Fall has arrived, flows have been holding steady around the 200’s, and the fish are on the feed
We’re still seeing some mid to late morning trico and BWO hatches depending on how cold it gets the night before. Dry fly fishing this time of year is a challenge, but it’s worth it considering the window of opportunity is quickly closing due to the weather. If your fishing a tandem dry fly rig but getting refusals on multiple bugs, I would suggest going to the film to catch them off guard, this can either be accomplished by adding a VERY small weight 3-4 inches above your small fly and drowning it in the film, or just replace the 2nd dry fly with an emerger pattern and fish it as a dry dropper. Depending on the weather you should start to see rising fish again in the evening hours. Some of my favorites flies for surface feeders are: cdc spinner size 20-22, parachute bwo sz 20-22, sparkle dun sz 20.
As the weather transitions, we are getting back into the inline nymph rig to consistently produce fish. Keep in mind that this time of year there are still significant hatches and the water is warmer than winter months, so the fish are all over the water column not just on the bottom. Adjusting your weight and depth is crucial to finding consistent action.
With the brown trout just starting to do their dance, an egg isn’t a bad option for a first fly, but then again, neither is a worm (the “fly” kind not the bait kind). For your 2nd and 3rd flies, you would
be well served to have a combination of midge/baetis nypmphs and emergers (chocolate thunder, red midge larvae, barr’s emerger, bcb baetis, zebra midge, juju baetis etc..) in sizes 18-22.
As always, please be aware of were you step in the river this time of year so as not to disturb spawning beds.
See you out there,
Levi Lambert
Minturn Anglers Fly Fishing Guide