Aspen Flyfishing Report

Early Summer Update

2011-07-05T19:20:00.004-06:00

It has been a long spring here in the Roaring Fork Valley but, despite the high water, we have been hard at work putting people on fish. While high runoff flows limit the places to fish, there are often a multitude of options available on any given day and if you're in the right place at the right time the fishing can be on fire. Our senior guide staff knows the spots and has been producing consistent results all summer long.

That being said, the rivers are finally on the drop and within the week we should start seeing a serious downward trend in flows. Floating is just right around the corner and so are the bugs. It has been a long spring, but it is going to be a fantastic summer.

Here are some high water shots from the last few weeks.

What a Difference a Day Makes.

2011-04-03T17:54:00.004-06:00

There is a saying in Colorado, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes." It is cliché, but it is particularly apt in the Spring. Yesterday we spent the day floating and casting at carp in our barefeet.

Today the weather was so bad that we had the toilet bowl all to ourselves.

You've got to love Springtime in the Rockies.

Monsoon Hogs

2010-08-24T10:37:00.005-06:00

It has been an active Monsoon season all over the State of Colorado this month. And as a result, we have had to deal with some periodic muddying of the rivers.

This past Friday we had a huge storm system role through, completely blowing out the lower Roarin Fork below the Crystal. On Saturday, my friend Capt. Matt Thomas and I put the rafts in at Hooks Bridge in Basalt and floated the middle river down to Carbondale. The fishing was fantastic, and our guys had such a good time they rebooked for Sunday. With the Lower Fork still running dirty, we decided to roll the dice and put the drift boats in at Carbondale anyway. Needless to say, we made the right choice. The river provided non-stop action and the dirty water let us sneak up on some real nice fish. Including one beautiful, 20.5", wild rainbow trout.

Summer Update/Colorado River Float

2010-08-24T10:01:00.012-06:00

Summer is flying by once again, and as usual, it's been phenomenal. The rivers are in great shape, the fishing is good, and we have all been staying busy helping people catch fish.

Currently, the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan Rivers are fishing fantastic, top to bottom. We are transitioning out of our big summer bugs and into are fall baetis and midge cycles. Though there are Green Drakes and PMDs still to be found on the upper frying pan.

The Colorado is blown out from recent rains and will remain so for at least a few more days. This river has essentially been blown out for the last two weeks. When it clears, it will be like spring all over again. Hot, hungry fish, and lots of them.

Contact us about current conditions and to book some fall fishing. It is going to be an amazing September.

Though a bit delayed, here is a bunch of pictures I took on a Colorado Float about two and half weeks ago. Right before the mud showed up.
When it clears, it will be better than this.

Hope to see you this fall.

It's summer time again...

2010-07-04T12:04:00.005-06:00

After a long and relatively cold spring we are finally into our summer season. The runoff took everyone by surprise this year, after the cold spring we got a stretch of really warm weather in early June and the Roaring fork unleashed its fury. We saw levels on the river that I doubt we will see again. The snowmelt has moved through for the most part and the Fork is now running clear and things are happening.

The float fishing on the lower river is

on fire right now, mostly nymphing throughout the day but the dry fly fishing is great from late afternoon through dark. An evening float will put you right in the middle of the green drake hatch for some of the best fishing you will see at any time here in the valley.

The wade fishing on the upper Fork is hitting it's stride, the water did stay cold longer than usual this year so things are happening a little later in the season. We are starting to see good caddis hatches as well as some PMDs and the sporadic Baetis hatch, nymphing in the mornings with a the fish starting to look up in the afternoons.

The Frying Pan has been super consistent the last couple of weeks. The water level just dropped opening up even more water to fish. You can put a bunch of fish in the net on nymphs in the morning and then fish dry flies during the afternoon PMD hatch.

Feel free to call us at the shop 970 920 6886 and we can give you up to the day reports - the fishing is only going to get better throughout the summer as all those bugs that are ready to hatch start popping.

February Fishing

2010-02-18T20:20:00.005-07:00

Been out of the loop for a couple of weeks with a broken shoulder but things are feeling good now and have been guiding clients 5 of the last 6 days. The weather has been snowy but temps are staying in the upper 30's and low 40's. Big rainbows like warm snowy days. This is a fact.

Andrew, pictued above, landed 15 - 20 fish and 10 were over 16 inches.

Everyone else did fine too. The "little" midges are hatching every day from about noon to 4 and I am starting to see some of the "big" black midges that really draw fish to the surface. Consistent dry fly fishing is right around the corner.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T18:27:00.002-07:00

Is there a better place to spend the first day of 2010 than on the banks of the Roaring Fork river?

The big rainbows were feeding today, most fish were fooled by a little black midge. The river is clear of ice and there is plenty of open water to fish. The total for the day was 13 fish in the net with another 8 or 10 that jumped off.

We also landed plenty of browns.

2009-12-18T18:19:00.002-07:00

Winter fishing is in full swing, the fish were eating as soon as we got on the water a little after 11:00 and continued to feed until about 2:00 when things slowed down a bit. We did get this 17" rainbow on the last cast of the day as the sun was dropping below the ridge, nice to end on a high note.

We landed 12 fish for the day, mostly browns and two 17" rainbows.

Client Testimonial

2009-09-01T17:00:00.002-06:00

Got this email from a client today and, with his permission, I thought I'd share it.

Aspen Flyfishing and Roger The Guide of All Guides-

So how about this for a perfect day of fishing; In Aspen for a wedding in late August. Meet Roger at noon on Friday afternoon- wife at the spa, got an afternoon to kill. Beautiful weather- warm but not hot. Gear all set up, we’re on the river in no time. First fish is a 17” wild brown trout with bright orange spots. Ultimately netted 20-25 fish. Another 5 to 10 LDRed. Only one trout out of all of them under 14”. Biggest was close competition between the original Brown and a Rainbow both in 17” – 18” class and both close to 3lbs. All native/wild fish with vibrant colors, broad shoulders and sweet spots. Huge runs downstream. Huge jumps 2’ to 3’ feet in the air. Caught fish on nymphs. Caught fish on dry flies. After 2.5 hours, we called “mercy”, feeling a wee bit gluttonous. Was back at the Little Nell, poolside with a cocktail, by 4:00… and that, Aspen Flyfishing, is no fish tail.

Thank you for one of the best fishing experiences in my life.

Any small exagerations aside, that sounds to me like a pretty good day of fishing and a good description of what fall fishing on the Roaring Fork can deliver.

July Photo Recap

2009-08-08T14:25:00.008-06:00

Here are some of my favorite fish and some nice pictures from the last couple of weeks of July.

Enjoy.

Current Report

2009-08-08T13:32:00.005-06:00

It's hard to believe, but July is in the books and we are already a week into August. Summer is cruising along with each day on the water merging into the next and the fishing hasn't missed a beat.

The upper Fork near Aspen is fishing really well right now. The river is at the perfect level for wading right now and daily baetis hatches with some pmds and midges and a few drakes mixed in have created really consistent nymph fishing and the opportunity for great sight fishing with dry flies.

The float fishing on both the lower fork and the Colorado continues to be as productive as ever with nymph fishing being the ticket in the middle of the day for those looking to produce some numbers and hook into some seriously feisty rainbows. Hopper fishing is also hitting its stride in the lower valley and should be making its way up valley soon.

The pan right now is running a little high but if you are in the right spot, the action is almost non-stop. It should be dropping back down to normal summer levels in just a few days.

Stay tuned and call for info and reports.

Colorado Float

2009-07-19T09:40:00.005-06:00

Floated the lower Colorado on Wednesday of last week with Robin and Gail, two of my favorite people, and thought I'd do a brief report and post some pics. Basically, the fishing was just on, which has been the theme of the week. In fact, there is not much more to say other than that the action was non-stop and we all had a great day..

Here are some pics.

All things considered, this day would have gone down as a huge success no matter what, but this beast of a male brown trout sealed the deal and put this day in the books.

Nice fish Robin.

early summer update

2009-07-15T22:47:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a little while since the last update, but that is only because the fishing got so good. Runoff finally ended, and the rivers began the serious drop just over a week ago. The waters are now clear and at perfect levels valley wide.

The Roaring Fork is on fire from Aspen all the way down to Glenwood with large numbers of caddis , yellow sallies, pmds, and green drakes all active and present. If you happen to be on the right stretch at the right time it is possible to witness them all coming off of the water at once. Needless to say, the fish have their feed bags on and we are seeing not only good numbers but really high quality fish as well. They are strong, hungry, active, and getting ever more willing to come up to the surface.

The Frying Pan is currently flowing at 180 cfs which is pretty much the perfect level for that river. Pmds, blue wings, midges, and caddis are all active, and the fishing has been not just consistent but down right hot.

The Colorado blew out a few days ago but has cleared big time and the fishing is good. Yellow Sallies, pmds, and rusty spinners are present and active and the fish are on the feed. We floated on the lower Colorado today, and had one of those days. Stay tuned for pics and a full report.

Second Wave of Runoff

2009-06-29T12:26:00.003-06:00

Summer finally arrived last week in the Roaring Fork Valley after a June full of cool temps and plenty of rain. And while the warm weather and sunshine has been a pleasant change, it also brought with it high water.

The rivers last week were at their highest point for the month and were running quite dirty, partially due to a heavy mid-week rainstorm. However, in typical fashion, we stayed out there, and the fishing was good.

It looks as though the Roaring Fork river peaked on Friday, and though it is still very high, it seems to be on its way down. Combine that with increasingly active insects, and I am predicting we see some very good fishing in the days and weeks to come.

Stay tuned and here are some highlights from the high water last week.

Here's Alan excited about his big brown trout. Trust me.A couple of big rainbows.
And yes, we've even been putting the boats in the water.

Mac at Moon Run Ranch

2009-06-12T22:29:00.004-06:00

I went up to Moon Run Ranch last week with my new friend Mac and his dad. Mac is eight years old. He wants to learn to fly fish. We had a wonderful time, and the fish were healthy and hungry.

Here is Mac bringing his casting lesson to the water.

He likes catching them, though he's not sure he wants to hold them yet. But that's what dads are for.

Hooked up.

And we finally get him to hold one. Good job Mac.

Team Matt Visits the Roaring Fork Valley

2009-06-02T13:06:00.004-06:00

Matt and Matt flew in from Dallas for a weekend of R&R and fishing. The cooler weather has slowed the runoff on the Roaring Fork and the river is running high and clear right now. The flows on the Frying Pan are down from last week as well.

We hit the Pan on Saturday and caught 20 or 30 trout with really good dry fly fishing from around 2:00 to 4:00.

On Sunday Team Matt had to catch a 2:00 flight so we stayed close to the Aspen Airport and fished the Roaring Fork. We hit the water about 10:30 and an hour and a half and 20 fish later I dropped them off at the airport to head back to Dallas. Needless to say, the fish in the Roaring Fork are hungry right now.

Matt #1 with a small Roaring Fork rainbow (Matt #1 caught mostly small fish)

Matt #2 with a big Roaring Fork rainbow (Matt #2 did the heavy lifting in this group)

Runoff Has Arrived

2009-05-27T09:42:00.005-06:00

The Roaring Fork, Colorado, and Frying Pan rivers are in full spring conditions. Warm weather last week brought peak like flows throughout the valley, with cooler temps this week bringing the water level down. We will just have to wait and see what the weather does and how runoff continues from here. There is still a fair bit of snow up high but most of the low level snow seems to have already melted.

I got out a few days last week and had a great day on the water this Monday, all on the upper Roaring Fork. As you can see in the photos, the water is a touch high, but there are quality fish and uncrowded waters out there for those who know where to look. The Frying Pan is also at a very fishable level at the moment and the lower Fork can produce some banner days at these levels if you know your spots.

Don't be afraid of the spring trip. We have a lot of water at our disposal in this valley and our guides know where to be and how to produce this time of year. Give us a call at the shop for daily conditions as spring continues.