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.

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!

Where am I headed next?

Winter is coming so tailwater fisheries will be my go to for the next couple months once the snow starts flying. I'll be posting trip reports and some winter fishing tips in the next couple months so stick around and feel free to ask questions about the places I'll be fishing and the equipment and rigs I use.

Tailwaters:
Arkansas Below Pueblo Dam
Frying Pan Below Reudi Res
Blue River Below Lake Dillon

Winter Fishing Opportunities before and after ice off:
Eagle River
S. Platte, Deckers and Below Wigman
Dream Stream
Arkansas River