Bighorn River

Just got back from the Bighorn at Fort Smith and can say that the river looks good.  Good flows (2750cfs) and lots of happy fish.  Fish were plentiful and eager to take nymphs and dries.  There seemed to be more fish feeding in fast shallow riffles than during the drought years.  The black caddis hatch was outstanding and really brought the fish to the top and hoppers to grassy banks or edges of side channels was hot for big fish and aggressive takes.  Nymphing with caddis pupa, ray charles, and soft hackle sow bugs provided constant action during the day.  The cdc black caddis with frogs fanny floatant scored the most strikes and when I tied it on with 6x the action really heated up.  On our final day we were sitting across from 3 mile access waiting out some rain when it went off!  The rain stopped and the clouds held drawing over 100 fish to the surface to feed with reckless abandon.  The whole slick seemed to be boiling at times.  You could choose the fish you wanted to catch and the fish were so turned on that nothing could put them down.  We stayed in that slick for over 3 hours catching brows and rainbows pushing 20 inches.  Some more aggressive takes on the hopper point fly by bigger fish but the cdc caddis #18 was the right groceries.  I had not been to the Horn in over 2 years and it was good to get back,  maybe come during duck season for a cast and blast.

Road Trip Part 2 (Dust...Look Around You, What Do You See)

We were very tired after the float on the Platte and our next destination was over 200 miles away, so we treated our selves to a hotel room in Rock Springs, just over an hour from our next destination, Fontanelle.  The Green below Fontanelle Reservoir is a river that I have fished with mixed success, always catching at least a couple but never the elusive 10 pounder.  This river has a ton of food and some big fish but not a ton of them.  Maybe some  restrictions on bait use and bag limits would help the fish count.  We met a good friend at the Fontanelle Store, (everything comes with a side of dust), and headed out to launch boats and set shuttle.  The sky was a mix of thick clouds with just a touch of sun to take the chill out of the air.  This could be good. 

   The first fish was a huge Cutty about 4 pounds or so and the second fish came minutes later.  This big boy was a brown well over 20 inches and much fatter than the Cut.  Both fish taken on a chubby chernoble, which continued to produce big fish all day.  Other effective flies were Noble Chernobles and different drake patterns as well as streamers.  With the mix of high clouds and sun we set up on several groups of fish and caught several out of each group.  This was the best I had ever seen this place fish.  I have had some hard days here so a good day was welcomed.  We floated almost 18 miles that day, trying to average 20 per day, and saw only three boats right at 6am.  Heading north to Big Piney, and the Green again.

Road Trip Part 1 (A Little Boat Ramp Called Prospect

A few days ago I returned from a trip that took us over 1750 miles, 175 of which spent floating 3 different rivers.  Flows on the upper North Platte were still about 650 cfs so we started off for Saratoga and a nasty road to a boat launch known as Prospect.  I now understand how this road is rendered impassable after even the slightest rain and my anticipation grew as we crept down a narrow canyon towards the river.  Saratoga was a buzz of activity that morning but almost all of the traffic would be from Bennet Peak downriver.  We launched the boat at about 9:00 that morning and began chucking streamers immediately.  Even with bright sun we hooked several browns immediately and were getting follows every other cast.  When the streamer action started to slow I picked up a another rod and right away started hooking fish on size 10 and 12 stimulators.  There were yellow sallies, a few pmd's, and tons of caddis, especially closer to dark.  We caught fish all day on dries and, the biggest of which was just over 20 inches.  The scenery is spectacular and there is a smaller micro canyon lower down that fishes well with streamers and big dries.  The float took about 10 hours and with higher flows putting in at 6 mile with a raft and some pontoon boats would be a killer all day float at 25 miles.  Pick to Bennet is about 17 miles and if the flows were closer to 1000 the fishing would have been even better.  Can't wait to go back, maybe float Northgate to Six Mile in the fall, late October or early November.

 

caddis

  The caddis hatches on both the South Platte and the Blue have been excellent over the past weeks.  The Blue below Green Mountain Res in particular has a thick hatch starting about 10:30 am and lasting as long as 5 pm, with plenty of other bugs  evident all day.  Fish seemed to rise best from 11-2 and were twice as likely to take a dry if it was skated across the water rather than dead drifted.  Nymphing the riffles during the hatch was very productive and we fished most of the day with dry dropper rigs, a PMX with tungsten caddis droppers.  The lower flows made the wade fishing excellent and we fished the river downstream from the dam almost 2 miles with no body else in sight.

Salmonflies

The Salmonfly hatch on the Colorado River has been going for almost 10 days now with the number of bugs starting to diminish.  Several anglers reported some of the best fishing they have ever had in both Gore and Byers Canyons.  Who doesn't like aggressive top water action with 2 inch long dries tied on with 8 pound tippet.  A hike up into one of the mentioned canyons is your best bet to still get some action locally.  These great bugs are hatching on the North Platte below the state line in Wyoming and the Gunnison is expecting the emergence in a week or so.

In a recent trip to the Colorado River we also noted caddis, olives, pmd's, and stones of various sizes and colors.  The water was still very stained but large flies fished close to the banks did well as well as large stone droppers.  The trend on this river now is clearing and dropping so a trip to the upper Colorado is a good bet.  Other hot spots include Cheeseman Canyon, the Blue, and Grey Reef which has had an awesome later spring with great hatches and rising fish.  The Poudre is high and nasty right now and the Big Thompson is bumping up and down but fishing well.

Virginia Smallies

On a trip to Virginia and Delaware last weekend I was lucky enough to try for Smallies on the Shenondoah for a day.  My Father, Brother, and self  alike all used to fish the 'Doah and the Potomac  for bass, Smallmouth in particular.  What used to be an awesome fishery 15 to 20 years ago has experienced a decline in fish and water quality over this time putting what few guides there were out of business for seasons at a time.  Here and there would be a decent season but more often that not you could fish a whole day and get blanked.  You could imagine my excitement upon receiving a call from my dad to tell me of recent success on the Shenandoah.  On the day before I left Virginia we floated with A friend of my Father, "thanks Dave!", and tore it up.  An 8 mile section of the river with action the whole way; if I caught 1 I caught 100.  Fish were eager to eat clouser minnows and flashy baitfish patterns; as well as some local favorites, again, "thanks Dave". Most of the fish were smaller, but if the water quality holds up next year should be fabulous.  These rivers in Virginia may be rebounding from years of runoff from the many chicken farms scattered around the mountains.  already booked my trip for next year.

Salmonflies are showing themselves this week around the state.  The Colorado and the North Platte are both seeing hatches while the nymphs are crawling around the Gunny.  With cooler temps these rivers are clearing and fishing can be HOT during these windows.  Salmonflies on top is about as much fun as a guy can have and if you are lucky enough to fish the hatch you will chase it the rest of your life.I have friends going to Byers Canyon, and the North Platte this weekend so I should have an accurate report by Monday.

High Water

With the flows of many streams on the rise fishing tactics must change accordingly. Water is high and off color but many times still fishable. As recently as yesterday we caught a lot of fish on the Big Thompson, with a flow close to 500cfs. Fish will often move out of steep areas and onto flatter terrain wher the currents are more moderate. The use of larger, flashier, brighter flies will help fish to see your offerings in the faster, stained waters of run off. Large rubber legged stones and san juan worms are two of my favorites this time of year.

An area still not yet tainted with run off is the South Platte River system. The Dream Stream, Elevenmile Canyon, and Cheeseman Canyon all have good tailwater flows, but these will almost certainly increase before the end of June. There has been good dry fly action on olives, midges, and a few caddis in hotter days.

If you want some killer dry fly action head to Grey Reef. With lower flows @ 600cfs the waters are producing some awesome dry fly fishing using midges, olives, and some pmd's. This is a rare occurrance as thes big rainbows rarely make it to the surface, so try to get there in the next two weeks before the flows come up. Pods of rising, happy 20 inchers sounds good to me.

Cicadas on the Green

Having just returned from the Green in Utah I would have to say the emergence of the cicadas has begun. We were there for 4 days and noticed significantly more cicadas the last day than the first, not yet close to full swing. The flows were at 4200 cfs and this kept some fish close to the banks, yet most seemed to be on the bottom or suspended deep. We found the terrestrial fishing to be steady but on the slower side so we gave flashy streamers a try. The river had come up on the 25th and the higher volume displaces smaller fish rendering them easy prey. Fishing large flashy streamers close to the surface was some of the best visual streamer fishing I had ever had. Twice we saw 20 inch browns come completely out of the water to slam our fly. Watching fish trail and track your streamer is a lot of fun andkeeps you in the game.

There were midges and olives hatching pretty thick; later in the for the olives, and earlier for the midges. With warmer weather one can only expect the cicada emergence to pick up. The flows may come down in as soon as 1 to 2 weeks and that will help to bring fish to the top. As for now, a guy can catch as many fish in a day as he cares to nymphing. Using san juans and bright mayfly nymphs we caght fish fast and hard: even two big browns at one time. If you are headed to the green in the next few weeks make sure to give terrestrials a try; but if the don't provide the success you are looking for, be prepared to try other methods and patters for more success.

Button Rock

In a word,  GO!  There are a lot of rainbows from the reservoir that have pushed up to the inlet and the stream above.  The water was stained a tea color and on the rise but the fishing was excellent so if you are lucky enough to have one of the 600 permits you should go while it is still good.  We hooked fish all day long on streamers, stoneflies, and egg patterns.  Some bigger rainbows even ate foam hoppers.  This was a numbers day for sure with over 100 fish landed between 2 anglers.  Numbers like these make a long hike both ways worth it.  A beautiful sunny day allowed us to wet wade and forget about our waders, and the hatches we saw have me thinking dry flies in lower water.  Get it while you can.

Be sure to check flows on rivers before you go as the warm sunny weather the past days has really started to crank things up.  Rivers like the Poudre have quadrupled their flows in just 2 days.  Even some tail waters may be too high or more difficult to fish.  I will update the flow links to reflect more streams on the front range as well as some tail waters that are good bets.  The South Platte river system is a good bet with all the impoundments and Cheeseman is running about 350 which is a good flow pushing lots of food to hungry fish.  Hitting Spinney or Elevenmile Res. could be a good bet as fishing at both has been hot. 

Run Run Run

With the temps reaching the mid 70's in the high country these past two days the flows on many rivers have doubled.  Local streams like Clear Creek, South Boulder Creek, Boulder Creek, and Left Hand Creek may be too off color to fish at times.  Some cooler nights and overcast days would really help to slow the melt down and keep things from getting to far off in color.  Fish larger patterns in high, stained water; wooly buggers, stonefly patterns, leeches, and san juans, all in larger sizes and contrasting colors fish well during run off.  Another option is to head to warmer waters.

Local areas such as Paella or Coot Lake have started to fish well for Bass and Panfish.  Some bass on beds are extremely spooky while others may be somewhat tolerant of your presence.  Chenille streamers in olive , brown, and gold with rabbit strip for a tail have done good this spring.  A bright sunfish pattern worked near bass beds could prove to be deadly.  Stripping small nymphs and streamers provides constant action for sunfish and perch.  Popper action was still slow but will improve with time.

We are starting to hear reports of Cicadas on the Green River in Utah.  A report is hopefully coming soon.  Tomorrow, hopefully, Button Rock.

Colorado Division of Wildlife: "Hatchery Trucks are Rolling!!"

From the Colorado DOV: 

HATCHERY TRUCKS ARE ROLLING

Among the earliest signs of spring in Colorado is a Division of Wildlife fish-stocking truck pulling up to a nearby lake or stream.

Catchable-sized trout from the state hatchery system provide season-opening opportunities for many anglers, especially near urban areas, and the DOW began stocking low-elevation waters along the Front Range, the eastern plains and the Western Slope around Grand Junction in March. Stocking of lowland lakes will continue through the spring and early summer, when their water temperatures become too warm for trout.

State DOW issues the following Zebra Mussel Alert

ZEBRA MUSSEL ALERT

Boating fishermen can expect an inspection of their equipment at numerous popular reservoirs this summer.

 The Colorado State Parks Board recently approved a statewide mandatory boat inspection program to protect the state's waters from aquatic invasive species (AIS) including zebra mussels, which were discovered in Pueblo Reservoir.

Inspections also are required at a number of waters such as Standley Lake and Aurora Reservoir that are administered by other entities.  

Zebra mussels are a non-native invasive mollusk that is harmful to the environment and parks officials are taking steps necessary to try to contain their spread.

All boats including motors, trailers and related equipment will be subject to inspection for any non-native plant material and aquatic wildlife identified as AIS prior to launch or departure from state-park waters. Boats may be denied access or placed under quarantine if inspection is refused or if AIS are found on or within a boat or boating equipment.

Inspections will begin at Pueblo and expand this spring to four other state parks that have been identified as high risk for transport of AIS: Navajo, Cherry Creek, Chatfield and John Martin.

Inspections are necessary because AIS are transported over land to other bodies of water by hitchhiking on recreational vehicles including boats, jet skis and boat trailers. Unchecked, these organisms will quickly spread and out-compete native species.

Aquatic nuisance species have no effective predators and have detrimental impacts on the environment, recreation, water quality and water transport.  Several other aquatic nuisance species have reached Colorado, including New Zealand mud snails and water weeds.

All boaters are encouraged to follow these practices to help prevent the spread of AIS:

Before leaving any body of water, boaters should:

• Drain the water from the boat, livewell and lower units of the engine.
• Clean the hull of the boat
• Dry the boat, fishing gear and equipment
• Inspect all exposed surfaces
• Remove all plant an animal material

Spinney Res.

We just fished Spinney for the first time this year and man are the fish healthy and strong.  Fish were averaging 17 inches and 2 to 3 pounds.  There was almost nobody there and the weather held good with only a slight breeze and a little precip.  Fish seemed to be in a bit deeper water in the morning but by 10 a.m. they were cruising the shallows like hungry packs of wolves. Scuds, annelids, midges, and small olive and brown streamers all took fish until 1 p.m. when the bite started to die off.  Plenty of crawfish skeletons on the bank so I put on a baby crawdad pattern and caught the biggest fish of the day at 23 inches.  The water is about 8 foot down from capacity and may take a while to fill as there is still a lot of white stuff up on the hills.  Flows on the upper South and Middle forks of the  Platte looked low and clear but definitely fishable.

With warmer temperatures expected for the front range for the next few days,  look for your favorite bass spot to really heat up.  Fish are already up on nests and warmer waters should help the bite and make them more aggressive.  With 6 ponds Paella Crossing is a good spot for Bass, Sunfish, Perch, and similar species.

Big Thompson is Hot!

If you are heading to the Big T you should take some sow bugs with you. The higher flows are pushing a lot of bugs down the river including midges, mayflies, stones, caddis, and sow bugs. The sow bugs are similar to scuds and the fish are quick to move for them. When flows are high or increasing the sow bug is the fly of choice. Many people use this as their go to bug on the T. Soft hackle sow bugs or ray charles in #18 or #20 are what I like. These higher flows should help clean some of the moss out of the river but they may keep the dry fly action at bay for a while. Try a hopper close to the banks if you need to fish a dry.

Big Thompson

She is up to almost 250 cfs. This should help clear some moss, but the
dry fly fishing will slow down. Try a sow bug trailed by an rs2. Cream
midges are good in the am.

Sent from my iPhone

Welcome to RiverX web Diary of fishing the Rockies!

Welcome!

   Having just been to almont and Gunnison I would have to say that runoff has started on the western side of the divide..    The Gunnison is blown below almont..  The Taylor is high.   The Arkansas is VERY high and the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers are as high as you would want them.    If you plan to go fishing in the near future,  concentrate your efforts on tailwaters.  Even if they are high you can count on them being far clearer then most of the freestone waters in the region.   The Pan, the Blue, and the South Platte are some of the best bets right now.  All three have higher flows but clear water and fish on the feed.   Recommended patters for the South Platte are as follows: 

1.  San Juan Worms

2. Scuds 

3. Stoneflies

4. BWO

5. Midges

6. Some Caddis sightings

Fly recommendations for the Blue River are as follows (split into upper and lower):

(upper)

1. mysis shrimp

2. glow bugs

3. midges

4. BWO's

5. Scuds

(lower)

1. Scuds

2. BWO's

3. Midges

4. Streamers

5. Eggs / Glow Bugs

  I fished the Taylor this week and found light pressure middle of the week.  We fished avalanche hole most of the day and hooked fish sporadically and in streaks with most fish between 16" and 20".    The flows are high at 400 CFS and pushing a ton of shrimp so recommendations continue to be patters that mimic this trend.  Midges are hatching throughout the day and Olives also produced during midday hatch. 

Local Report: 

  The recommendations for the greater Boulder area are as follows: 

1. Boulder Creek continues to fish well.   Water below four mile canyon may be dirty so concentrate your efforts above this area.  Flows on the creek are expected to rise over the next few weeks so capitalize on the opportunity to get out there now.   Fish are eager to eat and the fishing is hot.  This is not a difficult water to fish and has excellent access for more than 15 miles.  Anglers of all skill lever are fooling fish with both nymphs and dry flies. Simple attractor flies are all you need to have action on Boulder Creek.  Recommended patters are as follows: 

Dries

   a.  Parachute Adams

   b.  CDC BWO's

   c.  Stimulator

   d.  Midges

   e.  humpy's

Nymphs

   a.  Prince Nymph

   b.  Pheasant Tail

   c.  San Juan Worm

   d.  Hare's ear 

   e.  Stonefly

Do not rule out throwing a wooly bugger on boulder creek just to see what happens.   Please feel free to email me at randymhicks@gmail.com with your fishing reports and I will be sure to add them to our weekly feed.   This blog is intended to be a source of intel FOR the serious fishermen in the rocky mountain region with info BY the same fishing community.   Your experiences will help other anglers identify the what and why of a successful outing and in turn their experience may one day help you to catch that monster fish or have that bluebird day!