Time: 10:30AM – 3:00PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Avon, CO

Eagle River 04/22/2025 Photo Album

My niece and friend from Philadelphia visited Jane and I last Monday through Wednesday, so I avoided fly fishing to devote my attention to help provide them with a Colorado experience. Of course, on Thursday we babysat our grandsons, and then adverse weather settled in Colorado thus preventing any fly fishing on Friday or the weekend. Needless to say, I was quite anxious to log some fishing trips, and the weather forecast was favorable for the week beginning on Monday, April 21. I researched stream flows and weather in several favored locations, but I settled on the Eagle River for my first outing of the week on Tuesday, April 22. I ruled out Monday mainly due to high wind speeds across the state.

Soft Grip

The weather at my destination was expected to be a high of 61 degrees with wind in the 10-12 MPH range and significant cloud cover for most of the afternoon. These were all reasons for optimism, in my mind. My concern was stream flows, as I saw a report of ten inches of snow in Vail on Friday and Saturday. Could the recent snow melt and raise water levels and reduce clarity? I checked the DWR stream flow data for the Eagle River, and it displayed flows in the 260 CFS range. On my previous visit on April 9, the flows were 200 CFS, and I enjoyed a very successful outing. Between April 9 and April 18, the graph depicted rising flows, until they peaked in the 460 CFS range. The arrival of the cold winter storm, however, caused the flows to drop to 260 CFS. I decided to make the drive to hopefully sneak in a solid day with blue wing olives hatching, before the run off commenced in earnest.

Emerged Above the Flat Submerged Rock Just Right of Center

I arrived at my targeted pullout a bit before 10:00AM, and this enabled me to begin fishing by 10:30AM. The dashboard temperature was 55 degrees, so I pulled on my Brooks long-sleeved undershirt and added my fleece hoodie and a rain shell. I pulled my Sage One five weight from its tube, and that became my fly fishing wand for the day.

On Display

A short hike took me to the massive pool that I fished on April 9, but my plan was to work my way upstream from the pool through pocket water. On April 9 I covered fifty yards of this area with decent success, and this prompted me to explore it farther.

Lavender

I began my quest for Eagle River trout with a size 8 gray body chubby Chernobyl, and beneath it I attached a brown size 12 2XL nymph with rubber legs and an olive perdigon. I began at the very top of the large pool in the deep entering runs and troughs, but the flies failed to deliver. I advanced to the first set of pockets, and I paused to adjust my offerings. I replaced the brown nymph with a 20 incher, and I kept the olive perdigon as the end fly. I also extended the leader with the hope of generating deeper drifts.

Looking Ahead

The move paid dividends, as I landed eleven trout between 10:30AM and 12:30PM, when I broke for lunch. My feet morphed into icy stumps, so I walked back along the path to the bench overlooking the gargantuan main pool. While eating my lunch I observed the pool, and I noticed sporadic rises, although the activity was not nearly as intense as the scene I witnessed on April 9. I decided to hit the head of the pool once again with my rig designed for deeper drifts, but the return visit failed to yield results.

I Approve

I exited the pool and ambled back along the paved path to my exit point before lunch, and I continued my journey up the river. In a short amount of time three fish smacked the olive perdigon in a tailout from a long riffle. The fish count ballooned to fourteen, but then I experienced a bit of a lull.

I adjusted my lineup by moving the olive perdigon to the upper position, and I knotted a size 22 beaded classic RS2 to the point. These flies remained in place, as I continued my upstream migration and incremented the fish count to 25. The fish population shifted to mostly brown trout during this phase of my day. I landed several decent browns in the thirteen inch size range, but most were smaller.

Beefy Brown

For most of the day the most productive spots featured tailouts at the end of long runs and riffles with moderate depth. Casting from the side and allowing the flies to lift and swing generated positive results.

Good Depth

As best as I can recall, the 20 incher nailed two trout, the RS2 accounted for two, the chubby Chernobyl attracted one, and a soft hackle emerger fooled a small brown at the end of the day in the large pool. The remaining netted fish were fooled by the olive perdigon. What a fish catching machine! My one regret is that I did not lengthen the leader during the final phase of my day. I wonder if a longer leader might have resulted in larger fish from some of the deeper runs and seams.

Tuesday was a fun day. I explored new water on the Eagle River and achieved positive results. I learned that the fish population in the area, where I fished, is healthy. I prospected with my dry/dropper, and I built the fish  count to the highest total of 2025 so far. Although I did not fish dries to the BWO hatch, I suspect that the nymphs were very active, and this explained my success with the olive perdigon and RS2. I may have threaded the needle with a successful day just before snow melt resumes in a significant way.

Fish Landed: 26

Time: 11:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: Between Avon and Wolcott

Eagle River 03/09/2025 Photo Album

I considered options for fly fishing on Wednesday, March 9, and eventually settled on the Eagle River. The main factor that swayed my decision was a weather forecast of a high of 59 degrees with partial cloudiness most of the afternoon. I was seeking blue wing olive action. Did my decision to fish the Eagle to hit a baetis hatch pan out? Read on.

On Tuesday evening, as Jane and I were returning from dinner with friends in southeast Denver, we hit a curb with the left front tire. The blowout was nearly instantaneous, but the stretch of highway offered no place to pull over for a tire change, so we limped across a bridge and settled in a parking space on a side street. Of course, by now it was dark, and that only added to the challenge ahead of us. I got out of the car and examined the left front tire, and I discovered a four inch gash on the sidewall. The tire was toast.

We opened the hatch and emptied the rear of the car of its contents, which happened to be quite a bit, and then we lifted the floor covering and found the jack. I used my phone to search for how to release the jack, and that met with success; however, we were unable to find the toolkit that included the lug tool. We bought the Tucson three years ago used, and apparently the previous owner kept the tire changing tool kit!

We locked the car and walked back to our house, which was about .5 mile, and we climbed into my Kia Telluride equipped with a screwdriver and flashlights. Fortunately we discovered that the Telluride tool kit was present, and the lug wrench fit the nuts on the Tucson. We quickly installed the temporary spare, and returned to the house.

I planned to leave the house for fishing by 8:00AM on Wednesday morning, but I was not comfortable leaving Jane with a car in need of a new tire and possible alignment, so I delayed my departure. We made the short drive to Les Schwab Tires, and we were near the front of the line. The sales counter person assessed our tire needs, and set everything up for tire replacement and alignment test during the day on Wednesday. I drove Jane home, and I now felt comfortable continuing with my fly fishing plans.

I departed Denver by 8:40AM, and I arrived at my favorite pullout along the Eagle River a bit before 11AM. The sky was very overcast, and the wind was bustling, so I bundled up with my Columbia long sleeved undershirt, my light down coat and my rain shell. I was comfortable for most of the time except after long periods standing in waist deep water. I selected my Sage One five weight to counter the wind, and in case I tangled with tough fish.

Not a Bad Start

Once I was prepared, I hiked a short distance to the river. Another angler occupied the spot that I intended to fish, so I cut downstream a bit to give him space and fished some water that I never sampled previously. I began my day with a size 8 gray-body chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher and a size 16 olive perdigon. I fished for the next hour through some moderate riffle sections and then the tail of the long pool that was occupied by the other angler. I landed one twelve inch brown trout on the perdigon, and I connected with two additional fish briefly.

Rainbows Became Prevalent

By 12:30PM my feet were crying for relief, and my stomach was growling, so I retreated to the bank and downed my small lunch. After lunch I carefully waded across the tail of the pool, and quite a few rises materialized, so I changed tactics. I swapped the chubby for a peacock hippie stomper, and then I added an eighteen inch dropper and knotted on a CDC BWO. I began casting to rises, and eventually I landed a small brown trout on a downstream drift. I had swapped the CDC BWO for a soft hackle emerger fished on the surface, and it was this fly that duped the small brown. I thought I solved the riddle, but I soon discovered that I was sorely mistaken.

Sweet Spot Yielded Quite a Few Nice Fish

Between 12:30 and 1:30PM I did what Deming warned against. I continued doing the same thing expecting different results. The fish rose in waves, and I repeatedly plopped casts with my CDC BWO or soft hackle emerger above the sighted fish, but my flies were totally ignored. I began to despair that I was going to fish through an intense baetis hatch with only two small fish as my reward.

Jen and Dave Focused

Over the last several years I became acquainted with a friend on Instagram, @jenmenke. She is a fly fishing woman, fly tier, and gardner, and we occasionally exchanged comments. I knew that she and her husband lived in the Eagle, CO area, so I mentioned that I was making the trip on Wednesday, and she replied that she would like to meet up, so I told her where I planned to fish. This all coalesced, when Dave and Jen arrived at my fishing hole by 1:30PM. I quickly waded to shore to greet them, and we chatted for a bit, and then we each waded into the pool. I returned to the tail, while Dave took the midsection, and Jen angled toward the top area.

Stunning

My frustration continued, as I continued to deploy the double dries. The wind gusted and clouds scudded across the sky, and for brief periods fish rose to voraciously feed on what I believed were blue wing olive mayflies. Dave was in shouting distance above me, and he managed to land a trout on a dry that was sort of a classic Adams. I felt a tickle on my ear, and I reached to scratch it, and suddenly I discovered a small size 18 black stonefly in my hand. Could this be what the fish were eating and not blue wing olives? I was skeptical that stoneflies would hatch in dense numbers to create intense feeding, but maybe it was worth a try. I tied on one of my small stonefly imitations, and I gave it a ten minute test. Nothing. I was in a state of frustration, so I waded to shore and decided to circle around Jen and Dave and move into new water above the pool.

Moving Up the River

As I stopped to talk to Jen and Dave, Jen announced that she had several hits on a black RS2, and she landed a couple nice rainbows. This information prompted my to switch back to my dependable dry/dropper method. Once again I tied on a gray chubby Chernobyl, and then I brought back the olive perdigon, and I added a size 20 classic RS2 with a silver bead. I waded in to the very top of the run that entered the vast pool, and I began working the deep runs and pockets in that area. Voila! Even though I spotted many rising fish around me, the fish were also tuned into drifting nymphs. Between 2:30PM and 3:15PM, when Jen and Dave departed, I landed four trout, and they were very nice chunky rainbows in the thirteen to fourteen inch range. I was more than ecstatic with this positive turn of events. I was making ten to fifteen drifts for every successful hit, so it was not easy by any means, but persistence paid off. I also imparted movement in the form of lifts and swings, and several of the trout responded to these tactics.

Decent

I waded to shore and said my goodbyes to the fly fishing couple, and then I resumed my fly fishing progression. As planned, I moved up the river and flicked casts to likely spots where there was moderate depth and holding lies. In each case I spotted rising fish, but with persistence I was able to hook and land quality fish. By the time I reached fourteen trout, I was fifty yards above my starting point, so I exited the river and ambled back along the concrete path.

More Pockets

When I arrived back at the pool, I decided to cut back to the section at the top. When I arrived, fish continued to rise, and I could not ignore the pull of the hatch. I decided to take one last shot at dry flies, as many fish continued to feed on the surface. I tried the CDC BWO and the soft hackle emerger, and I managed to land one trout on each by casting across and allowing a downstream drift to the point were the fish were rising. The sky was dark and the wind continued to gust, but the fish seemed to revel in the adverse conditions for human beings.

Splendid Colors

What a day! The Tucson was ready for pickup by early afternoon. I met two new friends that share common interests, and hopefully there will be many more meetings in the future. And through the experience of Jen, I utilized an RS2, and it led to solid success over the course of Wednesday afternoon. Was I able to cast dry flies and fool fussy trout? No, but with the help of Jen, I resorted to a baetis nymph, and I enjoyed an amazing 2.5 hours late in the afternoon. This was perhaps my best day of 2025 so far, and I look forward to more such days before run off kicks in during May.

Fish Landed: 16

Love the Body Color on This Rainbow

Time: 11:15AM – 2:45PM

Location: National Forest land near Minturn

Cross Creek 07/22/2024 Photo Album

I finally pulled together everything necessary to visit a new stream. I was headed to this particular creek, when I was forced to postpone due to a screw in my tire. On Monday I was not victimized by any auto issues, although I was delayed by a flagman within four miles of my destination due to highway construction.

After a relatively rough drive of a mile on a dirt road, I arrived at the trailhead; and, of course, in spite of it being a weekday, all the spots in the lots were full. I negotiated a turnaround and parked along the shoulder downhill from the parking lots. The temperature was in the upper sixties, and I fit together my Loomis two piece five weight for the day’s action.

As I prepared to fish, another car arrived, and the solo occupant began chatting with me. He was also planning to fish, as he tossed waders into his daypack. He suggested that I was a bad ass, because I was hiking in my waders. I took this as a compliment, and I stopped next to him on my way to the trailhead. We were both ready at the same time, and he had fished the creek previously, so we made the hike together. I was pleased to accompany someone, who knew their way around. My new acquaintance’s name was Judge, and he was a retired airline pilot from Georgia. We shared much more information on our inbound hike, but for the sake of privacy, I will omit it from this blog entry.

Best Pool I Saw

Eventually we reached a place where some large elevated rocks overlooked a stunningly attractive pool. Judge was familiar with this obvious fish hole, but he insisted that I fish it first, since he needed to put on his waders and assemble his rod. I reluctantly acquiesced, and I carefully slid down the curved boulder and entered the stream. I began with a peacock hippie stomper solo, and I blasted out some long casts to the slow moving lower section. My casts were rather exemplary, if I may brag a bit, but they generated no interest. I slowly edged my way to the sweet spot below a beaver dam, but nary a trout even looked at my fly. How could this be? Maybe the trout were looking for food beneath the surface? I paused to add an eighteen inch dropper and attached a beadhead hares ear nymph. I lobbed ten casts along the current seam that curled next to the rock along the opposite bank. I was perplexed by my lack of success, and I surrendered. Judge watched me for awhile and then disappeared.

Productive Spot

The obvious trout honey hole looked like it hosted a lot of traffic, perhaps anglers and swimmers, so I attributed my absence of success to pressure. I decided to move upstream, but the large beaver pond looked like a dicey wading enterprise, so I attempted to hike around it, but I got stuck in a tough section of forest with dense deadfalls and thickets that grabbed my fly line and limbs at every turn. Eventually I stumbled across a faint path that aided my progress and led me back to the creek above the beaver pond.

I maneuvered myself into the creek, so that I was able to cover some nice pockets and shelf pools, and I landed three brook trout including a stunning ten incher. The first two snatched the hares ear, but the largest of the three smacked the hippie stomper. The counted fish were accompanied by several sub-six inch dinks, and this trend would continue throughout the day.

Lower Gradient Section

I was contemplating lunch, when Judge reappeared. He was now in his waders, and he was in the process of switching his tapered leader, as it remained configured for Euro nymphing. Judge suggested a nice cleared area for lunch, and I joined him. After lunch we split. I continued upstream, while he intended to move back down. I suspect he had his sights set on the initial pool that failed to deliver for me.

Decent

From 12:15 until 2:45 I worked my way upstream, and I boosted the fish count from three to sixteen. I probably had ten or more dinks that did not reach my arbitrary six inch minimum. Fifteen of the landed trout were brookies, and I was fortunate to net one gorgeous cutthroat of nine inches.

Shimmering

I covered .6 mile of the stream, and this was quite an accomplishment. Cross Creek crashed downhill at an alarming rate, and I moved around two waterfalls and numerous whitewater cascades. Steep banks and tight walls made wading akin to a gymnastics session. I sought only the slow moving and deep pools and pockets, where fish could seek refuge among the thunderous, crashing water volume.

Rare Shelf Pools

Wild Roses

After .4 mile I reached the bridge, where the main trail crossed the creek. I looked upstream at the unending whitewater plumes through the narrow canyon, and I realized that, if I continued, I might be forced to retrace my steps in order to exit. I decided to give it a cautious try. I progressed another .25 mile, and amazingly the gradient increased beyond that which I endured earlier. The catch rate waned, and my fear of the crashing water and my presence in a remote wilderness environment superseded my desire to catch fish.

One Cutthroat Among Many Brook Trout

Cutthroat Came from Deep Along the Whitewater Seam

I mounted a ridge of large round topped boulders and slowly worked my way back to the main trail and eventually visited my Telluride. There I discovered a hand printed note from Judge, who landed thirty fish. He attached the foam body yellow Sally that generated the success as well a new one to contrast the damage absorbed by his workhorse fly, I wonder if his fish came from the monster pool that skunked me?

I am pleased that I explored Cross Creek. The weather was perfect, and I landed sixteen wild jewels. I am not sure, however, whether I will return. The effort of the hike and rock and log scrambling did not justify the small brook trout that landed in my net. Perhaps the high gradient stream is more productive at lower flows. I will keep Cross Creek in mind for future trips, but I suspect there are better options when other streams are low as well.

Fish Landed: 16

Time: 3:45PM – 5:00PM

Location: Upper river south of Minturn

Eagle River 07/22/2024 Photo Album

As I slowly bounced down the pot holed dirt road after fishing Cross Creek, I decided to experiment with the upper Eagle River south of Minturn. I found a nice wide pullout, and I remained in my waders with my fly rod already strung, so I charged immediately down a path to the river and began casting. The hippie stomper from earlier remained on my line, and it trailed a size 16 light gray comparadun.

Seam Along Whitewater Produced a Nice Brown Trout

Nice Catch after All the Small Brook Trout

Another Nice Catch

In the early going the comparadun duped an eight inch brown trout in some moderate riffles, but I also endured quite a few refusals to the stomper and the comparadun. I replaced the comparadun with a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. These two flies clicked with the trout, and I progressed along the left bank and landed five additional brown trout including a surprise thirteen incher and a respectable twelve inch fish. All the trout materialized from slow and deep water tight to the bank or exposed rocks. By 5PM I reached a narrow section with fast chutes and tumbling pockets, so I retreated to a location somewhat upstream from my original crossing point and moved back to the roadside bank.

Marginal Bank Pocket Produced a Surprisingly Large Fish

Another Typical Productive Pocket

I was pleased with the results  of my 1.5 hours of fishing on the upper Eagle River. All the brown trout except the first were larger than my largest brook trout on Cross Creek.

Fish Landed: 6

Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Between Avon and Eagle, Colorado

Eagle River 07/09/2024 Photo Album

My camping experience launched with a tough start, when I was unable to screw the regulator from the camp stove into the neck of the propane canisters. I tried four different containers with the same result, and my wrist and fingers were on the brink of injury as a result of all the pushing and twisting. I was forced to drive back to Minturn for a BBQ dinner at the Kirby Cosmos eatery, so glamping was gradually replacing camping. Surely my one night camping outing could not get any worse.

I returned to my campsite at Hornsilver after dinner, and recorded my fishing notes and read for a bit, before I crashed in my REI two-person tent. I was situated in a great position to get an early start on the Eagle River once again on Tuesday. My day on Monday was decent, so I decided to return to the same general area, but to begin my fishing venture farther upriver, thus, allowing me to overlap with the most productive section yet provide for farther advancement.

Hornsilver Camping Setup

I woke up at 6:30AM, but I remained in the tent in my comfortable sleeping bag until 7:00AM. When I stepped outside, I was immediately shocked by the cold temperature. I quickly wrapped myself in my heavy down parka, which I very nearly left behind. Of course, I was without a functioning camp stove, and this eliminated my ability to heat water for my usual mug of black tea. It also precluded hot oatmeal for breakfast, or the ability to wash my face with warm water.

Frost on the Tablecloth

I decided to begin preparing my sandwich for lunch, and at this point I discovered a thin film of frost on the the tablecloth as well as a coating on the rain fly of the tent. Apparently the temperature at Hornsilver dipped to freezing at the high elevation. I decided to wait a bit, until the air temperature elevated, but after fifteen minutes, I concluded I was wasting time and proceeded with the steps of sandwich construction. I placed two slices of bread on a paper towel and applied my favorite spread. At this point my hands began to ache, and I stuffed them into my parka pockets and blew on them for warmth. I was forced to go through this regimen with each step of building my sandwich, and it took a ridiculous amount of time to make one lunch item. Did I mention that, in the midst of the sandwich preparation, the mustard exploded from the squeeze bottle due to the high elevation and change in pressure?

Next I proceeded with the chore of breaking camp, and of course the sun remained sequestered behind the ridge to the east, and the air temperature dwelled in the thirties. Eventually I took down the wet tent and rainfly and rolled them up in the back of the car to dry out later. For breakfast I downed a yogurt cup and granola bar, but I almost broke my teeth on the frozen brick of a fruit and nut snack. Finally I was on my way, but was I? I had to stop two times on my way down Battle Mountain Pass for single lane road construction crews. I was aching for my standard cup of black tea, so I stopped at the Sunrise Cafe in Minturn only to discover that the only black tea on the menu was Earl Gray. I dislike Earl Gray, so I exited with the thought of stopping in Avon or Edwards.

When I reached the entrance to interstate 70 west, I was alerted to the fact that the on ramp was closed, and I had to detour east to the West Vail exit where I completed a U-turn to continue on my way to my chosen fly fishing destination. I looked at my watch and realized that I was on track to start fishing barely a half hour earlier than on Monday, when I packed the car and traveled all the way from Denver. So much for camping near the river. I abandoned all thoughts of tea and proceeded directly to the river.

Flows Remained High on Tuesday

OK, back to fly fishing. The temperature was in the low seventies, as I prepared to fish, and the sun was beating down relentlessly with no clouds in the sky. I sensed that Tuesday would be a difficult day. Flows were in the 700 CFS range, so the river was still high and cold to offset the warming impact of the sun’s rays, and that provided an element of hope. I hiked down to the river following Monday’s path, but I stopped short of my starting point of the previous day. To began my foray into edge fishing I tied an amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl to my line and then added a beadhead hares ear to imitate yellow sally nymphs and an olive-black Pat’s rubber legs for weight and depth. As I suspected, I began casting at 11:00AM merely thirty minutes sooner than on Monday after packing the car for camping and fishing and driving from Denver. In the hour before lunch I managed two temporary connections with decent fish, but that was the extent of my success in spite of prospecting some very attractive pockets and riffles of moderate depth.

Early Catch

I ate my lunch by the river bank and observed, and yellow sallies dominated the sky, although the density of the hatch was far more sparse than that which I viewed on Monday. After lunch I removed the rubber legs and replaced it with an emerald caddis pupa and moved the hares ear to the end position. A few caddis flitted about among the willows, so I played the hunch that a caddis pupa might be the ticket. It worked temporarily, when I landed a nice, chunky thirteen inch rainbow, and that was bracketed by a pair of eleven inch fish that snatched the hares ear. One was a rainbow and one was a brown trout.

Talon Scarred Rainbow Trout

I moved along at a fairly rapid pace and hit the promising spots, but other than another small rainbow, my efforts were thwarted. By 2:00PM I began to suspect that the lower river was not going to produce, but I made a last ditch effort to salvage some action, and I swapped the caddis pupa for an iron sally. In a nice angled shelf pool the chubby dipped, and I found myself attached to an angry sixteen inch rainbow. It thrashed and splashed, but eventually I slid my net beneath it, and I thought it was the same fish I landed on Monday from the same location. Once I reviewed the photos, I realized it was a different rainbow with a talon mark in a different spot.

I moved on and skipped around a wide and marginal section and arrived at the nice moderate riffle area, where I ended my day on Monday. I tossed an abundant quantity of casts and covered all the lanes thoroughly, but I was not rewarded for my efficiency. Once again I progressed up the river, and in a deep pocket next to a fallen log I hooked and landed an eleven inch brown trout, and that ended my day on that section of the Eagle River.

I returned to the car, and as I did so, some large, dark clouds were shifting into position to the west. I decided to test another section of the river farther upstream closer to the headwaters with a narrower riverbed, more pockets for aeration, and more trees to provide shade. By the time I drove the extra miles and parked and hiked to my starting spot, it was 2:45PM, and the clouds were nearly above me, so I pulled on my rain jacket. I immediately approached a series of pockets that I favor, and I made a few casts with the dry/dropper that remained on my line, but success remained elusive.

New Location, Nice Brown Trout

Pockets Galore

I decided to cast my fortunes to a dry fly approach, so I removed all the dry/dropper flies and switched to a peacock body hippie stomper trailing a size 16 light gray caddis on a twelve inch dropper. Bingo! Success was instant. Over the next hour I progressed through the fifty yard section of pocket water and boosted the fish count from six to eighteen. Six of the twelve trout were small browns in the eight to ten inch range, but the other half dozen included a much appreciated rainbow of fifteen inches and a pair of brown trout in the thirteen inch range. The others were respectable browns and rainbows in the twelve inch bracket.

Surprise Catch

Between Middle of Three Exposed Rocks and Rock on Far Right

In one very attractive pocket I spotted two decent trout; one at the lip and the other toward the middle. I attempted to interest the one at the lip, but it was sullen and did not move, but the one higher up was definitely in feeding mode, and I managed a few looks but no takes. I began swapping out the trailing fly, and I moved through a cinnamon comparadun and an olive-brown body size 16 caddis, but neither flies changed the fish’s unwillingness to feed on my offerings.

Required a Fly Change

I moved on to the next deep pocket which was similar in dimensions and depth, and once again I spotted a large fish stationed at the lip of the pool. It also feigned indifference, so I exchanged the olive-brown caddis for a size 16 light gray comparadun. On the fifth drift, the targeted trout snatched the comparadun, and the fight commenced. I was fortunate enough to land the prize fifteen inch slab for what proved to be the prize of the day.

Deep Slot

Bravo

Large Deep Pocket

Tuesday was almost an exact replay of my day a year ago with my friend, Nate. We began early in the same spot, encountered challenging fishing and then defaulted to the upper river, where we met with some fast action late in the afternoon. I’m done with the lower Eagle for the summer, but a return to the upper section is certainly a consideration over the remainder of July.

Fish Landed: 18

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: West of Wolcott

Eagle River 07/08/2024 Photo Album

I was mostly over my cold, and with the Fourth of July week in the rear view mirror, I decided to do my first fly fishing/camping venture of the year. I departed Denver by 8:30AM, and this enabled me to reach my chosen destination on the Eagle River by 10:45AM.

The dashboard registered 72 degrees and the flows were in the 700 -800 CFS range. I love edge fishing the Eagle River, and the conditions were nearly perfect for that approach. For the most part I confined my casts to the twenty feet of river that bordered the left bank. The rest of the river except for the unreachable opposite bank was too fast to hold fish, so they were stacked up in the twenty foot ribbon of water. Pockets, eddies and moderate riffles with slow velocity and decent depth were my target for 4.5 hours on the river.

Starting Point

700 – 800 CFS

I began with a size 8 yellow fat Albert, an iron sally and a salvation nymph; and I covered quite a bit of water, before a chunky thirteen inch rainbow grabbed the iron sally. Most of the spots in the morning stretch were rather marginal, so I stuck with my lineup of flies, until I resumed after lunch.

Early Catch

Submerged Willows

Much Appreciated Brown Trout

During lunch along the river, I witnessed a fairly dense emergence of yellow sallies, so I swapped the salvation (PMD nymph) for a beadhead hares ear (yellow sally nymph). The move paid dividends, as the fish count mounted from one to twelve by 3:30PM. The yellow sallies definitely dominated the scene, but I also observed some size 18 caddis and a few pale morning duns. Most of the trout during this run grabbed the hares ear with perhaps two favoring the iron sally. This was by no means torrid fishing action, as the level of success required constant movement and an abundance of casting. Some attractive spots failed to produce, while other marginal locations provided a surprise.

Fighting Bow

Deep Trough

Pink Stripe

On the day I tallied thirteen landed trout, and two were browns with the remainder rainbows. Five of the final count were quite small, but the remaining eight were hard-fighting, chunky trout. Among the larger fish was a fifteen inch brown trout and three prize rainbows in the fifteen to sixteen inch range.

Talon Wound Obvious

Home of Talon Wound Rainbow

This brings me to number thirteen. I was near quitting time, and I was still fishing the dry/dropper, when I arrived at the spot, where the river widens, and there is a nice wide moderate depth riffle. I made some exploratory casts with the dry/dropper, but I experienced no luck, but I spotted a decent sized nose poking up two times to eat something. I removed the dry/dropper and shifted to a solo yellow sally dry fly. The fish refused the yellow sally, so I swapped it for a size 16 light gray comparadun, and a gorgeous sixteen inch rainbow sipped it confidently. What a way to end my day, and I love moments like that.

Home of Comparadun Sipper

Fish of the Day

Monday was a fun day. in addition to the thirteen landed trout, I tangled with three additional hot fish that managed to shed the fly. I played them long enough to realize that they were worthy of my deep regret.

I found a campsite at Hornsilver Campground for Monday night, but I was unable to connect the propane canister to the camp stove regulator, so I drove back to Kirby Cosmos in Minturn for a BBQ dinner. I suppose I can now claim that I was glamping and not camping.  A revisit to the Eagle River on Tuesday before returning to Denver is in the plans.

Fish Landed: 13

Time: 11:00AM – 2:30PM

Location: Private water near Eagle, CO

Eagle River 10/03/2023 Photo Album

My friend, Dave G., invited me to fish the private water of the Eagle River with him on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Jane and I joined Dave G. and his wife, Beth, for dinner on Monday night, and then we stayed over in Eagle, CO.

Tuesday morning was very dreary with overcast skies and rain, so Dave G. and I took our time before departing for the river. When we arrived at the crude parking area, the air temperature was 46 degrees, but the sun broke through among heavy clouds. I chose my Sage R8 four weight and wore my North Face light down coat. We hiked a short distance to the A section, and we were positioned on the water fly fishing by 11:00AM.

I copied Dave G. and launched my pursuit of trout with a yellow fat Albert, a green-black Pat’s rubber legs, and a size 20 blue-green perdigon. In the early going I managed to land a small rainbow and brown trout on the perdigon, but then my fortunes tumbled, as I suffered through a lengthy fish drought. Dave G., meanwhile, was rocking, and his catches included a twenty plus inch cutbow.

Stunning Relatively Large Trout

Wide Riffle Was Productive

After a lengthy lull, I asked Dave G. for one of his olive-green perdigons (I will tie some of these this winter), and he obliged. I swapped the unproductive Pat’s rubber legs for a salvation nymph, and I exchanged my perdigon for the olive-green version from Dave G. I approached a  long and wide riffle that screamed trout, and I began to toss the three fly dry/dropper to the top of the section, as I covered all the feeding lanes. I fished from the top and moved steadily downriver for thirty yards, and I concentrated on the seam that bordered the fast moving main current. This section was easily my most productive on the day, as I landed four rainbows. The first netted fish was a football shaped sixteen inch rainbow that snagged the salvation nymph. The girth of this fish barely allowed me to get a grip around the body. The other three were fat gems in the fourteen inch range. I was beyond excited after this early afternoon session.

I Can Barely Get My Hand Around the Body

Faint Slash on This Cutbow

For the remainder of my time on the river, I progressed steadily upstream, and I doubled the fish count to twelve. Four of the additional catches were chunky thirteen and fourteen inch slabs that displayed iridescent pink and purple stripes. All the fish landed after the first two inhaled the olive perdigon except for number three which grabbed the salvation nymph.

Love This Head Shot

Screams Trout

Tuesday exceeded my expectations, and the size of the fish was superb. The weather gradually improved, although there were periods of heavy overcast with intermittent blasts of wind. I pulled on my rain shell as a windbreaker at lunchtime and added my billed hat with earflaps. More October outings such as Tuesday would be greatly appreciated.

Fish Landed:12

My Host, Dave G.

Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Downstream from Wolcott and then in Edwards

Eagle River 07/12/2023 Photo Album

Ever since I met my friend, Nate, I have been hyping the edge fishing on the Eagle River, as something that he should experience, Nate had off work on Wednesday, so we made plans to undertake the two plus hour trip to the Eagle River on July 12, 2023. Since I was the advocate to fish the Eagle, I developed the plan for our day.

We met at 8AM at the Woolly Mammoth parking lot west of Denver, and we arrived at a pullout below Wolcott by 10:30AM. The air temperature was already in the upper seventies, and the afternoon high registered in the mid-eighties. Nate’s fly rods were already strung, and he chose his five weight based on my suggestion. I also put together my Sage One five weight, and we hiked to the river. Early on in our exploration of the river, Nate hooked and landed a feisty rainbow trout, and I was encouraged by the early success. The flows were in the 800 to 850 CFS range, so wading was easier than on my visit on Monday; however, most of the casting remained limited to the ten feet of river that rolled along the bank.

Tough Release

Because of the continued fast current, Nate and I alternated between promising spots. Not too long after Nate netted his fish, I also connected with a very fit and energetic rainbow trout, and I was fortunate to land the fourteen inch fighter. During the late morning we observed an increased number of insects including pale morning duns and yellow sallies; however, the density of the hatches never brought fish to the surface. We both continued to deploy our dry/dropper rigs, as we cherry picked only prime runs, pockets and slots. In my case, I cast a size 8 fat Albert, iron sally and salvation nymph. I had a goal to reach the wide riffle, where I ended on Monday, by 12:30PM; and we arrived ten minutes late, but the attractive section was devoid of rising fish.

We eventually acknowledged that a hatch was not going to materialize at one of my favorite sections of the river, so we stripped in our lines and returned to the car. During the morning session, I landed one fine rainbow trout, but I also connected briefly with three additional trout, and each appeared to be a very respectable fish in the thirteen to fifteen inch range.

I was now in scramble mode to salvage some action for Nate and I on a hot day in July. Originally I planned our second stop to be the Horn Ranch section, but this area was also on the lower, wide open portion of the river, so I continued onward to Edwards and parked at the rest stop. I knew from past experience that the narrower and tree-lined section by the rest stop fished better on hot summer days.

Our rods were at the ready, so we grabbed them and ambled along the path in an upstream direction, until we arrived at the massive run and pool that serves as the centerpiece of the rest area public water. Much to my amazement the pool was devoid of other anglers. We prospected our dry/droppers through the shelf pool nearest to our position with no success, so we paused to eat our lunches. As we munched our food, we observed the river, and a cluster of rising fish appeared at the tail of the pool.

Nate Displayed with Pride

We pulled on our gear after lunch, and we reconfigured our lines with double dry fly offerings, and Nate approached the risers at the tail, while I moved along the bank to the midsection. We both spent fifteen minutes tossing our dries, and Nate came up empty, while I logged brief hookups with two brown trout that were rising in the shelf pool on my side of the strong center cut run. Near the top of the run, I spotted another rise, and I placed quite a few casts in the vicinity to no avail other than a cursory look.

Admiration

The risers ended their feast, so Nate and I moved on to the pocket water section above the large pool. We spent the remainder of the afternoon prospecting the pockets with our double dry fly rigs, and we finally experienced a modicum of success. Nate featured a black hippie stomper and size 14 golden stonefly adult with a yellow and orange abdomen. As we covered the first half of the pocket water, the stonefly caught fire, and Nate upped his fish count to three, but he also notched a bevy of long distance releases.

Respectable Rainbow

I, meanwhile, deployed a yellow stimulator and size 16 olive-brown deer hair caddis, and I managed to land a small brown that savored the caddis. However, as Nate’s stonefly became the preferred meal, my flies fell out of favor, so I switched to a red-body hippie stomper trailing a beadhead hares ear nymph. This move was renounced by the local trout, so after a short trial period I switched to a peacock body hippie stomper that trailed a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. This combination performed admirably, and I increased my fish count to four including a very fine thirteen inch brown trout. I made a nice cross stream cast to a narrow slot and allowed the flies to drift without drag to the lip of the slick. Just as the flies began to accelerate to the next pocket, a fish chomped on the caddis, but I was connected for a brief split second. I resumed casting, and the hungry stream resident continued to make refusing swirls at the flies. On a subsequent cast I halted the drift so that the flies fluttered at the lip, and then I moved my rod to the left and created a skittering caddis. The trout aggressively pursued the waking flies, but once again it came up short. Nate was in awe of this performance. Finally I extended a cast another three feet, and fed the fly down another lane tight to the fast current, Just as the caddis was about to drag over the lip, a thirteen inch brown attacked, and I landed it. Nate and I both suspected that the fish I landed was different from the one that put on a chasing show.

Nice One by Dave

The Brown Chased the Caddis at the Tail of the Smooth Water

By 4:30PM we reached the pedestrian bridge that marks the border with private water, so we called it quits and hiked back to the car. Just before we quit Nate connected with a very nice rainbow, but it maneuvered into the faster main current and managed to elude the net.

Needless to say Wednesday was a bit disappointing, as we landed seven fish between us over 4.5 hours of fishing. Nevertheless, we salvaged some fun in the pocket water with opportunistic fish in the late afternoon, and Nate received an introduction to several sections of the river, should he decide to revisit on his own at a future date. I, meanwhile, will turn my attention to the Arkansas River in the near term, as Jane and I are renting a cabin with private river frontage in the upcoming week. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 4

Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: Below Wolcott

Eagle River 07/10/2023 Photo Album

After a somewhat disappointing day on the Eagle River on 07/03/2023, I was anxious to return. I blamed the relatively low catch rate on the high flows, which rushed along at 1250 CFS below the Milk Creek tributary. I generally favor levels to be around 1,000 CFS at the lower gauge. The flows on Monday morning, July 10, 2023 were at 985 CFS, so I packed the car and made the drive.

I arrived at my chosen pullout at 10:30AM, and I pulled on my waders, gathered my gear and assembled my Sage One five weight. The temperature was in the seventies, and the high probably peaked in the mid-eighties. I completed a short hike to the river, and I was positioned to cast by 11:00AM. The flows were lower than I experienced on July 3 and July 7, but the river still rushed along at a rapid clip.

Lower Flows

Similar to my 07/03/2023 trip, the morning fishing was very slow, and I did not land my first fish until after lunch. I fished a dry/dropper rig for most of my time on the water except for a twenty minute period during the peak of the pale morning dun hatch, when I switched to double dries, after I observed a pair of rises. The move partially paid off, as I hooked a decent trout on the cinnamon comparadun, but it quickly charged into the fast water and shrugged off my nuisance fly.

Only Brown Trout

Pink Striped Beauty

During the morning I cycled through an olive-black Pat’s rubber legs, an iron sally, salvation nymph and a dark olive nymph with rubber legs. None of these flies met the standards of the resident fish. During the afternoon I fished a tan pool toy hopper on top and trailed an iron sally and traditional size 18 pheasant tail nymph. Of the eight fish landed via the dry/dropper, roughly half snatched the pheasant tail and the other half grabbed the iron sally. The catch rate never elevated to lukewarm status, but I did manage steady action in the time period after the heavy PMD emergence. Three of the trout that landed in my net were very fine rainbows in the thirteen to fifteen inch range, and one fifteen inch brown trout joined the mix. The other four landed trout were very feisty rainbows in the ten to twelve inch range. I counted my temporary hookups, and eight additional fish made contact with my flies but managed to slide free. Several very nice fish moved into the heavy current of the main river, and it did not take long before they chucked the hook and fled to freedom.

Promising Edge Water

Coiled to Jump

I suffered through more than the normal number of tangles, and the wind was an ever present nuisance. At one point I stepped on a muddy bottom, and my feet shot out and left my butt in the mud. Fortunately I was not hurt and the river did not spill over my waders. The abundant quantity of willow sticks that were wedged between rocks presented another annoying hassle to my day of fishing. In one case I was unable to extract my flies, and I ended up snapping off an iron sally and pheasant tail nymph. I abandoned tying size 18 pheasant tails in favor of super nova pale morning dun nymphs, but after experiencing success on the old classic pheasant tail, I may need to revise my tying program. After I snapped off the two flies, I replaced the pheasant tail with a super nova, but all the catches after that were attributable to the iron sally.

Long and Fast

I am planning another trip to the Eagle River on Wednesday, July 12, and I may now possibly target some sections farther upriver. During the float on Friday, it seemed like the hatch was denser in the Wolcott area, and more rising fish were visible.

Fish Landed: 8

Time: 10:00AM – 6:00PM

Location: Edwards to Eagle, 17 mile float

Eagle River 07/07/2023 Photo Album

Each year over the past three I have scheduled a guided float trip with my friend, Dave G. Actually Dave G. schedules the trips, and I select a few to accompany him. Friday July 7 was the first of two such trips in 2023. Our guide, Reed, selected the Eagle River as our river destination. The flows at the gauge in Avon were peaking around 1050 CFS, and the downstream gauge at Milk Creek registered 1250. For wade fishing I prefer flows approximately 200 CFS lower, but floating in an inflatable raft made managing the higher flows quite feasible. In fact, the high flows accentuate the capabilities of a nimble, high-floating raft.

Launch Site Was Crowded

I stayed at Dave G.’s house in Eagle on Thursday night, and on Friday morning after a delicious breakfast, we drove separately to the Eagle museum parking lot. Here we parked our cars and jumped into Reed’s truck, and he drove the trailered raft to our launch point west of Edwards, CO. The boat ramp area was buzzing with guides and fishermen, so it was evident that prime floating season was in progress on the upper Eagle River. Reed notified the shuttle company that he needed a shuttle to the Eagle Museum, and this committed us to a 17 mile trip!

Stimulator

The weather was perfect, as the temperature at the start was in the mid to upper sixties, and the high probably spiked in the low eighties. Rain never developed, however, some strong gusts of wind hindered us for short periods in the afternoon. I wore my fishing shirt and quick dry wading pants with my Chacos, and I completely lathered up all exposed skin with sunscreen. I strung my Sage One five weight, and Reed provided a six weight for the heavy lifting of tossing a large dry/dropper configuration.

Attractor Dry

We launched and began fly fishing by 10AM. From our start until noon Dave G. and I fished mostly dry/droppers with a chubby Chernobyl as the top fly and an olive-brown Pat’s rubber legs and yellow sally nymph. Several other flies factored in the mix including a Frenchie (jig pheasant tail), but the three mentioned previously were the mainstays of the morning time period. I landed four fish before lunch, and one of the four was a stunning eighteen inch brown trout. What a fish! The husky brown put up quite a battle, and I was thankful for the 4X tippet and the heft of the six weight rod.

Looking Back

Toward the end of the morning Dave G. and I swapped positions, and I moved from the normally favored bow to the rear of the raft. By noon or shortly thereafter, we began to notice a dense emergence of pale morning duns and to a lesser extent, yellow sallies. Caddis were present throughout the day, but they were never on the water enough to distract the trout from feeding on the other two more prevalent insect food sources. Reed was quick to switch Dave G. and I to dries, when he spotted the mayflies floating up from the surface.

Bank to Bank Flows

Love the Red Rock Cliffs

The two hours between noon and 2:00PM were the most exciting of the day. Trout fed ravenously, and we could spot nice fish hovering just below the surface and then rising to snatch tasty morsels from the film. Many of these trout were tight to the bank, so accurate casts and drag free drifts were the keys to success. On several occasions Reed rowed the raft back upstream to fish especially attractive pools and eddies behind current breaking structures. These instances were dry fly fishing at its best, as Reed positioned each of us to make medium range upstream casts to pods of feeding fish. My heart rate elevated with the adrenalin rush that accompanied my anticipation of hooking a steady feeder. During this time our lines featured yellow sally dry flies and parachute pale morning dun imitations.

Reed’s Chubby

By 2:00PM the PMD hatch waned into random stragglers; however, the yellow sallies continued their fluttering reconnaissance over the river. Unfortunately the trout did not seem as excited over yellow sallies compared to their appetite for pale morning duns. Eventually we converted back to a dry/dropper approach, and I picked off a few trout to boost the fish count to double digits. In order to reach the take out ramp by 6:00PM, Reed rowed through some of the less desirable sections, and he converted me to a double dry rig for the home stretch. Caddis became the more prevalent insect, and I hooked and landed a small rainbow trout near the take out to raise my fish count on the day to eleven.

Afternoon Beauty

Friday was a fun day of fly fishing on the clear but high Eagle River. Seventeen miles was a long trip, and Dave G. and I enjoyed a lot of fly fishing. My casting was off as evidenced by losing at least eight flies on riverside vegetation, and I tended to rush my forward cast, and I allowed my arm and elbow to elevate upward. These were all faults that took the power out of my forward cast. Casting close to the bank and not wasting time on break offs and snarls were critical to experiencing a spectacular day on a float trip, and I was a bit off my game on Friday. Nevertheless, I landed double digits and my catches included five trout in the thirteen to eighteen inch range with the early eighteen inch brown my prize. A slow motion surface take of a dry fly by a respectable rainbow trout during the dense PMD hatch was another highlight of the day. I am looking forward to my second guided float trip on July 21, and conditions will dictate our destination.

Fish Landed: 11