A beautiful Brown Trout about to be released on the Conejos River

 June 2022

Unlike most of my fishing trips, this was a combination father-daughter dude ranch trip with some fishing throughout the week.  My younger daughter is not big on fishing, but she loves horses so I brought her to Rainbow Trout Ranch near Antonito, Colorado.  Rainbow Trout Ranch, despite the name, is mainly focused on horseback riding, but is located on a private 1.5 mile stretch of the Conejos River with some very solid fishing.  The river sees some pressure as there are guests fishing there every day during the summer, but it does not see as much pressure as the public stretches of the river.

When I first arrived in the late afternoon, I quickly tied on a plastic swimbait and immediately hooked three nice Rainbow Trout on my first four casts and landed two of them.  I was thinking the fishing might end up being too easy, but I did not get another bite the rest of the hour I had until dinner.  Still, a great start.

The next day (Monday), I went fairly early in the morning and stuck a small Brown Trout and some more nice Rainbows on spinners.   I only had an hour to fish before going back to breakfast and then going riding with my daughter, so I was very pleased with that result.  In the afternoon I got another good Rainbow in a brief session before dinner.  Again, a solid result for just a small amount of time fishing.

I had high hopes for Tuesday, as I was going out for a full day with a guide to another part of the river off property.  However, due to a scheduling issue we didn't leave until 9, and fished until about 3:30, which was certainly not the ideal time window.  Throughout the week most of my fish were caught before 9 and after 4:30.  We fly fished exclusively, and it had been a couple years since I had fly fished so I had to shake the rust off a bit.  I did hook a nice sized Brown Trout on a nymph, but it broke my leader.  I probably should have trimmed the leader down and added a better tippet, but these things happen.  I had several more bites and briefly hooked up with a couple more, but did not land any.  We then spent a good chunk of time crawling on our hands and knees to a shallow pool where we could see trout cruising, but they were extremely spooky in the still shallow water and refused our offerings.  I did get a nice sized Cutthroat to turn on a Wooley Bugger, but despite looking very interested it ultimately did not commit.  That was a tough day, although the guide was great and I picked up a few pointers (mostly on where fish would be holding) that I used the rest of the week.  I also felt pretty good about my fly casting by the end of the day.  That was my only time with a guide; all the rest of my fishing was done solo.  Hence none of my pictures have me in them.  The fish were the real stars of the show anyway; they were really stunning.

Wednesday I was determined to make up for the skunk the previous day, so I got an early start and fished hard.  I started the day off right with a nice Rainbow on a spinner.

I switched over to a Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow, and after some trial and error I figured out the right retrieve in the right spots and really started nailing fish, especially the Brown Trout.  I ended up with 12 Brown Trout landed for the day, along with 2 Rainbows.  All the Browns were caught on the Pins Minnow.  It was a fantastic day, especially the afternoon when 10 of the 14 fish were caught.

The mighty Yo Zuri Pins Minnow strikes again.

A beautiful example of a quality Brown caught in a great afternoon session

The great fishing on Wednesday had me inspired, so I went back to fly fishing to get some that way.  I got an absolutely stunning Rainbow on a nymph:

However, the Pins Minnow had been so good that I couldn't stay away from it for long, so I put it back on and started right back up where I had left off the prior day.  Unfortunately, I ended up breaking it off in the afternoon on a rock.  I experimented with a mix of streamers, spoons, and spinners and stuck a few more but not at the pace I had been getting bites previously.  I still ended the day with 12 fish landed, which is certainly a great day in my book.

There were no real giants, but they were all fish that you would be proud to take home to your mother.  The streamers were working well, but I broke off the few I had in the snags and had to go to spinners and spoons which only accounted for one or two more.

Friday was my last day.  I woke up early and got one nice Brown, then went back early and actually ate breakfast for the first time in a while.

I did very little fishing the rest of Friday; just hung out with my daughter and watched her mini rodeo performance.  I did go back briefly in the afternoon for another Rainbow and a couple more fish that I did not take pictures of.  I ended the week with 29 Brown Trout and 7 Rainbow Trout, which I was very happy with.  I probably could have padded that total quite a bit if I had gotten up early and stayed late every day, but this was a relaxing trip with my daughter so I didn't fish as hard as I would have on my own.

Last fish of the trip. Not a bad note to end on.

The weather was beautiful throughout the week.  Fishingwise, the river was flowing a bit fast and the bugs weren't hatching yet, so that hampered the fishing.  There were a surprising number of mosquitoes down by the river, and they bit me quite a bit despite my always being in long sleeves and using repellent.  When there are a large number of mosquitoes around for a long period of time, some are going to get you.  It was a small price to pay for the fishing though.

Rainbow Trout Ranch (www.rainbowtroutranch.com) is an excellent operation.  Despite the name they are not really a fishing lodge, but a very family-oriented ranch with an excellent horse program that also offers fishing.  I would highly recommend them, especially for families that like to ride.