- Mar102022
Roaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: 71cfs/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 192cfs Basalt, 338cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: The lower river in particular is waking up from winters slumber – ‘Fifth Season’ is finally here! The river has been fishing best during afternoons and evenings once the sun warms it up a bit – no need to get out there too early. Stoneflies and attractor…
0manager - Mar102022
Frying Pan River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreFrying Pan River Flow: 56cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir Conditions: The fishing has certainly been picking up as the days become warmer and longer. The midge hatches are increasing weekly and risers have been commonplace during the afternoons and early evenings. After a long winter it sure feels good to ditch that silly bobber and actually cast a fly line again! Even…
manager - Mar102022
Colorado River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreColorado River – Flow: 1,160 cfs/Glenwood Springs Conditions: Low and clear (green) water for the Colorado. We have turned the corner recently and our locally famous ‘Fifth Season’ is now in play! The biggest key right now is playing the weather right – meaning you either have to be a local to take advantage or just have luck on your…
manager - Feb102022
Crystal River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreCrystal River – Flow: 48 cfs/Redstone, 69 cfs/Carbondale Conditions: Winter is here – which means the best fishing will take place along the lower river in Carbondale. Keep an eye on the weather for the best fishing. Ideally you want a warm overnight low temperature above 20’f. for the fishing to be very doable the following day. Fish the obvious…
manager - Feb102022
Roaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: ice/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 221cfs Basalt, 351cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: The lower river in particular is waking up from winters slumber – ‘Fifth Season’ is finally here! The river has been fishing best during afternoons and evenings once the sun warms it up a bit – no need to get out there too early. Stoneflies and attractor…
manager - Feb102022
Frying Pan River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreFrying Pan River Flow: 69cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir Conditions: Easily one of the most reliable winter fisheries in the Rockies, the Frying Pan River yields warm winter water flows that are easily wadable. Even during the coldest of days the Frying Pan and fish well. Light tippets of 6x and 7x are suggested given the tiny flies and low flows. Midges…
manager - Feb102022
Colorado River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreColorado River – Flow: 1310 cfs/Glenwood Springs Conditions: Low and clear (green) water for the Colorado. We have turned the corner recently and our locally famous ‘Fifth Season’ is now in play! The biggest key right now is playing the weather right – meaning you either have to be a local to take advantage or just have luck on your…
manager - Feb032022
In Memory of Tripp Dobson 1965-2022
Read moreWe lost another of our old friends on Saturday, January 29, 2022–Arthur “Tripp” Dobson III. Tripp fell to cancer, like most of the other friends of our shop that we have lost over the past couple of years, including Roy Palm (who was a mentor to Tripp like he was to me), Britt White, and Ron Rouse. All of these…
manager - Jan112022
Crystal River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreCrystal River – Flow: 48 cfs/Redstone, 63 cfs/Carbondale Conditions: Winter is here – which means the best fishing will take place along the lower river in Carbondale. Keep an eye on the weather for the best fishing. Ideally you want a warm overnight low temperature above 20’f. for the fishing to be very doable the following day. Fish the obvious…
manager - Jan112022
Roaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: na ice/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 150cfs Basalt, 374cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: The river has been fishing best during afternoons and evenings once the sun warms it up a bit – no need to get out there early. Stoneflies and attractor nymphs like Princes, Pheasant Tails, Perdigons, Rainbow Warriors and the like are all fishing well. Midges will…
manager - Jan112022
Frying Pan River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreFrying Pan River Flow: 45cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir Conditions: Easily one of the most reliable winter fisheries in the Rockies, the Frying Pan River yields warm winter water flows that are easily wadable. Even during the coldest of days the Frying Pan and fish well. Light tippets of 6x and 7x are suggested given the tiny flies and low flows. Midges…
manager - Jan112022
Colorado River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreColorado River – Flow: 980 cfs/Glenwood Springs Conditions: Low and clear (green) water for the Colorado. Due to the rivers lower elevation, fishing can often be better down here due to the additional warmth. Perhaps the biggest draw here is the quality of fish that can be caught – averaging over 14 inches. While widely known as a fickle fishery,…
manager CFS Team Building – Louisiana Edition
By manager in On The WaterRead moreCrystal Fly Shops owner, David Johnson, has graciously taken his hard-working fishing guides to Louisiana for a little team building the past three years now. Not only do we get to stand on the bow of a skiff and throw a fly rod for a change but we also are lucky enough to be guided by our good friends Capt.…
managerCFS Team Building – Upland Edition
By manager in In the MountainsRead moreEnjoy a few pictures of some team building exercises the CFS way. We obviously all enjoy fishing but there’s perhaps nothing more American than boys and dogs walking around fields with a shotgun in hand shooting pheasants. A special thanks to the gang at Black Canyon Wing and Clay in Delta and our guide, Steve Hill. A graduate from Carbondale…
managerSnow Days
By manager in On The WaterRead moreKirk Webb Some of my fondest memories as a child took place when my mom would quietly tiptoe into my room, wake me up, point out the window to the bounty of white and tell me that school was cancelled. “Snow day!”, she would exclaim. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. She relished in being able to spend even more…
managerRoaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: 73cfs/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 201cfs Basalt, 403cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: The river has been fishing best during afternoons and evenings once the sun warms it up a bit – no need to get out there early. Stoneflies and attractor nymphs like Princes, Pheasant Tails, Perdigons, Rainbow Warriors and the like are all fishing well. Midges will be…
managerCrystal River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreCrystal River – Flow: 53 cfs/Redstone, 63 cfs/Carbondale Conditions: Winter is here – which means the best fishing will take place along the lower river in Carbondale. Keep an eye on the weather for the best fishing. Ideally you want a warm overnight low temperature above 20’f. for the fishing to be very doable the following day. Fish the obvious…
managerFrying Pan River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreFrying Pan River Flow: 45cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir Conditions: Easily one of the most reliable winter fisheries in the Rockies, the Frying Pan River yields warm winter water flows that are easily wadable. Even during the coldest of days the Frying Pan and fish well. Light tippets of 6x and 7x are suggested given the tiny flies and low flows. Midges…
managerColorado River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreColorado River – Flow: 1,150 cfs/Glenwood Springs Conditions: Low and clear (green) water for the Colorado. Due to the rivers lower elevation, fishing can often be better down here due to the additional warmth. Perhaps the biggest draw here is the quality of fish that can be caught – averaging over 14 inches. While widely known as a fickle fishery,…
managerRoaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: 96cfs/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 401cfs Basalt, 602cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: Low, clear and cold water conditions and vastly improved fishing. BWOs are certainly the main event now with sporadic hopper, trico and midge hatches. The streamer fishing has also picked-up significantly lately with fall and the brown trout spawn quickly approaching. After a rough summer of low…
managerCrystal River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreCrystal River – Flow: 65 cfs/Redstone, 7 cfs/Carbondale Conditions: Very low water conditions along the lower river below Avalanche Creek. The river above Redstone has been fishing significantly better. Still low and clear, stealth is of huge importance. The deeper pools and seams are certainly fishing best early and late in the day with the cold water. During the warmth…
managerFrying Pan River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreFrying Pan River Flow: 292cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir Conditions: Higher flows are expected to stay around until October. A varied mix of late summer and early fall insects are hatching including: green drakes/flavs, PMDs, Rusty Spinners, BWOs, midges, micro caddis and mysis shrimp. The abundance of hatches creates awfully happy fish and sometimes frustrated anglers, as it can often be hard…
managerColorado River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreColorado River – Flow: 1,800 cfs/Glenwood Springs Conditions: Colorado River brown with about 1-2’ft of visibility. Fishing closures were lifted several weeks ago and fishing has resumed. It’s not easy fishing out there by any means but some fish have been landed recently. Attractor patterns like stoneflies, worms, princes, beaded jigs like perdigons or rain drops and the like are…
managerRoaring Fork River Report
By manager in River ReportsRead moreRoaring Fork River Flow: 178cfs/Aspen (Jaffe Park), 376cfs Basalt, 535cfs Glenwood Springs Conditions: Significantly improved after a few weeks of monsoonal rains – clarity is also perfect now! In fact, the noon river closures below Carbondale have expired for the time being. That said, you should still be conscious of the water temperatures during the afternoons and evenings if they…
manager