Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Avon

Eagle River 05/08/2026 Photo Album

The euphoria still lingers, as I prepare to log my outing on the Eagle River on May 8, 2026. I was anxious to return after a superb day on 04/20/2026, and Friday became that day, and what a day it was! An appointment on Monday prevented me from making a fishing trip, and adverse weather on Tuesday and Wednesday inhibited thoughts of fly fishing. Thursday was our day to watch the grandsons, so that left Friday. My daughter was visiting from Carbondale, and I was torn between spending time with her or fly fishing. Her visit extended into Saturday, so I opted for the trip to the Eagle River.

Productive Area

When I checked the flows, they were holding around 200 CFS, so the area was probably not affected by the same amount of snow that we received in Denver on Tuesday and Wednesday. The high temperature was projected to peak in the low sixties, so I deemed conditions perfect for a spring outing on the Eagle River.

Amazing Girth

As I have noted many times in this blog, expecting a repeat from a prior visit was unrealistic; but those thoughts were admittedly in my head. I arrived at my designated parking pullout by 10:00AM, and after my usual preparation and a short hike to the river, I was prepared to launch my fly fishing day. The temperature was in the upper fifties, so I pulled on my fleece hoodie and raincoat, and these layers served me well until lunch time, when I removed the raincoat and stuffed it in my backpack. In order to battle larger than average fish, I chose my stout Sage One five weight.

Tail Droop

To begin the day I rigged my line with a three fly dry dropper. My choice for the surface fly was an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, and below it I strung a 20 incher and an olive perdigon. My approach never deviated from these three flies and the dry/dropper methodology over the course of my day on the river, which evolved into 4.5 hours.

Lots of Troughs in This Area

Between 10:30AM and noon I advanced up the river for .1 mile and passed through some moderate riffles and glides, where the river widened quite a bit. I was somewhat skeptical about this structure, but I landed six trout in the morning session. Two of the fish were beneath twelve inches, but four were substantial fish, that I was proud to guide into my net. The best was a slab of a rainbow that probably approached twenty inches, but its weight and girth were more notable than length. A sixteen inch brown was also part of the morning net haul.

Another Model Rainbow

As I advanced up the river, I noticed another angler eighty yards above me, and by noon three other fishermen joined him. I decided to continue up the river to within forty yards of them after lunch, but before I could enact this plan, they departed.

Promising

After lunch I resumed my prospecting, but when I came within forty yards of the area occupied by the fly fishing party that recently departed, I exited the river and walked along the path, until I was above the area they disturbed. At least I thought I was, although I never tracked the three other anglers that were not with the individual that was first evident.

Workhorse Perdigon

My concerns about disturbed water were overwrought, as the pace of action accelerated from the morning. From 12:30PM until 3:30PM I advanced up the river and tossed my dry/dropper in all the likely fish holding structures. During this window of time I observed a number of small blue wing olives but also some gray mayflies that were a bit larger than the tiny BWO’s. I estimate that they were size sixteen. I never saw a single rise, but the trout were quite active on my underwater offerings.

Perfect Fish Home

I elevated the fish count from six at lunch to twenty-five by the end of the day. Five of the landed trout consumed the 20 incher, and the remainder grabbed the olive perdigon. What a workhorse fly! The simple green thread body fly with a copper tungsten bead gets my nymphs in the feeding zone quickly, and the fish loved it.

Big Flipper

A very effective technique was to swing the flies near the end of the drift, particularly after an across river cast through a glide or run of moderate velocity. The trout aggressively grabbed the perdigon, as it began to lift and swing at the tail of the run. I also caught trout with upstream casts, but the across and down was probably the most productive. I probably had another five to ten very brief connections, when the trout grabbed and spit the flies on numerous occasions.

Pretty Fish

What about the quality of these fish? That is what created my euphoria. I already documented the size of the netted fish prior to lunch. The trend continued in the afternoon with numerous trout in the thirteen to sixteen inch range. On the day I estimate that only six out of twenty-five landed fish were beneath the twelve inch threshold. The quality of fish mirrored my 04/20/2026 outing on the Eagle River.

Found It 18 Days Later!

Several outings ago I lost the rubber knob on the end of my homemade wading staff. It was attached with a wood screw, and the screw apparently worked its way loose. I did not realize the loss, until I returned to the car at the end of the day. Toward the end of the day on Friday I was wading along the bank to approach a new position for a cast. I glanced down to safely place my wading boot on a solid spot, and I saw what appeared to be the rubber knob from my wading staff. I attempted to stab it to bring it to the surface, but it was solidly wedged between two rocks. I rolled up my left sleeve, reached down and retrieved the object, and sure enough, it was my lost rubber knob. It still had the wood screw in it. What are the chances of this happening?

Will I return before the run off kicks in for good? I checked the flows today, and they increased from 200 CFS to 250 CFS. There is clearly a run off hump in the river flow graph. The outlook will depend on air temperatures over the next week, but I am certainly on the lookout for another fabulous day on the Eagle River.

Fish Landed: 25

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Minturn

Eagle River 04/20/2026 Photo Album

I was convinced that my day of fishing on Monday was going to unfold on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon; however, a last minute check of the Eagle River prompted me to change my mind. High temperatures in Avon were in the low sixties with moderate wind; and, surprisingly the flows were chugging along in the 140 CFS range. I concluded that the river was back in ideal pre-runoff conditions, and I decided to take advantage before the real snowmelt made an appearance.

Quite a Start

Brown Trout Are Great As Well

I arrived at my chosen pullout at 10:30AM. The temperature was a chilly 51 degrees, so I wore my long sleeve thermal undershirt, my fishing shirt, my fleece hoodie and my raincoat. I was very comfortable until lunch, when I removed my rain shell. During cloudy periods in the afternoon I was comfortable, but there were times, when the fleece was a bit too much, but I persevered. I rigged my Sage One five weight and replenished my 20 incher supply, and I was off to the river.

Lovely Colors and Speckles

I hiked along the path for .2 mile, and then I cut a short distance to the river to begin my outing on Monday, April 20, 2026. My starting lineup included an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher and an olive perdigon. On the first backhand cast to a deep run at the entry point to a pool I noticed that the chubby darted sideways, so I made a swift hookset. I was connected to a fat rainbow, and it immediately rocketed downstream. I let it run and then exerted side pressure to bring it closer to my position, but the fighter slipped free of my fly. What an adrenalin boosting first cast! I continued to probe the nice deep riffle that produced the rainbow, and I landed two brown trout on the olive perdigon. It was quite an auspicious beginning to my day on the river.

Slicks Behind Exposed Boulders

Between 11:00AM and 11:45 I continued to wade up the river, and I built the fish count to six. All the trout grabbed the olive perdigon. If I encountered any riffle or glide with decent depth and moderate current, I was able to generate some action. The fish were on the feed, and I was the beneficiary.

Gold, Bronze or Butter

For lunch I returned to the bench by the pool that was below my starting point, and I observed the scene, while I munched my snack. By noon sporadic rises were distributed along the length of the pool, but I did not note any regular feeders, and I remembered from my previous trip to the Eagle that casting to the sporadic risers was a fools errand. I resisted the siren call of dry fly fishing and hiked back along the path to my exit point for lunch.

Turned Around

Between 12:30PM and 3:00PM I persisted with the dry/dropper, and the same three flies that I began with, and they served me well. I boosted the fish counter from six to nineteen, and these fish were not dinks. Of the first nineteen I estimate that six were below twelve inches and the rest stretched the tape between twelve and fifteen inches, and the range of sizes skewed toward the upper boundary of fifteen inches. In short, I was having a blast prospecting likely pockets, seams and moderate depth troughs, and quite often I was rewarded with a respectable hard fighting wild brown or rainbow. Several of the rainbows were wide slabs that easily extended to fifteen inches, and several browns were the same length although not as wide. The 20 incher finally chipped in and accounted for three fish, while the olive perdigon did the heavy lifting and accounted for the remainder.

Deep Color

Trough Between Exposed Rocks

By 3:00PM I was feeling very satisfied with my day, and I paused to inspect a new section of the river. A nice current seam created bubbles as it sluiced along the right bank, and three fish rose in rapid succession. I decided to accept the challenge, and I removed the three fly dry/dropper configuration and replaced it with a double dry set up. The first fly was an old reliable peacock body hippie stomper, and a mole fly trailed it on an eighteen inch dropper.

Across the Turbulence

Once I was ready, I executed a backhand toss to the tail of the small run, and instantly a fourteen inch brown trout smacked the hippie stomper. I was stunned but still managed to lift my rod and land the eager eater. I carefully dabbed the mole fly against my sleeve and then doused it in dry shake and plumped the CDC wing to dry it off.

Smacked a Hippie Stomper

Once the flies were back in floating condition, I flicked another backhand cast to the middle of the run, and within seconds I noted a flash and bulge and set the hook. Once again a feisty brown trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range slid into my net, and in this instance it displayed the mole fly in its lip. I chalked the hippie stomper eat to a low IQ fish and expected to cash in on the mole fly a few more times.

Another Rainbow Beast

The last of the third fish rose next to a bank side boulder, so I lofted a cast above the rock. The flies drifted only six inches when another cookie cutter brown smashed the hippie stomper. This was not a dainty sipping take; but, instead it was an aggressive slash.  I landed all three fish that revealed their presence with surface eats, and I applauded my timely switch to the double dry fly combination.

Three Eats in This Location

It was near quitting time, but these successes caused me to continue the experiment with the stomper and mole fly. I moved up the river along the right bank, and I landed three additional trout, and all three mashed the hippie stomper with confidence. These fish were of similar quality and size to the three previously described, and this angler was in a state of euphoria. I elevated the fish count to twenty-five, before I called it a day, and the last six were all taken on dry flies. Should I have switched sooner? I will never know.

Deep Olive

My hunch that the Eagle River would be fishing well was confirmed, and I experienced my best day of the 2026 season. Everything coalesced, as I landed twenty-five trout, and the average size was above average. The icing on the cake was landing six stunning wild fish on dry flies in the last hour. I am very thankful.

Fish Landed: 25

Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Near Avon

Eagle River 04/06/2026 Photo Album

From March 27, 2026 until April 6, 2026 the Eagle River dropped from a peak of 470 CFS to today’s flows of 187 CFS. I contacted an Instagram friend, and she informed me that the river was clear, so that cinched my decision to pay a visit. Temperatures were projected to peak around 61 degrees, and I deemed the weather to be tolerable for spring fishing.

I arrived at my chosen parking space, and the temperature on the dashboard was 46 degrees. I wore my Columbia long sleeve thermal undershirt, fleece hoodie, North Face light down, and my raincoat to begin my day. Yes, I was quite bundled up. I rigged my Sage One five weight, and I ambled to the river.

Whoa! What a Start!

To start my day I chose to fish the head of a long pool with my favorite dry/dropper set up. It consisted of an amber chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher, and an olive perdigon. I covered the upper one-fourth of the run with high expectations for twenty minutes, but disappointment was the only result. I migrated up the river along the right bank, and by the time I broke for lunch, I registered five very respectable trout. The morning catch included a thirteen and fourteen inch brown trout, a couple twelve inchers, and a stunning football of a rainbow. I do not believe it extended to twenty inches, but it made up for that with an abundance of poundage. The width of the monster far exceeded my hand. I suspect the length was around eighteen inches.

Slick Produced

I exited the river and found the path back to a bench overlooking the long pool, where I began. I munched my sandwich and warmed my feet and observed the pool, and I immediately noted sporadic rises in the lower half. I was now overheating, so I removed my raincoat and stuffed it in my backpack, as I formulated my afternoon plan. I decided to once again prospect the top one-fourth with the olive perdigon and a sparkle wing RS2. I hoped that the trout would key on the subsurface baetis nymph. If not, I was prepared to removed the three fly dry/dropper and switch to a double dry with a mole fly on the end.

Zoomed

Phase one of my plan proved to be ineffective, as no fish attacked the nymphs, even though I executed some expert drifts through the gut of the entering run. In short, the river structure looked spectacular, but my flies were not favored. I moved to the midsection and removed the dry/dropper configuration and replaced it with a peacock hippie stomper and a size 20 mole fly. I tied five additional mole flies on Sunday night in preparation for this very happenstance.

Better Sense of Width

The wind by now was gusting periodically and riffling the surface, but flurries of rises seemed to follow the gusts. The rises were fairly splashy but also sporadic. I was unable to spot a consistent feeder. I began firing downstream casts, and in a short amount of time, two fish flashed at the mole fly, but they elected to refuse. Uh oh. I have witnessed this scenario many times. Finally I made a cast and allowed the stomper and mole fly to drift downstream toward the tail, and I spotted a bulge near the hippie stomper. I quickly set and found myself attached to a very respectable fourteen inch brown trout.

Home of Brute Rainbow

My confidence in the mole fly soared, but that was the extent of my dry fly success. I spent close to an hour attempting to tempt additional risers, but I finally concluded that dwelling in the pool was a waste of time. I stripped in my line and waded to shore and climbed the bank to the path. I moved up the river and found my exit point from before lunch and cut to the river. My line still contained the double dry setup, so I quickly hiked to a wide slow moving section and paused to inspect for rises, but none were evident. I bit the bullet and returned to the dry/dropper. I retained the chubby Chernobyl and olive perdigon, but I placed a silver bullet in the upper nymph position.

The Large Pool

For the remainder of the afternoon I deployed the three fly system, and I boosted the fish count from six to eleven. At one point the flies got lodged under a large boulder, and I was unable to rescue due to unsafe water depth, so I snapped the nymphs off. If you are counting, that was two lost tungsten beads. I opted to replace the silver bullet with a beadhead hares ear and knotted a new olive perdigon to the line. The afternoon action was slow, but I did manage to land five trout. Three were under twelve inches but another chunky rainbow graced my net. This one was slightly shorter than number five, but it was also very husky. The afternoon rainbow emerged from a swirly eddy area behind several exposed boulders.

Perfect

At 3:30PM I was quite weary, so I found a path and climbed the bank and returned to the car. Monday’s outing was satisfactory, although the action was not as hot as several of my March stream visits. Nevertheless I reached double digits and two of my catch were spectacular rainbows in the sixteen to eighteen inch range and very thick. I also netted a pair of hard fighting brown trout in the fourteen to fifteen inch range. I enjoyed a bit of dry fly action, although my success rate was lacking. This was the first instance that the mole fly did not exceed or even meet my expectations. Was a size 20 too large? Perhaps I need to tie some 22’s.

Swirling Area Behind Exposed Rock Produced

Will I be able to fish the Eagle River again before run off commences in earnest? I will keep my eye on the weather and the flow charts just in case.

Fish Landed: 11