05/06/12 Blue River in Silverthorne

05/06/12
Blue River in Silverthorne
3:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Flows 53
Temps in the low 40's with rain turning into snow

Work is really getting in the way of my fishing!

I can't really complain, my job is a good one with certain times of heavy travel that can be fun...but let's get to the fishing!

The Blue has been fishing very well since the DOW has stocked it, but the fishing is starting to get a little more technical.  Even from the last time I was up, I'm seeing more and more people not catching and I'm noticing that when I'm lazy with a cast, I'm not catching fish either.

These guys have definitely gotten smarter and without a good drift, you won't be catching fish.  A variety of flies will still work, but stick to 5x or 6x fluro tippet and size 16-22 flies.  Midges, mayflies, and mysis are the ticket here and even a mid day midge hatch happens when the sun is up.  Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for today.

I took the family up to the private stretch of the Blue below Green Mountain and we did some fishing and grilling.  This was the 1st time we took Kaycee out to the river and she had a ball.  She even fell asleep in her backpack while we fished for a little and wasn't fussy at all.  She really enjoys being out and taking everything in.  Temps in the morning were mid 60's and slightly overcast skies.  By the time we were done with lunch, the clouds were rolling in...

My wife dropped me off behind the outlets so that she could do a little shopping, and I could get more fishing in!

Lots of beautiful fish and even with the rain that was changing to snow, there were still at least 5 anglers that I could see working their way up and down the river.

Temps dropped fast and the rain continued...but the fishing was still go.  Zebra midges, UV emergers, Top Secret Midges were all readily taken, but only on a good drift.

Again, this river is just getting pounded by anglers so land your fish fast, snap that picture and get them back in the water.  Lots of fish that I caught also had additional "jewelery".  Please don't try to snag the fish...lots of fish with 3 fly rigs in their backs or on their bellies...These fish will eat...just don't try to use 3x tippet and huge flies.

Another great day on the river!  If you are headed to the Blue, the fishing is still good...don't get discouraged when the fishing slows...take time to consider what is going on and change up your flies, add or take away a little weight, and get a good drift and you'll start catching fish again!

Good luck out there!

Arkansas Below Pueblo 12/31/11

Happy New Year!

I decided to ring in the new year with another day on the Ark. I met up with Dave and we decided to hit the spillway in the morning and move to Valco in the evening. Get our numbers in the morning and some bigger fish in the afternoon.

Temps were around 50, but the wind was bad. Really bad. 70 mph winds weren't uncommon and the gusts were almost blowing us off the rocks that we were standing on.

Besides the wind, it was a wonderful day. We were able to make casts between the wind gusts and actually got into quite a few fish.

At the spillway, we ended up fishing around the foot bridge and found a honey hole of suckers! It wasn't our intention to catch them, but they were there eating anything we drifted in front of them. They were fun for a while, but having to untangle our rigs was a pain in the butt and getting the slime off the line was almost impossible.



Of course fishing in the spillway was good as usual, the stockers were taking barr's emergers, two bit hookers and blue poison tungs on almost every cast. A few bait fisherman moved in around noon, so we decided to move over to Valco to see if we could find some bigger fish.





At Valco, we had the river to ourselves. Even though the lot was full of cars, most people were fishing upstream or at the deep hole dunking bait. We made our way slightly downstream to Dave's favorite spot and he immediately picked up a fish.





We were even able to manage a double!



At the end of the day, I managed the biggest fish with a 16 in. Certainly not the biggest I've caught down there, but it does make for a great ending to a good day.



So we braved the winds and caught fish all day...how can you be disappointed with that?!?! We didn't change much in the way of flies. Mostly leading with a two bit hooker followed by a baetis or midge pattern. We didn't try eggs or worms, but I think san juans will still catch a few, but I think we'll wait on using eggs again until the spring spawn starts for the rainbows.

Where am I headed next? I haven't fished the Blue as much as I would have liked...I've spent a lot of time down in Pueblo but now that the holidays are over, I probably will be spending a few more days on the Blue. I do have to head to Steamboat for work, so I might try the William's Fork or Yampa below Stagecoach, but if the snow is too deep, it won't be worth the hassle of hiking in to these tailwaters. I do want to get to the Frying Pan again, since winter keeps a lot of fisherman off the water, getting into the toilet bowl isn't a wait or a hassle and even if there is someone in the bowl, the flats fish well with 7x and size 22 midges!