On the Fly: Reading the runoff tea leaves
Jerry Pazar/Courtesy photo
The peace of off-season is upon us — a great time to recharge after the slopes close and prepare for the busy summer ahead. Tourism drives our local economy, but many of us enjoy these weeks of quiet we get in spring and late fall. Many residents are currently on vacation themselves.
The annual runoff has started on our freestone (meaning un-dammed) rivers, although the cool weather has hopefully slowed it down for another week. Snowpack is concerning again this year, so we are all hoping for a monsoonal and rainy summer to cool things off and thwart warm river temperatures later in the season. If you’ve lived here a while or your whole life, you already know how the snowpack affects us and the health of the fishery in summertime.
Fishing and whitewater guides, fishery biologists and conservators, farmers, and firefighters watch the snowpack like a hawk, and the writing is certainly on the wall again this year. If we do experience some voluntary river closures this summer, you can still fish with a clear conscience. In recent years, the down-valley stretches of the lower Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers are where the closures were encouraged. The upper Roaring Fork and Fryingpan tailwater will still be cold as can be.
The Fryingpan is fed by a bottom-release reservoir, which pumps 38 to 40 degree water all year long down the 13 mile stretch of the tailwater section into Basalt. This river also acts as a “swamp cooler” for the middle section of the Roaring Fork. Misinformation abounds during these lean summers, and although folks mean well, there is no need to scold anglers fishing in the colder-water stretches.
Other summertime fishing opportunities will be found in the High Country, which boasts a multitude of small streams, lakes, and reservoirs. Family-friendly options are Nast, Twin Meadows, Ivanhoe, and Dinkle Lakes, and for those looking for a more challenging experience, check out Cathedral, American, Savage, Fryingpan, and Petroleum Lakes.
Let’s all hope for a cool and wet summer, be ready to put the fish first, and roll with the changes. Thankfully, there is always somewhere to fish here in the Roaring Fork Valley!
This report is provided every week by Taylor Creek Fly Shops in Aspen and Basalt. Taylor Creek can be reached at 970-927-4374 or TaylorCreek.com.
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