Fire on the Mountain

[Justin Schiavone]

Cheeseman Canyon, South Platte river - Colorado is one of my favorite places to fish. It's here the South Platte river cuts through a burnt stretch of the rocky mountains. The river valley is surrounded by rock formations, much like a Salvador Dali painting. Pockets of coniferous trees contrast these giant boulders and are abundantly seen as you draw closer and closer to the stream. The ecosystem here is harsh, especially outside of the river valley, and the lack of foliage offers little relief from the sun on the hike in. One would say it takes a whole pale of water just to cool you down. The only forgiving element here is the lambs ear - natures TP - that flourishes along the trail. Which offers little assistance in hydration lol. The trail itself takes you up and over the mountains at approximately 10000 feet, and overlooks the reservoir until you begin your descent into the river valley. Beyond the reservoir lies a vast landscape of rolling mountains that extend as far as the eye can see all along the bleak, desert landscape.

This past Sunday was my first trip to Cheeseman of the 2016 season. My TPFR hat brought much luck- thanks Jeremy (little ludes) for sending one out. It wasn't twenty or so minutes into the hike before we stumbled upon 7 or so Bighorn sheep grazing below the trail. These animals have eluded me up until this point, and my wife and I were really excited to come across them. (See picture).  Once we made our way to the river we hiked downstream approximately 100 yards downstream and had our lunch on top a rock formation that extended high above the river. We enjoyed our lunch and then prepared to fish. My time on the water was limited as I was showing my wife and our friend En how to fly fish. They learned quick the elements of a good roll cast and we worked a stretch of water for a good hour or so. Eventually the shade set in and the girls decided to hike out leaving me with a brief moment to fish. I was running a black midge (pictured) size 20 to a size 20 flashback hares ear with a 12 ft 6x leader.  

I hope you enjoy the photos,

Cheers,

Justin

[Scott Stankus]

Nice report, Justin - those are some chunky, chunky rainbows!

--Scott

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"There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary, and those who don't"

[Bob R]

Awesome.  I like reports that tell the whole story.  Feels like we were there with you.  So much better than "Hooked 3 in stream X".  Great report and pictures.

[Misha Gill]

Dude you're keeping us in the dark regarding that second huge 'bow! What's the story there? Also, have you tried the Geirach fly, the white thread body midge, out there?

[Justin Schiavone]

Thanks y'all.

Misha, the big bow ate the black midge pupa (see attached picture for reference). Super easy tie- black wire and black ice dub. I have fished that Geirach midge, and I know a lot of folks crush with it, but it's just never lined up for me. Mostly black has been the ticket. Red on the Arkansas is really productive as well.

Anyway, the run I was fishing was fairly shallow with a pretty fast current. I positioned myself on a small sand bar that laid about 3/4 the way back on the run- Ninja mode was paramount. This position was great as it allowed me to fish the nymphs upstream where rapid water transitioned into the run, as well as high stick the nymphs through the money zone. The fish ate below my position off the high stick, almost on a swing in fact. The water was so clear I watched him eat. All of a sudden what I thought was river bottom came alive evolving into a big flash at which point I came tight- BOOM- fish on.  The fight on this fish was precarious to say the least. He ate my first fly, so the bottom fly tangled him up when he rolled, and my confidence quickly faded. Thank God he continued to roll because he eventually rolled out of the entanglement, at which point I realized it was a clean hook up. *high five* One of the biggest challenges landing big fish in this kind of water is not allowing them to rundown stream. So, as he darted downstream I was fortunately able to turn him around and proceed to fight him within the run. I got him to the net fairly quickly. And of course, I let out a primal scream upon doing so.. because.. reasons. This of course was all followed up with a DALES pale ale. 

[TurbineBlade]

Like the report!  Like the beer choice too -- 

The micro ribbing on that nymph pattern is nice.  Sort of like what you try to get with an Al's rat, but more pronounced.  

Gene

[Justin Schiavone]

Most def Swing Genie, thank you.

Have you or anyone tried messing with the "Pellet" flies - they are popular across the pond. See attached. They apparently sink faster and perform well for lots of folks. Just your midge patterns covered in epoxy really.   

[TurbineBlade]

I haven't, but it looks like the brass ass tied by Ian James (a Scottish fisherman who has a sense of humor I can appreciate) -- 

I'm sure it would work great!

Gene

[Rob Snowhite]

Justin is the devil. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 23, 2016, at 4:30 PM, Misha Gill <mish...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dude you're keeping us in the dark regarding that second huge 'bow! What's the story there? Also, have you tried the Geirach fly, the white thread body midge, out there?

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[Jeremy Maggio]

I second what Rob said.

[namfos]

Toto, we're not in Metro DC anymore.

Mark

[Justin Schiavone]

Sorry boys, I guess I'll keep my adventures to myself... 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFYIsvcspmQ 

On Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 6:29:55 AM UTC-7, namfos wrote:

[namfos]

No, no, no. We want to hear more!

[TurbineBlade]

Toto?  Like this?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY

[arthur noglak]

Awsome post Justin! I still can't get over how fat the bows are up there. I can't wait to come and visit.

Art

[Justin Schiavone]

Right on Art, let's make that happen this spring.