Telluride Fishing Report

The Miguel is holding steady at around 77 cfs and continues to fish well.  Plan on fishing over the warmest hours of the day, think 11-3.  You may find a fish or two on dry flies but nymphing through the deeper pockets and runs will be most effective.  Try an unweighted double nymph rig consisting of a small Pat's Rubber Legs followed by a Frenchie Perdigon or a size 20 Rainbow Warrior or a Grey Lightning Bug.

The gauge in the town of Dolores is reading 55 cfs, a fairly typical flow this time of year.  The Kokanee and smallmouths are still being found on the stretches above town and the trout fishing has remained steady.  Again, don't be in a hurry to get out there, allow the water to warm up a bit and rig up a light nymph rig.  My favorite flies would be a Winker Midge, Mckittrick Ice Queen, Glass Bead Brown Micromay and a Juju Baetis.  Perhaps try a  Prince nymph or stonefly pattern as an attractor for your top fly.

The release from McPhee has been reduced to 15 cfs. I am unsure if this is an anomaly or this is what we will see all winter. I am hoping it is the former.  Between the reduction in flows and pretty serious spawning activity the fishing has been tough.  A lot of the bigger fish seem to be locked down but you can still find a riser or two that will happily eat a beetle or ant pattern.  I have not seen a whole lot of bug activity other than a sparse midge hatch but there is still time to see BWOs before winter really hits.

Flows coming out of the canyon are at 328 cfs and are mixing with a minimal flow from the North Fork.  Streamers are the name of the game!  The fishing has been better on the lower end, Orchard takeout to Cory Bridge, but the streamer bite has been pretty good throughout the valley. Small articulated streamers with natural colors and a bit of yellow seem to be preferred but small leeches and buggers will also do the trick.  You can always nymph the tailouts with a Pat's Rubber Legs to a small BWO pattern.

Good fishing and have a great winter!