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Post by mirvc17 on May 14, 2019 16:20:03 GMT -6
Yesterday I had the opportunity to go check out Watertown Canyon for the first time. Still being new to the Denver area, I'm discovering a lot of good places close to home. Watertown is a 30 min drive from my doorstep to the trailhead. The guidebook suggested a mountain bike as the best means of getting to the most fishable sections and boy it was right. However, my bike currently has two flat tires and I wasn't going to ride my wife's cruiser bike.....
I grabbed two fly rods (MaximumCatch 10' 3 wt & NRX LP 5 wt), my chest pack & net, and my back pack and started walking. About 25 mins later I finally got to some fishy looking water. The water looked just right for Euro style so out came the 10 footer. I caught a small brown below one of the many small water falls I'd soon discover. Moving upstream, I came across some water that looked like it might hold some bigger fish. I caught a decent size brown on a perdigon style nymph with the Euro rig. Thinking there might be some more decent browns, I rigged my 5 wt with a 1.5"/sec poly leader and a Nancy P. articulated streamer hoping to get a big brown to come out and play. I got one good grab on it but that was it.
Upstream I went again. I tossed the streamer a little bit but mostly Euro'd (not to my enjoyment). I caught 3 more decent browns and a nice rainbow. The Chinese rod protected the tippet quite nicely.
I didn't quite make it to the area below the first dam and rest area, mainly because I knew I'd be walking for a while back to the truck and I had to get the kids from school. I did discover that apparently the water below the dams can often hold the most fish, so now I've got something to look forward too, AFTER I fix my bike of course.
Back at the parking lot I ran into another angler that biked all the way up the canyon. His day did not go so well and he caught nothing...
The primary food sources in the river are BWOs, midges, stoneflies (Golden, Yellow Sallies, Salmon), Sow Bugs, and some species of free living caddis.
Pictures to follow.
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Post by mirvc17 on May 14, 2019 16:26:54 GMT -6
Quality browns and a rainbow. |
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Smallfry
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Post by Smallfry on May 14, 2019 19:23:38 GMT -6
Glad to know you're gettin well acquainted with the locals!!
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Post by turfdawg on May 14, 2019 19:28:57 GMT -6
sounds like you and that rod are becoming friends
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Post by mirvc17 on May 15, 2019 13:42:58 GMT -6
Turfdawg,
I suppose so. I have no idea what a "good" Euro rod feels like, but I'm sure it might be less fatiguing. I had to add a little weight to the butt section to help balance out the rod since my reel isn't quite heavy enough. Even though I don't enjoy the Euro lob very much, it's helped me pick up some good fish.....and I caught about a dozen sticks off the bottom too.
Because it was such a good deal, I'll reiterate this rod...
Google MaxCatch Fly fishing and you should see their nymph rods. If you want to go a step up, they've also got a "competition" 10' 3wt rod for $135... the IM10 rod I have is 70$ and you might be able to find it on eBay as well... If I broke this rod, I wouldn't hesitate to get the competition rod or another IM10. You can't beat the price.
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Post by turfdawg on May 15, 2019 15:59:22 GMT -6
Turfdawg, I suppose so. I have no idea what a "good" Euro rod feels like, but I'm sure it might be less fatiguing. I had to add a little weight to the butt section to help balance out the rod since my reel isn't quite heavy enough. Even though I don't enjoy the Euro lob very much, it's helped me pick up some good fish.....and I caught about a dozen sticks off the bottom too. Because it was such a good deal, I'll reiterate this rod... Google MaxCatch Fly fishing and you should see their nymph rods. If you want to go a step up, they've also got a "competition" 10' 3wt rod for $135... the IM10 rod I have is 70$ and you might be able to find it on eBay as well... If I broke this rod, I wouldn't hesitate to get the competition rod or another IM10. You can't beat the price. Or, for $198 you could get the new Orvis Clearwater Euro 10' 3wt with downlocking reel seat and 25 year warranty. Even if I use a bobber I still like to use it on my euro rods with the long mono leader. Just cannot roll cast. How many spare bedrooms do yo have lol |
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Post by golferjeff on May 16, 2019 15:24:21 GMT -6
Even if I use a bobber I still like to use it on my euro rods with the long mono leader. Just cannot roll cast. How many spare bedrooms do yo have lol I have first dibs..... unless I buy my own place. |
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Post by turfdawg on May 16, 2019 19:52:09 GMT -6
Even if I use a bobber I still like to use it on my euro rods with the long mono leader. Just cannot roll cast. How many spare bedrooms do yo have lol I have first dibs..... unless I buy my own place. Bull crap, I even called shotgun on the way to the river already |
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Post by mirvc17 on Aug 22, 2019 14:57:59 GMT -6
Another great day at Waterton. Caught 8...7 rainbows and this 15” meat slab. There was a Trico hatch that ended a little after 10am, but I caught fish on all kinds of stuff... Nancy P streamer, Orange Scud, RS2, Span Juan worm...and the brown on a GTI Caddis... |
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Post by mirvc17 on Sept 11, 2019 20:26:45 GMT -6
I've been fishing Waterton the last three days and building a little database in my head where the good spots are as I work my way upstream. The fishing has been pretty good each day, minus Monday. That day I had one of those days where you just can't seem to do anything right. Despite catching three, my casting was bad, knots were failing, I was losing flies, losing fish, and I cut my fly line to the core with some tippet (pair of flies I thought I had lost had wrapped around it). I managed to nail knot a leader on, but eventually I had to get out of there before I snapped my rod in half.  But I digress... Each day when I arrive, there's a big Trico hatch in progress and it's not hard to find sippers.... harder to get them to take what you're throwing though and maybe even more importantly manage your drag. The fish will come up to your fly and then turn away. Today I had to downsize from a size 20 dry fly to 24 and 26, and use 7X tippet to get the fish to respond. Some fish caught and some lost on size 26 CDC dries and RS2s. Other effective flies (in faster water) were Bling Midges, Caddis Pupas, Grape Slushies, Garcia's Rojo Midge, Perdigon nymphs, and of course Medallion Midges. A lot of the fish could be seen taking the nymphs which was quite exciting. One of the coolest today was watching a nice brown move up the water column to eat a Medallion Midge dropper that was about 10" below my palsa pinch-on indicator. I'll post some pictures tomorrow (I'm going back again in the morning). PS, the new Rio Technical Trout WF line is pretty good. I had been using a Rio Trout LT WF (In-Touch version) but I found out that they discontinued it. |
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Smallfry
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Post by Smallfry on Sept 12, 2019 13:08:07 GMT -6
Nice write up, good knowing I'm not alone on having issues from time to time. BUT it is much too soon for me to even be thinking about about dries smaller than 16!!
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Post by mirvc17 on Sept 13, 2019 15:57:15 GMT -6
Yeah but remember it would be better to have them when you might need them. So far I’m a fan of the Orvis Big Eye hooks in 24 and 26. For the last few days whatever the fish were eating were too small to me to ID without getting out in the run and seining the river. The fish wouldn’t take anything bigger than a size 20 and often those got looked at and then “refused.” The smaller the flies, the better I did. I caught 3 yesterday on size 26 CDC Comparadun Tricos, then the river blew out at 10am  . Today I lost 4 or 5 probably from hooksets that were too aggressive or the fly popped out. I did get one though. 15’ leaders, 7X, and tiny dries were the only things that would work. |
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Post by mirvc17 on Oct 2, 2019 19:48:11 GMT -6
Fishing has been pretty good at Waterton lately. Flows are down, the water is clear, and the hatches of Tricos in the morning and BWOs in the afternoon are good. A couple of days ago, I was on fish three or four when a very large trout started chasing my catch. I estimated it to be over 18" which is large for this part of the river. My heart started racing and I thought of the scene from JAWS when that girl said "Shh shhh shhaa Shaarrkkk!" Anyway, I was fighting that fish and eyeballing the big one watching where it went. It's huge body could be made out clearly on the other side of the river. It sucked down flies with almost no effort and you could hear a large gulping sound. Unfortunately, I could only get it to look at my flies a few times before I lost the hatch, all the fish stopped feeding, and the big fish disappeared downstream. I was fishing small Trio patterns, but also tried a couple of larger patterns to see what would happen (starting off with a Purple Haze that Darrell tied for me). It got a look, but that was it and I changed flies. I went back around noon today (which I figured would be too late), but went looking for it anyway. No where to be found, but I did catch one nice rainbow. I fishing nothing but dries today and was presented a problem. Several fish far downstream were rising, somewhat consistently. The problem... no bank access to get close to them, and I couldn't wade any deeper above them. This section was fairly slow so I figured what the heck and cast as much fly line as I could, then fed slack line.......as in....my entire fly line + 10' of backing to get to them. I was amazed that you can see a quarter inch wing (of EP Trigger Point fibers) on a size 24 hook at 100 feet. I got two takes, but ripped the fly out once and the other I broke the knot at the hook. Kinda hard to set the hook at that range.  Plenty of Trico spent spinners on the water and BWOs emerging. I'm going to look for the big fish tomorrow morning....fingers crossed. |
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Post by mirvc17 on Oct 3, 2019 19:01:39 GMT -6
Well, I got the big fish today. I missed a hook set on it with a Trico spinner and I thought that would have been the end of it. A bit later the fish appeared again and I had a second chance. I tied on a size 20 tan Sparkle Dun on 6X. I got a rise and it was on.
I've read/heard that you shouldn't adjust your drag while fighting a fish. I had to decrease the drag as soon as I felt a few pulls. Had I not, it would have broken off easily. A nice little battle with some strong runs and I had her in the net.
She taped in at exactly 22" and barely fit in the net. A stocker rainbow for sure, but nice to have an Easter egg in the river when most of the fish are half this size.
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Post by mirvc17 on Oct 3, 2019 19:06:46 GMT -6
. Attachments:
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Post by mirvc17 on Nov 6, 2019 10:10:01 GMT -6
A couple of nice browns caught after the river blew out yesterday. One on a squirmy worm and the other on a tungsten bead orange egg pattern. I haven't caught browns like these on this section before so I don't know if they are left over spawners or fish that just came out to play when the water was high and dirty... Attachments:
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Smallfry
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Post by Smallfry on Nov 6, 2019 10:33:36 GMT -6
Placing my bets on high n dirty!
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Post by mirvc17 on Jan 30, 2020 17:18:08 GMT -6
Slayed a bunch yesterday. A fair amount of ice build up on the banks and the water temp was 34 degs. Started out catching a couple on a matted light orange pegged bead... Worked upstream and did the inevitable. Pulled out my black beret, skinny jeans, lit up a cig and switched to a Euro leader on my 5 wt (reluctantly) but the water was calling for it. Once I located the trout hotel it was easy. A silver TH Eggsacy egg on a C300 hook—the fish could not stay away. Takes were subtle. Lobbing it got boring eventually...But it was good to get out. Attachments:
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Post by mirvc17 on Jan 30, 2020 20:20:51 GMT -6
Ok to be fair to those Euro fans out there....I did catch 2 on an Olive Pliva Perdigon.........but I caught 26 on the egg 😂
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Post by turfdawg on Jan 31, 2020 4:38:48 GMT -6
Ok to be fair to those Euro fans out there....I did catch 2 on an Olive Pliva Perdigon.........but I caught 26 on the egg 😂 Trust me when I say eggs work great on the end of my Euro Rods. |
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Post by golferjeff on Jan 31, 2020 13:05:17 GMT -6
We'll be euro'ing the Roaring River this weekend. Last weekend of C&R season.
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Post by mirvc17 on Jan 31, 2020 15:13:07 GMT -6
Ok to be fair to those Euro fans out there....I did catch 2 on an Olive Pliva Perdigon.........but I caught 26 on the egg 😂 Trust me when I say eggs work great on the end of my Euro Rods. That’s why I tie TH Eggstacys on a C300. You can use various bead sizes and hide the bead pretty good. Great point fly. I still hate the Euro lob ! And after fish after fish it starts to get boring. |
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Post by turfdawg on Jan 31, 2020 15:31:05 GMT -6
Why do you hide the bead?
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Post by mirvc17 on Jan 31, 2020 18:42:11 GMT -6
Why do you hide the bead? Because European trout don’t like eating silver tungsten. . But really, Europeans like the color black, so how can insult them by using a silver bead ? |
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Post by FlyAndStream on Jan 31, 2020 19:05:49 GMT -6
The ‘euro lob’ with a 9’ 5wt is pretty terrible. Do you have a decent euro rod?
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But I digress...
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