of it without infringing on his territory.

Giving up on the hole, we moved upstream where there was a nice pocket mid-river that I decided to hit. It was a very small pocket, but deep. After a few tries and no hits I moved to the front of them. There was a guy just upstream and he said he’d landed several fish in a deeper run on the other side of the river from where I was. So I tried it - and it was still producing.

A nice rainbow taken on the Mercury Blood Midge.

I had several fish in the net – the only problem was that most were between 5” and 8”. A few were in the 10” to 14” range though and it was fun catching them. These guys were hitting the Mercury Blood Midge mostly, and I caught a few on the Mercury Beatis and one on the Guides Choice Hare’s Ear.

Meanwhile, Brian got into a nice size one in the deep pocket that I tried just a bit earlier. It managed to get off though. Ugh! He then moved upstream from me and landed a few of the smaller guys.

A 14" Leopard Rainbow. He was taken out of the run above the Bridge Hole.

After a bit, Brain decided to call it a day. It was about 3P and I was thinking of following him but wanted to see if there were any bigger fish in the run before leaving. At some point my target fly - a Mercury Beatis got a little beat up – and I changed it out for a Chocolate Thunder. I continued to catch the smaller fish and noticed that there were some fish in the slow water on the other side of the river.

An upstream cast was needed in order to get a good drift to them. So I moved downstream and casted up to them. I caught a few of them – again they were the smaller variety – but it was good practice. On an upstream cast, you have to strip your line as it drifts downstream toward you. And once you get a fish on it isn’t the easiest task to land them because of line management challenges. So this was what I was working on - the cast, the drift, the set, managing the line, and landing them. And it was fun!

After a bit I decided to call it a day and began to move downstream. As I was doing so, I continued to hit the runs along the way. The last place to hit was the Bridge Hole. When I came up on it, there was another guy fishing with spin casting gear, but I had room at the top of the hole. I wasn’t too confident that I would hook anything up, but threw a few casts in anyway.

A Bald Eagle or Osprey nest on a man-made structure near the middle Valco Pond.

On one of my drifts I was distracted and looking around – and a fish hit. I had him on for a bit, but without a good hook set he got off. So I decided to try a few more times – maybe there were a few more in there! And there were.

Using only a single split shot and the Hare’s Ear for weight, my drifts were in the top channel of the water. Adding to that, I let my line sit at the end of the drift – which brought my flies further up toward the surface. As I was letting it sit, I felt a hard tug. I set the hook and then line started to stream out of my reel. Wow – what a way to end the day.

It was a beautiful 20”+ rainbow. I know this because I had it to where I could see it and because it took a leap out of the water. I could also see that it took the Chocolate Thunder. But after a couple of runs the line went slack. Oh no!

After I retrieved my flies I saw why. My tippet broke off several inches in front of the Chocolate Thunder. It must of got a bit frayed on some of the snags I had earlier in the run above.

This kept me in the hole a bit longer than I wanted. It was getting dark and quickly getting cold when I finally gave it up – ending another good day on the river. Between Brian and I, we had several fish in the net – some small, some larger, and one nice one - and an exciting finish. Even though the last one broke free.

The sun setting as I was leaving the parking area.

A great start to the winter fishing season!