With the substantial amount of snow pack in the high mountains and the extended winter we saw here in Colorado, the hatches and stream flows are about two weeks behind schedule.
Now that does not mean we are not having some good fishing, it’s just that you will have to be picky on where you will be fishing and what flies you will be using. We are still not seeing many hatches if any here in Summit County; like I said before we are just a couple weeks behind schedule. So keep fishing and looking for bugs starting to fly.
Where we’ve been fishing, we have been having some good success. The Blue below Dillon reservoir has been fishing great! We have been nymphing using Mysis shrimp patterns, San Juan Worms, Real Meal nymphs, Soft Hackles and other attractors. Some “Big” fish have been caught!
The upper Blue in the Breckenridge area has also been producing some decent fishing. Attractors nymphs like the Crystal Pheasant Tail, Bubble Back PMD and Prince Nymphs have been doing great.
Another great opportunity is Dillon Reservoir and all the inlets. We have had some great reports of lots of Brown Trout being caught in the current as it comes into the reservoir. Again try attractor nymphs: Crystal Pheasant Tails, San Juan Worms, Prince Nymphs and other attractors.
The upper Arkansas River outside of Leadville has been up and down as of the recent cooler temperatures and then a warm up. The local lakes have been fishing good and the hatches should be happening any day now, which will cause the river fishing to heat up. Down stream below Granite the flows have dropped out of Twin Lakes and this could spur some good action below Granite. Go look for it!
The South Platte upper sections are up and off color, but should be clearing soon. The Dream Stream has been fishing good; look for Caddis, Yellow Sallies and soon the Trico hatch, if it’s not already happening. Spinney and Antero Reservoirs have also been fishing great and if you have not done any Stillwater lake fishing, these are where you should wet a line!
All in all we are on the way to a great summer of fishing, we are just a week or so behind schedule for the hatches. This is a great time of year to get out and do some exploring; you may be the first one to stumble on one of the first big hatches of the season and have the day of your life!
Southwest Colorado-
Several Telluride Outside guides ventured from the safety of lake fishing to explore alpine creeks this week, quite successfully, as it turns out. Troy Youngfleish, William Smethurst, Jake McKittrick, Henry Jones and others have been consistently catching wild cutthroat, browns and brook trout in tributaries to the Dolores. Water levels are dropping by the day, so we expect several more creeks to become fishable this week. Meanwhile, secret creeks are producing real surprises, including a taped 21″ brown trout landed by one of William’s customers on a creek you can jump across, earlier this week.
From a guiding standpoint, private water is never more important. For example, whereas virtually no other section of the Dolores River is presently fishable, the gorgeous mule shoes of Dunton’s Cresto Ranch are fishing quite well, kicking out lots of fish in the 16-20″ range.
In terms of river fishing, Pa-Co-Chu-Puc State Park on the Uncompahgre has been quite steady. At 600 cfs, it is challenging to wade and impossible to cross, but the fish are holding right where you would expect to find them, on deep seamlines and in back eddies. Nymph hard with larger-than-average nymphs, including Copper Johns and Pat’s Rubber Leg stones. You’ll catch some nice fish!
~Telluride Outside
