Colorado River Salmonfly Update Wednesday Morning – June 18th
June 18th, 2014
Salmonfly action continues on the Colorado River both above and below Kremmling.
Above Kremmling we are seeing good numbers of adult insects wide spread through the public access points from Sunset Ranch up into Beyer’s Canyon. Tuesday morning there were plenty of bugs flying but, little interest from fish for the dries. Our best action came on Stonefly nymph patterns fished as a dropper behind large foam Salmonfly imitations. Flows continue to fall and clarity rise, offering better access every day. Angler pressure was moderate to little considering the hatch being in full swing.
Below Kremmling there are still adult Salmonflies to be found, and in some spots, large quantities of them. While most signs of the hatch have all but disappeared from the wider valley type water in the Pumphouse area, there are still moderate amounts of flying adults in the Little Gore Canyon stretch and we continue to get action to adult imitations. The real action is upstream from launch 1 at Pumphouse into Gore Canyon, where thick clumps of adult Salmonflies cling to every willow and bush. The further you are willing to hike, the better the action seems to be. If you have the stamina, we suggest at least 2 miles to start and then fish from there. Tuesday in the depth of the canyon, dry fly action was beyond crazy. But you have to put in the sweat equity to get the payoff, take a lunch, plenty of water and a headlamp for the hike back out. Fuzzy Wuzzy, Foamulator and B-1 Bombers were all producing great results.
Last night flows dropped substantially, about 900 cfs in the past 24 hours. This morning’s reading is 3,160, which is great for improving wade access along the banks and bringing the water level back down out of the willows.