The Mystery Of Cripple Creek

[Smitty]

Went fishing this past weekend at the Ram Falls. On Saturday, we decided to split up since we had 4 people and multiple vehicles. I thought a good game plan would be to have 2 of my buddies take my vehicle at park it near the North Ram along the North Fork Road. They fished the North Ram too.

 

Meanwhile, my other friend and I were dropped off at where the FTR crosses Cripple Creek. The plan was to walk from that point all the way down to it's confluence with the North Ram.

 

Good plan and we executed it brilliantly; though I reluctantly admit it was far easier following an old atv trail that paralled the creek roughly. I think we walked about 12km.

 

Anyways, my query to all of you out there who know the area well is "WHERE were the FISH???". My Lord it was disappointing! I mean it was a beautiful afternoon, the walk was nice, but man, there were hardly any fish! (We caught 2 only). In fact, I only found one big pool by a deserted trappers cabin that had fish in it. Everywhere else, nada. My first thought was a lack of skills in selecting and presenting the fly. But then I started wading throwing rocks into the corner pools and NOTHING! No startled trout or anything! Most of the creek seemed devoid of fish! I was utterly perplexed. I mean, at one point, we were probably 6km away from the nearest access, so I can't believe it has been fished out. And I certainly thought there would be some resident fish, after all, isn't Cripple a major spawning trib of the North Ram? Was the water low? I didn't think so...there certainly seemed to be plenty of water in the corner pools.

 

More confusing, 10 km to the south, Lnyx creek fished very well, right near the road (and away from it too). This is a shorter trib to the South Ram with less water in it than Cripple, so I found it utterly confusing why 2 streams so close together would have far different fishing experiences, especially being the smaller stream fishing better than the bigger one.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Confused,

Smitty

[Meeks]

Smitty,

While I haven't stopped there this summer, I have spent a fair bit of time on Cripple last summer and previous. My best days have been on +25c afternoons. Seemed there was a little Cutt behind every rock.

However, one morning (around 10:00am) I stopped there on the way farther north. It was going to be a hot day, already 18-20c. After 2 hours I left skunked. Not a rise or flash, nothing. Perplexed, I stopped there 2 weeks later around late afternoon, and did very well.

I believe water temperature was the main factor then, seems to be a late-afternoon kind of creek. I've found this on other Cutthroat streams. But maybe not to the extent I seen there. Many stretches are fairly well treed, so maybe it takes longer to warm.

Although I have seen alot of vehicles parked there during my travels this summer. Surely nobody has been filling their cooler with 7" Cutts.

[Smitty]

Smitty,

While I haven't stopped there this summer, I have spent a fair bit of time on Cripple last summer and previous. My best days have been on +25c afternoons. Seemed there was a little Cutt behind every rock.

However, one morning (around 10:00am) I stopped there on the way farther north. It was going to be a hot day, already 18-20c. After 2 hours I left skunked. Not a rise or flash, nothing. Perplexed, I stopped there 2 weeks later around late afternoon, and did very well.

I believe water temperature was the main factor then, seems to be a late-afternoon kind of creek. I've found this on other Cutthroat streams. But maybe not to the extent I seen there. Many stretches are fairly well treed, so maybe it takes longer to warm.

Although I have seen alot of vehicles parked there during my travels this summer. Surely nobody has been filling their cooler with 7" Cutts.

 

 

Thanks for the input Meeks, I would have thought that since we had one of the warmest July's on record, I didn't think it would be too cold. Too warm perhaps?

I don't get it, but that's fishing for ya!

 

What I should do is start carrying a thermometer with me.

 

Anyone else have some thoughts?

 

Smitty

[badatt]

The temperature may not be a factor... I was hiking and fishing on a fairly high altitude cut stream last week. In past years it has produced well and receives little pressure. This year was disappointing. There were very few cuts, no small ones and no whitefish. After hiking about 5 km. we were about to call it a day. In the last pool we landed a 35" bull with a fat belly and a smile on his face. He wouldn't have been able to go much further upstream as the water gets pretty skinny and I'm sure the food supply would as well. I was glad we found him, it explained what had happened to a usually good fishery.

[bulltrout]

the only thing i could say is read Barry Mitchell's chapter on Fisherman's Luck in his book... sometimes we have good days and others not so good...just the way it goes sometimes i guess...

[Suntoucher]

I had the same thought there Smitty. I fished Cripple a week after it opened and got skunked. I thought it was probably because it was too early in the season. So I had a go at it 2 weeks ago and was surprised to find not many fish at all. I did catch a couple but from my memory of the creek, they used to be everywhere.

[Smitty]

Well:

 

I thought I would bump this old topic back up to the list, since I stumbled back to it - that's a cool feature about having the ability to track your old posts - and plus, we're into winter, and maybe we can put our brains to uses other than GW rants.

 

When I first posted this topic, I forgot to mention one thing that may or may not have an impact.

 

As we neared the confluence of Cripple and the North Ram, say about 1 km from the confluence on the Cripple side of things, decisions became a little dicey because we were faced with a dilemma; follow the water or follow the creek bed?

 

You see, the creek made a sharp bend, and the spring scouring made it obvious that the water flow was going to go its own way. The water just didn't follow the creek bed anymore and literally just went through the trees and the forest.

 

What obviously was the gravelly creek bed was completely bone-dry.

 

We decided to follow the creek bed, it was much easier walking, and there was no question by the geography we were getting close to the North Ram.

 

So we get to the North Ram, cross it (so we're on the north bank now) and we're going to get back to the road (North Fork Road is it called? The road that leads back to Rocky and parallels the North Ram for a bit before sharply turning north to parallel Nice/Easy creek) and find where my friends parked the truck.

 

And wouldn't you know it? so we're done crossing the main channel of the North Ram, and bam! Right below the road is one last side channel of the North Ram flowing right through the trees again! Let me tell you, that was by FAR the trickiest wading we had to do all day.

 

So what gives when a creek/river starts cutting it's way through dense forest with no discernable gravel beds? Do these tend to be temporary, or does the new waterway cut and erode a new channel? How long does this take?

 

And do fish like this? Is this suitable habitat? I mean there's plenty of cover in some respects, but it sure as heck doesn't seem to be predictable in terms of gauging flow to bring food to me, if I were a trout?

 

Could this also be why Cripple seem deserted? If the creek essentially is cutoff from the North Ram (only way is through the forest river part) is it a valid theory that fish could be scarce upstream of this phenomenon?

 

Would really like to hear from so of you who have a couple of decades of experience regarding this. Just massively curious. Anyone else seen or experienced this? If Don or Barry are around and can shed some light, that would cool.

 

Smitty

[Guest Sundancefisher]

So what gives when a creek/river starts cutting it's way through dense forest with no discernable gravel beds? Do these tend to be temporary, or does the new waterway cut and erode a new channel? How long does this take?

 

And do fish like this? Is this suitable habitat? I mean there's plenty of cover in some respects, but it sure as heck doesn't seem to be predictable in terms of gauging flow to bring food to me, if I were a trout?

 

Could this also be why Cripple seem deserted? If the creek essentially is cutoff from the North Ram (only way is through the forest river part) is it a valid theory that fish could be scarce upstream of this phenomenon?

 

Would really like to hear from so of you who have a couple of decades of experience regarding this. Just massively curious. Anyone else seen or experienced this? If Don or Barry are around and can shed some light, that would cool.

 

Smitty

 

When studying fish and fish habitat I often came across very old beaver dams in which the river basically found a new channel around the dam and through forests quite often. If the water is slow enough and deep enough then fish can make there way up it. Even if in the summer and fall it seems to shallow, spring run off can often provide enough extra water to make it passable. From what you are describing it should not be a factor in explaining the lack of fish. These changes in streams can be gradual or fast depending upon the substrate and flooding events. Depending upon the depth, cover, undercut banks, fallen trees, water speed etc., it could be good habitat. Other previous posts talking about water temperate etc. can all come together as does barometric changes, time of year, bug hatches etc.

 

As fall approaches fish tend to move out of small streams into larger rivers in search of over wintering habitat. Only way to be sure of this would be through a population estimate as I have fished a stretch of the Dogpound one day and had great luck...came back fished it before a population estimate and caught nothing and electrofished and had a ton of fish captured. The other problem I have found in small creeks is unknowingly fishing right behind another group of anglers. Easy fish caught and others to disturbed to feed yet. Another factor can be fishing right after a major bug hatch. If the fish just gorged themselves they may just not be hungry plain and simple. I fished a small bully and cutty stream once and could not find a fish cause the water was so low. I eventually found some under cutbanks but they were super ultra skiddish.

 

I chalk it up to the same phenomenon as poker. Some days the cards all line up and you make out with all the cash. Other days you can not buy a card in order to make bus fare home.

 

Sounds like you may of just hit the bad day.

 

Cheers.

 

Sun

[Din]

I fished cripple this summer once. from one bridge on the FTR down to the next. It was hailing/raining/freezing when I did it, but I didn't see a single fish. Found some good holes and holding water, but no luck....

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I fished cripple this summer once. from one bridge on the FTR down to the next. It was hailing/raining/freezing when I did it, but I didn't see a single fish. Found some good holes and holding water, but no luck....

 

Did you guys find the water over all very low? Could be high water temperatures hurted the population in the small creek. Sometimes the fish get stranded and die in low water years and other times they can make it back to the bigger river. Was the Ram fishing better?

[DonAndersen]

Smitty,

 

My experience somewhat mirrors yours. I've fished it from the N. Ram upstream with little luck and from where it leaves the FTR downstream for a couple of klicks. No much luck there either. But, above the FRT, caught a sack of fish as well as along the road. Whoops - there goes the theory of easy access makes lousy fishing.

 

catch ya'

 

Don

[Din]

Did you guys find the water over all very low? Could be high water temperatures hurted the population in the small creek. Sometimes the fish get stranded and die in low water years and other times they can make it back to the bigger river. Was the Ram fishing better?

 

The water levels seemed to be fine. Maybe up a little, but it had rained the whole week previously, which I suspected put the fish off. The Ram was fishing a little better. But the water was definitely higher than usual on it.

[Smitty]

Sundance:

 

No doubt that some days you've got just say c'est la vie. Or, as Dr. Bull Trout says, "fisherman's luck".

 

I'm quite sure we weren't following any anglers either. Nor was the water low - I have fished skinnier water with better luck.

 

Maybe they were gorged on a previous hatch, but like I said, I didn't bring this up to lament the lack of fish, (I actually caught two, but that's not many for 12 km of stream walking) but rather that very curious/weird/cool phenomena of seeing 2 waterbodies (Cripple and that side channel on the North Ram) flow right through the forest, and wondering if that had any potential/possible impact.

 

Anyhoo, appreciate the feedback and thoughts. Funny how Lynx was far more productive - a creek just a few km's away at most.

 

Smitty

 

P.S. Attached are some pics