Frying Pan River
82cfs/below Ruedi Reservoir
Conditions- Things are truly waking up along the Pan’. Midge hatches are commonplace daily now with warmth and overcast yielding the most ideal conditions. It feels awfully nice to ditch the old winter nymph rig and do some real casting to surfacing fish again – we’re loving it! The heaviest hatches have certainly been closer to the dam lately. A very few BWOs have been seen too giving us a glimpse of things to come. Light tippets of 6/7x is necessary for fishing dries. Streamer fishing has been picking up now that the weather is trending warmer. Slow rolling a small leech near bottom with an occasional twitch has seemed to be the most productive. Midges of all stages; larva, pupa and emerger are of most importance to the nymph angler. Paying attention to which stage of life (larva, pupa, emerger) the fish are focused on is paramount to success. Mysis shrimp are still of importance in immediate area below the dam. The egg bite is of less concern in the spring as very few rainbows are present in the river.
The fly shop is loaded to the gills with a ton of new fly tying merch, new rods and reels, new logo apparel and so, so much more. Swing by and help support your local independant fly shop!
Our guides know the Frying Pan River intimately – let us give you the highlight of your vacation!
From the Colorado Parks & Wildlife:
“Due to high densities in most the river, harvest is encouraged for brown trout ≤14” to relieve competition for resources and increase growth for other trout. Harvest of Brown Trout under 14 inches is encouraged, because in many locations, like “Old Faithful”, brown trout average less than 10 inches and 94% of the fish are under 14 inches.”
In this day and age, where we taught generations the virtues of catch and release angling, is it possible to teach them the virtues of responsible harvest? I certainly hope so.
Flies-
Dries: Griffiths Gnats, Stillborn Midge, Polywing Midge Adult, Zelon Midge, Comparadun Adams, CDC Biot Comparadun, Mole Fly, Roy’s Special Emerger, Almost Dun, Wild Turkey Emerger, Para Quill BWO
Nymphs: 2Bit Hooker, PTs Olive, Split Back BWO, Epoxyback Baetis, BTS Baetis, CDC RS2s, Mayhems, Foam Wing RS-2, Medallion Midge, Disco Midge, Bling Midge, Miracle Midge, WD50’s
Streamers: PSL’s, Sculpzillas, Jig Thin Mint, Conehead BiteMe Bugger
