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The promised snow passed us by this week. But the temperature certainly warmed up the Rockies while the Midwest and Northeast finally began to get their fair share of winter. Today looked a little like snow but the wind blew it through. The snow has got to get here shortly. It has been so warm, that the snow pack is beginning to melt off around the rivers. There is a lot of mud on the side roads. And today there was a lot of ice floating down the Fork. The warmth and increased run-off can be evidenced in the flow in the Fork which is currently at 272cfs having jumped a little from last week. Some days the temperature has been mid 40's. It was actually 51° at the base of Snowmass one day last week. The Pan is free of floating ice at the moment as the controlled level prevents much increase flow to wash ice into the river. The number of fishermen on the river is rising daily in concert with the warmer weather. The higher sun and the pleasant weather has afforded many fishing opportunities on the Fork of late as well as the Pan. In the coming week the weather is predicted to get a little colder with a chance of some snow. It is expected to clear by the end of the week and remain colder. Although we are noticing more fishermen in town the river is relatively free from traffic. So if you have a mind to get into some early season fishing, any time from here on would be perfect. We are starting to get our new seasons flies into the shop at the moment and are going to make a few minor furniture changes which we hope will meet with your approval when you drop by.
Landing a fish in Winter - Dec 14th Frying Pan
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 has cleared the river of a lot of anchor ice and cleared the banks which were close to the flow. The fishing was good over the past week, with the cloud cover giving a little assistance to those dry fly fishermen fishing midges on the surface. The midges were coming off all week. They will generally start to come off towards midday. As the sun is getting higher and a little warmer, it extended the hatches a little. However in the coming week if it gets colder it will become a little more exacting again. 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 cloud cover, the dry fly fishing should be good as the leader should not be so visible to the fish. Take care when handling the fish. It is easier on the fishing during the warmer days but if it gets cold again as predicted take care. 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 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. The water is an excellent color. 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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