Frying Pan Anglers - Colorado Fly Fishing Report 18th June

The aftermath of the slide at Seven Castles creek continues. Although the water has cleared in the area, the silt which was deposited keeps moving slowly downstream. It also is moving slowly down the Fork. During the week we had more rain in the Crystal Valley which blew out the Crystal River again. So coupled with the colored water from below Basalt, the fishing below Carbondale was off again. It has been a moderately difficult year with the lower part of the Fork being out so often and now the Pan is adding to the challenge.

For those who might be interested in booking the Taylor Creek Cabins we advise that in September we have the house available early in September due to a cancellation. Apart from that we are fully booked. October is also starting to get busy.

Below the 4 mile marker even though the water has cleared for a little way, it is not worth trying to fish, given the amount of material which has been deposited in the river by the washout. The bug life will have been adversely affected so there is not much reason for the surviving fish to move back to or stay in the area in any quantities. So for the present, it is not worth even stopping.

With the water running around 300cfs, wading is problematic in some of the narrower stretches for those who are unsure on their legs. However apart from that, there are plenty of reports of good fishing from higher up the Pan. On Saturday the fish responded to Barr's emergers #18 and on Sunday they took mercury rs2's #20 and #22 as well as FPA sparkle baetis #20 and Barr's emergers again. The fishing pressure has been substantial. One chap indicated that he tried to get some quiet time on the river so he arrived at the bend pool below the dam at 5 am. Someone else must have had the same idea and was already fishing there!

Now we are in full swing on the Pan with the drakes (near the dam) as well as two hatches of PMD's a day. In addition, midges are coming off morning afternoon and evenings while BWO's will come off if there is any cloud cover, or on the bright days, in the shade. They will also come off in the evenings. There are caddis as well particularly in the evenings but they are not as dominant on the Pan as the Fork.

So with a full range of hatches throughout the day and into the evening, just be well stocked with flies and be prepared for the range of possible weather you might encounter.

Recommended Flies:

For drakes try the dries, cripples emergers and the nymphs. The fish have seen so many drakes by now that they are very selective. The solution will be a combination of good presentation and perhaps a pattern with a touch variation from the norm.

With PMD's coming off try emergers and dries. A barr's emerger or the FPA PMD emerger #18 work well. Also try the hunch back #18, the bubbleback #16 and #18 and the #18 special emerger. Try fishing them behind orange stimulators. If the activity is a little slow during the day, try some nymphs down deeper.

For baetis t ry 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 Pan so try emergers and dries towards evening. In the evenings or in the shade, the caddis will be coming down to the surface. Try the crawling caddis as well. During the heat of the day, try terrestrials such as hoppers close to the banks where they are undercut.

Roaring Fork

Current Flow: near Emma - 546cfs (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page).

The midweek rain pushed up the flow and colored up the water all the way to Aspen for a day. However the flow has settled back again affording excellent fishing above Basalt. The water above Basalt has a lot of silt from the Pan so the conditions are similar to early run-off in some respects. However it is improving with every day. Travis floated early Sunday morning mid-river and reported good visibility and good fishing.

Lower down it was also improving until the Crystal blew out again after the midweek rains. Currently the Crystal is still a little colored so at the moment the better fishing is above Carbondale and certainly above Basalt.

Provided the weather stays clear for a few days, particularly up the Crystal Valley, it should begin to clear all the way to Glenwood again affording some good floating.

The fishing above Basalt was good during the week apart from Wednesday when overnight rains colored up the river for a day. The water flow though is too low for all except the hardiest souls to try and float. There is excellent walk wading access available along the Fork above Basalt and at this time of year it is ideal for those who are willing to put in a little effort to get away from the close in combat fishing on the Pan and find untrafficked areas on the Fork. It really is worth one's while to get a map and some directions if one is unsure. Come by the shop and we will gladly point you in any number of directions.

Recommended Flies:

Overall the best results on the Fork are from nymphing.

During the day use PMD and BWO nymphs and emergers behind hopper or stimulator patterns. If you are nymphing deep down, use plenty of weight in the fast running water and pick where the fish are a little protected behind structure or deeper down in the slower water.

In addition use caddis emergers as well. For variety put on a stone fly or a drake nymph during the day fished deep if things slow down.

In the afternoons and evenings there is a myriad of bugs coming off or in the air, yet the fish are still keeping low most of the time. So continue to use PMD and BWO nymphs and emergers. Use caddis pupa and emerger patterns as well as the caddis are prolific in the shade and towards evenings.

If you are willing to fish into the dark, the spinner fall will be worth the wait. So try rusty spinner patterns.

The drakes are finished higher up but the fish will still remember them for just a little longer. Also if floating try streamers for variety.

Colorado River

The fishing was improving on the Colorado with some water clarity earlier in the week. However from Wednesday the Fork put paid to that for a while. However it should start to clear again if the weather remains fine.

Recommended Flies: caddis dries and emergers, PMDs - nymphs emergers and dries; bwo's - nymphs emergers and dries; yellow sallies #16 - #18; 20 inchers size #10 - #14; streamers #6 and #8.