Frying Pan Anglers - Colorado Fly Fishing Report 18th June

After the relatively modest flows of 10 days ago, a day of good rain early in the week and some hot weather and wind over the last few days the Fork has got to soon be peaking for this year. On three occasions in the past week the flow at Basalt has exceeded 2000cfs and currently it is at 1890cfs. According to Bureau records, the peak flow in 1999 was 2280cfs and it went very close to that this week according to the graph. With the heat and winds today, tomorrow's high reading will surely push past that record. The Bureau dropped the flow in the Pan on Wednesday which is not overly welcome as a flow closer to 250cfs is preferable to keep the fish well spread out and a little more protected. However with the current flow at 206cfs, perhaps this slowdown will be short-lived. At the moment at least it is running higher towards town as the various tributaries clear the last of the run-off at the higher elevations.

With the weather predicted to heat up even more over the next few days the Fork will have to pass its peak and begin to fall shortly making way for a season of excellent floating. It is certainly hot and dry at the moment. We would have expected a little more rainy days by now. It was excellent on Tuesday when it did rain and the BWO's came off very nicely affording some excellent dry fly fishing.

We are certainly busy now and the number of visitors to the Pan have escalated due to the intermittent unfishability of the Fork. On several occasions this week it was practically shoulder to shoulder towards the Dam.

If you are coming up and want a more accurate report on the water quality, give us a call at the shop and we will be only too happy to provide you with as much accuracy as we can. The conditions do change quickly at the moment. Several cold nights will bring the water flow down and improve the quality rapidly. Similarly, as soon as the peak flow has passed the water will clear quickly.

For those who might be interested in booking the Taylor Creek Cabins we advise that we are fully booked for July and only have a few days left for August and September.

On Wednesday the Bureau dropped the flow in the Pan by 50cfs. Ideally it should be a little higher to ensure the fish spread out and are well protected from predators. However with the tributaries still dumping the last of the run-off into the Pan, the level is higher as one gets closer to town. The tributaries are cleaner now indicating that most of the elevations feeding the lower Pan have melted off.

The fishing this week on Tuesday during the rain was excellent with the BWO's coming off and the fishing feeding in the quieter waters. The parachute Adams #20 worked perfectly. As the weather warmed up and the days got bright towards the end of the week the fishing became a little tougher and the crowds built. On Saturday mid-river there was a good PMD hatch and the fish took to emergers and dries. Even though the flows have dropped a little, there is still sufficient water for the fish to remain on the edges particularly in the shade and in the softer flowing water.

Recommended Flies:

With PMD's coming off try emergers and dries. A barr's emerger or the FPA PMD emerger #18 work well. Try fishing them behind stimulators.

For baetis try a small FPA sparkle baetis, a thorax sparkle baetis, the icebreaker or a pheasant tail before they start to rise. Try sizes #18 - #22. In addition, when the BWO's start coming off try RS2's and other emerger patterns behind a dry. It doesn't hurt to try the emergers behind the nymphs if the fish are staying down in the higher water. For dries, use parachute Adams, Matthews sparkle baetis, biot BWO, the extended body BWO and the grizzly Adams. Take sizes from #18 - #24.

Midges come off during the day and in the evenings so try WD-40's #20 , red and black chironocones #20, brassie's #18 - #22, midge larva patterns #18 - #22, black polywings #18 - #22 and garcia's rojo midges # 18 - #22. Try the gray loopwing emergers #20 - #22, the special emergers both with and without the trailing shuck and gray RS2's #18 - #22. 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.

There are some caddis coming off on the lower Pan so try emergers and dries towards evening. In the evenings or in the shade, the caddis will be coming down to the surface.

Closer to town the fish are taking stone flies. Try the crawling caddis as well.

Roaring Fork

Current Flow: near Emma - 1890cfs (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page).

Earlier in the week before the water level rose, there was some good floating on the Fork up higher. Mal reported good fishing with big stonefly nymphs. However, now with the flow having hit over 2000cfs three times in the last week and the present hot weather and high winds, the Fork will be good for whitewater rafting over the next few days rather than fishing. However the peak flow should pass soon and the water quality will return.

So if you are coming up, give us a call at the shop and we will be happy to give you an up-to-date reliable and accurate report on the current river conditions.

Recommended Flies: Use the same flies as the Pan. (See our report for the Frying Pan). In addition use baetis nymphs and emergers, bwo's, streamers, stone flies such as the 20 incher and golden stones, san juan worms and egg patterns. Use caddis emergers and then dries as the day progresses.

With the Fork peaking at the moment and discolored all the way down, the Colorado is not reasonably fishable. So if you are coming to the area, give us a call at the shop and we will be happy to give you an up-to-date reliable and accurate report on the current river conditions and where to best get some clearer water.

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. The drakes will be starting soon.