Crystal River
September 1, 2010
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CRYSTAL RIVER
FLOW: 107 cfs in Carbondale.
The Short and Sweet: The Crystal has cleared up nicely and has begun to fish well again.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 10. It's day to day and weather (rain) dependant
The In Depth Review: After the recent rains and blow outs, the Crystal has rebounded very nicely. We're seeing great BWO and PMD as well as Caddis activity. If you're looking to fish away from the crowds on beautiful water, head up HWY 133 and wet a line on the Crystal. Fishing between Carbondale and Redstone will be the most productive, but heading further up stream into the pocket water that is the Headwaters of the Crystal can really be a kick in the pants! The nymph fishing has been the most productive but good caddis hatches are prevelent in the evening hours. The hot spots have been from Carbondale up to Redstone and from Marble up to the ghost town of Crystal.
Note:
Do not curse the Whitefish! Under appreciated, especially here in Colorado. The mountain whitefish is more of a sub-surface feeder and is usually not thought of as aesthetically pleasing as trout. In other states they readily rise to dries and many anglers are disappointed after "working a pod of rising fish to hook and discover they have been fishing to "Whities"! Here in colorado they rarely feed on the surface, but take nymphs readily. Especially for kids and new comers to our great sport, the "whitie" is a great sport fish. Once you locate them they can provide hours of enjoyment. They are great to learn proper nymphing techniques, how to set the hook & how to fight, land and properly release fish. Also, on the Crystal you never know when the indicator hesitates what my have eaten your offering! Many times a 16 inch rainbow may explode on the surface or a Big Brown may just give you the fight of a lifetime!
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:
Appropriate Patterns
Flies: Tungsten Princes, Tungsten PT's, STD's, BLM's, RS-2's, Freestone Emergers, Bad Habits, Blings, Bat Wings,
Hints: Cover water and move around quite a bit. Sight fish as much as possible.
Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Crystal River |
