On the Fly: Are you ready for springtime hatches?

If you’re sick and tired of fishing tiny midges, things are looking up for the visually-challenged angler in the coming weeks! Winter will (hopefully) rear its head a few more times before “real spring” arrives, but if you keep a fishing calendar, you know springtime blue winged olives and caddis will be here before we know it. Midge hatches (some of which are not-so-tiny) will intensify in the coming weeks as well, especially down-valley on the Colorado and lower Roaring Fork River.

BWOs are truly the harbingers of spring and fall, which are smaller mayflies in the size 18 to 22 range. In a nutshell, the farther downvalley you are, the larger they tend to be. Local favorite flies to match this hatch are the traditional and parachute Adams, Parachute Purple Haze, No Hackle and Quasi-No Hackle BWO, Hackle Duns and Rene Harrop’s CDC Biot Dun BWO. Nymphs and emergers like Rim Chung’s Rs2, Roy Palms Biot Baetis Emerger, Pheasant Tails, and the rust-colored Murder She Wrote work well.

Once April arrives, the caddis start up their engines — Tax Day to Mother’s Day are historically when we begin to see them. Caddis emergences are all water temperature dependent, so they vary from year to year. Most of you know that a serious caddis hatch here involves breathing through your teeth, so it’s not for the squeamish. Caddis tend to be size 16 and 18, but in summertime you’ll see monstrously large ones out there, as well. 

Caddis dries of note are traditional Elk Hairs in addition to Stimulators, Lawson’s EZ Caddis, Missing Links, and Puterbaugh Foam Caddis. Nymphs and emergers include Prince Nymphs, Soft Hackles, Barr’s Graphic Caddis, and traditional or jigged-style Hares Ears. We tend to dead-drift our mayflies and skate our caddis dry flies, so take heed to which bug the fish are favoring. Generally, soft surface sipping tends to be BWO-eating behavior, and angry takedowns are the clue that caddis are the preferred insect. 

Get ready to interpret the clues the rivers offer you, and keep up with the changes, springtime is almost here!

This report is provided every week by Taylor Creek Fly Shops in Aspen and Basalt. Taylor Creek can be reached at 970-927-4374 or TaylorCreek.com.