Frying Pan River
Flow: 267cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir
Conditions: Flows are ideal right now and the water is nice and clear and cold. The hatches have really cranked-up this past week with more numbers of bugs being seen than the past two weeks. Green drakes are being seen throughout the river now especially along the middle river from mile markers 4-10. Of note, more drakes have been hatching in the evenings this year than the usual midday. PMDs are still the most widespread and consistent hatch with a good mix of both pink and yellow bodied duns. The small, fall BWO (pseudocleons) will begin to make their appearance known later this month. The infamous serratella starts like clockwork annually beginning on the 8th of August. I know that for a fact from longtime Frying Pan angler and admirer of serratella, Walter Ruch, who’s birthday was also magically on August 8. You’ll know you’re in a serratella hatch when hordes of rising fish are being seen and refusing every possible combination of dry fly and emerger! The lower half of the river below mile marker 6 offers much less crowds than right below the dam and believe it or not, higher numbers of larger fish thanks to the presence of sculpins (excluding the Bend Pool/Toilet Bowl). Because of that, streamers are way more effective down here than up closer to the dam. Lesser and overlooked hatches include micro caddis, midges, rusty spinners and aphids.
Flies-
Dries: Silhouette Dun PMD, Sparkle Flag PMD, PMD Cripple, Melon Quill, Almost Dun PMD, Comparadun PMD, Rusty Spinner, Green Drake Comparadun, Drake Cripple, Mini Foamulator Yellow, Hot Spot Para Wulff BWO, Sparkledun BWO, Quill Body Baetis, Almost Dun BWO, Roy’s Special Emerger, CDC Midge Adult, Egg Layer Caddis, Chucks Caddis Variant
Nymphs: 2Bit Hookers, Pheasant Tails, BTS Baetis, CDC RS2s, Mayhems, Medallion Midge, Split Case PMD, Thorax PMD, Epoxyback PMD, Frenchie, Perdigons, Bubble-Up Mayfly, Purdee John Yellow
Streamers: Thin Mints, Baby Gonga, Sculpzillas, PSL’s, Jig Mini Bugger, Bubble Guppy
