Cheesman Canyon Downpour

The weatherman says that the temperature will drop to 50 degrees and pour rain all weekend on the Front Range. It will snow around 6 inches anywhere above 10,000 ft. Thank the fishing gods, I've been waiting for weather like this all summer.

While rain and snow strike the average person as being adverse fishing conditions, it's actually quite the contrary in my book.

Reasons why Tangler likes to fish in "poor" weather conditions:

1. All the weaklings stay home and don't fish.
1. This in turn opens up the water for yours truly, specifically for the more famous, high pressure spots.
2. Trout are more concealed from predators in the dim light and can consequently be more apt to come out to feed. This is especially true for the bigger trout who dine almost exclusively at night anyways. The foul weather can trigger their instinct to be on the hunt.
3. Cloud cover that blocks the sun will often reduce the glare on the water surface allowing for crystal clear windows that reveal the underwater world. If you can see the fish, most of the battle is already won.
   
4. Trout have a harder time spotting anglers.
5. There is no such thing as poor weather, only poor clothing.

I meet up with Ryan and Jim at the park-and-ride in Morrison and head out for the infamous Cheesman Canyon of the South Platte River. We pull into the parking lot at the bottom of the canyon and there's two guides with two "white-foots" in tow. On a typical weekend the lot is packed with vehicles and clamoring with anglers. Yessss.

We drop off one truck and drive up the canyon to the top so we can hike the entire thing. As we're gearing up every angler's nightmare falls upon me. Terror strikes as my mind rewinds in a flash of events leading to the conclusion that my rod is resting behind my truck seat back in Morrison. Noooooooo!

After rightfully getting made fun of for a while I sucked it up and decided I'd just take the role of net/camera man as seriously as one can. After all, I was the only one who brought a net and, as fate had it, the net would come into play.

We take the trail over the ridge viewing Cheesman Reservoir before plunging down into the steep canyon.

(click to enlarge)

We get to the water and start to rig up. Jim walks over and yanks a 'bow out before Ryan and I had even tied a fly on. The fish outright refused to be photographed.

(click to enlarge)

One of the canyon's signature features are its house sized boulders. This photo was taken atop one.

(click to enlarge)

The issue with the boulders is that if you hook a trout and it runs downstream there's nothing you can do about it unless you pull a Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It and dive in to ride down the rapids after the fish. The fact is that if they run downstream you will be broken off. The trout here are wise to this and seem to dart for the fast water instantly after being hooked, so action to net them must be taken quickly and there will only be one chance with a big fish.

Ryan and I move downstream and soon hear Jim squealing with joy upstream around the bend. I yell through the deafening pitter-patter to ask if he needs me to net for him. I think I hear a muffled affirmative. I come wading around the bend and see him weathering the blows of a strong fish.

"Here it comes, here it comes!" He shouts with a worried glance.

A rambunctious rainbow materializes in front of my knees. I quickly scoop it up and walk it up to a relieved Jim.

(click to enlarge)

The guys pitied me and let me cast their rods here and there. At one point I hooked a fat bow who proceeded to launch out of the water and dance 5 ft. across the surface on its tail like a circus dolphin. I swear it winked at me as it dove into the white water and my flies came shooting out of the river at my face. No love. Things slowed down after the first two hours and the only other action involved lipping fish and losing them.

However, for about 15 min. at the end of the day we caught a caddis hatch over a pool of risers. Several smaller browns got taken on the dry. This was Ryan's first trout on his new rod. He spent the whole day receiving a czech nymph crash course so it was a breath of fresh air to hook a few on the dry.

(click to enlarge)

-Method used all day was czech nymphing excluding the brief hatch.
-Flows were 377 out of the pipes with additional spill.

The fishing gods must have approved of my minimal complaining about not bringing a rod, for the next trip would be the most memorable experience in my fly fishing career. Stay tuned for the next blog entry...