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FISHING REPORTS  ARCHIVE: Your search returned 51 items (most recent reports for all waters in )  Now showing items: 31 - 40. Select page: 1 2 3 4 5 6   Green River - June 23rd, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps PLEASE NOTE: HEADERS WITH AN *** preceding the title indicate no changes from the previous report. RIVER FLOW INFORMATION_FLAMING GORGE  - Daily average releases will be maintained at 2000 cfs beginning on June 19th until further notice. Hourly fluctuations to releases for power generation will be conducted basing at 800 cfs, up ramps at 800 cfs per hour, 2800 cfs ceiling. RIVER WATER TEMPERATURES- Water temperature is 53.0 degrees. Checked 6/17/2005. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam. We should see some improvement in the next several weeks. WATER QUALITY-  Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent. LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= good to excellent. BELOW RED CREEK= Currently in good shape, but lower in Brown�s Park has a cast of stain to it.. A NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run-off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river-just a little, not bad, a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable. AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Spring Baetis in size #16-18. Sporadic P.M.D's- A few popping.. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- But just a few Snow Sedges, a large (#10) blonde colored caddis.. STONEFLIES- Should see a few Goldens soon.. CICADAS-  a few. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- Ants, beetles, baby hoppers, a few cicadas.. ***FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO�s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII�s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- Para or Thorax Pale Morning Duns #14-16. PT nymphs for emergers. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- #10 Goddard or tan Elk Hair caddis.. STONE FLIES- #14/16 black flying ant or small Rio Grande King Trudes.. CICADAS- Your favoites #12-10. TERRESTRIALS- Ants #16-12 black or brown, beetles #10-14, baby hoppers.. ATTRACTORS- Peacock PMX�s.. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions. Parachute Crickets- #10-12 Peacock PMX's- #10-12 Smaller terrestrials- Ants, beetles #12-16. Cicadas #12-8, your favorite. Tungsten Zebra midge, #14-16 brown or red. Large scuds #8-12, tan, pink or orange. Small scuds #18-14 olive or gray. San Juan Worms, red #10-14 Crane Fly Larva #8-10. Atomic Worms, #4, 6 red or orange. Glo-bugs in bright colors of pink, orange or chartreuse. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc. THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW_RATED - 5.0-6.0 We have seen big improvements this week in weather and in our ability to fish dry flies. Our daytime air temperatures jumped from an average of 65 degrees to a high several days ago of 93 degrees. Went right from winter to summer that fast. No question that the better weather helped the dry fly fishing. The big question for most people is, are there cicadas? The answer is no. Not in any numbers. The few that are around won�t constitute a real presence, nothing near past levels. Some speculate that the �02 fires caused a depression. But remember, the best hatches ever were in �02 and �03. The reality is, that we were due for the cycles to take a down turn in production. This occurred in the early nineties. We will see the return of productive years and other depressions as well in the future. Hard to predict when we might see an upturn. Last time it was 3 to 5 years in which we still saw some sputtering involved. The big news this week is in water flows. With unusual water flows still occurring on the Yampa River we are seeing fluctuation patterns being developed for the river for power generation. The extremes between starting and stopping points during the fluctuations and their timing are a real concern to me. We saw some of this on a smaller scale last year, smaller because the drought left little water to play with. Larger this year because there is water to spend. We may need a few e-mails sent on this, will keep you posted on the plans, their consequences and direction we need to go. Not against the BOR and WAPA generating power, but how it is being proposed has other consequences to many other interests. In this case fishermen and other recreational values. Despite all the ups and downs we have endured this year, the fishing has been good. If we can acquire any stability in our flows, we should continue on this path. Dry fly opportunities are on the increase, so this is still a very worthwhile time to fish the river. Para Crickets, Peacock PMX�s and smaller ants and beetles used with beadhead droppers have been a great addition to our fishing arsenals. There are few straggler Baetis around when the weather conditions are right, but they are not something to look for in numbers, only be aware and take advantage of where/when possible. Pale Morning duns are appearing and on the increase. We have a number of other bugs (golden stones, little yellow sallies, caddis) that could make their presence known soon, adding to the strengthening terrestrial base of ants, beetles and maturing baby hoppers. If nymphing is the right approach, the fish for the most part are sitting very, very deep. Long leaders, extra weight and bright colored flies have been important. Glo-bugs, San Juan worms, big scuds, streamers have been the most consistent fish catchers. Back them up (trailer) with smaller scuds, pt nymphs, zebra midges and other smaller more natural flies. Even with the decreasing flows, can�t over emphasize the importance of fishing on the bottom, if it takes more weight to get there, do it. Set the indicator higher too. Remove the heavier sections of mono from your leaders to increase sink rates. Whatever it takes. FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  4.0- 6.0 and higher. Water levels are receding. Warmer weather will go a long ways towards helping us return to more topside opportunities. Until then, nymph and streamers fishing will remain solid. Golden Stoneflies, Pale Morning duns, Little Yellow Sallies are in our immediate future. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR-Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 7 for fishermen, 2-3 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 5-6 for fishermen- 1-2 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 5-6 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs_ 65-93 degrees Night time lows- 40 degrees This past weeks= hot, overcast, rain, blue sky/sunshine, windy at times. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like_do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Denny Breer Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com 877.77.FLIES photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - May 24th, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps I wanted to catch you up with the newest information on river flows. We went from 6200 cfs last Thursday (May 19) to 4600 cfs and have remained there since. The Yampa River has peaked (May 24) and is now on its way down. There is an outside chance that flows at Flaming Gorge may go up to the former 6200 cfs over the weekend. This is not an certainty and we don�t know which days the bumps might occur. We did OK last week under the 6600 cfs flow. The good news is that there has been a decision to hold in storage the additional water that was slated for release in June and we should be coming off these higher flows around June 3 or after. Traditional down ramping is at 400 cfs a day. On Memorial Day weekend last year we were at 1200 cfs daily average flow. We have done well under the 4600 cfs flow. Cicadas are on the move and the fish have moved out to the edges with the higher flows. Down deep, it has been San Juan worms, big and small scuds, glo-bugs. On top, cicadas with droppers and other terrestrials (ants, beetles, attractors) has been the best, a few BWO�s are still hanging in there. RIVER WATER TEMPERATURES- Water temperature is 46.0 degrees. Checked 5/20/2005. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam. We should see some improvement in the next several weeks. WATER QUALITY Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent. LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= Subject to water flows, can run clear to murky.. BELOW RED CREEK= Currently dirty. A NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run_off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river_just a little, not bad_a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable.  AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Spring Baetis in size #16-18. Sporadic P.M.D's- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- But just a few Snow Sedges, a large (#10) blonde colored caddis.. STONEFLIES- Should see a few Goldens soon.. CICADAS- Starting to see a few. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- Ants, beetles, baby hoppers, a few cicadas.. ***FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO�s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII�s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- None. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- #10 Goddard or tan Elk Hair caddis.. STONE FLIES- #14/16 black flying ant or small Rio Grande King Trudes.. CICADAS- Your favoites #12-10. TERRESTRIALS- Ants #16-12 black or brown, beetles #10-14, baby hoppers.. ATTRACTORS- Peacock PMX�s.. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions.   Zebra tungsten midges, red, camel brown, black, gray #14-18 Scuds #10-18, Grey, olive, orange, pink. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc Cicadas #12-8, your favorite. Large scuds #8-12, tan, pink or orange. San Juan Worms, red #10-14 Crane Fly Larva #8-10. Atomic Worms, #4, 6 red or orange Glo-bugs in bright colors of pink, orange or chartruese. THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW-RATED -  3-5 May 24, 2005 UPDATE I wanted to catch you up with the newest information on river flows. We went from 6200 cfs last Thursday (May 19) to 4600 cfs and have remained there since. The Yampa River has peaked (May 24) and is now on its way down. There is an outside chance that flows at Flaming Gorge may go up to the former 6200 cfs over the weekend. This is not an certainty and we don�t know which days the bumps might occur. We did OK last week under the 6600 cfs flow. The good news is that there has been a decision to hold in storage the additional water that was slated for release in June and we should be coming off these higher flows around June 3 or after. Traditional down ramping is at 400 cfs a day. On Memorial Day weekend last year we were at 1200 cfs daily average flow. We have done well under the 4600 cfs flow. Cicadas are on the move and the fish have moved out to the edges with the higher flows. Down deep, it has been San Juan worms, big and small scuds, glo-bugs. On top, cicadas with droppers and other terrestrials (ants, beetles, attractors) has been the best, a few BWO�s are still hanging in there.   Mother nature did her thing this last week when Monday, the BOR responding to flow changes on the Yampa River, raised the river without notice from 800 cfs to 3000 cfs, then proceeded to 4600 cfs on Tuesday, 5400 cfs on Wednesday, 6200 cfs Thursday to 4600 cfs today (Friday). Current word is that we might stay there for a time, dependant on what the Yampa River does. We ran trips each and every day, some trips were better than others, some anglers caught fish others struggled. Our issue is basic, water quality. No matter what the flow, when it is stabilized and the river is allowed to clear, we do alright with our fishing. Not fishing as usual, but OK. Once the river runs at a higher level for a time several days or more), we can get back closer to normal fishing activity. This year, under a "test" scenario, river flows will vary up or down dependent on what flow the study calls for. So unlike past years, we are subject to change with little notice, dependant on what the Yampa is flowing and whether it is meeting the study needs or needs help from Flaming Gorge. By fishing lager flies, and brighter ones, (see "Hot Flies") we have been able to catch fish. When the flows rise and break apart weedbeds, it dis-lodges lots of feed that the fish take advantage of. They actually get fat in the short term, but the long term effect is a depression in bug production with the dismantling of the weedbeds. The long term positive benefit for us environmentally, is the removal of some of the sediment from the 2002 Mustang Fire. Our trips have managed better than those who participated had imagined. We have rolled a few "big ones". But that is not to say that they didn�t work for all the fish they are catching. Should the flow remain at 4600cfs, I think we are in good shape for the near future. Cicadas are in the mix, we are finding their presence a welcomed sight this year. High water and cicadas go together. There are still a few BWO�s around and the smaller terrestrials are out. The other day there was a great flying ant hatch on the middle river. Red Creek has been doing its own runoff, keeping the lower river unusable for now. But that too can change quickly. Inquire at the shop if you need up to date info. Streamers have been a highlight. Placing smaller larva and nymphs as trailers to the larger nymphs has helped too. Look for the slower water and in the backeddies where the fish tend to re-settle. We have had lots of communications with those who have current or near future plans on the river. We know that numbers seem ominous when you hear them. But when you look at historical data, the river in past record times (before the dam) exceeded 24,000 cfs in the spring. So it is very capable of handling this 4-6000 cfs, even higher. I believe those who are here, have not regretted their visits, and they have endured possibly the worst we might see. Don�t give up on your plans yet, we�ll keep you informed of any changes that will effect the rivers fishability. That said, we are not at our normal flow levels, use caution with the bigger, stronger water when wading and boating. P.S.- We welcome you to stop by for a visit with us in our flyshop located on the corner of the Highway 191 and the Little Hole Road in Dutch John. Our current hours are 7:00 am to 7:30 pm most week days and Sundays, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Fridays/Saturdays. FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  3.0- 5.0 and higher. We hope that cicadas will be on the menu and we will continue with higher flows for the immediate future. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR-Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 3-5 for fishermen, 0 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 3 for fishermen- 0 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 4 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs- 57-79 degrees Night time lows- 40 degrees This past week- still cool, overcast, rain, blue sky/sunshine, windy at times. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like; do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Denny Breer Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com 877.77.FLIES photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - April 28th, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps PLEASE NOTE: HEADERS WITH AN *** preceding the title indicate no changes from the previous report. RIVER FLOW INFORMATION-FLAMING GORGE -  The Apr-Jul Unregulated inflow forecast was increased to 1050 KAF (88% of normal) from 900 KAF on April 1. Snow pack conditions have continued to rebound from mid March conditions. It now appears that the snow pack survived the critical month of March. Snow pack conditions on April 4th were 88% of normal as compared to 65% of normal on this date one year ago. We are now reaching the point where the spring melt could start any time. Typically the snow pack peaks on April 11th based on the 30 year average. Releases from Fontenelle were increased to power plant capacity on March 31st (1600 cfs). This will increase the inflows seen at Flaming Gorge such that the reservoir elevation will continue to rise in April. Releases from Flaming Gorge continue to be 1000 cfs on average each day. Fluctuations for power generation are occurring each day. These fluctuations are limited such that flows measured at Jensen Utah remain within a 25% window around the daily average flow as described in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative of the 1992 Biological Opinion. In addition to this limitation, hourly release ramp rates are also limited to 800 cfs/hour and only a single peak per day is being allowed as well. RIVER WATER TEMPERATURE Water temperature is 44 degrees. Checked 4/28/2005 . This Temperature is normal at this time of year. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam. We should see some improvement in the next several weeks. P.S.- Was not able to contact the BOR but doubt there is any significant changes. ***WATER QUALITY Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent (see note). LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= Excellent. BELOW RED CREEK= Has been subject to running dirty some days as we see the first signs of run-off.. NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run-off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it's effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river-just a little, not bad, a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable.  AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Spring Baetis in size #16-18. P.M.D's- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- But just a few Snow Sedges, a large (#10) blonde colored caddis.. STONEFLIES- A few slender winter stones. CICADAS- None. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- None. ***FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO’s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII’s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- None. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- #10 Goddard or tan Elk Hair caddis.. STONE FLIES- #14/16 black flying ant or small Rio Grande King Trudes.. CICADAS- None. TERRESTRIALS- None. ATTRACTORS- None. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions.   Zebra tungsten midges, red, camel brown, black, gray #14-18 Scuds #10-18, Grey, olive, orange, pink. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc GT Emergers olive or black #18-20 Two-bead midge #20-22 WD-40 or 50's #16-20 grey or olive. RS-II #20-24 grey or olive. Parachute Adams #22-26 Blue Winged Olive patterns, olive or grey #16-20: Parachute BWO #16-18. Wingers BWO, Beefus para BWO emerger, Extended body BWO’s. THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW-RATED -  6.0 Our weather was mixed this past week, several pleasant days followed by cold and rainy days. The rainy days disturbed the river below Red Creek Rapids and downriver by turning the water red. So, downriver has been clear , then muddy, then clear. The upper river’s water quality too suffered some around the areas where small creeks such as Cart, Gorge and Goslin Creeks were spilling early run-off into the river. The impacts of such run-off is to tinge the river slightly away from its normal crystal clarity. This past weekend was very busy on the river, especially Friday and Saturday April 22nd and 23rd. Busier than any late April in recent memory. Baetis are still active on the river, but not with great consistency. You might say that they have come and gone with the weather conditions. One day the hatch didn’t start until after 4:00 pm just following a late afternoon rain shower. When they are present, they are providing some great opportunities for anglers. Prior to the duns appearance on the rivers surface there will be several hours where the Baetis nymphs are swimming in the current. Anglers should watch closely for this activity.You will be tipped off by spending a little time observing the fishes activities closely, typically they are suspended as a group higher in the water column and are aggressively moving (often flashing) in their feeding activity. Buoy your Baetis nymphs at their level with an indicator and have fun. On more normal days top water activity has occurred after 11:00 am (1:00pm or later on sunny days) as a whole, but not as a rule. We have seen both early and late time frames with Baetis and midges. Midges remain important to us, don’t forget them in the pursuit of Baetis. In fact many reports are saying that the midge patterns have often out performed the Baetis. And there has been, at times, a great number of midge adults on the water. During the slower active times, midges may well be your best approach in fly selection. We continue to have reports of some fish that attacked the larger flies such as Chernobyls when they were being fished as indicators with beadheads. Other larger flies too have drawn some interest, but we are still a ways off to focus on them steadily. Down deep, flies with bright colors followed (tandemed) by more natural imitations of small Baetis nymphs, Midge larva (red is a good color: San Juan worms, blood midges, red WD 40's, etc) and scuds will be the best approaches. The bright colored flies can be large scuds, glo-bugs or other similar flies that draw the attention of the trout. Pink is my favorite color followed by orange and chartreuse. The spawning activity is done except for the few stragglers that can be found here and there. Streamer fishing remains a constant way to access fish. Buggers in gold, tan, pink and white are all good choices. With the popularity of the gold and tan buggers with the fish, there may well be small brown trout fry in the system. See the "Hot Six" for other pattern recommendations. FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  5.0- and higher. As we head into May, midge and Baetis fishing will remain good as long as we remain cool. But as the weather warms, those hatches will be replaced by our budding terrestrial insects. Nymphing along with streamers will continue to be important to us. Especially when we start seeing elevated flows later in the month. We are at this time aware of how these elevated flows will be done. Hope to have a clearer report very soon for you. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR-Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 8 for fishermen, 0 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 6-7  for fishermen- 0 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 6 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs- 45-70 degrees Night time lows- 35-40 degrees This past week- some cold fronts with overnight snows, blue sky/sunshine, windy at times. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like; do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Report provided by Denny Breer - Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com 877.77.FLIES photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - April 1st, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps PLEASE NOTE: HEADERS WITH AN *** preceding the title indicate no changes from the previous report. ***RIVER FLOW INFORMATION-FLAMING GORGE  Releases from Flaming Gorge continue to be 1000 cfs on average each day. Fluctuations for power generation is occurring. These fluctuations are limited such that flows measured at Jensen Utah remain within a 25% window around the daily average flow as described in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative of the 1992 Biological Opinion. In addition to this limitation, hourly release ramp rates are also limited to 800 cfs/hour and only a single peak per day is being allowed as well. Snow conditions above Flaming Gorge are currently 85% of normal due to increased precipitation over the past week. Precipitation is expected later in the week. As of March 21th, the snowpack conditions were 85% of normal In the Yampa River Basin. This is about 5% higher than one week ago and about 7% higher than last year at this time. Conditions are definitely looking better now then they did in the early part of the month. ***RIVER WATER TEMPERATURE Water temperature is 39 degrees. Checked 2/11/2004. This Temperature is normal at this time of year. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam.  P.S.- Was not able to contact the BOR but doubt there is any significant changes. ***WATER QUALITY Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent (see note). LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= Excellent. BELOW RED CREEK= Has been subject to running dirty some days as we see the first signs of run-off.. NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run-off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it's effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river-just a little, not bad, a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable.  ***AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Fall Baetis, sporadically occurring, will be very small #22-26. Spring Baetis too are sporadically appearing in size #16-18. P.M.D's- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- But just a few Snow Sedges, a large (#10) blonde colored caddis.. STONEFLIES- We should start seeing some slender winter stones that are common in March and early April.. CICADAS- None. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- None. ***FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO’s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII’s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- None. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- #10 Goddard or tan Elk Hair caddis.. STONE FLIES- #14/16 black flying ant or small Rio Grande King Trudes.. CICADAS- None. TERRESTRIALS- None. ATTRACTORS- None. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions.   Zebra tungsten midges, red, camel brown, black, gray #14-18 Scuds #10-18, Grey, olive, orange, pink. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc San Juan worms red #14 Two-bead midge #20-22 WD-40 or 50's #20-22 grey or olive. RS-II #20-24 grey or olive. Parachute Adams #22-26 Parachute BWO #16-18 grey or olive.   THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW-RATED -  5.5-6.0 It has been a great week for fishing on the Green River. We are seeing an continuation of the fishing conditions that allowed me to up the rating a little last week. What’s more, we are seeing increasing Baetis activity on a larger scale. It is still sporadic at times, but improving. The weather has left something to be desired, cold and windy as several cold cells pushed through leaving little moisture for our area. But contrary to the most widely held view, our drainages up north have not had the great winter that has happened south from us. You can see the dividing line between above average to below average traveling from Vernal to Dutch John. The top of the mountain is the boundary. So we still need some moisture up north in the Bridger and Wind Mountains. Today (Thursday) was cool, but the first real steady sunshine we have seen for awhile. The wind has been the worst, but everyone has been surprised how many fish they caught even under the breezy conditions. Fishing conditions have on the path of improvement this past week, but the bugs and how to fish has not changed. The only change worth mentioning is the larger presence of the Baetis. So, per last week: Anglers are fishing so many different approaches, and successfully, which means there is lots happening on the river opportunity wise. We are see more than decent midge hatches everyday, and though the Baetis have not started with consistent blanket hatches, they will. There are still a few of the smaller winter Baetis appearing, looking rather impy next to the Spring Baetis duns. Most topwater activity has occurred after 11:00 am as a whole, but not as a rule. We have seen early and late time frames with Baetis and midges. Furthermore the activity has been area specific at times, meaning that a half mile up or down the river either way means you might have missed it. Not uncommon for this time of year. But when you join the emergence and topwater stages of the Baetis and midges to the fact that you can bottom bounce other flies and streamer fish successfully, it earns a higher fishing rating with all the increased opportunities. We even had reports of some fish that attacked the larger flies such as Chernobyls when they were being fished as indicators with beadheads. Streamer fishing remains a constant way to access fish. Buggers in gold, tan, pink and white are all good winter choices. Down deep, flies with bright colors followed (tandemed) by more natural imitations of small Baetis nymphs, Midge larva (red is a good color: San Juan worms, blood midges, red WD 40's, etc) and scuds will be the best approaches. The bright colored flies can be large scuds, glo-bugs or other similar flies that draw the attention of the trout. Pink is my favorite color followed by orange and chartreuse. The spawning activity is done except for the few stragglers that can be found here and there. See the "Hot Six" for other pattern recommendations. P.S.- We welcome you to stop by for a visit with us in our flyshop located on the corner of the Highway 191 and the Little Hole Road in Dutch John. Our winter hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm most week days and Sundays, 7:30 am to 6:00 pm Fridays/Saturdays. ***FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  4.0- and higher. Midge fishing will remain good into the immediate future. Fish the shallow edges of the river where smutting trout are working the surface quietly. Nymphing deep along with streamers will be important for reaching the more quality fish. While we are seeing the Baetis (Blue Winged Olives) sporadically, they will be important to us in the near future. Typically a mid-April to early May bug, but with the drought and early warm weather we had last spring, they came early and finished ahead of normal. ***SPRING FISHING INFORMATION As spring progresses there will be some big changes in the trout and insect activities from those of winter. Typically, longer days with longer periods of sunlight will move trout back towards reversal of what occurs in winter by their noticeable un-podding and restationing in the more typical river lies. This reversal will occur over time and overall create some great fishing. This movement is further aided by the opening (around April 1) of the "selective withdrawal structures" attached to the penstocks (outlets) at the dam. This "opening" provides the start of warmer temperatures through the dam and additional nutrients from the released water. Aquatic invertebrates will also become more active resulting in great midge and Baetis hatches. Midges should be active most every day until the air temperatures become consistently warm, I expect the strongest Baetis activity to start mid-April, with the most consistent hatches late April and early May. The water temperatures will rise slowly, so still expect to find the most trout in the slower velocity water with fewer available in the fast/heavy river sections. This will continue until water temperatures reach close to the high forties. Many fish will have to be fished for deep with scuds and midge nymphs to be productive, but others will resume their bank hugging and feeding activities making them prime targets for anglers. The suspended eddies trout can be caught by suspending nymphs at 5 to 6 feet with an indicator or watch for them to start working near or just under the surface. The river should come into full bloom by mid-May with the return of our terrestrials such as the cicadas that are so important to our great surface fishing. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR-Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 4-5 for fishermen, 0 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 2  for fishermen- 0 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 2-3 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs- 35-48 degrees Night time lows- 20-25 degrees This past week- cold fronts with overnight snows, overcast/cloudy, windy at times. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like; do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Denny Breer Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com Fishwest Online Fly Shop www.fishwest.com photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - March 5th, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps PLEASE NOTE: HEADERS WITH AN *** preceding the title indicate no changes from the previous report. RIVER FLOW INFORMATION-FLAMING GORGE Releases from Flaming Gorge continue to be 1000 cfs on average each day. Fluctuations for power generation is occurring. These fluctuations are limited such that flows measured at Jensen Utah remain within a 25% window around the daily average flow as described in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative of the 1992 Biological Opinion. In addition to this limitation, hourly release ramp rates are also limited to 800 cfs/hour and only a single peak per day is being allowed as well. Snow conditions above Flaming Gorge are 93% of normal. One year ago at this time, snow conditions were 84% of normal. The February final inflow forecast for Flaming Gorge is calling for 96% of normal inflows during February, 106% of normal inflows for March and 115% of normal inflows for April. The overall water supply forecast is calling for 97% of normal inflows for the April through July inflow period. RIVER WATER TEMPERATURE Water temperature is 39 degrees. Checked 2/11/2004. This Temperature is normal at this time of year. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam.  P.S.- Was not able to contact the BOR but doubt there is any significant changes. WATER QUALITY Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent (see note). LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= Excellent. BELOW RED CREEK= Has been subject to running dirty some days as we see the first signs of run-off.. NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run-off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it's effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river-just a little, not bad, a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable.  AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Fall Baetis, sporadically occurring, will be very small #22-26. P.M.D's- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- But just a few Snow Sedges, a large (#10) blonde colored caddis.. STONEFLIES- We should start seeing some slender winter stones that are common in March and early April.. CICADAS- None. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- None. FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO’s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII’s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- None. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- #10 Goddard or tan Elk Hair caddis.. STONE FLIES- #14/16 black flying ant or small Rio Grande King Trudes.. CICADAS- None. TERRESTRIALS- None. ATTRACTORS- None. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions. Zebra tungsten midges, red, camel brown, black, gray #14-18 Scuds #10-18, Grey, olive, orange, pink. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc San Juan worms red #14 Two-bead midge #20-22 WD-40 or 50's #20-22 grey or olive. RS-II #20-24 grey or olive. Parachute Adams #22-26 THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW-RATED -  4.0-5.0 Here’s the start of regular reports once again. Though I will not be able to post a fresh report next week due to my schedule, I will place one ASAP upon my return. Outside of the weather we shouldn’t see much change in that interim. The weather has been very nice over the past two weeks, some days into the high fifties, some nights have been in the high thirties. Though we are still receiving a little moisture now and again, we are missing the levels experienced by Southern Utah and beyond. For us, we still need some more moisture just to reach average. I was not able to access anyone at the BOR to see if the water temps have risen any in light of the recent weather, may still be slightly early to look for it yet. We have seen a few folks around on the weekends, but for the most part we have failed to see the numbers we anticipate in the near future. The weather is definitely going to factor into everyone’s decisions as to whether or not it’s time to go fishing yet. In anticipation of the changes we will see ahead of us, I have deleted my winter info and replaced it with my recommendations for spring in a section just down from this. Overall fishing remains good. Only a few mentions of slow activity, but those are balanced when compared to several reports of great fishing. The techniques have not changed, some anglers have chosen to pick on the midging fish, others with nymphs and Glo-bugs down deep, streamers too have remained consistent. Notice that the "Hot Six" fly recommendations have not moved for some time. The sunnier sections of the canyon has had the best midge activity (early in the day typically) and small Baetis sporadically when the right conditions prevail. Little Hole has been the center for this action, but it has been noted as far upriver as Secret Riffle. While we are seeing the Baetis (Blue Winged Olives) sporadically, they will be more important to us in the near future. Typically a mid-April to early May bug, but with the drought and early warm weather we had last spring, they came early and finished ahead of normal. A continuation of the current warm weather we have been experiencing might signal a repeat this year. Streamer fishing remains a constant way to access fish. Buggers in gold, tan, pink and white are all good winter choices. Down deep, flies with bright colors followed (tandemed) by more natural imitations of small Baetis nymphs, Midge larva (red is a good color: San Juan worms, blood midges, red WD 40's, etc) and scuds will be the best approaches. The bright colored flies can be large scuds, glo-bugs or other similar flies that draw the attention of the trout. Pink is my favorite color followed by orange and chartreuse.The spawning activity is done except for the few stragglers that can be found here and there. FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  4.0- and higher. Midge fishing will remain good into the immediate future. Fish the shallow edges of the river where smutting trout are working the surface quietly. Nymphing deep along with streamers will be important for reaching the more quality fish. While we are seeing the Baetis (Blue Winged Olives) sporadically, they will be important to us in the near future. Typically a mid-April to early May bug, but with the drought and early warm weather we had last spring, they came early and finished ahead of normal. SPRING FISHING INFORMATION As spring progresses there will be some big changes in the trout and insect activities from those of winter. Typically, longer days with longer periods of sunlight will move trout back towards reversal of what occurs in winter by their noticeable un_podding and restationing in the more typical river lies. This reversal will occur over time and overall create some great fishing. This movement is further aided by the opening (around April 1) of the "selective withdrawal structures" attached to the penstocks (outlets) at the dam. This "opening" provides the start of warmer temperatures through the dam and additional nutrients from the released water. Aquatic invertebrates will also become more active resulting in great midge and Baetis hatches. Midges should be active most every day until the air temperatures become consistently warm, I expect the strongest Baetis activity to start mid_April, with the most consistent hatches late April and early May. The water temperatures will rise slowly, so still expect to find the most trout in the slower velocity water with fewer available in the fast/heavy river sections. This will continue until water temperatures reach close to the high forties. Many fish will have to be fished for deep with scuds and midge nymphs to be productive, but others will resume their bank hugging and feeding activities making them prime targets for anglers. The suspended eddie trout can be caught by suspending nymphs at 5 to 6 feet with an indicator or watch for them to start working near or just under the surface. The river should come into full bloom by mid_May with the return of our terrestrials such as the cicadas that are so important to our great surface fishing. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 2 for fishermen, 0 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 1 for fishermen- 0 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 1 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs- 35-58 degrees Night time lows- 25-35 degrees This past week-  a few cold fronts with overnight snows, lots of nice blue sky/sunshine days. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like; do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Dennis Breer Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com 877.77.FLIES photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - February 11th, 2005 supplied by: Fishwest Outfitters FISHING: Good maps PLEASE NOTE: HEADERS WITH AN *** preceding the title indicate no changes from the previous report. RIVER FLOW INFORMATION-FLAMING GORGE  Releases from Flaming Gorge Dam are currently 1000 cfs daily average. Releases from Flaming Gorge were increased from an average daily release of 800 cfs to 1000 cfs on February 1, 2005. This change was made in response to increased inflows and inflow forecasts for the next several months. On average each day in February the release rate will be 1000 cfs which is equivelent to approximately 1980 acre_feet of volume. There will likely be some hour to hour fluctuations during this period. These fluctuations will be limited such that the hourly ramp rate is less than 800 cfs/hour with a single peak occuring each day. Fluctuations will be limited such that flows measured at Jensen Utah remain within a 25% window around the daily average flow as described in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative of the 1992 Biological Opinion. Snow conditions above Flaming Gorge are 89% of normal which is down from 93% of normal last week. One year ago at this time, snow conditions were 87% of normal. The February final inflow forecast for Flaming Gorge is calling for 96% of normal inflows during February, 106% of normal inflows for March and 115% of normal inflows for April. The overall water supply forecast is calling for 97% of normal inflows for the April through July inflow period. RIVER WATER TEMPERATURE Water temperature is 39 degrees. Checked 2/11/2004. This Temperature is normal at this time of year. Temperatures are BOR readings as released from Flaming Gorge dam.  ***WATER QUALITY Water quality rated poor, fair, good or excellent is currently: DAM TO LITTLE HOLE= Excellent (see note). LITTLE HOLE TO RED CREEK= Excellent. BELOW RED CREEK= Excellent. NOTE ABOUT RED CREEK: Rain storms or early spring run-off may cause Red Creek (12 miles downstream from the dam) to flow on occasion, it's effects depend on how much flow is occurring into the river-just a little, not bad, a lot, cloudy but usually can be fished with streamers. A heavy flow will cause the lower Green River to run completely red at times and be entirely unfishable. ***AVAILABLE AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES, AQUATIC INSECTS AND TERRESTRIAL HATCHES: SCUDS-Yes, available all year MIDGES-Yes, adults- some activity, larva/pupae available in the drift all year. Mostly early and late. BAETIS- Fall Baetis, sporadically occurring, will be very small #22-26. P.M.D's- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. TRICOS-  None. CADDIS- None. STONEFLIES- None. CICADAS- None. MORMON CRICKETS- None.  OTHER TERRESTRIALS- None. ***FLY PATTERNS SCUDS- Scuds should be olive/gray, #16-22 or smaller if you want to match. the natural micro-scuds. Larger scuds (#14-10) in Tan, Pink and Orange as attractors are also effective. MIDGES- Pupa: brassie, red, olive, or black #20-24. Tie some with tungsten beads for weight (known as Zebra midges), others with glass beads for color. Adults: the most common adults are black, olive, or gray. Small Adams and simple adult midge patterns (#16 to #22) will work including clustering patterns such as a Griffiths Gnat, Two Bead Midge or the local Fuzzball. BAETIS- Para Adams, Para BWO., Hackle Stackers, CDC Thorax BWO’s, #20-26. Emergers: WD 40's (olive, grey) RSII’s (grey), Pheasant tails, Tunsten Zebra midges (camel brown, grey, olive. PALE MORNING DUNS- None. TRICOS- None. CALLIBAETIS- None. CADDIS- None. STONE FLIES- None. CICADAS- None. TERRESTRIALS- None. ATTRACTORS- None. STREAMERS- Woolly Buggers 4_6, black, olive, tan, Goldilocks. Double Bunnies 2-4. ***THE "HOT" SIX The fly list above suggests the available trout food and their imitations. Each week I will list the top six flies that were productive from the week before. The danger here is that things change from week to week, so while trends in fly selection can be consistent, keep in mind they do also change with current fishing conditions.   Zebra tungsten midges, red, camel brown, black, gray #14-18 Scuds #10-18, Grey, olive, orange, pink. Streamers #2-6 tan, black, olive, Goldilox Buggers, Double Bunnies, Playboy Bunny, etc San Juan worms red #14 Two-bead midge #20-22 WD-40 or 50's #20-22 grey or olive. RS-II #20-24 grey or olive. Parachute Adams #22-26 THE PAST WEEK IN REVIEW-RATED -  4.0-5.0 In the absence of weekly updates this winter, the most recent existing report served most everybody well. Not much has changed. Winter has continued on. In Dutch John, we have missed the heavy inversions that have occurred in Vernal and Salt Lake. With low visitor presence here on the Green, it has to be a reflection of the gloominess that comes from a dense fog and cold felt by those surrounded by it along with the overwhelming feeling that it is like that everywhere in the world at the moment. We experience that feeling in our ventures to town throughout the winter when Vernal is in the throws of such an event, driving from the sunshine into a winter wonderland where frost and ice hang to the trees. We have had more snow and cold fronts through this winter, which could account for the lack of river traffic as well. Great skiing conditions definitely contribute. But even with the increase of storms, we are still lacking great snowpack accumulation for the anticipated inflows into Flaming Gorge Reservoir. If you read the report above (RIVER FLOWS) from the Bureau, they just bumped the daily average flow from 800 cfs to 1000 cfs because of the increase in anticipated water. This week they now report less, Which is it? I’m confused! While we have had some cold days, there has been our normal share of great blue sky/sunshine ones as well. On average, we have had daytime highs between 35-45 degrees, nighttime lows 10-25 degrees. The few anglers that have been around, are reporting great fishing overall. Our experiences have measured up as well.  River water temperatures have dropped to their normal winter average of 39 degrees at spillway. The river will pick up a degree or two as it travels downstream. In the sunnier sections of the canyon you can expect some great midge activity (early in the day typically) and small Baetis sporadically when the right conditions prevail. Little Hole has been the center for this action, but it has been noted as far upriver as Secret Riffle. Streamer fishing remains a constant way to access fish. Buggers in gold, tan, pink and white are all good winter choices. Down deep, flies with bright colors followed (tandemed) by more natural imitations of small Baetis nymphs, Midge larva (red is a good color: san juan worms, blood midges, red WD 40's, etc) and scuds will be the best approaches. The bright colored flies can be large scuds, glo-bugs or other similar flies that draw the attention of the trout. Pink is my favorite color followed by orange and chartreuse.The spawning activity is done except for the few stragglers that can be found here and there. I have re-posted my annual section on "Winter Fishing" several paragraphs down. You might wish to review it before heading this way in winter. The anglers we have had around are reporting great fishing. The challenge is to dress warmly enough and not expose yourself much past when the sun started to set, turns very chilly in the canyon that time of day. Especially in those areas where the sun fails to penetrate the canyon walls. The "witching hour" seems to be between 4-5:00 pm each day when fish and man calls it quits except for the real die-hards. A reminder- For the immediate future I am changing the frequency of this report to bi-weekly, possibly monthly until river information warrants an update. I will update any report with important information when it is significant. Consider any report current until it has been replaced. Regular weekly reports will re-start no later than March 1, 2005. FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AHEAD- RATED  4.0- and higher. We have some great fishing opportunities ahead. It won’t be long before fishing fever will return to many anglers. The Green has always pleased those early season anglers who took the chance to venture out into even less than ideal weather. Midge fishing will remain good in the shallow edges of the river where smutting trout still can be caught. Drop a nymph deep for some great fish or swing a streamer for the exceptional ones. Dress warm, limit your time on the river on the extreme days and you’ll enjoy the river in near solitude many of our winter days. You might wish to review the "Winter Fishing Information" posted below. ***WINTER FISHING INFORMATION While the following is good advice for this river, it may well be appropriate wherever you fish in the winter. As we approach the colder months on the river, remember, winter is a time when trout often use different habitats than they do in warmer times of the year. This transition will occur as the water temperatures drop. It is generally first apparent when the trout become noticeably less visible along the rivers banks and they retreat to the deeper and more sheltered/structured areas of the river to conserve energy. Anglers should respond to this in two ways: First- its time to start thinking about fishing deep with the scud and midge imitations that make up eighty percent of the trout's winter diet. Second-spend some time to locate the areas that hold the largest concentrations of trout. My typical winter approach is to fish to the fish, not just fish the water. So locate the trout first and don’t just fish blindly in the areas you’ve fished before. It just may be that the trout have moved out of the pool or areas that produced the best fishing for you this season. Remember the reason for these changes are to conserve energy, so more trout will be found in the slower velocity water and fewer will be available in the fast/heavy river sections. Closer to the dam, the fish are either deep in the runs or suspended in the eddies. The deep fish will have to be fished with scuds and midge nymphs to be productive. The eddy fish can be caught by suspending nymphs at 5 to 6 feet with an indicator or waiting/watching for them to work the surface. Near Little Hole, watch for midging activity by the trout, they will only be found in a few areas. Locating these trout may be your best opportunity to surface fish. Typical nymphing will take those trout that are in the riffles in this area. THIS PAST WEEKS CROWD MONITOR-Rated 1 to 10, with one being an empty river and ten stay home. I posted this note last year and it is still appropriate! Important to remember: Waders: There are only two access points on the upper river, Little Hole and Spillway. Everyone has to enter at one of these two areas. It's not important how many people are there, but what you do to separate yourself from others makes for solitary fishing. If you are unwilling to walk a little, expect to fish with others. Boaters: Seems there are always a large number of novice boaters trying out their river skills, not all are successful, hopefully they will improve as the year progresses. The worst transgressions? Following too close to others boaters, cutting too closely in front of other drifting boats, floating through or over another anglers fish, competing for fishing holes and fish already occupied by other boating or wading anglers. There's plenty of river and fish, let's give each other a little courtesy and room (i.e. try practicing the Golden Rule when it comes to our fellow anglers). This is supposed to be fun for us all! These ratings are the lowest possible anytime. Weekends A Section (Friday/Saturday)= 1 for fishermen, 0 for rafters B section (Friday/Saturday)= 1 for fishermen- 0 for rafters. Weekdays, all sections = 1 RECENT WEATHER Daytime highs- 25-48 degrees Night time lows- 10-25 degrees This past week- cold fronts, snow, sunshine. ***EVALUATION RATINGS On occasions I'm asked about my rating numbers that are used to evaluate the fishing in this report. The questions are generally things like; do you ever rate the fishing a ten? You won't see a ten from me very often, it has to be consistently incredible for a ten rating. Though we do get incredible days, we seldom get a full week of it. Other comments are that I'm to conservative only rating the river at a five or six. So here it is: 1,2,3 very poor to poor; 4 below average; 5,6 average to good; 7 great; 8 excellent; 9 superb; 10 incredible. So you can see, a five or six rating is not a poor rating and should be a great time to fish the river. Denny Breer Trout Creek Flies Fishwest Outfitters & Guide Service www.fishwestoutfitters.com 877.77.FLIES 801.733.8858 photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - January 25th, 2005 supplied by: Western Rivers Flyfisher FISHING: Good Fishing Summary for the Green River and 2005 Outlook That little window of opportunity that we look for each winter is upon us. It never fails. The valley fills will smog/fog and the Provo and the Green are bathed in beautiful warm sunshine and clean fresh air. This past week the Green was as beautiful as it gets with traces of snow accentuating the red sandstone topography of the surrounding countryside. The river corridor was bathed in warm afternoon sun. The areas around Little Hole had midges scurrying across the waters surface, dimples from rising trout were everywhere, hardly an angler in sight. This is always the case in January and the first of February when that first extended period of high pressure hits us and baths the Green in the years first warm sun. Roads were in great shape. I could see where after a little snow melt on US-191 where you might get some black ice, but for the most part they were dry. The weather looks good for the next several days before another front moves into Northern Utah. As we move into February look for another hight pressure to move into the area to great the same great weather and fishing. Fishing has been good to excellent over the past several weeks with the best fishing taking place between 11:00am and 3:00pm. If you are wade fishing the best opportunities will occur on the lower reaches of Section A and down river to Red Creek. Those willing to hike below Little Hole will most likely enjoy good fishing and a day of solitude. About two thirds of the way through Section A the canyon opens up and water temperatures will run a little warmer on these mild winter days that lie ahead. No need to be the first one on the river. Even if you are a late morning arrival there is a good chance you will be one of the first to hit the river. If you plan on floating, our guides, who are taking advantage of the weather and lack of pressure, have been fishing streamers on the upper portions of the corridor until the hit the hatch lower in the river late morning to early afternoon. If you are headed over to the Green in the next week, take along a good assortment of very warm cloths. A good layering system will go a long way towards allowing you to enjoy your day a stream. Although afternoon temperatures may have you down to your flannel shirt, it is still January and it can turn to winter quickly. For current and extend forecasts before making your trip, go to Green River Weather to make the most out of your time on the river. Good flies to have this time of year are Befus Para Emerger, Parachute Adams, WD-40, Zebra Midge(these always seems to work here), Black Beauty Emerger, Griffiths Gnat, and a Soft Hackle Midge (don't leave home without a few in a couple of different sizes #16-#18). Your midge patterns should be on the small size, #20 or smaller. Clusters such as the CDC Midge Emerger, Griffiths Gnat and Syls Soft hackle can run up to a size #18. Streamers, as mentioned, will also produce. For the most part the fish are done spawning, however keep your eyes open for fresh spawning beds and stay off of them. They will be full of eggs that will remain in these redds until March or early April. Ginger buggers or light colored double bunnies and zonkers are always good patterns to use when fishing the Green. If you want to be serious about your streamer fishing we recommend that you use a sink tip line. In general, this time of year, the Greens trout will not move far for a fly. Getting the fly to swim right in their face will improve your tugs on the end of the line. photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - January 7th, 2005 supplied by: Puget Sound Fly Company, LLC RECORDED:    38 °   FISHING: Good   The Green is often overlooked by local steelhead flyfishers.  Maybe it just seems too close to home for the fishing to be any good.  Nonetheless, a few anglers have been consistently taking hatchery steelhead from the Flaming Geyser area.  The river has been low and clear and the typical purple favorites need to be down-sized a little in order to get the best looks. photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - December 4th, 2004 supplied by: Western Rivers Flyfisher FISHING: Good Fishing Summary for the Green River and 2005 Outlook   The season is winding down on the Green. This weeks cold weather will have all but the hardiest of souls fishing. With temperatures in the teens to low single digits, it may be a good time to take a break until we get some warmer and saner conditions later next week. If you should head over to the Green in the next few weeks, you will enjoy a quiet river. The blue wings have all but ended. Once the weather warms some, expect in the lower sections of A and downstream to see at times decent midge hatches. As November comes to a close, there can be excellent midge hatches and fishing in December. It will be weather dependent, so we will have to wait and see. Current weather conditions as I mentioned are not exactly what we are looking for. If you are headed over to the Green in the next week, take along a good assortment of very warm cloths. A good layering system will go a long way towards allowing you to enjoy you day a stream. Good flies will be Zebra Midges, WD-40, Mercers Micro May (this always seems to work here) Black Beauty Emerger, Griffiths Gnat, and a Soft Hackle Midge. Streamers will also produce. There are a few fish still spawning. Keep your eyes open for fresh spawning beds and stay off of them. They will be full of eggs that will be in these redds until March or early April. 2005 Green River Outlook As of today, Utahs average snowpack is 200% of normal. After six years of below average moisture, we are off to a great start. Hopefully the trend will continue throughout the west. All of our streams are in much need of better flows and a good spring flush. If it keeps up, the first thing that I would look to in forecasting next years season is a much longer and prolonged run-off in May. This will be true of all our northern Utah waters. Spring run-off will start in the northern portions of Utah as early as late April and occasionally on cold wet springs into the first of June. As we near the first of the new year look for the first break in the weather to produce some of the Greens best dry fly fishing; some years it occurs in January, other years in February. Historically that first warm spell of the winter triggers the Greens first prolific midge hatches. It is rare when over this two month period we do not see some rather pleasant temperatures, temperatures that hover in the 40s and sometimes even in the 50s. I remember back a few years ago a February when afternoon temperatures were in the high 50s on the Green. Seemed like 60s though it felt so warm as afternoon suns radiated off the rivers surrounding red sandstone walls. The midge hatches were incredible and after three weeks of tremendous dry fly fishing, it was over before most anglers picked up on the pleasant and prolific fishing this early hatch provided. Watch the weather, be tying your midge patterns and get ready. If you are headed this way to do a little skiing, if blue bird skies are upon us, bring your fly rod for a great change of pace an potentially some fantastic fishing. Unfortunately the timing of this weather pattern is not predictable, which makes it difficult if you are not within driving distance of the Green, except for a privilege few. Keep your options open! If you miss out on the first of winters offerings and cabin fever is getting to you, March may roar like a lion, but that roar triggers the seasons initial blue wings. Although March is a good month, it can be inconsistent. Again, weather will dictate the fishing and fishing conditions. If frequent storms are moving in and out of the area, the fishing will be up and down. As the weather oscillates, it can also be quite windy. Consequently, bring a big stick to help you deal with potential elements; even tough you may be fishing some rather small flies. Look for consistent weather patterns to produce the best fishing. It does not matter whether it is sunny or cloudy, just that the weather is not changing. March midge hatches will still be very good, but as the month nears its end we expect to run into some decent blue wing olive hatches, especially on those days that are overcast and mild. March crowds seldom occur. Another reasons that we try to plan a trek to the Green this early third month of the year. You will find far more anglers on the river once April arrives as a result of the more consistent fishing that this month brings. March, is also a very good month to fish streamers. Some of the years best streamer fishing occurs during this month, yet few employ this early season technique. Our guides, when floating will fish streamers until they find enough noses up to peak their interest. If you are floating, once you reach the lower portions of section A you should start to see an increasing number of pods sipping blue wings of midges along the river quieter currents. If you want to get a jump on the season, beat the crowds of peak season and have some very good options regarding types of fishing opportunities, March is an excellent month to consider. I think that April is one of the most consistent months of the year. The weather can create some challenging fishing conditions, but can also produce some epic hatches. Frequently I get asked what is the best month of the year, and I always have to throw April into the mix when answering this questions. Baetis are in full swing by the time the first of the month arrives. Angler numbers will pick up some the first half of the month, but will be more concentrated in the later weeks of April, which has always puzzled me since I believe that the hatch is better from the 1st to the 15th. Look for weather patterns that produce overcast and wet conditions to produce the best hatches and fishing. Although the blue wings will hatch on sunny days, the most prolonged hatches will occur on those days of unsettled weather. As we like to say; the worse the weather, the better the fishing when in comes to the late weeks of March through the end of April. This mayfly loves overcast skies. If you enjoy fishing small dries to big fish, this is the month to do it. Although the Cicada of late May and June gets all the press, Aprils blue wings produce year in and out by far the most dependable fly-fishing. May is a month that can produce mixed results. As we enter the month, inconsistent weather will produces the last of the good blue wing olive hatches. Some time in the middle of the Month water users will raise the flows to coincide with the peak flows of the Yampa to protect endangers species in the lower reaches of the Green. There is no magic date here, which is a problem for those booking trips. If May is cold and wet, peak flows will occur later in the month. If the month is hot and dry, they will occur in the early to middle days of May. If our snowpack is above average, look for spring flows to last longer than they have in the past. This is a good thing! I think you get the picture. That said, if May is a warm dry month we will see the Cicadas as early as the first few weeks of the month. If the month is cold and wet, we usually see a hatch that does not really get going. If the late weeks of May are wet and cold, many of the early season Cicadas will die from a mold they develop from the moisture-laden soil. If we get the Cicadas in May, they generate great fishing. If we do not see these big bugs crawling around and singing in the tree, the nymph fishing can be equally as good. So you ask; how is the fishing in May? Pretty darn good, except on those days when they first fluctuate the water to accommodate spring run off conditions. Once the flows are up and settled the nymph fishing historically is excellent. If the appropriate weather conditions produce early Cicadas the increased flows are a good thing. We actually prefer much higher flows than what the Green has been running for the past several years. Higher flows create more habitats for fish, especially big fish and for anglers to spread out. If you are going to fish the month of May on the Green, to be safe, or safer, pick the first and last week of the month. You should have good fishing and are least likely to be impacted by any changes in the flow. < p> Summer time and the trout are a jumping, weather is fine and the fishing is to! When the rest of the west is still thawing out, the Green is in full bloom and so is the fishing. This is one of several very consistent months on the river. Once the weather warms, break out the big dry flies. For those familiar with the Green, June means Cicadas. Like the wests famous Salmon Fly hatch, the Cicada is a big black insect that the Greens trout feed on like candy. On good years this hatch will last well into July and will produce hatches of several different species. Throughout the hatch, these large, fat, juicy terrestrials will range from a size 12 to a size 4 and everywhere in-between. Like the Salmon Fly hatch, this big bug attracts anglers from all over the worlds who will make the trek to experience some of the wests best and most consistent dry fly fishing. Even though it is crowded few complain considering the quality of the fishing and given the fact that the Green has more than enough trout per river mile to go around for everyone. If you are interested in booking a guide during this time of year, do so now. As I write this report there are a number of our June days, which are already booked. So make your plans early: Western Rivers Flyfisher has offered guides service to the Green since 1986. Go to the above link for pricing and contact information if you are interested in booking a guide on the Green or one of several other rivers we guide here in Northern Utah. Leaving the mayhem of June behind July brings a quieter month on this river. The fishing crowds really begin to disperse as the rest of the wests great rivers begins to fish well. This is a great reason to fish the Green come this July! While fly fishers from around the world start chasing Salmon Flies and Green Drakes around, the Greens Cicadas will still be producing excellent fishing opportunities. By late June and early July the lower sections of the Green will have settled down and start to fish far more consistently. We prefer sections B & C to the upper portions of the river since the lower 18 miles of river sees half the traffic of section A, particularly recreational traffic. These lower sections also see the Cicada later in the season. July is also when the season first caddis hatches show along with summers beautiful pale morning duns (PMD). Last year, especially on section B, there were excellent yellow stonefly hatches in the riffle water that added to the mix of excellent dry fly fishing opportunities. Although we typically do see sporadic stonefly hatches, last years hatch was very consistent. Hopefully we will see them again this July. Improved summer flows, which we potentially may have for 2005, will enchance this and other aquatic Green River hatches. Again, we remain optimistic. I really like July on the Green. The fishing is very consistent and the lower sections of the river begin to fish very well. There are also more hatches occurring on the river than any other time of the year with fishing pressure tapering off considerably from June. If you like doing camp trips on the river, it is the best month to do a float trip and throw an overnighter or two into your plans. From the end of June through September is when we recommend doing overnighters. River and weather conditions are stable, plus the entire 25 miles of the river will be fishing at its best. By the end of the month we should start seeing hoppers show up. Historically late July through August is hopper season. Last year August was one of the best months of the year due to a mild summer. PMDs will start to taper off, with caddis lingering throughout the entire month. Although the Greens trout will still look for big black flies, they start to get a little picky preferring other small terrestrials that are will now be abundant on the Green. If you like fishing terrestrials, August is your month. Ants, beetles and hoppers are the food fair of choice. Again, if the lower sections of the river are in good shape, there can be some epic fishing to be had there. Lazy days with lazy trout are the order of the your fishing day this come late summer. You have to be patient, for the Greens big browns and hybrids will give your fly good inspection before taking or refusing your offering. Takes are so subtle at times, even when slurping a large hopper, you may have to look twice to notice that your fly has disappeared below the Green many slick currents. On days when the wind blows, get out your ants. The river corridor, especially those overshadowed by towering pines and juniper, are full of this delectable little morsels. Although the Greens larger terrestrials get all the attentions, I prefer fishing smaller ants and beetles. Especially for those larger trout tucked away in those difficult places. Another bonus to August is the pressure. Historically, the month of August does not fish as well as the previous two summer months, but it does fish well, especially when compared to many of our other surrounding waters. Also a word of advise; it is not going to fish well if you do not go. Only way to have good fishing is to go fishing and as I like to day: you get what you get when you get there. Weekends throughout the entire year will always be more crowded (Friday and Saturday in particular), but weekdays this month are very casual and the fishing is well usually worth a trip. September temperatures start to cool from summers heat, awe! Although daytime temperatures will still be plenty warm, Septembers mornings and evenings have coolness to them that signal; fall is in the air. As the month comes to a close rivers cotton wood and willow will shine in falls radiant colors. September is undoubtedly one of the most pleasant and beautiful months to fish the river. By now most of the Greens aquatic hatches will have come to an end. Fishing terrestrial will continue to provide very good and productive fishing. The quietest weekend will be over Labor Day. The next two will be fairly crowded from an anglers standpoint, but most of the recreational traffic is now gone. This is another month, if conditions are right we love to fish the lower sections of the river. It will be a little early for blue wings, but we will see good spinnerfalls of tricos. This tiny little mayfly will produce pods of rising trout from the lower portions of Section A through to the Colorado border on those pleasant calm mornings that the Green frequently experiences this time of year. September is also another great month to do camp trips on the river and fish the entire river corridor. As October nears, particularly the first week or two, look for temperatures to continue on the mild side and continued success with terrestrials to carry over until winters first storms. When much of the west can experience winters first weather, historically the Green is still rather pleasant come the first of October. However, pleasant is not what we are looking for as the season comes to a close if catching fish is a priority. Some moisture, cooler days and clouds will produce the years last mayfly hatches and again have the rivers blue wings appear. This year we did not see good hatches of this pale olive mayfly occur until the last week of the month. By now all but a few of the rivers most ardent enthusiasts are found enjoying the Greens beauty in solitude. Although the normal fishing consistency that the river experiences during what would be considered the peak season is now somewhat suspect, many prefer what the river has to offer now versus any other time of year; good fishing, some quiet time and reasonably cool weather. By the end of the month, falls cornucopias of colors have fallen from their branches. Every western fishery is crowded these days during peak season. If fishing with the masses are troublesome look to the periphery months to provide you with, at times excellent fly fishing opportunities without the crowds. For us in the shop, after a long hot summer, falls reprieve provides some of our years favorite fishing conditions. If you are planning to fish the Green in October or November, be prepared. With an elevation hovering at 6000’ winter can come fast and hard. Falls early rains will soon be replaced by winters approaching snows. Much like March, this is what we are looking for as blue wings return and spawning browns turn on to their mates becoming aggressive to intruders and attacking well placed streamers. Unlike other months on the Green, you will experience more wildlife that two legged competitors this time of year. If you prepare and plan carefully you will reap the rewards of the fall season and enjoy the river regardless of the weather that late fall can bring. By December, we tend to hang it up. For most of us it is time to look to Warmer Climates. I hope that this little window into a season on the Green is helpful. If you have questions about the fishing conditions on this or any of Northern Utahs waters give us a call; (800)545-4312 or drop us an e-mail greenriver @wrflyfisher.com. We are excited about the upcoming year given the great start we have experienced to date in our early season snow pack. photos Weather and Lunar Phases Green River - November 29th, 2004 supplied by: Western Rivers Flyfisher FISHING: Good Fishing Summary for the Green River The season is winding down on the Green. Comming soon I will post a season summary and an outlook for 2005. But, before I do there is still some good fishing to be had on the Green and it should continue for the next few weeks. These new storms should produced the last push of good blue wing hatches and good streamer fishing of the year. Look for midges to also start to fall into the mix. They are always there, but with the big bugs gone, they will focus again on these tasty little morsels. From now until the end of the year hatches will be a little sporadic, yet there will still be one or two great days to be had. Like much of this fall, few anglers are making the drive because of potential weather problems. For those brave souls who have made the trip they have been rewarded with plenty of water and good fishing. Even with the return of pleasant weather, there will still be decent dry fly and nymph fishing. What great weather and fishing to wind down the season. Flows will remain at 800cfs until the spring, most likely the middle of may. This is an excellent flow for this time of year. However, if you are floating the river, use caution. Summers higher flows often mask a number of the Greens hazards. This is not the time of year when you would want to go for a swim, especially if you should be dumped from a boat. The upcoming weather pattern with all the clouds around should produce some very good baetis hatches. This graceful mayfly prefers wet and cool weather as do most mayflies. Streamer fishing is good and getting better. For the best streamer fishing be on the water early and late. I prefer first light when using these big assualt flies. That may mean you will have to fish all day for days last light is also a good time. As you prepare for your travels check out the following link for current and extended weather condition at Green River Weather. Looking at the forecast, if you are a fair weather fly fisher, it does not get much better than what is predicted for this weekend and through next week. Although attractor patterns are not producing as they were earlier in the year, these are still good flies to suspend your droppers from. Our fly of choice for fishing droppers is still the PMX (Parachute Peacock Madam X). If you like fishing tiny flies, the prolific Green River midge hatches will become more of a factor in your fishing before and after the BWO hatch. On some November days look for Midges and BWO to mix. You will find the best midge fishing near the dam and the best Baetis hatches closer to Little Hole. In those areas where you have good hatches of both types of insects, a complex hatch, you may encounter one fish taking blue wings while another dines on midges. Mornings seem to find the most fish up on emerging midges. Patterns that are consistent producers are Syls Midge, CDC Parachute Midge, Black Beauty Emerger, Griffiths Gnat, and the Trailing Shuck Midge. Once the blue wing nymphs become active, a good BWO nymph pattern with a midge dropper can double your odds. Nymph patterns to compliment your dries and emergers are Mercers Micro May, WD-40, Black Beauty Emerger, Baetis Mymph and the Zebra Midge. These should be in a size #18-#22. Colors should be black, brown, and olive. With streamer fishing picking up it is nice to have a bigger rod for chucking and ducking. This time of year, actually almost on any day, you may encounter a fair amount of wind. If you are fishing from a boat and have a 6 or 7 weight rod they can help make your life easy when casting streamers. If I had one rod to take this time of year it would be a medium fast 6 weight. My favorite rod of choice under these situations is the Sage 691-4 XP. You can easily fish streamers, nymphs or fish most dry flies on thin 5X or 6X tippet. A 5-weight rod is also an excellent option. If you have a 5 and want to throw streamers, use some of the smaller, lighter patterns that we recommend: Platte River Special, Olive Matuka, or one of several Hale Bob Leeches. Regradless of the weather predictions, you want to be prepared equipment and clothing wise. your time is valuable and if you want to make the most of your leisure time, be prepared. Mornings will be rather cool, with the potential for pleasant afternoons temperatures reaching the mid 40s. A raincoat is a must for for three reasons this time of year; protect one for the rain or snow, keep you drier if you should go for a swim and act as an excellent wind breaker should you need shelter from the wind. Wind on any day can drop temperatures significantly. Take several layers, even a back up layer of Capilene long underwear and socks should you accidentally go for a swim. You can find these along with an array of great layering pieces essential for fall fishing on our web site. Click on Western Rivers Flyfisher for used and new equipment, articles and condition reports other than the Green. Overall fishing summary Dry fly fishing continues to be good and will continue over the next several weeks as the weather dictates. Last weeks weather pattern generated falls best mayfly hatches. Look for the blue wings to start hatching between 11 and 3. For those out early, BWO spinners will begin laying their eggs just prior to the hatch. Looks for their clear wings shimmering in morning sun prior to desending to the water. This can create a complex situation as the spinners mix with the emerging duns. Probably the best pattern for this situation is the Hackle Stacker. This is another one of our guides favorite flies. Once the Greens trout switch to the emerging mayflies try either a CDC Emerger or a BWO Befus Emerger for those more selective fish. Although it is difficult for most to resist fishing dry flies when trout are taking naturals from the surface, fishing nymphs will produce the most consistent fishing. Prior to the hatch, fish your nymphs a little deeper with an indicator or tight lining. Once the hatch begins the Greens trout will move from deeper water to more shallow water or feed closer to the waters surface. Adjust your fly depth and techniques to take advantage of the changing situations. Mix your patterns between BWOs and Midges since both aquatic insects will be present on and off throughout the day. Good patterns are the WD-40, Mercers Micro Mayfly, Zebra midges, Barrs BWO emerger, and the Black Beauty Emerger. We have mentioned streamers in this report. Even so, most anglers seldom use these flies and the simple techniques used to fish them successfully. Our guides and staff love fishing streamers and look to this time of year as the best for fishing these big flies. Streamers will produce some great days spring and fall, especially on those days when the weather is wet and cool. At this juncture in the year, a floating line and long leader will work just fine. As we move into the end of the month and November a sink-tip line of some kind will prove to be more effective. Look for those areas, if you are fishing from shore, where you have a lot of structure; water that is 3 feet deep and slightly less. Fishing in this depth of water will find the most opportunistic and aggressive trout jumping on a well presented streamer pattern. Good streamer patterns that we prefer to fish this time of year are, Platte River Spider, Double Bunnies ( these should be fished with a sink tip to be effective because of their overall mass), Hale Bopp Leech, Zonkers, and Flash Frys. Although a Wooly Bugger will work, so will a Parachute Adams for a PMD, eventually. If you want to have success fishing streamers like any other fly fishing technique you must commit yourself. Stay with it, learn the techniques and you will find how fun and addicting this type of fishing is. A great book for fishing streamer is Kelly Galloups, Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout. Hot Flies for the Green Hackle Stacker #20-#22 Technique: This is an excellent BWO pattern since it does a good job of imitating both adult blue wings and spinners. As mentioned earlier it is one of our guides go to flies when these mayflies are hatching or returning to the river to lay their eggs. Fish it dead drift. When the hatch is prolific and trout are selectively keyed into these mayflies, select a single fish to present your fly to. Put yourself close enough, without spooking the fish, so that you can efficiently and accurately present the fly. This is the key to being successful under such challenging situations. #18-#22 Mercers Olive Micro May Technique: When nymph fishing the many prolific mayfly hatches of the west, we have found Mike Mercers patterns to be consistently effective. For spring and fall blue wings we prefer the olive Micro May. With a copper bead and epoxy back, this fly is a great imitation of our fall