Saguache Creek B-32 : Log Book Entries


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18 entries found

Name: Bruce Kautz Date Submitted: 8/18/2012
Email:
Date's Fished: August 17, 2012

Commments:
Fished the afternoon, sunny and warm. Water was brown and clear on the edges, but still caught fish very close along the banks from parking area upstream. Size 12 Amy's Ant and olive Parachute hopper on top with BH prince or pheasant tail dropper - all caught fish with 15 inch rainbow the biggest. Wind picked up late and went to streamer - black slump buster and caught 3 more rainbows.



Name: John Date Submitted: 6/13/2012
Email: fosholt@aol.com
Date's Fished: June 12, 2012

Commments:
The creek was about the right level, but the water was a bit murky. The fish held even tighter to the banks than usual, so I had trouble fishing nymphs. I caught a couple on pheasanttails and a couple more on pale morning dun dries when there was a light hatch. I took far more fish on small wooly buggers with rubber legs. I slapped the streamers right next to the bank and caught a total of about 15 fish, 8 to 16 inches long. There was one rainbow, one cutthroat, and the rest were browns.



Name: John Date Submitted: 7/25/2011
Email: fosholt@aol.com
Date's Fished: July 22-23, 2011

Commments:
The creekis running 35-40 cfs, just right for fly fishing. I caught about 20 fish on Friday, 10-15 fish on Saturday. All were browns except for 2 cutthroats (on dries) and 3 rainbows (on streamers). One bow was 17 inches, biggest fish of the trip. There weren't many risers showing, but the fish readily took elkhair caddis and hoppers if fished close to the bank. They also took small wooly bugger streamers, and sometimes small prince and hare's ear nymphs. It was hot and the fish stopped hitting about 3pm, until it got dark at 8pm. Mosquitoes were bad below the campsite, but absent above the campsite because that stretch has not been irrigated.



Name: Rob Date Submitted: 6/19/2011
Email: coloradohoods@msn.com
Date's Fished: June 15, 2011

Commments:
I didn’t get skunked! I was on my way down to the Rio Grande for some floating and I’ve been wanting to check out this property for awhile. Conditions seemed pretty good. Just over 100 cfs, but very fishable. Visability was maybe a foot, could have been better but, I didn’t get the impression this stream is ever gin clear with the cattle and horses. Started fishing in the middle of the property about 1 PM and conditions looked great for streamer fishing. So I hit it hard for a few hours downstream.......nothing. Decided to nymph some back upstream....nothing. Tossed streamers again til 5 PM and picked up a couple 12” browns. Time of day and water clarity were probably the biggest factors. A couple of days later could have made a big difference. Great looking property just have to time it right with the flows.



Name: Ranger Ken Date Submitted: 5/2/2011
Email:
Date's Fished: May 1st, 2011

Commments:
Really beautiful ranch and teaming with wildlife. A wild turkey was calling and too many bluebirds to count. Had a late snow storm blow through today which made things tough. Didn't catch any fish but my buddy had one definite strike that he missed (may fly nymph in a size 18). We did see one small 6" fish but it looks like the area is routinely grazed and the creek shows it. Had a great lunch at the bakery/cafe in Sauquache ... closes as 2PM and worth the 15-minute drive to town for sure. Great destination for the scenery and wildlife but pretty weak on fish. Better luck to the nexy guy!



Name: Jon Boren Date Submitted: 8/17/2010
Email: borenjon@yahoo.com
Date's Fished: July 17, 2010

Commments:
I fished the Saguache for the first time last fall with the friend who taught me how to catch a trout with a fly over 25 years ago and insisted at that time that I'd sell all my spinning gear within five years. He was right. And the fall afternoon motivated me to return, this time alone.

I walked downstream from the bridge this year at a fast clip for 15-20 minutes and cut over from the meadow below some modestly significant shrubbery. Consistent with my reputation as somewhat of a dullard I had decided what I was going to use while driving up from Santa Fe. I can't stand gearing up streamside as I always tend to fumble like a 10 year old boy due to a congenially twitchy nervous system.

I started with an orange foam-bodied hopper with this #18 greenish bead-head deal sporting itty-bitty rubber legs, some kind of modern impressionistic emerger I imagine. I'd tell you the name of it but given my intermittent difficulty remembering my sister's name it'd likely as not be inaccurate unless it were a gold-ribbed hare's ear or chernobyl ant, names at opposite ends of a purist's spectrum but which hang around the corner's of my subcortical structures like hairs in a biscuit.

I landed 15 fish on this rig and had at least 3-4 times as many hook-ups, bumps, and solid strikes. Most were colorful, 10-14" browns that reminded me a great deal of the brookies I caught growing up in New England - big heads and hook-jawed with Ghandi-like bodies. About half-way back to the bridge a 16" rainbow hit and was lip-caught but faught like a San Juan, Texas hole 20 incher after a rough girls' night out. Unfortunately, I believe the lackluster effort more an indication of ill-health than on my own proclivity toward aggressive ethanol ingestion and subsequent dues-paying. She weren't well.

Having started a bit after noon I wended my way back to the car around 4 pm. Action had slowed but not ceased in the last hour or so. I thought I was done but a little R & R, a cold beer, some music and A/C revived me and at around 6 pm I head upstream. In the first significant 90 degree angled hole bending right I took a stunning 20" Rainbow that was absolutely slab-sided - as healthy and strong a fish as the former "largest" fish of the day was weak. If this was a "plant" it was definitely a holdover as the color was terrific and it absolutely bolted back in after a moderately (too) long struggle against my 3 wt. rod. Black wooly bugger. I thought this an omen for a good hour or so of buggering (don't even go there) to end the day. Nada de nada thereafter.

My humble tips for fishing this stream: don't get in the water. Pick your side and stay there, bypassing good water in order to avoid crossing - there's plenty of water to be picky. Didn't catch a fish if crossed within 3o yards above or below a hole/run/undercut bank and hardly missed a fish with careful approach despite my graceless casting, clumsy knot-tying and overuse of heavier tippet than necessary. And the water was exceptionally clear.

Stayed at the mineral springs right at the junction of Hwy 285 and 17 - pricey at close to a hundred bucks but very convenient, the springs are great, and it's a good launching place for points north or south. I hit the Conejos for a marvolous 4 hours the next day. Tight lines!



Name: Harry Briscoe Date Submitted: 7/29/2010
Email: hexagraph@hexagraph.com
Date's Fished: July 19, 2010

Commments:
What a delightful place. Self and two guests had the run of the valley for the day - and a perfect day it was, cool, no wind, flowers out all over the place, great peaceful scenery. An oh ... the fishing ... well, actually excellent. Fish everywhere in the morning pretty much right where they should be - but very tight against the banks. A small hopper was my ticket (with very little action on the nymph dropper) although my brother did better on nymphs under an indicator - but anytime you have over 30 hits in the morning on the surface - there's nothing to complain about. After lunch things changed a bit and the fish turned off. One savage strike from what seemed to be a much much larger fish from under a cutbank to bring us back again. Very pleasant.



Name: Chris Date Submitted: 7/3/2010
Email: cdbernard@msn.com
Date's Fished: June 29, 2010

Commments:
Stopped by to fish noon to three on my way down to the Conejos (B-36). Creek had quite a bit of color in it, probably due to the last bit of run off since no rain in the last four days. Could not see bottom at the bend pools, so I concentrated my dry fly fishing on the shallower sections between the bend pools. Picked up eight browns 10"- 13" and one eight inch rainbow on a size 16 parachute Adams.

Dredged a couple of bend pools with a two nymph rig with no luck. Nice creek only two hours from my home in Eagle. I'll definitely be back.



Name: MG52 Date Submitted: 5/11/2010
Email: rprov_ca@netzero.net
Date's Fished: 5-10-10

Commments:
Up at the crack of dawn trying to beat the wind. Decided to change tactic today and attack the off color water with streamers and this land with less willows allows this type of fishing easier. Third cast and a nice Rainbow of about 14". Down along the cut banks and bang on the swing. They just needed someting they could see and willing to expend energy to get. This was good until around 10:00 and the wind again put all the fish down and a streamer in the back of my neck. OUCH!... Wind never stopped for the rest of the day. See day 3 on B-33.



Name: John Date Submitted: 7/21/2009
Email:
Date's Fished: July 18, 2009

Commments:
Stream flow was about 50 cfs, almost clear. Large mayflies were intermittent. Fish weren't feeding on them, but there was great fishing on hoppers and small wooly buggers. 15-20 fish, all browns except for one cutbow. Biggest was a 17-inch brown. A breeze kept the skeeters away.

Ranch workers saw a couple of rattlesnakes in a nearby field while cutting hay. Didn't see any along the stream.



Name: Mike Williams Date Submitted: 8/23/2008
Email: m_t_williams@hotmail.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
My wife and I fished B-32 for about 2 hours on the evening of August 23. The creek fished fairly well, with six fish to the net between the two of us. We each landed a couple of browns, 8"-14", taken about 6-12" off the banks on hoppers. The closer to the bank, the better. Also took two large rainbows, about 18" and 19", both on a red-bodied hopper. The rainbows were taken from deep holes. They put my 3 wt. to the test. The section just above the parking area that has more riffles fished best. There wasn't much activity on the long, flat runs.



Name: Tom Brooks Date Submitted: 8/4/2006
Email: bbrooks@frii.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
I fished B-32 last Friday afternoon and found fair water conditions for early August and good numbers of fish that took flies in the middle of the afternoon. Flies that worked best were #8 black rubber buggers, #14 yellow stimulators and a few were taken on #8 hoppers. Caught over 20 trout in about 3 hours and they were all browns that ranged from 6 to 13 inches and also missed one that went about 16 inches. Had a wonderful time on Saguache Creek and this is a place worth the trip if only for the wonderful location in the Saguache Creek valley. The creek has very easy access and good cuts and holes that I am sure hold larger trout than the ones that I caught during my afternoon of prospecting. The creek looks as though it will have decent fishable water the rest of the summer since there have been good rains in the area the past few weeks and overall the water conditions in the San Luis Valley area are much better than they have been the past few years.



Name: Jim Hanley Date Submitted: 7/27/2005
Email: jmack1@aol.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
After thinking about fishing Saguache Creek for nearly 6 years, I finally had my first chance on July 27. It looked like a perfect day, but crossing the 114 bridge at the west end of B32, put some dampener on my expectations. At best the water had only 12 inches of visibility. I started to rationalize big black streamers to undercut banks and forged ahead to the access road to B32. (Please note that the gate to the access road is 12.2 miles from the juncture of 114 and 285, not the 9 miles stated in the property description). My spirits were raised looking at the stream from the concrete bridge on the access road with water visibility now showing a little over 2 feet. I started to fish upstream from the bridge and encountered nice holding water on almost every turn. However, the turbidity in the water seemed to really put the fish down. For the next two miles of stream or 4 hours of really hard fishing, I only had three fish, all caught on dries. Streamers and nymphs barely caught any attention. I made it back to the car and after a brief lunch, walked downstream from the bridge for about a mile expecting more of the same. However, the onset of evening, started to turn things around. Fishing dark body dries (H&Ls, parachute royal wulffs and royal wulffs) right next to the bank, I began to pick up fish at almost every turn. (There were good numbers of red quill spinners out, but there were no rises to them.) From 5:00PM to 7:00PM, I caught 12 fish then called it quits. Over the course of the day, almost all of my fish were caught within a foot of the bank and many were caught within 6 inches of the bank. Rainbows dominated and I had at least 7 fish that were between 15 and 17 inches. I was a bit disappointed in the condition of the fish since most of the larger ones were on the snaky side. However, as always, it was a good day. Im anxious to make it back in late August/early September when the hoppers are out. With the adjacent hay fields, I can visualize a lot of terrestrials. With improved water clarity, this could make for a great day.



Name: Jason Price Date Submitted: 7/10/2004
Email: jaypee23@holly.colostate.edu
Date's Fished:

Commments:
Only fished this section for an hour or two in the morning. Fished well. Caught several rainbows from 12-17 inches and some smaller browns on standard nymphs and streamers. When the water is clear it can be a fantastic spot to fish if your in the area. The creek is however very weather dependent, and will muddy up quick if their are any storms in the area.



Name: Kris & Gene Edwards Date Submitted: 8/25/2001
Email: kedwards@jeffco.k12.co.us
Date's Fished:

Commments:
Fished B32 from 10:30 til 2:30 and landed 6 Browns. Most of the fish were 10 to 12 inches all caught on Copper Johns and BHPT size 16. One fish however was a nice 15+ Brown. We had heard that Hoppers were hot up there but we had no luck. A member and guest that we ran into fishing all 3 properties in 3 days said that they had quite a bit of luck with hoppers close to the bank. We fished the last 2 hours on B33 and caught 10 more fish, all Browns 10 to 13 inches. Actually caught 2 fish here on large Olive Stimulators, but had to go down with the same nymphs to get the rest. We were chased off the water 4:30 by a really heavy rain storm. The biggest kick of the day was landing a 13" Brown on a Copper John and a 8" Brown on the trailing Pheasant Tail, at the same time!! It was Gene's birthday so I didn't make a big deal out of our total tally and I felt good when he caught the first fish of the day (I did beat him by 1 however). Kris :-)



Name: PaulM Date Submitted: 8/23/2001
Email: paul@geotrail.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
This is a great looking stretch of water! We arrived to find the water high and off color. After reviewing the stream flow data, I discovered that we fished the property while the streamflow continued to rise all day! So check the streamflow reports before you head down. We(I) caught a total of 4 fish in about 5 hours of fishing. All were Browns in the 8-10" range. I missed a much larger Brown(14") and I know some brutes must cruise this section.



Name: David Copley Date Submitted: 7/8/2001
Email: dcopley@csc.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
Water off color due to thunderstorms in the mountains the previous night. The fishing was slow in the morning due to poor clarity. Water started clearing around 3:00pm and our group picked up about 7 fish (all browns in the 10" - 12" range). Two on red San Jaun worms, two on green flash back hares ear, two on elk hair caddis and one on a green wooly bugger. The property looks great with too much water to cover in a single day. The stream is surrounded by hay fields so the hoppers will be out in force shortly.



Name: Cliff Purslow Date Submitted: 6/25/2001
Email: clutch13@aol.com
Date's Fished:

Commments:
Water was real dirty and the bugs were awful. I think I fished this too early in the season. 1 fish on a Elk Hare.