Fly-Fishing Report for the 1st week of February
Date: February 1, 2015.
River(s): Roaring Fork (near Basalt, CO); Frying Pan (near the Ruedi Reservoir).
CFS: RF = 225 cfs; FP = 73 cfs.
Rising/Falling: Slightly falling on the Fork with moisture and melting, steady on the Pan.
Fishing Conditions: RF--The water is cold and clear on the Fork with some ice forming along the edges. One must "posthole" through deep snow banks to get down to the river. Once down there, nymphing the deep, slow water with heavily weighted beadheads dead-drifted along the bottom is most effective strategy. Don't be affraid to swing the flies at the end of the drift or put a little movement on them every once in a while. On the FP, look for noses, tails, and dorsal fins poking out of the shallows near the edges around 1pm, especially on cloudy, overcast, and stormy days. Midge hatches have been good, although generally sparse in numbers. But hungry fish have been focusing on them for a couple hours if the wind isn't howling too fierce. Best times have been from about 1230-230pm when the sun is at its highest point.
Bugs/Patterns: Midges, BWO's, Caddis, Stoneflies. RF--use medium-sized attractor bead head nymphs fished on 4x to the 1st fly and for the 2nd fly use a small bright-colored BH midge emerger pattern. Pheasant tails (Bead and non-bead) #16-20, Princes and Psycho Princes #14-16, and Zebra Midges are working well. For dry-fly fishing on the Pan, make sure to have long 12-15ft leaders tapered to 7x flouro. Sight-fishing has been phenomenal to browns sipping size 24-28 adult midges. Use small midge patterns that ride low on the water, and make sure to get a drag-free downward drift in order to present the fly to the fish naturally.
Date: March 31, 2015.
River: Roaring Fork (below Maroon Creek).
CFS: 171 cfs (167-195cfs).
Rising/Falling: Rising.
Fishing Conditions: Flows are rising slightly with the warm weather over the past couple of days. Nymphing is the way to go right now. Although I have seen some fish working the surface later in the afternoons. Clarity is still pretty good, but can get a little off color at times.
Bugs/Patterns: BWO's, Caddis, Midges, Stoneflies. Pheasant tails, Princes, Hare's Ears, Zebra Midges are working well.
Fly Fishing report for June 30, 2014
Water levels on the Roaring Fork continue to drop every day, and clarity is improving. At Emma, the Fork is flowing at 1,850 cfs, and has been holding steady for the past 7 days. This is still well above the average for this time of year. During this post-runoff phase, fish are hungry and aggressive from fighting heavy currents so fly selection has not been as important as getting your flies down deep enough in the slower water. Change weights and indicator placement if you are not getting into fish rather than switching flies. Also you can get away with 3-4X tippets. Fish have still been taking worms, stonefly nymph immitations, caddis, and beadhead attractor patterns #10-14. Ruedi Reservoir is 99% full. Thus, the flows on the Frying Pan have been ramped back up to 325 cfs. Summer hatches are improving daily with midges and rusty spinners coming off in the am. In the afternoons, various mayfly adults and caddis have been observed and the fish are looking up at times, especially if the weather is overcast. PMD's of various sizes (#14-16) and shades (yellowish and pinkish) are becoming more prevalent. A single Green Drake adult was observed on Friday (so hopefully it won't be long before they arrive)! Wind has been a factor though if you are throwing dry flies, especially in the afternoons near the dam.
Fly Fishing report for June 3, 2014
Runoff is in full force right now in the valley! At the moment, all the rivers in the area remain blown-out and pretty much unfishable, including the Frying Pan with the exception of the Toilet Bowl and maybe the Flats. The Bureau is making room for more water in Ruedi Reservoir and cleaning out the river. Water flow right now on the Pan is 697cfs. Since May 30th, the river has been rising 100cfs per day (50cfs at 8am, and 50cfs at 8pm). It is anticipated to peak around 700cfs (today), than it will hopefully drop back down the same way it rose, and be fishable by the weekend.
However, certain stretches of fishable water exist right now along the Upper Roaring Fork Watershed. The Roaring Fork River above Difficult Creek was flowing at 344cfs around 9pm (well above the 183cfs Median for 34 years).
Fly Fishing report for May 14, 2014
Water flow on the Roaring Fork below Maroon Creek was 310cfs Wednesday afternoon. It peaked out May 8th around 515cfs when temperatures were warmer. It has been gradually dropping the past 6 days as a late winter storm cooled things off in the valley and dropped several inches of snow and rain. Fishing on the Roaring Fork, especially above Basalt has been very good the past week. The water has cleared nicely and the volume has decreased so wading is easier, and the river is more accessible right now. Water temperatures have been in the low 40's in the afternoons. It has been windy in the afternoons. The BWO hatch has been steadily moving upstream, and is best when overcast. Hatches are occurring regularily from Old Snowmass to Lower Woody Creek Bridge. Fish have been focused on all stages of their lifecycle: nymphs in the morning, then emergers midday, and finally dry flies in the afternoon. These conditions probably won't hold for too much longer as the forecast is for warmer, drier weather this weekend. Dress appropriately and you will be very comfortable. Expect the worst, but always hope for the best!
Fly Fishing report for March 16, 2014
Water flow below Ruedi Reservoir was 216 cfs. Water flow on the Lower Roaring Fork River near Glenwood Springs was 527 cfs. Water flow on the Colorado at Glenwood Springs was 2,120 cfs. Trout fishing on the Fork was good mid morning with small nymph patterns. Water clarity is slightly off. Bug activity was high with midges being the main item on the menu. The river was crowded today in Glenwood.
Fly Fishing report for March 7, 2014
Water flow below Ruedi Reservoir was 168 cfs. Trout fishing on the Frying Pan River was good using nymphs in the morning and dries in the afternoon. Please remember to practice proper stream etiquette and give other anglers plenty of room. Even during the week the river, especially from the Bridge to the Toilet Bowl, the river is extremely crowded. There are plenty are places to fish, just because you see someone fishing a hole doesn't mean that you have to go stand next to them. The days have been getting longer, giving the sun more time to melt the snow and ice off the edges. The majority of the snow and ice has also melted along the road down to the dam. But the road is still muddy and slippery at times so use caution.
Fly Fishing report for February 16, 2014
Water flow on the Frying Pan River below Ruedi Reservoir was 168 cfs. The Bureau has been increasing flows to make room in the reservoir when all this snow melts in the spring. The river is in excellent shape, although crowded at times (especially on weekends near the dam). The water is clear, and the fish seem happy and hungry! Nymph fishing with small midges and eggs has been the way to go. Use a small indicator 3-5 feet above a small split shot. For those anglers who prefer throwing dry flies to rising fish, there has been some good action above the Bridge Pool. Insect activity has still been on the sparse side. Small dark midges have been hatching although their numbers seem sporadic and low. Also, a few recently molten stoneflies have been observed along the river. Productive flies include chocolate emergers, black zebra midges, and various egg patterns. Please make sure to use barbless hooks, release fish as quickly as possible, and watch out for spawners.
Fly Fishing report for February 11, 2014
Water flow on the Roaring Fork below Maroon Creek was 84 cfs. Flows on the Fork between Aspen and Basalt have been holding steady for the past several days. Water clarity is crystal clear, and we haven't been seeing ice and slush in the river with the colder temperatures but use caution when wading. Trout fishing was good on the Fork between Castle Creek and Woody Creek, although access to the river has been difficult due to snow and ice. Nymph fishing with eggs, small stoneflies, and various midge patterns has been the way to go as bug activity has been minimal. Look for fish to be holding in the deeper, slower moving pools and runs. Also make sure to get your flies down deep, bouncing along the bottom and lower portion of the water column. Fish are still in winter mode and are not moving much to feed (or take flies) so make sure to work the water thoroughly with good dead drift presentations before changing flies or moving to the next hole.
Fly Fishing report for January 29, 2014
Current winter water flow on the Frying Pan River below Ruedi Reservoir was 118 cfs. Flows have been steady since January 18th, 2014 when they were raised from 91 cfs. Trout fishing was generally slow due to cold temps and lack of insect hatches. However, fishing has been best during the warmest couple hours of the day (from noon to 230pm) close to the dam. Crowds have been congregating in the Toilet Bowl, Flats, Bend Pool, as well as from the Bridge to the Gauge Station. Nymph fishing has been the most efficient way to consistently hook fish. Best patterns include eggs, as well as small midge larvae and pupae.
Fly Fishing report for November 19, 2013
Water flow on the Roaring Fork near the town of Aspen on Tuesday around noon was 36 cfs; below Maroon Creek the flow was 136 cfs. This translates to a "normal" or average amount of water in the river for this time of year based on 49 years of record. Trout fishing was good using a mixed bag of nymphs. Best times to be on the river are from 12-3pm.
Fly Fishing report for September 28, 2013
Water flow on the Roaring Fork near the town of Aspen on Saturday was 78 cfs. Trout fishing was good using a mixed bag of nymphs and streamer patterns. On cooler overcast days, the browns have been responding well to dark colored, natural-looking woolly buggers and leeches. You can get away with 3x and possibly even 2x with various amounts of split shot depending on the depth of the water column you are fishing. Vary your retrieves, with some fish taking the fly dead drifted in the deeper seams, and some fish aggressively chasing it with some jerky action. Work the tailouts of pools, shallow runs and riffles, edges of the river with structure such as overhanging tree branches and undercut banks. Recent rains and even some high mountain snow have kept the river flows well above their mean historic averages for this time of year.
Fly Fishing report for March 19, 2013
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On the wet fly!
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After a pleasant day of skiing the slopes, I was able to hit the river for an hour before dark. Spent 45 minutes on the water, and fished two deep pools/runs thoroughly. I was fortunate enough to fool this Roaring Fork Brownie on the wet fly just before the sun went down behind Red Butte and the wind kicked up again. The river was low, cold, and clear, thus the fish were spooky. Lots of snow and ice were still lingering along the edges and stream boulders.
Fly Fishing Report for March 17, 2013
Well, I was able to sneak away and spend a good solid
hour on the water this afternoon. I met up with a buddy from Snowmass on the
Roaring Fork River near Gerbaz Way. I started out chucking a
streamer on 2x: Conehead Purple Egg-Sucking Leech (Size 8-10). It
was cloudy and gray with blowing wet snowflakes when we set out down the trail
to the river around 5:45pm. I spotted and saw signs of fish right
away in the deeper, darker-colored slow-moving water along the stream bottom. I
managed to land two small wild browns and had an aggressive strike/follow. Additionally,
I got way too excited when I saw another fish flash and pulled the fly from it. Not
bad for an hour on the Fork right before dark. Oh yeah, and by the
way, I skied all day. First, day of the season/year, that I was able
to ski and fish in the same day. Hopefully, there are several more
of them.
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