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A mixture of weather over the past week ranged from cold and snow to a little warmer. We had about 10" of snow 3 days ago and high winds on Saturday closed down the top of the ski mountains for part of the day. Currently the weather is cloudy and in the 30's. For the next 5 days it is predicted that it will be reasonably warm up to the 30's with clear skies. Towards the end of the week some more snow is predicted. On Monday the flow in the Pan was lifted to 132cfs. It cleared ice and material and introduced some color into the river for a day. The additional flow will serve the fish population well for the remainder of the winter if it is maintained. We have a few visitors in town now and as we move towards spring the skiers with tired legs will be coming down valley when the snow gets hard. If you are coming to town come by the shop and have a chat. We would love to see you.
Frying Pan Current Flow: below the Dam - 132cfs. (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page)
The increased flow in the Pan will clear a little of the ice further down from the Dam and give the fish more room to survive the rest of the winter. The added warmth in the river will also shift more of the anchor ice lower down. The predicted moderately warmer weather over the coming week will make for some good outings on the river. Early in the week it will be clear and up to the mid 30's during the day, so the fishing will be pleasant. The cloud cover later in the week won't stop the midges coming off. They will generally start to come off towards midday. But it will all quieten down as the sun passes behind any mountain peak. Midges have been coming off well all week and we have had good reports of dry fly fishing towards the Dam. The fish took both emergers and dries. Fishing larva and pupae also worked well and in fact was more successful in the bright light. With the promised cloud cover in this coming week, the dry fly fishing should be good as the leader should not be so visible to the fish. Take care when handling the fish. Leaving a fish out in the air when it is so cold will cause the water to freeze and damage the gills potentially causing irreparable harm to the fish. In addition, land the fish and release it quickly to limit the amount of energy expended. Sometimes if I can't remove a hook quickly enough I will just break off the line. The fish are now confined to restricted diets for the next 2 months so it is important to let them alone as much as possible so that they will survive the winter in reasonably healthy condition.Recommended Flies: Wait for the sun to hit the water before venturing out. Then follow the sun . In the bright light the fish can easily be spotted in the deeper slower water. In the coming week fish midges deep and then if they start coming off fish closer to the surface with emergers if the fish start rising in the water column. Watch until the fish are poking their heads out of the water to take the midges off the surface before switching to dry patterns. When the fish are taking midges they won't move much to take them so fish as accurately as possible to ensure that the fly drifts down or up to the level of the feeding fish. It is imperative that one fishes right to the fish, so continually vary your weights. If you are careful you will get a lot of shots at a suspended fish as it won't move much to inspect a fly. Try WD-40's #20 , red and black chironocones #20, brassie's #18 - #22, midge larva patterns #18 - #22 and garcia's rojo midges # 18 - #22. It's only when you practically hit the fish on the head and he moves off that you will know for sure he won't take your midge pattern. When the fish are taking midges off the surface, try and identify the size of the midges floating by and match the size. Carry a range of dry patterns such as the z-wing real midge, suspended midge and any similar dry black patterns in sizes from #20 through to #26. In addition with the browns on the redds still spawning take care not to disturb them. Instead fish downstream with egg patterns where other fish will gather to feed on them. Roaring Fork The increased flow from the Pan obviously increased the flow in the Fork below Basalt. It cleared a little material in the water below the confluence. The additional flow will have ice and material coming down with it so take care when wading. The further downstream you fish the more dangerous it will be. With the heightened flow, some intrepid souls floated from Carbondale to Glenwood and reported good results on san juan worms and nymphs. There are midge hatches in the sun. Streamers and eggs will work as well. Recommended Flies: Use the same flies as the Pan. (See our report for the Frying Pan). In addition use streamers, san juan worms and egg patterns. Generally try midges. Try larva and pupa patterns until the fish are moving under the surface then try emergers. Colorado River The Colorado should remain clear for the moment. There continues to be good fishing with similar patterns to the Fork only a little larger. Recommended Flies: midges, larva, pupae, dries and emergers; 20 inchers size #10 - #14; streamers #6 and #8 and smaller and try egg patterns. |
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