Roaring Fork River Report 6-19-22
Posted on 19 June 2022
June 19, 2022
UPPER ROARING FORK- ASPEN DOWNSTREAM TO BASALT
FLOW: 350 CFS
WATER CLARITY: High with fluctuating clarity.
OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 10, but improving daily!
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Midges, Caddis, PMDs, Golden Stonelfies, BWOs, Sculpins
THE LOWDOWN: The upper river is still a bit on the high side, but we (and the fish) were super-thankful to have a decent runoff this year. Visibility is poor in the mornings and much clearer in the afternoons.
Hatches are a bit sporadic considering the higher flows, but the river is dropping quickly. We can still get away with large stonefly nymphs and bright worms for another week or two, and then we'll be back to small and technical nymphs.
HATCHES: Midges 18-24, Caddis 14-18, Pale Morning Duns 14-18, Golden Stoneflies 4-10, BWOs 18-22
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:
DRIES: TC Custom Sparkledun PMD 16-18, Hackle Dun PMD 16-18, Perfect PMD 16-18, Rogue Foam Golden Stone 4-8, Egg Layer Golden Stone sz 4, CDC Comparadun BWO 18-22, TC Sparkledun BWO 18-22, Mole Midge 20-22, HOH Hanging Midge 20-22, HOH CDC Midge Adult 24, HOH CDC Spent Midge 22-24, Sprout Midge 20-24, Skittering Z-Lon Midge 20-22
NYMPHS: Cat Poop Stonelfy 4-10, San Juan Worm 10, BH Twenty Incher Nymph 12-16, BTS Baetis 20-22, Sparklewing RS2 20-22, Freestone Emerger 20, BH Polywing Emerger 20, Kingrey's Cap'n Hook 20-22, Bead Wing Midge 20-22, Rojo Midge 20-22
STREAMERS: Autumn Splendor 6, Carlton Banks sz 4, Cousin It Sculpin sz 6, Grease Monkey sz 4, Beldar Lemon Drop sz 8
HINTS: Fish the soft water where your flies have time to get down in front of the fish.
MIDDLE ROARING FORK- BASALT DOWNSTREAM TO CARBONDALE
FLOW: 1780 CFS in Basalt
WATER CONDITIONS: Runoff is in effect, but dropping quickly!
OVERALL RATING: 6 out of 10
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Blue Winged Olives, Caddis, Midges, Pale Morning Duns, Golden Stoneflies, Sculpins
THE LOWDOWN: Changes are afoot, and we are seeing fluctuating flows now, but off-color water isn't a deal breaker. As a general rule, the water will be more off-color in the morning and clear up substantially by late afternoon.
Do not be afraid to seriously beef up your tippet and fly size when fishing in these runoff conditions. Fish will tend to look for pockets of slower water to conserve energy so focus your efforts on these areas.
Expect to have the best clarity on days following cooler nights. Though it seems the peak of runoff is behind us, expect the river to remain off color as we enter our hottest week yet.
HATCHES: Caddis 14-18, Blue Winged Olives 18-22, Midges 18-24, Golden Stoneflies 4-10
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS
NYMPHS: Cat Poop Stonefly 4-10, Zirdle Bug 6-8, Twenty Incher Nymph 12-16, Freestone Emerger 20, BH Polywing Emerger 18-20, Biot Baetis 18-20, Sparklewing RS2 20-22, Imposter 20-22, Lil Foamy 18-20, Neon Nightmare 20-22
DRIES: Cloud Nine Golden Stonelfy 4-8, Chubby Chernobyl 6-12, TC Custom Sparkledun PMD 16-18, Hackle Dun PMD 16-18, Perfect PMD 16-18, Harrop's CDC Biot Dun BWO 20-22, TC Sparkledun BWO 18-22, Harrop's CDC Thorax BWO 20-22, Missing Link Caddis 16-18, Olive Elk Hair Caddis 14-18, Bill's Midge Emerger 20-22, HOH CDC Midge Adult 24, Hatching Midge 20-22, Morgan's Para Midge 20-22
STREAMERS: Tungsten Double Mint sz 4-8, Hansen's Meal Ticket sz 4, Baby Gonga Black sz 8, Home Invader sz 2
HINTS: Find some deep water where you can and keep an eye out for risers too
LOWER ROARING FORK- CARBONDALE TO GLENWOOD
FLOW: 3620 CFS in Glenwood Springs
WATER CONDITIONS: We are seeing consistent runoff conditions on the lower Fork, but the river in general is dropping quickly. Clarity improves on days following colder nights.
OVERALL RATING: 6 out of 10
FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Caddis, Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies, BWOs, Golden Stoneflies, Midges, Sculpins
THE LOW DOWN: Locals were very thankful to see a quasi-normal runoff this time around. The snowpack was great, then it wasn't, then it cooled off significantly and prolonged the melt until the peak last week.
Green Drakes should be on the scene at twilight any night now, and we are still seeing consistent hatches of caddis, BWOs and midges. Pale Morning Duns and Yellow Sallies are now hatching sporadically and will only increase in the coming days. Golden Stones are flapping around here and there as well@!
HATCHES: Yellow Sallies 16, Golden Stoneflies 4-10, Caddis 14-18, Blue Winged Olives 18-22, Midges 18-26
APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:
NYMPHS: Spanflex Stonefly 6-8, Twenty Incher Nymph 12-16, Prince Nymph 10-16, Tung Torin's Soft Hackle 16-18, Copper John 14-16, BLMs 18-20, Freestone Emerger 22, RS2s 20-22, Polywing Emerger 18-20, Biot Baetis 18-20, Soft Hackle BWO 20-22, Imposters 20-22, TC Poxy Biot Baetis 22, Jerome Baetis 20-22, RIP Midge 22
DRIES: Hairy Sallie 16, Reed's Rogue Golden Stone 4-8, Chubby CHernobyl 6-10, Pearl and Elk Caddis 14-18, Tan Elk Hair Caddis 14-18, Lawson's No Hackle BWO 20-22, Befus Para Emerger BWO 20-22, Hackle Dun Baetis 20-22, Roy's Special Fryingpan Emerger 20-22, Hatching Midge 20-22, HOH CDC Spent Midge 22-24, HOH CDC Midge Adult 24, Morgans Midge 18-20, Sprout Midge 18-20, Griffiths Gnat 20
STREAMERS: Double Dirty Hippy sz 2, Beldar Lemon Drop sz 2, Grease Monkey sz 4, Galloup's Dungeon sz 2
HINTS: Generally, cloudy days tend to produce the best dry fly action.
Upper Roaring Fork: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv/?site_no=09076300&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060
Middle Roaring Fork: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?09081000
Lower Roaring Fork: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?09085000
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