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Fishing report: Dry-fly anticipation

Will Sands
Special to The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado

BASALT – Dry-fly fishing is just around the corner. As an epic spring runoff begins to subside, our local waters will begin to clear rapidly and, as the waters warm up just a bit, we will begin to see an intensity of hatches. These hatches are what many anglers wait all season for, as there are few things more exciting than watching a trout appear under your fly and engulf it.

Within the next week or so, anglers can expect to see a variety of different bugs on the water from Glenwood Springs to Aspen and everywhere in between. Most notably will be the first green drake hatches around Glenwood, coupled with pale morning duns and a variety of different caddis. This explosion of insect activity after a prolonged period of enduring high, cold and discolored water drives the local trout into a feeding frenzy. Many of these hatches along the Roaring Fork occur throughout the day and into the evening, providing very consistent fishing throughout much of the day. So regardless of their daily schedule, anglers should be able to take advantage of some great fishing. As our area rivers drop and clear, check in with local fly shops as to when and where you can encounter these hatches and where the best fishing will be.

This week, the Fryingpan has been fishing very well and flows are dropping steadily. Anglers have been very successful this week with Tim’s mysis shrimp, Roy’s mysis, pheasant tails, poxyback baetis and BWO biot emergers. Anglers should focus their efforts on the soft, inside seams, as fish have been congregating along the softer edges and protected pockets.