The Colorado Angler Salmonfly Update, Friday June 7, 2013
June 07th, 2013
A strong emergence of Pteronarcys nymphs continues on the upper river in and around Parshall. Large quantities of adults are lining the river in the willows and bushes as well as among the rocks. Thursday saw fantastic dry fly action throughout the day with the steadiest coming mid-day. With the hatch being so good and wade fishing access being so unseasonably easy this year due to lack of run-off, crowds are certainly robust and look to be for the weekend. Be patient and try to spread out. There are plenty of access points along the river and more importantly: more than one good run. So, if your favorite spot is occupied, don’t be afraid to scope out a new piece of water. The fish are spread out and feeding just about everywhere in the river right now. We are seeing adult Salmonflies from Reeder Creek up into Beyer’s Canyon so, make it an effort to fish more than one of these great public access points over the course of the day. This weekend should be the main body of the hatch. Ignore all other commitments that you may have and chase nirvana.
Down stream from Gore Canyon down to State Bridge the emergence is more or less over. We still see a few bugs here and there trickle out of the river but, the heart of it is over. That being said, there remains plenty of opportunity to throw dries and bring fish to the surface. Yesterday afternoon was very good, as fish that have been conditioned to large struggling bugs on the surface couldn’t resist the easy meal. As you move down from Gore towards Radium that action will become less consistent with some stretches producing good strikes while others see no action. Look to concentrate your attention to the faster water such as riffles and pocket water, as well as what little white water there is at 377 cfs. Even below Radium we are still finding some pockets of interest in the adult imitations but, they will be even fewer in density with the amount of flat water on that stretch.