Report for October 24.
A fantastic weekend weather forecast for fishing ahead of us all over the high country. Combine that with some very strong river conditions and you have as sure of a bet of catching the perfect opportunity to get at least one last day on the water before the inevitable winter weather takes hold for the next couple of months. After the last couple of weekends looked more like Winter, we are ready to embrace this momentary reprieve. With this change in the seasons, there will be some change in the fishing. Most apparent in higher elevation freestone rivers such as the upper reaches of the Colorado and Arkansas.
There continues to be great fishing on most of our freestones, you just need to make some slight adjustments. Most notably, timing. With the colder air temperatures comes a drop in overnight water temps and a slower climb in them during the day. As a result, it is not necessary to get out here at the crack of dawn. Best action on most freestones right now is Noon to 4 pm. Have another cup of coffee and show up in time for lunch.
Whereas on the tailwater fisheries, the action remains fairly consistent with regards to timing and feeding patterns, as water temperatures are relatively stable coming from the bottom of any lake right now. The Blue remains a solid choice, as the release from Dillon is holding steady at 260 cfs, the highest it has run in over 2 years. That means a consistent stream of high protein shrimp pouring from the lake into the river. Read more about Blue river flows here. And don’t overlook the Williams Fork or Frying Pan at the moment as they are fishing very well.
Good Baetis activity still seems to be wide spread, offering a chance on cloudy days for strong surface action, and steady results daily on a wide variety of subsurface patterns.
And yes, to you Streamer Junkies, the Fall ritual for Brown’s to procreate is producing some explosive fishing at times on the big and gaudy stuff stripped across the current. Check out the photo below of the Brown with the Sculpin protruding from his throat. He didn’t even finish swallowing that before grabbing our #6 Hopper off the surface, talk about gluttony.
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 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: 113 cfs. |
Conditions: Despite a slight pull back in flows this week and potentially another for the weekend, conditions remain fantastic, with current flows above seasonal norms. At this volume a steady push of Mysis Shrimp are drifting through town and fish have been responding with enthusiasm. In addition to that, the Blue Winged Olive hatch continues to emerge on most days regardless of cloud cover or not. The big difference being that on days with clouds the hatch can run for close to three hours versus an hour or so on the sunnier days. Crowds have been relatively manageable, particularly during the week, with Saturday being the one day where things can get a bit busy. If you are limited to the weekends, we recommend Sunday, as Bronco fans seem to opt for the comforts of the couch to watch them plow through the weak AFC West. Best bet early has been to fish a tandem nymph rig with a combination of Mysis and Baetis imitations. Then keep an eye out for noses on the surface taking adult Blue Wings. When the surface activity dies back down, return to a nymph rig and finish out the day, as action continues into late afternoon. And yes, the typical tailwater midge imitations are still working, along with Spaghetti and Meatball rigs, they are just not quite as consistent as the Shrimp/Baetis stuff. As for the downstream stretch, we have not had any confirmed reports of Kokanee in the river yet. When we do get some, we’ll let you know.
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, Split Case PMD, Extended Body PMD, Parachute Purple, Royal Coachman Trude, H&L Variant, Royal Wulff
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Blue River Below Green Mountain
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| Flow: 715 cfs. |
Conditions: A jump up in flows now puts this back into the difficult classification for wading, at least with regards to trying to cross the river. That being said, there is still some decent action to be had from the near bank, you just will have considerably less access to fish. However, this should allow for skilled boaters to navigate the river legally once again. The typical large nymph rigs have been working best, with a good assortment of stuff doing the trick and reports of an increase in Blue Wing activity is encouraging for the coming days. Try running a larger beaded Pheasant Tail or Tung Teaser followed up with a Juju Baetis. Don’t skimp on the weight either, as the faster pocket water is all about getting the fly down quickly before the short drift is over. Dry fly action is typically limited at higher flows but, now may be a worthwhile endeavor on a cloudy day at this level with the possibility of a few straggler Baetis around. Still a good option for those looking for some solitude and the chance at some quality fish. If you make the float, the usual big nymph rigs with plenty of weight would be a good start and it seems as if we are selling plenty of the Spaghetti and Meatball stuff to guys headed that way.
Flies: Big bead heads: Hare’s Ear, Tungteaser, Pheasant Tail, Stubby Stone, Twenty Incher, Rubberlegs, Psycho Prince, Mr Peacock Ice, Flossy Worm, Split Case BWO, Barr’s BWO, Juju Baetis, Chartreuse Copper John, Otter Egg
Floaters should note: 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: 250 +/- cfs. @ Parshall |
Conditions: Still a little bit of instability with regards to the flow, as the release from Williams Fork, just upstream, changes about once a week. This is a great level for wade fishing here at any time of the year, let alone mid-October. At these flows there will be fairly good bredth to the river, offering plenty of cover in most runs. There will be some of the wider stretches that may not make it all the way out to the banks, in that case focus on the center of the channel and tail outs where fish can hold up easily. Still seeing some good to decent action on Baetis patterns, both dry and wet, with a the potential for a mid to late afternoon emergence. Fishing has been productive early in the day with nymph and emerger patterns for those Baetis and as the day moves into afternoon, make the switch over to Blue Winged Olive dry fly imitations. Another worthwhile method at this time would be working streamer patterns in search of aggressive Fall Browns. Mix up your retrieval with a varying speed and angle of retrieve with regards to the current. ie: fast and across, or on the swing, dead drift, even rip it straight down the current as fast as possible. You never know what will set them off for a strike.
Flies: BLM Black, Two Bit Hooker, Drowned Trico, Zebra Midge, RS2, Poxybiot Nymph, Pheasant Tail, WD-40, Split Case BWO, Juju Baetis, Baetis Big Bear, Para Extended Body BWO, CDC Baetis Dun, Winger Parachute, Garcia’s Mini Hot, Stimulator, Pat’s Rubber Legs in Orange/Brown, Brown/Black and Black. Hot Wire Caddis, Barr’s Graphic Caddis, Z Wing Caddis, CDC Caddis Emerger, Pearl and Elk Caddis, Ginger Variant, Slumpbuster, LE Marabou Streamer.
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Colorado River Pumphouse to Dotsero
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| Flow: 1000 cfs. by Sunday |
Conditions: Although the flow did bump up in response to the release from Green Mtn. into the Blue, clarity has once again stabilized and conditions are in prime form. The flow has also stabilized for the moment to a nice level just above 800. In the short term this is going to rise up in the 1,000 cfs range this weekend but, then it will drop again starting Monday. Eventually this should settle back down around 750 early next week. Strong late Fall flows are providing some of the best looking water of the year below Kremmling, still manageable for wade anglers, yet offering very good levels for floaters. Most of the terrestrial insects have disappeared as the over night temps are consistently below freezing and snow has fallen but, every now and then you can still get a rise to your hopper pattern, if you just have a little faith. Faith or not, I just hate looking at indicators, especially if you can get a hopper pattern to hold up your nymphs. Nymphs have been the most consistent approach, with a good variety of Baetis, Stonefly and Beaded Attractor patterns working well together. Patience is the key if you are looking for dries, as it seems as if the Blue Wing emergence is generally from mid to late afternoon. But, if you do stick it out, there have been some decent dry fly results fishing a double dry set-up with a medium sized attractor followed up with a parachute BWO imitation. And yes, for all you streamer junkies, day to day action on the big stuff has been fairly productive. Weekday traffic has been mild, with weekends seeing some crowding in the Pump to Radium and Rancho to State sections.
Flies: Tungteaser, Rubberlegs, Beaded Pheasant Tails, Beaded Hares Ears, Tungsten Prince, Tungsten Yellow Sally, Drowned Trico, RS2’s, Split Case BWO, Barr’s Emerger, Juju Baetis, Blue Ribbon Emerger, Two Bit Hooker, Gidget Olive, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Parahopper, B/C Hopper, Chubby Chernobyl, Parachute Extended Body BWO, Para Adams, Para Wulff BWO, CDC Rusty Spinner, Profile Rusty Spinner, Miscellaneous Terrestrials
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Colorado Below Glenwood Springs
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| Flow 1880 cfs. |
Conditions: Finally, we are starting to see an improvement in clarity on the lower river. While the clear inflow from the Roaring Fork is a big part of the increasing visibility, the clarity actually improves the farther down you travel below town, as the sediment seems to settle out with some extra distance. That being said, there is some decent action starting in Glenwood, and that gains some momentum as you move towards New Castle and beyond. Best bet would be to fish a full nymph rig under an indicator with a mix of larger beaded searching nymphs and Baetis imitations. You may find some pockets of rising fish in the afternoon rising to adult Blue Wings but, that has not been as wide spread as the daily emergence just upstream on the Roaring Fork. Being late in the Fall, there is still some action on streamers as well, and that varies from day to day with regards to intensity. Definitely one of the big attractions to this stretch of river at this time of year, aside from some of the stoutest rainbows anywhere in the Colorado River, is being so far west and at a lower elevation than the popular stretch below Gore Canyon, it is a little bit more comfortable weather.
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, Tungstone, Barr’s Emerger, Zebra Midge, Juju Baetis, Sculpzilla, Space Invader, Silver Bullet
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Arkansas River Above Buena Vista
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| Flow: 167 cfs. @ Granite |
Conditions: Winter is starting to creep into the far upper section of the river, with overnight lows dropping below freezing most nights. As this happens, expect the fishing action to slow overall, with the best action being in the middle part of the day. Look for fish to congregate in the slower deeper runs early and very late in the day, then move into the head of those runs and bottom of riffles during the middle of the day to feed on drifting insects. Throughout the day, nymphing will be the most consisitent method with a tandem set-up using a mix of Baetis and Midge imitations trailing behind a beaded Stonefly or searching nymph. As the day warms in the early to mid-afternoon, look for fsih to possibly be rising for emerging pockets of Baetis and even a few Midges scattered around.
Flies: Beaded Hares Ear, Hot Wire Prince, Beaded Pheasant Tail, Copper John, Hot Wire Caddis, Tung Z Wing Caddis, Tungteaser, CDC Hares Ear, Twenty Incher, Mr Peacock, Stimulator, Fuzzy Wuzzy, RS-2, Zebra Midge, White Streamers
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Arkansas River Salida Area
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| Flow: 401 cfs. @ Salida |
Conditions: Stable flows and clarity are providing for a consisitent pattern of action on the stretch from Stone Bridge down through Salida and into Big Horn Sheep Canyon. As is typical for this time of year best results are late morning to late afternoon, once the day has a chance to warm up water temps. Early in the day expect to find fish hanging in the deeper parts of runs and skirting the faster currents. As the day moves into the middle of the day those fish will move towards the head of runs and into the bottom of riffles as they look to feed on Baetis nymphs adrift in the current. As is typical for this time of year, with a river this full of Brown Trout, wxpect to see some good action on streamer patterns, as well. Mix up your retrieve style until you find a rate that induces some steady activity. Current flows are ideal for wade anglers and still offer enough volume to get a boat down most stretches below Hecla Jct.
Worth Noting: 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 70 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.
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, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Streambank Hopper, Parachute Hopper, Para Ant, 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: 690 cfs. |
Conditions: The river is in great shape from top to bottom and options are plentiful up and down stream. A strong emergence of Blue Winged Olives is pouring off the river daily and there are plenty of stretches with rising fish to work. Overall the nymphing is the most consistent throughout the day but, with the hatch popping most days around 1 pm, you can time your day just right to be in the right spot when the bugs are hatching. Early on, fish a mix of beaded searching nymphs and Baetis imitations fished in tandem under an indicator, that has been solid from 11 am through early afternoon. The float fishing below Carbondale has been relatively deserted and productive, but don’t overlook the river upstream from there, particularly all the way up to Aspen. For those of you that are less familiar with this stretch of the river, now is the time to check it out. A much smaller river, as you are above the Crystal and Frying Pan Rivers, this is a wade fishers delight characterized with a lot of pocket water broken up with the occasional deep run. Perfect for throwing dry fly and dry-dropper rigs. Keep your eye on the water while moving upstream so not to spook the suspended fish. Sight fishing can be quite effective in this area. By watching the water above as well as below the larger boulders you can spot more of those active feeders. At this level you can adequately cover most of the river with a Hopper/Dropper rig and still still turn some fish on the surface offering. But, it does seem as if a full on nymph rig has been as productive as any set up.
Flies: Twenty Incher, Tungteaser, Stubby stones, Beaded Pheasant Tail, Standard Pheasant Tail, Pat’s Rubber Legs, Tungstone, Big Copper Johns, Hares Ear, Mr. Peacock, CDC Prince, Split Case BWO, Barr’s BWO Emerger, Tungsten Psycho May, Hot Wire Prince, Two Bit Hooker, STD Baetis
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South Platte River, Middle Fork
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| Flow: 60ish cfs. |
Conditions: Flows are getting pretty low and that can create some wary fish. That being said, if you can make your way up and down this small water at this time of year, it can produce some big results as Fall Run Browns have made their way into this stretch. Those fish in particular will be very spooky but, a little patience can pay off. Dry/dropper rigs should cover most of the spots and terrestrials on the surface as well. 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. One last thing to note: This is actually the time of year to be on the look out for larger Browns hanging around as they finish up the Fall run. That being said, it might pay off for the patient angler to approach the stream softly and study the water before charging in and whacking away at the resident fish.
Flies: Stimulator, Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Hopper, Red Legged Hopper, Flying Beetle, Para Ant, Melon Quill, Parachute Adams, 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 74 cfs. |
Conditions: Flows are finally starting to pick back up to healthy levels at a critical time of year for trout. If you go, please be aware of spawning fish and resist the urge to harass trout on spawning beds. Sight fishing will still produce the best results, as there just aren’t that many spots on this stretch for blind casting to a pile of fish in a deep run. Crowds have been relatively light, with other fall diversions reducing traffic here to manageable levels. When sight nymphing make sure to use an adequate amount of weight to get down to fish that are holding along the bottom and try to go with out an indicator or at least refrain from using an overly bight color if possible. The fish in this Tailwater seem to be as sensitive to indicators as any spot in the state. With that in mind, try and minimize your wading as much as possible and cast form the bank where you can reach. A deliberate, stealthy approach is going to be your best bet here.
Flies: Black Copper John #22, Juju Baetis, Zebra Midge Black/Silver, Trico Spinner patterns, Drown Trico, Buckskin Caddis, CDC Caddis Emerger, Caddis Candy, Caddis Larva, Barr’s Emerger BWO, Juju Baetis, RS2, Poxybiot Nymph, Egg Patterns, Pure Midge Larva, Cap’n Hook
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Williams Fork River Below Dam
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| Flow 69 cfs. |
Conditions: A little bit up and down here over the past couple of days may have the fish feeling a little insecure as the try to re-establish themselves in a safe lie in the river. Once that happens this should be a good flow for prospecting throughout the entire river. This will still be a solid amount of water in this relatively small Tailwater but, crossing will be easy throughout the stream. Nymph fishing should remain the most productive method but, not necessarily deep nymphing, as we have had some recent success on midge emerger patterns fished higher in the column. So mix up your depth and weight amounts as you cover the river. Along with the midge type stuff also look for action on Caddis, Stonefly and Baetis nymphs along with some San Juan Worm imitations. And given the time of year it may be worth your effort to throw a few streamers along the way, as Browns from the Colorado will be moving up here looking to spawn later this Fall. Don’t overlook the pockets and riffles as fish move in to feed and seek a level of comfort from predators.
Flies: Caddis Larva, Flash Back Pheasant Tail, Hatching Midge, Split Case BWO, Tungsten Psycho May BWO, 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: Things have fallen off for the most part and fishing has become spotty as best. Still seeing some results and a mix of Stillwater nymph patterns for Chironomid, Calibaetis and Damsels but, there is no large emergence at this time. Try varying your depths between 6 and 11 feet with a couple of different offerings to try and tune into what the fish are keying on. We like to fish a 3 fly rig mixed with alternating Midge/Mayfly/Midge. If you fish with a partner make sure to fish different colors for the Chironomid, in different sizes and depths. This will be the quickest way to see which depth and imitation the trout want most. This time of year may also see some success on Leech and Crayfish imitations crawled along the bottom.
Flies: Yankee Buzzer, Jumbo Juju, Tak’s Chironomid, Garcia’s Rojo Grande Midge, Rapunzel Damsel, Gaviglio’s Calibaetis Nymph, Poxyback Calibaetis Nymph, Hare’s Ear, Copper John
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Spinney Mountain Reservoir
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| Conditions: Not much different here than the upstream impoundment at Antero. With out a major emergence happening, your best bet will be to fish a multi-fly nymph rig with a mix of Calibaetis, Chironomid, Damsel and even small Midge imitations. Fish them in a variety of depths as you try to establish any sort of pattern to the feeding. This is also a good time of year to cover some water by slowly retrieving Leech and Crayfish patterns along the bottom. However, at least here you do have the option to try and find some Pike although, that has been slow as well. If you are so inclined head next door to 11 Mile and fish the flats for Carp. We have actually had some decent action slowly moving through and casting to some of the cruising fish. It might be the closest thing to a slat water flat we have.
Flies: Jumbo Juju, Tak’s Halo Midge, Yankee Buzzer, Poxyback Calibaetis, Birds Nest, Gaviglio’s Calibaetis Nymph, CDC Calibaetis Nymph, Hare’s Ear, Brook’s Sprout Calibaetis, Parachute Adams, CDC Calibaetis Spinner, Hale Bopp Leeches
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Delaney Buttes Lakes
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Conditions: Action has been good day-to-day as conditions have allowed. The biggest issue has been the wind, which has been quite brisk at times enough to blow you off the water. Look for Chironomid and Calibaetis to provide the bulk of the menu at the moment. Fish a couple of nymphs suspended under and indicator or slow crawl a smaller leech pattern to start. If you hit a day without any wind there may also be some good moments to throw Calibaetis dries to cruising fish.
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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