Frying Pan Anglers - Colorado Fly Fishing Report 18th June

We had a fairly quiet week this week as the families took children back to school and things generally slowed down a little. Reports of the fishing on the Pan above 7 Castles this week were excellent with some great dry fly activity to the end of the week. We had some rain on Thursday night but thankfully it did not effect the rivers much at all. The Pan has cleared below Seven Castles but there is a lot of sediment about. Similarly the Fork cleared quite nicely by the end of the week.

There is talk of the Bureau increasing the flow in the Pan shortly as soon as the DOW approves the release with the goal of flushing out the Pan and the Fork for a day or so. The timing is not clear so check in advance with the shop to see if it has occurred. The Pan is currently running at 289cfs while the Fork at Basalt is 478cfs. Thus above the confluence with the Pan the Fork is 189cfs and too low now for floating.

For those who might be interested in booking the Taylor Creek Cabins we advise that we have just a couple of days left in September and October is filling as well.

Above the 4 mile mark the Pan has been fishing exceptionally well this week with reports of good drake dry fly fishing at the dam and generally good dry fly activity all the way down. The water has settled after the latest increase and the hatches are excellent.

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).

By the end of the week the Fork had cleared quite nicely so that at the confluence with the Colorado, the Fork was clearer than the Colorado. The blowout at Seven Castles has taken its toll on the Fork for the moment with a lot of silt settling in the quieter sections below Basalt for a good distance. With the anticipated increased releases it is hoped that at least some of this can be dislodged before winter. The Crystal has been clear and this has preserved the quality of the water below Carbondale, so that it has good floating all the way to Glenwood.

The fishing above Basalt has been good with reports of good dry fly activity with PMD and BWO patterns as well as streamers. 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

With the relatively fine weather the Colorado below Glenwood has benefited from the cooler clearer water coming in from the Fork. Above Glenwood though the water is too warm for good fishing at the moment. Provided the weather stays clear and the Fork cooperates there should be good floating and fishing on the Colorado in the coming week.

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.