Time: 11:00AM – 4:30PM
Location: Below Wolcott
Eagle River 07/10/2023 Photo Album
After a somewhat disappointing day on the Eagle River on 07/03/2023, I was anxious to return. I blamed the relatively low catch rate on the high flows, which rushed along at 1250 CFS below the Milk Creek tributary. I generally favor levels to be around 1,000 CFS at the lower gauge. The flows on Monday morning, July 10, 2023 were at 985 CFS, so I packed the car and made the drive.
I arrived at my chosen pullout at 10:30AM, and I pulled on my waders, gathered my gear and assembled my Sage One five weight. The temperature was in the seventies, and the high probably peaked in the mid-eighties. I completed a short hike to the river, and I was positioned to cast by 11:00AM. The flows were lower than I experienced on July 3 and July 7, but the river still rushed along at a rapid clip.
Lower Flows
Similar to my 07/03/2023 trip, the morning fishing was very slow, and I did not land my first fish until after lunch. I fished a dry/dropper rig for most of my time on the water except for a twenty minute period during the peak of the pale morning dun hatch, when I switched to double dries, after I observed a pair of rises. The move partially paid off, as I hooked a decent trout on the cinnamon comparadun, but it quickly charged into the fast water and shrugged off my nuisance fly.
Only Brown Trout
Pink Striped Beauty
During the morning I cycled through an olive-black Pat’s rubber legs, an iron sally, salvation nymph and a dark olive nymph with rubber legs. None of these flies met the standards of the resident fish. During the afternoon I fished a tan pool toy hopper on top and trailed an iron sally and traditional size 18 pheasant tail nymph. Of the eight fish landed via the dry/dropper, roughly half snatched the pheasant tail and the other half grabbed the iron sally. The catch rate never elevated to lukewarm status, but I did manage steady action in the time period after the heavy PMD emergence. Three of the trout that landed in my net were very fine rainbows in the thirteen to fifteen inch range, and one fifteen inch brown trout joined the mix. The other four landed trout were very feisty rainbows in the ten to twelve inch range. I counted my temporary hookups, and eight additional fish made contact with my flies but managed to slide free. Several very nice fish moved into the heavy current of the main river, and it did not take long before they chucked the hook and fled to freedom.
Promising Edge Water
Coiled to Jump
I suffered through more than the normal number of tangles, and the wind was an ever present nuisance. At one point I stepped on a muddy bottom, and my feet shot out and left my butt in the mud. Fortunately I was not hurt and the river did not spill over my waders. The abundant quantity of willow sticks that were wedged between rocks presented another annoying hassle to my day of fishing. In one case I was unable to extract my flies, and I ended up snapping off an iron sally and pheasant tail nymph. I abandoned tying size 18 pheasant tails in favor of super nova pale morning dun nymphs, but after experiencing success on the old classic pheasant tail, I may need to revise my tying program. After I snapped off the two flies, I replaced the pheasant tail with a super nova, but all the catches after that were attributable to the iron sally.
Long and Fast
I am planning another trip to the Eagle River on Wednesday, July 12, and I may now possibly target some sections farther upriver. During the float on Friday, it seemed like the hatch was denser in the Wolcott area, and more rising fish were visible.
Fish Landed: 8