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Frying Pan River Report
February 5, 2010
UPPER FRYING PAN
FLOW: 69 cfs
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WATER CLARITY: Nice and clear/green throughout the entire river.
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10. The fishing has been solid daily.
THE SHORT AND SWEET: Ah, winter on the Frying Pan. This is the time of year for BIG FISH! A good number of fish over 20" inches have been caught lately including a few bad-boys in the 4-12lb. range. A ton of people have been in the Flats daily, and is the only place where you'll see a lot of fishing pressure. I've been avoiding the Flats simply because the rest of the river has been fishing equally well with NO fishing pressure. Look for significantly less pressure below Bridge Pool. The midge hatches are picking up as move later into the season. You'll definately want to have a selection of midge dries with you, especially if the day is warm. The weather outlook looks good for the next string of ten days with temps in the 30's daily. Time to get off your vise, off the mountain, and into the river. It's been that good.
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:
Midges (20-24), Huevos (14-18), Mysis Shrimp (16-22), BWO's (20-22)
IN DEPTH REVIEW: You've got to love the dustings of snow, the great fishing, and the lack of crowds. During the winter, the best time to hit the river will be midday, when the water and air temps are at their highest, especially from 11am to 4pm. There's no doubt that Midges are the most prevelent hatch. If you have a balmy, gray, overcast day in the high twenties to low forties, count your blessings as the fishing will easily rank as a 8 out of 10. Even during bright, sunny days the fishing will still be superb but the majority of the risers will be hiding out in the shade.
Mysis Shrimp fishing is holding on, especially in the Flats and Toilet Bowl. Brown trout are in full blown spawn mode, so please be sure not to pick on actively spawning fish or fish on beds. There's no sense in getting out there at the crack of dawn as the water is still too cold for the fish and insects to be active. Plus, the crowds of summer are now long gone meaning that you can go and fish anywhere without worries about if someone is in "your" spot. Don't get me wrong, people are out there but predominately on weekends and it's still very minimal at that.
Before noon, focus on nymphing the deeper pools and seams. You should be able to see the fish you are casting to with the water levels being down. Recently the dry fly action has been decent during afternoons. We are seeing predominately Midges in the way of hatches, though a few ligering BWO's are still being seen as well. Light tippets of 7X are absolutely mandatory when fishing dries. We're fond of Sprouts, Hatching Midges, Bills Midge Emergers and Para Emergers. Short, moderately weighted two nymph rigs fished below an indicator are key to catch numbers of fish. Generally the distance from our split shot to indicator is about 3-4 feet. The most effective nymphs (lead/point flies) include: Flashtail Hot Eggs, Black Poxyback Baetis, Glass Bead Micro Mayflies, Pheasant Tails and Master Baetis. Successful dropper/emerger patterns include: RIbbed RS2's, Bling Midges, Capt. Hooks, TC Red Midges and Pure Midges. All of these patterns should be in sizes #18-22. Sight fish as much as possible, otherwise fish these blindly in the deeper pools and seams. The biggest key, more so than having the "right" fly is to be fishing light fluorocarbon tippets of 6 and 7x. Casting downstream to the rising fish is also a big benefit enabling the fish to see the fly first, instead of line followed by fly.The Mysis Shrimp fishing has tapered off with the drop in water flows but is still of importance in the Flats and Toilet Bowl. Epoxy Mysis, Tims Mysis and BTS Mysis patterns are all fishng well.
Appropriate Patterns
Dries: Bills Midge Emerger, FP Emerger, Sprout Midges, Griffiths Gnats, Hatching Midges, Para Emergers
Nymphs:Flashtail Hot Eggs. Pheasant Tails, Black Poxyback Baetis, STD Baetis, Master Baetis, Sparklewing RS2, Ribbed RS2, Tidbit Midges, Biot Baetis, Barr Emerger BWO, Johnny Flash, Freestone Emerger, Black Beauty Emerger, Capt Hooks, TC Red Midges, Pure Midges
Streamers: Sculpzilla, Buggers, Stingin' Clouser, Foxee Clouser, Stingin' Sculpin, Slump Busters, Bellyache Minnows
Hints: 6X and 7X Tippet!!! For any of your dry fly fishing 7x is mandatory. At times, 8X will be needed if you are fishing flat water coupled with bright sun. Even when nymphing, we fish 6x going to our lead/point fly and 7x going to our dropper. For streamers, tippet size is irrelevant.
MIDDLE RIVER FRYING PAN
WATER CONDITIONS: Green Tea Clear
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Midges, Eggs, BWO's
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10
THE SHORT AND SWEET: Same techniques and patterns (less the Mysis Shrimp) as the upper river.
The In Depth Review: Same as the upper river. Anchor Ice has been an issue up to MM6 currently. Warmer weather lately has made anchor ice much less of an issue than before. Cold snaps will force you to fish above MM8 or 10. Because of that, MM8 up to the dam has been fishing the best. Be sure to check out the upstream side of MM8 and MM10. In general it's all about nymphing eggs, baetis and midges. You will certainly see rising fish during the warmth of the afternoons from noon or 1pm up to 3pm. Again, light fluorocarbon tippets are crucial to being successful. The middle river also offers the best streamer fishing along the entire river. Cover water and vary your retrieve until you find the tempo that works best for that given day. We like to slowly twitch our streamers using our rod tip instead of the typical strip, strip, strip and cast again. We're big on Splendors, Sculpzillas and Stingin' Sculpins. On cold days though, forego the streamers and stick to nymphing. This is simply because ice build-up on your rod/guides will be an issue when it's cold.
Appropriate Patterns
Dries: Same as Upper River
Nymphs: Same as Upper River
Hints: Break out the streamer box during lulls in the fishing. Take our word for it, especially under less intense light.
LOWER FRYING PAN :
WATER CONDITIONS: Frozen, better fishing will be found now in the middle and upper stretches.
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Midges, Eggs, BWO's
OVERALL RATING: 4 OUT OF 10.
THE SHORT AND SWEET: Anchor ice is present up to Mile Marker 8. Better fishing is on the middle and upper river.
THE IN-DEPTH REVIEW: Head on further up the river where the water is warmer and the fishing much better.
Appropriate Patterns
Dries: Same as Middle River
Nymphs: Same as Middle River
Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Frying Pan River
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