Over the past few days the Colorado has dropped significantly and its game on right now. I fished today and did very well on a variety of different patterns . Many changes have taken place with high flows pushing rock , gravel, sedement around and quite a few new hot spots have arisen. Its really an exciting time and almost like learning a whole new river. Its important to approach these changes without expectation and with an open mind . Also realistically we lost some of our go to zones so being willing to adapt to change is the recipe for success. Crossing below the weir is possible but still a bit tricky, make each foot placement count. Most importantly I hooked into many large fish today the size of which I have'nt seen in several years . I had a little concern that we were going to lose some of the big dogs during the flood stage but we didnt and if anything I think many more arrived. It was an incredible day .
Flows on the ranch continue to drop on a daily basis and the water clarity is as good as it gets right now. The current level in cubic feet per second is 1529 as of this morning . What this boils down to is that fishing is certainly an option but with limited accessable locations available things are still challenging. Many fish are poded up in high water back eddies with steep marsh like bank entrances. These fish are feeding in a fashion more like those in a pond setting . The fish I encountered yesterday were not well established in feeding lanes but exhibiting more of a cruising habit in the slower moving water. There were a handfull of risers and a few fish chasing buggers but nymphing was tough going. Crossing the river is still not a safe option on foot as conditions are fast and turbulent. This will most likely change very soon because the water levels are steadily dropping on a daily basis. I am looking for flows of 900 cfs or less to open up many more wading options that will provide an experience much more on track with what we are after. This report also reflects how float fishing has been on the upper streach. Fish are being hooked but are still adjusting to the receding flows and still havent assumed their usual holding spots. I am as anxious as many of you are to hit the water with full intensity but as of today I have to say that waiting just a little bit longer is the best plan.
For the past couple of days I've been on troublesome creek and the good news is its fishable again. A decent number of rainbows were able to weather the gigantic runoff flows this creek received and in addition many browns and brook trout are now inhabiting the area. Many of the traditional holding zones have changed dramatically but new and different features have arisen in the wake of big water. There are lots of hatches happening here on a daily basis and fish are beginning to look up. Dry dropper and streamers are producing good numbers of hook ups . The monsoon rains we are experiencing as of late are having some affect on the day to day clarity . After fishing it today however the slight stain had little affect on the trouts willingness to eat. The deer flies are a real pain in the ass right now as they seem relentless in there mission to pester you. Much of this can be detered with bug spray but a few persistant ones will still get you. The Colorado was looking as if it was continuing on a dropping track but the recent rains have spiked a surge in high and dirty water. I will keep you posted on its prognosis for fishing but for the time being its not a great option . Thats all for now.
Things are really starting to change rapidly with flows now past peak and dropping quickly. Our water clarity on the Colorado has improved dramatically and in select spots some fish are being caught. Flows still remain large and challenging here but the fish I have recently landed have been absolutely stuffed with worms and stonefly nymphs . There is an abundance of insect hatch activity with many caddis, P.m.ds and golden stones making there appearence known. If this trend continues and coinsides with a substanial drop in flows fishing could be really amazing. The troublesome is also dropping but has retained more sedement and is much more cloudy this is probably a week to two weeks out before its fishing again, huge hatches happening here currently. Our pond fishing is red hot with calibaetis, damsels and midges going off offering great opportunities to site cast to large cruisers. In summary the combination of events that are beginning to unfold are causing me to feel very excited and anxious . I just can't wait for the end of July to arrive!!!!
Well it"s probably no secret to anybody that gigantic flows have domentated most of the states rivers but decent fishing is still available if your willing to work for it. Still waters and tailwaters are your friends during these challenging times. The south platte to include tomahawk, bager basin , the dream stream and eleven mile canyon are all good options currently. Spinney and Antero reseviors are also fishing well on large chironimids and the Delany buttes are offering about the same opportunity. If you are not afraid to wake up early in the a.m. try the frying pan or headwaters of the yampa directly below the dam. The arkansas should be dropping far more quickly than other surrounding freestones and will hopefully be another option in the near future. I have also heard some favorable reports on the williams fork despite its massive flows. Our ranch ponds fished exceptionally well today ,especially the one on the troublesome. I landed several large fish both on olive and yellow streamers and large midge patterns. There were also a fair amount of calibaetis adults hatching and I had a good amount of chances throwing those as well.I know many people find it hard to get excited about pond fishing ,but 25 fish in 3 hours up to 24 inches was'nt too difficult to stomach .Just a little something to think about if the desire is starting to overtake you .
Well ski season is over at Copper mt. but mother nature did'nt get the memo apparently. Snow is still dumping by the bucket load here in Frisco as I write this . Water flows this year are going to start large and potentially become gigantic if the weather becomes warm in a hasty fashion . As things stand right now the Colorado is running at 955 cfs on the upper ranch making wading conditions challenging but not impossible.This is at least double the flow the river typically runs at this time of the season. Water clarity is the big issue to content with currently . This seems to change from day to day and will remain volitile unless cooler temps prevail for a while. Fishing in clear conditions has been very productive with larger stonefly nymphs, big soft hackle pheasant tails and pink sanjuan worms. Some streamers have also been moving a fair amount of trout as well. The trick is to target soft bank water edges and gentile glides and to stay away from the big water in the middle. These fish are very hungry and if given a good opportunity to locate large food items they will not hesitate to eat. For the up coming week I expect flows to diminish slightly and for clarity to improve a bit. That being said things still remain in a day to day holding pattern and all bets are off if we see temps increase into the upper 50's or low 60's. If you plan on fishing soon dress appropritely for the elements. ITS STILL VERY MUCH WINTER HERE !!! I will leave you with some stats. in parting .Copper mt recieved 396 inches of snow this year making it the second highest on record. We are closing with at least a 100 inch base . Flows on the colorado have already exceeded 1100 cfs and if conditions are right we may see 6000 cfs . These are ridiculous numbers that I have never seen before so think seriously before wading.
Its hard to believe but fall is already here and the landscape is alive with rich autumn colors. This is by far my favorite time of the season and my only regret is that it passes so quickly. Fishing has been very solid for the past few days with early pre-spawn browns actively eating caddis and blue winged olive dry flies . There have also been great trico sessions in the morning hours and decent streamer opportunities in the evenings. This period of time offers a great chance for a fish on a dry, nymph and wooly bugger all in the same day . We hosted a group of six people recently and all were fortunate to encounter a lot of hook ups with many larger fish being landed. If you have been thinking about getting out on the water and wetting a line this is a great time to do so. With pleasant cool temps and virtually no mosquitos is really hard to beat. Don"t forget to bring your camera along and for certain take the time to look around and marvel at natures beauty. Thats all for now.
Fishing has certainly improved dramatically over the past week. Cooler water temps have started to return and many fish are starting to rise . I have experienced good numbers of fish feeding aggressively on mid sized attractor patterns in fast shallow water. These are fish that are not rising on a regular bases but are responding impulsively to the right offering. This type of feeding behavior is much more typical on float fishing trips and is a treat when it arises in a wading setting. This has been action that I have witnessed in mid day direct high sun periods and is not currently dependant on early morning or late day low light conditions. Action has been a bit more consistant on top in the upper streach on river , but I have also moved a few on the lower . In addition to this the browns are getting interested in chasing streamers and a few big bruisers have hammered my retreives. All in all fishing is pretty darn good right now so please come on out and experience this . If there is one guarantee in fishing it that change is certain and many times occurs without warning. Now is a good time to take a chance on things hopefully before they change again.
Tricos and blue winged olives are begining to hatch in good numbers on the Colorado currently. Morning dry fly fishing has been decent to pretty good at times . Temps are still fairly high in the midday and action during this period is slow. The recent rains are gradually starting to initiate a cooling affect but this is happening at a much slower pace than expected. Things should pick up within the next 3 weeks as hatches intensify and nights become longer. Hopefully this will coencide with bottom releases from the williams fork to give us the double whammy effect. Troublesome creek is still fishing very well with hoppers and assorted drys as well as a mixed bag of beadheaded nymphs. The browns should start there pre-spawn feeding frenzy soon and bugger fishing will surely improve shortly. Float fishing should also become a better option in the near future as more water is being released from green mountain reservoir. The big variable here is the intensity of our recent rains muddying up the system . Thats all for now.
I fished the river today as I said I would and all in all it was fairly good. The morning was infinitely better than the afternoon with temps starting at a cool 62 and ending at a smoldering 72 . The fish are certainly monopolizing on the cool early a.m. temps and are feeding aggressively for as long as it lasts. I hooked and landed some very nice fish on nymphs , drys and streamers before the heat shut things down. After experiencing this the river plan should be as follows hit it hard from sun up till about 1:00 p.m. and then move to the creek. This is the best trip I can offer up at this point despite my less than loving embrace of early morning hours. I also heard through the grape vine that some dam construction may be happening on the Williams fork reservoir and bottom releases are planned when construction is ended. Flows on the Williams fork were at 164 cfs as of yesterday and were cut to 47cfs some time this morning. It is likely that we may see a water management situation that looks very similar to Ventricular fibulation on and e.k.g. monitor. Hopefully the powers that be will start to figure it out and will make better desicions in the future than they have in the recent past. As always feel free to call me with any questions you may have and I will answer them to the best of my ability ( 970 389 1699 ) Thats all for now.
