Just got back from a week in the Colorado high country and the Conejos
river. I fished the Elk Creek that was featured in the magazine "Fly
Fisherman". The fishing was challenging due to the heavy pressure. The
author noted you were more likely to see wildlife than fisherman, I
guess he didn't know his article would result in heavy pressure to this
small stream. Nonetheless, I had a great time. Fished three days, the
first day caught 10-15 really nice fish, I mean nice fish, average size
16-18 inches and one real hog 22-24 inches. Second day I was limited to
the same 3/4 of a mile that I fished the day before due to the
pressure. Marked decrease in success, 5-6 good fish. Third day, same
story. 8-10 people fishing (or trying to fish) a two mile long meadow
section. So I counted myself blessed to have had a good day and a so-so
day and bailed. Fished the pocket water on the way down, which was a
blast. High floating dries fished upstream into small pools and
pockets. Caught fish in every spot they are supposed to be in. The size
was up to 14 inches or so, most were 10-12 inches. The fishing in the
meadow section was very challenging so the pocket water was a delight.
In the meadow the water was low and clear and the fish had been very
pressured. Unlike the white and Norfork they will not tolerate the
sight of a person. If they see you they are gone. They have bears,
eagles, ospreys, coyotes and other predators to deal with on a constant
basis, plus they are all wild fish. I ended up sight fishing upstream
with small dries and nymphs while walking upstream in the creek bed
very slowly. The grassy banks were at eye level all around you, so you
had to keep your back cast up. Leaders ended up being 17 feet to avoid
spooking the fish, and the casts began to stretch out to 50-60 feet on
a regular basis to avoid detection from the fish. And the wind,
@#%$^%#$%$#@%^$(*&%^$@! 17 foot leaders with 6X, at a distance, to
fish literally under the banks in gusty conditions. You know how many
fish you blow because you hang the fly into the grass above his head?
Lots. Caught the big brown in a section of creek 8 feet wide and 5 feet
deep with massive under cut banks. I slung a bunny leach on 5X and
slowly stripped it through, he hit without hesitation. His head was
pretty over sized, so I guess that is about the max size for this
creek. Without the above techniques you just simply could not catch
anything but dinks. I would not recommend this place for a few years,
till the pressure abates. Its a long hard hike up, and everyone I
talked to regretted going up there. For the most part they caught
nothing but a few very small fish. I was blessed to get the section
that I got for most of a day, and I saw how my pressure from the day
before affected the fish. The Conejos was fishing tough, you had to
cover more water than you would in the White or Norfork, the fish
populations are much lower. The fish were nice wild browns for the most
part. I averaged 16 inch browns and 13 inch bows.
