Time: 11:00AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Avon and Wolcott

Eagle River 10/13/2025 Photo Album

Monday, October 13, 2025 was Indigenous Peoples Day, and I decided to make it a day of fly fishing. What, you say? Why Indigenous Peoples Day and not Columbus Day? Indigenous Peoples Day is the official name of the holiday in Colorado, and I am a Coloradan. In addition, I believe that the culture and beliefs of Native Americans more closely align with my personal ideology. Native Americans were and remain stewards of the land and environment. They lived sustainably, before we even knew the meaning of the word. The Native Americans realized that the land, air, water and wildlife were what enabled them to carve out a living in the New World.

Upstream Beauty

Typical Productive Spot

When I surveyed the prospects for Monday, weather was a significant concern. I set my sights on the Arkansas River, the South Platte River and the Eagle River. Weather forecasts for all three included high temperatures in the fifties and rainfall. The highs for the Arkansas River near Salida and the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon were in the low fifties; whereas, the highs near Avon and Edwards were mid-fifties. The probabilities for rain were also higher in Salida and Lake George, so I decided to gamble on the Eagle River.

Getting Larger

An uneventful drive allowed me to arrive at my chosen spot by 10:00AM, but the temperature was 48 degrees, the wind was blasting from the east, and rain was coating my windshield with moisture. I questioned my judgement for choosing to fish under such adverse conditions. I sat in the car with the engine and heat running, while I listened to sports talk and completed my favorite New York Times games. After fifteen minutes I forced myself to utilize the Port-a-let next the parking lot, and then I decided to face the elements and begin my day of fishing. I could always quit and return home.

Look at Those Colors

Along the Rocks on the Bank

By the time I layered up with my Brooks long sleeve shirt, fishing shirt, North Face light down parka, fleece hoodie, and raincoat along with my billed hat with earflaps, the rain stopped. I rigged my Sage R8 four weight and ambled along the road a short distance to the river. I followed a bike path downstream and then cut to the river near my exit point on my last Eagle River fishing outing.

Loving the Submersion

I began my quest for trout with an amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl, an olive perdigon, and a salvation nymph. This lineup has become my go to combination in recent fall fishing trips. Between eleven o’clock and 12:15PM I netted seven decent fish, and I was quite pleased with the action. Three of the seven were rainbows and four were browns. The salvation nymph was the favorite fly in the early session, with a few nabbing the olive perdigon. As was the case in recent visits to the Eagle River, I sought areas where the riverbed narrowed thus creating deeper runs, seams, pockets and riffles. Most of these locations also contained large exposed boulders which provided cover and protection for the cold water fish.

More Opportunity

After lunch I continued with the dry/dropper; and, in fact, this approach was utilized for the remainder of my time on the river. Within fifteen minutes after lunch, a trout grabbed one of the nymphs and instantly ran beneath a branch that was wedged in front of an exposed rock. I waded upstream a bit to get above the snag, but the current was very fast and deep. I managed to position myself above the boulder, and I could leverage the branch up a bit with my wading staff, but the fast current pushing against the branch was stronger than my feeble efforts to counter it. I was in a precarious position, and not wishing to lose my footing, I applied direct pressure and broke off the valuable perdigon and the salvation.

Fat One

This was my third lost salvation, so I replaced it with a PMD supernova. Later in the afternoon I also lost the supernova and replaced it with an ultra zug bug. By 12:30PM the sky cleared, and the weather improved immeasurably. and my good fortune continued. I boosted the fish count from seven at lunch to sixteen by the time I quit at 3:30PM. The quality of the fish throughout the day was outstanding. All but two fish were twelve inches or greater. Nine rainbows arrived in my net compared to seven brown trout. This ratio was different from my earlier experience on the Eagle, so I concluded that some portion of the brown trout population was in spawning mode.

Wild Mint

The fish of the day was a seventeen inch brown trout that gobbled the olive perdigon. I cast to the middle of a featureless wide section, and the brown tugged the chubby under, and I was attached to a large fish. The brown relied mostly on a diving and rolling routine in its efforts to escape, but I was able to counter its best moves and coaxed it into my net. What an unexpected thrill! Why wasn’t this beast procreating?

Big Head Todd

Look at the Length and Girth

Just before the brown trout confrontation, I connected with a fifteen inch pink striped rainbow. As is the custom with wild rainbows, it incorporated hot streaks in its escape effort, but once again my four weight possessed enough backbone to bring it to the net. Besides these highlights, most of the fish were in the thirteen to fourteen inch slot, and they were all wild and fresh in the cold autumn flows of the Eagle River.

Back to Chubby Rainbows

My most effective techniques were swings at the end of drifts on across and down casts and lifts at the end of a drift before the river spilled over or around a rock. Dead drifting was also a winning approach, and one nice rainbow smacked the chubby Chernobyl on a directly upstream cast and drift.

Lavender Stripe

On Monday, October 13 persistence paid off. I outlasted the rain and wind and cold, and I was rewarded with a very satisfying day of fly fishing. Sixteen trout in the middle of October is outstanding, and the quality of the fish was exceptional. I was warm throughout the day, and I was even too warm toward the end of my time on the river. The Eagle River has been a top producer in 2025, and I may try to visit the freestone river again in 2025.

Fish Landed: 16

Time: 11:15AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Avon and Wolcott

Eagle River 09/24/2025 Photo Album

Wednesday was my day to return to Denver, so I decided to pay a visit to the Eagle River. On September 17, 2025 I spent a day on the freestone river near Vail and Avon, and I did pretty well, although it took me a while to solve fishing in relatively low flows. On Wednesday I was very anxious to apply my learnings.

Heck of a Start

After storms passed through on Tuesday night, the temperature dropped, and the weather forecast called for highs in the upper sixties. More relevant was the hourly forecast, which suggested that the temperature would be in the upper forties between 10:00AM and 11:00AM. I took my time. I arrived at a favorite pullout by 10:30AM, and by the time I pulled on my gear and assembled my Sage R8 four weight and hiked to the river, it was 11:15AM. The temperature was indeed 48 degrees, so I wore my Under Armour long sleeve shirt, my fishing shirt, my hooded fleece, and my raincoat. I swapped my usual broad brimmed hat for a billed cap with earflaps, and I showed respect for the chill by pulling up my fleece hood, I was cozy, but I never removed a layer throughout the day. The dashboard temperature, as I began my return drive to Denver was 65 degrees. Fall is imminent in the Rocky Mountains.

Top of Long Pool

I began my day at the forty yard long super pool that I love. After reading my blog post from 09/17/2025, I decided to copy the same lineup. I tied on a size 8 amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, an olive perdigon and a salvation nymph. Well, not exactly. I had a PMD supernova in my fleece with a leader attached, so I substituted it for the salvation, as they are quite similar in size and color scheme.

Another Eagle River Beast

Deep Trough

I began at the middle section of the long pool, and I lobbed long casts toward the center, where the river created a nice bubble line and seam. I planned to continue fanning casts across the river in this manner, until I reached the entering currents at the head of the pool, I followed this plan between 11:15AM and 11:45, and I was rewarded with two amazing trout. The first grabbed the perdigon near the midsection, and after a tough battle I netted a muscular fifteen inch brown trout. What a beginning!

Defined Stripe

Another Deep Pocket

I moved halfway up toward the faster run, and I slung a long cast across the river to a seam within eight feet of the far bank. As the flies began to swing away from the bank at the end of the drift, something grabbed the PMD supernova, and I immediately sensed a brute. The fish did not react instantly, but as soon as it realized that an annoying fake nymph was in its mouth, it went into escape mode. The brown thrashed and dove and streaked and rolled on the line, but my fly did its job, and I netted an eighteen inch brute. I was astonished. The fly was wedged in the lip of the big brown, and I was struggling to remove it with my fingers. I finally conceded that my fingers were not up to the task, and I pulled out my hemostat for more leverage. I succeeded in removing the fly, albeit in a bent state, but in the struggle, my prize brown finned away and robbed me of a photo. Despite the unfortunate failure to photograph the giant brown, my mind retains a vivid image.

Yikes. Fat Browns Continue Coming

On my September 17 outing I discovered that the most productive water existed, where the riverbed narrowed and thus created deeper runs, slots and pockets for the fish. I planned to apply this insight to my day on Wednesday, and this meant that I skipped around wide shallow sections and slow moving segments. After lunch I waded to the midsection of the large pool and made some up and across casts, where the river fanned out a bit from the faster and deeper top half. On one of the swings the chubby darted, and I set the hook, and I was once again attached to a freight train of a brown. Unfortunately it was foul hooked, but it was another example of the healthy fat brown trout in the Eagle River.

Foliage Changing

For the remainder of the afternoon I progressed east along the river. I  used the bike path as a highway and skipped the long wide riffle section above the long pool, and eventually clambered down a short steep bank to the river. I used the shoreline to continue to a stretch, where the river narrowed, and I found the type of structure that I was seeking. Huge exposed boulders were scattered about, and the faster current carved deep runs, pockets and slots among the rock garden.

Big Flapper

Trough Between the Two Exposed Rocks

I spent the remainder of my day casting to this type of water, and the results were outstanding. I landed twenty-two trout, and only six of the total catch were beneath twelve inches. All the others were twelve inches or greater, and the size was skewed toward the fourteen to fifteen inch range. Only four of the day’s catch were rainbows, but one made up for scarcity of species by measuring around sixteen inches. It was a gorgeous fish.

Lavender-Pink

A host of brown trout rounded out the numbers, and these were fish to be admired. All were well fed and apparently were putting on weight for the fall spawning season. The most effective technique was to cast across and allow the flies to swing at the end of the downstream drift. Quite a few respectable brown trout could not resist the escaping salvation nymph, which I substituted for the bent PMD supernova after lunch. The perdigon accounted for a few as well, but the real workhorse fly in the afternoon was the salvation.

Just Wow.

As I write this report I remain filled with euphoria. It was extremely gratifying to recognize the type of water that produced trout on September 17 and then adhere to a strategy that conformed to my September 17 observation. This was easily a top ten day for 2025 and perhaps top five. I am still marveling at the size and quality of the trout that visited my net. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to revisit the Eagle River again in 2025, before the weather gets too adverse.

Fish Landed: 22

Time: 11:15AM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Avon and Edwards

Eagle River 09/17/2025 Photo Album

Yes, I was spoiled by my four day stay in the Flattops. I was concerned about how I might adjust to tougher trout and reduced fish counts. I spent September 12 – 14 at a condominium at Bachelor Gulch celebrating Jane’s 70th birthday, but on Sunday morning, before we all went our separate ways, my entire family completed a hike. Guess where we hiked? We walked along the concrete pathway that borders the Eagle River in Avon. With a five year old and 20 month old we did not progress very far, but it was enough for me to get a good look at the Eagle River.

By Wednesday, September 17 my cold symptoms subsided enough for me to entertain the idea of a day of fishing, and after checking the flows of several options, I decided to make the drive to the Eagle River. First hand knowledge of conditions is always information to be taken seriously.

Large Pool

I left Denver by 8:15AM and unusually heavy traffic on Interstate 70 prompted me to utilize the express toll lane. I made it through the Floyd Hill and Idaho Springs construction zones without any stoppages, and I arrived at a favorite pullout above the Eagle River by 10:30AM. The temperature on the dashboard was 51 degrees, so I pulled on my fleece hoodie and rain shell, before I removed my Sage One five weight rod from its narrow tube.

Decent Catch

A brief hike placed me next to one of my favorite spots, but a young man was flicking sticks to the middle of the long pool and urging his German shepherd to retrieve them. I decided that I could fish the entering run, while this dog play took place, since the man and canine were a decent distance below me. Numerous recent reports have mentioned outstanding streamer fishing, so I knotted an articulated brown and olive conehead monstrosity to my line and spent fifteen minutes stripping it across the entering run and downstream riffles. I exercised my arm, but other than that, my streamer efforts were not rewarded.

Another Nice Netted Rainbow

I concluded that Wednesday was not a streamer day, or I was using the wrong lure, so I re-rigged with an amber ice dub body hopper and trailed a 20 incher and salvation nymph. I moved upstream to a series of pockets in an area where the river was rather wide, and I prospected through this section, until I paused for lunch at 11:45AM. During this brief morning session I managed a temporary hook up with a fish, and then I connected with what appeared to be a decent fish, but in a short amount of time it escaped. When I stripped in the line, I discovered that the trout somehow broke off the 20 incher and salvation. I suspect a bad knot was the cause.

Nice Pose

I returned to the large pool for lunch and carefully observed the area. I saw some very sporadic rises, and after lunch I rigged anew with an amber ice dub body size 8 chubby chernobyl, a salvation nymph and an RS2. I gambled that the sporadic rises were generated by some early hatching blue wing olives, and this theory prompted the RS2. I covered the upper one-third of the pool, where faster water entered, with the dry/dropper, but I never provoked a look or refusal.

Nice Riffle

I was beginning to regret my choice of fishing destination, and I began to plan a relocation, but I decided to commit another 1.5 hour to the area, before I abandoned the Eagle River. I exited the large pool and hiked upstream on the bike path, until I reached the place, where I exited for lunch. I returned to the river, but I was once again in a stretch that featured a wide streambed and relatively shallow slicks and riffles. I worked my way through the area quickly, but I probably should have skipped it entirely. The salvation and RS2 were not generating an ounce of interest, so I swapped the RS2 for a beadhead hares ear to provide more weight and hence deeper drifts.

Respectable

Finally I landed a pair of rainbows that measured around ten and eleven inches, and I was on the scoreboard. I paused to consider my lackluster results, and I decided to seek out faster and deeper sections of the river, since the trout needed cover for protection, thus, depth; and faster water translated to more oxygen. My idea suggested that previous heat waves placed a premium on oxygenated water.

Prime Water

Sure enough, the strategy paid off. I advanced to a section where the streambed narrowed, and this in turn resulted in a preponderance of deep runs, pockets and riffles. Trout began to snatch my nymphs, and the fish count blossomed to five. All three fish were respectable trout in the thirteen inch range, and one was a chunky rainbow, while the other two were brown trout. I also foul hooked a couple decent trout, and a couple of long distance releases added to the action.

Another Hungry Brown Trout

I was getting into a nice rhythm by 1:30PM, when I encountered a long, slow moving pool. I was about to skip to the head of the pool and the faster entering current, when I began to see some fairly consistent surface feeding. At least ten fish were showing themselves between the midsection and the tail. I was reluctant to remove my dry/dropper set up, but I relented and snipped off the three flies. I began my dry fly quest with a CDC blue wing olive, although I had not seen a natural. The size 12 CDC olive generated one splashy refusal, but it was otherwise ignored in favor of some other tiny natural morsels.

Productive

I paused and gazed at the river, and within a few minutes I spotted a tiny blue wing olive, as it attempted to become airborne. Surely this was the cause of the surface action in the pool. For the next hour I cycled through the CDC BWO, a soft hackle emerger fished as a dry, and a Klinkhammer emerger. I was disappointed to get shutout by the snooty trout of the Eagle River.

I finally surrendered and reverted to the dry/dropper, however, in this case I used the salvation combined with another RS2. I advanced to the fast entering run with the thought that perhaps the trout could not see the surface flies as easily and, therefore, focused on the nymphs. This theory was quickly debunked, and I replaced the RS2 with a beadhead hares ear nymph and eventually an olive perdigon.

All was not lost. For the remainder of the day I prospected some very nice pocket water and deep troughs and slots, and the salvation and perdigon combination clicked to yield four more trout. Two were small and barely above the count threshold, but two brown trout in the thirteen inch range caused me to smile in appreciation.

I persisted on the Eagle River on Wednesday and managed to register nine trout. Once I determined the type of river structure that produced fish, I gained modest success. Hopefully I can apply this knowledge gained to a future effort on the Eagle. I learned that the blue wings are already active, but I was unsuccessful in finding the key to unlocking that puzzle. Had I not broken off a couple fish and landed a higher percentage of my connections, I would have easily exceeded double digits. Wednesday was quite a retreat from the halcyon days of the Flatttops, but it was a success in my book.

Fish Landed: 9