Time: 11:15AM – 3:00PM

Location: Between Wolcott and Avon

Eagle River 06/17/2026 Photo Album

After touring the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday, I decided to return to flowing water on Wednesday. Originally I planned on taking a break from fishing on Wednesday while returning to a stream on Friday, but another personal commitment blocked that intention. Wednesday was my final chance to fish for the week, so I jumped at the opportunity.

Upstream from Start

I evaluated three options; the same three that I tend to gravitate to. The South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon was a strong option with flows lowered to 110 CFS, now that Antero Reservoir had been drained. The Arkansas River was tumbling along at a very favorable level in Bighorn Sheep Canyon at 330 CFS. Finally, the Eagle River near Avon was flowing at 300 CFS, which is very low compared to historical levels at this time of year, but actually a bit high compared to my take on ideal. I decided on the Eagle River, because the window of opportunity could close quickly for the freestoner given the hot weather system over Colorado. My thinking was also influenced by the string of excellent days that I experienced on the Eagle River earlier in the 2026 season.

Scored

I managed to get an early start, but traffic conditions did not cooperate. Heavy volume created bottlenecks in the Denver metro area, and then two crashes forced stoppages, as I ascended Interstate 70 in the Genesee area. Adding to my frustration was a twenty minute stall at the top of Vail Pass due to rock scaling. All of these situations extended my drive by thirty minutes and negated my early start.

Comma Formation

In spite of my traffic bad luck, I arrived at my chosen destination and prepared to fish. The temperature was in the upper seventies already at 10:30AM. I assembled my Sage One five weight and hiked a short distance to the river and then followed a pathway down the river a ways, before I cut down a bank. To begin my day I tied a tan chubby Chernobyl to my line and added an iron sally and bright green caddis pupa. Reports I read announced that caddis were present and attracting the attention of the fish population.

A Nice Run Ahead

Well, the caddis failed to generate interest, so I swapped it for a brown perdigon. I tied brown perdigons over the winter to imitate pale morning dun nymphs, and the fly shop reports informed me that pale morning duns were starting to hatch. I broke for lunch at 11:45AM, and I only had one temporary hook up to show for my efforts.

Took Me Through Some Rapids

After lunch I continued to work my way up the river, but the flies were not creating action, so I made an adjustment. I lengthened the leader between the chubby and the top nymph to four feet, and I swapped the iron sally for a green-black Pat’s rubber legs and replaced the perdigon with a hares ear nymph. This move paid dividends, when I connected with two substantial fish; however, both escaped after a very brief battle. Finally a fourteen inch brown trout grabbed the hares ear nymph, and I assumed that the puzzle was solved.

Home of Nice Brown Trout

In spite of my newfound optimism, another lull occurred, as I covered some very attractive runs and pools with only unproductive casts to show for my effort. By 1:00PM I noticed some pale morning duns in the air, so I switched the hares ear for a salvation nymph,. This move paid dividends, as I moved the fish count from one to five over the remainder of my time on the river. This is a relatively low fish count for me, but the quality of the fish was outstanding. For the last forty-five minutes I switched to a double dry featuring a peacock hippie stomper and size 16 cinnamon comparadun. I noticed sporadic rises, and I thought perhaps I could generate interest in the PMD dry fly imitation. Early on after the change in approach, a couple decent fish refused the comparadun, but I never succeeded in landing a trout on one of the dry flies.

Turned Around

Two fifteen inch browns rested in my net as well as the fish of the day…a fat eighteen inch rainbow. All of the afternoon fish grabbed the salvation nymph. Some responded to a dead drift, and several reacted to a swing and lift.

Another Fine Brown Trout

By 3:00PM I bumped into a trio of anglers 75 yards upstream, so I exited the river and hiked back to the car. Although the fish count was low, I appreciated the size of the fish, and I was challenged to solve the riddle of the hatch. I also noted a few golden stoneflies and yellow sallies, but caddis were virtually absent. Hopefully I can return to the Eagle again before the heat and lower flows make it off limits.

Fish Landed: 5

Time: 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Eagle, CO to Gypsum, CO

Eagle River 05/19/2026 Photo Album

The Eagle River once again yielded a best of 2026 experience. This spring has produced several exceptionally fine days of fly fishing on the Eagle River, and Tuesday, May 19, 2026 was no exception. In fact, it was probably the best.

The Launch Site

As I documented on this blog previously, I choose a couple dates each year to join my friend, Dave G,, on guided float trips in Colorado with guide Reed Ryan through Cutthroat Anglers. Tuesday was the first such outing, and what a day it was!

Large Royal Chubby

I stayed at Dave G.’s house on Monday night, and we drove to the Eagle fairgrounds on Tuesday morning to meet our guide. Reed tested a new shuttle methodology, as he unloaded the raft into the river at the launch ramp and left us by the boat, while he drove his SUV and trailer to the takeout. He scheduled an Uber, so after twenty minutes, an Uber driver arrived and unloaded Reed. I was surprised there were Ubers in Eagle, CO.

Brown-Yellow Pat’s Rubber Leg

We launched and began fishing by 10:30AM. It was quite chilly at the outset, so I wore my fleece and light down, and Reed provided fingerless gloves. The gloves stayed on for a half hour or so, before they were removed. We shed one layer in the late morning, but clouds rolled in, and the wind kicked up in the early afternoon, and we pulled our jackets back on. The weather was actually quite ideal with an overcast sky and cool temperatures, and the wind was reasonable for most of the day.

Black Pat’s Rubber Legs

I provided my Sage One five weight and Scott six weight for the outing. Reed rigged the five weight with a double dry set up that included a purple craze and a size 18 blue wing olive imitation. By the midday time frame we spotted a couple rises, so we gave the dry flies a test in a relatively wide pool section that looked ideal for dry flies. Dave G. generated a look, but otherwise the tactic was unsuccessful.

Fairly Typical Catch

The workhorse set up for the day was the six weight rigged with a large royal chubby Chernobyl and trailing two Pat’s rubber legs. The top nymph was a medium olive color, and the bottom nymph was black. The fish loved the rubber legs. We tossed the ugly chenille bugs all day long, and we never suffered through a lull in action. I landed twenty-six gorgeous trout on the day, and a ridiculous number were in the fourteen to eighteen inch range. In my case, all but one were rainbow trout, and they were fresh and energetic and put up great battles.

Another Prize Rainbow

Reed did his usual yeoman job of positioning the boat and keeping pace with the river to allow long drag free drifts. He expertly directed our casts, as we sought green water which indicated depth. The river was rolling along at close to 500 CFS and exhibited excellent clarity for the early stages of run off, assuming that the low snow pack will actually deliver snow melt. The places that produced trout were typically deeper than those that yielded at higher flows, when the fish are pushed closer to the banks.

Edna Being Patient

What a day it was! I was dumbfounded by the willingness of the Eagle River trout to inhale the Pat’s rubber legs. Reed released most of the fish, but I noted that the trout that I released were grabbing the olive and black in roughly equal proportions, so that was likely the case overall. I plan to tie some of the medium olives (brown and yellow) and blacks for my own wade fishing adventures. The quality of these fish was unsurpassed. It seems that the Eagle River is going through a cycle of large healthy fish, and I was a beneficiary. Hopefully the trout are not adversely affected by the low flows anticipated from the low snow pack this summer.

Fish Landed: 26

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

Time: 11:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Private water between Wolcott and Eagle

Eagle River 10/24/2025 Photo Album

My friend, Dave G., who lives in Eagle Ranch near Eagle, CO belongs to a fishing club with access to private water on the Eagle River. Dave G. invited me to join him on Friday, October 24, 2025; and I accepted the invitation pending favorable weather. When I checked the weather forecast for Friday, I noted that the high near Eagle, CO was in the mid fifties, so that clinched it, and I made the drive on Friday morning.

Held Aloft

I arrived at a wide pullout at 10:45AM, and Dave G. arrived within a few minutes. We car pooled a short distance to a dirt parking area across from the private section of the Eagle River. The dashboard temperature was 46 degrees, so I pulled on my fleece hoodie and rain jacket along with my billed hat with earflaps. I was prepared for the worst. I chose my Sage One five weight in anticipation of tangling with some muscular trout of above average size. The river was quite turbid, and the color resembled a creamy split pea soup. Dave G. said it rained within the last twenty-four hours, but not that heavily, so he was perplexed with the lack of clarity. We walked to the edge of the river to inspect more closely, and we concluded that it would fish decently with two feet of visibility along the edge.

The Waterway Ahead

I waded across the murky river at the wide tail of a shallow pool, and I progressed along the far bank (south bank?). To begin I chose an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, olive perdigon, and salvation nymph. In short order Dave G. landed a couple fish on a zebra midge, and I was shut out, so I followed suit with a black zebra midge with a fine copper rib. Finally after an opening drought, I connected with a fish and hauled a nice, fat thirteen inch rainbow trout into my net. The zebra midge was in its lip, and I was amazed that a fish saw the tiny midge larva imitation in compromised river clarity.

Lots of Foam

I continued onward, and before I broke for lunch I landed two small brown trout. One was around eleven inches and the other was smaller. The first and smaller brown nabbed the zebra midge, but after another dry spell, I swapped the zebra for a psycho prince and then an apricot egg. The second larger brown grabbed the olive perdigon.

Decent Brown Trout

After lunch and another slow phase, I exchanged the egg fly for a return to the salvation. Between two and three o’clock the temperature peaked, and I removed my raincoat and folded up the earflaps on my hat. The pace of action improved, and I managed to land a chunky fourteen inch rainbow and a small rainbow barely greater than six inches. Both fish snatched the olive perdigon. In addition, I hooked and failed to land three decent trout during this time, and I sensed that they favored the olive perdigon. Was the increase in action attributable to the warming water temperature, improved water clarity, or my fly choice? I suspect all three, although the improved effectiveness of the olive perdigon along with less olive tinged water suggested clarity as a prime reason.

Love the Riffle Sections

By 3:30PM I reached the end of the private section of the river, so I reversed direction to another wide shallow crossing spot. Dave G. indicated that he was fished out, so we called it a day and returned to our vehicles. Friday was a slow day on private water, although had I landed all the fish I connected with, I may have reached double digits. I was appreciative of Dave G.’s willingness to invite me to share the private water. Was this my last outing of 2025? The answer depends on the weather with a turn to colder temperatures predicted for Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 5

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

Time: 10:00AM – 1:00PM, 1:30PM – 3:30PM

Location: Between Avon and Edwards and then Minturn area

Eagle River 07/15/225 Photo Album

After an excellent outing on the Eagle River on  7/7/2025, I was anxious to return. I checked the flows on the DWR website, and they were in the 250 – 300 CFS range. Fly shop reports indicated that decent fishing continued with ongoing hatches of PMD’s, yellow sallies, and caddis. I took the plunge and made the two hour drive.

The high temperature for Avon was forecast to reach 80 degrees, and that projection proved accurate. I selected my Sage R8 four weight, and I was positioned along the river ready to cast by 10:00AM.  To start my search for trout I tied a peacock hippie stomper to my line along with a light gray size 16 deer hair caddis, but these flies went unmolested in the first thirty minutes, so I made another change.

I decided to probe the depths since no insect activity was obvious, and I converted to a yellow size 8 fat Albert along with an iron sally and salvation nymph. None of these flies appealed to the trout other than a single refusal to the fat Albert. After a prolonged period of casting the dry/dropper with no positive results, I made another change.

Dark Olive Colors

I reverted to the double dry, and this time it featured a size 14 yellow stimulator and a size 16 light gray deer hair caddis. For this final session of the morning I crossed the river at a wide riffle section in order to work up along the left bank. I played the hunch that the left bank was unpressured, since flows only recently enabled a crossing. The hunch worked somewhat, as I landed two brown trout. The smaller fish grabbed the caddis, and the twelve incher snatched the stimulator.

Promising Area

At 12:20PM I began a retreat, but to do so, I was forced to wade downstream, until I found a section where crossing was possible. I managed to ford the river, but there were some scary moments. I hiked back to a spot with some large boulders, and I paused to eat my lunch. As I observed the river from my lunch perch, a dozen swallows dove and flitted across the river, but I was unable to determine what they were eating.

Handful

After lunch I swapped the caddis for a size 16 light gray comparadun, and I executed downstream casts along a seam in the pool next to my lunch spot, but the effort was futile. I elected to relocate.

For my afternoon session on the Eagle River I moved upstream to the Minturn area above the Gore Creek confluence. I operated under the assumption that the water temperature was cooler farther upstream.

Lots of Pockets

I arrived at a pullout and pulled on my gear and dropped down a short bank. I made five casts to a deep slot with the double dry that remained on my line, and as I prepared to move, I looked ahead and spotted another angler! What were the chances? I immediately returned to the car and drove another .5 mile, before I returned to the river.

Caddis Fancier

As it turned out, the move was fortuitous. Between 1:30PM and 3:30PM I landed eighteen trout. The first three sipped the comparadun, but then the stimulator began interfering with the allure of the caddis, as refusals predominated. I finally relented to the wishes of the trout, and I converted to a peacock hippie stomper and a size 14 light gray deer hair caddis. A few of the eighteen landed trout preferred the hippie stomper, but the remainder savored the caddis. Quite often the fish grabbed the trailing caddis at the lip of a long pocket, just as I initiated a lift to recast.

Nice Slots and Seams

What was the quality of the afternoon trout? All but three were brown trout. Two rainbow trout were chunky and in the twelve inch range, and three browns stretched to a similar length. Of course I landed a few smaller fish, but I was overall pleased with the size of the fish given the smaller size of the stream.

Lovely Spots

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon of prospecting with dry flies, and the fish were far more accommodating than their cousins in the bigger river, where I began my day. I would like to explore the Eagle River further on a future trip.

Fish Landed: 20