Blue River
Tailwaters (below Dillon Dam)

Technicality: 3/5

Productivity on the Blue has been fairly consistent over the past week. Trout are selectively feeding on midge, beatis and mysis patterns as well as the occasional egg. Food sources are consistent but minimal so expect selective trout. Flows have held at roughly 52 cfs and are 20 cfs below historical averages for this time of year. Spotting trout is fairly straightforward as water clarity is great and there are minimal holding places. Sight fish when possible and target the deep and slow moving water. Additionally, the number of trout here is comparatively low and it is not uncommon to catch the same fish twice. This section of the Blue gets hit hard by anglers and a number of trout are showing substantial battle scars. We urge you to please be conscious of the tremendous pressure this river gets and the impact it has on trout. Do your best to reel them in quickly and get them back in the water with minimal contact. We understand that it is cold and gloves are often a necessity, but please remove them when handling trout and be sure wet your hands before releasing them. This week is forecast to be consistent, but comparatively cold. Air pressure will go through its normal daily swings, but remain largely within ideal feeding levels for most of the week.

Ideal Days to Fish: Thursday, Friday & Sunday

Go to flies:

Surface Flies: Parachute Adams (#20-24), Griffiths Gnat (#22-24), Amy's Ant (#12-14).

Sub-Surface Flies: Pats Rubber Legs (#12), Zebra Midges (#22-24), Black Beauties (#20-24), Top Secret Midges (#22-24), Mercury Midge (#22-24), WD 40's (#20-22), Sparkle Wing RS2's (#22-24), olive RS2s (#22-24), JuJu Baetis (#20-24), Mysis Shrimp, SJ Worms.

The Blue River at the Troutlet Malls is always a solid option for some easy-access winter fishing, especially now that we've gotten into good snow season and more of the two- to three-season anglers are busy shredding pow. Smaller worms can be a good winter point fly, but small baetis and midge imitations are always going to be the go-to on the Blue in the winter (along with mysis shrimp, of course). Small PTs with a glass bead or no bead, RS2s, bling midge, Top Secret midges, Discos, Poison Tungs, Don King UV midge, red larvae, the list goes on... All in a #20-24. As always at this tailwater, 5 and 6x fluorocarbon tippets are a good idea, as are small, dull split shot and lighter non-intrusive indicators. Nymphing by spotting fish and sight nymphing to them with no indicator is also often a great idea if you can manage it, especially on bright, sunny days. Downstream below Green Mountain is definitely wade fishable right now. However, with easy wading in the sub-300 CFS range also comes tougher, more technical fishing. I tend to fish bugs like bigger worms and caddis larvae in here when flows are above roughly 300 CFS and more realistic baetis patterns when it drops to current flows of ~150 CFS.

Griffith's Gnat #18-22 Sparkle Duns #18-22
Adams #18-20 Trailing Shuck Midge #18-22
Parachute Adams #16-26
Smokejumper Midges #18-22
Griffiths Gnat #18-22

Adams #18-20
Para Extended Body BWO #18-20
CDC BWO #18-20
Winger Emerger BWO #18-22
Chubby Chornobyl #16-#10
Stimulator #8-14
Elkhair Caddis #14-18
Better Foam Caddis #14-18. Nymphs in Town: Mercury Black Beauty #18-22
Red Annelids #14-18
Disco Midge #18-22
Sands Epoxy Mysis #16-20
Cravens Mysis #16-20
Zebra Midge #18
Johnny Flash #18-22
JuJuBees #18-24
WD-40's #18-24
RS-2's #18-24
UV Emergers #18-24
Cardinal Midge #18-22
and Disco Midge (Red and Blue) #18-24
Glow bugs #14-18
Black Beauty Emerger #16-22
Brassie #16-22
Biot Midges #18-22. Nymphs on the Lower Blue: Ray Charles #18-20
Hares Ears #18-20
20 Inchers #16-18
Tungsten Flash Prince #16-18
Tungteaser #16-18
Scuds (all colors) #16
San Juans (all colors) #12-16
Eggs(all sizes,shapes and forms)
STD's #18-22
Barr Emergers #18-24
Pheasant Tails #16-22
Deep
Top Secret Midge #18-24
Johnny Flash #16-22
Girdle Bugs #10
Blue Poison Tungs #16-22
and Rainbow Warriors #16-20. White
Tan or Pumpkin Sculpzilla
Sparkle Minnow
Wooly Bugger
Black or Olive Sex Dungeon

Technicality: 3/5

After dropping slightly last week, flows have held steady at roughly 52 cfs. At this flow, there are limited holding places for trout so it should be fairly obvious where to look. Additionally, water clarity is great making for incredible sight fishing. Our motto here is, if you dont see trout theyre probably not there and you should move on. That said, it takes a keen eye to spot them and if you are not comfortable locating holding trout, do your best to find the deepest runs and pools and get your flies deep. This week is forecast to fish in line with the last. Air temps will be relatively cold in the early hours so no rush to the water. Cloud cover throughout most of the week will give trout a sense of protection and allow them to feed more willingly. Productivity will be fairly slow on the front end of the week, but look for it to improve with each passing day. The double and triple nymph rigs will continue to be your primary mode of fishing, but dont discount the dries upon hatch activity or actively rising trout.

Ideal Days to Fish: Friday, Saturday & Sunday

Go to flies:

Surface Flies: Parachute Adams (#20-24), Griffiths Gnat (#22-24), Amy's Ant (#12-14).

Sub-Surface Flies: Pats Rubber Legs (#12), Zebra Midges (#22-24), Black Beauties (#20-24), Top Secret Midges (#22-24), Mercury Midge (#22-24), WD 40's (#20-22), Sparkle Wing RS2's (#22-24), olive RS2s (#22-24), JuJu Baetis (#20-24), Mysis Shrimp, SJ Worms.

Technicality: 3/5

The Blue continues to produce some great results. However, it all comes down to time of day and location. The cable run, located at the gauging station nearest the dam, continues to be the most consistently productive stretch of water throughout the day as nutrients here are the most abundant and water temps are stable. On comparatively warmer days, stretches further downstream near the outlets have been productive, particularly in the afternoon as water temps rise slightly. Trout continue to feed on very small (#24-26) midge and baetis patterns as well as mysis shrimp. Downstream of the cable run, sporadic hatch activity has led to a number of takes on dries, but by and large youre going to want to stick to the double and triple nymph rigs. If youre not seeing results, switch your flies out for an egg or worm pattern followed by a smaller nymph to see if you can draw some attention. Often time trout will be enticed by your lead fly and opt to take the nymph. Flows have dropped slightly and will have trout stacked up in the deeper water with cover. This week has the potential to start off relatively slow as consistently low air pressure will leave trout sluggish and disinterested in your flies. However, cloud cover and comparatively mild air temps will work in your favor. Remember to do your best to locate holding trout before aimlessly casting and to be persistent upon refusal.

Ideal Days to Fish: Monday, Friday & Saturday

Go to flies:

Surface Flies: Parachute Adams (#20-24), Griffiths Gnat (#22-24), Amy's Ant (#12-14).

Sub-Surface Flies: Pats Rubber Legs (#12), Zebra Midges (#22-24), Black Beauties (#20-24), Top Secret Midges (#22-24), Mercury Midge (#22-24), WD 40's (#20-22), Sparkle Wing RS2's (#22-24), olive RS2s (#22-24), JuJu Baetis (#20-24), Mysis Shrimp, SJ Worms.