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Trouts Journal

Trouts Frisco Forecast | February 18th Edition

Zeke Hersh / Feb 18, 2021

Welcome to the Trouts Frisco/Mountain Forecast!

The middle of February is here and fishing is on the brain for me more and more. Just last weekend I had the pleasurable opportunity to fish the Roaring Fork River with a friend. And while the temps were a bit cool and the wind a bit more than advertised, the fishing was quite good. The short run we fished held a good amount of fish and they weren’t very shy about sampling our flies. Not only was this a good day of fishing, but this adventure gave us other glimpses of open water ready to be fished.

Here are a few places I think about visiting this time of year.

The Roaring Fork River:

The Roaring Fork is looking quite nice right now. This river is such a treat to fish, with its healthy trout and aquatic life. Right now, there is plenty of open water and trout are stacked in the deeper slower pools and runs. The river is running quite low, so this offers some great wade fishing opportunities, but be aware that this river can be extremely slippery. With these low flows boat traffic is also minimized, making for some great wade fishing experiences.

The Eagle River:


The Eagle’s ice has dropped and this opens up some great fishing opportunities in the Eagle River Valley. This river also has some super healthy aquatic life helping in growing some fat and healthy fish. Look for the deeper runs and pools and keep an eye out for midge hatches and rising trout in some of the slower moving sections.

The Arkansas from Buena Vista to Canon City:

This section has made the report almost every time. Mostly because of how good a winter fishery it is. Then add in a drive through high desert and piñons and the warmer temperatures that come with these, and you have a winner in my book. The next couple months offer some of my favorite fishing on this section. Fish will be stacked in the holes, there's usually some good midge activity mid-day, and you never know when you will see blue-wings floating down the river and fish gobbling them up.

The Colorado at Parshall below the Williams Fork confluence:


This is another section that makes the report consistently. Why it does, is it’s just a consistent good bet for winter fly fishing. The Colorado has abundant aquatic life and hungry trout ready to eat your small nymph or midge pattern. But don’t be surprised to see rising trout at any time during the day. Then if you make the walk to the Williams Fork, look for bigger fish in this technical Colorado tailwater.

The Wild Card*- The Frying Pan below Ruedi Reservoir:


As we are moving toward spring, the sun's angle is rising in the sky. With this section of river tucked behind some canyon walls a little higher sun angle can make all the difference for an enjoyable day fishing. Bring your small flies and light tippets and make sure you check out our recent blog post by Mark Rauschenberger on our Trouts blog for some more tips and tricks.

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Flies:

Flashback Tungstone

With the excitement of freestones opening up and starting to fish well, comes the excitement to use one of my favorite spring patterns. This fly sinks fast with it’s lower profile and tungsten bead and then ad in a little flash to attract the fish's attention and you have one of my favorite point flies for the spring.

KGB in Tan

This is a great light-colored attractor nymph pattern. Maybe even the little brother of the Flashback Tungstone. With a tungsten bead and slim profile this fly sinks fast and with it’s unique copper flashback, this fly is something fish don’t see often. This fly fishes great on tailwaters and freestones alike and I highly recommend carrying a few of these patterns in your fly box.

Tungsten Rainbow Warrior

If you all have followed these blogs or Five Flies, you all might know this is one of my favorite flies, year around. Mid-winter I can move away from this fly a bit, but as we start heading into spring and with more bug activity this fly starts getting tied on my tippet more and more.

Poison Tung Gray Blue

This fly has also been a favorite for some time now. A great alternative to the zebra midge with a little more flash and unique color. This fly can be a good representation of a midge and also Blue Wing Olives nymphs. Tied with a tungsten bead and UV dubbing this fly sinks fast and attracts attention.

Mercury Midge Gray

With spring around the corner and bug activity starting to accelerate, the mercury midge in gray or the miracle nymph is a must have in your fly box for those clear streams or bright days. This fly with it’s glass bead adds a little flash to attract attention and can represent an emerger.

Flows:

The Roaring Fork at Glenwood- 314 CFS

The Eagle at Gypsum- 143 CFS

The Arkansas at Salida- 220 CFS

The William Fork below Williams Fork Reservoir- 86.3 CFS

The Frying Pan below Ruedi Reservoir- 62.6 CFS

Weather:

Winter weather and much needed snow finally came to the high country, as well as some extremely cold temperatures in other areas. The snow was much appreciated not only for the powder turns, but also a bit of relief, from the anxiety of the potential of another dry summer. A little more relief is on the way, with snow in the forecast most of these next ten days. The forecast looks to start out a little cold and then snow for the first couple of days. Then we will see a brief warming for a few days and then better chances for snow as we round out the ten days. This forecast looks to have some great days for fishing, with some very comfortable temperatures in the warming trend. Come see us at the Denver location and visit Sean and myself up in Frisco.

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