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Finally, warm weather and predominantly sunny skies. It was getting to seem as if Spring would never come. With the big jump in air temperatures we are starting to see some changes in clarity throughout the high country. This time of year can be very volatile to say the least but, the are still plenty of options out there for a great day on the water.
Some rivers are done for the duration of run-off; the Lower Colorado. Others will experience some momentary interruption in clarity and be day to day: the Colorado in the Kremmling area. And still others will stay stable for another week or two before the big push in snow melt comes and slow things down for a brief run-off season: The Arkansas.
The key is to be flexible and keep an eye on day to day flows and weather. Don’t hesitate to call or stop by and ask our opinion. We’ll do our best to help you get into fish now and through run-off. We are still expecting a decent showing for the Salmonflies on the Colorado. Our boats returning from the river today had good action on nymphs even with the river rising about 15% in volume over the course of the day and visibility dripping to 10″.
Keep in mind that a lot of the coloration coming in right now is just from the river rising to it’s highest level in the past 7 months. Over that time a certain amount of debris will have settled into the dry river bed and now that the water is once again flowing over that dry bed, it will scour that sediment away. As that flow stabilizes we should see clarity improve slightly and the fish continue to feed in their need to replace lost calories from the winter.
As we note in the river notes to the right, this weather pattern may have an impact on hatches on a given river, think Caddis on the Arkansas but, overall fishing remains strong. Where some hatches have been pushed back or stalled, others have remained and flourished. Be prepared to adjust your patterns and maybe location but, don’t abandon a day on the river.
Don’t hesitate to call us for current conditions, we’ll do our best to try and interpret changing stream flow readings with you. Or follow us on Twitter @coloradoangler, where we try to post changing conditions as we learn about them.
Detailed reports on the right side of this page will give more specific information on a particular stretch of river. Make sure to check those out for your river of interest, as they will be able to answer questions pertaining to hatches and flies.
Please feel free to call us at The Colorado Angler, at any time to discuss any questions and concerns you may have about the current conditions. There is a lot of information here on this page as well as on our main page at www.TheColoradoAngler.com but, space is limited and we may not have answered all of your questions. We want to make sure you get the information you are looking for. Toll Free 855-CO TROUT (268-7688) or stop by and see us in the Summit Place shopping center in Silverthorne, next to Blue Moon Bakery, Exit 205 on I-70, then south 1 block. Spring Hours: Monday – Saturday 8 am – 6 pm, Sunday 8 am – 5 pm
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Blue River Below Dillon Reservoir
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| Flow: 55 cfs. |
| Conditions: Continued low water releases from Dillon are keeping things stable in town. With low, clear flows expect some technical conditions and wary trout. Some of the best results are coming on nymph patterns fished on 6x and 7x tippet and if possible, go with out the indicator. Midge imitations continue to be the bulk of the diet in pupa, larva and emerger phases, fished in sizes #22-#26. Although they are accounting for a small percentage of the hook-ups in town, Mysis Shrimp patterns remain spotty at best due to the low release coming from the dam. The strong dry fly action of the past few weeks has waned slightly and become less consistent, with only day to day occurrences. With the big spike in temperatures the past few days, we have seen the potential for run-off to make it’s way into the river from the interstate down and some days gaining in color as you move downstream. When that does happen, it is generally not too dirty to prevent continued fishing. We are finding San Juan Worm and Egg patterns to be effective in the cloudier water. Crowds have thinned considerably over the past couple of weeks as there are now plenty of available options with the onset of Spring.
Town Flies: Candy Cane #20, BTS Mysis #16-22, RS-2 #22-24, STD Baetis #20, Black or Chocolate UV Emerger #22-24, Kingery’s Cap’n Hook #20-22, Pure Midge Larva #20-24, Black Beauty #20-24, Tube Midge Black or Red #20-22, Medallion Midge #22-24, Split case BWO #20, Winter Baetis #20-22, Desert Storm #20-24, Rainbow Warrior #20, #22 BWO Adult, Adult Midge Dark, Brook’s Sprout Midge #22-24, Parachute Adams #24-26 .
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Blue River Below Green Mountain
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| Flow: 69 cfs. |
| Conditions: Look for these low flows to continue through the end of June at the earliest as water managers will try and hold off on releasing any water from here until it is absolutely necessary. That is not entirely a bad thing however, as low water means incredible wading access and range in the canyon. This might be a great opportunity to target some of the deepest runs in the river, which often make it tough to cover under higher flows. The majority of current activity will be to Midge and Baetis nymphs, with a good possibility of an emergence coming in the form of a Blue Winged Olive hatch. As always down here, don’t overlook the larger nymphs in the system, as we find fish throughout the year will still capitalize on a hearty offering when presented well. Try running a double nymph rig with a larger bead head for the Green Drakes or Stoneflies that are well established in the Canyon, followed up with either a Baetis or Midge pattern for a more timely offering.
Flies: Big bead heads: Hare’s Ear, Tungteaser, Pheasant Tail, Stubby Stone, Twenty Incher, Rubberlegs, Psycho prince. Smaller Hatches: Juju Baetis (Standard and Purple), Barr’s Emerger BWO, Redemption BWO, Split Case BWO, Tung Psycho May BWO, Baetis Big Bear, Zebra Midge, Rojo Midge, Pure Midge Larva, Jujubee, Biot Midge, UV Emerger, CDC BWO Comparadun, Winger Parachute BWO, Sparkle Baetis
Floaters should note: Floating is done for the season, river levels are much too low. The river volume on this stretch of water can change on an infrequent schedule and often. It is important to know the flow before you launch and make an honest assessment of your ability and watercraft capability. Please respect private property rights along the river.
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Colorado River Above Kremmling (Parshall)
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| Flow: 819 cfs. |
| Conditions: Although the Williams Fork still remains low, Upper Colorado flows have risen steadily over the last few days as early snow melt starts to make its way into the river channel. With this run-off, clarity has diminished mildly but, fishing should still offer some decent opportunities. Insect activity will be a little more sparse than it has been as water temperatures have dropped with the snow melt in the river. There may still be a few remaining Midges but, the majority of any insect activity will probably be Blue Winged Olives. With this warming trend, day time temps should push the 70 degree mark and start to bring water temperatures up with them as flows stabilize. Start the early morning off with a mix of searching nymphs and Baetis patterns, moving into riffles later in the morning as the Baetis nymphs start to drift in the current. If a hatch does emerge, it should have some longevity to it with the overcast skies. There have also been some decent reports of blind nymphing with San Juan Worm patterns mixed in tandem with beaded searching nymphs and various Stonefly patterns. Streamers can also be productive as clarity drops and hungry Browns may take an interest if a larger meal presents itself.
Flies: WD-40, Pure Midge Larva:Red or Pale Olive, Andrew’s 5-0 Midge, Rojo Midge, RS-2, Barr’s Emerger BWO, Gidget Olive, Purple Juju Baetis, Sparkle Wing RS2, Big Bear Baetis, Two Bit Hooker, Biot Midge. Sparkle Dun BWO, Gulpher Special, Para Extended Body BWO, Skittering Zelon Midge, CDC Hanging Midge, Slumpbuster, LE Marabou Streamer.
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Colorado River Pumphouse to Dotsero
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| Flow: 1410 cfs. |
| Conditions: Flows starting to jump up with a little bit of early run-off making it’s way into the river. Weather has been a real roller coaster ride lately and that will have some impact on conditions day to day. Following a day or two of warmer temps, clarity has taken a hit, down to as little a 6″ at times. Then as temps cool off for a bit that clarity will again rise to as much as 24″ on other days. Definitely need to be prepared for “variable” conditions. That being said, fishing at times remains fairly strong. While action has been best primarily on nymphs, we are seeing good hatches of Blue Wing Olives and the Caddis have finally started to emerge. Although not very consistent with the off color conditions, opportunities are there for dry flies when clarity allows. The most consistent action has been on tandem nymph rigs using a good mix of Stonefly, Baetis and Beaded Searching patterns. Wading access, which has been very good at these low flows, will begin to be limited to just the near bank now as crossing becomes pretty tough above 1200. While the river is on the rise we expect clarity to remain off, as the river is now starting to run across river bed that has been dry for the past several months and collected a certain amount of debris. Once the river levels off at a particular flow, then clarity should improve a noticeable amount. As you make your way downstream additional feeder streams are adding run-off and diminishing clarity, such as Sheephorn and Piney Creeks. Pay attention to these and be prepared to move higher upstream if visibility becomes to dirty.
Flies: Large stones, Tungteaser, Rubberleg, Sexstones, Beaded Pheasant Tails, Beaded Hares Ears, RS2’s, Split Case BWO, Barr’s Emerger, Juju Baetis, Blue Ribbon Emerger. Gulper Special, BWO Sparkle Wulff, Winger Parachute, CDC Baetis Dun
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Colorado Below Glenwood Springs
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| Flow 6950 cfs. |
| Conditions: Consider this done for the immediate future. Things have gotten to be pretty dirty on the lower river. With a combination of run-off from the lower Eagle and the Roaring Fork from the Crystal River downstream, this may take some time to clear. Not to mention that flows have jumped up considerably and the river will be gaining a certain amount of debris as it scours areas that have been dry. Definitely not a destination at this time. If you are in the neighborhood on your way to fish the Pan or Upper Roaring Fork, then give it a look but, by no means go out of your way for the risk at mostly dirty water. It’s a shame too, as huge Caddis hatches had been pouring off the river and fishing was solid.
Flies: Mr Peacock Ice, Pat’s Rubber Legs, Tungteaser, Bead Prince, Twenty Incher, Hunchback Green Drake nymph, Tungsten Pheasant Tail, Bead Prince, Bead Hares Ear, Zebra Midge, Rojo Midge, Poison Tung, Juju Baetis, STD Baetis, Tungsten Split Case BWO, Para Ext. Body BWO, Parachute March Brown, Gulpher Special, Various Egg imitations.
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Arkansas River Above Buena Vista
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| Flow: 338 ^cfs. @ Granite |
| Conditions: Starting to see some volume again in the river channel. Improving daily as the spring weather warms things up, particularly below Granite and closer to Buena Vista. Probably not the most consistent fishery yet in terms of day in and day out but, there are fish starting to stir from their winter respite. Once again worth putting into your rotation of destinations. The other big positive for the time being here has been the clarity. While you may see some slight coloration from recent rains as well as new snow melt, for the most part the upper Ark remains pretty clear. Even as action improves in the upper valley, we still wouldn’t expect wide spread activity as water temperatures are still behind the lower valley. Rather, look for fish to be holding in the tail-outs of pools and runs, moving up towards the head as things warm mid afternoon. Tandem nymph rigs utilizing a Beaded searching pattern such as a Pheasant Tail or Hot Wire Prince, followed up with either a Baetis or Midge trailer will be your best producers. With the cloudy cooler temperatures this week the Blue Wings should be moving up above BV in no time and it won’t be long before those Caddis hatches from downriver shoot upstream as well.
Flies: Beaded Hares Ear, Hot Wire Prince, Beaded Pheasant Tail, Copper John, RS-2, Zebra Midge, Poison Tung, Jujubee, Juju Baetis, Barr’s BWO Emerger, Winter Baetis, Rojo Midge,WD40
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Arkansas River Below Buena Vista
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| Flow: 598 ^ cfs. @ Wellsville |
| Conditions: Flows are starting to jump up to late spring levels as pre-runoff is adding volume to the river. However, these are still great levels for wade and float fishing. Recent unsettled weather conditions aside, this is as good of a spot to be in Colorado as there is right now. We are now seeing solid Spring fishing from Brown’s Canyon down through Salida and into Big Horn Sheep Canyon. Over the past several days we have seen a diverse offering of bugs, with Blue Winged Olives prevalent in the upper range down into Salida and even below. To Caddis emerging from Howard up into Salida at times. The cloudy, cooler weather last week has slightly stalled the upstream march of Caddis, but there are still some emerging on stretches with the right temperatures. Now as this pattern clears out and the sun returns, we expect the Caddis to gain some momentum and quickly move up through Salida and above. Mornings have been solid on a mix of Baetis and Beaded Stonefly and searching nymphs. As it moves into mid-day, early afternoon look for fish to rise in the column as well as move up into riffles to feed on emerging insects, these could be Caddis or BWOs depending on where you are in the river and the weather for that particular day. Be flexible and not too set on throwing one thing over another. Action has been great, it just might not be on what you were focusing on when you hit the water that day. Clarity has remained very favorable for anglers, actually a little bit of color in the water has been a blessing for these low spring flows with spooky fish. Typical of spring, the wind can be a factor on the Arkansas and has been strong at times. There is plenty of wade access available on the river, don’t hesitate to move around to find a more favorable aspect to the wind.
Flies: Bead Head Pheasant Tail # 14-16, Tungstone Golden #12-16, Tungsten Yellow Sally, Iron Sally, Chartreuse Copper John #12-16, Chartreuse Hot Wire Caddis, Hot Wire Prince, Pat’s Rubber Legs #8, Parachute Extended Body BWO, Juju Baetis, Split Case BWO, Zebra Midge, Garcia’s Rojo Midge, RS-2 and Poison Tung, Parachute Extended Body BWO, Winger Parachute, Sparkle Baetis, CDC Para Dun, High Vis Para Baetis, Elk Hair Caddis Olive, Tan or Brown, Stimulator, Hippie Stomper.
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Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs
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| Flow: 1880 cfs. |
| Conditions: Location is the key at the moment. The Crystal River has been dumping a ton of color and volume into the river at Carbondale. Flows have jumped substantially and are now scouring debris from the until recently dry shoreline. From there down has mostly been lost for the past several days. Above there still offers some decent prospects for anglers. Look for some Blue Winged Olives and possibly Midges depending on how far up you go. Action has been most consistent on nymph rigs pairing a combination of Baetis with either Stonefly or Searching patterns. Flows remain low enough to allow for easy wading. With the reduction in good water, you may encounter above average foot traffic at some of the more popular spots but, there are still plenty of points to get in the river, not only near Basalt but, up towards Aspen as well.
Flies: Twenty Incher, Tungteaser, Stubby stones, Beaded Pheasant Tail, Standard Pheasant Tail, Pat’s Rubber Legs, Tungsten Juju Baetis, Psycho Mayfly, STD’s, Barr’s Emerger, BWO dries, Para Extended Bosy BWO, Zebra Midge, UV Emerger, Rainbow Warrior
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South Platte River, Middle Fork
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| Flow: 70+/- cfs. |
| Conditions: Starting to open up with spring. Not a lot of info just yet, as things are just starting to get to a point where anglers can venture onto the river. We should get some feedback in the next few days.
Flies: Chartreuse Copper John, Rainbow Warrior, Egg Patterns, Hot Wire Prince, Beaded Flash Prince, Tungteaser,
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South Platte, Dream Stream
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| Flow 36 cfs. |
| Conditions: Flows continue to be on the low side. This will make for tough conditions with spooky fish. However, we are seeing a few lake run fish starting to make the move upstream. At the moment sight fishing is producing some modest results and we recommend going without an indicator if possible. Just one less thing to make the trout nervous. A deliberate, stealthy approach is going to be your best bet here. Be patient with your movements and try to spot a fish to target versus blind casting. The one positive to all of this is that it’s not blown out as some of our freestones now are. We’ll do our best to keep an eye on things here and post when the numbers and size of fish start to fill in.
Flies: Black RS-2, Barr’s Drowned Trico, Black Copper John #22, Juju Baetis, Zebra Midge Black/Silver, Buckskin Caddis, Mercer’s Poxyback PMD, Poxybiot Nymph, Egg Patterns, Pure Midge Larva, Cap’n Hook
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Williams Fork River Below Dam
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| Flow 17 cfs. |
| Conditions: Flow is down to minimal levels as we start to move into Spring and water allocations from the reservoir are depleted. Sufficient holding water will be reduced in many stretches and anglers intent on fishing this tailwater should really look to another fishery. At this flow stress levels in fish will be high enough. Any excessive pressure on them may be detrimental to the overall health of the river. Try to wait until we see a rebound in water in the river.
Flies: Pure Midge Larva, Rainbow Warrior, Rojo Midge, Biot mayfly Emerger, #20-22 Green Copper John, Zebra Midge, RS2’s, 5-0 Midge, UV Emerger, BWO dries.
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Antero Reservoir
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| Conditions: Ice is gone and the boat ramps just opened. With all the fantastic spring moisture over the last month or so, Denver Water has changed the plan for this popular impoundment and will NOT be draining it as was originally scheduled. It will not be totally full, similar to last year but, this is great news for all of you still water junkies out there. We will get you info in the next couple of days as some of the guides make their way down there.
Flies: Yankee Buzzer, Jumbo Juju, Tak’s Chironomid, Garcia’s Rojo Grande Midge, Rapunzel Damsel, Poxyback Calibaetis Nymph, Hare’s Ear, Copper John
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Spinney Mountain Reservoir
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| Conditions: Open to hand launch water craft only at this time and that may not change for the entire season. Denver water is still waiting to see how much moisture is in the snow pack above the valley. Reports from the opener last week were rather dismal. We hope this was just an aberration and not a sign of things to come. We should get more feedback over the next couple of days and we’ll let you know as we do.
Flies: Jumbo Juju, Hale Bopp Leeches, Yankee Buzzer, Egg Patterns
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Delaney Buttes Lakes
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| Conditions: Starting to become a good option with many rivers getting higher and off color. Early season means fish tight-in, cruising the banks and a lot of the traffic has been from shore. Sight fishing can be productive when that is the case. Fish a couple of nymphs suspended under and indicator or slow crawl a smaller leech pattern to start.
Flies: Egg Patterns, Bead Pheasant Tail, Bead Hare’s Ear, Copper John, Jumbo Juju, Zebra Midge, Tak’s Chironomid, Hale Bopp Leech
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