Frying Pan Anglers - Colorado Fly Fishing Report 18th June

Well the hot weather has arrived! And you can verify that by checking the flow in the Roaring Fork. It is currently running at 532cfs at Basalt. The water was colored and fishing was not much good lower down below Carbondale. Even below Basalt the water had some color. This evening they raised the level in the Pan to 116cfs which is excellent because it has been just a little too low on the very bright days over the weekend.

The warm weather is expected to continue for a couple of days and then it is predicted to cool down from the middle of the week through to next week end. The warm weather has certainly increased the melt in the tributaries along the Pan. Taylor Creek is now running the highest it has this year and has some color. But there is not enough to affect the quality of the water in the Pan. The water conditions are excellent.

From Glenwood up the caddis are thick. In Glenwood there were clouds of them in the air, paticularly when crossing the Colorado. Fishing caddis on the edges of the Fork a little higher up will provide excellent fishing even if the water is a little cloudy.

Town is certainly quiet at the moment with many of the locals having left at the end of the winter season. We have had a few visitors in town who have enjoyed some good fishing particularly higher up. The grass is green and some of the trees are just beginning to bud even though we will get some more cold wet and wintery weather over the next month. The fish are starting to get lively. Fishing caddis on Saturday was a particular delight as the fish slapped at the dry fly floating by. The fishing was so good it was necessary to do a "Gordo". A practice named after a great friend of mine who after deftly making the acquaintance of a couple of fish usually likes to sit on the river bank and just contemplate the beauty of it all without bothering to interfere any more as the hungry trout feed ravenously on one of the first prolific caddis hatches of the season. Its great to see the fish so active after a winter of restricted diet.

So if you have a mind to come up, give a call to the shop and check the condition of the rivers. There is always some great fishing to be had somewhere in our valley.

Dave Chapdelaine with a nice fish from a recent trip on the Fork with Harry.

The flow has been bumped up to 116cfs this evening. It is a welcome addition to the flow. The recent wet weather must have been enough to accelerate the flow into Reudi increasing its level in anticipation of the coming summer. There is a little more rain predicted for later in the week so provided the Dam continues to fill and the Bureau doesn't vary the flow too much for the next month, the fishing will be excellent. The additional 24cfs will be good for the fish. It was noticeable today on the river in the very bright light just how much the fish concentrated in the deeper pools out of harms way. There were a few caddis flying about but nothing significant. BWO's and midges were the main bug activity. The fish tended to keep low in the bright light but took dries in the shade. Elsewhere they took baetis nymphs and midge emergers..

Recommended Flies: The fish can easily be spotted in the deeper slower water. Look in the seams as the fish are preferring the slower water to conserve energy but are feeding on the edge of the faster water as the food is washed by. With the additional flow the fish will now spread out a little more into some of the pools which yesterday were a little shallow in the bright light. They are also in the slower pools taking adult midges off the surface. Fish midges deep and then if they start coming off fish closer to the surface with emergers when the fish start rising in the water column. Watch until they are poking their heads out of the water to take the midges off the surface before switching to dry patterns. 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. 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 emergers both black and gray, some with a trailing shuck. Also carry dry patterns such as the z-wing real midge, suspended midge and any similar dry black and gray patterns in sizes from #20 through to #26. This week they also took black RS2's #20 when fished 36 inches behind a sparkle baetis.

The baetis nymphs are moving about in the water so try a nymph down deep with a midge for variety. Try a small FPA sparkle baetis, icebreaker or a pheasant tail. Try sizes #18 - #22. In addition, some BWO's are coming off. So take along a few dry patterns as well just in case. Try a parachute Adams with a midge emerger behind it.

Roaring Fork

Current Flow: near Emma - 532cfs (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page).

The hot weather over the last 2 days has bumped the flow in the Fork up by almost 100cfs since last week. The water was colored today even at Basalt so it is a matter of moving higher up the Fork to get to the better conditions. By the middle of the coming week it is expected that the weather will cool down again so that will slow the flow and ensure that we will have good conditions further down the Fork by the coming weekend.

The caddis are hatching prolifically on the Fork at the moment from Glenwood up. I had some excellent fishing on Saturday below the Catherine's Store Bridge. The fish took practically every caddis dry pattern I threw at them. The midges are working well as are sanjuan worms, streamers and baetis patterns. The better fishing remains higher up with the warmer weather pushing up the run-off. The color deteriorates below Carbondale when the melt is mixed with some rain which washes additional material into the water. The best thing is to ring the shop and check the conditions. Just because the river looks dark at Glenwood doesn't mean that we haven't got excellent fishing higher up.

Recommended Flies:Use the same flies as the Pan. (See our report for the Frying Pan). In addition use bwo's, streamers, stone flies such as the 20 incher and golden stones, san juan worms and egg patterns. Use caddis in the shade in the afternoons when the caddis start flying around. Try dries as well as emergers. Generally try midges. Try larva and pupa patterns until the fish are moving under the surface then try emergers.

The Colorado is now dirty with the latest spate of warm weather. If it is cold for a few days the Colorado will clear up for a little. So if you are in the area, make the journey up valley to at least Basalt to experience the difference in water color.

Recommended Flies: caddis dries and emergers, midges, larva, pupae, dries and emergers; bwo's - nymphs emergers and dries; 20 inchers size #10 - #14; streamers #6 and #8 and smaller and try egg patterns.