Deerfly Diaries

Colorado Snowpack below average: Low snowfall can affect fisheries and angling in the summer months

Below average snowpack in Colorado's mountain basins

Colorado's snowpack is currently at 79 to 90% percent of average for this time of the year. There is still time to catch up, but the fact is that a low snow pack can spell trouble for months to come, affecting agriculture, fish and wildlife, recreation and tourism.

Endangered species program affects local fishing economy in Colorado

 Yesterday representatives from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation addressed the Basalt, Colorado town government to make it clear that the endangered species program trumps local fishing concerns. 

Members of the Basalt governments and local fly fishing shops are concerned because fishing in the Fryingpan River was compromised last summer, mostly in the month of August, when high water flows resulted in cancellation of booked fishing trips. Apparently, there were 23 days between June 1 and Sept. 1 when water flows on the Fryingpan River exceeded 350 cubic feet per second.

The high flows came after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service practiced its right to make a call on water, for which they have a contract, to supplement flows in the Colorado River to protect fish habitat near Palisade, Colorado. The endangered species of concern include the pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail chub.

Western water rights are complicated

There are several factors that affect flows in the Colorado River, including water calls made upstream by the Shoshone Power Plant, front range water use, agricultural water use, releases from Reudi Reservoir and weather factors. Last year, was an unusually low flow in the Colorado, which resulted in an additional call on the water from Reudi Reservoir, above the Fryingpan River for the endangered fish recovery program.

Ultimately, however, the goal to save the rare fish in the Colorado the Endangered Species Act takes precedent over local economic concerns surrounding angling in the Fryingpan River.

Additional resources:

See the full article in yesterday's Aspen Times.

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program

Roaring Fork Conservancy

Taylor Creek Fly Shops

Video: Ice Fishing for Yellow Perch at Harvey Gap Reservoir

A short video clip of ice fishing at Harvey Gap Reservoir between New Castle and Rifle, Colorado. It was a cold, but sunny bluebird day. We fished the down-time at midday, but still managed to each catch a handful of small yellow perch. 

This was my first day ice fishing, so as usual, Glenn did a great job of teaching me the ropes. I learned how to prepare the ice hole, rig the jigs, find the bottom of the lake with the plumb-bob, recognize a hit and set the hook.

We had a lot of fun. Glenn even landed a rainbow trout. A relaxing way to spend the day.

Sue Melus owns Melus Outdoors, a PR and communications business for hunting, fishing and shooting.

Winter Fly Fishing Tips

Glenn and I made it down to the Roaring Fork River for some winter fly fishing. Or rather Glenn fished while I stood safely on the bank supervising the situation. Here are some winter fly fishing tips that are worth noting.

Tip #1 Stay away from the edge of the ice.

Tip #2 Use a long handled net.

Tip #3 Try to ignore your worried spouse who is snapping pictures of you.

 OK, tip #4: Find a deep pool to drift your fly through.

In no time Glenn had a nice trout on the line.  

The long handled net worked well to both retrieve the fish and to put them back in the water.

 

Glenn caught mostly 10-12 inch brown trout.

I give these other guys A+ for effort, but I didn't see them catch any fish. 

 

A half dozen fish in 30 minutes and this fisherman was happy.

 

Time to go home and warm up by the Christmas tree.
 

Sue Melus handles public relations and communications for the shooting, hunting and outdoor industries. 
  

Video: Herman the Sturgeon at Bonneville Fish Hatchery east of Portland, Oregon

I was able to take a day of sightseeing today on a trip up to Portland, Oregon. I drove out the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River where I took in the sights, enjoyed talking with the locals and had 8 incredible ounces of Full Sail Brewery's Full Sail Wassail Holiday Blend. Yummy!

On my way back to Portland I exited the highway to check out the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. The folks at Columbia Sportswear told me I had to check out Herman the Sturgeon. Herman is a 450 pound, ten foot long, 70 year old white sturgeon that was taken from the Columbia River in 1998 when the hatchery was built. Unfortunatley, I couldn't get Herman to show his face. The other more brightly colored fish are rainbow trout.

Bonneville Hatchery sits on Tanner Creek in the Columbia River Gorge about 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon. Tanner Creek flows into the Columbia River about 145 miles upstream from the ocean. The hatchery, run by the Oregon Department of Fish and Game, raises salmon and steelhead for sport and tribal fisheries in the lower Columbia River and along the northern Oregon Coast. 

Sue Melus handles public relations and communications for hunting, fishing, shooting sports and resource conservation. Check out her website at Melus Outdoors, LLC.

The Best Fall Fishing on the Roaring Fork River

Glenn and I got out for some much needed quiet time on the river yesterday. It was a beautiful unseasonably warm day in the Roaring Fork Valley just outside of Carbondale, Colorado. The fly fishing was great and we both caught several good sized brown trout. You can't ask for more than that.

 

 

Sue Melus owns Melus Outdoors, LLC, public relations and creative communication for the outdoors. Sue has two German shorthaired pointers who can't run enough and a husband who she is pretty sure has grown gills from spending so much time on the river.

Forbes names Glenwood Springs, Colorado as Top 10 Trout Town

The secret is out again. Our local waters here in the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado rank among the best trout fishing in the country. Forbes.com just ran a story, In Pictures: North America's Top 10 Trout-Fishing Towns. Glenwood Springs, CO was listed among the top fishing town. And to boot, they included the image above from local angler and photographer Copi Vojta of cbv photographics. Way to go, Copi. Other locales included Asheville, NC, Roscoe, NY, and Missoula and West Yellowstone, MT.

If you are interested in a fantastic fishing experience in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Basalt or Aspen, CO, remember to book guide Glenn Melus.

Green Drakes on the Rise in Colorado

Glenn and I each caught our first fish of the season on green drakes as we watched the full moon rise over the horizon.  Here's the best photo I was able to get and a reprint of my recent column I wrote for Carbondale's Sopris Sun.

The largest of the Western mayflies, the green drake spends the majority of its life at the bottom of the river clinging to rocks.  Each summer an increase in water temperature cues the mature mayfly nymphs to molt and emerge from the water as adults. And when this happens, the en masse hatch commands the attention of everything around it. Fish, birds, snakes and any number of creatures along the food chain reap the benefits. Fish tend to key in on the insect, paying little attention to anything else.  Anglers who understand the habits and life cycle of this insect can capitalize on some action packed fishing.

The hatch commonly begins about the third week in June or the beginning of July.  Dave Johnson of the Crystal Fly Shop in Carbondale noted that water levels in the river play a big part in the timing of the hatch. “Big water in the river extends the hatch because the water stays cool for longer.  Last year the hatch stayed on the Roaring Fork well into August because we had a big water year.  We may see a long green drake hatch this year for the same reason.”

In general, anglers can expect the green drake hatch to start in the lower elevations of the Colorado and work its way up the lower Roaring Fork and into the Frying Pan River and continue into the upper reaches of the Fork. According to Johnson, however, it’s a mistake to think that the hatch moves up the river in a predictable linear fashion. “You hear people say things like, “the green drake is at Catherine’s Store today.” But really it might be coming off there and at the same time you might also see it coming off in Aspen.” This can be attributed to the many microclimates and aspects within the river valleys that affect water temperature.

Jeff Dysart of Alpine Angling on Highway 133 in Carbondale noted that anglers on the Lower Fork might have better luck fishing the lower reaches at twilight when larger fish come to the surface to feed. Conversely, day hatches in the higher elevations can be productive, especially on overcast days when fish feel more comfortable rising to the surface.

Anglers in the midst of a hatch could try a #10 to #8 Royal Wulff, an H&L Variant, or an olive Irresistible Adams. Or try a Green Drake Cripple or a Hair-wing Drake.

“Don’t forget that there is also a lot of feeding going on below surface,” notes Dysart. “Anglers should consider nymphing- that’s where they’ll catch the biggest fish.  Try a Green Drake nymph or Prince nymph below a dry fly or indicator.”

The green drake hatch is just getting started on the Roaring Fork.  If you’re still confused by all of this, contact Alpine Angling at (970) 963-9245 or Crystal Fly Shop at (970) 963-5741 for more information.

(Glenn Melus is the guide to ask for at either shop.)

More fish watercolor painting

There is a fish obsession going on in our household.  Glenn ties flies all night in preparation for his next day on the water.  Meanwhile, I play with water and pigment in an attempt to capture these beautiful creatures on paper. 

Here's an experiment with color, inspired by the bluegills I used to catch as a kid on Cazenovia Lake, NY with my mom, dad and sister.  We'd head to the north end of the lake and all pack into our aluminum canoe. Us kids would have little spinning rods. Dad usually threw flies. We used fat night crawlers we'd pick in the backyard which I now realize gave us a distinct advantage.  But back then I thought it was pretty cool when we'd catch more fish than dad.

Next week I'll be taking a five day watercolor class at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen.  The instructor is Lee Shapiro.  I can't remember the last time I made art all day every day.

Pteronarcys californication on the Gunnison River Gorge: Fly Fishing the salmon fly hatch

 
Yesterday Glenn and I trekked over the mountains to Gunnison River to fish the salmon fly hatch (Pteronarcys californica).  Every year, about the third week in June, these large stoneflies hatch en masse.  For about three weeks, the salmon flies swarm the vegetation to find a mate and then they die- many falling victim to hungry trout.  I've heard that the salmon fly represents about 70% of a Gunnison River trout's yearly diet.

The water was high, so it made dry fly fishing a little tricky.  The hatch was prolific; however, and we both managed to catch some nice brown trout on dry flies.  At one point we saw five different insect hatches at once.

Here's a little still-shot video to give you a taste of the Gunnison River on the first day of summer:

Fly Fishing the high spring-runoff

We had several spring dust storms that dumped brown snow on our peaks.  The brown snow made the snow melt more rapidly than usual causing our spring run-off to peak early this year on the Western Slope of Colorado.  According to the USGS gauging station on the Roaring Fork River near Glenwood Springs, the peak was on May 21st.

A lot of people think that the rivers are unfishable during peak run-off, but as my short video clip shows, you can catch fish on the river even in the highest of waters.  You just need to be creative and, more importantly, be careful.  The trick is to stay on the banks, fish tight to the shore and use high test line.  The fish are in the river and they want to stay on the edges where the current is manageable.  Once on the hook, keep them tight to the shore.  A little help netting the fish also makes it easier.

This video was shot on May 22, just a day after peak.  The river was running well over 6,000 cubic feet per second.