Frying Pan Anglers - Colorado Fly Fishing Report 18th June

We have certainly had a range of weather over the last week. Last Monday we awoke to some snow on the higher peaks and the rivers much higher after heavy overnight rain and snow. The week warmed a little as it progressed but then we had some more rain late in the week and a little more snow up high late on Saturday night.

With the further drop in the flow from the Pan on Thursday, the Fork is now 420cfs at Basalt making floating in a raft above Catherine's store bridge a contact sport in some of the wider or braided sections of the river. But the trip is worth it just for the colors, the great water and the great fishing.

With the arrival of the first snow on the high peaks including Mt. Sopris, the chill in the air and the cold mornings which are postponing the midges till a little later there is no longer a need to leap out of bed and head to the river at the break of first light. A good fortifying breakfast and then a determination to stay out until maybe 7 in the evening is the way to go. The number of fishermen on the rivers has dropped quickly over the last week. The sight of rain or snow keeps some in doors when in fact last Sunday's cold downpour in close to freezing temperatures brought on some of the best dry fly fishing on the Pan for the season. That process repeated itself during the week. It is evident that the preference of the fish for hatches is changing continually at the moment. So be prepared for all eventualities when you are on the rivers.

The falling leaves are now beginning to infiltrate the waterways noticeably. The cooler weather is also bringing the bighorn sheep lower down as well as a lot of deer. The bears are also in evidence feeding on the berries which survived the early frosts and matured. Interestingly, there have also been more turkeys about this year than in the recent past. The blue herons have moved a little from the Pan but there are still a lot on the Fork. There is now a sense of urgency about getting onto the river as often as possible as the season draws to a close.

Richard Skeate (on the right) caught this approx. 24" 10 lb. brown in the tailwaters at Reudi dam on a mysis shrimp .Larry Trumbull is helping hold it for the photo.

The Bureau dropped the flow again during the week so that it is now running at 113cfs. This will be tough for the fish in the final run down to winter. The browns are beginning to stage for the spawn and many of the reds are barely covered by the current flow. Furthermore, the ease of access for wading will mean that the fish will have few areas they can see some protection.

The fish will now be more confined in the river and will be moving to the deeper pools during the bright parts of the day. With the arrival of the cooler weather and the near freezing temperatures overnight the activity has slowed down early in the mornings, so there is no need to rush out onto the river at the crack of dawn.

We are now in Autumn with the last of the drakes (near the dam) as well as two hatches of PMD's a day. In addition, midges are coming off mid-morning, afternoon and evenings while BWO's will come off if there is any cloud cover or rain, or on the bright days, in the shade. They will also come off in the evenings. There are still a few caddis about though they are not as dominant on the Pan as on the Fork.

With the cooler weather coming, don't underestimate the effects of changes. It will get very cold if you stay on the river through rain enjoying the excellent hatches. So just be well stocked with flies and be prepared for the range of possible weather you might encounter. If there is a suggestion of cold and rain, dress for winter fishing. You will be able to peel off layers as the day progresses, if necessary.

Recommended Flies:

The drakes have practically ended their cycle but a few stragglers will still be in evidence at the Dam. Try the dries, cripples and emergers. 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. Also try the parachute sulphur #16 and #18. If the activity is a little slow during the day, try some nymphs down deeper.

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 Pan so try emergers and dries towards evening if the day is warm and some caddis are flying about.

Roaring Fork

Current Flow: near Emma - 420cfs (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page).

Rain and snow last Sunday evening pushed the flow in the Fork up to 600cfs on Monday. It slowly settled during the week and coupled with the further drop in the flow from the Fork on Thursday, the Fork is now just above 400cfs at 420 but will drop again tomorrw as last nights rain dissipates. The quality if the water is excellent at the moment and the fish are responding well to streamers as well as PMD's and BWO's.

Mal, Harry and Ed all reported excellent floating during week. Harry reported success on Saturday on stoneflies as well as caddis emergers, PMD's and baetis nymphs. Mal had great fishing on streamers on several occasions during the week.

On Sunday evening in the bright sun there was a good midge hatch mid-river which had fish taking #22 bead tail emergers behind a PMD anatomical #18.

Most of the float traffic now commences at Carbondale, so the Fork is still busy down from Carbondale although as we move towards the end of the season the activity is diminishing.

Recommended Flies: Overall the best results on the Fork are from nymphing although streamers have been doing quite well over the past month.

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. If floating try streamers for variety. In addition use caddis emergers as well.

In the afternoons and evenings the hatches are slowing down yet there are PMD's, BWO's and midges. 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 if any caddis are in evidence. In addition as the midges become the greater biomass as the weather turns colder use midge emergers behind a BWO or PMD.

Colorado River

The water in the Colorado suffered early in the week when the Fork blew out but it has since cleared nicely. Ed and Chris have been floating it towards the end of the week and report great fishing on streamers, PMDs and BWO's.

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