Time: 9:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: Mile Marker 8; Area downstream and across from spring

Fish Landed: 20

Frying Pan River – 08/23/2012 Photo Album

Jane’s best friend Wendy was scheduled to visit from South Carolina August 22 – August 27, and they wanted girl time together, so I agreed to vacate the house and go on a camping/fishing trip. Initially I planned to go to the White River in the Flattop Wilderness; however, I read in one of my magazines that the flows on the White were low and the DOW was encouraging fishermen to not fish there due to high water temperatures. After reading this I decided to shift my plans and visit the Frying Pan River below Reudi Reservoir instead. The Frying Pan is a tailwater, and therefore I expected it to offer cold water and nearly ideal flows.

I left work at 10AM on Wednesday morning and returned home and went for a run, ate my lunch, packed the Santa Fe with all my camping and fishing gear, and departed Stapleton by approximately 1:45. I headed west on I70 and then exited and drove south on CO 82 at Glenwood Springs. I made good time and decided to stop at the Wendy’s in El Jebel for dinner. After dinner I continued south on 82, and some large clouds appeared, and I drove through some light rain before turning at Basalt and driving east along the Frying Pan River to the Little Maud campground next to Reudi Reservoir. I selected campsite no. 7 and paid for four nights, and then set up my small REI tent. I looked at my watch and realized there was still time for an hour of fishing, so I drove down along the river below the dam to mile marker 12 and parked.

Dave’s Campsite at No. 7, Little Maud

As I was driving along I noticed a young shirtless bearded man climbing the bank across from the river as he surreptitiously gathered something and placed it in a sack. Was he gathering some sort of illegal drugs? As I was getting ready to fish in the wide pullout at mile marker 12, a gray Toyota Camry wheeled into the lot and parked below me. There was a female driving, and as I looked on, the young man arrived with his sack and climbed in the car. Were they creating the appearance of gathering something so they could monitor fishermen and break into their cars to steal valuables? I checked my car several times to make sure it was locked before I went down to the river to fish.

I tied on a Chernobyl ant and a beadhead hares ear and began to work the nice bend run and pool next to the car. It was hard to concentrate as the young man was now across the street on the bank harvesting again. The young woman was kneeling on the ground next to the car similarly picking something. I experienced a refusal to the Chernobyl and a momentary hook up before deciding to move up the road to an area with a series of stair step riffles. In the waning light I once again had a momentary hook up and a couple refusals. It felt like the fly was in the fish’s mouth, but the hook never penetrated the lip as I pulled it out of the mouth. By 8PM it became quite dark so I carefully returned to my car and gave it a quick inspection to make sure it wasn’t broken into or vandalized.

At this point the young man approached me and explained what they were doing. He took me across the street and pointed to the vines crawling up the hillside with creamy flowers on them and explained that these were wild hops plants. They were gathering the blossoms to make beer, and he held a flower under my nose to smell the hops scent. He said the hops had been planted by early miners in the valley and the plants continued to flourish. He told me that his girlfriend found some on the ground right next to the car which explained her strange activity. I questioned him to make sure he was certain of all this, as I was concerned that if he misidentified the plant, they could be drinking something poisonous. He assured me he did quite a bit of research. There was a big brown sign in the pullout that warned against taking firewood, rocks or plants from the national forest, and he explained that this was the cause for their secretive demeanor. The strange experiences that accompany fly fishing never cease to amaze me.

I returned to the campground and a light rain commenced, so I remained in the car to read and stay out of the rain. As ten o’clock approached there was a break in the rain, so I climbed into the tent and curled up in my down sleeping bag and fell asleep as the rain once again created a pitter patter on the rain fly of the tent.

On Thursday morning I awoke to overcast skies and wet surroundings as I made my breakfast, packed a lunch, and gathered up my fishing gear. The weather would pretty much remain the same all day with overcast skies, large clouds and air temperatures that never climbed above the 60’s. I had stopped at the Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt on Wednesday night, and the salesperson informed me that the heaviest concentration of green drakes was between mile markers 8 and 10, so I drove to the pullout just below mile marker 8 and prepared to fish. It was quite chilly so I wore my fleece top in the morning, and I was fairly comfortable.

Brightly Colored Rainbow Landed Thurs. Morning

I walked down the road a bit to the next pullout and dropped down the bank to the river which was fairly narrow at this point and only a two foot corridor of softer holding water along the bank. I already had the Chernobyl ant and beadhead hares ear on my line from Wednesday night, so I stayed with that offering. As I began prospecting the slower water, I hooked and landed a nice rainbow on the Chernobyl and a small brown on the beadhead hares ear. By the time I reached the attractive pool next to the car and went a bit above I had landed three more small browns on the beadhead hares ear. This all took place over a period of 2.5 hours, so the fishing was actually quite slow, and I decided to break for lunch. I could see at least four or five nice fish in the pool by the car, but they were ignoring my offerings and pretty much hugging the bottom of the pool.

Nice Deep Pool Where I Parked Thurs. Morning

I ate my lunch by the large pool and afterward continued fishing upstream from where I broke for lunch. From previous trips to the Frying Pan, I knew that the green drakes typically emerged some time between 11AM and 2PM, so I tied on a green drake comparadun and began to prospect with this large fly. Fish were not attracted to this large morsel, so I added a beadhead pheasant tail as a dropper thinking that perhaps the PMD nymphs were becoming active in anticipation of a hatch. By 1:30 I was still stuck on five unimpressive fish, so I decided to move upstream. Perhaps the green drakes were at the upper edge of the range near the 10 mile marker, and I was missing the hatch? I needed to find out.

I threw my rod and gear in the back of the Santa Fe and drove up the road to the area near the spring which is near mile marker 10. I wanted to walk back downstream and fish back to the car through the long stretch of pocket water, but much to my amazement there were two fishermen in this area. I decided to walk downstream to a point 50 yards above the closest fisherman and fish upstream from there. A return to basics was in order so I tied on a parachute hopper and added a beadhead hares ear dropper. This combination was productive on the Taylor River, so why shouldn’t it work on the Frying Pan with no hatches evident? After fishing a bit with no takes, I observed a pair of fish moving subsurface and apparently feeding on nymphs, so I added a beadhead pheasant tail as a third fly. This tactic returned some immediate success as I landed two small browns before I reached the location opposite the spring where my car was parked.

At this point I felt that I could cross the river part way, then wade up the middle to a point where I could cross to the opposite bank. I fished some fair pockets and riffles as I negotiated across the river. When I reached the far bank there was a spot where the current angled against the bank and created an attractive run with a slower moving soft area next to the current seam. I tossed the hopper to the top of the run, and witnessed a refusal of the hopper where the current deflected off a rock. As I wanted fish to focus on the pheasant tail and not refuse the hopper, I switched the hopper out for a Chernobyl ant. This worked for a short while as I added two more browns that snatched the trailing nymph.

Fat Rainbow

Shortly after this activity I began to notice pale morning duns on the surface of the river. By now the light was quite low as some heavy clouds moved in and some raindrops descended. I was already wearing my raincoat so the rain did not affect my fishing, but the mayflies were apparently relishing the cloud cover. Another fisherman was above me on the bank next to the road, and as I watched he appeared to net a fish. I decided to go to my proven PMD performer, the light gray comparadun, AKA money fly. The next two hours were magical as I moved from 10 or 11 fish landed to 20 on the day as the comparadun performed like a champ. During this time I heard some rumbling and the rain intensified, but I continued fishing right through the storm. The fish were taking the money fly with confidence, and I landed some very nice fish including a 17 inch brown and a 16 inch rainbow. Some of the fish were targeted after rising, but others were surprises that rose to prospecting casts to likely holding locations.

17″ Brown Slurped Light Gray PMD Comparadun

It was exciting to experience a nice hatch on different water from the usual spots three miles below the dam. The character of the water was also attractive to me as there were a series of stretches where the water tumbled over some large rocks and then created a wide fan shaped pocket or pool. There were perhaps four or five such stretches as I moved upstream, and each became a bit narrower and deeper.

Area of Success Thursday Afternoon

By 5PM the rain slowed to a slight drizzle and the hatch pretty much ended, and I’d reached the top of the series of decent water locations, so I waded back along the bank and crossed to the road and called it a day. It was a great afternoon with fast paced action and my best hatch matching of the season so far. The hatch lasted for quite a while probably due to the cool overcast weather conditions. I was quite chilled as I stepped out of the water and crossed the road to my car, but I was also a happy camper with a 20 fish day on my first day on the Frying Pan River and some nice size fish to add to the excitement.

Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Same as Friday but upstream a bit

Fish Landed: 22

Frying Pan River – 08/25/2012 Photo Album

I woke up Saturday morning to the many sounds of my camping neighbors packing up their RV as they prepared to leave for Kansas. I stepped out of the tent to discover a cold crisp morning, quite a contrast from previous mornings. I quickly found my down parka and gloves and pulled them on for the first time this year. Even though the sky was bright blue and clear, there was more water on my tent and tablecloth due to condensation than could be found the previous mornings after rain.

Rabbitbush Along Road Overlooking Reudi

I quickly took care of the essentials and packed a lunch, but had some time to kill while I waited for the air temperature to warm so I took a walk from the campground to the dam of Reudi Reservoir and back. Along the way I snapped some photos and when I returned to the campground spotted a buck with velvety antlers browsing next to the bathroom. I snapped one photo from a distance and then walked around the loop and clicked some fairly close shots. Meanwhile I pulled out my binoculars that I always pack and never use, and watched the ospreys that built a nest in the high tension wire tower high above the reservoir. I saw an adult and a young osprey fly from the huge stick nest to various perches in the surrounding forest.

As Close As I Got

By 9:30 I loaded everything needed in the Santa Fe for another day of fishing and drove the short distance to the pullout above mile marker 11, the same place I parked on Friday. I planned to fish upstream from the previous day’s wanderings in the channels around the small island, the large rectangular rock pool, and upstream above mile marker 12 if it wasn’t occupied.

I began fishing at the bottom end of the small island with a Chernobyl ant and beadhead pheasant tail. I plopped one or two casts in all the obscure small pockets and runs that I’m sure are overlooked by other fishermen in their greedy push for the prime spots. Along the way I landed three small browns and one 12 inch rainbow in the large rectangular rock pool at the top of the south channel. The rainbow drifted back under the Chernobyl for three to four feet then turned away and then abruptly turned and lunged on the Chernobyl after it had drifted another foot. I’ve only seen this happen a few times in all my days of fly fishing.

By now it was 11:30 so I decided to return to the car and eat lunch. I walked down the road a short distance and sat on the edge of the bank overlooking the nice pool where I’d landed quite a few fish the previous day. The area was 20 – 25 feet wide with a large boulder hosting a tree or bush at the top of the mild riffle over three to four feet of water depth. I spotted several fish at the tail of the riffle and filed that for future reference.

After lunch I decided to try the technically challenging left channel that ran next to the road. The middle and bottom sections of this channel are relatively slow moving with shallow smooth water. I tied on an ant as I spotted occasional rises but no mayflies on the water. I worked up through the smooth water with a pair of rejections to show for my effort. Perhaps they were on something specific, I thought, as I tied on a CDC BWO. This didn’t even attract rejections. As I got toward the middle area, I spotted one green drake bouncing in a riffle, and a fish slashed and missed the huge fluttering morsel. It almost looked like the fish rejected a real fly! With this episode noted, I tied on a large green drake comparadun, but this resulted in no reaction. I stuck with the green drake for several of the juicy shorter pools at the very top of the left braid, but when I got to the top of the island I declared it a failed experiment and resorted to a parachute hopper with a trailing BHPT.

Fine 15″ Rainbow Smashed Parachute Hopper

I picked up a small brown that grabbed the trailing BHPT and then approached the sweet deep pool behind a huge boulder just beyond the tip of the island. I shot some casts to the area where two currents merged and noticed a rainbow leave its holding spot and elevate a foot or so but then return to the stream bottom. It looked like the parahopper was going to be another nonproductive attractor, but I persisted and shot a cast to the edge of the current seam below the large rock. As the hopper drifted along the seam and just before the point where the currents merged, a fifteen inch rainbow tipped up and swallowed the fraud. The fight was on and I worked the rainbow and netted it and shuffled to the bank for a photo.

Here Is the Bedraggled Hopper Afterward

I continued fishing a bit further upstream, but pretty quickly the river degenerates into a white water chute. As I did this I began to notice a few sparse mayflies emerge, and it was close to 1PM. I wanted to be at a prime spot such as the base of large rectangular rock pool when the hatch blossomed, so I decided to circle back to the bottom of the island and work back up the right channel. I did this with the hopper/dropper and experienced a few refusals in the obscure pockets. One particularly noteworthy refusal occurred in a small deep pocket in front of a horizontal tree that fell across the river. I stood on the downside of the tree and flicked a cast to the still water. While it bobbed and slowly drifted toward the current a large fish rose from beneath the tree to inspect, but spurned my handiwork and returned to its holding spot.

I tried a few more casts but ultimately surrendered and moved up to the large pool. By now I could see more mayflies bouncing along on the surface and rising off the water. They appeared to be the olive colored ones that I’d observed early on Friday, so I went to the size 14 sulfur comparadun. I cast this repeatedly over a fish that rose fairly regularly, but I couldn’t entice a take. I gave up on the fish which was across and down from my position and shot a cast directly upstream. Again I observed several refusals as fish moved to look but didn’t finish. Perhaps the fly was too big? I clipped it off and downsized to the same fly but in a size 16. I flicked this upstream and managed to pick up a couple small brown trout in the 9-10 inch range. I could see sporadic rises higher up in the pool where the faster current fanned into the smooth side pool, so I moved to a position closer to the top.

The Sulfur Comparadun Did the Trick

On my previous pass through this area I’d experienced a refusal to the Chernobyl ant where a small run returned from the left bank to the main current around a rock. I flicked a cast to the tiny pool between the rock and current seam, but nothing happened. I flicked a  second cast closer to the seam and a brown smashed the comparadun. This was a nice feisty wild fish and I played it for a bit back and forth in the main pool before eventually bringing it to my net and photographing. I recall noting that this was my tenth fish on the day.

Brown Taken from Shallow Lie at Big Rectangular Rock Pool

Next I observed a brown rising at the very top of the run in some fairly heavy current before it dumped into the pool. Typically fish that move into heavy water such as this are big strong fish. As I looked on I saw the fish rise a second time, but the rises had fairly lengthy intervals in between. Meanwhile I ran quite a few casts along the edge of the wave and into the small smooth pocket next door with no success. As I continued to observe, a huge green drake popped through the surface, and my target fish refused it but then turned and ate it two feet below the initial refusal! This was like watching a movie. I immediately dug into my fly canister and removed a green drake and tied it to my line. Surely this fish would go for my imitation. Not even close. I put ten or more drifts over the fish, and not even a dinker showed interest.

I returned to the size 16 light yellow comparadun, and I noticed my buddy rise a couple more times to PMD naturals. I also noted more precisely where the fish was surfacing and began running my drifts right on the edge of the heavy current. Finally on a nice drift the brown humped up and engulfed my fly. It was a nice strong fish, but not as large as I suspected, but an interesting challenge nonetheless.

I left the pool and worked up through some nice deep pockets with no success. I tried the run and pocket where I’d earlier duped the 15 inch rainbow, but nothing was doing there. I decided I didn’t want to circle back a third time, and I considered fishing the same water as Friday, but then rejected that idea and resolved to continue working upstream along the edge of the heavy white water chute. I picked up a decent brown in the soft edge at the start of the chute, but the remainder of this type of water was unresponsive to my quick prospecting with the PMD comparadun.

The pool and run at mile marker 12 were occupied so I hiked along the road to the nice series of stair step riffles of moderate depth. There was a guide with a man and woman above the four stair step riffle sections, so I had room to fish here. I slid down the bank and landed a pair of small browns in the first riffle section. The hatch was now reduced to a sparse shadow of its former self, but this was the time on Friday when I experienced a lot success with opportunistic late feeders. I’d bypassed the large rectangular rock that juts perpendicular from the bank and creates a twenty foot back eddy, so I decided to wade downstream ten yards and crawl out on the rock and see what was happening. As I flopped on my belly and peered over the edge, a huge rainbow drifted to the surface and sucked down a PMD. Did I have a shot at this big boy?

Natural PMD

I dapped my imitation in the vortex off the edge right next to the rock, but I fear the rainbow had spotted my rod on its way up for the previous meal. I spotted two fish facing downstream looking into the eddy current. One was six inches from the bank in an extremely shallow position. I flicked a cast beyond the fish and it showed no response. I placed my second cast nearly on the bank to the right of the target fish, and as the small dun did a little curl as the current caught the leader the fish darted up and ate it. I jumped down from the rock and netted a pretty 13 inch brown.

Fine Brown from Back Eddy Above MM12

I returned to my perch and focused on the second fish that was twenty feet downstream and two feet out from the bank. I placed two casts behind and to the left of the fish, but the third cast was perfect and two feet ahead of the fish. As the fly came over the fish it confidently rose up and sucked it in. This trout turned out to be a nice 13 inch rainbow and I was feeling pretty good about my day so far. Seeing no more fish in the eddy I vacated and returned to the stair step riffle area.

Rainbow from Same Eddy

I prospected through the second section and third section and picked off a couple small browns, but also spotted quite a few refusals in the process. When I peered into the fourth area, I spotted a decent brown in front of a small rock in a very shallow lie. I shot several casts over this fish and it demonstrated the telltale tail wiggle and slight acknowledgment that it saw my fly but wasn’t interested. I cycled through a series of fly changes in an effort to dupe this guy with the last being a parachute ant. I also spotted a couple additional fish in this area that also flipped their fins at my offering.

I was considering wading across the shallow riffles to another medium depth stretch in the shadows on the other side of the river, but as I was working the obstinate brown, two new fishermen arrived and crossed below me and cut me off from the desired water. I gave up on the area and walked back to the car and decided to have a final look at the spot that I overlooked while eating lunch. From above I could still see the rainbow at the tail of the riffle. I cautiously descended the bank with a low profile and positioned myself to cast upstream at an angle as the current bent around the large rock. I still had the parachute ant on my line and decided to give it a try.

Lunch Spot Where I Landed Quite a Few Fish Fri. and Sat.

It turned out to be a good move as I fooled a pair of small browns and a twelve inch rainbow with the ant. I also had a  few refusals and the longer I cast to the area and watched the more I saw a few lingering mayflies and rises to them. I clipped off the ant and returned to the size 16 light yellow comparadun and added another catch in the faster riffles below and to the right of the large rock. I hadn’t really tested the water up high to the left of the rock and slightly above it, so I moved to the left a bit and shot a cast two to three fee above the rock. As the small fly danced in the riffles next to the rock a large form emerged and engulfed my fly. The fight was on, and I played a beautiful 15 inch brown into my net and carefully released it to fight another day.

It was now close to four o’clock and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the air temperature was quite warm particularly compared to the previous two days. I thought about wading across the tail to the area where the main river current angles against the far bank where I’d experienced nice success on Friday, but I didn’t relish staying Saturday night and putting a wet tent in my car for the return trip in order to beat heavy I70 traffic. I decided to call it a day and return to the campground and pack everything up and return to Denver.

It was a great three days of fishing on the Frying Pan River, and in spite of some great action on the Taylor River in 2012, the Frying Pan remains my favorite Colorado river.

Time: 10:30AM – 5:00PM

Location: Lower boundary of public water on upper river

Fish Landed: 15

Frying Pan River 09/16/2011 Photo Album

After weathering the Thursday rain and discovering the missing rod and flies, I decided to drive to Basalt to call Jane and possibly stop at Taylor Creek Fly Shop and purchase some green drakes. By the time I reached Basalt however the fly shop was closed, so I called Jane and asked her to bring the green fly box and Sage rod.

Little Mattie, Site No. 10

I drove back east to the Ruedi Reservoir Campground and snagged site no. 10. By the time I put up the tent it was dark and I prepared dinner by the light of my propane lantern. I awoke on Friday morning to the sound of rain once again pounding down on the tent, but it stopped by around 8AM, and I noticed some blue patches to the west.

I took my time getting ready to fish as it remained quite overcast and chilly so I arrived at the pullout and began fishing around 10:30AM. As usual there were quite a few fishermen occupying the prime spots already. I pulled on my waders and wore my raincoat in case of rain and for added warmth. I parked in the first pullout above the long private water and hiked down the road to the spot where several large fallen trees span most of the river at the bottom of a long run. Another fisherman had crossed and was fishing the obscure left channel facing downstream.

I rigged up with a strike indicator, split shot, beadhead hares ear, and beadhead pheasant tail and began fishing the tail of the long run. I landed a small brown on the pheasant tail and then continued working upstream next to the road. While I was doing this, another fisherman arrived and positioned himself between me and the bottom of the small narrow island just downstream from the car. I picked up one more small brown on the nymphs as they swung from the far side of the center current.

At 11:30 I decided to return to the car and eat lunch in case hatching began earlier with the somewhat nicer weather and also because my upstream progression was blocked by a couple fishermen. As I walked along the road I looked down and spotted a nice brown trout in a small pool near the bank. Another fisherman had waded out to the middle of the river 50 feet beyond the spot holding the fish, so I quietly slid down the bank and made a few casts to the targeted trout, but received no response. I gave up and headed back to the car and prepared my lunch.

After lunch I decided to wade across the bottom of the island above where the car was parked and then to fish the south channel up to the nice pool with the huge cube rock at the head. I didn’t want to stray too far from the car as I expected the rest of the family to arrive at some point with my newly tied green drakes. Hopefully they would arrive before the green drakes commenced their emergence. I used my wading stick to print Dave Upstream in the sand and gravel behind the Santa Fe and set off as planned to cross below the island.

The water below the pool was mostly fast with a few obscure small pockets. I still had my nymphs on and the strike indicator had slid down so it was only a couple feet above the top fly. I dropped casts in every bit of slack water as I moved up along the south side of the island and caught four trout in the 9-12 inch range and in addition had a couple long distance releases. One of the fish fell for the BHHE and the others preferred the BHPT. By the time I reached the sweet pool at the top of the channel, two other fishermen had moved in so I crossed the island through the willows to the top of the north channel. I thoroughly covered the pockets at the top of the left braid and then dropped back to the top of the right channel above the pool and worked some more deep slots and pockets with the nymphs. These large deep pockets at the top of the island are some of my favorite places on the river, but I couldn’t interest any fish in the nymph offerings.

Friday Morning Near One of Dave's Favorite Spots

I decided to move back down to the bottom of the north braid and fish back up. This water is generally tough with very skittish fish and that proved to be the case on Friday. The water was slower and shallower so I clipped off the nymphs and tied on a hopper and beadhead RS2 initially. Several small fish refused the hopper, so I decided to remove the RS2 and try a gray deer hair caddis. This combination didn’t produce and more fish began to rise sporadically. Toward the top of the long pool I spotted quite a few rising fish including one that appeared to be of decent size. I also spotted a green drake or two tumbling off the surface. Dang, the green drakes were emerging before my new flies arrived. I had four green drakes in my front pack.

One was a comparadun using gray olive sparkle yarn as a body, but tied on a regular size 12 hook. A second comparadun had an olive body with maroon ribbing, and this one also seemed to be undersized. The other two were parachute style green drakes with white split wings that I purchased at the Conejos River. I tried the sparkle yarn comparadun first and landed a small brown in the faster current at the head of the pool. However the nicer brown across and down inspected but would not take this fly. I tried the olive/maroon rib fly and received the same disrespect. The purchased parachute drakes didn’t even draw a look.

In frustration I gave up on the selective brown and climbed back to the road and headed back to the car. I added a fleece under my raincoat at lunchtime, and I was still comfortable in these multiple layers. I circled back down below the car and crossed out the upstream scrawl in the gravel and drew an arrow pointing downstream. I returned to the nice brown that was visible from the road that refused my offerings earlier. As I stood and watched several fish rose near the brown and then the brown zipped from the bottom to the top and inhaled an emerging green drake. At least I knew what this guy was eating.

I tied the sparkle yarn undersized comparadun back on my line and pushed the deer hair wing back as hard as I could to make it nearly upright and fanned out the hair. Much to my surprise on the fourth or fifth drift the brown rose and took in my fly. I played and landed number eight and took a photo before releasing it back into its lair. Next I decided to walk to the bottom of the narrow island at the top of the long run and probe the small pockets on either side. I had just descended the bank and was preparing to fish when I spotted a black Nissan Rogue passing on the road. That was Dan’s car so I scrambled up the bank and met the rest of the family. Apparently Jane was a bit miffed as I appeared to be more excited to get my rod and fly box than to see them.

Nice Brown Landed on Green Drake

Dan decided to stay and fish while Jane and Amy took his keys and returned to Basalt and then drove south to Aspen. I quickly extracted four or five of the new comparaduns and hooked them in my front pack patch while Dan grabbed his fishing gear and prepared to fish. I returned to the bottom of the island and with the first cast of the newly minted drake landed a fish. The next fifteen minutes were magical as I landed another three browns before Dan descended to join me. I tied one of the new green drakes on his line. We were both now just below the pool where I’d caught the nice brown earlier and there were quite a few fish rising above and between us. I also noticed an increased number of PMD’s hovering above the riffles.

Dan Joins for Late Afternoon Fishing

In a short amount of time Dan shot a cast upstream and hooked and landed a nice fish on the green drake. Perhaps the fly box had arrived in the nick of time. But as I cast to risers I no longer received the confident slurp that I’d experienced fifteen minutes prior and neither did Dan. I switched to a gray comparadun (money fly) and landed a 13 inch brown at the lip of the pool between Dan and me. Dan was working up along the bank and not getting any action on the green drake so I eventually converted him to the money fly as well.

Dan's Very Nice Colorful Rainbow

When we’d fished out the decent water in this area, I suggested we go up the road to the top of the island and see if fish were rising there. Sure enough we spotted several risers close to the bank at the top of the left channel, and I gave Dan the water and encouraged him. Eventually he landed a nice rainbow that rose in the seam below a large rock above the island.

It was now getting late in the day, probably 4PM or later and the shadows were covering the south half of the river so I suggested we walk up the road and check out the big pool at MM12. Two fishermen were in the long wide pool at the big pullout and bend, but there was a bunch of wide open water in the cascading riffles above the bend pool. Dan began casting to the riffles and I went downstream a short distance to the long eddy behind the rectangular rock that protrudes into the river. I stayed low and crept out on the rock and spotted at least three nice fish facing downstream into the eddy as the current reversed and came back along the bank to the rock.

Largest Brown of Year for Dave

One of the fish was rising deliberately so I carefully fluttered the comparadun into the eddy. On the second cast as it drifted back toward me and the rock, a beautiful brown rose calmly and sipped it in. I played it quickly and landed and photographed probably the largest brown I caught in 2011. After releasing the big guy, I returned to Dan and watched him cast and receive a few refusals. At around 4:30 I suggested that we return to the rock and see if the fish had returned to their feeding stations.

We both crawled out on the rock and picked out at least three nice fish in feeding positions. I gave Dan the position farthest out on the rock to get a better angle. Dan sight fished to the fish and over the next half hour landed two nice fish and hooked and lost a third. It was very exciting to watch Dan place his casts and then see the fish rise and take his offerings. Dan ended up with five trout landed, several quite nice, in two hours of fishing.

Dan Shows Another Fine Rainbow

Time: 1:00PM – 5:30PM

Location: Area between mile marker 12 and dirt road that crosses the river below the dam

Fish Landed: 11

Frying Pan River 09/15/2011 Photo Album

Amy was visiting us for a week so we planned a family camping trip for Thursday – Sunday. We chose Ruedi Reservoir as our destination as this would give me a chance to fish in the Frying Pan River, and there are several hiking trails in the area that we enjoy.

I packed the Santa Fe and took off by 8:45AM on Thursday morning. After stopping for gas along I70 and lunch in Glenwood Springs, I arrived along the upper Frying Pan River and was on the water fishing by 1PM. On my drive it began to rain in Glenwood Canyon and continued off and on until I parked along the river. When I began fishing it was raining quite hard and this would continue until around 4PM when the clouds broke and the sun appeared in partly cloudy skies.

I had tied six new green drake comparaduns on Wednesday evening before dinner and I was eager to give them a try. I modeled them after one that I purchased on the Conejos River; however, they were sparser as I did not add the dense hackle behind the wing that characterized the purchased model. I did however use crinkled moose mane for the tail and matched the abdominal color and ribbing exactly as well as the size of the fly. I searched through my fishing bag for the green fly box where I stored the new green drakes. Alas it wasn’t there. I’d left it behind on my fly tying desk in the loft. Next I looked for my four piece Sage 4 weight rod, my favorite rod for the Frying Pan. Apparently that continued to reside in my garage. Fortunately I had my Loomis five weight and Scott six weight, so I could still fish.

I parked fairly high up on the upper Frying Pan River near the road that crosses the river and provides parking for fishing right below the dam. I walked down the road quite a ways until I encountered another fisherman and slid down the bank in the rain 50 yards upstream. The flows were at 300, and this is somewhat high for this fairly narrow stream bed. This meant the holding spots for trout were fewer than at lower flows.

Nice Rainbow from Frying Pan River on Thursday

I began fishing with a Chernobyl ant and beadhead hares ear and caught a nice rainbow on the Chernobyl in short order. As I worked upstream a lack of action caused me to switch to nymphing with a beadhead pheasant tail and RS2. I managed to catch a brown on the RS2 before all manner of hardship descended upon me. First I wrapped the flies around the tip of a long branch that arched out over the river. It was impossible to retrieve these flies, so I broke them all off. The leader separated at the last knot attached to the tapered leader, and I’d broken it off enough times that the end diameter was getting quite thick.

Against my better judgment because of my eagerness to fish, I tied on new sections of tippet to the tapered leader and then added split shot, indicator, and two flies. In short order I got hung up on a stick or rocks and when I gently jerked the rod to free them, the entire set of flies broke off again at the first knot. Now I decided I needed to replace the entire tapered leader. During the process of unraveling the tapered leader, I created a bird’s nest again through impatience. I probably spent at least an hour messing with my leader and knot tying and not fishing.

Frying Pan Brown Trout

I eventually worked through this and landed three medium sized fish on the nymphs; one on the pheasant tail and two on the RS2. It became apparent why the RS2 was producing as I began to observe BWO’s mixed with a few PMD’s. This occurred around 3PM, and I switched over to a CDC BWO and landed three on this fly in the pouring rain. Even under dry conditions it takes me awhile to dry the CDC wing and fluff it up, but during the steady rain this became an even more difficult chore.

Another Fine Rainbow from Frying Pan

The rain ended at around 4PM and this created a brief flurry of PMD emergence. I switched to the gray comparadun (money fly) and landed two above the car. When I ran out of decent stream to fish above the car, I walked back down the road to the open riffle area above mile marker 12 and by this time most of the fishermen had quit for the day so space was available. I landed a twelve inch rainbow in this area on a gray caddis.

Looking Upstream Near Dam

On the day I landed eleven trout and the largest was perhaps thirteen inches, but I caught three or four of these.

Time: 12:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Between MM12 and MM13 the downstream border of public water

Fish Landed: 22

Frying Pan River 10/01/2010 Photo Album

Change is constant in fly fishing. Having fished the Pan on Thursday, I thought I had it all figured out for Friday. Since we’d only been there for a half day, I asked Bill and Judy if I could stay another evening at Bachelor Gulch and return to the Frying Pan on Friday. They agreed, so I was 1.5 hours away from Basalt for another day of fly fishing on the Frying Pan River. Friday was similar to Thursday with a clear blue sky and no clouds to be seen. The high temperature was probably in the mid-70’s. I left Bachelor Gulch at around 10AM and stopped for gas and a Subway sandwich along my way. The rest of the group planned to play tennis at the tennis center, and then drive to Boulder to begin the weekend festivities.

I arrived at my destination along the Frying Pan by 11:30 and quickly munched down my Subway sandwich and lunch on a streamside rock. I was confident that I’d seen what was going on Thursday, and I’d catch a bunch of fish on Friday. This would turn out to be true, but the path to success was different than my expectations. The first thing I noticed was that more fishermen were on the water on Friday. I parked in the same spot where the guide parked on Thursday, and there was a fisherman below me. I jumped in 20 yards above him at a spot where the river fanned out a bit, and I had 30 yards of open water before another fisherman was visible.

Downstream View of Frying Pan on Friday

I expected another hatch of small mayflies so I decided to fish nymphs with an indicator. I formed a theory that the deep indicator method is more effective for nymphs during a hatch as the nymphs exhibit more movement as they bounce along the riverbed and portray more movement when lifted from the water or when swinging from a deeper starting point at the end of the drift. I tied on a beadhead hares ear and below that an RS2, then added a split shot and strike indicator.

Beadhead Hares Ear

Baetis Nymph

I began flicking the nymphs directly upstream and also up and across and covering the typical water that holds trout. My success was immediate. Over the next two hours, I picked up 13 trout of medium size fishing the nymphs in this manner. In nearly every deep slot or pocket and even in some fairly shallow spots, I hooked at least one trout. Eventually I moved within a couple of riffles of the fisherman above me, but not close enough to affect his fishing. He continued moving upstream at approximately the same pace that I was moving. I thought that perhaps I shouldn’t fish the water that he recently disturbed, but gave it a try anyway, and didn’t really seem to see much impact. He looked down a few times when my rod was bent with a fish.

Thistle Flower

At 2PM I reached a point where the stream narrowed and the current became quite forceful. I retraced my steps downstream to a point where I could cross back to the road, and then I walked up the road to another nice spot where the river widened a bit. Unfortunately this area contained 4-5 fishermen spaced out pretty evenly, so there wasn’t room for another. I went back downstream and fished a 30 yard section where the river was channeled next to the road with a high bank. This was definitely not as desirable as other areas, but there were some nice deep pockets and slots along the bank that I prospected with the nymphs. Unfortunately other than a hook up and early release at the start, the stretch proved to be unproductive.

It was now around 2:30PM and the hatch had ended and fishing slowed perceptibly. I decided to drive downstream to the lower edge of the public water below the dam and see if fishermen were also in that area. I parked in my usual spot for this stretch and hiked to the pool where two large fallen trees span the river to an island. Amazingly there weren’t any fishermen in this area. I still had my nymphs on the line, so I began prospecting the tail area and hooked a decent rainbow in short order from behind a large rock next to the bank just above my position. I moved out a bit toward the middle of the tail and experienced a momentary hook up as the nymphs swept past a rock across and below me. As I turned to shoot a cast up and across, I spotted a plastic object floating on the surface. I quickly guessed it was a fly box, so I clutched my wading staff and quickly but carefully worked my way over to the bottom of the pool just above the point where some of the water spills to the small far channel that bends around the island. I reached down and snared the fly box. It was one of the cylindrical boxes used by Taylor Creek when you purchase flies. I glanced at it and stuffed it in my front pack. I could check it out later.

Contents of Floating Fly Box Found

I moved back toward the left center of the pool facing upstream and continued casting my nymphs. By now it was a bit after three and most of the pool and run were in shadows. I began to notice sporadic rises, and as I cast the frequency picked up until a couple fish up and to my left were rising in a fairly regular rhythm. Once again the Frying Pan River was going to deal me a serving of good fortune.

I reeled up my line and stared at the water for a couple minutes, but I couldn’t see any dense form of food that would explain these regularly rising fish. Without any evidence to select a fly, I guessed based on the time of year and time of day that the trout were feeding on a sparse hatch of blue wing olives or baetis. I tied on a CDC BWO with a light olive body and cast it directly upstream where I’d seen one of the fish rising. I couldn’t see my fly so lifted it to create movement in hopes I could spot it. Much to my surprise, there was weight on my line, and I played a nice 12 inch brown to my net. I used my shirt to sop up the moisture from the fly and dried it and fluffed the wing and tossed another cast up and to my left. Once again I had difficulty following the fly in the glare, but I saw a rise where I estimated my fly was, and set the hook, and I was attached to another nice brown trout. This put my fish count at 16, and these fish were nicer than any that I’d caught earlier in the day up closer to the dam.

Solid Rainbow

Fat Brown Trout Caught Early in Hatch

The next hour would prove to be another highlight of my summer of 2010. I moved to my left as I felt I could follow the tiny BWO when casting from left to right. By now fish were rising all over the place and I could see occasional naturals drifting and fluttering on the surface. My imitation looked like a small piece of gray lint, not very unlike the naturals. But as more fish rose and more natural competition appeared, my fly became less desirable and I noticed quite a few refusals. In the process of false casting vigorously to dry the CDC wing, I snapped it off. I tied on another one but with a denser wing and slightly darker larger body. This fly was universally rejected, and I was beginning to despair. I selected a tiny one from my foam pocket with a sparse CDC wing, and as I was tying it to my line, I heard a voice from the street behind me, “Yo. Do you mind if I wade across at the tail and fish the other side?” I replied, “Go ahead” and refocused on attaching my tiny CDC BWO.

The small sparse CDC BWO began to produce. I picked up a pair of chunky medium size fish, one brown and one rainbow on the third BWO imitation I’d tried. I moved up along the bank so that I was now casting directly across or perpendicular to the main current and doing a curve cast or instant mend and fishing mostly downstream to the 8-10 rising fish in front of me right at the point where the main current in the middle of the river fanned out into a nice riffle and pool. Meanwhile I kept glancing downstream and the gentleman with white hair and a ball cap who had accosted me from the road, had waded in to the river five feet and was working on his line with his back to me. He must have been in this position for at least 15 minutes while I was catching the couple fish described.

This CDC BWO Took Six Nice Trout Late Friday Afternoon

He looked like the general in White Christmas, and I envisioned him as a retired military officer who was an intense expert fly fisherman. I refocused on my fishing and the risers now that I discovered a fly that was producing. I noticed there were 4 or 5 fish casually rising and sipping perhaps 20 feet across from me. As I had a side view, I could tell these were larger fish. I began working curve casts straight across with a couple mends and one of the larger fish rose right when the fly began to drag a tiny bit at the downstream end of the drift. Would this fish rise again? I shot a couple more casts and drifted the same lane. On the second cast, the large fish emerged and sipped in my fly. The fight was on, and I eventually coaxed a beautiful fat rainbow into my net. It spanned my new longer net from tip to tail.

Beauty with BWO in Corner of Lip

As I was working to photograph and release this prize the white haired fisherman declared, “Nice fish. What did you get him on?” I replied, “A tiny blue winged olive”. He was now across and 10-15 feet downstream from me.

I quickly worked to soak the water out of the fly and refluff the CDC wing. When I had the fly in working order, I shot a cast across and above where the rainbow had materialized. Meanwhile the general was now facing toward me and still working at tying on a fly or untangling a line. It didn’t take long after landing the fine rainbow before a trout tipped up and sipped in the BWO. The fight was on and this guy dove and shook and flashed all the characteristics of a brown. Eventually I brought the brown to my net and it was a beauty and comparable in size to the previous rainbow. My new fishing companion couldn’t contain himself, and yelled, “It’s hard to stand over here and watch you catch these nice fish.” I replied that his fly was barely on the water.

Finally the general was ready to fish. While I worked my fly to dry and fluff it, he finally shot a cast upstream and it didn’t take long before he hooked up with a fish. The fish didn’t appear to be that large when it came near the surface, but it took him down to the tail of the pool where he waded downstream and eventually netted it. At this point he announced that he foul hooked it. Next he asked me what size leader I was using. I replied 5X. He seemed to be in disbelief. I was back in business and made some shorter casts to nearer regular risers and landed a 10 inch brown. I glanced over at my companion and I saw him lift his fly in a hook set motion and almost simultaneously a fish rose next to his fly. I asked if the fish went for his fly, and he said he could not hear me over the roar of the river. But shortly afterward, he mentioned that he broke his fly off and he was using 7X! I was catching fish with my tiny BWO on 5X, and he was breaking off flies with his fine 7X.

Castle View

The hatch was beginning to wane, and I managed to bring a 22^nd fish to net while the new friend continued to work on his fly and line. The fish near me nearly stopped rising, and now most of the risers were further away from me on the opposite side where I had difficulty getting a good drift due to the intervening currents. The other fisherman was in perfect position to cast upstream to these fish. The stream was now totally covered in shadows, and I was feeling quite chilled standing in the icy flows with just my fishing shirt for warmth. I decided to leave the nice rising fish for my friend and go back to the car for my fleece. But after I climbed the bank and walked back to the car, I looked at my watch and noticed it was 5PM, and I had a 3.5 hour drive ahead of me, so I elected to call it quits.

I removed my waders and broke down my rod and climbed in the car. I did a U turn and rolled down my window to possibly say something to the other fisherman as I drove by. I assumed he now had the pool all to himself with some risers still entertaining him. As I approached the spot where I’d been fishing I looked down and no one was there. In the course of the hour or so that he was near me, I didn’t see him make more than five casts!

Golden Cottonwoods

But what an unexpected treat the late afternoon proved to be. I landed 9 fish mostly bigger and stronger than the first 13 including the two 15+ inch bruisers. It was another epic day on the Frying Pan. 

Time: 1:30PM – 5:00PM

Location: Between MM12 and MM 13

Fish Landed: 14

Frying Pan River 09/30/2010 Photo Album

While attending my nephew’s wedding in Houston, TX in early May, one of my brother-in-law’s friends approached me and asked if I would go fishing with him when they came to Colorado at the end of September to attend the CU vs. UGA college football game. I replied that I’d love to. As the date approached, I contacted my brother-in-law, Bill, and found out that they were staying at their Ritz Carlton time share at Bachelor Gulch near Beaver Creek. I considered the Eagle River, Frying Pan River, Roaring Fork and Yampa River. The Eagle is a freestone river, and I have not experienced much success there late in the season when the flows are low, so I ruled this out for novice fishermen even though it was very convenient.

I’ve had great success on the Frying Pan in September and October with decent hatches on the tailwater, so I recommended this as our destination. I called Taylor Creek Fly Shop and made reservations for guided wade fishing the Frying Pan River for the two Georgia fishermen for September 30. Eventually we changed the reservation to ½ day to better accommodate their schedules and Bill’s late arrival on Wednesday night.

Bill and Jeff Eat Lunch in Basalt

I drove to the Ritz Carlton after work on Wednesday and hung out with Jeff and his wife Gail and my sister-in-law Judy and ate dinner at the Ritz Carlton. The girls arranged to rent bikes in Glenwood Springs and bike Glenwood Canyon while we fished, and then we would all meet at the Riverside Café next to the fly shop at the end of the day. I drove Jeff and Bill to Basalt in the minivan, and we grabbed a tasty lunch at Val’s Gourmet Deli. Bill and Jeff met their guide Ollie at 12:45, and I followed the guide’s car to a pullout along the Frying Pan between MM12 and MM13. I left Bill and Jeff in good hands with the guide and hiked along the road a ways upstream where I entered the river and began fishing.

Jeff and Bill Ready to Fish Frying Pan River

It was 1:30PM by the time I began casting. Initially I tied on a green drake comparadun hoping that they were still hatching, and that I could pound up some fish on the large visible fly. This worked in the first pocket as I landed a small brown, but as I continued fishing, it didn’t receive any more interest. I spotted some small mayflies in the air, so I added an RS2 dropper. This produced a few fish, but the green drake kept sinking as it absorbed water, so I clipped it off and tied on a Chernobyl ant, then a beadhead hares ear, then the RS2.

The BWO hatch intensified between 2 and 3:30PM, and I picked up medium sized browns and rainbows during this time period primarily on the RS2. At one point, I noticed some sporadic rises, so I switched to a CDC BWO. I landed one fish, but noticed more refusals than takes, so I went back to the triple fly set up with the RS2 on the point. During the period of hatching activity, I landed 7 trout as six grabbed the RS2 and one liked the beadhead hares ear. When the action slowed, I decided to return to the spot where I’d left Bill and Jeff with the guide.

Deeply Colored Brown

Jeff Works the Water

Ollie Instructs Bill on Backhand Cast

They were still near their starting point, but on the opposite bank. I snapped a photo of each of them then proceeded downstream 30 yards or so and worked my way back up to their position. I landed five additional trout over the remainder of the afternoon up until 5PM. The average size of these fish was larger than the early afternoon fish. The largest fish was a brown that fell to the Chernobyl ant. I also landed two on the beadhead hares ear, and the last two succumbed to a light gray caddis and a light yellow caddis.

Nice Brown Landed by Dave on Chernobyl

Dave Shows His Catch

Jeff, Dave and Bill

Judy and Gail arrived at around 4:15 and watched as Bill and Jeff finished their day. As Bill and Jeff cautiously waded back to the roadside with assistance from Ollie, I worked my way up to a position in front of Judy. I also noticed a couple unrelated to our group was sitting on a rock next to the stream observing the action. When I was directly in front of Judy, I spotted three trout stacked up in a nice slot behind a boulder. I clipped off the three fly set up and tied on a light gray comparadun as I spotted a few light colored mayflies in the air and on the water. This got inspected but refused. I also observed some caddis dapping on the surface, so next I tried a light yellow size 16 deer hair caddis. On the fifth cast directly behind the rock, the lead trout rose and sipped in my fly. I set the hook and landed a fine brown trout in front of the fans. On that note I called it quits and drove the guys back to the fly shop in Basalt. After they’d returned their equipment, we all met at the Riverside Café next door to the fly shop for appetizers and drinks, and then we strolled to the main street of Basalt and ate dinner at Barnard’s. 

Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Location: Across from spring then island area below mile marker 12

Fish Landed: 18

Frying Pan River 09/05/2010 Photo Album

On Sunday morning Jane and I packed up the tent and all our camping gear early. Jane wanted to get back to Denver early, so we drove to the spring along the Frying Pan together where Jane filled her water bottle and departed for home. I planned to fish the Frying Pan on Sunday and return later, so I parked at the spring and prepared to fish across from the spring in the morning. I tied on a parahopper and beadhead hares ear then RS2 and waded below the line of trees between the road and river. I fished the pocket water then worked my way across and covered some attractive runs along the south bank. I couldn’t entice any action over the following 1.5 hours, so I waded back to the road and drove back toward the dam at around 11:30.

Spring Along the Frying Pan River

The upper Frying Pan appeared to be quite crowded on Sunday, with fishermen occupying all the nice locations. I hoped to fish the long run at the western boundary of the public water, but several fishermen occupied this desirable location. In addition a family with a guide was entrenched above the long run in the pool area next to the pullout. I decided to eat my lunch and observe the river for openings. While sitting on the bank, I could see the family and guide below me. I also spotted a medium size brown in a narrow slot between some heavy current and the bank right in front of me.

When I resumed fishing, I floated my three fly combination through the slot where I ate lunch and momentarily hooked the brown I’d observed. I concluded I could work my way upstream from that point and fish the obscure slots and pockets at the bottom of the island and then head up the right channel and see if any fishermen occupied the sweet pool below the large cube rock at the head. I landed four small brown trout in the pocket water below the island and then on the lower end of the right channel around the island. I was amazed to discover no fishermen in the nice run and pool below the large rock, so I positioned myself at the tail. I expected another fisherman or two to come crashing through the willows at any time, but it never happened.

Cube Rock Pool on Sunday

Initially I spotted some fish toward the tail of the pool and attempted to entice them with the hopper/dropper then switched through a number of flies. But it didn’t take long before some hatching action commenced at around 1:15 or 1:30. There were some clouds in the sky, but it was mostly sunny with gusty winds coming into play occasionally. I was anxious to try the new flies I’d purchased, so I prospected with both before any real hatch activity got underway. I received a couple refusals, but concluded the fish weren’t interested since they hadn’t seen enough naturals yet. When the green drake imitations didn’t work, I switched to the red-olive comparadun that I use to imitate the red quills. I was assuming that these mayflies would appear first. I managed to land a small brown on this fly along the left side of the pool, but the red quills never materialized as they did on Thursday closer to the dam.

Red Quill Comparadun Caught One

In early May I experienced two fantastic days of fishing on the Arkansas River when I encountered the fabled caddis hatch. The next couple hours on the Frying Pan represented a third highlight of the 2010 season. The green drakes began to emerge in earnest at around 1:30. I spotted two rises next to a medium size rock along the left bank. I tossed the purchased flies in this area, but received no attention. What should I do now? The new killer flies weren’t working. I reverted back to the comparaduns that disappointed me on Thursday. I tied on the comparadun with the dark olive sparkle yarn body and fluttered it down to the place where the fish had risen. It worked. I hooked and landed a medium size brown. Next I spotted a single rise in the nervous water at the tail of the riffle where it entered the pool. I popped the comparadun into the riffles and as it floated through the sweet spot it was engulfed by a large mouth. I played the brown and eventually landed it. This brown had a huge hook jaw and measured the length of my net opening, but the hook was embedded awkwardly in the hooked jaw, and when I used my hemostats to remove, broke the point off.

Nice Chunky Brown

For some inexplicable reason, I replaced the olive sparkle yarn comparadun that had just caught two nice fish with a different comparadun. This fly had an exaggerated tall deer hair wing and an abdomen constructed with an olive dubbing and maroon thread ribbing. As it worked out, this proved to be a stroke of genius. I moved up above the pool to the top of the island. There were at least ten juicy deep pockets in this area and I fully expected to bump into other fishermen, but it never happened. The next hour in this area was magical. I cast the comparadun to the pockets and held my rod high so the line didn’t touch the water and introduce drag. In nearly every pocket, one or two fish would magically appear and inhale the green drake that was easily visible with the high wing. It is hard to describe the feeling of confidence one gets when there is a good hatch, and the fisherman has found the imitation that the fish take with confidence. I landed eight trout in this manner, half browns and half rainbows, and the fish were averaging 13 inches in length but well fed and chunky.

Once I’d exhausted all the nice pockets and tasty water at the top of the island I circled back down the road to the car and added a few more of the maroon ribbed comparaduns to my patch. Next I noticed no fishermen in the smaller left channel between the island and the road, so I decided to give that area a test.

Pretty Rainbow

I dropped down the bank to the bottom of the left braid. This water was smoother and slower than the water above, and the green drake wasn’t producing so I switched to a light gray comparadun. My theory was that the pale morning duns generally prevail in late to mid-afternoon after the intense green drake hatch. This proved to be a valid theory, and I landed an additional four trout as I worked my way up the left channel to the top of the island again. The last two were very nice chunky fish, one a brown and one a rainbow that sipped in the light gray dun with confidence in the last two small pools at the top of the channel. I had spotted the rainbow from the top of the island and made several efforts to entice it with casts from above. In this case the upstream presentation worked.

When I reached the top of the island I fished my way up through the fast channel with the light gray dun. I covered the slack water along the edge, but didn’t have any luck. I skirted the bend pool at mile marker 12 and dropped back down to the river above the large flat rock where I’d caught some nice fish last summer. The rock creates a long eddy where you actually have to get on the rock and cast downstream so the eddy brings the fly back toward the rock. I spotted a couple decent fish rising as I walked by on the road, but once I got in position lying on the flat rock, I couldn’t bring any of the fish to the top for my fly. It was now 4PM so I decided to call the day a success and begin the four hour drive back to Denver. 

Time: 12:00PM – 1:00PM

Location: Run at downstream border of public water below dam where two fallen trees span the river

Fish Landed: 3

Frying Pan River 09/03/2010 Photo Album

As I drove back down the road to beyond the dam, I passed Jane on her way to the campground from Denver. I turned around to tell her our campsite number, and she suggested that I needed to quit fishing at 1PM so we could drive to the festival and park and find our way around. This meant I’d have virtually no hatch time on Friday.

I decided to drive to the bottom edge of the public water below the dam and try nymphing the juicy run in that area. I’d eat my lunch when I got back to the campground. I tied on a beadhead hares ear on the top, and then a beadhead pheasant tail on the bottom and began casting three quarters upstream and working the tail of the run. On one of the swings near the tail a small brown nailed the BHHE.

I noticed a couple early green drakes struggling on the surface and followed one to the point where a trout emerged from under the log at the very tail and slurped it in. This prompted me to remove the nymph rig and tie on a green drake comparadun. I cast the dry and gave it a downstream drift to the point where I’d seen the trout rise to a natural. Sure enough it happened again, but this time the brown fell for my fake green drake.

I crossed 2/3 of the way across the tail and then waded up a bit to the far side of where the center current fanned out around some submerged boulders. This was nice deep water that I knew held decent fish. Once again I spotted a solitary rise on the other side of the center current. I cast repeatedly while mending my line to avoid drag from the strong center current. After perhaps 10-15 casts, a rainbow rose and snatched my green drake. It was now 1PM, so I quickly waded back to the more shallow tail and crossed back to the bank and road.

Jane and I enjoyed the concert immensely on Friday. People-watching the entire Aspen crowd was almost as interesting as the music. It was quite hot in the late afternoon sun, but by the time Wilco emerged on the stage, we were putting on our ski caps, gloves and multiple layers.

Devotchka on the Stage

The next morning after breakfast, Jane and I packed all our hiking belongings into the RAV and drove out the road that parallels the upper Frying Pan and then does switchbacks on an old railroad bed to the trailhead for a hike to Lyle Lake and Mormon Lake. We’d done this hike numerous times, and Jane wanted to accomplish it as a milestone after her hip replacement surgery. She did it, but did experience some soreness over the last .5 miles.

Dave Rests on Steep Ascent

Numerous Trout Rose Behind Dave at Mormon Lake

After the hike we drove back to Basalt to buy some ice. I stopped at the Taylor Creek Fly Shop and bought six green drake dry flies since I wasn’t happy with the effectiveness of my comparaduns on Thursday, and I planned on spending Sunday on the Frying Pan again. After buying the flies, Jane and I had drinks and appetizers at the Riverside Bar and Grill next to the Frying Pan River in Basalt.

Jane Relaxes at Riverside by Frying Pan

Purchased Green Drake Slayer

Purchased Green Drake Fly

Time: 10:00AM – 11:30AM

Location: Thomasville lime kilns to bridge

Fish Landed: 7

Upper Frying Pan River 09/03/2010 Photo Album

Friday was Jane’s birthday, and she would be arriving around noon and then we planned to attend the Aspen Snowmass Jazz Festival. The first band performed at 4PM, the second at 6PM and Wilco, the main act, at 8PM. I assumed we would need to leave by around 3PM, and I could fish until 2PM. This would allow me to experience the early phase of the hatch assuming it materialized similar to Thursday.

I formulated a plan to fish the upper Frying Pan above Ruedi Reservoir in the morning while the water below the dam was still cold, then reverse tracks and hit the tailwater from noon until 2PM. It almost worked this way. I drove along the reservoir then up the road along the stream through Meredith and Thomasville. I parked at a large wide pullout across from the Thomasville lime kilns. After putting on my waders and stringing my rod, I scrambled down the steep bank next to the pullout and was on the water just a little past 10AM. I tied on a green body elk hair caddis trailing a beadhead RS2 to begin. This combination was on my line from the end of the previous day. This drew two refusals, so I clipped both flies off and tied on a light gray deer hair caddis. This fly didn’t even prompt any refusals, so I clipped it off and added a yellow sally. The yellow sally received some attention with a refusal. As I was changing flies I was moving upstream through some pretty sweet water and knew there were fish ignoring my offerings.

Thomasville Lime Kilns

I decided I was being too fine, and tied on a Chernobyl ant trailing a beadhead hares ear. This proved to be my best combination. The Chernobyl ant brought two rainbows to the surface as I hooked and landed my first fish of the morning. Next I spotted a subtle rise on the right side a couple feet out from a rock along the bank. I flicked the combination so the nymph splashed down where the rise was observed, and bam, a brown snatched the nymph.

Nice Rainbow on Friday Morning

I continued moving upstream prospecting with the Chernobyl/BHHE and came to a long smooth pool. Within eight feet of the lip of the pool, a rainbow grabbed the trailing BHHE. The next juicy long pool came behind a cabin. 2/3 of the way up the pool I spotted a trout in the clear water and cast my flies in front of it. The rainbow tipped up and grabbed the Chernobyl, but shook free as I lifted and set the hook.

Sweet Pool on Upper Frying Pan

At the very top of the long pool the current ran against a rock ledge wall on the far side. In the slack water on the near side of the current, I landed three browns on the BHHE as it slowly tumbled along the current seam. It was now approaching 11:15 so I looked for an exit route and quickly found a gap where I could scramble up the hill and then found the road and hiked back to the minivan. 

Time: 1:00PM – 5:00PM

Location: Around mile marker 13, below first bridge after dam spillway

Fish Landed: 15

Frying Pan River 09/02/2010 Photo Album

Jane’s birthday occurred on Friday of Labor Day weekend this year, and she ordered tickets for the Aspen Snowmass Jazz Festival at Snowmass ski area. The headline band that we both love was Wilco. I earned the job of driving to the Roaring Fork valley on Thursday and snagging a campsite for the weekend. I planned to fish on Thursday and Friday morning, and then we would attend the concert Friday, hike on Saturday and drive back to Denver on Sunday.

Frying Pan Rainbow on Thursday

I got off to a reasonably early start by 9:10AM and arrived at the pullout less than a mile below Ruedi Dam at around12:30PM. I chose to fish where Jeff Shafer and I began in August 2009. It was very sunny and bright when I entered the river, and the flows seemed high. The number of fishermen seemed to be down a bit, so I was concerned that fishing would be poor. Well I didn’t need to be worried. I began fishing a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear, and suffered several refusals to the hopper. But this didn’t last long before I began to notice mayflies on the water. Consistent with last summer, the first mayflies to appear were red quills. These mayflies are a size 14-16 with a maroon color abdomen with medium olive rib. The fish were having none of my red-olive comparadun, but after a bit of frustration, I switched to the light gray comparadun. This may have coincided with the start of PMD’s, but it worked. I landed four trout in the lower portion of the area where the stream gently flows toward the roadside bank. I then moved to the upper portion of the area, and landed another five on the light gray comparadun.

Lots or Rising Fish in This Area

While this was going on, green drakes began to pop and by 2PM they were emerging at a pretty rapid rate. Surely the fish must switch to these large morsels. I clipped off my productive light gray comparadun and tied on a green drake comparadun made with dark olive sparkle yarn. I worked the juicy riffles and pools for the next hour or so during the dense green drake hatch and managed to land three fish. I switched among three different colors of comparaduns, but I was dissatisfied with the productivity of my flies in spite of duping three fish. The natural duns were fluttering and tumbling on the surface of the water and appeared to be much larger than my comparaduns. I don’t know whether it was due to their actual size being larger or the constant motion portrayed more mass.

Dave's Green Drake Comparadun

The period between 1:30 and 3:30 was intense with red quills, green drakes and PMD’s overlapping. In addition to the variety of insects on the water, the wind would gust from time to time making the atmosphere even more chaotic.

When the drakes thinned out at around 3-3:30PM, I switched to a size 16 sulfur comparadun that I tied for Pennsylvania, and this produced three additional trout. The first one was landed at the very top of the stretch I fished in a big pool behind a large midstream boulder. The water above the boulder was fast and unattractive, so I exited the stream and hiked back down the road beyond the minivan to the area that receives heavy pressure from guides and their clients. By this time late in the afternoon, the guides departed, and I pretty much owned the shallow wide riffles where I’ve always caught fish. In this area I landed two eleven inch rainbows that tipped up and sucked in the sulfur comparadun.

Little Maud, No. 6

By 5PM insect activity died back, and I decided to drive up the road to Little Maud campground and secure a campsite for the busy weekend ahead. There were quite a few sites unoccupied, so I snagged number 6 and put up the tent and made dinner.