The Fly Fishing on the Eagle River has been good to great depending on the day. The weather and temperatures have been fluctuating weekly which is constantly changing the water flows. We are now floating the Eagle River and have been for the past 3 -4 weeks. The streamer bite is inconsistent but good enough to keep you banging the banks. Our most consistent fly color has been olive with natural (tan/grey) being a close second. It is more about hitting the right type of water and varying your stripping speed. On colder days a slower strip has been more productive where on warmer days fish seem more aggressive to strike. Good streamer flies to have are; sex dungeon, tequeeley, natural slump buster, circus peanut and sculpzilla. More of the like will also work, it is all about confidence.

We are starting to see BWO’s regularly and occasionally getting a fish to take a fly off the surface. The dry fly fishing has not been red hot but will hopefully pick up as water temps rise. The caddis are not far off and should pop in good numbers once we consistently have water temps in the 50’s. if our weather breaks we may see a good Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch next week.

The nymphing has been consistent but not nearly as exciting as throwing streamers. Squirmy worms have been poking a lot of trout with smaller baetis, caddis larvae and midges also making the bobber shake. look for the soft seams in deeper water for the best nymphing results. This time of year makes it difficult to nymph fish due to the debris coming down the river. Anglers have been hooking a lot of “stick fish” under an indicator.

The Eagle River below Wolcott, CO is still very off color and probably will be until the end of June. We still have a lot of snow that needs to come down so be prepared for a good run-off as soon as our temperatures get into the 70’s-80’s. Until then we are still doing guided trips on the Eagle River and having great success.