Aspen Outfitting Company’s Upper Roaring Fork River Report 3/10/23

Cian McGillicuddyFly Fishing, Winter Fly FishingLeave a Comment

Warmer weather this week made for some great fishing! The fish are relatively concentrated right now, so once you find them be patient and focus on getting good drifts. We’ve got some weather moving in this weekend, but water temps should remain stable as the forecast shows lows in the mid 20’s and highs of around 40 degrees. That means we should have beautiful, snowy banks and good fishing!

Aspen Outfitting Company’s Upper Roaring Fork River Report 2/24/23

Cian McGillicuddyWinter Fly FishingLeave a Comment

The fishing has been good this past week, particularly as low pressure systems lift between periods of snow. With warm weather in the forecast for Saturday, it should be a great weekend for fishing! As always, safety is the number one priority on the river. Ice has been building up in parts of the upper fork. With significant temperature changes after the recent snow and fluctuations between night to day, ice shelves are prone to breaking, and ice dams can be a concern. Fish with a friend, keep an eye up-river for ice flows and if you see the water levels starting to rise, move away from the water.

Aspen Outfitting Company’s Upper Roaring Fork River Report 2/10/23

Cian McGillicuddyFly Fishing, Winter Fly FishingLeave a Comment

The second week of February has given us warmer days and the fishing remains very productive, particularly during midday and the afternoon. As we mentioned last week, safety is the number one priority on the river. With significant temperature changes from night to day, ice shelves are prone to breaking. Keep an eye up-river for ice flows and if you see the water levels starting to rise, move away from the water. With cold temperatures and low flows in the Upper Fork, the fish are stacked up in slower, deeper water. Focus on deep holes and eddies near natural structure for great results.

Aspen Outfitting Company’s Upper Roaring Fork River Report 2/3/23

Cian McGillicuddyFly Fishing, Winter Fly FishingLeave a Comment

It’s the first week of February and it looks like the coldest part of the winter is behind us. Fishing remains very productive, particularly during the middle of the day. As always, safety is the number one priority on the river. With significant temperature changes from night to day, ice shelves are prone to breaking. Keep an eye up-river for ice flows and if you see the water levels starting to rise, move away from the water quickly. With cold temperatures and low flows in the Upper Fork, the fish are stacked up in slower, deeper water. Focus on deep holes and eddies near natural structure for some great results.

Aspen Outfitting Company’s Roaring Fork River Report 1/27/23

Cian McGillicuddyFly FishingLeave a Comment

Happy X Games to all! We’re excited to see all of the incredible things happening up on the mountain, but we certainly aren’t going to forget about the fish! The fishing has been really good this past week, and could get even better with warmer temperatures projected for next week. Right now, the fish are stacked up in slower, deeper water. Focus on deep holes and eddies near natural structure for the best results. During this time of the year, when you find one fish, you often find many — so make sure to cover water until you find success.

Aspen Outfitting Company’s Upper Roaring Fork River Report 1/20/23

Cian McGillicuddyFly Fishing, Winter Fly FishingLeave a Comment

Going into the last 10 days of January, the fishing has been great! With cold temperatures and low flows in the Upper Fork, the fish are stacked up in slower, deeper water. Focus on deep holes and eddies near natural structure for the best results. During this time of the year, when you find one fish, you often find many — so make sure to cover water until you find success.

Fishing Runoff

Cian McGillicuddyFly FishingLeave a Comment

Summer is here and the Roaring Fork is roaring! The Roaring Fork is classified as a “Freestone” river, meaning that it contains no dams from its headwaters to its confluence with the Colorado River. As a result, water levels in the Fork and other Freestones are controlled by snow melt and precipitation alone. That means that in spring and early summer, snow melt produced by warm weather at high elevations causes a surge of water to course through our river systems in a process we call “runoff.” Runoff means high, fast moving water, and presents unique challenges to trout and anglers alike. But, as fishermen we can take advantage of the fast moving, murky water to fool trout with big flashy bugs and heavy tippet. If you haven’t fished high water, you’re missing out on an amazing and unique experience!