Streamflows Dropping

6-28-2014 After an agonizingly long run off, it looks like THE Eagle River is ready to float. This is a special time of year for us here at Minturn Anglers that we all look forward to: dry fly season, happy time.

As flows drop closer to 1000 cfs and the water temperature starts to live in the mid 50’s our favorite freestone begins to purge prolific hatches of Caddis flies. This all neatly coincides with our very limited float season (approximately 3 weeks) between Edwards and Gypsum and has become a not to be missed part of the summer fun around here. Look for the hatch to move up stream and thicken as water temps start to exceed 52 degrees for more than 2-3 hours during the day. As the hatch first starts to show consistency the fish will key on rising pupa as well as twitched or skated dry fly patterns like the good ol’ Elk Hair Caddis. This can be a nice warm up for the tougher hatches of late summer, as the fish really do not care about drag while you shake the rust off your fly fishing skills.

Eagle River Float Trips Can Be Tricky, but Incredibly Rewarding

Floating the middle section of the Eagle is complicated by the fact there is so much private water that you can not stop your boat in. Most sections of the river during float season take above average skill on the oars and an intimate knowledge of her many tricky spots, property lines and rapids.  Spring flows will begin to drop consistently between 50-75 cfs a day, quickly taking us from whitewater to “pinball” conditions as our fishing buddies chuck double dry fly rigs. Having an experienced float guide becomes important  as hazards and rocks pop up almost overnight.

Being there for peak emergence is not necessary on these floats; these guys love to eat dry flies post run off. The Caddis hatch can be consistent mid to late morning and the egg layers march up stream in the evenings, giving us two prime half-day float times.  Book a trip in a boat on the Eagle soon, our senior staff and this special season book up very quickly.