Roaring Fork River Report

September 1 , 2010

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UPPER Roaring Fork - Aspen Downstream to Basalt     
                     
FLOW: 39 cfs through Aspen and 188 cfs in Jaffe Park

WATER CLARITY: Clear and Green!

|OVERALL RATING: 7 out of 10 But, it can be and 8 or 9 depending on time of day and weather.

THE SHORT AND SWEET: Part of the fun of fishing the Upper Fork is the unpredictability of the river. It has it's moments when it's spectacular and it also has it's moments that will leave you humbled and scratching your head. The Drakes have pretty much moved out and the BWO's and Caddis have moved in. For the most part, the Upper Fork is a "match the hatch with generics" type fishery. Meaning fly like Princes, Pheasant Tails, Hare's Eare's, and Soft Hackles can be the ticket. Keep in mind though, you should plan on fishing those flies in much smaller sizes than on the Middle or Lower Fork. Dropper patterns in even smaller sizes (BWO/Midges) like #20-24's are also key.

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:
Stoneflies (10-14), BWO's (18-22), Caddis (14-18), Drakes (10-14)

IN DEPTH REVIEW: Toss some water, a Power-Bar, and maybe a rain jacket in a day pack and start exploring some of the prettiest water in the valley. When you park at Jaffe Park, you'll most likely see a lot of cars and a lot of anglers in the first half mile above the parking lot. Put your head down and keep walking until you find that deep, pristine pool filled with hungry fish. There probably won't be many fish rising, so switching the flies on your nymph rig until you find exactly what they're eating is a must. If you fish hard and come up empty handed, don't be discouraged, just reel it in and keep walking. As far as tippet size goes, 5x should be plenty light enough to fool the majority of those fish.

Appropriate Patterns 

Dries: Stimi's, P&E Caddis, Ethawing Caddis, Film Critics, BWO Quill Para, BWO Sparkledun, BWO CDC Comparadun

Nymphs: PT's, Pandemic BWO's, STD's, RS-2's Freestone Emergers, Red CJ's, Biot Baetis Emergers, Master Baetis, Cat Pooh, Micro Stones, Princes, BLM's, 20 Inchers

Hints:  Many of our fly patterns have been custom tied and developed for the Roaring Fork. Custom tying materials in local colors are available as well. Check in with our staff when you pass through our area and we will happily show you what the hottest flies are and the best areas to fish... Tight Lines!


MIDDLE Roaring Fork - Basalt Downstream to Carbondale

FLOW: 542 cfs in Basalt

WATER CONDITIONS: Just about as clear as you would ever want it.

OVERALL RATING: 8.5 out of 10

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Caddis (14-18), Stones (8-12), PMD's (16-18), BWO's (18-22)

THE SHORT AND SWEET: The heavy rains and that cold shot of water that ran through the river seems to have rejuvenated some of those bigger fish and generally helped fishing pick up in every way. It sounds crazy, but fishing small flies (sz 18 - 22) is pretty much the name of the game right now. Great BWO and PMD nymphing has been producing great reports from both guides and clients. If you can't bring yourself to fish flies that small, cut that leader in half and tie on a streamer. When streamer fishing, be prepared to cover some water and be ready for hard aggressive strikes.

THE IN DEPTH REVIEW: Fishing right here in town is definitely some of the most fun and convenient fishing you can have other than the Lower Pan. Nymphing using small PMD, BWO and Caddis nymphs will definitely be the best tactic on the Middle Fork during this time of year. Also, dropping down to 5x can be the difference between having a good day on the water and having a great day on the water. Same is to be said about split shot and depth. Play around with different amounts of weight and depths as well as spacing between flies. The biggest thing with fishing the Middle Fork right is breaking routine and trying new things.

Appropriate Patterns

Nymphs:Yuba Pupa, Prince's, Z-Wing Caddis, Electric Caddis, PT's, Pandemic's Tungsten Hoover, STD's, Cat Pooh, Spanflex Stones, SJ Worms, 20 Inchers, Gilled Drake Nymphs, Poxyback Drakes, USD Drakes

Dries: X-Caddis, Etha-Wing Caddis, Olive and Tan Stimi's, Misc Craneflies, PMX's, Wulffs

Streamers: Autumn Splendors, Ziwi's, Sacrilege's, Stingin' Sculpins, Stingin' Clousers, Buggers, Slump Busters, Sculpzillas

LOWER  Roaring Fork - Carbondale Downstream to Glenwood

FLOW: 747 cfs in Glenwood Springs

WATER CONDITIONS: Perfect, get off your computer and go fish!

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10 Our float guides are on the Lower Fork on a daily basis again bringing back unbelievable reports!

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Caddis (14-18), Golden Stones (6-12), PMD's (14-18), Sally's (14-16), BWO's (18-20)

THE SHORT AND SWEET: The cooler end of summer temps and the sporadic afternoon showers have been creating pretty much perfect conditions. Keep a net and a friend handy because we've been seeing a lot of big powerful fish on the lower river. Fishing using small BWO and PMD emergers has been the key to success over the last week and it shows no signs of slowing.

THE IN DEPTH REVIEW: It seems like the only thing the fish on the Lower Fork want right now is a good presentation. As long as you can find where the fish are in the water column, and show something to them using a good dead drift, you're going to get into fish, and if the last week is an indicator as to how it's going to be fishing for the nest week or so, your're going to get into a lot of fish. Even though the fish are feeding a lot, the strike aren't necessarily going to be easy to detect. Settin the hook on any type of hesitation is going to yield large numbers of fish. When you're fishing a hole, make sure you cover it from top to bottom, close to far. Leave no stone un-turned so to speak.

Appropriate Patterns

Nymphs: 20 Inchers,Winged Drakes, Flash Prince, Tung Prince, Red CJ's, SJ Worms, Poxyback PMD's, PT's, STD's, BLM's, Cat Poops, Spanflex Stones, Poxybiot Stones, BH Yellow Sally's, Sunken Spinners

Dries: Pimped Out H&L's, Royal Wulff's, H&L's, Drake Cripple, Drake Sparkledun, P&E Caddis, Stimi's, Royal PMX, Ethawing Caddis, Film Critic PMD, Fat Alberts

Streamers: Same as the Middle Roaring Fork


Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Fork @ Aspen

Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Fork @ Basalt (Emma)

Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Fork @ Glenwood