Lees Ferry
-by Ron Dungan
You
don't hear people complain very often about having too many trout. In northeast
Arizona, game and fish officials count fish at Lees Ferry and say they have a
problem. The Ferry, a tailwater fishery on the Colorado River, has a reputation
for producing rainbows that will take you to your backing quickly, but after
three years of excellent natural reproduction, biologists say there is no room
for fish to grow.
Long
ago the Ferry was a river crossing, more or less, although when you read about
the number of people who nearly drowned trying to get to the other side you have
to wonder about that. The river cuts deep red-rock canyons into this high desert
of sage flats, twisted juniper and Navajo villages.
For
years, the area was a lonely outpost for Mormon settlers, Indians and explorers.
The Colorado was wild and untamed: fast and cold in the spring, slower and
warmer in the summer-the kind of water trout find tough to love. Glen Canyon Dam
changed all that in 1963, but the region was still pretty remote. A few years
later, state biologists stocked some trout at the Ferry and released some midges
and scuds into the river to supplement the food base, then walked away and
pretty much forgot about the whole thing. Trout grow quickly on scuds, and by
the mid 1970s, anglers were landing 15-pound rainbows. The new food base changed
the Ferry from a catfisherman's river to a world-class trout stream.
The
biggest problem in these early years were inconsistent flows, and low releases
dried up cladophora beds and the scuds that live in them, stranded fish and dry
up spawning beds.
The Bureau of Reclamation does not always manage water flows in the best
interests of trout. Today the area draws its share of rafters, hikers and
sightseers, not to mention the fact that the dam generates electricity.
Environmentalists
and the federal government now troll the political backwater and talk about
bringing the river back to its natural state, restoring beaches and protecting
endangered fish like the humpback chub or the razorback sucker. With all these
competing interests clamoring for a voice in river management, it's no wonder
that flows have been erratic in the past.
In
any case, things have been going well for trout lately. Winter runoff from
Colorado has been high and the flows more or less consistent.
Once
fish start to reproduce in conditions like these, the growth rate is phenomenal.
More fish means more fish reproducing, so after a while you have exponential
growth, which is a good thing when it involves trout.
Flies-and-lures-only
regulations, a two-fish limit and a slot have been in effect since the late
1980s. In January, the Arizona Game & Fish Department increased the kill
limit from two to four fish, and eliminated the slot. Anglers must now return
fish over 16 inches.
"The change was necessary because 15 miles of river can only grow so many
pounds of fish," says Joe Janisch of the Arizona Game & Fish
Department. "We now have what we've always wanted . . . natural
reproduction," he said.
The
problem is limited food and space. Janisch says that even though most anglers at
the Ferry practice catch and release, a number of them are not above keeping a
few fish. With two fish as the bag limit, most people wait a while to keep their
second fish; in other words, they sometimes wait too long and don't think about
filling out their limit until the fishing slows down. The hope is that people
who do take fish will take home a few more, creating more space for the trout
that remain. Once the size of the average fish increases, the commission will
re-evaluate the regulations, Janisch said.
High
cliffs surround the river, so it helps to have a boat to fish it. There is a
walk-in area at the Ferry that is about a mile long, and on some days it fishes
just as well as anywhere else on the river. Scud patterns work best, though an
assortment of other flies catch fish. Brassies, midges, San Juan worms, egg
patterns, Chironomids and woolly buggers take fish fairly consistently here.
Glow bugs with a nymph dropper can be an effective rig, and hoppers work in the
spring.
Scuds are not really active at any particular time of day, but rising water can
move these freshwater shrimp from the plants and rocks where they live. The 50
or so species of midges on the water form an important food source as well.
The
trick to fishing this river is getting to the bottom. Keep in mind that the fish
here have seen their share of barbless hooks-especially in the walk-in area.
Long leaders, light tippets (6x or 7x) and small flies help, but a drag-free
drift is an absolute must.
Most
of the flies used on the Ferry are nymphs, streamers, and buggers, but dry flies
catch fish too. Try attractors-which can also serve as a strike indicator-like
Royal Wulffs, Irresistibles, Humpies, and Unbelievables. To use a dry fly as a
strike indicator, tie a second fly to the dry fly and drift them together. If
the fish doesn't take the dry, he may go for the dropper pattern.
If you fish the walk-in area, try to hit it during the week in order to avoid
the weekend crowds. The water temperature stays at about 45 degrees, so chest
waders are a must.
Getting
a boat won't guarantee you'll catch fish, and getting a guide won't either, but
your chances begin to improve dramatically if you do. Guides, food and lodging
are all available through Marble Canyon Lodge & Guides in Marble Canyon;
telephone: (800) 533-7339; E-mail: LEESFERRY@aol.com;
website: www.mcg-leesferry.com. Boat
rentals are available through Lees Ferry Anglers (520) 355-2261, also in Marble
Canyon.
This
is a region where past and present blend into the southwest landscape; where the
California condor soars after being nearly driven to extinction; where Navajos
sell blankets and jewelry from roadside stands. Lately it seems that just about
any time you check, the Ferry is fishing well, and although a few people wonder
if the new regulations at Lees Ferry are necessary, nobody seems to get too
worked up about them. They're probably too busy fishing.