The mines are closed; the hatches are back and the trout are thriving in Colorado's Eagle River.
ROSS PURNELL
Before and after the ski season, the tourist traffic wanes. October/November and March/April are probably the best times to fish the Eagle. In spring, midge hatches intensify and the trout begin to eat dry flies. The water is still low and clear, and the fish are spooky, so it takes an overcast day to bring them up on top. Snow or light drizzle can help.
Eagle River trout are not picky eaters in the spring. A simple Griffith's Gnat will work just as well as a fancy Stuck-in-the-Shuck Midge Emerger. Subsurface patterns like #18 bead-head Pheasant-tails, WD-40s, and a variety of other patterns will work. Blue-winged Olives (Baetis) hatch almost year-round on the Eagle, but they peak in April and early May and again in October/November. A #18 Parachute Adams is my favorite pattern for this hatch. I often use a fly one size larger than the naturals, and hang a Barr Emerger or a small bead-head nymph 18 inches below the dry fly. Tie the dropper to the dry's hook eye or bend. It's surprising how many fish will not take a dry, but will take a small nymph or emerger.
The Eagle's "super hatch" is the common Grannom (Brachycentrus), a cased caddis. The hatch peaks on the Eagle River in late May or early June and wanes through September. Although the trout will take many fly patterns, you'll catch more fish if you match the stage of insect the trout are eating. Early in the day, trail a caddis larva imitation 12-18 inches below a heavy nymph like a weighted stonefly or bead-head pattern to drift the larva imitation deep. When the hatch begins, the fish will likely key on pupae swimming toward the surface. Swinging a soft hackle wet fly or drifting a LaFontaine Deep Sparkle Pupa then can be deadly.
When you see fish actively taking adults at the surface (don't confuse the tail-slaps of trout chasing pupae with the distinct head-and-tail rises of trout eating at the surface), change to a #14-#16 Elk-hair Caddis or some other adult caddis imitation.
After the caddis hatch, you may find trout quietly slurping spent caddis in the slow water along shore. Large, smart fish prefer these vulnerable insects. My favorite pattern for this fishing--on any river--is Mike Lawson's Spent Partridge Caddis (#16-#18). If that doesn't work, try Craig Mathews's bright green and brown Spent Caddis (#16-#18).
Most of the high-elevation snowmelt runs off in late May and early June. During high water, the Eagle can be dangerous; use extreme caution while wading.
Large weighted nymphs such as golden stoneflies and salmonflies are important during runoff, because the big bugs migrate toward the shallows, becoming vulnerable to the trout. George Anderson's Rubber Legs Stone or a #4-#8 Kaufmann's Stone will take fish, but so will less-imitative patterns like a Girdle Bug or a dead-drifted Woolly Bugger. When I am nymphing, I always use two flies to increase my odds. Prince Nymphs, bead-head Pheasant-tails, and caddis imitations like a green bead-head Metallic Caddis are all good choices for a second fly.
As the water level drops, the dry-fly fishing improves dramatically. Golden Stones hatch sporadically from May through July and Salmonflies hatch from the end of June through July. Unless you are in the middle of a dramatic hatch (or egg-laying flight) and you see trout cannonballing adults all over the river, fish your adult stonefly patterns close to shore, along the willows and trees where the stoneflies congregate. Work your way upriver quickly, fishing big drys like #6-#8 Stimulators or Sofa Pillows. If the fish are looking for stoneflies, they'll crush it immediately. If they are not interested, no amount of casting will get them to take.
As the water levels recede in summer, the trout begin to key in on specific insects, and you can find yourself in match-the-hatch situations. A Pheasant-tail Emerger works for both the PMD and Red Quill hatches. Hair-wing Duns and Quigley Cripples are good choices for Green Drakes.
Don't obsess over your fly selection. Eagle River trout eat a lot of different flies. Your main concern should be getting a good presentation, which is challenging on this fast, swirling river. If you are in a raft, cast with an in-the-air upstream mend, then manage your line aggressively to eke out short dead-drifts. If you are wading, be creative on every cast to keep your fly floating naturally.
Through the summer months, I fish a two-fly dry-fly rig with a #14-#16 Elk-hair Caddis and a #16-#18 Royal Wulff, and I rarely change flies despite what is hatching. It is surprising how many fish take the Royal Wulff, even during a heavy caddis hatch, or the Elk-hair Caddis when Green Drakes are hatching.
A caddis pattern can take Eagle River fish every day during summer. The common Grannom is the most significant caddis on the river, but as that hatch tapers off in early summer, other species begin to hatch. The second most important caddis on the Eagle is the Western Sedge (Rhyacophila), the only caddis genus whose larvae are more important to anglers than the adult. These net-spinning caddis larvae are bright green with a dark-brown head and legs. They are often called green rock worms. Bead-head Serendipities (#14-#16) are a good choice, as are green bead-head Metallic Caddis.
Spotted Sedges (Hydropsyche) hatch in July, August, and early September. These tan #14-#16 caddis hatch just before and sometimes well after dark. The river also has small numbers of the small Olive Sedge (Glossosoma), so be prepared with #18-#20 caddis patterns.
In October, Blue-winged Olives start hatching in earnest, providing the last mayfly hatch of the year. The fall Baetis are generally smaller than the spring brood; try #20 nymphs, emergers, and drys. In late October, the browns spawn, so avoid walking on gravel riffles where they lay their eggs. Good Baetis fishing continues into November, then it's back to the ski-season fishing with small nymphs and midges during the warmest part of the day.
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Before and after the ski season, the tourist traffic wanes. October/November and March/April are probably the best times to fish the Eagle. In spring, midge hatches intensify and the trout begin to eat dry flies. The water is still low and clear, and the fish are spooky, so it takes an overcast day to bring them up on top. Snow or light drizzle can help.
BOWHUNTER