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!

02/21/12 Eagle River

02/12/21
Eagle River near Avon
2:00 - 4:00 PM
Flows 77

After spending a week on the road, I had another 3 days scheduled for work in the mountains.  Having an itch to fish with rivers so close drew me out for a quick 2 hours of fishing on the Eagle.

Flows are low compared to last year, and run off is almost non-existent.  Water clarity is good, only getting a little brown in the afternoons, but still plenty clear fish, and the lower flows make it super easy to wade.

1st fish of the day

Followed by a few of these...

And a few of these...

Overall, the fishing was great!  I ended up with 10 fish in about 2 hours of fishing.  Nothing of size besides the 1st brownie that I caught, but I can't complain!  It's great to wet a line and catch some fish while taking a break from work!

Hot flies for the day were 20 inchers, rubber leg copper johns, and soft hackle hare's ears.  The obvious trend is stoneflies!

Although there isn't a full blown hatch, fish are keying in on larger flies and darker stones are on the menu.  I didn't really try any other flies, but I've heard that caddis and bwo's are still on the menu.  With the limited amount of time to fish, I wasn't planning on spending too much time experimenting with different flies.