Summer 2006
Before the Hatch: The Rio Grande in Early Spring
by Seth Mensing
While much of Colorado fly-fishing seems to focus on
the 160-plus miles of Gold Medal trout streams in the northern and mid-western
parts of the state,
one of
America’s great rivers gets largely overlooked as it carves through the
San Juan mountains and out into the San Luis Valley in the south. The Rio Grande,
which will eventually serve as a border between Texas and Mexico, has its origins
in snowfields above 11,000 feet and as it makes its journey toward the sea,
serves as a fine place for solitude seeking fisherman to cast a fly and surely
catch
a few trout.
And although its fame may be local and its water cold, the Rio Grande has mayfly
hatches starting in late May to rival those on the Platte and the Arkansas and
a sub-surface feast that has the fish moving as soon as the ice melts.
In early May, when the ice has gone and the hatches have yet to start the wide and heavy river is often found empty. The only fly shop around, the Rio Grande Rod and Reel Fly Shop, is at the northern border just before the river disappears into the hills near Creede. Brian McAden, the shop's owner and guide, is lonely and waiting for the first dedicated lot to make the spring rush. Those are the ones that laugh at the 40-degree water and the numb fingers and have waited to see the big river free of ice flows, and McAden has been missing them. His knowledge of the river and its fish are impressive, even by guide standards, and locals and out-of-towners alike stop by and end up staying for a lesson.
Now is the time for the big nymphs and streamers. The strikes that you can’t
see but can feel in your soul for days afterward. The fish are hungry and looking
for a good meal, so anything smaller than a size 14 will probably be passed up
for a better opportunity, even by the smaller fish. South of Creede, the river
is wide. Wider than many of Colorado’s northern rivers and in places
a drift boat is the best way to go. But for those of us emotionally, and financially,
attached to our waders, there is some comfort in finding out that the full
span
of the river is, in many places, wadable. But the fast water and the very rocky
bottom makes it a never-ending adventure, so fish with a partner, a staff and
a belt because you never know when you might be on your way to the Gulf of
Mexico.
Because the water isn’t terribly deep, much of the good water is visible from the surface. Large rocks and river’s edge log jams dot the stretch from Del Norte to Creede. Getting out to a place where you can cast back on them is the greatest challenge and even in the early spring before the major runoff period, moving about in and fighting the 200+ cfs flows will weary even the most conditioned angler. But once a good stream position is obtained the fishing is on.
Black and olive woolly buggers in a 10 with a long shank seemed to be the most
consistent when fished on the swing. The best rig of the day was the bugger
trailed by a size 14 Prince Nymph, but because of the bulk a simple roll cast
pulled
from the downstream current got the job done nicely. Letting it tumble in the
deeper troughs that you mapped out on your way to the middle of the stream
will elicit some big strikes from fish that this angler never got to see. But
the
few that did make it to my net were mostly browns with a rainbow thrown in
here and there. Stonefly patterns also got some action when drifting alone,
without
a dropper of any sort.
Much of the river is stocked by the Colorado
Division of Wildlife that has
placed a two-fish limit on most of the water with a length requirement of 16
inches. The stocking situation can fill up your day fishing with many small
trout. Letting them run into the heavy current might give the feel you were
looking
for. The brown trout, especially, are mostly more than 14 inches but all were
very slender and didn’t have the fight that one might hope for in a Rio
Grande fish. Seventeen inches was the magic length for a good fight, and should
you let one of the larger fish make it into the heavy current the fight is
mostly over.
Catching and retrieving fish in the Rio Grande might take some getting used to for those anglers coming from smaller streams and rivers. The fish vary so much in their fight that it was best to set the drag low enough to let a smaller fish run but high enough to get an effective hook set. When the strike comes, and it is a fish you need to slow down, cranking up the drag mid-run is the easiest way to find the tension that is just right. Being too firm with the stripping hand could make a day on the river incredibly frustrating, because when the fly is taken on the swing it is taken with gusto and the line needs to be available for the fish to run with. The water is clear, but not crystal-clear, so if it is a quetion of fishing a 4x or a 5x tippet with the bigger flies, go with the 4x. Chances are the fish will hardly know the difference but the angler certainly will when coaxing them in. A 5x tippet will not stand up to a strike that happens at the end of a swing on a tight line, but a 4x might give you some time to respond.