According to reports from the valley flyshop, the Roaring fork was too muddy to fish. Don't believe every thing you read. Visibility was at 12 inches to start the day, and 18 to end the day.
As I surmised the fish were congregated in any soft water below islands, or on the inside bend or dogleg in the river. Each hole produced multiple fish . My friend Bob hooked a slab sided Rainbow that would have weighed out at approx. 6lbs, but she made her way to the main current, and we lost her. I was manning the net. For me, 14 inchers were as big as I could muster, but I caught a bunch of them. What the trout lacked in size, they made up with enthusiasm. Most trout caught put on some spectacular aerial displays, with multiple jumps. Even the Browns.
A size 8 Caddis larva/pupa was by far the best producer. I brought 6 for the trip. I gave each of my buddies 2, and I kept two. I would guess the two I kept accounted for close to 25 fish. After I lost one to a snag, and the other had lost all its partridge, I replaced them with a Trout emerger (
egg). I think I caught a couple fish on that, but I am guessing it was working as an attractor.
The next best producing patterns were the Peacock & Partridge, Partridge and Hare, and March Browns. All in size 14 and 12. Most tippets were 1X to 2X. With the extremely fast main current, and murky water, the larger tippets were appropriate.
Size 8
size 14 Partridge and Hare (Majority of patterns in this photo)
Peacock and Partridge, size 14 and 12
March Brown (Brahma and Hare), size 14