San Juan Worm – 01/18/2026

San Juan Worm 01/18/2026 Photo Album

A must read is my 02/15/20216 post on San Juan worms. I am not very proud of this fact, but I have a long history with worms. I actually enjoyed reading my post again in preparation to write this blog.

Some anglers scoff at using worms for fly fishing, but they represent a protein rich food that is naturally available to trout. Do I like dredging worms along a stream bottom? It is not my favorite method of fishing, but if it results in fine, fat trout, I will not bypass the method. I am not a purist.

A Palette of Colors

Several times during the spring season I encounter turbid and high conditions, and these days find me tumbling a San Juan worm along a river bottom. A San Juan worm and a pheasant tail nymph were a lethal combination on the South Platte River in the 1990’s, but I rarely visit the Deckers area due to the heavy fishermen pressure. There are times, however, when I deploy the worm in other sections of the South Platte as well as other western rivers.

I counted all my San Juan worms of various colors, and I was pleased to learn that I did not need to supplement my supply for the upcoming year. As you will note in the embedded photo, I tie flesh, brown, red, pink and chocolate. A San Juan worm is one of the easier flies to tie, so skipping them was not a huge time saver. Nevertheless, it gives me confidence to know that I possess an adequate supply.

2025 Top Ten – 01/13/2026

I was unable to complete my top ten ranking of fishing outings for 2024, so I made it a priority for 2025. I read all my posts for the year excluding the ones on flies tied, and I narrowed my outings down to sixteen that were worthy of top ten status. As a side note, I counted my outings, and I spent seventy days on lakes or streams in 2025. I feel quite fortunate to achieve this amount of fishing at my age. With that brief introduction, I will launch the 2025 top ten list.

10. Arkansas River – 03/24/2025 – I was quite pleased to land fifteen trout from the Arkansas River on 03/24/2025. I am accustomed to catching single digit fish in the early season, but this day was a welcome surprise. A brief blue wing olive hatch and some resulting success on my part were icing on the cake.

Long and Fat

9. Beaver Creek – 07/30/2025 – I love prospecting small streams with my Orvis four weight, and that is actually how this day unfolded. I had not fished this small mountain stream in a few years, and I was pleased to discover that it maintained an abundant supply of spunky wild fish.

8. Taylor River – 07/22/2025 – I anticipated green drake action on 07/22/2025 on the Taylor River tailwater, and although the early hours required dry/dropper drifting, things heated up considerably in the early afternoon. Green drakes took over, and they were accompanied by some pale morning duns, and I enjoyed the ride.

Olive Perdigon

7. Eagle River – 04/09/2025 – This was a rare early season visit to the Eagle River. This outstanding day featured a blue wing olive hatch and meeting new friends on the river. I explored a new section of the river with unexpected success, and this served as a segue to quite a few additional outstanding outings on the Eagle River.

6. South Boulder Creek – 08/04/2025 – Every summer I attempt to hit the green drake hatch on South Boulder Creek. During this outing I succeeded. It was a pure green drake fly day, as I used exclusively green drake dry flies. My green drake user friendly surpassed all previous trials in terms of effectiveness. Lots of fish spent time in my net.

Amber Hued

5. North Fork, White River – 09/09/2025 – Several things were impressive about this day. I drove four plus hours from Denver to this fishing destination, so this allowed only four hours of afternoon fishing. In that relatively short amount of time I landed thirty-four trout, and they were not dinks. I was very strategic in my approach and casting, and it paid off.

4. Yampa River – 06/25/2025 – This was another example of getting a late start, yet enjoying excellent results. Jane and I took down our campsite and drove from Steamboat Lake to Steamboat Springs, before I launched my three hours of fishing. I landed twelve fish, but it was an action packed time. A nice pale morning dun hatch developed, and I took advantage, and the size of the trout was very respectable. It was reassuring to learn that lots of robust trout remain in the Yampa River in spite of some very hot summers.

Excellent Spot

3. Eagle River – 09/24/2025 – 2025 seemed to be the year of the Eagle River with many outstanding outings, but this day stood out for several reasons. I explored never before fished water and met with excellent success. Based on a previous outing, I searched out water types that produced and stuck to a consistent approach, and I was rewarded with an abundant quantity of plus-sized trout.

2. River Nire – 06/03/2025 – My ranking of this day was biased by the fact that I was fishing in another country, Ireland. I booked two days of fly fishing in Ireland assuming that I would catch 5-10 brown trout per day in the ten to fifteen inch range. Guess again. Thirteen fish were landed, and most were in the fifteen to twenty inch range. This far surpassed my expectations, and I was surrounded by the beauty of the stunning Irish countryside. If you get a chance to fish in Ireland, grab it.

Wild Irish Brown Trout

1.Frying Pan River – 08/19/2025 – An outstanding day was required to surpass my day on the River Nire, but 08/19/2025 met that requirement. How about forty-eight trout on the Frying Pan River? I have fished this small tailwater nearly every year of my residence in Colorado, but this day surely topped all others. Between 9:45AM and 1:30PM I landed twenty-two trout, and quite a few were very respectable fish from a size perspective. I was satisfied with my day, as I resumed after lunch, and I spied a few western green drakes. I changed over to a parachute green drake, and the fishing action accelerated from the morning and early afternoon! What a day!

Lots of Possibilities

Big Mouth

 

Mini Leech – 01/13/2026

Mini Leech 01/13/2026 Photo Album

I always categorize my flies, when I create these posts, and I always hesitate whether to place the mini leech under nymph or streamer. I chose streamer this time, but in reality, it is probably a hybrid.

Black No Bead

My experieince with the mini leech extends over a few years, but you can read my last post on 01/14/2025 for a bit more information. This is another fly that has potential, but I fail to give it adequate line time. I have landed some trout on the mini leech during my lake fishing expeditions, so I need to make a concerted effort to tie one on more frequently. The olive mini leech can represent a damsel nymph, so tossing the green version should be considered during damsel fly season.

Olive No Bead

I counted my leeches and decided to tie two blacks with beads, two blacks with no bead, and two olive with no bead. This brings my inventory to ten of each. I am ready for leech fishing in 2026.

Ostrich Herl Visible

Crystal Stone – 01/13/2026

Crystal Stone 01/13/2026 Photo Album

My history with the crystal stone is documented on my post of 03/06/2021. This may be the only fly that I created on my own. Most of my creations are simply modifications of existing flies. The 03/06/2021 post contains a materials table and tying steps.

Small Black Stonefly Nymph

I wish I could take credit for creating a new killer fly, but I must confess that this fly has not been a top producer. I have managed a fish or two here and there, but it is not among my top flies. I suspect that part of the problem is my failure to knot it to my line on a consistent basis. I often read about anglers achieving success with a black pheasant tail, and I suspect my crystal stone is a viable substitute.

Side View

Nevertheless, I like to maintain some of these in my fleece wallet, so I took stock and concluded that my supply of the crystal stone was adequate. Of course, this is a sure sign of my reluctance to deploy it, since I suffered no shrinkage.

Sunk Ant – 01/13/2026

Sunk Ant 01/13/2026 Photo Album

My post of 12/21/2021 provides the story of my introduction to the sunk ant. This post also contains a materials table. Since the 2021 post, I have experienced moderate success with sunk ants, so I monitor my supply before entering each season.

A Sunk Ant

Small high mountains streams seem to provide the most success, and this makes sense since the habitat of ants arches across a small stream, thus, there is a high likelihood of inadvertent dunks. Also, the higher gradient thrashes the unfortunate victims of a fall and quickly sinks them to the eye level of hungry trout.

Left Side Look

I continue to follow the tying instructions of Kelly Galloup which are available in a YouTube video. Simply search on Kelly Galloup sunk ant.

Four Size 14, One Size 16

After counting my inventory I tied five additional sunk ants. Three were size 14 and one was size 14. These are relatively large ants, but I see quite a few of the larger versions crawling about on tree limbs and rocks on my stream adventures.

 

Pat’s Rubber Legs – 01/12/2026

Pat’s Rubber Legs 01/12/2026 Photo Album

My first introduction to Pat’s rubber legs was through Royal Gorge Anglers and a yellow/green version to imitate the golden stoneflies, when they molt in early spring. My post of 01/17/2016 is a solid read to understand this phase of my rubber legs evolution.

Arkansas Rubber Legs

As time passed I became acquainted with additional color combinations of Pat’s rubber legs. My post of 01/10/2020 provides a nice update and a materials table. I have experienced mixed results with the rubber legs, but one day on the Arkansas River stands out, when the flows remained on the high side after run off. During this outing I could barely keep the trout off the fly.

Olive/Black

My guide from Cutthroat Angers, Reed, is a huge proponent of the fly; and, thus, I use it in a dry/dropper set up, when I float Colorado Rivers with him. Most recently it work on a late June day on the Eagle River.

Coffee/Black

As was the case with scuds, I counted my supply of rubber legs of varying colors, and I concluded that I was adequately supplied. I carry the yellow/orange/light green version for stonefly molt time, and then I also possess a black/olive color scheme and a black/coffee version. I do not use beads but instead weight them while tying.

Scuds – 01/12/2026

Scuds 01/12/2026 Photo Album

For a nice summary of my experience with scuds, check out my post of 12/20/2019. I went quite a few years simply living off my supply of orange scuds without a shell back, but by 2019 I was convinced to add this body part.

Gray Scud

Every season I experiment with a scud, primarily orange, and occasionally the offering nets me a fish or two. The South Platte River is my location of choice for scud presentation, as the river is loaded with aquatic growth, and scuds frequent this type of vegetation.

Orange Scud

I counted my quantities of gray, orange and olive scuds, and I concluded that I can live off of past efforts; and, thus, I produced no additional scuds. I like to keep them on my list; however, in case I experience success that leads to depletion.

Olive Scud

Black Zebra Midge – 01/12/2026

Black Zebra Midge 01/12/2026 Photo Album

For more information on the zebra midge check out my post of 01/24/2014. As is usually the case, when I arrive at the zebra midge in my production tying mode, I lament my avoidance of this productive fly. I usually select larger flies to prospect, but on rare occasions, when I opt for a zebra midge, I have been impressed with the results. How do I overcome this “too small” paradigm?

Tag End Tail

If you read the 01/24/2014 post, you will note that I mention a silver wire; however, I actually prefer fine copper. I counted my black and olive zebra midges, and I concluded that I had adequate quantities of olive, but a few additional blacks would be advisable. I cranked out two black size 22 midge larva with copper wire in a matter of minutes. Maybe this will be the year, when I discover hot midge fishing.

Two New Zebra Midges and Materials

Soft Hackle Emerger – 01/11/2026

Soft Hackle Emerger 01/11/2026 Photo Album

I found this fly in my Charlie’s Fly Box fly tying book, and I began tying them in 2012. My post of 01/19/2012 provides a bit of background and a materials table. You can find the tying steps on the Charlie’s Fly Box website.

Size 20

For several years I used this fly with a bead instead of an RS2, and I had some success, but it never outperformed the classic RS2. In recent years I used beadless soft hackle emergers, and I found them to be much more effective. In the spring, dense blue wing olive hatches are accompanied by wind and bad weather. My favorite BWO imitation is a CDC blue wing olive, but it tends to get ignored during windy and cold conditions. I began fishing the beadless soft hackle emerger with floatant applied to the body like a dry fly, and frequently this fools the fish. I suspect that the fish key on movement during these conditions. Also, I believe that the wind knocks the flies back in the water and creates an abundant quantity of cripples. The soft hackles of the soft hackle emerger create an illusion of wings and legs struggling to lift off, and the swept back fluoro wing imitates a cripple.

Out of Focus a Bit

The low riding fly is difficult to track, so I like to utilize it behind a large fly such as a hippie stomper with an eighteen inch extension to the soft hackle emerger. If I can manage, I like to position myself above feeding fish, and then I make casts across and feed out line for a downstream presentation with the soft hackle emerger as the first fly to enter the feeding trout’s window. An additional tactic that sometimes prompts a strike is to twitch the fly, as it comes into the trout’s viewing window. This imitates life and often prompts a strike.

Six and Materials

I counted my supply of soft hackle emergers, and I determined that I was only slightly under my target levels. I tied six additional flies with three being size 20 and three size 22. I already had around ten size 24’s in my box. Just discussing this gets me excited for BWO hatches in the spring of 2026.

Sparkle Wing RS2 – 01/04/2026

Sparkle Wing RS2 01/04/2026 Photo Album

As I mentioned in my last RS2 post, I also tie other versions of baetis nymphs, and one such variation is the sparkle wing RS2. I am not sure that they outperform the classic RS2, but I bought into the hype and produced a fair quantity.

Narrow Profile

Both flies possess a gray muskrat body, but that is the only similarity. The sparkle wing tail is made of white fluoro fiber, and the emerging wing is constructed with crystal flash. These two substitutions create a fly with more flash than the classic RS2. My post of 01/17/2019 was one of my earliest regarding the sparkle wing.

Left Side View

In order to refresh my memory on tying the relatively simple sparkle wing, I searched the fly on YouTube, and I ended up selecting the instructions provided by Charlie Craven. Charlie’s version incorporates a crystal flash (he actually uses something different but similar) loop wing. I liked the look of the sparkling wing, so I adopted the practice for the five new sparkle wings that I produced. These flies boosted my supply to twenty-five for the 2026 season. I suspect that I use the sparkle wing in equal proportion to the classic RS2. In either case the key to attracting interest from trout with these flies is jigging and lifting the flies to simulate the motion of baetis nymphs before they hatch.

Flies and Materials on a Muskrat Patch