Well I made it back from my fishing trip and am sad to say I did a hell of a
lot more fishing then catching. Not sure what the problem was but each of
the above presented me with minimal success. Here is what I know:
Lenore- A good number of fish in the creek and trap area. Almost like the
good ol days. Lots of 16-18 inchers and a few 20+ brutes thrown in the mix.
About a 25:1 ratio I would guess. The North end had its usual band of combat
fisherman but the fish were few and far between there. They were, however,
rising like crazy along the rocks on the West side. A few fisherman hooked
up with some midge imitations but it was really slow fishing. Only hung
around for an hour as the daylight was getting low and we still needed a
hotel room and dinner. Didn't get a bump. I would say next week would be
the start of the good fishing on the North end.
Rocky Ford- Lots and lots of midges coming off. Saw a few mayflys today.
(Standard light gray and also a green body with clear wings.) The trout wer
en't keying on them yet. Picked up two fish in an hour last night on a
Renegade. The chironimids guru's were doing fair but not great. Fished the
creek again this afternoon on the way home. Tons of midges. Guys in the
fast water were doing fair on chironimids, scuds etc. No bumps down there
for me. Lots of fishing feeding on midges though. Went to my favorite
island by the 2nd fish hatchery and had a large fish break me off on the hit.
Tied on a big leach and varied the stripping speeds. A very rapid retrieve
rewareded me with a large and colorful hen of over 20 inches. She put up one
of the best fights I have ever had at Rocky Ford. Very strong fish. In fact
I ended up losing her after a few minutes because she ran back upstream into
some brush and I couldn't slow her down before she broke me off.
Early morning saw us at Lenice. Same story. Lots of fish rising to
chironimid emergers but very few fish caught by the tubes on the lake. I had
3 strikes on a black leach and had one fish on until he straightened the hook
on the brassie I was using. Saw only 3 fish caught in the 3 hours. I am
sure more were landed but it appeared slow going.
Overall, it was a basin trip. I have never been skunked at Lenice before but
the company was good and we had a great time.
Mike
PS: Saw two dead rainbows in Rocky Ford today. One out in the middle on its
side. Either bleeding out or exhausted. The other fish had been dead a few
days. First time I have ever observed this at this creek.
