YOUR AD HERE »

Colorado fishing report for week of Aug. 14-18

Brandon Atha
Breckenridge Outfitters
A client on a Breckenridge Outfitters trip shows off his big brown at the Colorado River. The Upper Colorado has been very productive so far this August.
Special to the Daily
River flows by CFS Upper Arkansas (Nathrop) — 744 Lower Arkansas (Salida) — 636 Blue River (below Dillon Reservoir) — 272 Blue River (below Green Mountain Reservoir) — 553 Colorado River (Windy Gap) — 266 Colorado River (Kremmling) — 1,340 Eagle River (Minturn) — 103 Eagle River (below water treatment in Avon) — 192 Eagle River (Gypsum) — 315 Middle Fork South Platte River (below Montgomery Reservoir) — 22.5 South Fork of the South Platte (Antero) — 32.7 South Platte at “Dream Stream” (below Spinney Reservoir) — 238 South Platte at Williams Fork (below reservoir) — 271 Note: All CFS (cubic feet per second) data taken on Aug. 14 from U.S. Geological Survey data.

The wildflowers are out and the bugs are hatching on the local rivers! Now is a great time to get out and fish.

The fishing has been good over in South Park, especially around the Hartsel area. A dry dropper rig has been good in the mornings, and on sunny days in the afternoon a hopper rig or double try has been the ticket. Some of my favorite dries right now are elk hair caddis, PMD dries, PMX, Parachute Hoppers and Chubby Chernobyls. They have been working great as single dry rigs and dry dropper rigs. Fish the hoppers in the afternoon by throwing them on the bank, and then use an upstream mend to get them gently off the bank and wait for the take.

As far as droppers go, the most bugs that I have been seeing are caddis, PMDs, BWOs and a few drakes. So, for droppers, we are using a lot of Copper Johns in smaller sizes like 18s, bead head hares ears, flashback pheasant tails and green caddis imitations. Green has been a good color for droppers.



Just about every river around Summit County is fishing well, with the exception of the Blue River to be honest. The Colorado has been great for streamers and dry dropper rigs. Just always remember to keep your tip up! We are starting to catch a lot of bigger fish this time of year, so fish-fighting skills are more important than ever. Remember to keep your rod pointed up and be patient. Let ’em run if they’re gonna and keep that line tight, but don’t horse the fish. The stripping technique can be very useful as well.

It’s easy to get a little to aggressive and break your line or pop that fly off with bigger fish, but if you have the chance, get out and fish!



Swing by the shop to see what bugs are working where you are going and we will hook you up. Tight lines!

Brandon Atha is a manager and guide with Breckenridge Outfitters in downtown Breckenridge. Stop by the shop throughout the weekend for updated conditions, flys and everything for a day on the river.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.