It was snowy and temps were in the teens when we fished this property Sunday, February 18th. The parking spot for cars was not plowed so we parked at the house and walked to the river access spot(which is clearly marked). The snow was about 8-14 inches deep on the approach to the river. We dropped in by the “honey hole” just on the other side of the house and waded up river. Which for some would have been incredibly difficult since the depths varied and you could not access the bank due to the snow. With the temps so low, wading for long periods in the water was not possible. There is very little ability to fish from the bank in the main run behind the house, especially since the notes state to not cross the river due to the private residences on the other side. We found that river access to get to the other entry points required trudging through deep snow. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at catching anything. I would definitely fish this property when it is not snow covered because of the access. Side note: this is the first property that requires wearing a lanyard, which with all the layers and gear was cumbersome. Maybe a clip on tag for a pack would be better.
February 24, 2024Water was nice but saw 3 fish all day. Parking was a little tricky but found it by trial and error. Followed Road all the way to what appeared the end by a house but then the road continued on to the right which I did not notice the first time. Once I saw the Porta potty, then there was a tree to park on there that had the rare waters sign on it and that was obviously very helpful. I don’t know why the fishing was so nonexistent that day. Full moon maybe in the morning and at night? Also, it’s a tough river to navigate because of so many rocks. It does have stretches of beach and sand which helps, but I had to circumnavigate some big rocks and a couple falling over trees. Not a big deal, but just something you should know , the rocks will give your legs a work out
Fished 02-22-24. What a day! The day we fished it was snowing slightly and close to 30 degrees. The prince nymph was the food of the day. I netted a gorgeous 19 inch bow. Not to be outdone, my buddy landed a 26 to 27 inch bow. Can’t wait to fish this spot in spring. Booking the property was easy, and as always customer service was great. Thanks again Rare Water.
First time fishing RareWaters properties, so first time also at Arkansas River Great Escape. Was extremely pleased to see that this stretch of river has an awesome variety of water to explore - riffles, pockets behind large boulders, long slower runs 4-6 feet deep, and even some riffles with two to three foot deep shelfs below them. On this 24th day of Feb, the air temperature was around 40 degrees at 10:00 when we hit the waters, and later warming up to a pleasant 52 degrees in the afternoon. Winds were up canyon at 5 to 15mph. All in all, it was awesome weather for February in Colorado. Water temperatures were chilly, sitting at around 40 degrees when we started fishing. We knew that with the colder water temperatures, the trout would be holding in the deeper runs. Some fishing reports mentioned golden stones nymphs, so I started with size 12 stonefly nymph and a frenchie nymph pattern. A beautiful 16” brown trout took the Frenchie and was soon in the net. During the day I hooked into one rainbow and four browns, so for a mid-February day, I counted this trip as a definite success. Other patterns that worked included zebra midge and bead head green caddis larva patterns. Can’t wait to hit this location in early spring when the stonefly nymphs start molting – will be crazy action then!
It was snowy and temps were in the teens when we fished this property Sunday, February 18th. The parking spot for cars was not plowed so we parked at the house and walked to the river access spot(which is clearly marked). The snow was about 8-14 inches deep on the approach to the river. We dropped in by the “honey hole” just on the other side of the house and waded up river. Which for some would have been incredibly difficult since the depths varied and you could not access the bank due to the snow. With the temps so low, wading for long periods in the water was not possible. There is very little ability to fish from the bank in the main run behind the house, especially since the notes state to not cross the river due to the private residences on the other side. We found that river access to get to the other entry points required trudging through deep snow. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful at catching anything. I would definitely fish this property when it is not snow covered because of the access. Side note: this is the first property that requires wearing a lanyard, which with all the layers and gear was cumbersome. Maybe a clip on tag for a pack would be better.
February 24, 2024Water was nice but saw 3 fish all day. Parking was a little tricky but found it by trial and error. Followed Road all the way to what appeared the end by a house but then the road continued on to the right which I did not notice the first time. Once I saw the Porta potty, then there was a tree to park on there that had the rare waters sign on it and that was obviously very helpful. I don’t know why the fishing was so nonexistent that day. Full moon maybe in the morning and at night? Also, it’s a tough river to navigate because of so many rocks. It does have stretches of beach and sand which helps, but I had to circumnavigate some big rocks and a couple falling over trees. Not a big deal, but just something you should know , the rocks will give your legs a work out
Fished 02-18-24. Tough day. Very cold and no sun. Trout held fast to the bottom. Unfortunately, we were unable to move fish all day.
Fished 02-22-24. What a day! The day we fished it was snowing slightly and close to 30 degrees. The prince nymph was the food of the day. I netted a gorgeous 19 inch bow. Not to be outdone, my buddy landed a 26 to 27 inch bow. Can’t wait to fish this spot in spring. Booking the property was easy, and as always customer service was great. Thanks again Rare Water.
First time fishing RareWaters properties, so first time also at Arkansas River Great Escape. Was extremely pleased to see that this stretch of river has an awesome variety of water to explore - riffles, pockets behind large boulders, long slower runs 4-6 feet deep, and even some riffles with two to three foot deep shelfs below them. On this 24th day of Feb, the air temperature was around 40 degrees at 10:00 when we hit the waters, and later warming up to a pleasant 52 degrees in the afternoon. Winds were up canyon at 5 to 15mph. All in all, it was awesome weather for February in Colorado. Water temperatures were chilly, sitting at around 40 degrees when we started fishing. We knew that with the colder water temperatures, the trout would be holding in the deeper runs. Some fishing reports mentioned golden stones nymphs, so I started with size 12 stonefly nymph and a frenchie nymph pattern. A beautiful 16” brown trout took the Frenchie and was soon in the net. During the day I hooked into one rainbow and four browns, so for a mid-February day, I counted this trip as a definite success. Other patterns that worked included zebra midge and bead head green caddis larva patterns. Can’t wait to hit this location in early spring when the stonefly nymphs start molting – will be crazy action then!