Jimbo
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Thanks Dave
I totally agree that wading a river or stream is preferrable to grinding it out in a gym. My leg is progressing. It has come a long way since my surgery. It still has many months before it’s 100%, but I am going to get there. My plans for skiing this coming winter/spring seem to be on the back burner for now. It may be ready, but if it’s not 100%, I will wait till next year. Skiing has been my other addiction. I won’t be skiing the same way I did when I was in my 20s/30s when I thought I was good and some pictures of me doing stupid stuff made Skiing and Powder Magazines, but I know I can still cruise the blues and hit the powder runs.
Till then. it’s wading the Guadalupe with a flyrod. I will tell you the fish that are in the river as “So Strong” for their size it’s Nuts !!!! I have had 3 fish pull all the flyline and some backing these last few trips. Now I am fishing 5x and small flies, so I can’t lock down the drag much for fear of the tippet breaking or the hook pulling, but it is challenging and lots of fun. Watch your water temps, quit when its 68, use a rubber bag net, keep your hands wet when handling these Trout, limit their time out of water to no more than 5 seconds, and be careful wading.
Jimbo
So far, it looks like the Texas Weathermen have been right about the effects of El Nino beginning the 1st of October. The rains last week really primed the upper Guadalupe River and flows have begun to steadily increase. Currently Canyon Lake is around 1 foot below pool and rising. Most of the upper river is above 200cfs and inflows into the lake are currently 332cfs. Any additional rains could cause a significant rise in Canyon Lake and the releases from the dam.
There is another seasonal affect that happens this time of year in the Bay of Campeche. This area is prone to the development of tropical storms and Hurricanes because of high water temperatures and little wind shear. These systems if they develop, tend to move north towards Texas. They normally move more towards the Houston area, East Texas, and Louisiana, but not always. The current forecast sees a gyera forming in the Bay of Campeche in the next 2 weeks with another storm off the western coast of Mexico. It bears watching.
I do expect Canyon Lake to reach pool again before the beginning of November.
Any time you think about going to the Guadalupe River to wade fish you should check the releases from the dam on the GRTU website making sure they are currently updated or go to the USGS website under Texas Water Conditions (right now I can not copy and paste the link for some reason). Be familiar with the GRTU wading guidelines and use your common sense about fishing in the river.
Jimbo
You can only park at Whitewater if the office is open and you pay your fee. As for Fimfo, you can ask to park at their office, but in the past they have said no. The only other public parking is south of the No Parking sign on FM 306. The River Rose Tavern parking for LAP members will be open November 1 2026.
Jimbo
The Last Day
I wanted to fish for Cutthroats again. It also had to be relatively quick to get in and out, because I had clean up the Bronco and do most of the packing tonight if I was to get an early start for the 880 miles back to San Antonio on Saturday.
I would return to a creek I fished earlier in the trip and had a good numbers day. This should look familiar.
I parked the Bronco down in the trees next to the creek crossing. Today I would work down the meadow almost to the canyon section and fish my way back to the truck, Short and sweet….
Now close to the canyon section, I work my way through the pine and willows down to the creek.
My first look at the creek down here, and man is it torn up. I can see what the spring floods did to this place.
I am fishing my Sage 576 LL. This is a custom rod by a rod builder in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t know how many of these rods are out there, but Sage’s catalog never mentions a 7 1/2′ 5wt. Light Line GIII ever being offered. And it is another very sweet creek rod. I’m fishing a Red Hippie Stomper, no need to use anything else here really. Here’s the first of many….
Follow me up the creek and guess where to place your fly….
Behind the rock pile, next to the dead willow on the right….
Where?
Right in the middle at the head of the riffle….
And now?
Tricked you, nothing here. But you can see that this creek was eroded right down to bedrock here by the spring floods,
What about here?
Here’s a clue, most photos were shot with the fish coming out of the water right in the middle of the picture.
More new this year log jams….
At the top of that log jam….
Yeap, he was in there and tried to run under those logs….
Shade and good holding water….
In 5 years, he’ll be a creek Monster !!!
A tangled mess….
A tough angle to get you fly in the right spot here….
Willow fingers drooping over the creek just ready to snag a wayward cast….
I was able to sight fish and catch 2 just above the rock….
20′ further up the creek and more tricky casts and drifts….
But it was worth it….
More flood damage….
The water must have really been moving through here….
Well, that’s a wrap. I’m back to the Bronco and it’s time to go.
I gear down for the last time this summer. I shuck off the flyvest, remove the wading belt, take off my wading boots and socks and put on my tennis shoes. Break down my flyrod and put it away in the rod tube. Just enough time to look around, listen to the burble of the creek and smell the Pine Trees. I open the driver’s door and climb in, I lower the windows, hit the starter, the engine fires right up. I turn off the music and start back down the forest roads that have been my home for a little more that 2 weeks. It’s been a tough summer up here with the continuing drought and low water. Nonetheless it’s been a good time fishing these creeks with dryflies. I saw some new water, finally made it to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, tested the Bronco, it’s 4WD, no flats, and came out the other side.
All on All, the High Country has been good to me !!!!
Adios Colorado !!!!
Jimbo
Day 12
Last night my leg and knee really started to ache. 3 Days in those high Cutthroat Creeks was a little too much I guess. I tried Tylenol about 10pm, with no effect. As Midnight approached I tried to sleep, but my leg kept me awake. I take some Oxycodone about 1am, it helps with the pain, but I start to get restless leg syndrome. I take some Clonazepam past 3am. It’s close to 5 am before I fall asleep on the sofa. As dawn breaks, the light coming in the window wakes me up. I go into the bedroom and it’s about 30 minutes before I fall asleep again. The phone rings about 10am, it’s my sister. Mom threw up some blood last night. She has been fighting a oral cancer that came back. She is using Keytruda. I called Mom to see how she is doing. She doesn’t feel well and talks about how death is just another part of life. This is too much for me to take while I’m on a vacation. I decided I am cutting it short. I told her I was coming home Saturday.
I am not going to Wyoming or Montana. I am tired and upset. It starts raining in town about noon. I don’t have the energy to go looking for somewhere to fish. I order a Pizza and start gathering everything up. I will fish tomorrow and Friday, then head back to Texas on Saturday.
Day 13
Some More New Water Brewster Park
I was up early. I would be heading east over Wolf Creek Pass and down to South Fork. Then north west along the Rio Grande River towards Creede.
Well past Creede and driving along the Rio Grande River again.
Here I turned on to FR 520 and driving west.
Again, that the Rio Grande River down there
Driving west past Rio Grande Reservoir
Here we see the Rio Grande River where is dumps into the upper Rio Grande Reservoir
Now I am on the FR 520 where it is marked on maps as 4X4 only
Here you can see the upper Rio Grande Canyon. It is about here where my previous attempts to get to the upper Rio Grande that I turned around in my 2wd Escape
This is about 4 miles down the forest road and the beginning of Brewster Park
This talks about Jennison’s Cabin, an important waypoint and stopping place when the Freight lines used this route to supply Silverton before the Narrow Gauge Railroad was built.
In the lower Brewster Park there were many ATVers and several anglers fishing up the Rio Grande here. This is where others had told me to start fishing, but I wasn’t going to fish right behind those anglers and I wasn’t going to jump in front of them High Holing them either. So, I drove further up the valley a mile or more. I found this section and thought this was as good a place to start as any.
I geared up with my Scott 9′ 4wt. Centric again. I found my way down to the river and started fishing. Again, I am fishing with Dry Flys only, no droppers, and no indicator nymph fishing.
The water certainly wasn’t what you’d call clear. It had a chalky tint to it. I started with small Chubby and an Elk Hair Caddis Dropper.
I caught 2 small Browns pretty quickly and thought it was a good start.
I think almost every run looks good, being the optimist I am.
But the catching really slows down. I fish a number of runs without moving another Trout
I am beginning to think I need to fish a dropper or something as the Trout just aren’t coming up to the surface. Then I get to this run.
I make casts hugging the far bank. I see a pretty good Trout turn on my flys, taking the Caddis. It’s a good fight, there’s a good bend in the rod, and it’s not easy to move the fish. But time and patience take their toll, and soon I am scooping the Rainbow up in my net.
It’s a 16″ Rainbow
This gives me renewed expectations. A few casts later I hook my flys on the far bank. I wade across the river to retrieve them and see some more monofilament line tangled in the willows. I follow the tangle through the branches and find this….
Well, I’m not the only one thinking their Trout hiding here. Again, I run across a boulder with a quartz vein full of silver.
I go through many more runs like this and don’t move another Trout
Maybe I should have used a dropper or nymph fish, but I am a stubborn soul.
I’ve been fishing for a good 2 hours and only 3 Trout to hand. It’s about 4pm and I start thinking about the RG Cutthroat Creek I fished further up the valley. So, decide to head up there to finish the day off. It’s only about 8 or 9 miles and I could be there in a hour or so. Back to the Bronco and up the valley I go.
The going is easy at first.
Then it started to show itself.
I was tempted to stop and fish here, but I continued on….
Doesn’t look so bad, I should be there in 30 minutes or so.
Timber Hill another waystation in the Creede to Silverton Freight Route
That’s when I started to hit the sketchy steep stuff again. Time for the 4X4 Low and both diffs locked.
Turns out the next 4 miles would take over an hour to cover.
Well, I’m in it now, no place to turn around, no time to rethink my actions, carry on….
More of the Bouncy House stuff. I’m bucketed in and holding on to the steering so I don’t get tossed out of the truck !!!
Tough, narrow, lined with sharp rocks….
Finally, the trail pops out of the steep bad stuff…. That’s the toughest 4 miles I’ve ever driven….
Getting closer now
Down a the bottom of this draw I came across 4 ATVers. I stopped and talked to them. I told them I have come up from Brewster Park and said that was the toughest 4 Mile climb I’d ever taken in the Bronco. They laughed and said that it is the Toughest Baddest Road around, and we all laughed.
I finally arrived at the creek and it was about 6:30pm. I going to fish it, but I can’t fish very long. I am certainly not going back the way I came. I will head up and over Stony Pass again, down to Silverton, Durango, and back to Pagosa, and that’s is a 5 hour trip to get home.
Time to get with it and catch a few. I pull out the Sage LL 581 again.
They are cooperative thank goodness !!!
If only I had the time to spend here….
I catch a half dozen in about 30 minutes. It’s time to go.
Headed up towards Stony Pass as the Suns sets.
Looking back at the Rio Grande’s headwaters
Starting down the west side of Stony Pass again
Now just driving down the Forks of the Animas, through Silverton, over Molas Pass, Over Coal Bank Pass, down to Durango and then east to Pagosa Springs. I’d get back to the condo just before midnight.
That was the entire Alpine Loop I did today from Hwy 149 to Hwy 550.
Jimbo
Day 11
More Rio Grande Cutthroats
Just a few days left in Pagosa. Forecast calls for rain. I have a place I fish every year, or least try to fish every year, and I need to try today. Now this used to be one of the best Rio Grande Cutthroat Creeks anywhere. It was a place where you had a genuine shot at catching a 20″ RGC in a creek (Not a Lake) , and I’ve caught a couple there that size, honest !!!! Then a certain regional magazine (not to be named) ran not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 articles on this little creek starting about 11 years ago. When I first came up here some 18 years ago, not many anglers drove this far to fish it, as it is just about as far from paved roads as anywhere in the San Juans. Before you knew it, they had trampled down grass paths up and down the creek. About 9 years ago, they extended the forest road to a canyon section just below the highest cirque valley. I fished up there too, and before the road was built, it was a good 4 mile trek up into that cirque. There were plenty of Cutthroats up there. Nick Strait has a definitive picture of him up in the high cirque holding a 15-16″ RGC. Now, It’s a 1/2 mile climb up a canyon section, and the times I have been up there since, the biggest Cutt I caught was 12″.
I know, I sound like a bitter Old Man, lamenting the glory days of yore. Well, it was that good, and now it isn’t. The recent years of drought have had something to do with that. And I have seen declining numbers of fishermen coming up here the last couple of years. Maybe, with a few good wet years in a row, decreased fishing pressure, it can come back to it’s glory days. I hope so…..
Anyway, here I go. They are working on the Tunnel on the South Fork side.
Now up on the Forest Roads
An hour later I see the lower meadow
I park in the middle of the Canyon reach between the lower and middle meadows.
I have been fishing here the last few years, because the meadows have been pounded, and it’s tougher to get into, wade upstream, and then climb out. Thus it sees less fishing pressure. I caught a good 16″ fish here 2 years ago. I gear up with my Scott 9′ 4wt. Centric. I walk down the road, climb down into the Canyon, just above a high waterfall.
I start fishing upstream
I like fishing a medium sized Chubby in here. I am careful to move slowly, look and watch first before casting. I make many casts into likely holding spots.
Nothing comes for the fly. So, I start trying different patterns: LYS, Parachute Ant, Elk Hair Caddis, Mercer’s Missing Link.
I am not moving fish, I am not seeing any fish, I am not spooking any fish?
This is bad, worse than I expected
I am so desperate, I tie on a dropper…..
I mean, the water seems empty. I start thinking. I remember Pop’s talking about the late spring snows, followed by heat waves the melted it all, and caused flooding.
Maybe all that fast water washed these fish over the falls?!?
After going through this pool, I decide, they aren’t here. I climb out and walk back to the truck, fishless…..
In the truck, I think about my options, there is a feeder creek that sees few fishermen, but I have already used up most of the energy and stamina I have. I drive up to the middle meadow. Low and behold, noone is there, not a soul. So, I park the Bronco on top and walk down into the meadow.
I am going to cherry pick some of the better Cutbanks and holes.
Here is where I start.
There is a real good cutbank along the run below the drop. I sneak up a little closer to look in there. I see a Cutt towards the back of the run. I make an excellent first cast. The fly lights on the water and starts drifting back. The Cutt sees it and rushes to eat the fly. I set the hook and of course he bolts under the cutbank. I hurry up to get a little closer and pull him out. In short order he’s in the net.
A fat little fish 10-11″
Yahoooo…. Skunk’s Off !!!!
I release this Cutt and thankfully it runs down stream. I look at the same cutbank and I think I see something moving closer to the riffle dropping in.
And there is. It takes a couple of casts to get the drift right, but when I do, he eats…. Again, a Short battle and #2 is in the net.
Well, one is luck, two is coincidence….
Another good bank with willows casting shows in all the right places.
Again, first cast is a good one. I place it just below the riffle at the head of the run. It drifts perfectly inches from the bank on the left in the shadows. It drifts almost all the way down to the tailout. I see a nose poke through and take the fly. I strike, and this guys runs upstream. I follow and get along side on him.
Another cookie cutter Cutt. They are all fat and in the 10-12″ range.
Three is a pattern !!!
I’m getting tired now, Clouds are gathering on the ridge. Time for one more Cutthroat.
This is not much of a spot, but worth a try. Yes, that little slick in the middle on the right. The wind is starting to wake up. My first cast is blow in the grassy bank, the second, a little to far to the left. The third falls in the riffle above the hole. Not quite as close to the bank as would be perfect. But perfect doesn’t matter to Cutthroats and this one darts out and sucks the fly down. I scurry up the bank, reeling in the line as I go, and now the little guy is flopping around in the water at my feet.
Perfect !!!!
Today 4 is enough.
The clouds are getting darker, my legs are tried, and it’s a ways back down the valley to the Bronco. I climb up the bench and look at the water upstream I did not fish today. I hope I make it back to the Bronco before it starts to rain…..
And I do….
There has been a lot of rain in the high country so far on this trip.
It seems to be soaking in, but the creeks and rivers, just have not seemed to enjoy increased flows yet. I hope it keeps raining up here and brings these waters back to something closer to normal. The fish and the land need it desperately !!!!
Jimbo
Day 10
4 Wheel Drive Required
For many years I have been trying to get to the headwaters of the Rio Grande. I have tried many times to get here from Creede and from Silverton. I tried years ago in my 2WD Ford Escape. Twice I tried from the Creede side headed west. When I got to the forest road above Rio Grande Reservoir, the trail got too sketchy and I turned back. I tried at least 3 times to get here from Silverton going over Stoney Pass, and every time I did, I drove into thunderstorms and turned around. I have a proper 4WD Bronco now that can go over just about anything. It had 48,000 miles on it this summer and the tires were getting pretty worn. I knew I would be trying for this water again this summer and I bought a new set of tires for this attempt.
Today was the day I was going for it again. The weather forecast had the usual chance of afternoon thunderstorms, but my time in Pagosa was running down and I might as well try now. I left Pagosa before 10am and drove an hour to Durango. There you head north on 550, the Million Dollar Highway, to Silverton. Then you drive through town and head up the Animas Forks. Now for the hard part, you turn on to the forest roads that take you over Stoney Pass at 12,650′. These are 4WD high clearance vehicle trails with nerve racking dropoffs.
There are going to be a lot of pictures in this story. I actually took 299 photos this day of the trip there and back….
Here are some of them
Headed west between Pagosa and Durango
Headed up Hwy 550
Past Purgatory Ski Resort
Coal Bank Pass 10,640′
Molas Pass
Going down towards Silverton
Looking down into Silverton
Driving through town, from Silverton it’s 14 1/2 miles to my creek, it will take 2 1/2 hours to cover the distance
Headed up the Animas Forks, time for 4X4 High
Animas Forks
The beginning of Stoney Pass forest road, 4X4 Low lock up both differentials
The road is pretty good here
Looking back down the valley
No time for flat tires, I am sure glad I’m on a new set with plenty of fresh rubber
There are several spur roads to old mining sites and even a few homes, so it’s that way
Still going up
Getting closer to the top the road flattens out in places
Then again more steep and rocky
No, there are no guardrails should you slip over the side
Getting closer
Treeline
Heaven’s Door
Almost there
Just over that saddle
I can see the top
Almost there
Stoney Pass
The Alpine Loop
Here is the birthplace of the Rio Grande River that flows all the way through: Colorado, New Mexico, along the Texas border with Mexico, and into the Gulf
Stoney Pass, the way into Silverton, in the earliest days of the Gold and Silver Rush
Starting down
7 miles to go
Yes, it’s getting cloudy, isn’t it? Press On Reguardless
Grassy Hill Station, one of the many way stations on the old freight trail from Creede to Silverton
I’m finally here. There are dark clouds all around. It’s going to rain, it’s just a matter of when. As I gear up, the first thing I put on is my Gore-Tex jacket, I pull on my vest, and my Sage LL 581 again. I will fish up the creek till it starts raining and then hike back to the Truck. I don’t have enough time to hike up into the first meadow, so I will start here in the little canyon and fish my way up…..
Just as I imagined it. The LYS is still tied on and I send it out over the water…..
Pure Rio Grande Cutthroats at somewhere around 11,000’+
More water, and in good amounts up here. Even in a drought, this is what the creeks look like before, ranches and homes start pulling water from their courses
Not too much color in these high altitude post spawn Cutthroats, but distinctive bigger spots towards their tails
It’s worth are the effort it takes to get here
Wow
Something special about being here and seeing these natives
My leg is getting sore and I ignore it
A perfect little specimen
Look closely and you will see, intrusive quartz veins with silver in them, this is what drove men crazy
It’s starting to rain now, just a sprinkle, but it will get heavier
Yeap, these are the real deal
The sprinkle has turned into a light rain
The camera is starting to fog up, but this male still has color
A little over an hour on this creek and it’s time to go
Back down the valley
I hope to come back here next summer and fish up into the meadows
There’s the Bronco on the other side of the creek
I shuck off my gear and load it in the back of the Bronco. It’s still 14 1/2 miles, 2 1/2 Hours, back to the Forks of the Animas. And, of course, the important part of every fishing trip is getting home safely. There will be rain, there will be lightning, the roads will be wet, and maybe even washed out here and there. Now is not the time to rush, take you time, avoid the sharp rocks that could split a tire.
An old washout to cross
Just a few miles from the creek and the rain let’s up
Another washout
At times, heavy rains can really do a number on the roads. This is why I bugged out when I did. Fortunately, today the rains are not hard, and the driving is easy
More rain again
Steep and slick, I’m still in 4X4 Low with the diffs locked
Heavy Rain up ahead of me
Both hands on the wheel and my full attention to what’s ahead
The rain lets up again
The Pass is just on the left at the top
Now the Pass is right in the middle of this picture
Closer still
A recent washout. Not all these rocks were here when I came in. This is why these are dedicated 4X4 trails
Looking back into the upper Rio Grande
Back over the top
Down into the west side of the divide
Time to crawl along. The Bronco has this decent mode where it moves at about 4mph unless you touch the brakes or the gas
One of many switchbacks on the way down
Sometimes the road just disappears over the edge
Going steadily down, look closely and you can see the road down over on the left down there
Hang on, a very tight switchback
Between a rock and eternity
Time to fold the driver’s side mirror in and squeezy through
Loose rocks on a wet and narrow pathway
More than half way down now
Remnants of an old rock/ore crushing mill
Just a couple miles to the Animas Forks now
One of the big gold and silver strikes up here
There you are, out of Stoney Pass, into the Animas Forks road, back into Silverton and just 2 1/2 hours left to go to Pagosa Springs. 10 Hours driving to fish for about 1 hour, to catch aboriginal Rio Grande Cutthroats in their native habitat….
Worth It?
I think so !!!!
I will be back….
Jimbo
Day 9
Looking for Rio Grande Cutthroats
I going high up into the Mountains again today. I was told about some RGCs that Mark Dillow caught last year. I have fished there before, but it was years ago and all I caught were Brookies. I looked at the weather forecast and it didn’t look fruitful, but what the heck, you got to try something.
Sure enough, I drove up the forest road. It’s a number of meadows and canyon sections uphill. As I drove it rained of and on. When I reached the meadow, there was a Thunderstorm on the far ridge. For my vantage, it looked pointless to try and get to the creek. I got out of the truck and watched for about 10 minutes. I was right, that storm came over the ridge and opened up. I drove back down the valley in a steady rain. When I got to the highway, I decided to head into South Fork and look for some more Red Hippie Stompers at the Fly Shops there. They didn’t have any. I headed back over the Pass to Pagosa. The rain followed me all the way back to the condo.
Day 9
Take Two
There were still clouds hanging around in the mountains, but I thought I should give the same creek another try. Back down the road and over Wolf Creek pass, then up the forest roads again. Today it was cloudy, but not raining yet. I found the little meadow empty and thought I could get in at least an hour before it started raining. I was about right to the minute.
Today I selected a Sage LL 581 to fish. I brought 17 fly rods with me, and thought I should start using some different ones. I have a bunch of Sage Light Line Fly Rods and this one is a good one.
Up here I knew the insects would be few and small. I started with a LYS, nope, Elk Hair Caddis, nope then I tied on a #18 Mercer’s Missing Link….
Bingo !!!!
That is the first Rio Grande Cutthroat of the trip !!!!
Let’s see if that is repeatable ?
Yes Sir !!!!!
Mark was right !!!! There were RGCs up here now ! How sweet is that !!!!
And another RGC !!!!
What about here?
Brookies, 2 tiny little guys back to back….
And there it is, another thunderstorm coning over the ridge, just like yesterday…..
I caught a couple more Cutthroats. One of them, a real nice 12″ RGC. I and took a couple of pictures. When I went to review them, I realized many of the previous pictures were fogged up. Moisture had gotten behind the polarizing filter. I popped it off and wiped it clean. I heard more thunder coming from the ridge. Time was short.
The last little Brown….
I figured it was time to go, as the Bronco was more than a 1/4 mile down the valley….
I was wrong….
It was too late…..
I reeled up and hadn’t gone 20′ when the hail started. I hadn’t brought my Gore-Tex jacket with me today, so I would just have to move as quickly as possible through the meadows tall grass on my bum leg (I am not capable of running or jogging on my left leg yet). Good thing I water-proofed my Tilley hat. In short order the hail turned to moderate and then to real heavy rain. The flyvest also kept me somewhat dry as I moved at something a-kin to a fast walk. I was surprised that even though my shirt sleeves were soaked, my chest remained fairly dry. It was a good 10 minute trip back to the Bronco. And again, I opened the back of the Bronco, tossed in my flyvest and flyrod, closed it up, and jumped into the driver’s seat. I was soaked now, but surprisingly not very cold. Well at least I caught some RGCs where I never had caught them before.
I count that as a good day !!!!
Jimbo
Day 8
New Water
Every year I try and fish some new water. Today I would be going up the Rio Grande to fish Middle Creek. I have fished more and more around Creede even though it’s an extra hour and a half to get there. I have found creeks over here that deserve the FOASTWRN status and ones, like this one, that are fairly well known. It does take a while on forest roads to get here, but it is one that doesn’t require 4 wheel drive to get there.
Going up the Rio Grande west of South Fork.
Breaking out of the first canyon into the expansive RG valley.
Finally turning onto Middle Creek Road
Headed up…. I find this willow bound portion of the creek in a wide valley and find a place to park.
I gear up with old reliable, my Sage 476 XP. It is seeing quite a bit of time on the water this year, but it is my “Go To” rod for tight creeks. After a short trip busting through the willows, I find the creek. It is smaller than expected, (this is a low water year) but I have it all to myself up here. Just me, the creek, the Trout, the cows, and the Horse Flys.
I catch a Rainbow in the first piece of water I fish.
Here’s a sweet piece of water….
A little Brown found it home….
It can be real tight, and some places you must just walk around looking for some room to cast and catch fish. But I kept looking and spots opened up….
Brookies are to be expected here….
Things really opened up here….
More Brookies….
I will tell you if you plan to fish here, apply insect repellant often. It didn’t seem to make much difference as the Horse Flys were aggressive.
It is a fun creek to fish, mostly Brookies, then Browns, and a few Rainbows (I caught one that was the smallest Trout of the trip at about 4″)
The creek seemed to be opening up more and more as I fished up this creek….
Then again, my leg was getting sore again and I had to walk a good ways back to the Bronco. 11 was the count, the 1st Rainbow was the biggest fish at about 14″, and most everything else was 6-12″. Still entertaining and a place I will come fish again, when I can spend more time on the water. Who knows there may even be some Cutts to be caught here to complete “The Slam”. This summer I don’t have the stamina to find out.
Jimbo
Day 6 was another rain day….
9am
Another day of movies, Pearl Harbor and National Treasure, and more Ravioli.
It was light to moderate rain all day, finally letting up about dusk.
Day 7
Back to an old friend.
I was going to fish somewhere today despite the forecast. There was rain scattered around and I had to work to find some blue skies to fish under, but I was determined to get some fish to hand today. I ended up going up Park Creek. The lower meadows, the better ones, had tons of RVs and Trailers, so I keep driving up the forest road. Kelly Park was the first meadow with only one other group camping there. It also had some clear skies overhead, so Kelly Park it would be.
My Sage 476 XP had severed me well and was called once again to duty.
One thing more about my leg, it doesn’t allow me to be quite as stealthy as I could be. And I could see the fish being spooked upstream.
I tried putting my wading staff away and moving more slowly.
That’s it, slow down, wait, and look first.
Then don’t make too many false casts. Just a single backcast and let it go.
It worked sometimes….
Sometimes I would slide a boot or stumble a little, then all those fish you didn’t notice, suddenly became visible in their rush to leave the area. This was my hole in the sky, looking upstream….
And looking downstream….
And the clouds downstream seemed to be making steady progress towards me. So, back to making the best use of the time available.
Easy to make a bad step here, take it easy, and watch every step.
So, I took my time….
It pays off, when you are deliberate.
Like every other day this year, the rain was hounding me, but I can’t complain. My leg is not ready for a 8 hour day of wading, bending over, stepping up and down banks, covering ground like I am used to…. And this land really needs the rain.
It’s almost as if this summer was made for rehabbing an injury.
Here I could feel the rush of cold wind up the valley. I knew the rain wasn’t far behind. I made it to double digits and felt pretty good considering the time on the water.
I could tell I was more capable with just 1 week on the water. It’s still going to be another 6 months or more till I have my full strength back, but I making progress.
This is Rehab with a Rod
Jimbo
I take Day 4 off. I slept in again, I grab a burger for Lunch. Looking around I see a bunch of clouds and rain is probable.
I go back to the condo and watch Movies, giving my leg a day of rest. I watch 2 movies starring Densel Washington, the Enforcer series movies. Have some homemade Ravioli for dinner ….
and then I watch the movie “Thin Man” in the evening one of my all time favorites with William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Day 5
I sleep better overnight, and wake up about 9ish. My leg is sore, but it always is after sleeping for some reason. That gets better walking on it and is back to normal in about 30 minutes. Today I will be hitting one of my Cutthroat Creeks.
Fishing on a Stream that will remain Nameless
Headed into the Mountains, this time I’ll be covering about 30 miles of Forest Roads to get there….
I have been fishing this creek every year that I have been up here in Southern Colorado. It’s one of those little blue lines on the map that start with a lake on the Continental Divide. Up here there are only Cutthroats as several large and high waterfalls below prevent any other species from migrating upstream.
The population has varied going up and down over the years. I hope there is still enough water in the creek to keep them happy and healthy. I drive down to the creek, park, and gear up with my Sage 476 XP again. Once set, I head down to get my first glimpse of the water.
It’s not terrible, less water than last year, but it could be much worse. I still have the Red Hippie Stomper tied on and make a little flick of the wrist, the fly lands on the water, and something takes it.
Yeap, that’s what I have come for…. These fish average 5-10″ here, with the occasional fish over 12″. You could say this is one my places where everything comes into focus…. a place that I imagine is like it was before man stepped on the North American Continent. There are not many places this untouched, this good, up here anymore. I am thankful it has endured,
I am glad this place takes some effort to reach and not right next to the Hot Springs downtown.
It was a good start. Today the numbers and size were a little down from last year, but other than the water levels being a little low, this was about you would expect to find here every year. I used the Hippie Stomper and occasionally I would switch to a small Chubby. You’d think knowing that I could have lightened up my vest by several pounds, but it’s nice having the inventory available when the bite gets tough.
The creek channel changes up year by year. Some holes and meanders disappear, different log jams show up as others washed away, but overall, there are always good holding water and pockets to cast towards.
Most of the water is small enough that you only catch one fish from a spot even though more are there.
But every now and then you get multiple Cutts from the same spot.
These are not all the fish or all the spots, but a good representative of what can be found.
Here I caught the Big fish of the day about 13-14″
The shadows messed up the exposure, it happens that way sometimes.
I fished for maybe 2 1/2 hours.
That’s about all my leg can handle at this point.
I caught over 20 today, kind of lost count, which is always a good sign that you are in the moment, and that is all that is important. The next run, the next cast, the next trout. As I was getting out there was a family camping up here. There was a man almost as old as myself sitting in a folding chair watching me. When I waded out of the creek and walked over to him, I could see the scars on his knees too. I told him I was 3 months from my knee replace surgery. He said he had both knees done this past year and I was an inspiration to him flyfishing up the creek so soon after the operation. His wife and 2 grandkids were with him. We made small talk for a while and then I headed across the meadow and back down to the Bronco.
I shucked off my gear, got behind the wheel, and headed back to Pagosa.
I had my tunes playing softly, the windows down, as I enjoyed the sights and smells of the backcountry.
This is not a place to have your concentration wander too much, as there are places, just off the edge of the road, where eternity awaits….
It kind of makes it all perfect, wouldn’t you say?
Jimbo
Day 3
You’ve got to expect some days are going to be rain outs. Now, If I got up at the crack of dawn and went fishing I’d probably have more time on the water. But I am still having trouble going to sleep at a reasonable hour and find myself, medicating to subdue the pain, and watching TV at 4 in the morning before falling to sleep. That’s part of the way the cards are dealt this summer. It is a vacation after all and I am not going to forsake my sleep.
As I drive through town this is what the San Juan River looks like….
It’s late today as I head into the mountains. I am thinking Pass Creek, but it’s raining on Wolf Creek Pass, so…. next…. I go look at Park Creek, but the rain is headed here too and by the time I get to the meadows It will probably be raining there too.
I head down to Beaver Creek, the rain will be here soon also. I think about maybe driving over to Creede and look around, but I’m thinking I better fish now, as the rain will probably cover the entire area by early afternoon.
Anyway, Beaver Creek is easy….. Right ?
I gear up fast with my Sage 7 1/2′ 4wt. XP.
I tie on a Red Hippie Stomper, the fly that has worked here for several years. I’m making good casts and drifts, but the fish are not coming up as they usually do. I try a few other flys, but Nothing is any better. I do hook a handful of small Browns and land them, but I’m slow on the camera today, and they flop out of my hand before I get any good pics. They were nothing special anyway, just your average 6-8″ Creek Trout.
So, all you get are some cool pictures of the creek.
I cherry pick the water as thunder starts rolling over the ridge.
I fish about 45 minutes, the sky turns dark, the wind gusts start, and the cold rain drops end the day. I hustle back to the truck. I drive down to South Fork and look up the Rio Grande Valley. I see nothing but rain. I slept late, the rain came early, but I caught a few fish, hobbling around on my bum leg.
That’s Good Enough this Summer.
Jimbo
Day 2
If there is one thing about the Wyndam Condos I don’t really like it’s the beds. I like a firm mattress, and these are medium with a soft 4″ pillow top. I tend to sink in and heat up during the night, that with my sore leg and knee, results in several wakeups during the night. I guess the total time I’m sleeping is not much worse than back home, but I might be getting better sleep with a firmer mattress.
Being an up and down kind of night, when I do fall asleep solidly it’s about 5am and I sleep till past 9am. Waking I lay in bed and just enjoy having no real schedule that is a vacation. I don’t get dressed till 10am and then check on my gear and the Bronco, It’s 10:30am before I at the drive-in at McDs….
I am going back to the East Fork again today, but further up the valley, past the second canyon. It’s approaching noon when I stop and look for a place to fish.
Nope too steep down to the water…..
Further up the road a find a nice little stretch. There are campers here, but about the normal number. There are always people camping from the highway to the East Fork Ranch and many of them don’t fish. Still with easy access the fish see a lot of anglers, many of them baitfishing.
I do find a good spot and pull over.
I gear up again and I’m fishing with the same Scott 9′ 4wt. Centric Fly Rod. I will tell you This Thing is Sweet !!!! So light, so accurate, it has become my favorite 9′ 4wt
.
I start here as there are 3 groups camping below here so I might as well fish upstream away from them. Right off, casting to the edge and flys drifting in the shadows of the willows, Trout come up to take a look, but turns away! After a few refusals I start changing flys: X Caddis, LYS, Stimulator, just refusals !!!! I put on a Wilcox Special and have a little Browm take the fly, and in short order I swing it to hand, This is the picture I got of the 12″ Trout…..
Well…..
I keep working upstream
I find some more fish up in that riffle, that will look, but not bite in this run. Back goes on the Chubby, Big Meal for a Big Fish maybe?!? A really nice Brown smacks it, I hook it and fight it 3/4 the way back, then in a spectacular somersaulting leap, and I see the Trout and Fly depart mid air….. Shucks !!!! I probably didn’t really think “Shucks”, but I need to keep this clean, so…..
Here, I had a fish look at a Chubby along the bank behind the willow. So, I cut it off tied on the Wilcox Special, he looked at that one too. So, I cut that off and tied on a LYS, he looked at that one too. Three times he looked and wouldn’t commit. The Trout here are really seasoned. Maybe the fact that the Sun is out today, maybe it’s the campers here, but whatever they are tough to get a real bite out of them.
Here looks to be a target rich environment, and it is….. I have a fish look at the LYS, slashes at it, but I don’t get a hook in him. I change to a small Elk Hair Caddis that worked yesterday. He looks, then disappears, then changes his mind, and chases it downstream to eat it. A really cool experience watching that go down !!!! A short twisting fight and I scoop him up in the net.
Yeah !!!! A picture of a Trout.
I keep moving and see this spot.
I think there must be a fish here? Make a few casts in likely holding places…. Then out of nowhere….
SPLASH !!!!!
A bunch of kids just a few feet upstream come running for the water and jump in…. And there I am looking at some youngsters bobbing around in the hole I am fishing. What are you going to do. I turn around and start heading back for the Bronco. Then I hear the thunder. There are so many trees here I didn’t notice the dark clouds approaching. Well, they need the rain !
I decide that I am going to fish that small stretch below the Bronco, where I saw the campers anyway, because I have just a few minutes before the rain starts.
I walk down about 40 yards and start back upstream. I hear more thunder and it’s getting pretty close. Then the first wind gusts hit the stream. The storm will be here momentarily. I moving fast. I make a good cast in this pocket water. The fly doesn’t move a foot,…. a Good Brown hits it. I come tight, and it jumps out of the water, bounces of a rock, and the tippet breaks. Another gust of wind…. I feel the first cold drops of rain coming down. Time to reel up and hustle back to the Bronco.
It’s raining by the time I get there. I pull off my vest, and toss it and the flyrod in the back and scramble into the drivers seat. It’s one of those monsoon downpours, Big Drops, cold and heavy, some small hail, I watch it a few minutes, and call it Day 2…..
I head back down the Forest Road, in the rain, bouncing through potholes full of water, mud splashing everywhere, perfect Bronco weather…..
Of course, as I get back to the highway, the rain quits, but there are scattered storms everywhere.
Day 2 was just one of those days where things seem to turn left instead of right.
Jimbo
