December 8, 2021 – Pueblo Tailwater (The Cliffs Run to the Doubletree Hole)
Flows: 90 cfs.
Water Temp: 46F.
Water clarity: ~4’. Improving.
Air Temp: 27F @ 8:30a – 56 @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge 9a – 4p, Trico 10a – 2p, BWO 11a – 2p.
Flies: #12 Chubby Chernobyl, #16 Chartreuse Copper John, #10 Olive Cranefly Larva, #18 Red Midge Larva, #24 Mercury Flashback Black Beauty, #22 Black Sparkle Wing RS2, #24 Gray Foamback Emerger, #22 Mercury Pheasant Tail, #20 & 22 Black and Grey Sparkle Wing RS2, #22 Chocolate Thunder, and #22 Top Secret Midge.
Top producers: Olive Cranefly Larva, Red Midge Larva, Top Secret Midge, Black Beauty, Chocolate Thunder, Mercury Pheasant Tail, All Sparkle Wing RS2s, Top Secret Midge.
December 13, 2021 – Pueblo Tailwater (The Diver Hole to the Tree Hole)
Flows: 91 cfs.
Water Temp: 42F.
Water clarity: ~4’.
Air Temp: 27F @ 8:30a – 56 @ 4p.
Hatches: Midge 9a – 11a, 3p on, BWO 11a – 2p.
Flies: #12 Chubby Chernobyl, #16 Chartreuse Copper John, #16 Rubber Leg Copper John, #18 Desert Storm, #18 Bead Head “Sawyer’s Type” Pheasant Tail, #18 Red Midge Larva, #22 Mercury Red Zebra Midge, #22 Black Sparkle Wing RS2, #24 Gray Foamback Emerger, #22 Barr Emerger, #22 Purple Juju Beatis, #20 & 22 Black and Purple Zebra Midge, #22 Black Manhattan Midge, #22 Chocolate Thunder, #22 Sparkle Dun, #22 Black Rojo Midge.
Top producers: Pheasant Tail, Sparkle Wing RS2, Barr Emerger, Black, Purple, and Red Zebra Midge, Sparkle Dun.
The Doubletree Hole.
The weather has been temperate the past couple of weeks in Pueblo – and Brian and I took advantage. We had two nice days on the river with afternoon sun and temps in the mid-50s. The mornings were a downright finger numbing cold though - at 27F. But it warmed up on both days by 9a.
For me, layering is the name of the game. Brian – the cold doesn’t seem to affect him. He was in shirt sleeves one day and only wore a jersey on the other. I just shake my head.
The fishing was a bit off though. The water department suddenly raised the water flow mid-day on December 5th from 85 cfs to 106 cfs. Then just as abruptly, they lowered them between midnight on the 7th and 6a on the 8th from 106 cfs to ~90 cfs. We got to the river at 8a on the 8th and in the water by 8:30a – Brian was anyway.
The change in water flow may have had an adverse effect on the fish. My thinking was that the change in flows would kick up some insects from wherever they were lodged along the riverbed. If that was the case, it would provide an opportunity to offer cranefly, caddis, and other types of larva.
My 1st fish of the day. He took the Cranefly larva.
So I tied on a cranefly larva followed by red and black midge larva in sizes #16 and #22. Brian was already fishing in the Hatcher Hole when I got to the river. Terry – a guy we see every time in the Hatcher Hole when we fish that area of the river – was there too. So I started upstream fishing the riffles in the Cliffs Run. Unless I ran into a bunch of fish – I would join Brian after Terry left.
Surprisingly, Terry called it day early. He usually fishes till 9a – then like clockwork he leaves. On this day he had some personal business to take care of – so he left early. It’s surprising how much you learn about some of the fishermen on the river. Especially the one’s like Terry that you see often.
As Terry was leaving I was just finished covering the riffles and didn’t have any takers. So I grabbed my stuff and headed downstream to join Brian.
Got this one in the pocket water above the Hatchery Hole on a Black Beauty.
There’s a small bit of pocket water just upstream from the Hatchery Hole that I can’t pass up – so I made a pit stop there. I’ve caught a few nice rainbows feeding in the seams that are created by huge boulders. There are also a couple of deep pockets that I sometimes find fish and occasionally I will also find them in front of one of the boulders.
It doesn’t take much time to cover the water. And if the fish are there – it’s a bonus on the way down to the Hatchery Hole. This day there were some small fries coming up just below the surface eating rising pupae. I quickly caught on of them on a Mercury Black Beauty – a small 8” rainbow. A couple of casts later I had a decent 15’ rainbow take the cranefly. Love it when a plan comes together!
With that, I headed down to join Brian. Before he left, Terry told Brian that he only caught a few small fish. Brian was at the top of the hole fishing the pool below where the fast water enters. I took up downstream of him. The fast water loops around some boulders and flows along the riverbank – flushing out in front of the hatchery. It then slows considerably by the time it passes it. I like to fish just downstream of the boulder and cover the seam all the way past the hatchery. It’s a tricky cast – and if you’re not careful you will lose your flies on that boulder or whatever obstruction is near it. I know this from experience!
This 15" female took the Black Sparkle Wing RS2.
After a few casts into the seam I hooked up another rainbow in the 15” range. Brian had netted a couple of rainbows too. He got them in the deep pool in front of the boulder. We switched places a couple of times and were getting ready to move on. Just then, I lost my entire rig. Guess where? Yep – there must be hundreds of flies caught up on that damn boulder!
After retying, I wanted to try the seam of fast water to the bank side of the boulder. Brian had had enough and began to head towards the Valco Ponds Run where I’d meet up with him. Even in very clear water you can’t sight fish in this hole. It takes a lot of time to cover any hole, run, and pool if you can’t see the fish.
Since you’re not sure if there are fish wherever you casting, you have to be methodical. You first look for a spot that you think the fish will be – or you know they have been there by past experience. Once you’ve completed the first drift, you let out a little more line and do it again. Then you repeat until the area is covered. If you haven’t caught a fish – you add or subtract weight and do it again. You may even adjust the indicator – which again adjusts depth – and do it yet again. Lots of work – and lots of time!
A downed cottonwood tree in the Doubletree Hole.
That’s why I like to sight fish. You can quickly dial in whatever needs to take place to get your flies in front of the fish. Then it’s all about presentation. You can quickly catch the fish, spook it, or determine that he’s not feeding and move on. Besides that – it’s a blast to stalk them and watch them take your fly!
After going through my routine without hooking up a fish, I headed down to the Valco Ponds Run to meet up with Brian. We had some success in the run. Brian netted a few rainbows in the 13” to 16” range – getting most of them above the downed tree. I had a couple in the 12” to 14” range and a bunch of little guys. 6” to 8”.
There was a solid midge hatch that lasted most of the day and a decent Trico hatch that started late morning and lasted into mid-afternoon. There was also some BWOs mixed in in the afternoon. We were getting the fish in the Valco Ponds Run on Black Sparkle Wing RS2s, and Top Secret Midges.
A beauty taken out of the Valco Ponds Run.
After lunch we headed further downstream – planning to try Tom’s Run and the Doubletree Hole. We stopped along the way hitting various small pockets of water – netting a few nice rainbows and a handful of the little guys.
We found Tom’s Run and Lower Tom’s Run both open and began to fish them. Brain was in the upper, I was in the lower. In these runs you can sight fish in clear water. And the water was clear enough to do it - but there were no fish in sight. Even though we covered both a few times.
Not having any action we headed down to the Doubletree Hole. This was not productive either and after spending a hour or so we headed back up to the Valco Ponds Run. We were glad that it was still open when we got there.
A rock weir that forms Lower Tom's Run.
After fishing it for a bit another familiar face showed up – a guy named Dale. We used to see Dale every time we fished the Tailwater but haven’t seen him in a year or so. He’s an older guy and he smokes – so we didn’t know if he had some health issues or what not. We were glad to see he was still alive and kicking --- and fishing!
Dale’s a talkative guy and readily shares his fishing “secrets”. He asked if we minded if he could fish the spot just below the downed tree and we of course said "have at it". As Dale was sitting on the bank tying on his flies – I walked down to the seam just below the downed tree and spotted a nice rainbow. It was feeding on what looked like emerging pupae – suspended in the upper column about a foot below the surface. I saw his belly flash as he maneuvered to eat one of them.
Brian got this 17" rainbow behind the boulders in the Valco Ponds Run
Brian Kenney.
I got him on my second cast. It was a big fish and hard to handle – even with my 6-weight rod! He took several runs and had some massive head shakes. My arms were getting tired and I felt like I’ve been fighting him too long. Thinking I was going to lose him if I didn’t net him soon. Dale even offered to net him for me – but I couldn’t get the fish to his net.
After an exhausting fight I finally netted him. Dale came over to take a look. It was a thickly built, 19” rainbow. Strong as an ox. Dale offered to take a picture and I handed him my camera and told him what button to press. After figuring out which was front and back of the camera – he snapped a few pics.
A healthy 18" bull rainbow. Got him behind the boulders in the Valco Ponds Run.
As he handed my camera back he said “you might want to check them”. But I was too busy releasing the fish and wanted to get him back in the water as quickly as I could. So later – when I got home – guess what, there were no pictures of the big fish! Dale must have accidently turned the camera off. I had to laugh to myself.
Meanwhile, Brian was busy landing a couple of nice rainbows in the 18” range. He was getting them on a grey RS2 in the deep, slow water behind the boulders. They too were thickly built and full of vigor! Beautiful too. After he got his second one, he had to make some adjustments to his flies and told me to give that spot a try.
Another rainbow taken out of the Valco Ponds Run.
So I did and was able to land another 18” rainbow. The Valco Ponds Run pretty much saved the day – as far as netting a few nice size rainbows. And it was a perfect ending to a beautiful day.
The next week we were at the river again. This time we decided to start at the Diver Hole near the Nature Center arriving at 8a. Again it was a cold – 27F - start. It felt colder than the last time out though. Maybe less sunshine. It was too cold for me to gear up. Instead, I got the water temperature, scouted around the river, and watched Brian fish for about an hour.
By 9a the sun was shining brightly – warming up nicely. By this time Brian had already landed a 17” rainbow just below Plunge Pool #2.
There wasn’t the usual morning midge hatch. In fact we didn’t see anything hatching until about 10a. Then the midges began to appear.
My strategy for the day was to have one rig setup as a standard nymph rig and the other one setup as a Dry/Dropper. This way I could use the standard nymph rig in the deeper pools and the Dry/Dropper in the more shallow riffles and runs.
Brian landed this beauty in the Tree Hole.
Brian Kenney.
Except for a couple of suckers Brian landed – one a 20 incher - the Diver Hole wasn’t producing. We progressively worked up and down the river from the Plunge Pool #1 back down to the Diver Hole and back up again. I was able to land a 15” rainbow in Plunge Pool #1. I got him with my nymph rig in the deep water just below the water fall on a #22 Black Manhattan Midge. I was happy to get him there - it was the first time in a while that I landed a fish in that pool.
After a bit we decided to walk upstream to the Flag Hole. At this time we had the whole river to ourselves and didn’t see any fishermen the whole way up. As I approached the run below the hole I spotted a smaller rainbow feeding near the surface in a seam that flows into the slower water. It was a perfect situation for a Dry/Dropper.
But first I changed out my Copper John dropper for a Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail. The Sawyer has less weight and would enable my flies to stay higher in the column. The Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail is tied as it originally was by Frank Sawyer in England. The difference between it and an American Pheasant Tail, is the Sawyer doesn’t have any legs. After studying mayfly nymphs on the Avon in Wiltshire he noticed that the nymphs bring their legs close to their bodies when they swim. That’s why he tied it without legs.
The one I tied is slightly modified – I added a molted tungsten bead to give it a little weight. On my second cast the rainbow came up and hit one of my flies. I don’t know which one because I got twitchy and set the hook too soon. It’s a common mistake that I – and a lot of other fishermen – make. When you see them attack your fly t’s hard to wait and let the fish fully take it before setting.
Got this 15" rainbow between the Plunge Pools.
That ended up being the only action I had in the Flag Hole. The same for Brian. He may have caught a little guy – but nothing else. After lunch we headed further upstream to the Tree Hole. We would stop at a few fishy spots along the way.
The mayflies – BWOs – starting hatching about 11:30a or noon. We may have seen a couple of Tricos – but it mainly the BWOs. It would last until about 3p – a good solid hatch.
I spent more time in some of the spots along the way than Brian did and he made it to the Tree Hole before me. There was another guy fishing the lower part of it and Brian was fishing the upper part. As I walked up Brian had a fish on – his rod bent low indicating it was a nice one. I continued to walk up to him thinking this one would be picture worthy – but before I could get there, the fish broke off.
Brian had caught a nice 17” rainbow in the same spot before I arrived. He got it on a Black Sparkle Wing RS2 where the riffles enter the deep pool. A transition area where the fish were evidently holding eating BWO pupae as they floated into the pool.
Brian took a lunch break and I took his spot at the top of the hole using my nymph rig. Sight fishing was out which is normal for this hole. The water is too deep and it drops off steeply from the bank. Unless they’re rising – you don’t normally see any fish – you have to cover the water methodically.
Brian got this brightly colored female in the Tire Hole.
Brian Kenney.
The guy below us eventually left and we had the whole spot to ourselves. But it dried up. After exhausting everything I could think of short of tying on a streamer – I gave up and moved into the riffles above the hole. I had caught a bunch of little guys there a few weeks ago. I was thinking that maybe some bigger fish would be there this time.
I switched to my Dry/Dropper rig to fish the shallow riffled water. The run is only about 18” deep – some spots more shallow – some deeper. Starting at the top of the run – I worked downstream. About halfway down I had my first fish on. Not sure how big it was because he quickly broke off – but I estimated it was an 8 incher.
Continuing to work that spot, I had a fish hit on almost every cast. In the beginning almost everyone of them broke off. Most felt like 8 inchers but a couple felt like they were more in the 12” range. With that I decided to set more sharply.
That did the trick and I was landing fish right and left. Most were the 8 inchers but I got a couple bigger ones - in the 10” range - all rainbows. Nothing to write home about but the action was more than welcome after spending so much time in the hole below with nothing.
After a bit that spot dried up. I think I hooked up every fish that was there! So I began to move downstream. It was possible to sight fish here but they had to be of some size to see them. As I moved in front of the wall of boulders that are in front of the Tree Hole I spotted a nice size fish feeding. He was in a depression that looked to be about a foot deep.
Found this 13" rainbow in a depression in the riffles above the Tree Hole.
On my first cast he chased my fly as it drifted by but broke off. On my second he did the same thing. I was worried that he may give up on them after those two tries. But on my third drift through I saw him move as my flies approached him and I set the hook. He was on! A nice 13” rainbow.
Again, nothing to write home about but I enjoy sight fishing so much more that not. Stalking them, watching them, casting to them, and hooking them up. Nothing like it in my book whether nymphing or dry fly fishing to them. The only other thing that comes close is when they hit a streamer. Sometimes you can see them chasing it – which is very unnerving – other time you can’t.
After releasing the rainbow we headed downstream toward the car. We would again hit some fishy spots on the way. We both ended up in the Tire Hole. It’s a spot that usually holds some fish. In the past I’ve got several brownies along the bank under the trees.
This 15" female aggressively hit the Sawyer's Pheasant Tail.
It wasn’t too long and we both netted a rainbow. They were both in the seam of water flowing out of the deep pool below the rock weir. Brian’s was about 15” and mine was about 16”. I got her in front of the boulders in the seam on my Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail. It was a very aggressive hit and she jumped clear out of the water as soon as she hit. I don’t even remember setting the hook – but I’m sure I did. It was exciting.
It was a good way to end another beautiful, late-fall day on the river. We covered a lot of water on this day – more than we normally do. And the fishing was challenging. Neither of us got our 18” to 20” rainbow or brownie – but it was a lot of fun and satisfying.
The more challenging – the more satisfied.
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