August 5, 2024

UPPER ROARING FORK - ASPEN DOWNSTREAM TO BASALT   

FLOW: 65CFS at Aspen

WATER CLARITY: Clear, with occasional color during and after heavy rains

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:  Green Drakes, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Golden Stoneflies, Blue Winged Olives, Midges, Craneflies, Sculpins 

THE LOWDOWN: Hatches have become much more consistent as flows have now stabilized. You name almost any trout bug --they're present on the upper Fork. We're seeing all the above insects, and remember the Green Drake hatch tends to happen at dusk (unless it's a cloudy day, then they'll pop off midday).

We usually recommend treating the upper Fork like the Fryingpan, as in light tippets, perfect presentations, and not laying your line over the fish.

Dry-dropper fishing and euro-nymphing are two go-to methods on this upper stretch as well. Don't overlook terrestrial patterns like hoppers, ants and beetles!

HATCHES: Green Drakes 10-12, Craneflies 10-16, Pale Morning Duns 14-18, PMD Rusty Spinners 14-18, Caddis 14-18, Golden Stoneflies 6-10, Blue Winged Olives 18-22, Midges 18-24

APPROPRIATE PATTERNS:  
DRIES:  Chubby Chernobyl 6-10, Rogue Foam Golden Stonefly 8-10, Egg-Layer Golden Stone 8, Amy's Ant 8-10, Craven's Baby Boy Hopper 12, Skippy Hopper 8, Cloud Nine Golden Stone 6-10, TC Custom Green Drake Sparkledun 12-14, Green Drake Cripple 12, Perin's Comparadun Green Drake 12, Flick's March Brown 12, Garcia's Mini Hot Yellow Sallile 16, Putterbaugh Caddis Black 16-18, Elk Hair Caddis 18-20, HOH CDC Thorax BWO 20-22, TC Sparkledun BWO 20-22, TC Sparkledun PMD 16-18, Uber-Realistic PMD 16-18, No Hackle PMD 16-18, Cranefly Adult 10 

NYMPHS: Cat Poop Stonefly 6-10, Griffin's Twenty-Incher Nymph 10-16, Prince Nymph 12-18, Soft Hackle Peacock 16, Stott's Raisinette 20, Tungsten Two Bead Nymph 18-20, Tungsten Faucci Nymph 16-18, Bead Head Swiss Straw Emerger 16-18, Jigged Hot Orange Bead CDC Pheasant Tail 16-20, Stott's USD Nymph 12, Magnymphico 16-18, Tungsten Rainbow Warrior 18-22, BTS Baetis 20-22, Sparklewing RS2 20-22 

STREAMERS: Swim Coach, Slump Buster, Carlton Banks, Baby Gonga, Autumn Splendor

HINTS: Fish the soft water along the banks before you cast into the middle of the river

MIDDLE ROARING FORK - BASALT DOWNSTREAM TO CARBONDALE 

FLOW: 650CFS at Basalt

WATER CLARITY: Cloudy

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT:  Pale Morning Duns, PMD Rusty Spinners, Yellow Sallies, Blue Winged Olives, Midges, Caddis, Golden Stoneflies, Sculpins 

THE LOWDOWN: Last night's rain has pushed some serious cloudiness into this stretch, most likely coming from Snowmass Creek. Flows only increased by about 100CFS, keeping the water wadable though off-color. Plan on throwing a streamer or some bigger nymphs out there today. 

Though the Drakes have mostly come and gone, these fish will still respond to the big bushy patterns in the evenings. If you don't see drakes, there should be some caddis, sallies, PMDs and craneflies out there to keep you and the fish busy.

There's not a lot of public access mid-valley, but local favorites are Catherine Store, behind Crown Mountain Park, and the section along Two Rivers Road here in Basalt.

HATCHES: Yellow Sallies 16-18, Caddis 12-18, Pale Morning Duns 14-18, PMD Rusty Spinners 14-18, Craneflies 10-16, Golden Stoneflies 4-10, Blue Winged Olives 20-22, Midges 18-24

APPROPRIATE PATTERNS
NYMPHS: Cat Poop Stonefly 6-10, Griffin's Twenty-Incher Nymph 10-14, Bead Head Swiss Straw Emerger 16-18, PMD Trigger Nymph 16-18, Spanish Perdigon 16-18, Stott's Good Carl 20, Stott's Good Carl 20, Jigged Tungsten Red Tie PT 18-20, Rainbow Warrior 20-22

DRIES: Chubby Chernobyl 6-10, Royal Wulff 10-16, Traditional Adams 16-20, Yellow Humpy 14-18, No Hackle PMD 16-18, Melon Quill PMD 16-18, TC Custom PMD Sparkledun 14-18, Stimulator 12-18,  Outrigger Caddis 16, Putterbaugh Caddis Black 16-18, Pearl and Elk Caddis 14-18, Hackle Dun Baetis 20-22, 

STREAMERS: Tungsten Double Mint, Tungsten Thin Mint, Baby Gonga, Carlton Banks, Circus Peanut, Autumn Splendor, 

HINTS: Fish the banks first- trout are lazy!

LOWER ROARING FORK - CARBONDALE DOWNSTREAM TO GLENWOOD  

FLOW: 750 CFS in Glenwood Springs

WATER CLARITY: Off-color

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

FOOD SOURCES PRESENT: Golden Stones, Blue Winged Olives, Pale Morning Duns, PMD Rusty Spinners, Craneflies, Caddis, Midges, Sculpins

THE LOW DOWN: Like the middle river, heavy rains have thrown some tint into the lower Fork. Clarity is down which means you can get away with slightly bigger, flashier bugs. It's a good time to throw those streamers. 

Keep an eye out for rapidly-rising water temps. While the rain is likely to help a bit, the gauges have been approaching 70 degrees mid-day thanks to this long and brutal stretch of hot, dry weather. There are no mandated closures at this point, but don't be surprised if you start seeing notices in the coming weeks. Protecting the health of our resource is paramount this time of year; think short fights, quick releases, and minimal handling. 

Best approached by boat, the lower Fork has a ton of different hatches happening right now. (Not to say you can't wade it, just swing by and we'll show you some wade access on the map we sell.)

Drakes have (almost) fizzled out as they move up-valley, but the fish are still looking for them. Heaviest hatches this week consist of Yellow Sallies, caddis, Pale Morning Duns and PMD Rusty Spinners.

Twilight is a great time to fish down here, especially if you work for a living and don't have a lot of time. Think green drakes, rusty spinners and especially caddis if you're seeing angry takes out there in the dying light.

HATCHES: Pale Morning Duns 14-18, Caddis 14-18, Blue Winged Olives 18-22, Golden Stones 4-10, Craneflies 10-16, Midges 18-26

APPROPRIATE PATTERNS: 
NYMPHS: Jigged Duracell 16-18, Cat Poop Stone 4-10, Griffin's Twenty-Incher 10-14, Jigged and Guide's Choice Hare's Ear 14-18, Mercer's Jigster PMD 16-18, Jigged Frenchie 16-18, Rust Murder She Wrote 18-20, Guide's Choice Hares Ear 16-18, Double Down CDC PT 16-18, Copper John 14-16, Tim Heng's BLM 18-20, Tungsten Two Bead Nymph 18-20, Tungsten Redemption 16-18, Bead Head Swiss Straw Emerger 16-18, Stott's Raisinette 20

DRIES: Chubby Chernobyl 6-10, Reed's Rogue Mustard Chubby 8-12, Egg Layer Golden Stone 8, Improved Sofa Pillow 4-8, Cloud Nine Golden Stone 8-10, Royal Wulff 10-12, CDC Comparadun PMD 16-18, Yellow Comparadun PMD 16-18, Para PMD Rusty Spinner 14-18, Yellow Humpy 14-18, Stimulator 12-18, Elk Hair Caddis 14-18, Pearl and Elk Caddis 14-18, Improved Sparkle Dun BWO 18-22, No Hackle BWO 20-22, Roy's Special Emerger 20

STREAMERS: Swim Coach, Circus Peanut, Grease Monkey, Slumpbuster, Devourer of Souls, Meal Ticket, Heng's Autumn Splendor, 

HINTS: Generally, cloudy days tend to produce the best mayfly action, but caddis prefer the high, bright sun. Don't overlook the magic of fishing dawn and dusk.

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