Many of the fishing closures throughout the Vail Valley and surrounding areas remain the same, with one notable exception.  CPW lifted the afternoon fishing closure on the Roaring Fork River on August 20th.  The Eagle River is still closed below Lake Creek in Edwards and the Colorado River is still closed below Red Dirt Creek near Dotsero.  While temperatures on the Eagle have come down, the closure remains in place due to low flows and to let fish recover from the stressful summer.  As of now there is no word on if or when the lower Eagle will open back up.  There are currently no closures on the Upper Colorado, but temps are still getting into the upper 60’s around State Bridge on warm, sunny afternoons.  Anglers should plan to get out early and carry a thermometer to monitor water temperatures if they plan to fish the upper sections of the Colorado.

Gore Creek and Upper Eagle

While flows remain low, water temps on Gore Creek and the Upper Eagle have remained consistently cool.  Target deeper seams and faster runs where there is plenty of oxygen and cover where fish can stay somewhat hidden.  With flows being as low as they are, dry dropper rigs have been most productive to cover fish feeding both on the surface and subsurface.  Hopper dropper rigs also tend to get hung up less than traditional nymph rigs.  If targeting fish on nymphs, try fishing a jig style nymph that rides hook point up to help prevent getting hung up on rocks or moss.  Productive nymphs on the Upper Eagle and Gore Creek have been small small beadhead nymphs, such as perdigons, pheasant tails and baetis patterns.  Worms have also been productive, especially late in the day when afternoon rain has pushed annelids into the rivers.  For dry flies, small terrestrials like ants and beetles have been productive dry flies. Small mayfly and midge patterns, like Parachute Adam’s and Griffith’s Gnats have also been good dry fly patterns, particularly early in the morning and late in the afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky.

Upper Colorado

Fishing on the Upper Colorado has been good, especially in the mornings when water temps are coolest.  Flows have come down slightly over the last week to between 700 and 750 cfs.  Tricos have been the primary hatch lately with black RS2’s and crystal midges producing the most fish.  Red quills have also been present on the Upper Colorado and while fish don’t seem to be keying in on the adults, red perdigons, Two-bit Hookers, and Frenchies have been productive nymphs to match fishing targeting these insects subsurface.  Caddis have also started showing back up as the weather has cooled off.  Soft hackles and attractor caddis nymphs like the blow torch and french toast jig have both been productive.  If planning to fish nymph rigs, don’t forget the tried and true Pat’s rubber legs  Fish have pulled off the banks into faster, deeper runs in the middle of the river where oxygen levels are highest.  Guides have been seeing some dead fish so it is important practice good fish handling, keeping fish wet and releasing them as quickly as possible.  

Roaring Fork

The flows on the Roaring Fork have dropped significantly as the water release out of Rudei has come to an end.  This is good news for wader fishermen as they will no longer have to compete with boats.  Mayfly and midge emergers have been the top producers, while perdigons and streamers have also been producing quality fish.

Overall, fishing remains good throughout the valley as temperatures have finally started to drop back to levels to sustain all day fishing.  The biggest issue now is water levels, with both the Eagle River and Gore Creek sitting well below historic record low flows.