11/08/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

11/08/12
Blue River Below GM
Flows 200
10:00 - 3:00

Flows below GM are perfect right now!  Fishing has been good with good sized fish being caught.  It wasn't on fire, but it was decent.  We started the day fishing a 3 nymph rig with a golden stone up top, a copper john, and then a soft hackle pheasant tail.  We managed fish on all 3 for most of the morning, but the bite died down around noon.

So I decided to change it up and put on a good old san juan and managed a few more fish!  My buddy decided to try to swing a double articulated streamer and managed 2 more nice ones!

Overall a great day!  A good mix of browns and bows.  We tried some eggs too, but didn't get any hits.  Fish were still keyed in on bigger flies and they really liked the stonefly patterns and the san juans.  A 20 incher and golden stone were my point flies for the day.  With the water dropping and temps dropping, I can see a decline in stones, but for now, the fish are really keyed in on them!  Remember, even though we fished on the private stretch, the same things will work right below the dam at GM.  Flows are perfect bringing lots of bugs into the riffles so thing big and fish big!

09/28/12 Blue River in Silverthorne and Below Green Mountain

09/28/12
Blue River in Silverthorne
Flow 52
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Blue River below Green Mountain
Flows 250
12:00 - 4:00 PM

My buddy who always told me that he has a terrible time on the Blue was finally done with me hounding him about how great it is...

Unfortunately, with all my bragging about how good the fishing is, I managed to jinx myself and we didn't have a great morning...

We started in town at Cable hole and fished our way up to Rodeo hole and back.  We managed 5 fish between us, but nothing of size.  The biggest was a nice little 16 incher that took an epoxy back mysis.

None of the big boys were out and about, and it was pretty weird not seeing a lot of fish in the water unlike earlier in the summer.  There's still fish there, but they have become very weary of weights, lines and flies and will generally move out of the way of your perfect drift.

I'm hoping that the fishing will improve once winter hits.  The cold keeps people off the water and allows the fish a chance to move back into the feeding lanes and feed a little more instead of hiding.

Since I couldn't show my buddy a bad time, we decided to head up to fish below Green Mountain to see if we could get into some more and bigger fish.

We tied on some stonefly patterns and soft hackles and were rewarded with fish right away!

A good mix of browns and rainbows holding in the usual spots.  The flows were dropped about a week ago which made wading easy, but it wasn't high enough to float.  I think with flows right around 250, it was perfect for wading, plenty of moving water putting food in the water, but not so high that fish were hugging banks and undercuts avoiding the faster water.

I did manage my biggest fish in the private stretch which made it a stellar day for me!  My buddy was shocked to see that this piece of water held such big fish.  I'd heard reports of people catching some of these pigs, but I was glad to see that we did have some in this stretch.  I think the high flows allowed for some of the big guys to make it up which is great for wade fishing here until the snow makes the road hard to drive down.  A good incentive to make the drive up, especially since the fishing in town is getting tough.

This 25 incher took a 20 incher.  Stoneflies were the hot ticket as well as the soft hackles.  It was nice being able to fish bigger patterns!

Soft hackle pheasant tails, and hare's ears also caught a few fish.  We managed to land about 8 fish, with plenty of bigger fish getting off before making it to the net.  Overall a great day on the upper stretch.

Don't forget, even though we were fishing the private stretch, the same flies and tactics apply for fishing just below the dam.  Upsize and think stoneflies.  Browns and gold in sizes 12-16. 

08/03/12 Blue River in Silverthorne and Below Green Mountain

08/03/12
Blue River Silverthorne/Green Mountain
Flows 56 in town, 375 below GM
12:30 - 5:00 PM

Kirk from Arizona  http://www.emptyflybox.com/ got in contact with me from my blog and some posts on some forums and said he wanted to fish the Blue!  Even though I was out of town on business and I only had 1 afternoon to spare, I said what the heck and made the drive up the hill to meet him and fish the Blue.

My flight landed at 10:30 and I made the drive up the hill in record time!  We were going to meet for lunch at Smashburger so I decided to scout the water from Chipotle down to the pavilion.  I heard that there were some nice fish that aren't pressured like they are right below the dam.

With only about a half hour to spare, I quickly rigged up and made my way up and down looking for promising holes and dropping some flies to see if there were some hungry fish.

Unfortunately, the fish were few and far between.  I could see some fish, but the low water and people on the pedestrian bridges spooked them.  I was only able to hook up with 1 nice rainbow that took a blue poison tung.

So off I went to Smashburger and I met up with Kirk.  Kirk had gotten out on the water early and managed a few fish at cable hole and mentioned that it was super busy.  We wolfed down our burgers and over to the fly shop to pick up a few more flies before we hit the water.

We decided to fish cable hole a little before we headed up to fish below GM, and thankfully, there was only 1 guy there when we got there.  Everybody must have taken a lunch break!

Kirk hooks up a few times, but comes unbuttoned, and I managed 3 hook ups, but only 1 fish landed...man, these guys are getting smart!  This bow took a mysis.

So off we went to fish the private stretch below GM.  We saw two other fisherman who said that the fishing has been tough.  One of the guys who was nymphing caught nothing...this wasn't looking good...

But Kirk is no ordinary angler!  I set him up on a point and had him tie on a stonefly and copper john.  He set his casts and set it right at the head of the run.  Bam!  Fish on.  A nice rainbow that put up a nice fight.

A couple casts later, and he hooks another that manages to take his whole rig.

So while he's re-tying, I jump in the hole and manage to catch my own brownie!

We keep fishing and I manage another!

After fishing this run for a little, we decided to explore a little more.  We moved downstream to the end of the property line and fished some promising looking holes.  Just as Kirk hooks up with a rainbow, the clouds decide to open up so we decide to make our way back.  Too bad Kirk lost that rainbow too...it flashed on his flies and looked big!  The clouds were looking ominous and black with potential for lightning...so it wasn't worth sticking around!

On the way back, we put a couple more casts in some fast riffles and I manage another nice brownie.

The rain starting coming down harder as we got back to our cars.  I guess it was a sign that fishing time was over...the fishing was good, but not great.  I wish I got Kirk on a few more fish before we had to leave, but the fish just weren't cooperating.

We found what the fish were munching on.  Stoneflies were the ticket.  20 inchers, tung teasers, bigger copper johns and any thing buggy and stonefly like.  I tried some drake patterns, but didn't get any hits.  Weird since this is usually the start of the green drake season down here.  Hopefully the low water isn't putting them off.

Overall a good day!  Some nice fish, and it was awesome watching Kirk make some super long casts.  His technique was impeccable and he was able to throw out some serious line.  It was super easy to just point out a hole and he would put his flies there.

Kirk was sticking around to fish the Blue until Wednesday, I gave him some ideas on other places in the area to hit, so I can't wait to see what he comes back with!

07/07/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

07/07/12
Blue River below Green Mountain
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Flows 420

My last day in the mountains and I was stuck at the house waiting for the carpet and tile installers to come.  Our rental property has been trashed by the previous tenants so new carpet and an upgrade to the bathrooms was in order.

When they finally arrived, I figured I'd get a line wet down at the private stretch even if it was for an hour or two.

When I pulled up to the gate, I was dismayed to see 2 cars setting up with at least 4 fisherman rigging up...I guess even a private stretch will be busy for a holiday weekend! 

I made my way down to the far north of the private stretch and proceeded to try my luck where I've caught many fish before!  Today...nothing.  Not on a copper john, not on a prince, nothing...

The flows were fluctuating a bit before the holiday week, but it should have stabilized by the time I was fishing!  But still nothing...weird...

I made my way back up towards diversion and saw the 4 fisherman pounding the far bank.  Looked like they weren't getting into any fish either.

My luck did change while fishing the diversion.  I managed 3 small brownies.  They might have been small, but they sure beat the skunk!  All 3 took a rubber legged copper john.

I figured I'd better get a picture even though it was a small fish or I wouldn't have any pictures at all!

After picking up these 3, I needed to head back to the house to supervise the installs.  Plus, I would rather to end the day on some fish rather than being potentially frustrated for another couple hours!

07/01/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

07/01/12
Blue River Below Green Mountain
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Flows 498

The old tenants at our rental property moved out, so I had to head up and take pictures of the condition of the house.  Of course I was going to go do some fishing as well!

The private access on the Blue was busy with campers for the weekend.  All 3 camping areas were taken by familes but none of them were fishing.

I headed out and headed north to fish the far reach of the private stretch and managed to hook into a few fish, but lose them in the faster water.  I ended up catching a nice bow right at the end of the private stretch that took me for a run downstream.

Not huge, but it certainly was a fun fight.

This guy took a copper john.

As I made my way back upstream, I continued to fish and kept getting bites, but either the fish would spit the hook, or I was too slow on my hookset.  I guess it's just one of those days...

At the bend, I managed to hook up with another fish that hook a rubber legged copper john/prince that took me into my backing!  Now that was a fun fight.  After 2 runs, I was finally able to wrangle him into the shallow riffles and netted him.

It's good to see that there's still lots of big healthy fish in this stretch.  They certainly are more spaced out at these higher flows, but this stretch is still easily fishable and wadeable at 500.

Back at the car, I decided to get 1 more drift at the cut bank and was rewarded with a nice brownie.  He took a copper john as well.

A fat little guy that obviously has been eating well.

Fishing has been fair down here.  For those of you who might be trying to fish below the dam, stick to stonefly patterns.  What works here, will work down there as well. 

The green drakes haven't really started coming up yet.  But try a green drake nymph.  And if you are floating the canyon, a green drake nymph would always be on the end of my line.  It's getting close...any day now and we should see a hatch.

06/24/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

06/27/12
Blue River Below Green Mountain
7:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Flows 492

1st float trip of the season!  They finally raised the flows on the Blue enough to float.

We decided to get to the Blue Valley put in early to avoid the crowds and the heat of the day.  We ran shuttle and noticed that we weren't the only ones with that idea!

There were already 2 cars at the take out, so we hustled back and got on the water by 7:30.

As we were getting the boat ready, I decided to get a quick drift right where we launch the boat, and quickly had a nice brownie that took a pat's rubber leg!  A good sign the for the day.

So we shoved off and fished some fishy run and managed a few more brownies on the pat's rubber leg and a 20 incher.

No pictures...got those fish back in the water quickly so we could pursue bigger fish!!!

As we made our way to Jurassic, the fishing slowed just a bit...a few missed strikes, but no fish to the net, so Josh decided to tie on a big articulated streamer and managed his 1st fish!

A beautiful bow that absolutely hammered the streamer.

We switched up rowing duties which allowed me to bring a couple fish to the net!  A few more small brownies and a "dink" bow here and there, with a few big boys sprinkled in.

My biggest of the day was this bow that took a pellet fly on the Jones Ranch.

Josh was able to score his biggest fish just before the Jones Ranch on a copper john.

Fishing was good, but not great.  We did have good luck finding some big fish, but the fishing wasn't lights out like we've seen before on the Blue.  We didn't see any fish rising, and all fish were taken on nymphs.  Pat's Rubber Legs, Copper Johns, Tung Teasers, 20 Inchers, and Pink San Juans were hot flies.  The pellet fly brought 2 fish to the net, but we didn't see any pellets in the water which is probably why it didn't produce like it normally does.

Lots of changes to the diversions and braids were done on the Jones Ranch.  Time will tell if this will improve or harm the fishing.  For now, it helps make some of the diversions easy to navigate, and at higher water this could be a plus!

Flows are still "low" so if you're going to float, account for extra time.  A float that normally takes 5 hours ended up taking 7.

04/13/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

04/13/12
Blue River Below Green Mountain
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Flows: 72

Flows are low making wading and sight fishing super easy.  Flows are predicted to remain low as Green Mountain fills...this puts a damper on trying to float the Blue a bunch this year, but luckily fishing here is great at lower flows.

I was able to catch quite a few browns and bows today, all feeding in the riffles.  Hot flies were sparkle wing rs2's in black and flashback WD40's.

I even tied up a few rs2's with a tungsten bead, and without tails and managed a few fish on it as well.

I ended up catching quite a few dink rainbows, surprising since there usually aren't a lot of small fish in the stretch.

After spending a couple hours exploring, I had to head back for a meeting in Vail so I had to cut this trip a little short...but the fishing was great and I expect that it won't change much for the next month or so.  I am hoping the low water doesn't affect the hatches...the green drake hatch is awesome on the Blue and I hope I get a chance to fish it...

04/05/12 Blue River Below Green Mountain

04/05/12
Blue River Below Green Mountain
Temp 65
Flows 72
1:00 - 4:00 PM

I had to take care of some business up in Hot Sulphur Springs so I decided to bring the rod and see how the Blue Below Green Mountain was doing.

The flows have been reduced quite a bit from normal so I figured sight fishing and clear water would be the name of the game.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case...even though the flows are low and wading is easy, visibility isn't the greatest.  Not sure why, but I wasn't able to spot too many fish.  Hopefully it clears up a bit, but even still, the stained water didn't turn the fish off.

This bow took a size 20 grey WD40.

I tried to fish some bigger flies, but got no takers, so I switched back to flash back rs2's and other midge patterns.  Dark and tiny were on the menu...

I did get into quite a few browns that were feeding in the riffles.  Occasionally, one would rise and take emergers so a 3 rig of midges and rs2's with no weight fooled many fish.

Fish count for the day was 8 fish, all browns except for 1 rainbow caught in the diversion.  I did hook into quite a few more fish in the diversion, but they either spit the hook, or ran up into the waterfall creating slack in the line which caused the hook to fall out.  All the browns were caught in the riffles and were actively feeding.

Flies for the day definitely were rs2's in black, flash back, and regular as well as dark midge patterns in a size 18 - 22.