Fishing Report For the Week ending 2nd December 2007 Well the weatherman was finally correct. The ski slopes have received 45 inches of snow in the last few days with the promise of more to come. After a couple of clear days we are promised more snow up to next weekend. We certainly needed it as the slopes had hardly opened as of yesterday morning. However a few more days of this and there should be a reasonable amount of ski terrain open. Of course the turn in the weather has kept all but the hardiest souls off the rivers. The midge dry fly fishing was certainly good during the past few week. In fact mid week there were quite a few BWO’s coming off a little lower down the Pan. Perhaps that was the last hatch before the snow arrived. We haven’t had sufficient snow yet to build up on the edges of the rivers but that won’t be long now. Dress in fully fledged sub-zero clothing now and don’t take any chances on the cold. So take care and enjoy some excellent winter fishing. Frying Pan Current Flow: below the Dam - 87cfs. (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page) Although the mountains got a lot of snow, lower down it was wet and didn’t stay on the ground much on Saturday. But by Sunday the cold ensured that we now have a slight cover and with a few more days of this it will be here for the season. The weather warmed mildly just before the snow arrived and gave us some good midge dry fly fishing midweek on the Pan. Both Mal and TJ reported some good days out up near the Dam. TJ doesn’t mind the cold and found the better fishing in the shade. The fishing was good in the sun as well but not as prolific. The fish are now down deep or in the slower parts of the river below areas of aeration. The fish will continue on the redds closer to the dam well into January so take care of those areas. Recommended Flies:  With the cold of winter having arrived, the principal hatch will now be midges. They will come off during the day, particularly if it is sunny. So try WD-40's #20 , red and black chironocones #20, brassie's #18 - #22, midge larva patterns #18 - #22, copper johns #18 - #22, black polywings #18 - #22 and garcia's rojo midges # 18 - #22. Try the gray loopwing emergers #20 - #22, the FPA special emergers, biot 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 #28. As the cold weather intensifies the midges will tend to get smaller, so be prepared to fish very light leader and very small flies. In addition try and sight fish and concentrate on drifting the fly right to the feeding fish. They will not move much as it gets colder and the feed gets smaller. There is no point in expending much energy for minimal return by chasing a #30 midge floating past. In addition try egg patterns down stream but keep off the redds. Shortly the only spawning fish will be near the dam as the rest of the river gets too cold. Roaring Fork Current Flow: near Emma - 335cfs (if you want more uptodate figures check out current readings on our "Links" page). The snow over the last few days was slightly wet so instead of setting up, some ran into the Fork pushing up the flow a little since last week. With the expectation of more snow the flow might get a little higher if the temperatures hover around freezing during the days. The principal hatch at the moment is midges which are coming off in the mornings as the sun hits the water. The fish will take small nymphs and midge emergers when nymphing during the day. With the arrival of the colder weather and possibly some snow things will really start to slow down. The big fish won’t take after streamers as it gets colder and they will move to the deeper slower parts of the river. When that happens, it will be a matter of nymphs such as princes and copper johns, various midge patterns and egg patterns. Recommended Flies: Overall the best results on the Fork are from nymphing now that the cold weather has arrived. During the day use midge emergers and tiny nymph attracters. See some of the patterns we have mentioned for the Pan. If you are nymphing deep down, use plenty of weight and pick where the fish are protected behind structure or deeper down in the slower water. Also try princes, brassies, copper johns and eggs deep down. Colorado River The water in the Colorado remains clear at the moment. It is not as cold as the Fork yet so there will be a few BWO’s coming off as well as midges but generally try streamers if floating or alternatively nymphs and eggs deep down. Recommended Flies: BWO nymphs; midges emergers and dries during the hatches, eggs and princes, 20 inchers size #10 - #14; streamers #2 - #8. [Archive Index]
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