The Blue in town above I-70 is fishing very well. Good numbers of fish being caught. Some fish are pushing 20 inches. Have heard about some really big fish being hooked. The evening and early morning hours are good choices for both the larger fish and a less crowded river bank. Though not on fire anymore, the Blue is a good option. Especially if you only have a couple of hours to get your waders wet.

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Fishing has improved somewhat on the Blue River between Silverthorne and Green Mountain Reservoir. However, it hasn't been as consistent as some of the other rivers we guide on. Palmer's Gulch and the inlet to Green Mountain are places to check out. If you find the fish lock-jawed, head back into Silverthorne or go hit the Colorado near Parshall or Pumphouse.

We haven't been seeing much surface action but a nymph rig has been producing some results. Keep an eye out for midges and possibly BWO's.

Patterns for this stretch:

UV Midges,Red Copper Johns, Egg Patterns, JuJu Baetis, Barr's Emerger, Zebra Midge, Smaller Pheasant Tails and other BWO Nymphs. Don't forget about trying large Stonefly Nymphs and Pheasant Tails!

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Lots of bugs on the water. The midges have dropped off a bit but the BWO's are out in full force, especially on the cloudy days. Fish are on Midges, BWO Nymphs, Attractor Nymphs and Rubber Legs. Use a three fly rig, change up size and color if you aren't hooking up, and you should be in business. On cloudy days fish are rising to BWO's in pods.If the day has been sunny, look for fish rising in the shallow, flat water during the last hour and a half of sunlight.

Try these patterns: Black Beauties and Mercury Black Beauties, RS-2's in Olive or Gray, Barr's BWO Emergers, JuJu BWO's, Tungsten CDC Pheasant Tails, Pat's Rubber Legs (#8,#6 in Black, Tan or Orange) Zebra Midges #16-#20, Tung Teasers, Wired Stonefly, CDC Hare's Ear, Tungsten Flash Prince and Psycho Prince. Also try Parachute Adams and Matthews Parkle Dun in sizes 18-22.

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Fishing has been very solid. Lots of different bugs on the water. The new "news" is last week's appearance of the Giant Salmon Fly. We expect the hatch to peak this week or weekend. The Midge hatches are waning. The Blue Wing Olives are still around, especially when the weather gets nasty, as it did over the weekend. And although we are seeing more Caddis on the water, the hatch isn't really going off yet.

With the arrival of the Stone Flies, the fishing has been very good to exceptional river wide. Fish are on Stone Fly Nymphs, BWO Nymphs, Caddis Larvae, San Juan's, Attractor Nymphs and Pat's Rubber Legs. It is time to break out the Dry Dropper/Dropper Rig! Use a # 10 or #12 Salmon Fly Dry Fly and suspend both a Stone Fly nymph and a second, smaller attractor style nymph (e.g. Pheasant Tail, Psycho Prince) below the dry fly. Drop the Salmon Fly Nymph first, about 2-3 feet below the dry. Then drop the attractor nymph 12-18 inches off of the Salmon Fly Nymph. There are some fish being caught tight to the banks but there are just as many fish--maybe more--holding in the deeper drops just off the banks (and into the middle of the river).

Boaters: The flow is still on the low side so be careful out there. Also, State Bridge is currently closed for use. It is expected to reopen sometime around Memorial Day. A recent report from State Bridge indicates they appear to be ready to pour a new concrete ramp. Yippee!

Try these patterns: Kaufman's Stone, Pat's Rubberleg, CDC Tungsten Hare's Ear, RS-2's in Olive or Gray, Barr's BWO Emergers, JuJu BWO's, Tungsten CDC Pheasant Tails, Pat's Rubber Legs (#8,#6 in Black, Tan or Orange) Zebra Midges #16-#20, Tung Teasers, Wired Stone Fly, Tungsten Flash Prince and Psycho Prince. Also try top : Parachute Adams and Caddis Dries in sizes 14-18 as well as Sculpins and other large, dark streamers

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Fishing much better lately. The river has a lot of drop in this section so look for the slower, deeper winter holding water. Midges, medium sized stonefly nymphs, and general attractors are your best bet.

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Excellent fishing from the Royal Gorge through Salida all the way up into Johnson Village. The current higher flows make the river a challenging wade but our float trips recently have been very successful. Lots (and I mean LOTS) of fish are being caught on dries, dry/dropper, and nymphing set-us. The Arkansas is seeing Midges, BWO's, Caddis, and some of the larger Golden Stones.

Patterns to try if you decide to go: Dark BWO nymphs (#16-#20), Red Rojo's, Black Beauties, Tan or Black Foam Caddis (#14-#18), Peacock Caddis (#14-#18), Black Pheasant Tails (#16-#20), Black Zebra Midges, Golden Stone Fly Nymphs (#8-#14), Pat's Tan or Black Rubberleg in #6-#12, Barr's BWO Emerger, JuJu Beatis, Split-Case Bwo's, Parachute Adams, Sparkle Duns (BWO), Almost any Misc. Caddis and Attractor Dries, and small Black, Maroon and Olive Streamers.

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Action on 5/3/12 was outstanding. The water dropped off from a recent spike and the fish were hungry. Lots of caddis. Lots of drake nymphs in the water. Although dry fly action was hard to come by, the nymphing was very good. If the fish had even taken even a few of our dry flies it would rate a 5 out of 5 stars.

Although run-off hasn't started for real yet, the melting snow is producing varying degrees of discoloration in the river. If you want some dependable action, look to hit the Fork the first few days after the river clears up from a discoloring spike (as we did on 5/3/12).

At the moment, the Roaring Fork has enough visibility to fish. I would expect that to change as this week forecast is for increasing air temperatures. We have a trip out today and will update our reort as soon as they return. Rafts are the best craft for floating at these flows (950 cfs) but experienced hard boat owners will do just fine.

Flies to Try:

Pat's Rubber Leg Black, Tan, Olive or Orange #6-#10

20 Incher: #10-#16

Drake Nymphs: #12-#14

Tungsten CDC Pheasant Tails: #12-#18

Mercury Black Beauties: #18-#22

Zebra Midges Black: #20-#22

JuJu Midge and JuJu BWO: Black, Zebra #18-#22

RS-2's Black, Grey and Olive #18-#22

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Water levels have come up recently and so have some of the big fish out of Eleven Mile Reservoir. It is worth noting that it has been a tad busy with anglers some days. The fishing tactics? Mostly a nymphing show using small midges, egg patterns and mayflies with the occasional fish being fooled by an olive or orange scud. Streamers are also worthy this time of year. I miss the old days on this piece of water but it still fishes well some days and I love spending the day walking around the place. Having a rod in my hand is a bonus.

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Muddy Creek is flowing clear and the fish are eager. The mosquitoes are all but gone (as are the horseflies).

Flies:

*

Parachute Adams (#18, #20) *

Brooks Sprout (#20) *

Cinnamon Ant *

Beatle *

Red Rojo Midge (#18) *

Brassie Red (#18) *

Black Copper John (#16, #18

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No first hand reports. But we hear fishing is fair. Boat ramps open for the 2012 season on Thursday, May 3rd.

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Spinney opens for fishing Monday, April 2nd. It will be open for boating. Both North and South ramps are scheduled to be available. Whoopie! Here we go.

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Look for flows to get to at least 50 CFS before heading to the Williams Fork. The current flow of 17 CFS is too low. Give the fish a break and try somewhere else.

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This creek is always flowing cold and foamy. Try using limes and salt if needed. Longnecks are the preferred choice, but almost any variety will catch a buzz.

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Flows have dropped significantly over the week due to work being performed on the dam. We are down to 74 cfs this morning (4/1/12) and that level is expected to continue through April. While this isn't an unfishable flow, there are better opportunities elsewhere. Check back in early May and look for stable flows over 200 cfs before heading below Green Mountain. When water levels increase try:

Bring: Midge larvae, emergers and adults--such as RS-2'S, Black Beauties, Zebra Midges, UV Emergers and Parachute Adams-- in Black, Gray and Olive (#18-#26). Egg Patterns, Smaller Pheasant Tails, Baetis Nymphs (#18-22) and Stonefly Nymphs (#16-#6) have also been effective.

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See Spinney Mountain Reservoir report (above)

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Visability on the lower Eagle near Gypsum continues to be issue on the warmer days. However, when the river is clear enough for the fish to see your offerings, the fishing has been quite good. Though there are plent of midges most days, the BWO's have been coming on lately. Give the following a try:

Mercury Black Beauty #16-#18. Craven's Poison Tung in Black or Olive #16-#18 RoJo Midge Black #18 Tung Zebra Midge Olive or Black #16, Gray or O,live RS-2's, JuJu Baetis, Barr's Emergers, Pheasant Tails

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Good option - Low and clear but the fish are hungry. Fish the deeper, slower pools with dry droppers and nymph rigs.

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Our first time on Ten Mile this year was 3/26. Spotted a few fish, non to net, stick to the Blue for a few more weeks.

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We don't guide this water but I've always found very willing fish in the Idaho Springs area. The fish are on the small side but very enjoyable nontheless. Small drys and hoppers--with small attractor beadheads hanging down below--usually do the trick. On occasion, however, I have had to match the hatch on the Clear Creek.

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The Snake appears to be quite frozen over.

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This is the time to fish the Pan. Decent flow, light crowds and feeding fish. Can we tag along?

Just spoke with someone who fished the Pan recently, he and his wife did well on Mysis. They fished the upper 3 miles of river; from the "toilet bowl" down.

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