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On the Fly: Clock in and catch those fish

Will Sands
On the Fly
Colleen Touhy was all smiles after landing this rainbow trout on the Roaring Fork River.

Time is of the essence this week!

With Daylight Standard Time entering the equation and weather temperatures cooling down, remember to adjust your fishing times accordingly. There is not a real need to get out early. Late mornings from 11 on is when fishing activity will begin to pick up and overall activity levels will steadily increase throughout the afternoons. Trout and their food sources are very sensitive to water temps, and their activity levels peak during optimum water temps. The hour difference and cooler weather in general mean fishing will be best from 11 to 6 with the sweet spot being noon to 4.

Every season at this time we encounter many anglers who simply forget to adjust to the time change and the annual cool down. This oftentimes can mean poor fishing if an angler simply has only an hour or two to hit local waters. Getting out at 9 a.m. right now is actually still 8 a.m. in the trout’s world, and they will be a bit sluggish. Look for insect hatches, currently comprised of blue-winged olives and midges to be an hour later on your watch; in their world the time is dictated by water temperatures.



Take advantage of offseason’s peak and enjoy the serenity of very few anglers on local waters. This week the key nymphs have been rojo midges, pulsating emergers, copper-ribbed foam RS2s, BLMs and pheasant tail STDs. The Frying Pan is offering up some strong dry-fly opportunities and you can be sure this cool-off will only supercharge the blue-winged olive hatch!

Get your Gore-Tex on and make sure you have a handful of flag duns, perfect baetis, HOH biot duns, para emergers and your 7X tippet. Just remember you can have all the right flies but with low clear late-season water, tippet size is crucial to success. Drop in your local shop to pick up some daily essentials, find out where it’s been hot and go hit the water.




This column is provided by Taylor Creek Fly Shops in Aspen and Basalt. Taylor Creek can be reached at 970-927-4374.

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