The Area Reports
Word From The North
St. Peter’s Fly Shop, Ft. Collins – (970) 498-8968 (Dave Cook, Andy Griguhn, Brady Hanson, Grant Houx).
The River is in full run off force and will continue to rush for another couple of weeks. If you do go to the
river be careful and try to stay out of the water. We will let you know when the water recedes and when conditions improve.The North Fork of the Poudre is flowing at about 600 cfs so if you go above the confluence the main stem should be half of what the canyon mouth gauge is reading. We recommend streamers and other large bugs. Some effective patterns are Bead Head Seal Bugger's #6-10, Rubber Bugger's #6-10 and North Platte Specials #6.
You might also try Stonefly patterns - Wired Stones, 20-Inchers #10-16 - and attractor patterns(copper john, princes) for lead flies.
Angler’s Roost, Ft. Collins (970) 377-3785 (Gordon Waldmier, Mark Brumbraugh, and Jason Haddix)
Gordon says the ice is off the Delaneys and the fish are on. A variety of big lake midges - 12-16, Bit Me Buggers and Ice Cream cone chironomids will all take fish along with the ever present scuds, Callibaetis and damsel fly nymphs.
Estes Angler - (970) 586-2110 (Grant Rollo, Devan Ence)
Flows in the Park have are up to 117 cfs but the water is still clear if a little high. Larger Dry flies such as Royal Wulffs, Stimulators and Trudes will attract the fishes’ attention and pull them to the surface. Look for areas of slack water.
Dropping a beadhead of the back of a large dry fly is a good option. Try larger, darker or flashy nymphs to get the fishes attention. BH Prince, Copper Johns, Lightning Bugs, Spitfires and San Juan Worms will be visible to the fish and will take a few trout. Try them in sizes 12-16.