Frying Pan River Report

September 1 , 2010

UPPER FRYING PAN
                         
FLOW: 326 CFS Flows are expected to hover around this mark throughout the month. Consistancy is a great thing!

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WATER CLARITY: Clear and Green

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10. The crowds are diminshing which could rank the overall rating even higher.

THE SHORT AND SWEET: This is a superb time of year. We are still seeing all of the summer hatches without any of the summer crowds now. As always, the Frying Pan is the place to be to throw dry flies. The hatches right now are starting small in the morning, with BWO's and some midge activity, and getting bigger through out the day. PMD's and Drake are typically begining to hatch somewhere around mid-day and carrying into the late afternoon. 11:00am to 4:00pm is definitely the sweet spot for dry fly fishing. And just like always, you can catch fish on nymphs from sun up to sun down. And as always, the shrimp fishing can be incredibly productive directly below the dam.

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: PMD's (16-18), BWO's (20-22), Drake Nymphs (10-14), Mysis Shrimp (16-18), Midges (20-24)

IN DEPTH REVIEW: The Drakes are definitely here and they're definitely getting eaten by hungry fish, which is good news for all you dry fly guru's out there. It's not often that you get to throw dry flies in the sz 12 range on 5x tippet on the Pan. I recommend getting up here to partake in some of the most memorable fishing the Roaring Fork Valley has to offer and doing so before it's gone! Aside from the Drake's, we're having unbelievable PMD hatches throug out the day. Make sure you have a good selection of Pink and Yellow PMD's. There are so many different bugs for these fish to choose from, having a good assortment of flies can be your most valuable tool on the Frying Pan right now. Look for fish to be feeding on Drakes mostly in pocket water, where fishing a dry dropper rig can be lethal. We like to use a B.D.E. Drake pattern as an indicator and running a 2 or 3 foot nymph rig off of that, using a mix of PMD and Drake emergers. Also, be on the look out for BWO's early in the morning at the very beginning of the PMD hatch. Spinner fishing starting somewhere around 6:30 in the evening has been producing some of pretty amazing dry fly fishing pretty much until dark.

Appropriate Patterns 
Dries: Roy's FP Emerger, CDC Comparadun, Collet's Para. BWO, BWO Sparkledun,Flag Dun's BWO, Sprout Baetis, BWO Para. Emerger, PMD Sparkledun, Flag Dun PMD, Melon Quills, CDC Para Spinner, Polywing Spinner, CDC Spinner, Cripple Green Drake, BDE Drake, Royal Wulff, Twilight Drake, K.G.B. Drake

Nymphs: Pheasant Tails, STD's, BLM's, Tims Mysis, Epoxy Mysis, PT's, STD's, BLM's, RS2's, Barr Emerger BWO/PMD, Biot Baetis, Tungsten Hoover, Black Poxyback Baetis, Bat Wing BWO, Halfback PMD, CDC PMD Emerger, Jujubaetis

Streamers: Sculpzilla, Buggers, Stingin' Clouser, Foxee Clouser, Stingin' Sculpin, Slump Busters, Bellyache Minnows

Hints:  6X and 7X Tippet!!! For the majority of your dry fly fishing 7x is mandatory.


MIDDLE RIVER FRYING PAN

WATER CONDITIONS: Clear and Green

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Midges, BWO's, PMD's, Drakes, Caddis

OVERALL RATING: 8.5 out of 10

THE SHORT AND SWEET: The MIddle River is offering just about the most consistant Drake fishing on the Pan right now. It also has a ton of great pocket water to work over that hold some surprisingly large fish. The dry dropper rig mentioned above can be an absolute nightmare for fish and a dream come true for the angler. Pay attention to the rise though, if it's a big splashy rise, the fish are most likely eating Drakes. If it's a softer rise, they're probably eating PMD's or BWO's.

The In Depth Review: Tis the season to toss enormous dry flies to fish in a feeding frenzy. Tis also the season to stick a bunch of fish on nymphs as well...it's basically the season of consistantly good fishing no matter what method you choose. We've been seeing great BWO and Midge activity in the mornings before all the big bugs begin to hatch. A sz 22 RS-2 or Pheasant Tail can be your best friend in the early mornings. Once the big bugs start going off though, it can be either a dry dropper rig or a single dry fly that will be most effective on those fish. Generally we like to fish a single dry when we can mostly because everytime you catch a fish you only have to take the time to dry out one fly instead of two. And when the dry fly fishing is good, you will want your fly on the water as much as you can. Pocket water and shallow riffles is where you're going to want to put your Drakes and soft seams is where you'll want your PMD's and BWO's. And same as the Upper River, Pink PMD's can make all the difference in the world if you're in a place where the PMD's are thick and fish are eating them.

Appropriate Patterns

Dries: Same as Upper River

Nymphs: Same as Upper River

Hints: Break out the streamer box during lulls in the fishing. Take our word for it, especially under less intense light.



LOWER  FRYING PAN :   

WATER CONDITIONS: Green and Clear

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:Caddis (14-18), PMD's (16-18), BWO's (18-22), Green Drakes (12-14)

OVERALL RATING: 7.5 OUT OF 10.

THE SHORT AND SWEET: We're still seeing a few Drakes here and there on the Lower River, but for the most part you're going to see more BWO's and PMD's. The BWO's will start things out in the mid-morning hours but the PMD's are right behind them. Given it's proximity to the Roaring Fork, you'll most likely see more Yellow PMD's than Pink, abut that doesn't mean there won't be some Pink ones here and there.

THE IN-DEPTH REVIEW: If you're just getting into town, the Lower Pan can be the place to kick off your trip. The pocket water just above town can produce awesome fishing with dries, nymphs or streamers. Because of that, plan on covering a lot of water and seeing some new stretches of river. One of the best things about this wonderful stretch of river is the lack of pressure it sees and the surprising quality of the fish. I'm not going to say these fish are easier to catch, but they seem to be a little less picky about tippet and fly size. With that being said, I still recommend fishing atleast 5x to your first fly and 6x to your second. And don't be afraid to toss some streamers into those deeper pockets and pools. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
  
Appropriate Patterns

Dries: Same as Middle River

Nymphs: Same as Middle River


Link to the USGS Real Time Flow Chart for the Frying Pan River