If A River Runs Through It…

Posted on | May 23, 2010 | 2 Comments

On Thursday, I attended a conference in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Since Steamboat is a good three hour drive from Boulder, I left home around 6:00 am for a 10:00 am start.  On my way out the door, I decided to throw my fly fishing gear in the back of the car — after all, a guy never knows how a day in the mountains may pan out.

Despite some snow through Summit County, I arrived in Steamboat around 9:30.   Having some time to kill, I took a quick spin by the Yampa River where it flows through downtown Steamboat Springs.  Unfortunately, the run-off had arrived, and the Yampa was big, muddy and unfishable.  Undeterred, I headed for the conference and began formulating Plan B.

The conference wrapped up around 2:00, and I jumped in my car and headed for Stagecoach Reservoir, which is about 30 minutes southeast of town.   Immediately below the dam, there is a short stretch of tail water (created by the regulated flows out of the dam)  that can be fished year round. 

Although I have never been to Stagecoach, the entire stretch of river is only .6 miles long, and I knew it didn’t accommodate many rods.  In fact, the word from the locals was that any more than 8 cars in the parking lot meant no vacancy.

Despite being the 11th car to arrive, I decided to give it a go.  After all, the temperature had now risen to close to 70 degrees, and I wasn’t looking forward to the 3 hour drive back to Boulder. 

A few hundred yards downstream from the dam, I found a good looking pool, tied on two very small (size 20) midges, and began to work the deepest part of the run.   As with most tail waters, the trout who live and feed below Stagecoach Reservoir tend to get big.  They also tend to get fished pretty hard, and, as a result, are fairly picky eaters. 

I fished for about 2 hours — never moving more than 20 yards in either direction.  Due to the number of fishermen, real estate was at a premium, and high levels of fishing etiquette were required (I’m talking to you, green hat guy).  Nevertheless. the fishing was great.  I caught several nice size rainbows, and each one was healthy and very colorful for this time of year. 

I was back on the road by 5:00, and home in time to put the kids to bed. 

Only in Colorado.

I’m not big on the grip and grins, but I tried to snap a couple of pics of the beautiful rainbows I found up there.  In fact, these may be the last pictures ever taken with my iPhone.  As it turns out, those suckers are slippery when they get wet.

       

Category: Chris Marks, Fishing

Comments

2 Responses to “If A River Runs Through It…”

  1. Toby Murdock
    May 23rd, 2010 @ 5:19 pm

    well done.

    to think i was in the bunker all day. hmmm . . .

  2. Lincoln McIlravy
    June 2nd, 2010 @ 9:20 am

    it may be hard to believe, but there are trout streams in Northeast Iowa. The DNR has to restock them every year, as they haven’t been able to reproduce in the wild. They seem to like canned corn here. Not surprising, this is Iowa.

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