Time: 9:45AM – 3:20PM

Location: Tailwater below Reudi Reservoir

Frying Pan River 08/19/2025 Photo Album

Tuesday was likely my best day ever on the Frying Pan River. In fact, Tuesday may have been my best outing so far in 2025.

Pocket Water Deluxe

After a rough day on Monday amid ninety degree temperatures, I opted to visit the Frying Pan River tailwater below Reudi Reservoir. I suspected that the cold bottom releases were the perfect antidote to another day of heat. As an added bonus, green drakes and pale morning duns were probably menu items.

Coiled Muscle

I arrived early at my chosen pullout, and I assembled my Sage R8 four weight. I am in love with my newest fly rod, and I was confident that it carried enough backbone to handle the Frying Pan’s best. I hiked down the road along the river to my planned starting point, and as I neared my entry spot, I noticed a DPW stocking truck. Two employees were carrying buckets of trout to the river, so I paused to question their activity. One of the gentlemen informed me that they were stocking three inch rainbow fingerlings, as the brown trout were taking over the river by out populating the rainbows. He suggested that I cross to fish the opposite bank, so I adopted his advice.

Very Nice Brown Trout

I began the morning with a parachute green drake, but after fifteen minutes with no sign of trout, I changed my approach. I tested the green drake first in case the trout were aware of their presence similar to my experience on South Boulder Creek. For my next act, I configured my line with a size 8 pool toy hopper, a prince nymph and a salvation nymph. This lineup also failed to interest the fish, so I replaced the prince with a weighted 20 incher. Finally I generated a response, and the fish count mounted to four. Two of the four attacked the hopper, and the other two chomped the 20 incher. I moved to the weighted 20 incher in order to create deeper drifts, and also with the hope that it imitated a green drake nymph.

No Exit on Left

I persisted with the three fly dry/dropper for the remainder of the morning, and by the time I broke for lunch at 11:50AM, the count mounted to ten. The 20 incher was on fire. On several occasions trout grabbed the weighted nymph as soon as it hit the water at the head of a pool or pocket.

Lovely Cheek

I was ready for lunch, but the shoreline failed to offer any sort of rocks to perch on, so I squeezed through a narrow opening in the bushes and returned to my car. I was about to sit on the tailgate area, but then I decided to cross the road to some large flat rocks along the river. I observed the air above the river closely, but signs of a hatch were absent.

Moderate Flows Over Rocky Bottom Equals Trout Paradise

With this knowledge I stuck with the dry/dropper approach until 1:30PM. I returned to my exit point, and I continued up the river through very attractive sections with deep and slower moving bands along the bank. Suddenly the hopper became the object of desire, and I advanced the fish count to twenty-two, before I approached the section across from the car and my lunch spot. The twelve trout landed in the early afternoon were quality fish and included a sixteen inch rainbow that tested the mettle of my four weight. Some spunky brown trout in the thirteen to fourteen inch range were also part of the mix.

Lots of Possibilities

By 1:30PM I was positioned across from my car, and I spotted a couple natural green drakes. With the fish count resting on twenty-two, I was pleased with my day, so I decided to change tactics in response to the green drake sightings. I removed the three fly system, and I switched to a solo parachute green drake. Suddenly my day morphed from excellent to spectacular. The trout of the Frying Pan River slammed my green drake, and they took it with confidence. I tossed it to all the likely fish holding pockets, riffles and pools; and a high percentage of the time I was rewarded with a hard fighting trout.

Take Two on Wide Body

Zoomed Closer on the Brown Trout

These trout were mostly browns in the twelve to fifteen inch range, and they  battled extremely hard. If I could position myself out of sight, an across and downstream drift was effective, but upstream casts also worked their magic. All the browns sported deep olive bodies with dark black spots and orange dots along the sides. Quite a few displayed orange bellies indicating healthy diets.

A Brown Emerged from the Nook of the Eddy

I finally called it quits at 3:00PM in order to allow time to back track to a safe crossing point, and by that time the fish tally was forty-eight! Yes, I suspect it was a new Frying Pan record for myself, and the last twenty-six trout mauled a parachute green drake. I lost one and cut off another, so that I would not injure a fish that took it deeply. Three parachute green drakes were responsible for more than half of my landed trout.

Big Mouth

Tuesday could not have been more different than Monday. Cold bottom releases and insect activity made a huge difference.

Fish Landed: 48