Roaring Fork River – 03/20/2026

Time: 3:00PM – 5:30PM

Location: Near Carbondale, CO

Roaring Fork River 03/20/2026 Photo Album

I love exploring new water, and Friday was one of those days. Jane and I drove from Louisville, CO to Carbondale, CO on Thursday evening and checked into a hotel room. We reserved Thursday through Saturday nights, while we visited with daughter, Amy, on the weekend. Originally Friday was planned as a ski day, but high temperatures in the 80’s scuttled that plan. Instead we completed a two mile hike on the Marian Gulch Trail among intermittent mud and ice sections. We had two dogs to keep us company. After the hike we walked to Plosky’s Deli for sandwiches, and then I departed for the Roaring Fork River.

I debated between the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork, but flows of 41 CFS out of Ruedi Reservoir persuaded me to pass on the low water that probably required technical fishing. In addition, my late start made the closer Roaring Fork a more convenient option.

I arrived at my chosen parking lot, and as I prepared to fish, another angler arrived. He advised me to go downstream from the bridge to a pool that he just vacated. He offered that a blue wing olive hatch was in progress, but he also mentioned that there was another fisherman in place. I rigged my Sage One five weight, and the warm temperatures allowed me to simply wear my fishing shirt with no additional layers.

Promising Ahead

When I hiked down the path to the river, I peered under the bridge, and sure enough an angler was waded into the middle of the pool. I decided to adhere to my original plan, and I hiked for .3 mile upstream. I bypassed a long section of wide, shallow water, before I cut to the bank, where I noticed more depth. To begin I knotted a gray body chubby Chernobyl to my leader, and then I added a 20 incher and olive perdigon. These have been hot flies in recent spring outings.

I prospected some decent pockets and runs, but the fish did not cooperate. The flies were hanging up fairly frequently, so I swapped the 20 incher for a RS2 and moved the perdigon to the upper position. After quite a bit of casting through relatively attractive structure, I managed to land a twelve inch brown that snatched the perdigon. I also experienced a temporary connection, but for the most part my flies were ignored. I cycled through the RS2, a sniper baetis, and a crystal stone nymph, but none of those flies created interest.

Nice Moderate Depth and Velocity

I returned to the 20 incher as the top fly and placed the perdigon on the bottom, and still the fish showed no interest. By this time it was 4:30PM, and I approached the fast water that fed a nice pool and pockets, so I decided to hike back toward the bridge to cherry pick prime lies.

Mole Fly Produced

As it turned out, most of the intervening section was the unattractive wide and shallow area, so I arrived at a moderately attractive run above the bridge. A man was just exiting the river in wet shorts after taking a dip on the first day of spring, but he told me his swim was limited to a small deep spot next to the beach. I cast up the river to the attractive seam along the faster current, but once again futility was the result.

I gazed under the bridge and noted an angler in the pool, but it was a long section of slower moving water, so I gambled that I could fish the tail below the other fisherman. I crossed the road and found the path, and just as I was about to pass the other angler, he shouted that he was leaving, and I was welcome to his spot. I accepted his invitation and moved toward the upper one-third of the long pool.

Gorgeous

I noticed a few straggling mayflies, as they flitted about, and some sporadic rises resulted. I paused briefly to observe, and then I decided to migrate to a double dry approach. I removed the three fly dry/dropper and added a peacock hippie stomper trailing a size 20 mole fly on an eighteen inch dropper of 5X tippet. I tied a small batch of mole flies several weeks ago, since they were highly recommended by Charlie Craven, so I was anxious to give them a try.

Between 4:30PM and 5:30PM I cast this combination, and the results were gratifying. Initially I focused on sporadic rises near the midsection, but this was futile, and the downstream area was in a glare, so I waded to the tail for better visibility. Sure enough, when I stared across the pool, I could see more regular rises near the far bank. The river was shallow enough that I could wade beyond the middle of the pool and cast to the bottom corner. Much to my delight a pair of eighteen inch fish grabbed the mole fly. These were stunning wild and large fish, and I was transported into a state of euphoria. My confidence in the mole fly soared.

Fought Hard

The rises in the “corner” area slowed, so I turned my attention upstream. A splashy rise upstream and left of center caught my attention, so I fired a series of casts to the area, and on the third drift, a fourteen inch rainbow smacked the hippie stomper. I was incredulous.

The number of rises now slowed, so I decided to begin my exit. I crossed to the east bank, and as I began wading the shallows, I noticed three successive rises within a small area. I decided to make another attempt. On the fifth cast to the area of the rises, a bulge appeared near the hippie stomper, and I reacted with a swift hookset. Voila! I was connected, and a brief battle ensued, before I slid my net beneath a marvelous brown that approximated twenty inches. What a fish! It had the mole fly in its mouth. Perhaps Charlie is not exaggerating the effectiveness of his simple mole fly.

Fish of the Week

It was now 5:30 PM, so I called it a day, but some fairly regular feeding continued under the bridge near the far bank. I left these for another day. A day that began as a dud, evolved into a very rewarding outing, as I landed five trout and four sipped dry flies in the last hour of fishing. I missed the main hatch, but enough straggling baetis initiated sporadic feeding that allowed me to spot fish. The four trout landed on dries were all very fine wild specimen in the fourteen to twenty inch range. The last brown trout was quite the beast. I definitely found a new section of the river to explore more extensively.

Fish Landed: 5

South Platte River – 03/13/2026

South Platte River 03/13/2026 Photo Album

Two months in a row offering a Friday the 13th is a rare occurrence. Is the number thirteen lucky or unlucky? I tend to think it is bad luck, so was a day of fishing a good idea? After experiencing a stellar opener on Monday on the Arkansas River, I was excited to give fly fishing another try.

The weather forecast was mostly auspicious with a high in Denver in the seventies. Unfortunately, the fly fisherman’s four letter word, wind, was raising its ugly head. I checked out the weather in three possible destinations, and finally settled on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon. Why? The temperatures on the lower Arkansas were more favorable, but the wind was severe, and I knew from experience that wind in the wide open canyon running west to east was not something to confront. I briefly entertained the option of visiting the Eagle River, but the temperatures were in the low fifties, and wind was an existential factor there as well. Wind in Eleven Mile Canyon was expected to peak in the 14 – 16 MPH range, but I knew from previous trips that the river flows from north to south, and the canyon actually shelters the angler to some degree.

Very Pleased

I took my time and arrived at my chosen spot by 11:10. I discovered that the rates for entering the canyon were raised once again to $11, and I had the foresight to stash a pair of quarters that allowed me to pay my fee of $5.50 using my 50% senior discount. The temperature was 50 degrees, as I prepared to fish, so I pulled on my insulated long sleeve undershirt, light down North Face coat and my new raincoat as a windbreaker. These remained in place throughout the day.

Emerged from in Front of the Large Exposed Rock

Eleven Mile Canyon on this day had a completely different aura than Big Horn Sheep Canyon on Monday, and although I was hoping for a day that approached my opener, I immediately sensed that was not going to be the case. A fair amount of snow remained along the eastern banks, and the narrower canyon shaded much of the water in the morning and early afternoon. The air felt exceptionally dry as the wind whipped across the water.

Goodbye Rainbow

I rigged my Sage One five weight in order to combat the wind, and I hiked down the road a ways, until I encountered a very narrow section with whitewater chutes. That became my starting point. I rigged with an amber ice dub body chubby Chernobyl, a 20 incher and a silver bullet nymph. I began casting at 11:30AM, and by the time I broke for lunch at noon I netted two fine trout. The first was a fifteen inch brown that grabbed the stonefly imitation, as it swung in front of an exposed boulder. The fourteen inch rainbow emerged from a nice riffle of moderate depth, and it also snapped up the 20 incher. I was very encouraged by my thirty minutes of success in the morning.

Rainbow Was From This Run

After lunch I continued up the river prospecting with the dry/dropper, although I swapped the silver bullet for an olive perdigon. The sky continued to vary between large clouds and brief periods of sun, but the wind chill reinforced my decision to wear several layers.

Pointed Back

In the two hours after lunch I covered a significant amount of river real estate, and I managed to increase the fish count to four. One of the landed fish was a spunky thirteen inch rainbow, and the other was a thirteen inch brown trout. These fish preferred the olive perdigon, but I executed an abundant number of casts and carefully waded through quite a few very attractive pools and runs in order to net two trout. This was the slow going I expected, when I arrived and felt the winter-like conditions.

Nice Section Ahead

By 2:30PM I reached another whitewater chute area, so I exited and hiked back to the car and moved downstream .5 mile to an area that I was familiar with from some trips last summer. I liked the structure of the canyon in this locale, and I was convinced that it would yield better results.

Nice Chunk

It did. In the last hour, before I called it quits, I landed two nice trout in the thirteen inch range. One was a rainbow and one was a brown, and ironically they emerged from the same nice long pocket and run along the west bank. Both of these fish showed a preference for the olive perdigon. This bit of good fortune improved my confidence, so I persisted for another thirty minutes, but I once again experienced only futility.

Two Trout Came from This Area

Was Friday’s fly fishing an unlucky Friday the 13th outing? It was actually fairly decent for winter conditions in the early season. Did it match Monday? No, but Monday was surely an outlier for early March, and I did not expect a repeat. I will, however, keep my eye on the weather over the remainder of March and look for an opportunity to return to the Arkansas River. Another week or two of mild weather will probably elevate Eleven Mile and the Eagle River into consideration for March fishing trips.

Fish Landed: 6

 

Arkansas River – 03/09/2026

Time: 11:30AM – 4:00PM

Location: Big Horn Sheep Canyon

Arkansas River 03/09/2026 Photo Album

I wrapped up my fly tying, and with high temperatures forecast to reach the mid-70’s on Monday, March 9, 2026, I sought a destination for my maiden fly fishing outing of 2026. I did not have to search very far, before I settled on the Arkansas River in Big Horn Sheep Canyon. The flows were around 300 CFS and ideal for wading, and the high temperature was projected to be around seventy degrees. These were prime fishing conditions for September, not late winter.

With the recent time change in place, I did not plan to be on the river early, since 11AM was really comparable to 10AM temperature-wise under standard time. I departed Denver by 8:20AM, and this enabled my arrival at my chosen fly fishing destination by 11AM.

New Setup

For my first day of fly fishing in the new year, I was breaking in a new raincoat, sungloves and new eyes. New eyes you ask? This was my first attempt to fish following cataract surgery on both eyes in December. I had my distance vision restored to 20/20, but the offset to this was an inability to see up close without the aid of magnifiers. Consequently, I was sporting new non-prescription sunglasses and magnifiers that clipped on to the brim of my hat. I tested Clic readers, but the retainer on the Clic tangled with the retainer on my sunglasses. The clip-ons only cost $10, so I concluded that the experiment was cheap, and I could always default to dueling magnifiers. In fact, I stuffed the magnifiers in my backpack just in case. The eyewear conundrum also created a change to my headwear. My floppy wide-brimmed hat was not stiff enough to hold the clip-ons, so I opted for a billed baseball cap. How would all these changes work out? Stay tuned.

First Fish of the New Year

In addition to the equipment modifications, I tied quite a few new flies over the course of the winter, and I was anxious to break them in as well. I had two Lance Egan flies, the Frenchie and silver bullet. From Juan Ramirez I tied some sniper baetis, and from Charlie Craven I produced some mole flies. I hoped to see some blue wing olive activity in order to test the baetis, silver bullet and mole fly.

Beast Filled the Net

Because of all the changes in my routine, it took me longer to prepare to fish than normal, but I found myself situated along the river ready to make my first cast at 11:30AM. I started my pursuit of trout with an amber ice dub chubby Chernobyl, Arkansas rubber legs, and silver bullet. I read that molting stoneflies were in play and that blue wing olives were hatching. There was intermittent gusting of wind, but for the most part the weather was nearly perfect. During the thirty minutes before my lunch break at noon, I landed one twelve inch brown trout on the Arkansas rubberlegs, and I experienced two temporary hook ups. I was pleased with the amount of early action.

Olive Perdigon Still Stars

After lunch I continued up the river, but I suffered through a forty-five minute drought. The section that I fished was a bit marginal, and I managed another long distance release, but my nymphs continually snagged bottom. I concluded that the conehead Arkansas rubber legs was too heavy, so I exchanged it for an olive perdigon and swapped the silver bullet for a sniper baetis. This move paid dividends, and I landed a gorgeous eighteen inch rainbow that snatched the olive perdigon.

Long Brown Trout

Unfortunately another cold spell ensued, and I now felt as if my drifts were not gaining enough depth, so I added a 20 incher and trailed the tungsten bead olive perdigon. This action turned the tide, and for the remainder of the afternoon I progressed up the river and built the fish count from two to fifteen. Needless to say, I was a very happy angler.

Great Trough

Roughly half of the landed fish snapped up the olive perdigon, and the remainder chomped the 20 incher. The quality of these fish was unsurpassed. I fought and landed a football sized brown trout that probably extended to eighteen inches, and another brown trout filled the net to about sixteen inches. A few more rainbows were in the mix, but the catch on March 9 was predominantly brown trout. Every fish that I landed on Monday was twelve inches or greater and many browns in the thirteen inch slot prevailed. I was quite pleased with the size of the trout that rested in my net.

This Was a Hot Spot

Between 2PM and 3PM there was a fairly dense blue wing olive emergence, although I never saw surface feeding. The wind was at its worst, and the tiny mayflies tumbled across the surface and through the air, as I looked on. By this time I was in faster pocket water, and it was impossible to see naturals or rises among the swirling currents, so I stuck with the dry/dropper approach. And why not, since I was landing gorgeous fish along the way. Nevertheless, I never had the opportunity to experiment with the mole fly.

Best Brown of the Day

What a day! This was, in all likelihood, my best opening day ever during my many days of fly fishing. The river was in perfect condition, and it appears that hatches are two to three weeks ahead of schedule.

Fish Landed: 15

Sniper Baetis – 03/06/2026

Sniper Baetis 03/06/2026 Photo Album

I am a fan of Juan Ramirez and a follower of @hopperjuan_fly_fishing on Instagram, and I recently saw a post of Juan’s sniper baetis. I watched the tying video and determined that it was a fairly straightforward tie, so I added it to my list. I reached the end of my list of all the standard flies that I tie based on my many years of fly fishing. It was now time to try a new fly.

Slim Baetis

My go to baetis nymph flies are RS2’s. Juan posted a photo of his sniper baetis next to some natural nymphs, and I concluded that his imitation possessed a slimmer profile and, thus, a more precise imitation of a baetis nymph.

Left Side Angled

Juan’s example was a brown version of the sniper, but he suggested they could be tied in brown, olive and gray. I decided to go with olive. I did not have the requisite fine black wire, so I substituted silver, and I made the tail from brown ring neck pheasant body feathers. For the legs and wing case, I used gray fluoro fiber. Juan’s fly did not include a bead, so I followed suit in that regard.

Background Materials

I tested the sniper baetis on my first outing on the Arkansas River, but it did not yield results, although I gave up on it after twenty minutes. I plan to give it more trials, before I draw any conclusions. If I tie more, I will probably elect to use a darker olive thread for the body. The naturals in Juan’s photo were quite dark.

Sunken Tricos – 03/01/2026

Sunken Tricos 03/01/2026 Photo Album

As I prepared to write this blog post on sunken tricos, I searched for and found my oldest previous post on this fly. The story behind my introduction to sunken tricos was well documented, and I enjoyed refreshing my memory. A materials table was also present, although I failed to use it to tie new sunken tricos.

Lovely

I had quite a bit of success on the North Platte River with the sunken tricos that I purchased; however, I must admit that I have not repeated that magical day. I am convinced, however, that an opportunity during a dense trico hatch would make my ownership of sunken tricos pay off.

Angled Head On

I counted my inventory, and I decided to tie three additional tiny versions to increase my supply to a nice round number. The output from my effort now resides in my small fly canister, and I am prepared for a trico hatch in 2026.

Materials in the Background

Wiggle Damsel – 02/28/2026

Damsel Nymph 02/28/2028 Photo Album

For a description of my early experimentation with damsel nymphs, check out my post of 12/04/2011. This marked the advent of the wiggle damsel in my fly box. My most memorable experience with the wiggle damsel occurred on Lago Fonck in Argentina, when I pulled out a wiggle damsel without my guide’s advice, and it performed in amazing fashion.

Humped

Unfortunately my other interactions with this fly have not been as momentous. I have had some sporadic success, but perhaps the larger problem has been finding damsel nymph emergences. Apparently timing is everything.

Articulated

The wiggle damsel is another example of a fly that I maintain adequate quantities of, so I skipped additional tying. Maybe this is the year, when I hit a thick damsel emergence.

Yellow Sally – 02/28/2026

Yellow Sally 02/28/2026 Photo Album

When I counted my yellow sally stock, I learned that I was adequately supplied. My post of 02/02/2016 provides a nice report on the timing of yellow sally emergences and my interaction with them.

Diving

I have witnessed some of the densest emergences of yellow sallies on the Eagle River in early July. I would not want to be without some of these flies during those times. I tried different patterns, but I settled on a version that is essentially a deer hair caddis tied in yellow. They work. I have also experienced success with iron sally and hares ear nymphs during yellow sally hatches.

Diving the Other Way

 

Tricos – 02/28/2026

Tricos 02/28/2026 Photo Album

The oldest previous blog post that I could find on trico spinners was dated 01/15/2012.  I reread it with interest, and it captures my earliest days of fly fishing using trico spinners. The place where I encounter tricos in Colorado the most consistently is on the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon, although I have not experienced this phenomenon in recent years. Nevertheless, I like to have some on hand just in case.

Long Tails and White Wings

My 01/15/2012 post cites the usage of gray sculpin wool for the wing, but I have since reverted to white antron wings. I am not sure why. The change probably relates to the long amount of time that elapsed between tying trico spinners. I like the look of the crinkly white antron wing quite a bit. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to test some out in 2026. The trick is to be in the right place at the right time.

Overhead

I counted my trico spinners and determined that I was adequately supplied, so I did not spin out any additional imitations. I will hope for a trico spinner fall in 2026.

Parachute Ant – 02/27/2026

Parachute Ant 02/27/2026 Photo Album

Every time I decide to tie parachute ants, I refer back to my post of 01/11/2012, because it contains a materials table and step-by-step tying instructions. I watched a tier from Pennsylvania tie these and recorded notes in my iPhone, as he walked me through the steps.

I do not use this fly frequently, as I am burdened with the paradigm that fish cannot see small flies as well as larger flies. Shame on me. I suspect that a size 18 black ant would produce quite well as the tail fly in a two dry fly arrangement when paired with a more visible leading  fly.

Right Side Angled View

The situations when I gravitate to a parachute ant are nearly all very challenging. When I encounter a regularly feeding trout, and I am unable to gain attention with what I feel is an imitative dry fly, I sometimes resort to the black parachute ant. While not always the case, the ant does come through in many difficult situations, and fooling a fish under these circumstances is highly rewarding. I would not want to be on a stream without a supply of parachute ants.

Left Side View

For some reason I stock only black ants, although I am sure that brown or even red might get the job done as well. I tie nearly all size 18. I have a few larger bionic ants made of foam, but I rarely pull them from my box. I was preparing to tie another fly, and as I searched through my zip lock bag of materials, I stumbled on some McMurray ant bodies. My friend in Pennsylvania gave me these, and I should probably whip out a few. They float quite well and are very realistic in profile as they contain the ever critical narrow waist.

Nice Waists on These

I counted my parachute ants and discovered that I needed two replacements to bring my total to a nice round number. I found one damaged ant, and after my efforts were complete, I possess three additional black parachute ants. Having an adequate supply gives me a feeling of comfort.

Comparaduns – 02/25/2026

Comparaduns 02/25/2026 Photo Album

My post of 02/21/2014 provides an excellent story behind the concept of a comparadun and my long road to adopting them as my preferred style of imitating mayfly duns. I highly suggest reading this report.

I have been fishing in Colorado and the west since 1990. That’s thirty-six years, and the comparadun has evolved into my workhorse fly for imitating mayflies. I previously posted a report on the green drake comparadun, so I will not repeat text on that fly here. The main mayfly species that I continue to imitate with comparaduns is the pale morning dun. PMD’s emerge from the middle of June until September in western waters. The freestones provide pale morning dun activity between mid-June and early August, while the tailwaters feature these abundant mayflies during August and September. I have experienced some hatches into October on tailwaters.

Cinnamon and Light Gray

During these hatches I knot a cinnamon or light gray comparadun to my line, and more times than not, they deliver fish. The trout take them with confidence. Occasionally one color works better than the other, so I have to experiment with a few fly changes. Size is another variable that throws in a wrinkle. I carry mostly size 16 along with some 18’s and a few 14’s. Late season hatch matching on the Frying Pan River typically demands cinnamon comparaduns in size 18.

Turned Around

I counted my comparaduns, and not surprisingly, my supply seemed adequate. I do not recall encountering many pale morning dun hatches during 2025. I will certainly need to remedy that situation in the coming year. I did not tie additional PMD’s, but I did refurbish one that was reduced to a very sparse clump of deer hair fibers for the wing.