03/26/12 Eagle River

03/26/12
Eagle River
10:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Flow 77

After sending my brother to the airport, I decided to fish the Eagle above Wolcott for a little.  Around this time last year, just before run off, the fishing was phenomenal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't "on fire".  The fishing was good, but nothing to write home about.  But it was good fishing in a river again after a day at the toilet bowl on Pan.

The river was a bit stained, with visibility limited.  Run off has been going on with the warmer temps so all the rivers in the mountains are starting to get stained.  I don't think we will have a huge run off like last year with our snow pack only at 60% vs. last year.  This is good news since we will be able to get back out there sooner than later!  Last year I wasn't able to float until July, this year I hope to be floating in just a month or two.

Another 1st for me on this trip was catching some mountain whitefish.  I most have found a pod of them because I ended up catching 4 of them.

These chunks put up a good fight but I was surprised that I caught them since I didn't know they were in the Eagle. 

Catching these guys are also a challenge since they have such little mouths.  I was pulling flies out of their mouths on every hook set since I would set the hook the minute my indicator would move and I eventually got frustrated that I wasn't hooking them well...so I ended up letting them take the flies a little longer.  After the initial tick on the indicator, I would wait for the indicator to move drastically before setting the hook.  \

After moving up river to another spot just below I-70, I was able to get into a few rainbows as well.

These guys were hanging out in riffles actively feeding.  There was a bwo hatch going on, but I only saw an occasional rise.  No need to tie on any dries...the fish were still actively feeding on nymphs.

Flies for the day were a dark prince that the whitefish loved, and the bows were taken on a tungsten micro san juan in red.

So if you're up in the mountains and the skiing conditions are a bit too warm...go get on the water!  The fishing is good and it's a much more enjoyable day avoiding the crowds and slushy conditions on the slopes!