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The weather prediction was accurate last week. Everyday started out typical blue skies but by late afternoon we had rain and some thunderstorms. The rain on Thursday was heaviest. Next week is predicted to be the same. So remember to pack a light rain jacket and fish on through the rain. The fishing has been excellent. However after the thunderstorms feed into the Fork it gets a little cloudy towards Glenwood. So we are recommending that you fish a little higher on the Fork or the Pan. Because of the rain, the flow into Ruedi increased so the releases have correspondingly increased to cope with the inflow. However the increases have been modest and not noticeable to fishermen. At the moment the Pan is running at 211 although from Monday evening through to Friday evening it was running lower at about 160. Similarly the Fork has fluctuated a little and overall is up a little over the week. It is currently running nicely at 788 although on Friday it spiked to 1100 cfs at Basalt after Thursdays heavy rain. We have a lot of visitors in town now so the fishing is cramped a little in some spots. However there is still plenty of great water to enjoy particularly if you float. Drop by the shop and get details at your leisure if you are in town. Fred Aycock sent in the photos he promised of his 26" fish. It was caught in the bend pool on the Frying Pan on July 14th at about 4:30 pm on a #18 mysis shrimp The better view of the fish is the one where the fishing is lying in the water reviving, however the reflection from the water distorts it a little.
Frying Pan Current Flow: below the Dam 211cfs. (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page)
The fishing was excellent all week. The midge fishing was particularly good on Tuesday mid-river. The drakes are now higher up. Merle still reports that the Seratellas are out from 11am till 3pm mid-river. He is fishing them with a #14 Royal Stimulator with a seratella dropper. The order of service is now midges and PMD's in the morning. Then from 11 am there will be drakes higher up. Then in the afternoon through the evening midges, caddis and PMD's with some BWO's higher up. So you can fish all day now well into the evening.Recommended Flies:The river is perfect now. The fishing is excellent. The water is very clear and the days are bright so make sure you are using light tippet – 7x. There is good midge activity in the morning. So look to see if any midges are hatching. Some of the midges mid-river are a little larger so we suggest trying #18 and smaller. Try parachute midges or adults. Put an emerger dropper behind the parachute; also try small emergers; olive biot emergers, size #18 - #22 and black special emergers #18 - #22. Also try #20 and #22 RS2's both gray and sparkle patterns. If nothing much is going on at the surface, it is also worth trying a sparkle baetis and midge larva together weighted down. If the fish are moving without breaking the surface, they will be taking emergers. In the mornings there have been PMD hatches which last for an hour or so. As the day progresses up higher the BWO's will be in evidence, try the sparkle baetis and or the pheasant tails. The green drakes on the Pan come off from 11 am through 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Try nymphs, duns and cripple patterns sizes #10 - #12. The caddis are coming off in the evenings so fish the pupa patterns earlier and the emergers later. Try any of the caddis dry patterns as well as the stimulators. The best results on caddis have been the pupa and emergers although they will now give the dries a good run as well. For pupa and emerger patterns try – Sparkle pupa #15, peeking caddis #16, emergent sparkle caddis #16. The PMD's are coming off so try both emergers and dries – Barrs emerger #16 - #18, Pink Cahills #16 - #18, Melon Quills #16 - #18 and the PMD Comparaduns #16 - #18. Also try cripple patterns. If the fish are feeding but are rejecting your fly, change to a different size. Try to match the size as best you can. The fish will key in on a particular size and nothing else with interest them. For the spinner fall try parachute patterns and spinners. Try stimulators close to town in the pocket water and drop a nymph off. As a general observation, now that the fish are under a lot of pressure, be a little selective with your flies. Try older patterns which the fish might not have seen. Now the fishing gets technical so you will have to bring all of your skills to bear. In the absence of the right fly and correct size with the correct presentation, refusals will be the order of the day. Try terrestrials if it is a little quiet. Roaring Fork Current Flow: near Emma - at Basalt 788 cfs. (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page). The Fork continues to be great although for a couple of days this week it became cloudy lower down particularly after Thursdays big downpour. However, the water clears quickly so it is fine within a day. Ed, Travis, Harry and Chris have all been floating mostly higher up where the water is clearer and the fishing has been excellent all day. The additional rains have kept the flow higher longer so the floating from Jaffe Park should continue a little longer than expected. That is excellent news. We highly recommend it. Everything is working including green drakes. The caddis in the afternoon have been particularly prolific. Be prepared to both nymph and dry fly. As the water drops the fish will tend to stay a little lower in the bright sun so try pheasant tails, princes and caddis emergers. Towards Glenwood most of the fishing is with nymphs although the PMD's and caddis continue coming off. Recommended Flies: In the clearer areas use the same flies as the Pan (See our report for the Frying Pan). There are however better caddis hatches on the Fork than the Pan. Use orange stimulators sizes #10 to #16, In the faster water, use nymphs with flash or attractors like the prince – size #12 - #16, 20 inchers, drake nymphs and Caddis emergers. Caddis pupa patterns in the morning. Green Drake patterns are also working well. Also use hopper patterns. When floating a large parachute hopper with a dropper is highly visible. Colorado River The wet weather continues to disrupt the fishing on the Colorado but it clears and fishing is good. Try PMDs, yellow sallies and the ubiquitous stone flies. On balance most success is on nymphs at the moment. Recommended Flies: Recommended Flies: Yellow sallies, hoppers, midges, both dries and emergers; Bead head pheasant tails #16, 18; Blue Wing Olives #18,20; bead head prince nymph red #12 - 16; egg patterns #10 - #18; streamers #6 and #8 and smaller; terrestrials.
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