Time: 10:30AM – 3:30PM

Location: Below Wolcott

Eagle River 07/03/2023 Photo Album

I did more lake fishing in June than I ever fished lakes during my entire fly fishing career. I was proud of my improvements in lake fishing knowledge and fish catching success, and I also enjoyed sampling some lakes that I never fished previously. However, as I scanned the stream and river flows in Colorado a couple days ago, I felt the urge to once again wet a line in moving water. Our trip to Creede, CO at the end of June coincided with the Yampa River flows falling to my preferred range of 1,000 CFS, so I missed out on one of my favorite annual trips to Steamboat Springs. I turned my attention to my other prime edge fishing destinations, the Eagle River and the Arkansas River.

The DWR chart for the Eagle River presented steadily dropping water levels, with the Avon gauge registering 1060 CFS and the gauge below Milk Creek in Wolcott displaying 1250 CFS. Judging from the slope of the curve, I estimated that the Eagle would drop below 1,000 CFS at Wolcott by Monday. The Arkansas River was rolling along at 1860 CFS, and the fly shop stream reports documented good edge fishing, although they mentioned stained water. The mention of poor clarity spooked me, and I targeted the Eagle River for Monday, July 3.

On Monday morning I revisited the DWR website, and I was disappointed to discover that the graphs for the Eagle and Arkansas Rivers showed a temporary leveling, and the Eagle flows remained very close to the numbers that I quoted above. My preference would be for 200 CFS less, but I concluded that I fished at the current levels before with some success, so I made the drive. I arrived at a roadside pullout by 10:00AM, and the temperature was in the low seventies. It was clear that Monday would be a hot day, but I decided to wear my waders, since I anticipated fighting through bushes, willows and thorny plants. My Sage One five weight was my rod of choice in order to handle the higher flows, wind, and larger than average fish. I cut off all my tippet extensions and constructed a new series with a section of 3X followed by 4X. This move was an effort to preempt bad knots or damaged tippet in the event that I connected with a large fish.

A Good Place to Begin

By 10:30 I was perched along the river at a spot, where the nice long slowing section of water filled the space between the bank and the main current. I selected an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl from my fly box and then added an olive-black Pat’s rubber legs and a 20 incher. I wanted large weighted flies to get deep in the morning session. Neither flies produced results in the first two prime locations, so I swapped the 20 incher for an emerald caddis pupa. The caddis pupa fooled a five inch brown trout, but it subsequently got replaced by a salvation nymph. Neither of these flies attracted the attention of the fish, so I changed flies once again. I replaced the Pat’s rubber legs with an iron sally, and I then swapped the salvation nymph for a beadhead hares ear. Finally, at the top of a churning pocket behind some exposed rocks, I spotted the flash of a fish and netted an eleven inch brown trout. I was on the board.

A Small Start

Willows in Water

I remained at one fish, when I broke for lunch along the flooded willows at 11:50PM. As I munched my sandwich, I observed the river, and I noticed the beginning of a sparse pale morning dun hatch. In addition, yellow sallies fluttered up over the river. I resumed casting the dry/dropper after lunch, but as I prospected a nice deep run, I spotted a very fine rainbow trout, as it rose to sip something from the surface. I was reluctant to reconfigure with dries after one random surface sip, but I was doing nothing with the nymphs, so I made the change. I tied on a size 14 yellow stimulator (stonefly) and then added a size 16 cinnamon pale morning dun. The once viewed rainbow never reappeared, but I did generate a few looks and refusals from some smaller fish.

Nice Length

Just a Bit Smaller Than the Rainbow

I moved on and fished the double dry for another ten minutes, but with no rising trout, it seemed rather futile at the elevated flows. I returned to a dry/dropper setup that featured a yellow fat Albert instead of the chubby Chernobyl, and behind the large foam fly I added the iron sally and a hare nation (PMD nymph imitation). The density of the fluttering PMD’s increased, but the trout were not feeding on the surface, so I concluded that nymphs might be the ticket. I plucked a size 18 pheasant tail nymph from my fleece wallet, and I replaced the hair nation nymph. Suddenly I had a hot fly, and between 1:00PM and 3:00PM I landed five additional trout. All the afternoon netted fish succumbed to the pheasant tail nymph or its close cousin, the PMD super nova. Between 1:00 and 2:00 the intensity of the hatch peaked, and this period coincided with my hottest action. Two of my prize catches were a rainbow and brown trout in the fifteen inch range, and these fish displayed excellent girth. A rainbow of thirteen inches also found my net, and the other two fish were rainbows of eleven inches. I also hooked and failed to land an excellent rainbow that fought valiantly and eventually maneuvered into the fast water and broke off all three flies. I lost a fat Albert, iron sally and pheasant tail nymph to the combative cold water fish, and I was not pleased.

Entering the River

Hooked My Cast Around the Branches

During the 1:00PM to 3:00PM time frame I probably connected with as many fish as I landed. All except the one that broke off my flies managed to toss the hook after a very brief hook up. Between 3:00 and 3:30 I approached a section that I refer to as the flats. The river widens and the left side features a wide riffle stretch with a water depth of two to three feet. I thought I saw a rise, so I removed the dry/dropper and tied a size 16 cinnamon comparadun to my line. Repeated drifts over the site of the rise failed to induce a response, so I added the yellow stimulator with the cinnamon comparadun on an eight inch dropper. Neither of these fly options coerced as much as a look, so I reeled in and quit for the day.

Cactus Flower

I would be fooling myself, if I did not admit that I was disappointed with Monday. Yes, I landed two very hefty trout, but six fish in 4.5 hours is a below average catch rate. Before the hatch activity, the trout languished in an inactive state. I suspect that the flows remained on the high side, the water temperature was cold, and it took longer to reach the prime range required for insect hatches and subsequent feeding. If I return to wade fish, I will deploy a deep nymphing rig for the morning session. I am scheduled for a guided float fishing trip on the Eagle River on Friday, and I expect conditions to be prime. Stay tuned.

Fish Landed: 6