Report for the Roaring Fork Valley--Updated 1/2/12. We've never seen fishing conditions this good through the Christmas/ New Years holiday season!  Book your trip now! CLICK HERE TO GET ON OUR E-MAIL LIST for periodic updates (every 4-8 weeks) on important river events and hatches, special sales at the shop and our online store. Simply type "Subscribe" in your e-mail, and we will gladly take any other questions, comments, or requests from you.
ROARING FOR RIVER (Updated 1/2)  LOWER RIVER: (Glenwood to Carbondale): 9 out of 10 rating:   Around 500 cfs in Glenwood Springs, and fishing very well!  There can be a bit of ice still floating in the surface of the river until 10 or 11 AM if the night before was clear and cold, but we have had many days over 50 degrees in the Lower Valley during the past week, and there has been much more float traffic over the past week than normal during this time of year.  Yes, most of the fish pod up in the deepest holes of the river during the dead of winter, so you will want to work those holes over whether you are wading or floating.  Smaller stoneflies, princes, and eggs on deep nymph rigs have been producing well, and the fish are more active than they normally are this time of year because it's been so warm.  Early and late in the day you will still want to concentrate on those slow drifts inside the seams and in the tailouts of those big holes, but on warm days when you will see a lot of midges hatching, we have been finding more fish moving into the seams and currents leading into those big holes (including some pretty big fish).  Get out and float with us--it's been good! MIDDLE AND UPPER RIVER: (Carbondale to Aspen): 10 out of 10 rating: 250 cfs at Emma.--The Upper Fork has been red hot lately!  The browns have been done spawning for a while, fish are really concentrated in the deep holes, and they are feeding heavily in the warmer temps.  There have been a lot more rising fish than normal because of heavy midge hatches in the warm sun--and not just in small tributary creeks like the Ranch at Roaring Fork.  Not too many people can say they've caught fish on dries on the Roaring Fork in January, but you might just find yourself in the right conditions with rising fish  if you get out one of these warm afternoons.  Fish have also been responding to streamers with all the warmth, which normally turns off during the dead of winter.  And the nymph fishing is really easy right now (same sort of rigs as mentioned above) as long as you know where to look.  New to the area or want to learn a few great winter holes?--book one of our professionals.  We have lots of guides available in the winter who have been guiding winter fly fishing for 10 to 20 years. TWO WEEK FISHING FORECAST:  Is it spring break already?  Because it's fishing like it is!!!  Get out now and enjoy it. Hot Fly Patterns:    Stoneflies, SIZE 10-14, NYMPHS: Flexi-Girdle bugs (aka Pats Rubberlegs, aka Cat Poop--it's a Girdle Bug), Thurmanator Stone, Tungsten BH Biot Stone, Soft Shell Stone.   GENERAL ATTRACTOR MPHS, SIZE 10-16: Princes, Wire Princes, Mexican Flag, Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns,  CADDIS, SIZE 14-18,  NYMPHS: Psycho Prince, Buckskin, Caddis Crawler, Electric Caddis, Thin Skin Caddis Larva;  MIDGES, SIZE 16-24, NYMPHS:  Tungsten Zebra Midges, Kolanda's BTS, Jujubee Midges, Icebreakers in Olive and Red, Harcourt's D-River, Mercury Midge, DRIES:  Griffith's Gnat, Roy's Special Emerger, Parachute Adams. STREAMERS, SIZE 4-12:  Black Eye, Bristecone, Thin Mint, Sculpzilla, Poxyhead Sculpin, Trina's Belly Dancer	FRYING PAN RIVER-- (Updated 1/2):  9 out of 10 rating:  91 cfs at the dam.  The Pan has also been fishing very well lately.  We'd give it a 10, but it's been a little crowded lately, looking more like Spring break than Christmas break with the number of people stacked up by the dam.  But a lot of people know that there are 13 miles of river going up to the dam, and it's all fishing very well with the higher than normal temps.  It's easier to find rising fish on the Pan than the Fork, and you can expect that window to be about noon to 2 PM if you're lucky enough to get into a hatch heavy enough to bring the noses up.  Trout seem to still be eating the egg on the Pan more than the Roaring Fork, which makes sense because many brown trout will spawn later into the year here than they do on the Fork.  An egg, small Drake nymph (#14-16), or caddis larva will all make excellent choices to put ahead of your midge larva/emerger on a nymph rig.  Not much weight needed at these levels.  The Pan stays more clear of ice than the Roaring Fork in the mornings after very cold nights.  It should only be an issue if you are in the lower stretches of the river (3-5 miles) in the morning.  There have been plenty of big fish caught lately near the dam.  Be prepared with light tippets (6X-8X flourocarbon) and technical midge patterns down to a size 26 to fool some of these lunkers since levels this low generally don't create exceptional mysis shrimp fishing (and give the fish plenty of time to inspect your rig).  And you'll need to give them a very good drag free drift and often see the take before they spit it out to be successful--sight nymphers always do better than those who just watch a strike indicator near the dam.  For fishermen with average skills, concentrate on the lower 12 miles of river where many fish will tolerate less than perfect drifts on larger tippets (sometimes down to 4X in the pockets) with larger flies (small Drake imitations in a 14-16 have been really hot lately).  The Pan is so easy to access that it's possible to move around and hit 3-4 holes in a day and still stay in the sunshine, then come back down and hit the Roaring Fork before the sun goes down completely.  Right now, it doesn't matter, because IT'S ALL GOOD! Two-Week Fishing Forecast:  GET OUT AND ENJOY--THE FISHING IS A LOT BETTER THAN THE SKIING RIGHT NOW!  Hot Fly Patterns:   GREEN DRAKE NYMPHS, SIZE 14-16:  Hare's Ear, Drake Crawler, Twenty Incher, Poxyback Drake, Pheasant Tail, Zug Bug.  CADDIS, SIZE 14-18,  NYMPHS:  Thin Skin Caddis Larva & Pupa, Buckskin, Caddis Crawler, Electric Caddis; MIDGES, SIZE 20-28, NYMPHS:  Pulsating Biot Emerger, Wine BMW, Mercury Midges, Kolanda's BTS, Jujubee Midges in Red and Zebra, Barr's Emerger, WD-40's.  CDC Loopwing Emerger, Tungsten Zebra Midges, Improved Biot Midge Emerger, Poxythread Midge Larva, UFOs; DRIES: Stalcup's Emerging Midge, Stalcup's Midge cluster, Roy's Special Emerger, Trailing Shuck Midge, Trico Quad.  EGGS IN ALL SIZES AND COLORS.  MYSIS  SHRIMP, SIZE 16-18 near the dam.
COLORADO RIVER FROM GLENWOOD SPRINGS TO RIFLE (Updated 1/2)-- 7 out of 10 rating:  Fluctuating around 1500 cfs in Glenwood Springs.  The weather has been incredible down here lately, and the fishing has been pretty good too.  We tend to spend more time on the Roaring Fork through the dead of winter because it is a more consistant fishery at that time of year.  The main reason for this is that a lot of fish will move into the "frog water"--still water areas with little or no current--, or backeddies on the Colorado during the winter.  These areas can be difficult to fish because you can't actually drift a fly in water that has no current, or those areas may have large stretches of ice extending from the bank out to the current (and the fish are of course holding underneath the ice)... However, the Colorado is fishing better than it usually does right now because of all the warm temps, and we've had fun lately going down there with 2 handed switch rods which allow us to roll cast and drift flies at longer distances.  Switch rods are shorter (10 to 12 foot) than spey rods (12-15 feet) and switch rods have a short double handle that allows you to make very long roll casts.  Down here we are taking advantage of these rods to roll cast over the frog water and backeddies to hit the seamlines that can be 40-60 feet off the bank-where you can't wade to or cast to with a standard length rod.  A longer switch rod will also allow you to drift the flies and mend your line easier over a large piece of water, yet they are short enough to still overhead cast with (thus the term "switch").  Standard deep nymph rigs like those mentioned above are producing on the Colorado--they aren't picky and it's more about putting something in front of them.  And come in and check out some of our two-handed rods in the shop--we have the best and most affordable selection of two handed and czech nymph rods in the valley.	CRYSTAL RIVER  (Updated 1/2) 6 out of 10 rating:  53 cfs at Redstone.  You will find the least selective fish in the our area on the Crystal River these days--when you find fish, that is.  Yes, they are in the deepest holes just like everywhere else in the winter--but that deep hole that you're fishing may or may not have a lot of fish in it.  And chances are good that that hole will have less fish in it than our Gold Medal rivers do thanks to too many people who don't practice enough catch and release on the Crystal.  There are plenty of holes with plenty of fish, but this river does depend more on stocking than our other local rivers because of 1) too much harvesting of fish and 2) large fluctuations of extemely high and extremely low water levels which can be detrimental to fish and their spawning activities, and 3) the Crystal moves a lot of sediment which means less aquatic insects than our other local rivers. The Crystal wasn't stocked until autumn this year, and it was stocked with thousands of juvenile trout that will be big enough to catch next season.  You will maximize your chances in the short term by moving around to find pools where there are good populations of fish (when you find them they will eat most properly presented nymph patterns).  And you will maximize your habitat and resource in the short term by practicing selective harvest or catch and release--and by tastefully sharing that etiquette with others--and by supporting the Roaring Fork Conservancy's efforts to get the Garfield Board of County Commissioners on board the effort to stabilize the riparian habitat of Coal Creek, which has drained tons of sediment into the lower Crystal for years. Rowing for Rookies and Float Fishing Etiquette 101 Seems like everyone has a boat these days, and it seems like too many days they've all decided to put on at the same ramp at the same time as you.  And frankly, too many people who buy boats are not ready to row them and have very little training on how to launch, let alone get down the river effectively and safely.  Just because you read online fishing reports such as this one and you think you know what flies to throw at them, and you've done some fly fishing, doesn't mean you're ready to row--and you need to be aware that you can interfere with other's enjoyment and safety--or potentially harm our resources or floating access priviliges by not following some simple common sense guidelines. You can help keep our river experience fun, productive, and safe by educating yourself if you are a beginning rower.  Inquire with professionals about the floatability or potential hazards of certain sections of rivers at certain levels--which change throughout the year--especially if you've never been through that section.  That could certainly save you from the possibility of having to be rescued on the river, which guides have to do with members of the general public all too often, every year.   If you bring a fiberglass drift boat from Basalt to Carbondale when it is flowing at 500 cfs and there are fallen trees over parts of the river and you are going to literally hit 100 rocks througout the day, then you are an idiot who hasn't done their homework and you deserve to sink your boat!  And just because you have rowed a boat or canoe across a lake somewhere doesn't mean you're ready to float it down a fast, hazardous Western river and attempt to fish out of it.  Floating can be hazardous enough for professionals at times (most guides have had incidents of their own at sometime in their career)--leave it to them if you are unsure of your ability. There are a number of great books and DVDs about rowing driftboats/rafts which you should read, and you will have hopefully been on a number of float trips or gotten instruction from a professional before deciding to buy your own boat.  Some rowers are not aware that they may be floating through large chunks of private property, and in Colorado if it is posted "No Trespassing" that means you can't walk on the stream bed---which you will have to do if you get stuck because you haven't done your homework.  And every time someone trespasses it moves us all closer to potentially having lawsuits filed against the floating priviliges of all Coloradans, like the lawsuits we have seen spring up in the Crested Butte area.  Please observe these additional guidelines:  Pull your boat to the side of the ramp after launching so others can put on or take out.  Never inflate a raft on the ramp--prep your boat beforehand so that when it is your turn to use the ramp you aren't slowing down everyone else.  Never drag your anchor as you float down the river.  If you have to damage the river bottom and kill our aquatic insects to slow you down, then you have no business on the river!  If you can't keep your boat straight or steer it when it needs to be steered, then you probably shouldn't be taking it through Cemetery or South Canyon Rapids.  It's in very bad taste to call a business entity such as a fly shop to ask float fishing advice on what flies to fish that day and then never even bother to go in and patronize that business.  If you want to make sure fly shops survive against the big boxes like Cabela's, then be sure to patronize the sources of your information or that info source may go away someday.