I just got back from a week of trout fishing on the Conejos in south central Colorado. It was really pretty up there with the fall colors and a nice little river too. I caught only 4 on each of 3 days, 12 on each of 2 days and 17 one day. Most were in the 10 - 11" range. I got a couple of 14" and a couple of 13" and some 12's - browns and rainbow. Nothing big but lots of fun. This is the first time I've really fished for trout. It was loads of fun but then so are panfish and bass. Doug

sounds like a really nice trip Doug, appreciate the share of the results.

What sorts of flies were you fishing on those days?

Best

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RRhyne56, Flyfishing Warden
rrhyne56@comcast.net
Robins Custom Flies and Leaders

All of them were caught on beadhead nymphs - mostly blue Copper Johns specifically. I stopped at the Fox Creek Store fly shop on the way in and they told me it was pretty much all nymph fishing and I bought a few flies there of course. They did turn out to be the ticket. I tried dries some and at times the fish would hit them along with leaves and foam coming by. I don't think they were even attempting to feed then. I don't know what they were doing - playing? We see the same thing with panfish sometimes when they'll peck at a lure but won't take it. That's what they were doing with dry flies but hitting the bead head nymphs pretty well. Doug

When you see trout hitting the surface, but not really coming out of the water, that usually means that they are hitting emergers.
Try an emerger pattern such as a mayfly crippler or some kind of caddis emerger, and you will be able to catch fish on dries even in such situations as you describe. If you havn't ever fished an emerger pattern you must know to only apply floatant to the top part of the fly and allow the tail to drop down into the water. All of a sudden the fish that seemed to half heartedly hit your fly before should truely bite your emerger pattern.

I didn't write the gospel on trout fishing, I just offer what I have learned from my experience in Southern Colorado.

Thanks for the info. That's good to know. In this case, sometimes they actually were coming completely out of the water like they were hitting the fly but not taking it. What do you make of that behavior?
Doug

They could be having fun??? I would sooner think that you were just unlucky and didn't get the fish to hook up, or the trout were actually hitting some natural insect next to yours; not to say that your eyesight is bad or anything who knows.........

As tempting as it might be to anthropomorphize, fish don't "play". From my experience with Colorado streams, alot of what you are catching are hatchery trout which are conditioned by automatic feeders. Even wild trout will false strike at any thing that goes by sometimes. Look at it like this, in moving water they have enough time to decide something is not a food item but not enough time to "uncock" the strike response. At least thats the way my fish biology professor explained it. This is especially true in younger fish. After they get older they get tired of theri older brothers laughing at them for stricking at foam and seed pods. Ooops, did I just anthropomophize?

here's a fun little emerger pattern that I have had some good times with:

Klinkhamer Special Recipe

Article on Klinkhamer Special

I am going to try my hand this year at the Blue River with these babies.

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RRhyne56, Flyfishing Warden
rrhyne56@comcast.net
Robins Custom Flies and Leaders

In both areas of what ever the fish were doing at the surface, I would say they were hatchery trout. I know for a fact in one case the area I was in was a release area and I suspect the other area was too. Good info. Thanks, Doug

I suspect the hatchery explaination is correct. I've noticed on several occasions where the stocker trout seem to go crazy striking at anything and everything but it only lasts for a short time.. I'll bet it pays to know what time the fish were fed at the hatchery.. because that would be the best time to fish for fresh stockers!