January 5 and January 7, 2021
Yep – Brian and I pulled a double this week. Well.......someone had to do it – and it may as well be us. We were anxious to get back out. After catching all those 6” fish last week we were eager to catch some "regular" ones. Speaking for myself - almost proving that we're capable. It's weird what an outing can do to your mind!
One of the prettiest rainbows I've seen. Caught by Brian in the Double Tree Hole.
So the plan was to meet on Tuesday and Thursday at the Tailwater. Tuesday we would hit the Tom’s Run and the Double Tree Hole first – the same place where we caught all those 6 inchers the week before - hellbent (for me) to prove we could pull some big ones out. Then on Thursday we would work the lower part of the river near the Nature Center. Same goal in mind.
January 5, 2021
1st Shift - Pueblo Tailwater - between Tom’s Run and the Bridge Hole.
Flows: 97 cfs
Water Temp: 42F @ 11a.
Water clarity: ~4’
Air Temp: 34 @ 8:45a, 52 @ 4p
Hatches: Midges – sporadic mid-afternoon. Beatis – sporadic 11a to mid-afternoon.
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Flies: #18 Desert Storm, #20 Mercury Black Beauty, #20 Red Zebra Midge, #22 Red Rojo Midge, #22 Black Rojo Midge, #18 Guides Choice Hare’s Ear, #24 Mercury Beatis, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #22 Jujubee Midge, #22 Green Caddis Larva, #22 Blue Sparkle Miracle Midge, #22, White Mercury Midge, #22 Olive Foam-back Emerger.
Top producers: Desert Storm, Rojo Midge, Green Caddis Larva, Olive Foam-back Emerger, Blue Sparkle Miracle Midge, and Mercury Midge.
Sun rise. A beautiful start to the day!
We packed our lunches in with the intent to hit Tom’s Run first, then work our way downstream to the Tree Hole. This covers a distance of about 1 1/2 miles one way. But we ended up spending most of our time in the Double Tree Hole – which is only about 100 yards downstream from Tom’s Run.
In fact, that’s where I met Brian at about 8:45a – he was fishing the tailout of the Double Tree Hole - at the back end of some slack water. He said he didn’t even try Tom’s Run yet and had already landed 5 rainbows. And that was before 8:30a – and they were all in the 12” to 14’ range. No little ones - wow what a start!
Brian caught this one on a Green Caddis Larva before 8:30a.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
Most of the fishing reports that you read will tell you that in the winter, the fish don’t become active till late morning. This is due to the effects of the cold water temperature. It causes the fish’s metabolism goes way down, they become lethargic, and only have to eat sparingly. As the water warms up, they become a little more active. Well Brian has been proving that you can indeed catch fish in early morning in the winter.
Another one of Brian's rainbows caught in early morning.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
The success that Brian was having in the slack water made my decision to fish just upstream from him an easy one. I was always taught to not fight success! Anyway, I was just at the tailout of the Double Tree Hole and the beginning of the slack water below it. My rig was setup with 3 nymphs – a Desert Storm leading, followed by a Black Beauty, and a Red Zebra Midge.
Another one of Brian's early morning catches.
I had about 9’ of line between my last fly and my indicator – I wanted my flies to get deep thinking that’s where the fish would be. After a few drifts I had no action and decided to increase my weight, adding a little Mojo Mud to my #4 split shot. This would insure my flies were deep in the zone. On my second cast after making that adjustment my indicator twitched – just slightly. I set the hook and it felt like I had a smallish fish on. Not a 6 incher, but it didn’t feel like a 19 incher either. But after a bit the fish began to put up quite a fight. As I got it in closer, I could see it was a nice fish and after he made several runs I netted him. He measured 19" - yes – that was what I was after! All the memories of the 6" fish melted away!
My 1st fish of the day.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
The day was definitely looking up. After releasing that fish, I moved into the Double Tree Hole while Brian stayed downstream and continued to fish the end of the slack water. I had just lost my rig on a snag and when retying my flies, I changed my last one to a Rojo Midge – which imitates a midge in it’s emergence stage.
Here's another look at my 19" rainbow. Notice the Desert Storm in his lip.
It didn’t take long for me to hook up a 15” rainbow. Then just as quickly I had another fish on. This one hit at the end of the drift. In this hole, I use this technique a lot. It's called the Liesinrings Lift. To accomplish this - I let the line sit at the end of the drift and the current takes flies to the surface. Another way to get the same effect is to lift your rod at the end of a drift. Both these actions cause your fly to imitate an emerger – emerging toward the surface. And it is very effective. Getting a good hook set though is another matter - in my experience it's been is hit or miss. The fish mostly hooks himself and when they do it is usually an aggressive hit.
Releasing a 15" rainbow.
This one was no different. It hit hard and I new it was a big one - I could feel his heft when he took off with the fly. After fighting him for a bit, I had him where I could see him and it was another one in the 19” range. I was just getting ready to pull my net out and it broke free. Ugh!
Then a bit later, I had on another one on using the same technique. This one felt even bigger than the last one. It took me all over the place and I couldn’t control him. So I attempted to tighten the drag a bit – but I actually loosened it instead. Jeez – thinking to myself, this isn’t good – I went back and this time I did tighten it. But it was too late – and this one got off. Man was I disappointed! Even though I never got this one in to where I could see him, he was definitely over 20” and a heavy one at that. Oh boy!
After a bit with the action slowing down, I decided to move into Tom’s Run. After working it for about 30 minutes I landed none other that a 6” rainbow. I had enough of them already and walked back to the Double Tree Hole where Brian was fishing to see how he was making out.
He wasn’t having any action so we decided to work our way downstream toward the Bridge Hole. Sight fishing is still not doable in this section of the Arkansas – so you have to fish in spots that would typically hold fish. So we hit various pockets, pools and riffles along the way.
Brian had a rainbow on in one of the riffles, but it broke free after a brief fight. We ended up at the Bridge Hole and there was no one home there. So I moved further downstream and fished a couple of pools below it. Neither of us had any action so we began to move back upstream. We ended up back at the Double Tree Hole. While I was fishing in the slack water I got snagged up and had to break my line to free it. Frustrated, I decided to take a break - which turned into a lunch break.
Packing in lunch saves a lot of time walking back to the car. This is especially true in this section of the river as our cars are about ½ mile - maybe more - from where we were. It’s also nice to eat streamside. You get to take in the surroundings and relax.
As we were eating I mentioned to Brian that I thought the best fishing of the day was behind us. That wasn’t saying much for me. Even though I had a beautiful 19” rainbow in the net earlier – and a couple more in the net after that. I had lost too many nice ones – and had some monster tangles and more than a few line breaks because of snags. This required a lot of time on the bank freeing tangles or retying entire rigs.
After lunch I was busy retying my flies while Brian went into the Double Tree Hole. In the middle of getting my flies tied on – Brian called out that he had one on. He then said, “you’ve got to see this one – it a beauty with deep red coloration”.
So I got up as soon as I could to take a look and maybe help with the net. I could tell by the bend of the rod and the way he was fighting the fish that it was a big one. So I waded into the water to help with the net. It took a few runs after I was in the water and I could see it clearly. It was arguably one of the prettiest fish I’ve seen a quite a while. Brian did a great job tiring this guy out and he finally floated into my waiting net. It turned out to be a 20” fish and had to be in the 4 to 5 pound range. What a catch!
Brian proudly showing his 20" rainbow.
And that was it for the rest of the day. The wind picked up – making a nuisance of itself and lowering the temperature quite a bit. But all-in-all it wasn’t a bad 1st shift. We had some beauties in the net and we had the 2nd shift to look forward to.
Jan 7, 2021
2nd Shift - Pueblo Tailwater - between The Diver Hole and The Tree Hole.
Flows: 100 cfs
Water Temp: 34F @ 8:30a, 36F @ 11a, 38 @ 1p.
Water clarity: ~4’
Air Temp: 18F @ 8:15a, 43F @ 4p
Hatches: Midges – sporadic late-morning to mid-afternoon. Tricos – sporadic 1p to mid-afternoon.
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Flies: #18 Desert Storm, #20 Red Midge Larva, #22 Mercury Black Beauty, #20 Red Mercury Blood Midge, #22 Chocolate Thunder, Olive Wooly Bugger, Brown Wooly Bugger, #22 Red Zebra Midge.
Top producers: Desert Storm, Brown Wooly Bugger, Red Midge Larva, Chocolate Thunder, Red Zebra Midge.
A small herd of deer - ready to escort me to the river.
Thursday was cold. I got there a little earlier than usual – 8:15a and it was only 18F. My thinking regarding an earlier start was that Brian was disproving conventional wisdom. He’s been regularly landing fish early in the morning. But 18F? As I pulled into the parking area I was beginning to doubt my decision.
We planned to meet somewhere near the #1 Plunge Hole. After I got all my gear on I began to head toward the path. There are two ways to get the Plunge Hole from the parking lot and I was thinking “should I go right – or should I go left”? Then I looked up and there were about 5 deer standing in the path on the right – looking at me. So I snapped their picture and headed left.
I found Brian fishing just above the Diver Hole – and he had already landed a 12” rainbow. He also had lost a couple - again disproving conventional wisdom. I checked the water temp right off the bat and was surprised that it was only 34F. Very cold and you would think the fish would not be active. But they were.
Another early catch for Brian.
Photo by Brian Kenney.
I usually wouldn't even begin fishing at this low of a temperature. But I thought, I'm here I may as well fish. As I began to rig my line, I was surprised that my fingers weren’t completely numb. It’s not unusual for me to lose feeling in my fingers when the temperature is below 30F. But for some reason unknown to me - my finger didn't go numb - they were just very cold.
I was encouraged as I began to fish the Diver Hole. This is a very familiar spot that we’ve fished many times. Even though I couldn't sight fish, from past experience I know where the fish lie in this hole and began to cover the front of it. I’ve seen fish lined up here at times before – so that’s what I covered first.
It wasn’t long – maybe 15 minutes and I had a nice fish on. The hit wasn’t very noticeable – just a small disturbance of my indicator - and I didn’t set the hook right away as I should have. This usually leads to the fish winning – and that was the case this time. He got off. After so many fish breaking free a couple of days ago – I was not happy.
Not too much time passed and I had another one on. And I landed this one – a nice 14” rainbow. Landing this fish provided some relief.
My 1st catch of the day.
As I began to work the back of the hole, I let my flies sit at the end of the drift - same technique I used in the Double Tree Hole the last time out. I’ve observed fish sitting at the tailout of this hole in the past. As I stated previously, it’s exciting when they hit. And no matter how many times it happens – it’s still one of the most exciting hits too me.
And there were fish feeding in this spot - just as I've seen them in the past. I had a nice fish on in the 18” range, but he was able to wiggle free when he came to the surface and gave a head shake. Oh no – not again. Well it happens. Especially using this technique. The trick is to set the hook to the side – it’s impossible to set the hook downstream as I would normally do. In fact my natural reaction is to set the hook up by lifting my rod. This action moves the flies from the fish’s mouth. Not what you want. But it’s hard to overcome this reaction because the hits are so aggressive.
I was fishing with a guide a while back, and he said the other thing you can do is "reset" the hook after the fish has taken the fly and you’re beginning to fight it. I did this on the next fish to hit. This one was a big fish and he started swimming toward me where there are a few large submerged boulders. I began to take line in as fast as I could and started to move toward the bank. I wanted to get out of the water so I could keep a good angle on the fish. As I was walking back the bank becomes very steep and I stumbled to get up it. Through all this I was able to keep the line pretty taunt but the fish was able to swim into one of the boulders.
A 17" rainbow taken out of the Diver Hole. He hit the Red Midge Larva.
When I finally made it onto the bank it felt like the fish was able to snag me up on one of the boulders, but I was able to get him out. I fought him a bit more, but he then broke free. Now I was totally pissed!
Jeez another very nice fish breaking free. Well there are so many things that can and will happen that you just have to be happy that you were able to hook the fish up and fight it for a while. Besides, I didn't have to get my hands colder by releasing it! Got to look at the bright side....
After a bit things began to slow down – so we decided to walk up to the Tree Hole. This is a pretty good hike from where we were and we warmed up by the time we made it to the hole. There was another angler fishing the tailout of the hole when we arrived. It was the same guy fishing the same spot as the last time we fished it. But there was enough room for Brian and I to fish.
A view of the Tree Hole.
Both of us were fishing nymphs. After drifting my flies through the tail end of the hole several times without any hits I decided to try a streamer. This may also go against conventional wisdom – because of the lethargic state of the fish – they shouldn’t expend the energy to chase a streamer. But I’ve caught fish in this hole with a streamer in the winter before. So I gave it a try.
And it worked! After several drifts I began to question if this was the right decision, then bang – fish on! When fish take a streamer – it’s aggressive, very similar to the hits when you lift the flies as explained previously. The fish hook themselves too. And usually the fish do not get off once they’re hooked up. Sometimes you’ll feel a bump, but in that case they’re not hooked up. But this one was hooked up and briefly fought - then got off. You kidding me?
Well I kept at it thinking that the fish are in here – I’ve just got to get this fly in front of them. Then I got another aggressive hit. This one was on too - a nice 17” or so rainbow who took a good 3 runs. After the last run he looked out of gas and I had his head up out of the water. This disorients the fish and I try to keep their heads out once I get them out until I’m able to net them. And that’s what I did this time.
And I pulled my net out and had it about 1” from the fish – and he broke off! Oh my. I didn’t know what to think at this point. The only thing that seemed off was the tension on the line. It seemed to tight. I was using my 4-wieght for the 1st time in a while and probably had the drag set too tight. Jeez – the things that happen!
We observed this hawk during lunch. He was looking for fish in the Tree Hole too.
After that I was a bit disgusted and decided to break for lunch. Brian joined me shortly after and we had another nice lunch streamside. It was still cold. The water was now 2 degrees warmer, but still a very cold 36F. After lunch we headed back downstream. Again hitting the various pockets, pools, and riffles along the way.
A river scene as we worked our way downstream toward the Diver Hole.
Brian got ahead of me and when I finally caught up to him at the Diver Hole – there was someone else fishing it. And there were fishermen above it and below it. So we moved downstream and fished a couple of pools. Then the guy moved out of the Diver Hole and I moved in. He hadn’t caught any fish while he was there – but that didn’t dampen my spirits.
And it paid off. I was able to pull a couple of fish out of the hole. This time they were hitting the Chocolate Thunder. I had some break off – but it was fun – and a good way to close out the day.
Releasing a rainbow at the Diver Hole.
The 2nd shift was a challenge no doubt. The water was icy cold and the air temperature was too. But we had some nice fish on and some nice ones in the net.
Another herd of deer - this time escorting me out of the river.
And we were out on the river in early January for the second time in one week. Can't beat that.
Time to head home.
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