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Looking like a great window for fishing here this holiday weekend. With the cool temperatures early this week, we saw a fantastic improvement to just about every watershed in the central part of the state. Now as the sun returns and warm weather returns, it looks like we might make it through the next couple of days before the run-off once again has an impact on most local rivers.
The big flows and dirty water that just last weekend might have signaled the end for some spots is but a memory today. There is still a lot of snow up high and run-off is by no means over. We are optimistic that there might be a couple of days before that turns again to below ideal conditions.
To go along with the good forecast we have some great happenings on multiple locations across the area to choose from. THE HATCH, as in THAT Hatch that you have always heard about but never quite hit yourself, Salmonfly Hatch on the Colorado, looks poised to blow up Thursday or Friday. https://thecoloradoangler.com/colorado-river-salmonfly-update-may-15-2013/ New editions to the Blue bring a mild frenzy of anglers. And improved conditions on the Arkansas bring hope of another resurgence in Caddis
Keep in mind that it does still remain volatile at times during this time of year and you want to be flexible, ready to change course if needed.
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: There are actually two reports for this stretch at the moment. We will give you the disclaimer report first and follow that with the reality based report. Due to a sudden relocation of some mature Rainbows in town(that would be code for retired brood stock from the DOW hatchery) some stretches of town have seen an explosion of less than technical action as well as the complimentary explosion in anglers that often accompanies that sort of thing. If this is something that you may have an interest in, be prepared for HEAVY crowds during peak daytime hours. Action has been pretty crazy and the fish have not been all too picky. The Spaghetti and Meatball rigs (San Juan/Egg Pattern) seem to do the trick. If that isn’t working then switch to the usual Tailwater Midge and Mayfly imitations. Now to the rest of town: 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 (aside from the stretch where the stocking took place) as there are now plenty of available options with the onset of Spring.
Town Flies: Spaghetti and Meatballs (San Juan Worm Patterns and Eggs) 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: 65 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. While action has not been fast and furious, this might still 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: 429 cfs. |
| Conditions: Big drop in flows and a rise in clarity as cooler temps early in the week have slowed the snow melt. Once again a good solid option for wade anglers as recent heavy flows may have given a slight cleanse to rocks that were slick with winter sediment. Insect activity is once again on the rise as water temps have reversed and started to climb again. There may still be some Baetis activity early, with a good chance at Caddis mid-day. We will definitely keep an eye on it here for the potential emergence in the coming week or so of the Salmonfly. Conditions just downstream near Pumphouse are ready to pop and it generally takes a week or so for that to make it’s way up here. 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. Then mix in some Caddis nymphs and emergers as mid-day approaches. This might be a good time to try and fish a dry-dropper set up using a Stimulator or larger Caddis adult as your surface fly. 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. Hot Wire Caddis, Barr’s Graphic Caddis, Z Wing Caddis, CDC Caddis Emerger, Sparkle Dun BWO, Gulpher Special, Para Extended Body BWO, Skittering Zelon Midge, CDC Hanging Midge, Stimulator, Pearl and Elk Caddis, Ginger Variant, Slumpbuster, LE Marabou Streamer.
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Colorado River Pumphouse to Dotsero
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| Flow: 750 cfs. |
| Conditions: After the big spike last weekend, cooler temperatures have returned and brought water levels back down and clarity up. We area expecting the Salmonfly hatch to start this evening, Thursday night, as conditions and water temperatures are prime. If things stay stable and that’s a big IF, this weekend could be fantastic. Our boats this week have had some great success on Salmonfly and searching nymph patterns, particularly as clarity has improved every day since Monday. Weather has been a real roller coaster ride lately and that will have some impact on conditions day to day. The forecast this weekend is for warm, mostly sunny days, which can bring additional snow-melt into the river. We do feel that the river should be fairly safe even with a modest step up again in flows as the river bed has been scoured once already this spring. 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 it has not been 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 should again be solid as flows are back under 800 and will benefit from last weeks flush, as that should have scoured away a lot of the sediment which had gathered on the rocks over the winter. 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 but, there is plenty of great wade access between State Bridge and Rancho.
Flies: Large stones, Tungteaser, Rubberleg, Sexstones, Salmonfly dries: Designated Hitter, Fuzzy Wuzzy Orange, Half Cocked, B-1 Bomber, Clark’s Stonefly, 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: 350 ^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. Once again worth putting into your rotation of destinations. We are seeing fish caught in the upper access points, such as Kobe/Hayden Meadows, it is just not as consistent as the water down valley slightly. The other big positive for the time being here has been the clarity. While you may see some mild coloration from recent rains as well as new snow melt, for the most part the upper Ark remains pretty clear. In the most upper parts of the drainage, look for fish to be holding in the tail-outs of pools and runs, moving up towards the head as things warm mid afternoon. As you move down below Granite we are seeing better distribution of fish throughout the river. 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 modestly warmer 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, Para Extended Body BWO, CDC Baetis Dun, Winger Parachute
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Arkansas River Salida Area
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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 Buena Vista down through Salida and into Big Horn Sheep Canyon. Along with the up down in the weather, we have seen an inconsistent insect cycle, with the cloudy cool days offering a fairly widely spread Baetis emergence to the sunny warmer days providing pockets of Caddis coming off the river. If we had to focus on an area for the Caddis, we would start with the Brown’s Canyon area. 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 once again become 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. This is now the second year of a two year program to re-establish Pteronarcys Californica to the Arkansas. Over the past 2 years CPW has transplanted about 80 thousand Salmonfly nymphs from the Colorado River to the Arkansas and distributed them just above and below Salida. We are keeping an optimistic eye on the river here to see if this insect will take hold and produce a revived population. The next couple of weeks will be telling.
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: 1620 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 Caddis, 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: 100-125+/- cfs. |
| Conditions: Well action has really picked up here in the Tomahawk area and providing some very good fishing. However, a good majority of the catch are very juvenile fish, as in 6″ fish. With that in mind, this is a great spot to go with a beginner looking for plenty of action to hone their skills or take a kid or even spend a day with an experienced angler looking for some beautiful water and time outside. As is often the case here, a simple dry dropper set up should get you to most of the spots on the river and offer a mix of nymph and dry fly eats. We recommend fishing your way upstream with that type of rig using either a good sized attractor or small hopper on top and following it up with a beaded searching nymph. Then on your way back to the parking area, work the same water over with a streamer up against cut banks and across ledges.
Flies: Chartreuse Copper John, Rainbow Warrior, Egg Patterns, Hot Wire Prince, Beaded Flash Prince, Tungteaser, Autumn Splendor, Slumpbuster, Sparkle Bugger
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South Platte, Dream Stream
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| Flow 50 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. Good reports coming back from tubers and boaters alike. Chironomid patterns fished in and adjacent to weed beds either as a static rig under an indicator or with a slow had retrieve. We recommend a two fly rig either way in order to cover multiple colors, sizes or pattern. Do expect a fair bit of traffic over the holiday weekend, but week days have been rather thin when it comes to crowds.
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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