Arkansas Below Pueblo Over Christmas

Fished 3 days with good action Saturday and Sunday. Monday was the best...details below...

Temps were around 40 degrees with morning temps as low as 20 degrees. Ice in the guides were an issue until about noon.

Flows are stable, typical winter flows with fish concentrated in deeper runs and tail outs. Water is super clear and sight fishing is possible, but if you can see them, then they can see you.

Saturday:
10:00 AM, started fishing at the dam. 1st cast was at cable hole with only 1 fish that took a rainbow warrior. After a few more casts, I decided to move up stream to the bridge hole and and managed to hook another on the rainbow warrior. Another jump upstream to another hole yielded a strike on a new fly that I tied up to try, a pink condom worm. It's nice when your own ties catch fish!

At around noon, I decided to hoof it over to Valco. I got a tip from a co-worker about a spot that he likes and decided to give it a shot. Fishing here was super slow. I'm not sure if it was the crowds, or the recent cold snap and the 8 in. of snow, but the fish were put off. I moved up and down looking for familiar water that might hold fish and switched up my rig many times, but still nothing. I was about to write off Valco when I made my way back upstream and I noticed a few fish rising. The warmth had started a midge hatch and there were tons of the little black buggers in the air and on the water. I tied on a size 18 griffiths gnat and a bwo and got quite a few refusals and 2 takes that I couldn't set the hook on. Discouraged, I decided to switch to some midges and tied on a blue poison tung and a black thread midge. I ended up with this pig!



Feeling validated, and not wanting to be further dissapointed, I decided to call it a day and head home.

Sunday:
Being Christmas morning, I didn't get out onto the water until about 11:00, which was just fine by me since I was getting pretty annoyed with having to remove ice from my guides in the morning anyways! Another busy day on the water with lots of people out and again, with the added pressure or cold temps, fish just weren't in the mood. I decided to move away from the dam and fish at the water treatment plant. I was the 1st car in the lot, but many more people followed shortly...

Looking over the foot bridge, I didn't see any fishing hanging out in the usualy spots so I decided to hoof it down stream to the structures just above 4th street bridge. I decided to run a triple fly rig, which probably wasn't the best idea since the water here is shallower and I'm fishing riffles. I did spend a lot of time cleaning off flies and getting algae and crap off a size 18 and 20 fly is tough!

I did get rewarded with a few fish down here, but not the numbers I've been used to fishing down here the last few times. I guess it's a good day when your catching fish, and honestly on any other water I would be happy with a 8-10 fish day, but this isn't the Ark I know! It sure is frustrating when you think you have river figured out, and it changes on you! I know...that's fishing! It wouldn't be a challenge if it didn't change, and at least I know I'm doing "well" when I don't see other fisherman catching fish!



Busy river...



Monday:
A co-worker of mine, Dave, decided to come down and fish with me again! We spent last week in the office pouring over google maps looking for new areas knowing that this weekend was going to be a busy one. We saw some good looking water below 4st. so we went over there to check it out. It looked great! Unfortunately, all the good water was way too far out to wade and with little movement, it was tough to fish. No fish here for us, but if we had a float tube or yak, I'm sure we would have caught some fish. So the decision was made to find another spot that we dubbed "The Spillway". We parked at the top of a hill and precariously made our way down. It would have been better to be on skis since the snow was so deep! We finally made it down and when we looked over the wall, we saw a large pod of bows swimming around...I looked at Dave and the look on face was priceless. He was giddy like a little kid and we both were very excited. This was a great sign, but were they eating? Is the fishing going to be good enough to make it worth the climb up the hill back?

YES!

I set up in the right under the spillway and Dave set up downstream, we proceeded to catch fish on almost every cast. They were taking many flies, and my initial rig was a two bit hooker, followed by a beadhead barr's emerger. After the fish destroyed my barr's emerger, I tied on a blue midge braid midge and a blue poison tung below the two bit hooker. I caught fish on all 3.



We easily caught well over 20 fish each with frequent doubles. Most were small stockers, with an ocassional bigger fish pushing 17 in. I even managed a small brown, my 1st on the Ark this season. I wish I had more pics, but my phone died, and besides, I was too busy catching fish! We did see some other fisherman around the spot so it's no secret, but it wasn't as busy as some other spots and we basically had it to ourselves until another guy moved upstream closer to us.

It seems like the fishing overall is slowing down a bit. The usual spots are getting hammered pretty hard. I think the cold temps is pushing the fish to key in on midges, but I'm still confident that when you present something different, the fish will eat. They've moved off of the czech nymphs and egg patterns, but will still take a baetis and midges. The rainbow spawn is coming soon as well, so egg patterns will be coming back, and with the color on some of the fish, it looks like they are getting ready too!

Overall, a great Christmas weekend. Time well spent with the family, and time well spent fishing!

Ark Below Pueblo 12/04/11 and 12/11/11

Sorry for condensing 2 reports into 1, it's been super busy with ski season in full swing now, I've had a super busy early December!

But that doesn't stop me from getting on the water! I made two trips down to Pueblo this month, and it worked out perfectly with my wife visiting family down there.

12/04/11
Cold is the word of the day. The forecast was a high of 20 with blowing snow. I had a friend join me on this trip and we decided to start a little later to see if it would warm up a bit. No reason to stand in freezing water with blowing snow in your face and no fish!

We got on the water at 10:00 at the Nature Center. There was nobody else was on the water, except for a "guide" gearing up. We headed upstream, and he headed downstream. We tried fishing the hole right under the nature center deck with no hits and so we moved upstream more and fished the riffles. We picked up a few fish on egg patterns with my friend using beads.





After picking up a few more fish that hit nymph patterns and san juans along "the wall", we worked our way back downstream and decided to hit the water treatment plant to see if we could find some risers. The weather was warming up nicely and with just a hint of cloud cover, we figured there might be a good BWO or midge hatch making easy pickings at the bridge hole there. As we left, we saw the "guide" again who claims he hit his 20 fish over 18 in. for the day and he was done...funny thing was we never even saw him playing a fish let along bring one to his net...oh well, not gonna call him a liar, but the proof is in the pudding!

At the water treatment plant, there still wasn't a hatch, but we managed a few fishing the downstream at the rock pile. We saw a few risers but we didn't see any bugs on the surface so we figured emergers...a RS2 and foam back emerger fished in the film got a few fish to the net, but nothing of size of course...





With the day starting to come to an end, we decided to head over to the dam to see if we could manage a smallie or coax a bigger fish out of the depths at the base of the dam...after picking up a few in the tailings of the runs, we managed some bigger guys lurking in the plunge pools closer to the dam.

What a great way to finish out the day! My biggest of the day took a flashwing prince size 18 and my buddies beautiful hen took a bead egg.





12/11/11

Another weekend down in Pueblo afforded me time on the ark again! This time a work friend joined me after spending the night in Salida. He said the fishing wasn't as good...no ice, but no fish until around 3:00 when the bite turned on for him.

He didn't get down to Pueblo until about 11:00 so I fished the dam by myself. I arrived with no cars in the lot at 8:30 AM and managed quite a few fish between cable hole and up to the dam. Most were taking a size 18 rainbow warrior with a few taking a new czech nymph I tied up with less weight. I got no hits on eggs, wierd since they were really keyed in on eggs the weekend before. My buddy called, so as I was taking off, I noticed how busy it all of a sudden got. There were 3 guys lined up at the cable hole and somebody in just about every hole on the way to the bridge and guys fishing every riffle on the way to the big bend after the bridge. The nice weather really brought people out, unlike last weekend!

When my buddy arrived, we decided to meet at the water treatment plant since he could park there for free. Fishing was good with fish taking eric's midges and a glass back baetis pattern. I stuck to nymphing with a czech, lightning bug and rainbow warrior. I was easily outfished by my buddy who was sticking to dries...

We ended up fishing at the water treatment plant until about 3:00 and then we decided to hoof it over to the dam to see if the crowds had lightened up and to see if there were any big guys up there. Unfortunately, it was still pretty busy with some bait chuckers fishing some of the good holes. We fished it for about a half hour before deciding that it these spots have been fished out with so much pressure all day long...my buddy did however have a big fish break him off in the big pool with the "observation deck" over it. He was pretty bummed but realized that he should have been using 6x for big guys like that!

Overall, a good day. Not as many fish for me, since I stuck with fishing nymphs all day. My buddy had a much better day fishing dries. The warm weather was key in having hatches all day long but the weather also made the river super busy. Next time, I think I'll try fishing around Valco. Although that parking lot had a few cars in it, it didn't look as busy as the dam. The Frost Bite Fish Off is coming up in Jan, so I need to get some practice in on the beats that the tournament will be held...I will need to force myself to stay away from the water treatment plant and fish some new water!

Arkansas River Below Pueblo 11/23/11 - 11/24/11

Spending 2 days down in Pueblo with the in-laws does have it's upside...

Flows are down at about the norm for the Arkansas this time of year. 55 CFS.

Temps for both days of fishing were warm, with a cold front that blew in shutting down fishing for a couple hours on the second day, but the fishing over all was excellent!

I ended up with 2 new species, the 1st was a surprise...the second, not so much.



A little walleye that took a red copper john.



A sucker that took a pink san juan worm. I'm kind of surprised that I had not caught more suckers since I've heard they are pretty common. It was actually a pretty fun fish to land, it fought hard and took some long runs.

Besides the two surprises, the rest of the fish were bows. Mostly stocker sized with an occasional brute at 18 in. No browns, and I didn't see any spawning beds, but this is probably just because of location. I'm sure if I had fished up torwards the dam and the nature center, I would have seen a redd or two.

Below is a little video of how the action was, the clip is only about 5 mins long, but I was picking up fish about every cast. Again, nothing of size, but still fun. I wish my battery on my go pro hadn't died, since there a few other spots that I wanted to get video of as well. Oh well...



Flies that worked for trip was almost everything and anything.

The standard copper johns worked well in a size 16 and 18, copper and red worked very well.



A new fly that I had been working on were some czech nymphs. I was really surprised to actually catch quite a few fish on them since I only tied them up to help get my rig down.





This green with a hot spot was a very favorite until it started falling apart...

A standard green czech nymph also worked!



Also rainbow warriors in a size 18 worked great...



And of course egg patterns were still very popular...



Orange...red...pink...they all worked well.

This is a great stretch of water that generally isn't too busy. There's lots of fish habitat since it is the Pueblo Whitewater Park, and you will see all kinds of people fishing this area from fly fisherman to bait casters...it's a very productive area, but with smaller fish and I would assume this is the case because it is not a catch and relase stretch of water.



On my next trip down, I'll do a little more fishing closer to the dam and around the nature center to see if I can find some bigger fish. I've even heard of people catching some nice fish down by the riverwalk in downtown...

Blue River in Silverthorne 11/23/11

1st trip up to fish the Blue in Silverthorne this season.

10/23/11
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Partly cloudy, warm temps. Not cold enough to ice up guides on the rod yet.

Flows are low at 88 but the water is clear. There is still lots of algae so you are spending a lot of time cleaning up your flies.

Even though it's still early, a move to smaller tippet is key. Fluro is a must and use a 6x leader with 7x for your droppers.

Fishing today was fair to good, lots of fisherman are on the water, and being a holiday week and weekend, it was too be expected. I did not see any other fisherman catch a fish. I think most people are still in a "summer" mindset and with the warmer temps, they might not be thinking winter fishing yet.

Flies that caught fish:
Size 16 Mysis
Size 18 Rainbow Warrior
Size 20 Thread Midge Red/Black



Fish were pooled up under the bridge, a few large ones, but they were extremely spooky and with people walking over the bridge non-stop, they were lock jawed all afternoon. I ended up pulling only 2 fish out of the bridge hole, nothing of size, but it's still fun having people cheer you on when they see your rod bending.



After fishing the bridge hole, I moved upstream to the bench hole and caught more fish here. Again, nothing of size but it was nice beating a skunk with so many people not catching around me.



Ended the day with 8 fish mostly bows with an occasional cutbow. I'm looking foward to when the weather gets a bit colder and there are less people on the water. This makes it much easier to catch some of the bigger guys as they are less spooky.

Next trip I'm planning on fishing upstream closer to the dam. Lots of good riffles and some deep holes along the way that hold some big fish...

Clear Creek at Georgetown 11/07/11

No solid lid of ice yet, and there is still open water at the inlet with good fishing available...

Fishing is still good with nymphs and egg patterns. Size of the fish has dropped, I suspect that people have been taking the larger fish.

I know fishing to spawning fish is quite controversial, so please practice catch and release and there is no need to play the fish to exhaustion. I fish with a 5x leader and 6x tippet and I've had no problem bringing fish in quickly and releasing them.

When I arrived today at noon, there was nobody there, but people started filling up the parking area by 2:00. EVERYBODY was fishing close to the bridge and quite a few people were snagging. One guy even had the nerve to show me what he was using to catch fish...2 bare lead head jig hook. He asked me how the fishing was upstream and I replied good...I should have said terrible because he made his way up there to snag some more fish and run them back to his car. He only caught two and moved back to the bridge saying it was easier to fish off the bridge.

Anyways...it's going to happen at most fisheries with close access to Denver and decent fishing... do what you can to educate others and if someone is knowingly breaking the law, call the DOW's operation game theft line.

No pictures, since I just got a go pro and was playing with that, enjoy the little video! I know the resolution is terrible...I gotta figure out a way to make the editing software to save in high res.



I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it back to Georgetown before it all ices up, but I'll be fishing the Arkansas below Pueblo around Thanksgiving as well as the Blue River in Silverthorne. Keep your eyes peeled for those fishing reports.

10/15/11 - 10/16/11 Weekend on Clear Creek

I had a hall pass for the weekend to get out a fish! I wasn't going to waste the chance so I decided to hit up Clear Creek again. The browns are running strong now and stacked up in every pool from the inlet, all the way upstream. They are especially stacked along the sandbar at the inlet as well, looking for their opportunity to make it upstream to spawn.

I know I've been fishing Clear Creek in Georgetown a lot recently, but with how good the fishing is, why not? I do like exploring new waters and fishing in different places, but considering the relatively short drive, I'd rather be catching than fishing. So, I think I'll continue to fish here until the spawning run ends and I start visiting my winter haunts. (Arkansas below Pueblo, Blue River) Also, since we have a newborn in the house, it's hard to find time to schedule trips to places further away so I think sticking to what's working makes my fishing trips worthwhile!



The browns were again, very eager to eat. You can see in the picture below the fly that this one took. A hare's ear, size 16. This was the favorite of the brownie's, I ended up going through 3 of them on Saturday since they were getting so beat up.



Copper john's were also a consistent producer. I think size is more important than color. They seem to like the copper colors a lot, but I even caught quite a few on green and reds as well. Another gentleman that was fishing there was also using a blue body prince nymph that was also producing for him, but again, I think it's more the size rather than color or variety. Just about any nymph will work, but stick to a size 16 or 18.



The bows were also hitting, but not as much as the brownies were. The lake was stocked 2 weeks ago, and there are still plenty of stocker bows around munching on eggs and the occasional nymph. But they really haven't made their way upstream. If you are looking for stocker bows, fish the sandbar and bridge hole.





Brookies are also in there, I lost a huge one trying to land it, but I managed another a few casts later...no where near the size of the other, but it was cool getting a Clear Creek Grand Slam again.



Egg patterns are still the to go to and it's the lead fly in my rig. To be honest, all different colors are working, pink, orange, cerise, and yellow. One of the female brownies decided to let loose with some eggs on me and when I saw their color, I switched to a yellow egg that also produced.



Although I like using a an egg pattern like otter eggs, regular egg patterns are also producing. Vary the size and color a bit until you find what they are keying in on. It does change quite a bit, and there are periods where they will ignore eggs completely, but change it up and you will start catching fish again.

This weekend was the busiest that I've seen it. People are everywhere so please use a bit if etiquette when fishing; I had a lady cross my line 3 times as she saw that I was catching fish in my hole when she could have cast upstream to fish a great hole just in front if her! I was polite as I untangled or lines, and I think she was new to fishing so a little compassion was warranted, but if you see someone fishing a hole or run, give them some space; or ask if you can fish above or below them. There isn't much room to fish, but there are plenty of runs and holes that the fish are stacked up in. Just be polite, say hello and talk to your fellow fishermen, and don't just fish the same hole that someone else is fishing. Not only is it rude, but it's a hassle untangling lines. There's lots of fish in there! Just find your spot!

10/07/11 Clear Creek

Another day fishing the Georgetown area.

Yes...I know, I've been fishing there a lot, but why not! The fish are biting and it's a relatively quick drive.

I started up at the inlet since the browns have been stacking really heavily.  The spawn is on, but there are plenty of fish ready to eat and plenty of bows around there too.



I started the day with a standard rig for the area, an egg pattern with hare's ear dropped behind it. Thingamabobber about 4 ft. up. I immediately got hits on both the egg and the hare's ear, with some really nice browns and an occasional bow.



Right around 11:00, the water started getting cloudy, looks like they were doing stream improvements upstream around Silver Plume. The bite turned off quickly so I decided to hoof it down stream and fish below the dam. Turns out it was a great way to get back on the fish and explore the water downstream a little more. If you've never fished down here, give it shot when the inlet is busy or if you are looking for a change of scenery.









Although fish are smaller than the big spawning browns, it's pretty consistent with plenty of pools to fish and if you're agile, rock hopping and dropping your nymphs inbetween the rock pools will produce plenty of fish. Just be careful down there, the rocks are slick and everytime I fish down there, I haven't seen another person.

I finished the day at around 3:00, after moving back upstream to check if the water had cleared up. Luckily it had so I nymphed a little more with a hare's ear and lightning bug. Again, both produced, but it seemed like the browns like the hare's ear and the bows like the lightning bug.



After a while, I saw lots of fish rising, so I threw on a small elk hare caddis picking up some small bows and a bonus that completed my day!



Even though it was small, this brookie made it a Clear Creek grand slam for me.

I finally left at around 4:00 when the river was getting muddy again. I'm not sure when the work that is muddying up the creek is gonna end, but the fishing is good between the muddy runs and you can always head down stream until it clears up. Although it looks like winter has set in with all this snow over the weekend, there's still plenty of fishing and willing fish at Georgetown. Get out there before it all starts icing up and the ice fisherman and ice racers take over the lake!

Where am I headed next?

Winter is coming so tailwater fisheries will be my go to for the next couple months once the snow starts flying. I'll be posting trip reports and some winter fishing tips in the next couple months so stick around and feel free to ask questions about the places I'll be fishing and the equipment and rigs I use.

Tailwaters:
Arkansas Below Pueblo Dam
Frying Pan Below Reudi Res
Blue River Below Lake Dillon

Winter Fishing Opportunities before and after ice off:
Eagle River
S. Platte, Deckers and Below Wigman
Dream Stream
Arkansas River

10/01/11 Clear Creek/Lake Georgetown

10/01/11
Clear Creek and Georgetown Inlet
Flows: 49
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:30

Falll is great fishing and great scenery! Get out of town and check out the leaves in the high country and get on some browns! Although Lake Georgetown isn't that far out of town, it's still a decent drive with some cool scenery that is close to Denver.

The key to fishing here is to try something different. When I arrived at 9:00 AM, I saw 5 cars already parked near the foot bridge and 5 more closer to the inlet. By the time I left, a few more people had showed up making it the busiest I've seen for the past few weekends.

So how do you fish differently than everybody there? Egg patterns are the go to during the fall spawning runs, but don't limit yourself to eggs. Throwing an omelet rig (2 or 3 egg patterns) can produce, but not in the numbers that you would think. Use bigger, or smaller patterns, and different colors. Try some pink, red or cerise eggs instead of the fl. orange or idaho cheese. Move up to a larger egg size, or milking egg patterns. An egg pattern that produced very well for me was a smaller sized otter's egg. These fish have had size 12 egg patterns thrown in their face all day long, so trying something different will entice a bite.

Don't forget that these fish are also still eating their regular diets. Nymphs and midges are the mainstay of their diets so don't forget your prince nymphs, copper johns, etc...My biggest brown came on a size 20 wire midge.

The most important thing to keep an eye on is your indicator.  These fish are smart and have seen it all so when they take, it can be very subtle and they quickly spit out flies.  The minute your indicator pauses, wiggles, or dips, set that hook.  There aren't that many snags here so 9 times out of 10, it's a fish.  Also, try a large hopper as an indicator.  You'd be surprised how often a fish will come out of the blue and just slam your hopper! 

Fishing heavily pressured water is a challenge, but can be a lot of fun when you figure out what the fish are taking...just because everybody is using it, doesn't mean it's catching fish. Also remember that fisherman lie! When someone says he's caught a few, it usually means he's caught 1. Stay away from the busy areas and move around! The bait dunkers will stick around the inlet and the foot bridge where these fish have seen it all. Move upstream or the left side of the inlet.

The fishing is great right now, fish are stacked and sight fishing is great. Just remember that these browns are naturally reproducing in this fishery, so try to avoid taking them. There are plenty of stocker bows to take home for dinner if you feel so inclined. Also, stay off the redds. With the flows low and clear, there is plenty of area to walk and fish without the need to get in or stay in the water.

I think we are just at the peak here with lots of fish making the move to spawn, and of course, with it comes lots of fisherman.  Respect others, there's trash cans there for used up leaders and tippet and smile as you pull fish after fish out of the very same hole another fisherman just vacated because he couldn't catch anything! 

09/18/11 Clear Creek

Clear Creek inlet at Georgetown
Flow: 48
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

The fall spawning season is just starting. The browns have started to stack up at the inlet at Georgetown Lake and are starting to make redds in Clear Creek.

*Please don't fish or walk on the redds. Let these fish do their thing so we can have more fish to catch in the future!*

With the browns stacking up, the bows are following. Georgetown Lake is stocked regularly with 8-12 in bows. Being a put and take fishery you don't see a lot of larger fish around the creek but you can definitely find bigger fish in the lake. But for this trip, I wasn't looking to dunk bait or bring home dinner, I just wanted to catch some fish!

I brought two rods with me, my 3 wt strung up with a parachute adams and a matt's midge. My 5 wt was set up for nymphing with an egg up top and a hare's ear below.

I started fishing at the foot bridge at the inlet. Lots of fish were stacked up, but anytime someone tried to watch them from the bridge, they would spook and it would take a while for them to get back in the current. There were only 4 browns that I could see, and they weren't hungry. But thankfully the bows were! I caught quite a few cookie cutters with the nymphing rig. They were taking both the egg and the hare's ear equally well. The patterns worked so well, I didn't need to change it all day. I moved upstream from there on the south side of the creek passing up two good holes since a father and son team were fishing it. They didn't seem to be having as much luck as I was, but after a quick chit chat, I convinced them to ditch the caddis and san juans and try some eggs. The son hooked up right away which convinced the dad to give them a shot too. I think they caught 2 each while I was watching them. I made my way to the pipe hole and ended up getting a few nice fish through there as well, with the biggest being a decent brownie close to 16 in.

At around 3, I noticed fish were rising, but I couldn't really see anything coming off the water. I also didn't really see any thing floating around but if the fish were rising, I was switching to dries. Besides, I needed the practice. The majority of the year I'm nymphing. But I love the summer when I can get out some big foam hoppers and try to catch some rising fish. There's nothing more fun that watching a fish rise to your fly, give it a look and swipe at it or sip it in slowly...

Even though my technique is brutish with my flies crashing on the water, I still managed to get plenty of takes but only 3 to the net. I think I get too excited and I tend to set the hook too early. Once I slowed down and gave the fish a second to take the fly, my hook ups increased.

All in all, a great day to get out to clear creek and Georgetown Lake. The drive isn't too bad from Denver and even though I went on a weekend, the crowds were mostly concentrated around the lake. For a quick trip to get your fill of some fish this fall, this is a great option that is close to Denver.

08/21/11 Blue River

Float Trip
Blue River Below Green Mountain Res.
Flows: 500
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

So we decided to have another go at the Blue. With flows down to about half of what they were the last time we went, we figured on this trip taking a little longer with some more fishing in between.

Again, we put in at Blue Valley Acres and with a quick trip to the take out, we were on the water by 9:00 AM. We only saw 1 other boat come through when we were about to take off, they must have put in at first light.

Fishing was good through the private stretch, many fish were taking hopper, stimulators and adams on the top as well as a few copper johns, pat's rubber legs and stonefly imitations.

Again, at the 1st diversion, we tied up our usual fare for Jurassic and Jones Ranch. Right at the 1st diversion, I hooked up a huge bow and I was able to bring it up to the surface, only for it to make a run to the rocks, a few short minutes later he snapped me off. Oh, if I didn't say it before, use at least 3X tippet through here. These fish aren't as leader shy and you're gonna need the heavier tippet.

With the flows being low (ideally, you want to float between 600 and 1,000) we figured we might get hung up a few times on some of the rocks and diversions. And of course, there was the horrible sound of the toons scraping over some rocks. Nothing too bad, but any lower and you'd get stuck pretty easily.

No real surprises or monster bows this trip, but fish were definetly bigger than our last trip.

On thing that we did different, (which was a mistake) was to use the Gore Canyon put in. We thought that it would be easier to move the boat up the raft slide instead of trying to carry it over the ditch and the small foot bridge. This proved extremely difficult considering the pitch of the steps and even with 3 people, it was a chore. Do yourself a favor and use the 1st new take out instead of floating to the Gore Canyon put in. The water is shallow on the way there and there isn't much fishing to speak of. There is no structure in the water and you are fishing the banks pretty hard with streamers just to get follows from small fish.

But, a day on the water is always a good day!