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Summit County Weekly Fishing Report

BRYCE EVANS
summit daily news
Summit County, Colorado
Summit Daily/Mark Fox
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BRECKENRIDGE – Scanning over the flow numbers the past few days, Cory Pierson of Mountain Anglers said the rivers should be reaching their peaks right about now. And as the waters start to slow down and come down off the banks, the fishing in the area should be great.

Unfortunately, Pierson said, that hasn’t happened quite yet.

“Most of the spots are pretty blown out,” the Breck fishing guide said. ” … It’s difficult when you get downriver in some of these places with all the tributaries and snowmelt that’s happening, it’s tough to know exactly what to expect.”



That’s why Pierson suggests looking at tailwaters to drop a line in.

“Obviously, tailwater fishing is the most predictable right now, especially right near the dams,” he added. “You can look at the water flow and know what to expect.”



Although, that doesn’t mean you need to stick to those areas.

Pierson said the Blue River, just below the Dillon Dam is fishing well. The flows are strong, but as the water spills out of the “glory hole,” it pushes some monster fish out of the no-fish zones just below.

Pierson recommends using micey shrimp in that stretch, sizes 14 or 16.

“When the flow comes up like that, a lot of those shrimp get flushed into the river, too,” he said. “Shrimp are definitely good to use right now.”

Also, the areas of the Upper Blue, flowing out of Breckenridge have been hitting as well. The flows are also strong there, but Pierson said in the area called the “steps” (near Upper Blue Elementary School) and the Stan Miller Pond (near Tiger Road) can both be waded through.

“Mainly I’d be heading out to nymph fish and streamer fish,” Pierson said. “Pheasant tails and hare’s ears, big stone-fly nymphs, stuff like that.”

Heading out of town, Pierson suggested dropping a line in both the Frying Pan and Taylor rivers. Both rivers are holding “good” flows, and fish can be caught using midges, blue-winged olives and caddis.

The middle fork of the South Platte River, at just under 200 cfs, is also flowing low enough to catch some fish. Gold-stone nymphs, as well as caddis nymphs and streamers, would be a “good idea,” Pierson said.

While the flows continue to be strong, Pierson also said it would be a good time to do some lake fishing.

Although, some hatches should be coming in the next couple weeks.

“I heard that salmon flies are hatching at the Pumphouse (on the Colorado River), he said. “They should continue to move up stream up through Gore Canyon. That’s some of the hotter fishing right now.”

Once the flows come down, waters in the area should be looking good.

“It’s about time to expect things to make a gradual descent down to (more manageable) flows,” Pierson said. “As the water comes down, it should be on fire everywhere.”

Similar to those trying to catch them, fish don’t generally like sitting in heavy flow areas. Really, they can’t do it.

“Like in Dillon, just below the reservoir, the current is so swift down the pipe of the river, there’s no way a fish could hold there,” Pierson said.

That’s why Pierson suggests casting along the banks.

“There’s going to be food up and down the river, so they’ll be holding in those slack spots and just making deviations out into that faster water to eat,” he said. “The monster fish getting flushed out from that no-fish zone (below the glory hole on the Blue River) are going to be pushed right up against the banks.”

Fishing along the edges of the river not only give an angler the best shot at catching a resting fish, but Pierson said it’ll make it much easier on the angler by not having to wade into high currents.

“Really, there’s no such thing as fishing too shallow or too close to the bank, right now,” he said. “You want to be looking for those breaks in the heavy current. That’s where the fish will be.”


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