River Report -- August 16, 2010

San Miguel River: (177 cfs)   Thundershowers were an every day event for the first 12 days of August, but fair skies smiled upon us over the weekend.  Water clarity varies quite a bit, but we've only been shut out on the San Miguel 3-4 days this season.  In fact, four consecutive days of hot, dry weather have now cleared the river completely.  It is raining again today, but the forecast calls for intermittent dry and wet weather through the rest of the week, so the San Miguel should be fishable in part or whole.  When it rains in the afternoon or evening, there is often a batch of dirty water that makes it's way downstream in the middle of the night and through the next morning.  Unless the water is truly brown, however, these murky conditions can provide excellent fishing opportunities.  This is the season of the Pat's Rubber Legs and other big, dark attractor flies that cast a strong silhouette in cloudy water and lure big fish out for a snack.  Dry fly fishing is also outstanding in clear water conditions. Dries:  Throw the same attractors that worked in July, but one size smaller.  Also, mix in your upwing mayfly attractors, such as the H&L Variant and Ben Furimsky's foam body BDE mayflies.  Yeager's Neversink trude becomes a mainstay in August, too. RL Stimi #12-14, Perry's Bugmeister #10-#16, PMX (any color) #12-#16, Furimsky's BDE #12-#14, Yeager's Neversink Trude #12-14, Yeager's Neversink Caddis #12-14, Wulff and Variant patterns, size #14-16. In the evenings, the fish move up in the water column and are more willing to eat smaller dries.  Stimulators, caddis patterns, etc in the size 12-16 range are perfect for the evening rise.  Parachute mayflies, such as the basic Para PMD and Stalcup's Para PMD, are also highly effective. Nymphs: Wire Prince, Pulsating Caddis, Diving Caddis, Pat's RL Stone (in all colors and sizes), Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, Poxyback Stone, Tungsten Yellow Sallie Nymph, Soft Hackle PT (#16-18), Guide's Choice Hare's Ear #14-16, Micro May #16-20.  As a generalization, fish these droppers in sizes 14-18.  In clear water, our guides are fishing more technical droppers including the Mayhem, Red Headed Stepchild, Micro May, Split Case emergers and the Winker Midge, all in sizes #18-22.  When fishing unweighted droppers, use a micro shot 6-8 inches above the dropper fly. Dolores River: (174 cfs at Dolores, 113 cfs at Rico, 75 cfs below McPhee) Rain has pumped the Upper Dolores back up into the "ideal" range.  Hatches include caddis, BWO mayflies, a few late-hatching PMDs, yellow sallies (actually several species between a size 12-16, olive to yellow in color), midges, a few golden stones and lots of terrestrials.  Ants will play a major roll in the trout's diet through late summer and fall.  Don't forget creek fishing.  The Dolores is indisputably the best creek fishing watershed in SW Colorado.  The high country is magnificent in August and the cold water prolongs hatches after they have finished on the main branch of the river.  Wildflowers crowd the streambanks, birds swoop from trees to pick off emerging insects and the trout eat dry flies ten hours a day.  It's sweet up there! Dry Flies: Bloom's Para Caddis #14-16, RL Stimulator #14-16, Stalcup's Para Caddis Emerger #14-16, Morrish's Foam Hopper #10, Perry's Bugmeister #12-16, Stalcup's Para PMD #16-18, Stalcup's Para BWO #18, Royal Wulff #16, Parachute Adams #14-18, Turck's Power Ant #11-13, Green River Ant #12, Yeager's 409 #14. Nymphs: Wire Prince #16-18, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #18, Pulsating Caddis #14-16, Mayhem #16, Oops! #14-16, Split Back Emerger #16-18, Jewel Crawler #16-18, Micro May #16-20.  In murky water, break out the #10 Pat's Rubber Legs and fish it under a strike indicator.  You might find one of those big fish that seemed to vanish when the water was low. The Lower Dolores River is now officially tough.  Light hatches, bright sun and plenty of wind combine to shut down all but the most dedicated.  If you go, try sculpin and crawfish-style streamers when the dry fly action seems thin.  Uncompahgre : (347 cfs below Ridgway Reservoir)  Great fishing.  The recent drop in water flow has improved conditions for the wading angler (and since we all wade Pa-Co, it has improved the fishing for everyone). The summer PMD hatch is still popping, providing reliable dry fly fishing mid-day, even on sunny days.  Generally speaking, it's better to fish late than early.  With plenty of bugs emerging mid-day, the trout stay on top through the early evening hours, eating PMD cripples and spinners, as well as midges. We're catching fish all day long on nymphs and in the middle of the day on PMD patterns. Uncompahgre trout want a well-tied fly, so choose your dry flies wisely.  Hatches: Pale Morning Dun Mayflies and midges Dries:  We're throwing hoppers and Bugmeisters primarily as indicator flies and technical PMD patterns during the mid-day hatch.  Our favorite match-the-hatch PMDs include the Burk's Silhouette Dun, Pink Albert, Pink Albert cripple, Melon Quill and Lawson's No Hackle. Nymphs: Mayhem, Micro May, Split Case PMD, small Soft Hackles. Gunnison: (609 cfs below Crystal Reservoir)  Grasshopper time.  Aquatic hatches have diminished to scattered caddis, midges and random outbursts of Tricorythodes mayflies.  One grasshopper provides more protein than any 30 of the above insects, so pack your hopper box. Dry flies: Morrish's Foam Hopper #10, Kicking Hopper #8-12, Parachute Hopper #8-12, Yeager's 409 (yellow or brown) #14, Furimsky's BDE #12-16, Bloom's Para Caddis #14-16, Stalcup's Para Caddis Emerger #14-16, Melon Quill #16, Burk's Silhouette Dun PMD #16, Trico Spinner patterns. Nymphs:  Soft hackle hare's ear and PT patterns #14-16, The Mayhem #16-22, Split Case PMD Emerger #16-18, Trina's Present Tail #16-18, San Juan Worm #12-16 (pink and red), Pat's RL Stone #8-10. Pike Fishing Many local anglers put away their trout rods for May and early June and pull out saltwater-class outfits for pike fishing.  There are three lakes within a 1 1/2 hour drive from Telluride that provide potentially excellent pike fishing in the late spring:  Totten, Narraguinnep and Puett reservoirs.  From ice-out to mid-summer, pike are found in relatively shallow water along weed banks and near drop offs.  These are ideal circumstances for the fly angler.  From our driftboat, we throw 6-9 weight fly rods rigged with floating and slow-sinking lines and big, colorful pike flies.  Red, white, black and chartreuse are among the most effective colors.  Pike are ambush predators, cruising the shallows and hiding in weed beds, lurking in wait of bait fish (a 10-inch rainbow trout, for example).  Pike strike the fly hard and put up a terrific fight.  Their strength seems to grow exponentially with size.  Fish over 10 lbs, which are caught relatively frequently, take 10-15 minutes to land on an 8-weight fly rod.  Local's Fly Fishing School:  Sunday, June 6th Telluride Outside's 10th annual Local's Fly Fishing School is scheduled for Sunday, June 6th, 2010.  Our 1-day school is a hands-on class for novice anglers and anglers who are new to the Telluride region.  In the class, we cover nuts-and-bolts fly fishing subjects including trout behavior, aquatic insect imitation, knot tying, equipment rigging, fly casting, on-the-water approach, line management techniques, ettiquette and conservation.  Each student receives our learn-to-fly-fish instruction book for use in the class and beyond.  Our Local's School generally books to capacity, so call to reserve your space today!  $60 per guest.