HIGH WATER FLY FISHING AT ITS BEST

Most all rivers in Colorado have peaked in flow now and are leveling off, or dropping. The South Platte below Spinney has now dropped below 300 cfs and should now start to fish well. It has been somewhat inconsistant with high water flows, however, scuds and red or brown San Juan Worms with Barr's Emerger droppers have been working at times. The other sections of the Platte are just as inconsistant with Eleven Mile Canyon running 325 cfs and crowded to the Deckers area being somewhat higher at 700 cfs. All these stretches should start to drop some over the next week, providing excellent opportunities. Antero and Spinney continue to fish off the chart with the cooler weather prevailing and keeping fish happy. Wind has been a problem on some days such as last Sunday when afternoon winds in South Park sent everyone scurrying for the bar in Hartsel. A Hartsel Cafe cheeseburger is worth the price of having to leave the lake to say the least. Thirty and forty fish days have not been unusual on Antero, with Spinney lagging a little behind that. Lots of different flies are working, from green Copper Johns in a #14, #14 bead head Pheasant Tails, Callibaetis nymphs, Halfback nymphs, Damsel nymphs and Woolly Buggers. Fish are holding on top of weed beds in water from 5 feet deep to 12 feet deep. This may be the best couple of weeks I've ever seen at Antero. If you're willing to put up with the morons getting into fist fights at the boat ramp on the south shoreline, then get up there, because this outrageous stuff won't last much longer. The fish will wise up from the pressure and then it will take a little skill to catch them. That should pretty much do in the bait fishermen.

The most surprising water of all is the Arkansas right now. It is very, very easy to catch lots of fish along the edges using nothing but dry flies. We have again cleared with high water just like last year. #10 Yellow Stimulators and PMXs for the Golden Stones, #16 Yellow Sallies and Yellow Stimulators for the Yellow Sallies, and #16 Elk Hair Caddis for the Caddis that are continuing to hatch. Thrown in a Yellow Humpy, Renegade, and a variety of adult Caddis patterns and you can have a 40 fish day by simply working grass outcoppings and rocky shorelines. The water is down to 1600 cfs and continues to drop daily. We have clarity down to around four feet in most places which give you plenty of clear water along edges to fish. The water is still on the high side and wading should be limited to working upstream along shorelines, but the day is soon coming when the water will even be more manageable. I expect conditions to be superb this weekend. If you've got a few days off right now, fishing is the easiest of the year and I include the spring hatches in that statement.

A good way to attack this high, clear water is with a hopper/dropper rig. Choose a boyant big dry fly like a #10 Hi Vis PMX and drop a piece of 5X fluorocarbon off the hook bend with an attractor bead head nymph such as a Silver Ice or Gold Ice. Make the dropper tippet about twenty inches long and place a #6 split shot about 8 inches above the nymph to make it drop down in the water column a little deeper. If you make the dropper too long then you may begin to pick up submerged debris from runoff. The river will be back in it's main channel in a few days and then you can lengthen the dropper if you wish. Right now, you may still be fishing over submerged shoreline. When wading along watch out for roots and little Beaver bungees that will trip you if you're not careful. I went down twice in about 10 feet the other day. I'm glad I was by myself and no one saw it......just a typical old man stunt.

CADDIS OLD SCHOOL

The long awaited Caddis hatch has begun in the Canon City area and should, because of low water, move up river fairly rapidly, proliferating the entire corridor over the next few days. Be prepared to pay close attention to fishing the pupa, because that's the stage of the lifecycle that produces the most fish and it does not have to be dead drifted. Be sure to stay on the river late and fish the egglayers and spent Caddis. Big fish don't get fat chasing live bugs.....they prefer the dead ones. Have fun.

Stone Fly Nymphs Begin Molt

The Arkansas has been fishing pretty darned well on these nice days, and the fish are starting to move to the outside seams from the deep runs and pools. That behavior is a little early, but I believe that Stonefly nymphs have started to molt and that along with a little increase in water temperature has changed things dramatically. The best time to fish is from about 10AM till 3PM and the best rigs are deep running Stone Fly nymphs trailing a #16 BH Prince, Chartruese Copper John, or a #20 Red Pure Midge. A few fish are coming to the surface to eat adult midges, but very few.

On rivers like the Arkansas, Stonefly nymphs offer up their protein load to fish coming out of the winter doldrums. There are obviously a lot of different stonefly species in our rivers, but the one that really kicks off the feeding frenzy are the Golden Stones, Hesperoperla pacifica and Claassenia sabulosa . These are fairly large bugs measuring from 24 to 38 mm or on the average a little over an inch long. When they are mature, they have a dark brown back with a yellow underbody. These insects live in the nymphal stage for two years during which time they undergoe several instar phases or molts. Like a snake, everytime the insect sheds is exoskeleton, it grows a little. It's hard to say exactly how many instars it goes through, but most folks think somewhere between 7 and 12. I personally don't really care. All I know is that sometime in mid to late February (this year the first of February) through early April, the little beggars molt and drive the fish crazy. The molt occurs around daybreak and anywhere from 6 to 8 hours later, the nymphs have hardened up again and turn darker. So, in the mornings, they have a buttery translucent appearance to the fish, making them a wonderful food source. I think they probably look a lot like Mom's mac and cheese or a wonderful dish of veal picatta. Perhaps not.... Anyway, you want to fish the golden stone imitations in the mornings until mid afternoon, then switch back to the darker ones. Remember, not every stonefly nymph in the river is exactly the same age, so this process continues for a few weeks. A golden stone nymph is always my lead nymph through the spring hatches. On cloudy days, I trail it with Larry's #20 Black Ice for a Baetis nymph and in early April I always tie in on with a Caddis Larva. In late February and early March I will fish it by itself with about three split shot on a 6 foot leader. I use the short line, bounce nymph method in heavy, choppy water. That's where the creatures live, so that where you need to be. Keep adding split shot until you get the nymph on the bottom quickly. Don't work into position just to have your bug float over the heads of the fish. Forget the strike indicator and high stick the fly through the rocky bottom. Takes will be unmistakable, so don't worry too much about that. Just keep the thing bouncing along through the drift.

Wright and McGill Superstore Launched

Royal Gorge Anglers has launched a new web site featuring all Wright and McGill products. We have always been a big supporter of this old Colorado Company and since its foray back into fly fishing a few years ago, we have sold lots of W&M products to lots of satisfied customers. Now, everyone can buy these products on line and in addition, we are offering free shipping to all customers in the lower 48. Products are available directly from the factory, so availability will not be a problem unless the factory is backordered. Please go to the new site and take a look. Just click the title of this blog or go to http://www.wrightmcgillsuperstore.com

ARK Fishing

The Ark is looking good even with the rain over the past few days. I guided a half day trip this morning and fish were on Apes with a Red thunder or Red / Silver high voltage PT early in the morning and then Hoppers followed by the same droppers later in the morning. Remember fish are still in tight to the banks. Curtis

Arkansas Finally Fishing Again

After a seemingly endless runoff (sometimes you get what you ask for), the Arkansas is finally dropping and edges are clear. The river is dropping regularly each day and small creeks seem to be back into normal shape or getting there rapidly. With fish stuck on the edges to escape current velocity, fishing is bonehead easy right now. A big PMX trailing a PMD nymph or attractor nymph like a High Voltage Pheasant Tail is a good bet for lots of fish. Wading can still be a bit treacherous, so be careful and don't wade where you can't see your feet. I suspect that the river will now be great until Thanksgiving, so get out there.

South Platte Fishing

With flows in the high 300's the South Platte has been fishing great! The best Flies have been Scuds, Beads, and San Juan Worms trailed by PMD RS2 and Midge Larva. Fish can be taken through out the day with tan caddis if you prefer fishing drys. Then in the afternoon we have been fishing Hopper / Dropper rigs with small Dave's Hoppers or Parachute Hoppers trailing Yellow Thunders or Gold ice. If you like fishing streamers that has also been good on sinking leaders fished tight to the banks. Curtis