06/12-06/13 Upper Colorado

Current Conditions:

Sam and Ben took a romantic weekend getaway to the Upper Colorado and the Ute Trail Motel on 6/12 and 6/13, because nothing says romance quite like low flows, hopper droppers, and arguing about whether forks in the river are good or bad.

Flows on the Upper Colorado are still concerningly low for this time of year, but the river continues to fish well if you are willing to move around & adjust when needed.

On day one, we arrived late morning at Elan’s hole and, for the first time, found it pretty unproductive. We saw a few risers and lost a few fish, but never really got things going there. After giving it a fair shot, we moved upstream and started finding a little more success.

By early afternoon, we were fishing hopper dropper rigs, though the hoppers were mostly being ignored. Almost all of the action was coming underneath on the nymphs, which was inconvenient for Sam who was trying to make a strong moral case for dry fly fishing that day.

Ben eventually found a new little stretch of river, forever dubbed Ben’s Fork, after a serious and deeply important debate over whether forks in the river are usually a good or a bad choice. In this case, Ben won. The fishing was solid, and we finally started getting takes on some of the biggest hoppers in our boxes. We also tried some streamer fishing, which produced nothing.

We went back out around 7PM and witnessed a pretty insane caddis hatch. Bugs were everywhere, we managed to scratch off a few, but never quite dialed it in. Also, bring bug spray. The mosquitoes were brutal.

On day two, we got an early start and hiked up toward the Colorado/Williams Fork confluence. The morning fishing was excellent on the dropper again, with fish feeding well below the surface. Around 11:00 AM, fish started rising more consistently, and the dry fly fishing picked up.

After arguing all weekend about being a simp for the nymph, Benny Biot finally gave proper dry fly fishing a real shot and did well. We could not quite tell what fish were eating on the surface, but a size 18 parachute Adams did the trick.

Overall, it was a strong weekend on the Upper Colorado. The river is low for mid-June, which is definitely something to keep an eye on, but the fishing is still good if you are willing to cover water and adjust throughout the day. Droppers were the most consistent producer, bigger hoppers started getting some attention in the right water, and the dry fly bite turned on more noticeably late morning into the second day.

Get out there while you still can, because the Upper Colorado is fishing well right now, but the low flows are a little ominous.

Flies of the Day:

Sz 18 Elk Hair Caddis

Sz 16-18 Frenchie

Sz 16-18 Parachute Adams

Sz 10 Morrish Hopper