Boy, is the Eagle River in great shape right now. Though rising daily, the clarity is still great in the upper stretches and the bugs are coming off in great numbers. I had two gentlemen in town who love coming to the Vail ski area after the mountain closes so they can get good hotel rates and great fishing. They were not disappointed with either! An 11am starting time was and is still appropriate and the fishing was great from the beginning. Midges were in the air, rainbow trout were eating off the surface in the slow sections and all trout seemed to be eating below the surface. Midge patterns caught fish in the soft areas regularly and worm patterns, hot spot hare's ears and eggs caught fish in the deeper, faster waters of the Eagle River.
Today was especially fun as these brave souls were willing to lean on their wading staffs and test their river-legs and wade out into the pocket water. Fish were stacked up behind rocks and every soft piece of water amongst the faster flows. The rocks were slippery (be careful wading this time of year) but the fish were eating our flies like no one had fished for them all Winter. That might have been the case! The bugs listed above did great for us but we also tried some Rainbow Warriors and Perdigons as well and those were gobbled as well. The main reason for the strong bite, in my opinion, was the variety of trout insects we saw in the air and on the water. Towards 2pm in the afternoon, we experienced hatches of little brown stoneflies, midges and blue winged olives all at the same time. With so many options and so little pressure in the area, the fishing was spectacular and our clients were thoroughly pleased.
Though fishing changes day-to-day and "a blind squirrel gets a nut every once in a while", the stars really aligned for incredible fly fishing on 4/28/23 and I'm glad I had such awesome and appreciative clients to share the special day with.
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