Colorado River Tributary

[DUBBN]

Hooked a lot more than I landed this morning. Still haad a fun couple of hours.





Size 10


Size 12

[tie2fish]

Anybody who ties flies like those deserves to catch fish!

[DUBBN]

Thanks Bill. This is the third year that both of these patterns have been producing for me. The river I was fishing was stained with runoff. These type patterns do well for me this time of the year.

[letumgo]

I'm happy for you Wayne! Keep living the dream...

Boy, those are some nice trout.

[Mataura mayfly]

Size #10-12, would be like me tying on #6's!, compared to your more usual sizing.
I guess if the water was stained, the bigger flies present a more visible target, or are you covering a larger natural pattern?
Like the look of the hooks you chose, nice strong looking hooks with large gapes- for serious fish.

Great to see the ND caps and some nice fish featuring here again.

[DUBBN]

Size #10-12, would be like me tying on #6's!, compared to your more usual sizing.
I guess if the water was stained, the bigger flies present a more visible target, or are you covering a larger natural pattern?
Like the look of the hooks you chose, nice strong looking hooks with large gapes- for serious fish.

Great to see the ND caps and some nice fish featuring here again.

Jeff, the Spring run-off has the rivers swollen. Not flood stage yet, but good flushes are happening now in every river drainage. This tributary that empties in to the Colorado River has always (in my memory) run gin clear. I fish the Colorado at the exact spot where this swollen creek dumps in to the river. The Colorado is muddy, but there is a 60 yard (50 Meter) seam where the creek water is still clear as it pushes in to the river. The trout lay in the clear water and pick food out of the dirty Colorado water as it washes by.
I chose large patterns for a couple reasons. Right now the Giant Stones are trying to hatch. If the temperatures get a little warmer these 3 inch bugs will morph in to adults and take wing. Those ginormous nymphs are laying in the river now, ready to crawl out. The Green Drakes should soon be hatching at this lower elevation as well. Big food items on the dinner table means the trout are looking for larger than normal patterns.

Second reason. Literally inches from where I hook these trout the current from the Colorado River is ripping by at run-off velocities. The instant I hook a fish I apply pressure by pulling the trout towards the bank. I do my best to keep them in the slower water of the creek. I use size 1x - 3x tippet here. If the trout, even a small one hits that strong current, it will break off. I lost quite a few yesterday despite trying to get them away from that current.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. Next Saturday I am slated to float the upper Roaring Fork. High flows but the water clarity is about 12 -18 inches. Perfect conditions to find the trout stacked up in slack water on the inside seams of any bend in the river. Yep, I will be using big patterns, and larger tippets there as well.