Royal Gorge Anglers Fly Fishing Blog

Why is the High Water Still Around?????

2009-07-05T10:27:00.002-06:00

No, regardless of some reports from family, friends and subscribers, I have not yet fled the country. The thought has crossed my mind, but there are still many streams even in Colorado that I have not yet fished, so you're stuck with me for a while. The truth is, I have been fishing a little where I could and just haven't had the urge to communicate with much of anyone for a while. I guess its just an old man thing. Back in the 60s, we turned on, dropped out and went to find ourselves and the meaning of life. Not me, I turned on, left town and went fly fishing in the Rocky Mountains even then. I have yet to find the meaning of life other than to live it the best you can, and finding myself sounded awful scary to me. I know I'd hate to round a corner on a mountain trail and run into me, that would mean I had been walking in circles and I was actually quicker than me. Actually, in those days, I was always hoping to find a nice looking young woman that was lost and needed assistance. Heck, I'm still hoping for that, but I digress.

We are now living in the perfect storm of water flows in Colorado. In the last week, I have often fielded the question "Where is all this water coming from?" About 7 or 8 days ago, we were fishing the Arkansas and believed that the worst of the runoff was over. Fishing was excellent on Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, and Caddis. Then all hell broke loose. First of all let's talk about how Mother Nature added to the big water. Last year, we had a banner snowpack and that resulted in Reservoirs being full going into winter. Some water was moved on most rivers, but evidently not enough. On the Arkansas, we needed to hold to minimum flows during the spring for the Brown trout fry emergence. Flows exceeded minimum recommendations during April and May and still evidently not enough water was moved downstream. Then last week, we had warmer than normal high temperatures on the snowpack that was remaining and afternoon thunderstorms generated heavy rain on what snow was left, scouring the granite crevasses and bringing small creeks such as Lake Creek well over 1000 cfs again. Now, that alone might not present such a large problem, but it seems that on the other side of the Continental Divide, the Frying Pan river was experiencing the same kind of thing....remaining snow and heavy rain. So much, in fact that it was spilling over at Ruidi Reservoir. In order to keep from losing water, the Fry Ark Project began pumping water over the Divide through the system into Twin Lakes which was already full. That 800cfs of extra water was sent on through the dam into the Arkansas and down to Pueblo reservoir. So added altogether with water spilling out of Turquoise Lake and Clear Creek Reservoir, we have the perfect storm of water if you will. The same thing is occurring on the South Platte system, just without the water imports being added to the mix. Lots of folks don't understand just what impact the Fry Ark Project has on the Arkansas. It is one of the early trans basin diversions to move water into the Front Range and be able to save it for development as well as agriculture.
The state of Colorado has always been subject to periods of natural drought as well as intense flooding. After the historic flood of 1921 that devastated towns along the Arkansas, including Pueblo, the need to have some control over natural water flows became quite apparent. In 1962 Congress approved the Frying Pan Arkansas Project, a trans-mountain diversion, collection and storage system which would create a reliable water source for southeastern Colorado. The Fry-Ark Project is meant to act as a supplemental source of water during periods of naturally low water levels for municipal as well as agricultural purposes. In addition, it also provides flood control and recreational benefits.
The system begins in White River National forest along the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Water is diverted from the Frying Pan River and other smaller streams through the Continental Divide via a series of conduits, pump stations, and reservoirs to the Arkansas River. The Fry-Ark Project services 9 counties in the state which compose the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, including Bent, Chaffee, Crowley, El Paso, Fremont, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo counties. The water diverted provides, "…an average annual water supply of 163,100 acre-feet for supplemental irrigation of 280,600 acres in the Arkansas Valley." It also provides municipal water supplies to several cities along the eastern slope including, 20,100 acre-feet to Colorado Springs, 8,040 acre-feet to Pueblo, and the rest to various towns which have a need for supplemental supplies. Although the tenants of the Project allocate 51% of the water to cities, and only 49% towards agriculture, there is a clause that states if cities do not claim all of the water allocated to them, then it can be used for agricultural purposes.
Now that you understand the intricacies of water movement on the Arkansas, don't you feel better about knowing why you can't fish this week? There is an upshot to all of this however. It seems that all the snow is basically gone, with freestone creeks dropping in flows over the last 48 hours. Project water has now been cut in half as well. The river should now start dropping like a rock if it stops raining hard each day. We could honestly see half this flow by next week if my projections are correct. However, each day I live, I realize I am not very smart and should have worked for the National Weather Service or the Bureau of Reclamation. Two places where being wrong all the time can still allow you to keep your job and even get a promotion. Instead, I have chosen to work in a fly shop and always try to see the bright side of things. That's more fun anyway even though the pay is bad.

HIGH WATER FLY FISHING AT ITS BEST

2009-06-13T14:29:00.003-06:00

Most all rivers in Colorado have peaked in flow now and are leveling off, or dropping. The South Platte below Spinney has now dropped below 300 cfs and should now start to fish well. It has been somewhat inconsistant with high water flows, however, scuds and red or brown San Juan Worms with Barr's Emerger droppers have been working at times. The other sections of the Platte are just as inconsistant with Eleven Mile Canyon running 325 cfs and crowded to the Deckers area being somewhat higher at 700 cfs. All these stretches should start to drop some over the next week, providing excellent opportunities. Antero and Spinney continue to fish off the chart with the cooler weather prevailing and keeping fish happy. Wind has been a problem on some days such as last Sunday when afternoon winds in South Park sent everyone scurrying for the bar in Hartsel. A Hartsel Cafe cheeseburger is worth the price of having to leave the lake to say the least. Thirty and forty fish days have not been unusual on Antero, with Spinney lagging a little behind that. Lots of different flies are working, from green Copper Johns in a #14, #14 bead head Pheasant Tails, Callibaetis nymphs, Halfback nymphs, Damsel nymphs and Woolly Buggers. Fish are holding on top of weed beds in water from 5 feet deep to 12 feet deep. This may be the best couple of weeks I've ever seen at Antero. If you're willing to put up with the morons getting into fist fights at the boat ramp on the south shoreline, then get up there, because this outrageous stuff won't last much longer. The fish will wise up from the pressure and then it will take a little skill to catch them. That should pretty much do in the bait fishermen.

The most surprising water of all is the Arkansas right now. It is very, very easy to catch lots of fish along the edges using nothing but dry flies. We have again cleared with high water just like last year. #10 Yellow Stimulators and PMXs for the Golden Stones, #16 Yellow Sallies and Yellow Stimulators for the Yellow Sallies, and #16 Elk Hair Caddis for the Caddis that are continuing to hatch. Thrown in a Yellow Humpy, Renegade, and a variety of adult Caddis patterns and you can have a 40 fish day by simply working grass outcoppings and rocky shorelines. The water is down to 1600 cfs and continues to drop daily. We have clarity down to around four feet in most places which give you plenty of clear water along edges to fish. The water is still on the high side and wading should be limited to working upstream along shorelines, but the day is soon coming when the water will even be more manageable. I expect conditions to be superb this weekend. If you've got a few days off right now, fishing is the easiest of the year and I include the spring hatches in that statement.

A good way to attack this high, clear water is with a hopper/dropper rig. Choose a boyant big dry fly like a #10 Hi Vis PMX and drop a piece of 5X fluorocarbon off the hook bend with an attractor bead head nymph such as a Silver Ice or Gold Ice. Make the dropper tippet about twenty inches long and place a #6 split shot about 8 inches above the nymph to make it drop down in the water column a little deeper. If you make the dropper too long then you may begin to pick up submerged debris from runoff. The river will be back in it's main channel in a few days and then you can lengthen the dropper if you wish. Right now, you may still be fishing over submerged shoreline. When wading along watch out for roots and little Beaver bungees that will trip you if you're not careful. I went down twice in about 10 feet the other day. I'm glad I was by myself and no one saw it......just a typical old man stunt.

CADDIS OLD SCHOOL

2009-04-21T18:25:00.003-06:00

The long awaited Caddis hatch has begun in the Canon City area and should, because of low water, move up river fairly rapidly, proliferating the entire corridor over the next few days. Be prepared to pay close attention to fishing the pupa, because that's the stage of the lifecycle that produces the most fish and it does not have to be dead drifted. Be sure to stay on the river late and fish the egglayers and spent Caddis. Big fish don't get fat chasing live bugs.....they prefer the dead ones. Have fun.

Stone Fly Nymphs Begin Molt

2009-02-10T11:31:00.001-07:00

The Arkansas has been fishing pretty darned well on these nice days, and the fish are starting to move to the outside seams from the deep runs and pools. That behavior is a little early, but I believe that Stonefly nymphs have started to molt and that along with a little increase in water temperature has changed things dramatically. The best time to fish is from about 10AM till 3PM and the best rigs are deep running Stone Fly nymphs trailing a #16 BH Prince, Chartruese Copper John, or a #20 Red Pure Midge. A few fish are coming to the surface to eat adult midges, but very few.

On rivers like the Arkansas, Stonefly nymphs offer up their protein load to fish coming out of the winter doldrums. There are obviously a lot of different stonefly species in our rivers, but the one that really kicks off the feeding frenzy are the Golden Stones, Hesperoperla pacifica and Claassenia sabulosa . These are fairly large bugs measuring from 24 to 38 mm or on the average a little over an inch long. When they are mature, they have a dark brown back with a yellow underbody. These insects live in the nymphal stage for two years during which time they undergoe several instar phases or molts. Like a snake, everytime the insect sheds is exoskeleton, it grows a little. It's hard to say exactly how many instars it goes through, but most folks think somewhere between 7 and 12. I personally don't really care. All I know is that sometime in mid to late February (this year the first of February) through early April, the little beggars molt and drive the fish crazy. The molt occurs around daybreak and anywhere from 6 to 8 hours later, the nymphs have hardened up again and turn darker. So, in the mornings, they have a buttery translucent appearance to the fish, making them a wonderful food source. I think they probably look a lot like Mom's mac and cheese or a wonderful dish of veal picatta. Perhaps not.... Anyway, you want to fish the golden stone imitations in the mornings until mid afternoon, then switch back to the darker ones. Remember, not every stonefly nymph in the river is exactly the same age, so this process continues for a few weeks. A golden stone nymph is always my lead nymph through the spring hatches. On cloudy days, I trail it with Larry's #20 Black Ice for a Baetis nymph and in early April I always tie in on with a Caddis Larva. In late February and early March I will fish it by itself with about three split shot on a 6 foot leader. I use the short line, bounce nymph method in heavy, choppy water. That's where the creatures live, so that where you need to be. Keep adding split shot until you get the nymph on the bottom quickly. Don't work into position just to have your bug float over the heads of the fish. Forget the strike indicator and high stick the fly through the rocky bottom. Takes will be unmistakable, so don't worry too much about that. Just keep the thing bouncing along through the drift.

Wright and McGill Superstore Launched

2008-10-16T10:34:00.003-06:00

Royal Gorge Anglers has launched a new web site featuring all Wright and McGill products. We have always been a big supporter of this old Colorado Company and since its foray back into fly fishing a few years ago, we have sold lots of W&M products to lots of satisfied customers. Now, everyone can buy these products on line and in addition, we are offering free shipping to all customers in the lower 48. Products are available directly from the factory, so availability will not be a problem unless the factory is backordered. Please go to the new site and take a look. Just click the title of this blog or go to http://www.wrightmcgillsuperstore.com

ARK Fishing

2008-08-09T19:17:00.002-06:00

The Ark is looking good even with the rain over the past few days. I guided a half day trip this morning and fish were on Apes with a Red thunder or Red / Silver high voltage PT early in the morning and then Hoppers followed by the same droppers later in the morning. Remember fish are still in tight to the banks. Curtis

Arkansas Finally Fishing Again

2008-07-13T11:35:00.002-06:00

After a seemingly endless runoff (sometimes you get what you ask for), the Arkansas is finally dropping and edges are clear. The river is dropping regularly each day and small creeks seem to be back into normal shape or getting there rapidly. With fish stuck on the edges to escape current velocity, fishing is bonehead easy right now. A big PMX trailing a PMD nymph or attractor nymph like a High Voltage Pheasant Tail is a good bet for lots of fish. Wading can still be a bit treacherous, so be careful and don't wade where you can't see your feet. I suspect that the river will now be great until Thanksgiving, so get out there.

South Platte Fishing

2008-07-03T13:44:00.002-06:00

With flows in the high 300's the South Platte has been fishing great! The best Flies have been Scuds, Beads, and San Juan Worms trailed by PMD RS2 and Midge Larva. Fish can be taken through out the day with tan caddis if you prefer fishing drys. Then in the afternoon we have been fishing Hopper / Dropper rigs with small Dave's Hoppers or Parachute Hoppers trailing Yellow Thunders or Gold ice. If you like fishing streamers that has also been good on sinking leaders fished tight to the banks. Curtis

Wishing for lots of Water

2008-05-20T12:48:00.001-06:00

After a high water spring and marginal fishing conditions due to releases from Twin Lakes to make room for runoff, the river has finally started to really rise. The largest snowpack in about 25 years is waiting for the rivers to take it away. The end result should be a cleansing flow that will remove a decade of silt and other drought related maladies. Hopefully this will be the year that gravel bars clean up, islands disappear and new islands reappear. We'll see.......

Spring Fling and BWOs

2008-04-01T10:43:00.002-06:00

We just completed our 7th annual Spring Fling at the Arkansas River KOA at Cotopaxi. We had great weather and a great time. Thanks to all of you who participated. I hope the BBQ was to your liking. I thought it was one of the better fares of late.

BWOs have been hatching away on cloudy days as we prepare for the Caddis Hatch. We have a little more water to contend with this year than we are used to, but that has stabilized water temperatures and should lead to a great hatch. If snowpack stabilizes or some of it evaporates, we are told that BOR may actually cut back on releases in a couple of weeks. We'll see, but if flows stay as they are, it will still be excellent. Get out and fish. April is Numero Uno.

Spring has Sprung for Fly Fishers

2008-02-29T14:35:00.002-07:00

The South Platte below Spinney is fishing extremely well right now and some big spawners from Elevenmile are cruising upstream now. Micro eggs, Midge Larva and Black Leeches are the trick. Lots and lots of fish to the net with some 5 to 8 pounders possible.

The Arkansas in Canon City and West to Salida has broken ice free and Browns are having a good ole time on molting Stonefly Nymphs and Caddis Larva. Basically any green Larva in a #16 and a #10 Golden Stone will do the deed. Fish are in deeper runs in the early morning and by Noon have filtered out into prime lies. Some fish are moving to Black or Brown Woolly Buggers. The rivers have certainly come alive the past week and fishing will only get better before runoff, which could be substantial this year, but probably not early. We've got lots of great fishing days before May 15, which is average runoff startup for the Arkansas.

Spring is up next, believe it or not

2007-12-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

With the Christmas season upon us, spring is right around the corner. Years pass pretty quickly for me, so as usual I find myself behind in planning for spring fishing. My buddy, Larry Kingrey and I are confirmed for lots of presentations after the 1st. We'll be doing seminars on the Arkansas hatches, how to tie and fish Caddis hatches, and tying and fishing wet flies. I hope we're in your neighborhood and that you'll come out to see us. Our schedule right now looks like this:

January 4,5,6 The Fly Fishing Show...Denver; February 8,9,10 The Albuquerque Sports Show; February 22, Wichita, Kansas Flatland Fly Fishing TU; March 13, Cherry Creek TU, Denver. I suspect we'll add a few more to the list, but I wanted to post these so you can put them on your calendar. We're looking forward to seeing you.........

Bill

Fishing Report

2007-10-15T13:38:00.000-06:00

Fishing has been very good over the last week. Fish Have been On hopper / Dropper rigs using a Red October trailing # 16 Red Thunders, #20 Black Ice, # 20 Black Thunders and # 20 Purple High Voltages. Streamer Fishing has Been good in the afternoon With Olive Squirrel Streamers, and Spruce Streamers. Blue Wing Olives have been hatching mid day with fish eating adults even on the sunny days. Curtis

Fishing Report

2007-09-01T19:23:00.001-06:00

Fishing was good today. We had clear water from Coaldale up in the morning and grey / olive water at Texas creek in the afternoon. As long as we don't get a heavy rain tonight I think we will have fishable water all the way to Canon City on Sunday. The picture is Evan with his first Arkansas fish. Fish were on # 10 red Octobers, And royal PMX's, # 16 Red thunders, # 16 Red / Silver High voltages and # 16 Orange / Yellow High voltages. Most fish were still on the edges. Curtis

Low Flows and Hungry Fish

2007-08-27T11:52:00.001-06:00

After a long spell of heavy rain, the Arkansas has now dropped in flow and is fishing extremely well. Wet flies like the little Brown Hackle Yellow in the photo are responsible for lots of hook ups right now as are the traditional hopper/dropper rigs that are so popular on this river. Approaching fall, we are turning to Royal patterns for the top flies such as a Royal PMX, Royal Wulff or Royal Trude. Copper colored bead heads like Larry Kingrey's Copperhead, Curtis Andrew's High Voltage Pheasant Tail and a standard old Copper John will all take lots of fish when suspended below the big dry fly. Streamers are right around the corner, but for now we need to enjoy the numerous Caddis species that are hatching as well as the sporadic hatches of Red Quills. Me, I'm just waiting for the Royal Wulff hatch..........

Arkansas is fishing well now

2007-08-14T12:36:00.001-06:00

The Edges are now clearing from all the rain we have had over the past couple weeks. Flows are still up and pushing the fish to the edges. My wife and myself had an evening float on Sunday the 12Th and did very well with streamers ( muddlers and olive buggers)fished on sinking leaders. We also moved some fish with hoppers. The pictures are of a couple fish that we caught including my wife's first fish on a fly rod! Curtis

Arkansas is Perfect

2007-07-12T07:52:00.001-06:00

The Arkansas is now clear and flows have dropped to around 700cfs which is where they will now stay until mid August. We have PMDs, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, and incredible late day Caddis hatch and hoppers. Walk/wade fishing is now easy and floating is spectacular. We're starting out the day with a hopper/dropper rig running a Parachute Madam X or Stimulator with a #16 Gold Ice, Yellow Thunder or High Voltage PT in orange/yellow. Afternoons are Caddis, Hoppers, and Yellow Sallies. Caddis are tan and olive bodies in a #16, Hoppers are yellow or olive in a #10 to 14, and Yellow Stimulators or Larry's Yellow Sally in a #16 work well by themselves up until dark. Watch for afternoon thunderstorms which can stain the water and lightening which can stain more than the water.

Fishing Report

2007-06-29T15:40:00.000-06:00

Hello, fished the Texas Creek area today and did very well with large hoppers and a # 16 Yellow / Orange High Voltage PT (see Picture ). This bug can be fished for a PMD, Yellow Sally or Red Quill. Edges are clearing nicely, but still remember to use caution if you must get in the water. Curtis

Arkansas in Runoff

2007-05-16T11:36:00.000-06:00

The Arkansas has been taking runoff now for the past few days and is yet to crest. We will probably see peak flows by sometime next week and then edges should start to clear, giving us access to lots of fish and lots of hatching Golden Stones. By simply walking shorelines with a #10 Yellow Stimulator you can have the easiest fishing of the year. Pulling a streamer off the bank from a boat is not bad.....as a matter of fact, once we have a clear strip off each bank, it is very good.

Caddis Explode upstream

2007-04-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, Caddis literally exploded off the water from Pinnacle Rock to up past Cotopaxi. Today we are experiencing a very strong hatch even to Coaldale. This one's a killer, so get out there over the next two weeks. Very good dry fly fishing on Black Foam Caddis and Larry's Egg Layer.

Chris, Greg and Abby enjoying the Arkansas

2007-04-25T09:44:00.000-06:00

Hi,had a full day trip out on the 24th, the weather turned out to not be that bad had some rain off and on along with some wind. Air temp was 48 in the afternoon with water temp 46 to 48. Fish really turned on to BWO nymphs. The best pattern was the Purple Pheasant Tail in a #18 . We also moved a few fish on Brown Hackle yellows and olive buggers. We never had a strong BWO adult hatch.

Fishing Report

2007-04-22T18:59:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone had a full day trip today fishing started slow up at Texas Creek but came on strong at about 1100 using a QD Larva / Black thunder rig.Water temp at 1100 at Texas Creek was 50 degrees. We moved down into Canon and found caddis this afternoon. Fishing was hard but if you gave them a pupa on the swing they would take it. As for drys they are starting to get picky and you need a pattern like Larry's hi vis or the brachy adult. Curtis

Caddis Upon Us

2007-04-20T18:07:00.000-06:00

Full day guide trip today.....Fished Parkadale in the morning, took a number of fish on size 12 Yellow Sally, and also very productive with a mettalic caddis larva. Afternoon was spent hunting down some risiers on the riverwalk. A strange occurance today, as there were 2 overlapping hatches. First started about 1 PM, 2nd at about 3 PM, and at 430 we had egglayers back on the water. So, there were plenty of bugs, however, the fish were slow to key on them but came along nicely towards the end of the day. Fished a black foam caddis, trailing a Lofontaine Caddis Pupa, this was productive all afternoon.....get on the water, the blow up hatch should be in the next few days!!!!

2007-04-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone I just got off a full day trip. Fishing was slow this morning up river, but was ok this afternoon at Parkdale and in Canon City if you found rising fish, then you could take them on a foam body caddis, wire body soft hackle or primetime. Curtis

WE HAVE CADDIS

2007-04-18T15:20:00.000-06:00

We had caddis come off today in Canon City. Fish were eating larva ( Larrys QD larva) and adults (Elk hair and Larry's foam body) , fishing was slow on pupa but will pick up over the next couple of days. The adults came off at about 130 and went strong until about 215 when the clouds came over. Water temp. was 56 at 130. So get out and enjoy Curtis