The Roaring Fork Valley at It's FinestIt's been a long Winter so far and many of the guys have been dying to get out for some fine fishing. Every year we all get together around the same time for a guys weekend up on the Pan. Great weather, incredible scenery and some outstanding fishing, why go anywhere else. Here is a recap for more on the Pan and our trip
Fishing the Fork near Snowmass
The Taylor Creek Cabins are the best, especially when you have some known tyers to stay up late with you and donate their proceeds to the Troutdawg fly box fund! Casey, Travis, Todd and Boca dawg all enjoyed a superb weekend, as did I.
Gorgeous Frying Pan Rainbows
50' weather, few crowds and lot's of fish! What a weekend
Prime cabins on the Pan, cookouts and good times
Go To Flies:
Midges (20-24), Huevos (14-18), Mysis Shrimp (16-22), BWO's (20-22)
It's that time. Time to put the ski's away and grab some fly rods as the fishing is kicking into high gear. The Taylor Creek guides are on the water daily and most have been fishing their tails off casting dry's all day. While there's no need to get out there at the crack of dawn, the fishing has been decent to above average in the wee hours of the morning. It's all going to be nymph fishing during this time period. Egg patterns such as a size #18 Mini Flashtail Hot Eggs in Chartreause, Oregon Cheese and Salmon Egg are still fishing well as the browns wrap up their spawning urges and the rainbow get set to spawn. These prespawn rainbows are beginning to color up and are simply vibrant. The deeper pools and seams always yield good numbers of fish during the winter but be sure not to overlook many of the riffles and other shallow nooks and crannies. Lately, there's been as many fish holding shallow as their has been deep. Successful dropper patterns should include a variety of Midge and Baetis subsurface imitations. For Midges concentrate on larva patterns early in the day and pupa/emerger patterns during afternoons. Red and White are hot colors for larva imitations (Capt. Hooks, TC Red Midges, Miracle Nymphs, Maggot Midges) while Black and Gray are key colors for pupa patterns (Medallion Midges, Bead Wing's, RS2's). Micro Baetis nymphs such as Tungsten Hoovers, Glass Bead Micro Mayflies, PT's, STD's and the like are beginning to fish better and better as we progress into March. Two fly nymph rigs consisting of Eggs/Midges, Eggs/Baetis or Baetis/Midge combo's are all that's needed. Dry fly junkies can rejoice in the fact that the Midge hatches are now a daily occurance. Look for decent numbers of risers beginning around noon to 1o'clock. This is where light fluorocarbon tippets of 7X come into play.
Checkout the Taylor Creek Fly Shop for all your fishing needs, flies and river reports!
Fun afternoon with no crowds in sight, Photograph by Travis Best
Even our Pal Kyle, the asst Mngr at Trout's fly shop, got into a few
MORE AT FLYFISH ADDICTION
4 comments:
What a killer trip it sounds like! No cold weather, few crowds and plenty of fish that's a perfect weekend in my book. Can't wait to get out that way this summer
Thanks it was a nice retreat and looking forward to getting back there again in May after a few other trips. The one thing about the Pan is the ample amount of bug activity and fish always feeding. Pretty hard to beat
When is the best time to fish it if you could? I'm getting to come out that way Summertime and didn't know if one month was better than the rest. Thanks
Lenny
Detroit
Lenny great question,
I'm no expert on the Pan but I fish it regularly enough. It depends, the midges are off the hook from Jan-March, than the Baetis/Caddis start to kickoff around May. Than there's the Drake Hatch that everyone goes after around July, a few weeks before/after depending on flows/weather. Than back to Fall it reverts to Spring patterns.
The Browns spawn late in Nov/Dec so another good time, basically I would look at the crowd hatch more than the bug activity, that makes more of a difference to me. Hope that helps!
TD
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