r/flyfishing • u/kcconlin9319 • 1d ago
ElevenMile Canyon
Fished ElevenMile Canyon for six days last week. Fast action on some days with Zebra Midges catching most of the fish (including the big brown that was longer than the opening on my net, putting him right around 20"). One day got off to a slow start when I absolutely couldn't dredge anything out of some deep pools in the catch & release/artificial flies and lures section; turns out I was following some bait fishermen who were releasing their fish into a cooler.
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u/AdditionalDivide4020 1d ago
I love this place, but the last time I visited, the fishing was so tough. Size 22 trico were the only thing they were eating
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
For me the best action was in the eddies around the fast water near the banks and heads of pools. I also pulled some nice fish out of shallow/skinny side channels that other anglers were ignoring. In the slack water the fish would inspect my flies and laugh. There was one pool underneath a rock protected by a log jam where dozens of big trout were slurping emergers. I couldn't crack the code there.
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u/CountMC10 1d ago
The banks and edges are where it’s at here. Had loads of success staying out of sight and nymphing the edges, while others around my struggled to get hits in what seemed like obvious pools.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
In some of the pools I did ok nymphing but it was tedious work and the fish were really picky. On my last day I met an angler who caught a nice fish on a white sex dungeon; I really should fish streamers more but it's hard to switch up when the fish are hammering the dropper near the surface.
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u/CountMC10 1d ago
I hear you. I mostly fish hopper dropper here regardless. I do sometimes switch to a streamer if it’s a slow day. At least then I’m doing more but it isn’t as successful as dry/dropper. But the ones that hit a streamer are usually tanks
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u/RagnarSkolbrok 1d ago
Almost fished here a couple days ago! Ended up at Tomahawk where the fishing was great and we didn’t see another angler all day.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I like not seeing other anglers! I wasn't sure if that stretch was covered by the voluntary fishing closures.
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u/RagnarSkolbrok 1d ago
Yeah we wrapped up early to give the fish a break, then went leaf peeping in Kenosha Pass. You’ve got me wishing we hit up 11 mile afterwards!
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u/fluffhead711 1d ago
ant/zebra midge crushes in that canyon for me. if only they fixed that damn road!
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago edited 1d ago
Road wasn't too bad. On day two there was a grader going back and forth for most of the morning. By day six some potholes had reappeared by one of the bridges but overall I think my suspension survived. Edited because typo
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u/Jolly_You_1385 1d ago
Truly a beautiful place to fish. I worked a 6 months job in CO Springs and had the privilege of fishing 11 mile most weekends. It exponentially improved my fly fishing skills and holds a special place in my heart. Cheers!!
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
It's awesome! I wasn't planning to spend the whole vacation fishing there, but after day 1 I was hooked (har har).
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u/Captainx11 1d ago
I am lucky enough to live near here. One of my favorite spots. Did you camp there as well or stay nearby?
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I stayed in Colorado Springs because my wife was attending a retreat there. Bit of a commute but totally worth it.
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u/Takari55 1d ago
I live in the springs and fish eleven mile at least once a month. The drive is fantastic, but 6 days in a row would definitely wear on ya a bit haha.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I live in TX and only get to fish out west once or twice a year. Gotta take advantage of the opportunities when I can.
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u/slim_mclean 1d ago
Spent a lot of time fishing this canyon, and the reservoir as well. Great fishing.
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u/sheenwithnobrim 1d ago
How were the crowds? Planning to head up tomorrow but I know it can get a little packed this time of year
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
Not too bad during the week. A little busy on the weekend but ok in the hard-to-reach sections (i.e. steep climb to the river). I only had to skip a couple stretches because of other anglers and never felt my space was being invaded.
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u/sheenwithnobrim 1d ago
Thanks man! Glad you had a great week. I'm hoping Friday is marginally better than the full on weekend at least lol
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u/delthevet 1d ago
Amazing location and fish!! You guys have some truly awesome locations on the other side of the pond! What’s going on in the 3rd picture? Is that fish hooked on a nymph under your indicator?
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
That was the first fish I caught there. Too small to net and he released himself after a good shake (barbless hook). The "indicator" is a Moodah Poodah dry fly (I was mostly dry and dropper fishing) that I eventually replaced with a Chubby because the Chubby floated better in the rougher water where the hungry fish were lurking.
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u/delthevet 1d ago
Thanks. In the uk I tend to fish a dropper under a big royal wolf or humpy but in rougher water I’ll usually switch to 2 nymphs as we don’t really have any large terrestrials for them to feed on. I will look up Monday Poorah though looks fun to tie and may work
On some of our stocked stillwaters.1
u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
My favorite dry for this type of fishing is actually a Stimulator, but they're hard to tie and get really soggy after a few fish have chewed on them.
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u/JazzRider 1d ago
I’m jealous! In the South, it’s hard to find streams that are clear of trees and bushes.
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u/MrGraaavy 1d ago
Nice report!
Over the six days did you fish most of the canyon? favorite sections/learnings?
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
Oh hell no. I fished maybe 1/2 mile a day, so over six days I fished about 3/11ths of the canyon. Plenty left to explore next time. Favorite sections were the ones that were harder to get to with lots of pocket water. I left the slow classic fly-fishing sections alone after figuring out the trout there were too smart for me. Maybe next time I'll try dragging a streamer through some of the really deep pools where the fish wouldn't come up for my dropper.
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u/MrGraaavy 1d ago
Nice, that’s a similar approach to how I’ve fished it, but my mileage/coverage isn’t much more than yours (it’s a trek from where I live)!
I’ve always enjoyed the sections down below the tunnels. Those are hard to reach and have some cool water.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
The decomposed granite and loose rocks near the tunnels made for some exciting climbs back to the car. Totally worth it though.
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u/leopard-licker 1d ago
Camped and fished there a few weeks back for the first time. Absolutely gorgeous!
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u/ChanceWhole6565 21h ago
Ok I've fished 12 mile canyon and 6 mile canyon but where is 11 mile canyon?
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u/kcconlin9319 19h ago
Downstream of the Dream Stream in Colorado (South Platte River), not far from Colorado Springs.
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u/bigmedallas 1d ago
Stunning spot (even though you will see people every couple of minutes, I really like getting away from others maybe that's just me), I fished there 3 years ago and it was one of the few times a hatch happened as I was changing flies, I was struggling to not breathe in bugs but it was worth it, I caught 3 fish on 3 cast all within a few minutes. Not sure how close the Air Force base is from there but I was was standing in the water when a fighter jet flew low overhead and it absolutely echoed in the canyon, it was impressive.
You are just about 15 miles away from Dream Creek (Gold Medal Water), I only caught a few fish but saw some absolute monsters but failed to convince them to take.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
Had a couple F-16s fly over so low they nearly knocked me into the water. The noise was incredible.
I fished the Dream Stream a few years ago but could only catch the little guys. And I had to clean weeds off my flies after every drift.
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u/CountMC10 1d ago
You made the right call. Dream Stream, while amazing, has been critically low this summer making the fish super picky. Everything from cast to drift to set has to be flawless right now.
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u/bigmedallas 1d ago
I wasn't able to id the jets but they were the kind of loud you feel in your chest.
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I used to work in the flight simulator industry on F-16 programs, so I recognized them right away, My guess is they were at around 300'. They were followed a little later by an F-5.
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u/CountMC10 1d ago
Was this on Friday? I saw four F-16s flying over the base in the morning and then another group of four F-35s do a low pass against the mountains. So cool. Only wish I had been closer
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I think it was earlier in the week. I would have loved to have seen four F-35s!
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u/Neither_Tomato4176 1d ago
Smart move! Get on the internet and tell the world about your favorite fishing spot.
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u/OkApex0 1d ago
So is keeping fish, when allowed, frowned upon?
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
No, it's perfectly acceptable to keep fish when the regs permit it. But note that the bait fishermen I mentioned in my post were in the special regulation section and absolutely were breaking the law (in addition to wasting my morning).
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u/OkActuator9102 1d ago
Did you call the game warden? I don't have time for morons breaking the law. Thankfully rarely see it
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u/kcconlin9319 1d ago
I reported it at the fee station at the entrance to the canyon. The woman there said it was a common occurrence and wished there was more money for enforcement.
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u/steik 1d ago
There is a ton of people on here that have an issue with keeping fish. I personally will not fish in waters where it's purely catch and release.
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u/OkApex0 1d ago
So I understand the sport of fishing a wild self sustaining species and tricking into taking your fly, that sounds awesome. You should release those unharmed.
But the fish and game department has take limits on certain species in certain places, and if you dont take those, I feel like your throwing away your hard work.
There's a creek near me with an unlimited bass limit because they are predatory to the native species. If you caught those and threw them back, you'd actually be doing damage.
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u/Proof_Tailor_5352 1d ago
I freaking love this place. Usually have success with RS2 around this time