Fish & Fly Magazine
2007-10-01
Current Water Temperature: 54
Current Water Flow in CFS: 1500
Current Water Clarity: good
Current Weather: Cloudy, mid-upper 50's
Current Insect Hatch: BWO's, October caddis, short-winged stone.
Recommended Fly Pattern: october caddis pupa, orange stimulator #8-10, X-caddis, yellow sally, BWO #16-22
Best Time to Fish: noon to dusk
Seven (7) Day Fly Fishing Forecast: More of the same

Fishing is killer right now, what with all the low water and cooler temperatures. Do we use the phrase 'prime-time' too often? If so, forget all previous uses and make it happen for yourself. October Caddis, short-winged (summer?) stoneflies- yellow sallies, Blue Winged Olives, evening caddis; most of the better dry fly fishing is later in the day, but the nymphing has been outstanding during mid-day, and short of a frost, hoppers and ants and beetles are still in the game as well. Smaller nymphs like lightning bugs, copper johns in various colors, bloody marys in sizes #16-20, bigger nymphs, including October Caddis pupa imitations, stonefly nymphs, streamers...#6-10. The water is cooling- in the upper 50's, the flows are low- hanging around 1,200 cfs. When chosing your time to fish, take into account the weather, as (obviously) the wind can be a factor, particularly in the lower canyon, but also the dry fly fishing may be enhanced by overcast conditions as the Blue Winged Olives hatch when there is cloud cover. With the water at these levels, virtually the entire river is wadeable...if you're like some people, (i.e. some former male models), you definitely won't want to risk any scratches on your boat floating some sections of the river this time of year. And don't overlook the crane fly hatch, either.

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