This week’s fly fishing Report is from the “The Meadows” on the North Fork of the South Platte River, The William’s Fork and Colorado River near Parshall, CO. Winter Fly Fishing in Colorado can be a great way to enjoy our beautiful state.
Locations:
Flows:
Bug Hatches:
Flies: Wellsey’s Worm # 14, My Fly # 16, Gray Ghost Midge #18, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail #18, Parachute Adams #12, Green Drake #16, Purple Prince #18, Colorado Trout Toad #6, Jack Dennis’ Amy’s Ant #16, Black Beauty #20, Rainbow Warrior #22, Clouser Minnow #8, Green Machine # 20, CDC Trico #22, Spent Wing Trico #22, San Juan Worm #16, Buckskin #18, Sparkle Wing Rs2 #20, Dorsey’s Mercury Flash Back Pheasant Tail #20.
Colorado Fly Fishing Guide: Capt. Chris Wells
Fly Fishing Report: This week’s fishing Report is from the “The Meadows” on the North Fork of the South Platte River, The William’s Fork River and The Dream Stream section of The South Platte River.
The North Fork Meadows: The Meadows fished absolutely lights out this week with good summer flows from Geneva Creek and Robert’s Tunnel. The fishing in the morning has been mainly done with nymphs and during the afternoon there have been good Green Drake and Red Quill hatches offering spectacular dry fly fishing. Streamer fishing has been good during the late afternoon when the sunlight is a little less intense. The big fish have been holding in fast water which will test any angler’s skills. With higher flows, we have been fishing 2X and 3X giving us and advantage in helping us land these huge fish. The Meadows is the best private water fly fishing Colorado has to offer.
The William’s Fork River: The William’s Fork River is one of Colorado’s best kept secrets. It joins up with the Colorado River near the town of Parshall and it’s a heaven for Colorado Fly Fishing. The flows are still on the higher side but it has kept other anglers away. We had almost the entire river to ourselves and the fishing was great. The mosquitoes were thick on both the Colorado River and The William’s Fork, bug spray and a buff face mask were a must. If you’ve never fished The William’s Fork River, it’s a must if you are going Fly Fishing in Colorado.
The Dream Steam: The Dream Stream is located on the South Platte River above Elevenmile Reservoir. We have been in the parking lot at 6:45am in anticipation of the trico hatch. The river is gin clear and the fish were chowing hard on emerging tricos and midges. Nymphing was productive for the first hour and a half and then the fish started keying in on the spent adult tricos. We switched to dries and a perfect cast followed by a perfect drift took a few fish off the surface. The trout would rise in a slow and steady pattern and a patient angler was able to get in sync with the trout’s rhythm. After the trico hatch, we started nymphing again and began to catch fish out of the fast water, riffles and deep seams. The South Platte River has some of the best dry fly fishing in Colorado. Summer on the Platte is some of best Fly Fishing Colorado has to offer.