Big Thompson River

The Big T is fishing well just below the dam in the tail waters. Ice has formed for most of the canyon. Cold weather last week and this week so not much change in ice downstream. The flow has settled in to Winter flows, into Lake Estes is 13 CFS and out of Lake Estes the flow is 13 CFS. Dry Fly action will small (24) Parachute Adams and small BWOs. Nymph setups use Blue Poison Tung, Sow Bug, Copper Ribbed RS2, or Gray RS2. Midges of choice are Ken and Barbies or red Jujubee.

Flows at the Big T have been pretty variable this winter, at times bumping up to between 25-30 CFS and currently back down in the skinnier 15 CFS range. You're likely to do best at the Big T below the dam in February with small midges on a light nymph rig. Think size 22-26; patterns like the disco midge, bling midge, top secret midge, and zebra midge will always be consistent players. If you see fish rising, try small midges dries and emergers like griffith's gnat, matt's midge, sprout midge, dark RS2, etc. Sometimes a #24-26 blood midge is a killer at the tailwater in the wintertime. The canyon, aside from just the upper mile or two, tends to get pretty locked up in the wintertime. If you head down into the canyon, look for the water that's moving and receiving the most sun. Other bugs that are always worth a try on here in the wintertime include small san juan worms in #16-18, small leeches, pheasant tails, blue poison tungs, sparkle wing RS2s, and even small caddis larvae and soft hackle sow bugs as we get closer to March and especially when flows come up.

Para Extended Body BWO #18-20
Sprout BWO #18-20
Parachute Adams #20-26
Griffiths Gnat #20-24
Sprout Midge #20-24(all colors)
Emerging Midge #18-24
Challenged #18-22
GT Adams #20-22
CDC Midge #20-22
Mosquito #18-22
Para Extended Body PMD #14-18
Sparkle Dun PMD #18-16
Parachute Adams #14-22
Better Foam Caddis (Tan
Yellow
Olive) #18-14
X-Caddis #14-18
Missing Link Caddis #14-18
Chubby Chernobyl #10-16
Hippie Stomper #12-16
Split Foam BWO #18-20
Pandemic BWO #18-20
Iron Lotus #18
JujuBaetis #18-22
Chartreuse Glow Bug #18
Girdle Bug #14
San Juan Worm
Squirmy Worm
Tung 20 Incher #16-20
Little Black Sloan #16-18
Poison Tung #16-20
Rainbow Warrior #16-20
Zebra Midges in all colors
Johnny Flash #18-20
Soft Hackle Sow Bugs #18-20
Ray Charles #18-20
Two Bit Hooker #18-20
Juju PMD #18-22
RS2 #18-22
Top Secret Midge #20-22
Cardinal Midge #20-24
HDA Variant #14-16
Jigged Prince #14-16
Jigged P-Tail #12-16