What Does An Above Average Snow Pack Mean for Our Rivers?

With an above average snow pack this year, we are looking for another good flushing of our rivers and streams. The fishing has been good to great the past weeks and should remain good in the short term as runoff shouldn’t start for a while. We are expecting a pre-runoff which occurs when the low-lying snow in our valleys rapidly melts and causes some short-term staining of our waters. This is usually just a couple of days, and you can retreat to our many tailwaters in Grand County to find clear water and feeding trout.

The main run-off will probably start in May and last a few weeks. This may shutdown fishing on the Colorado and Fraser for a few days, but the best fishing of the year is usually that couple of weeks right after the peak flows. Blue Wing Olives are starting to show on the Colorado, Fraser, and Williams Fork Rivers. Floating Tuesday with one angler, we started out with stonefly nymphs, and put ½ dozen in the net right away. We then went to streamers and had moderate success before going back to nymph rigs. In the afternoon, we found fish taking BWO’s close to the banks and stuck several fish in the final miles of our float. We expect the Blue Wing Olive hatch to increase in the coming weeks and we should start seeing caddis emerging soon. Don’t you just love this time of year!

Categorised in: Fishing Report, Float Trips