07-15-25

Where to fish?

We have entered very low water, therefore stay tuned to the USGS discharge sites. Currently, the Rio Grande at thirty-mile is at 85cfs, at Wagon Wheel Gap its 261cfs, and in Del Norte it’s at 350cfs. This is considered very low flows for our river. Floaters, our RGA team has decided to switch fully to wade trips right now from an ethical standpoint. We ask that you guys please do the same. We have rain everyday in the forecast this week. Let’s see if mother nature decides to deliver. If flows begin to bump and temps drop our lower stretches towards South Fork, Co will be an option again. Wade fisherman, the upper river is the place to be right now. Our public land spots on middle creek road are fishing excellent. Also, thirty-mile CG and River Hill CG have been solid options. Its creek season too, any creeks above 9,800ft in elevation are a good all day option. If you are wading the river please pull out around 1pm, also bring your thermometer and check temps. We are beyond lucky to have this resource in our backyard. Please don’t abuse it. Please call the shop for directions and advice.

 What time to fish? 

As we are in low water, our temperatures are rising. As we have seen lots of temps around 1pm hitting the high 60s. This means fish early. The early bird gets the worm, this time of the year! We are in the monsoon season and seeing small rain showers starting around 11ish most days. They are nothing aggressive, but bring your rain gear. 

Guide insight:

Think oxygen! Fishing riffles and sections of the river that are the most oxygenated is where the fish are holding. It’s systematic fishing right now. Look at a riffle and fish every inch of it, start close, then work your way out. Fish are spooky right now with the low water, watch you shadow, don’t beat up the water on your first presentation. If need be, take a knee, watch you silhouette. It’s nymph season primarily, don’t be afraid to break out those fluorocarbon tippets. We have primarily been fishing 5x, some of the faster runs you can get away with 4x.          

What to use!  

Streamers: baby gonga sz.6, dali lama ol. sz.8, and wooly bugger sz.4/6

Nymphs: Pat’s Rubber Legs BK Sz.12, Tung RL Prince Sz.14, Olive HotSpot Sz.16, lighting bug sz.14, BH lighting bug sz. 12, tung jig red copper john sz. 16, zebra midge sz.20 and smaller euro bugs in the 18-22 size range. 

Dries: We are seeing yellow sallys, sulphers, caddis, pmds, and  tricos. Lots of spinners are present too, so be smart about your dry fly choice. There are a few terrestrials out, so bring some hoppers, if you are fishing grass lines banks. Patterns to use: pmd extended body sz.16, para pale morning dun sz.16, snowshoe caddis sz.14, last chance drake sz.10, para kicking hopper yellow sz.10, parachute adams sz.14, and griffiths nat sz.18.  

***Call the shop and we can talk to all flies you will need, the flies listed above will give you a good idea on what’s going on. The shop is fully stocked. As always, please reach out with any questions.***