S. Platte 3 Dec 18 mini report
Dec 4, 2018 18:43:22 GMT -6
slim, underhillsbill, and 4 more like this
Post by mirvc17 on Dec 4, 2018 18:43:22 GMT -6
I left my brother's place about 6am and traffic was light getting out of the south Denver area. Word from Flies n' Lies fly shop was that the roads were clear and dry. Winding through highway 67 from Sedalia to Deckers, the lowest temperature I saw was 9 degrees. When I got to the river, it was 12F.
It was a little cold as I suited up but I got warm fast. I rigged my new Chinese 10' 2wt for Euro style with a Perdigon on a dropper and a Hare's ear w/ Partridge on a jig hook as the point.... and my 5 wt with a long leader and a fly called the Wiggle Tail nymph (a pattern by Morten Oeland from The Fly and the Fly 2). This fly is pretty neat--it uses a marabou tail with a little triangle of UV resign that creates a hinge. In the water, when the fly is stripped, it wiggles the tail like how some mayfly nymphs swim..... anyway...
I caught a nice little 10" brown on my 2nd cast with the Wiggle Tail. I thought for sure it was going to be a great day. Then a couple of casts later, something wasn't right.... my fly was gone--I don't know where it went or what happened. It was the only one I had with me. So I tied on a couple of soft hackles and worked the run...nothing. I set down the 5 wt and grabbed the Euro rod. I worked some pretty Euro-ish water and thought for sure I'd hook up with something. Worked some deep riffles and deep water with it too, but got nothing.
I moved to a different spot up river where I caught those two beautiful browns last trip. The flows were down around a 100cfs due to low water levels in Cheesman Lake. I spooked one fish moving around to a spot, but I didn't get anything doing Euro or conventional nymphing. Finally I caught a 4" baby brown on a Zebra midge.
I went upstream again to above the Deckers bridge and worked that area. I spotted several big fish from the bridge, 2 of which saw me and bolted upriver. Apparently those trout can see directly above and behind them! Ha! I crouched down and moved to the other side of the bridge where a large fish was holding next to some vegetation and a large rock. I got into position carefully and used the Euro rod to get down deep fast. I made several casts that I knew were right where it was... I got up to see if the fish was there--it wasn't. My rig might have just spooked it away.
So i worked up stream a bit the rest of the day with my 5 wt, swinging soft hackles and small flies with light indicators. I looked down once when I was working some riffles and there were 3 nice fish right at my feet. They didn't even care I was there--they were using my legs to get relief from what current there was. I almost netted one, those little jerks.
I hooked two more fish but lost them immediately. I spotted a few fish that looked like they maybe had spawning on their minds?? But they weren't on a redd as far as I could tell, but I did see some females either beating the sand/rocks some or at least going through the motions... (is that a fake spawn? I don't know fish well enough). I did see a few redds throughout the day so I avoided stepping on them.
I decided to call it quits around 1pm after fishing pretty hard and battling ice in the guides all day. It was 31F when I left.
Results: Temperature maybe just too cold. But now I know where the fish are. The 2 wt flings the Euro rig nicely, but I still don't enjoy doing it. Great tool for the right water types. What I enjoyed: I had the river to myself for 4 hours before I saw anyone else. I love casting small flies with the Trout LT fly line. If you have a medium or medium fast action rod, try this line. Spey and roll casts effortlessly and throws tight loops with soft presentation. I like it better than the Rio Gold for my NRX LP.
It was a little cold as I suited up but I got warm fast. I rigged my new Chinese 10' 2wt for Euro style with a Perdigon on a dropper and a Hare's ear w/ Partridge on a jig hook as the point.... and my 5 wt with a long leader and a fly called the Wiggle Tail nymph (a pattern by Morten Oeland from The Fly and the Fly 2). This fly is pretty neat--it uses a marabou tail with a little triangle of UV resign that creates a hinge. In the water, when the fly is stripped, it wiggles the tail like how some mayfly nymphs swim..... anyway...
I caught a nice little 10" brown on my 2nd cast with the Wiggle Tail. I thought for sure it was going to be a great day. Then a couple of casts later, something wasn't right.... my fly was gone--I don't know where it went or what happened. It was the only one I had with me. So I tied on a couple of soft hackles and worked the run...nothing. I set down the 5 wt and grabbed the Euro rod. I worked some pretty Euro-ish water and thought for sure I'd hook up with something. Worked some deep riffles and deep water with it too, but got nothing.
I moved to a different spot up river where I caught those two beautiful browns last trip. The flows were down around a 100cfs due to low water levels in Cheesman Lake. I spooked one fish moving around to a spot, but I didn't get anything doing Euro or conventional nymphing. Finally I caught a 4" baby brown on a Zebra midge.
I went upstream again to above the Deckers bridge and worked that area. I spotted several big fish from the bridge, 2 of which saw me and bolted upriver. Apparently those trout can see directly above and behind them! Ha! I crouched down and moved to the other side of the bridge where a large fish was holding next to some vegetation and a large rock. I got into position carefully and used the Euro rod to get down deep fast. I made several casts that I knew were right where it was... I got up to see if the fish was there--it wasn't. My rig might have just spooked it away.
So i worked up stream a bit the rest of the day with my 5 wt, swinging soft hackles and small flies with light indicators. I looked down once when I was working some riffles and there were 3 nice fish right at my feet. They didn't even care I was there--they were using my legs to get relief from what current there was. I almost netted one, those little jerks.
I hooked two more fish but lost them immediately. I spotted a few fish that looked like they maybe had spawning on their minds?? But they weren't on a redd as far as I could tell, but I did see some females either beating the sand/rocks some or at least going through the motions... (is that a fake spawn? I don't know fish well enough). I did see a few redds throughout the day so I avoided stepping on them.
I decided to call it quits around 1pm after fishing pretty hard and battling ice in the guides all day. It was 31F when I left.
Results: Temperature maybe just too cold. But now I know where the fish are. The 2 wt flings the Euro rig nicely, but I still don't enjoy doing it. Great tool for the right water types. What I enjoyed: I had the river to myself for 4 hours before I saw anyone else. I love casting small flies with the Trout LT fly line. If you have a medium or medium fast action rod, try this line. Spey and roll casts effortlessly and throws tight loops with soft presentation. I like it better than the Rio Gold for my NRX LP.
