Colorado River Salmonfly Update, Monday Morning June 3, 2013
June 03rd, 2013
This weekend saw a tale of two days on the Colorado below Kremmling. Saturday, which is generally the busier day of the weekend, was relatively quiet and the dry fly fishing was fantastic. From Gore Canyon on down to about Yarmony Canyon there are strong numbers of adult Pteronarcys along the banks and in the bushes. It looks as if the majority of the hatch has emerged, with just a small amount of stragglers still crawling from the river each night. Wade fishermen were spread out from the top of Little Gore all the way up into Gore itself at least 2 miles. As has been the case the past few days, afternoon saw the greatest surface activity as the adults are much more active as the day goes on.
On Sunday it was a very different story. The biggest difference would have to be the crowd. Wade and float traffic were very congested, particularly from Radium up into Gore Canyon. Action, it would seem, felt the impact. While there was still some good dry fly fishing to be had, it was not the same intensity of the day before. Of course, there are a lot of factors that go into how the fishing is from one day to the next and it is often the easiest answer to point to crowds, we don’t think that is entirely the case here but, it might be part of it.
There were still plenty of adults present and fish continue to look up for well presented imitations. That seems to be the key: well presented means there needs to be a good cast to a prime location. Random casts, anywhere on the water were fine a couple of days ago, now it needs to be to a target and with purpose. With all the food in the system, the fish can now be selective, as well as feed with less urgency. The fish we are catching are absolutely stuffed, with some of them having protruding lumps in their bellies from gorging on bugs the size of small birds.
There are still fish to be caught on Salmonflies below Gore but, it will be a little more random now. One day the fish may have less interest in feeding consistently through the day as they digest the massive amount of food in their stomach and the next it may seem as if they haven’t eaten in a week. Stick with it and adjust to the situation each day.
Moving forward, we anticipate the hatch making serious progress upstream this week. The forecast calls for continued warm sunny days for the majority of the week. With the very low flows, which continue to drop each day and high sun, water temps are climbing and the nymphs are migrating towards the bank in the area around Parshall and above. Now is a great time to work the public access points in that area with a good Pteronarcys nymph and be on the look out for empty exoskeletons and crawling adults. This hatch moves and happens quick so, we’ll do our best to keep you informed.